Even when a wide, open field began to feel suffocating, a soldier knew that something beyond what they could face had appeared.

Even the collective presence of the warriors gathered around the plaza could not shield them from the malice the Devil exuded.

Its grotesque form made Angelica's blood run cold as she instinctively took a step back.

It stood nearly eight feet tall, its bulky body covered in several eyes that moved independently, as though not even the smallest twitch could escape its notice. A narrow slit at its abdomen hid rows of pin-like teeth, capable of grinding a human skull to dust.

William felt his heart hammering, the sound drumming in his ears. His hands trembled with anticipation as aether coiled around him like a second skin, his eyes burning with raw bloodlust.

The Devil's attention was fixed on him as well, making it clear that William had been chosen as its opponent.

"Good, good." William said, cracking his knuckles as he prepared for battle.

Hisss

The Devil's mouth parted, smoke billowing as its white, featureless eyes began to quiver.

Its body swelled unnaturally, drawing a frown from William.

The Devil closed its mouth and leaned back, its bloated form resembling a balloon on the verge of bursting.

William scoffed and crossed his arms, his telekinetic constructs forming a second barrier around him.

However, he hadn't properly evaluated what he should be expecting.

GHUAAANK

The air burst apart as something slammed straight into William, the force instantly shattering his telekinesis and hurling him away like an arrow.

"No!" Angelica cried out in panic as she saw William about to crash. However, just in time, he forced himself to a halt midair.

His shirt was torn, his hair completely disheveled.

'Well, that was quite embarrassing,' he thought, brushing the dust from his clothes.

His figure floated back toward the center, where the Devil stood motionless. It seemed that unless it defeated William, it had no intention of leaving its territory.

William stopped joking around and focused, carefully channeling his energy.

A dark vortex began to swirl within his chest, an opposing wave circulating inside him without suppressing or destroying his aether.

It was merging with it.

The Devil sensed the change.

It was subtle to everyone else, but not to a being that could vividly feel Nyx in every single thing around it.

THUMP THUMP

The Devil charged forward, its massive feet cracking the ground beneath them.

A roar of declaration echoed through the complex, alerting not only those nearby but even the distant campsite.

William drew a deep breath and raised his right hand.

SLASH

Space warped, and a deep gash infused with condensed magical energy tore forward toward the monster.

SPLURT

William wasn't surprised that Cleave actually damaged the Devil, given that he was reinforcing himself with Nyx. What caught him off guard was the creature's instantaneous regeneration and the fact that it didn't even flinch.

William rose higher, trying to evade the attack, but the Devil seemed to read his intentions and leapt into the air as well.

A flying behemoth made many gasp in pure horror.

There was no time to escape. The Devil was too close for distance to matter.

William frowned and crossed his arms in front of himself.

THANNNK

The blow connected squarely with his telekinetic arms, but this time, they didn't shatter.

William was sent flying backward through the air, yet he remained unharmed.

"Fucking loser," William muttered before extending his right hand and unleashing a single, one-second chanted Drop of Oblivion straight at the monster.

The Devil's body was already descending when it sensed the approaching aether construct.

AGHUAAGH

The instant its feet touched the ground, its log-like arms slammed together with deafening force.

THWAAAMP

BOOOOOM

William clicked his tongue as the Drop detonated prematurely, likely dealing little to no damage to its target.

From the destruction, a small boulder shot toward William.

The blond mage raised his arm and caught the rock mid-charge.

The Devil didn't stop there. It dashed around, stomping its feet, ripping chunks of the ground free and hurling them at William one after another.

William gritted his teeth in frustration as he intercepted the rocks from every direction, suspending them midair while trying to lock onto the target and form a Neurolink.

However, the Devil never stayed rooted, weaving through the battlefield as if it had fought on this terrain for ages.

"Fuck, stop running already," William growled. The gathered rocks shot forward, hurtling toward the Devil.

The inhuman creature skidded and punched through the incoming projectiles.

THWAMP

They burst into dust and debris.

William appeared directly above the Devil, a finger extended. "Block this, you asshole."

Two seconds.

The air compressed within a loosely formed orb.

It dropped like a heavy bead of water, and then—

BOOOOOOOM

Catchipara witnessed the largest explosion of the night.

The compressed air collapsed inward before violently bursting outward, the shockwave tearing through the plaza like a rampaging tide. Air, dust, and shattered stone spiraled into the sky as the ground cracked open beneath the impact point, forming a wide, smoldering crater.

The deafening roar swallowed all sound for a heartbeat.

Warriors were thrown off their feet, some barely managing to brace themselves, others crashing hard against the ground.

Angelica staggered back, her eyes wide, one arm lifted to protect herself as the wind howled past. Her heart pounded as she stared at the devastation, fear and disbelief tangling in her chest.

When the dust began to settle, silence followed, heavy and suffocating.

Just then, something shot out from within the curtain of dust and smoke.

William frowned and pulled back, his gaze snapping from one point to another as he realized more than a dozen white orbs were violently circling him.

He tried to seize them with telekinesis, then to slash them apart, but they were far too small and fast for either approach to work.

'Those are… its eyes,' William concluded, his own gaze constantly shifting as he anticipated the incoming attack.

But then, something unexpected happened.

William's body froze.

Voices.

Everywhere.

Loud. Violent.

[HGSGWNDHSGSSGD!]

[GFSGSFSFFFSS!]

[NAIDUNSSHDHDHDH!]

[HSHSHSHAAAAAA!]

William winced as his mind went numb, hundreds of voices erupting inside his head at once. They weren't words, nor thoughts meant to communicate, only raw mental noise, violent and deliberately aimed at tearing his senses apart.

As a telepath, he couldn't simply shut it out.

That was the cruelty of it.

The voices flooded him relentlessly, overlapping and colliding, each one drilling deeper into his consciousness. His vision blurred, his balance faltered, and a skull-splitting pain surged through him as his mind struggled to process what could never be understood.

For the first time in the battle, William couldn't think.

He saw the Devil approaching him.

He raised his hand, but, "Agh!" Nothing but a groan left him.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Challenges are a part of the battle. Thanks for reading.

(Please let me know if my battle scenes are improving or degrading.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.