<<Internal Gravity>>

The moment the skill activated, mana surged through Rael's body as the gravity around his body decreased and he shot forward towards the senior who was an entire rank above him without any hesitation.

In an instant, he was within range as Rael attacked with a vicious kick, targeting the man's head. He even increased the gravity in his limb at the very last moment.

But the senior wasn't a pushover either. His instincts kicked in and he moved the flat of his greatsword up just in time to shield the side of his head.

BOOM!!

A violent shockwave exploded outward as Rael released a burst of energy at the same time.

<<Voidpulse Steps>>

The burst was a lot stronger than what he could do before because of his improved rank but even that of no use.

As the shockwave settled in, Rael saw that the senior wasn't even pushed back by a single step.

"Is that all you got, you filthy human bastard?" The senior grinned. "I thought you would at least have some strength to match that loudmouth of yours but I guess I was wrong."

Rael didn't say anything and jumped back as his mind analyzed the exchange in silence.

His defenses are too solid…

Even my strongest physical strike was blocked like it was nothing.

I need another approach.

Should I use aura for a surprise attack?

The thought crossed his mind, using the aura-storing effect of his monocle to catch the enemy off guard, but he dismissed it almost immediately.

No.

What if the archer moves to cover him?

I need to wait for a perfect moment to use Aura and attack lethally in an instant before the archer could even react.

Before he could think further, the senior attacked, his greatsword sliced through the air with its blade coated in a thin layer of water-elemental mana.

Rael lightened his body at the last second and twisted aside as the blade smashed into the ground instead—

BOOM!

The impact made a crater where he had been standing just moments earlier.

Fuck… this guy got some serious firepower.

With that thought, Rael summoned all three of his cards.

Two of them began revolving around his body, while the third shot off to the far edge of his sensory domain as he kept it there as a contingency, a guaranteed escape route if things went south.

Just then another attack came, a horizontal swing.

Rael ducked cleanly beneath it by lightening his body in an instant.

As the blade passed overhead, he twisted his body and shot a punch straight into the bastard's wide-open stomach, compressing gravity around his fist at the last moment.

<<Voidpulse Fist>>

He didn't forget to charge and release a pulse.

The punch connected, sending the senior flying backward before he barely managed to stabilize himself by stabbing his sword into the ground.

Rael's eyes narrowed.

He is attacking recklessly without any sophisticated technique or rhythm.

That means… he is a commoner demon.

That explains why he took this job… he probably wanted to secure backing from Varek.

Rael committed the conclusion to memory as he surged forward again, not giving the senior a second to recover.

Both of his cards shot out simultaneously, slicing toward the man's neck from opposite directions and at the same time, Rael drove another punch toward the exact spot he had struck before.

At the same time, the card he had sent to the edge of his domain silently slipped behind the senior, closing in unnoticed.

From their exchanges so far, Rael had already figured it out, the man had brute strength but little speed to match it.

Not everyone was blessed with stats that exceeded their rank like Rael after all and he was about to make full use of that fact.

The senior's eyes widened but before his body could even react, Rael activated the aura storing effect of his monocle, releasing a full burst of Morvana's aura.

"Take this, bitch."

The pressure crashed down around his surroundings as the senior's body froze in an instant as cold sweat formed on his forehead.

Rael knew the effect won't last much longer… so he attacked even faster. He was sure even the archer wouldn't have time to react before his partner was torn apart.

And then all three attacks connected at once as the greatsword wielder was ripped apart in a single brutal instant. Only after it was over did an arrow finally whistle toward Rael which he dodged effortlessly by stepping aside.

…Or at least, that was how it should have gone according to Rael's calculations but instead his instincts screamed as he twisted his body ever so slightly at the very last moment.

Instead of seeing, his opponent's blood, his own blood burst into the air as an arrow pierced through his left shoulder.

The pain hit instantly.

"Fuck."

Rael cursed as his focus on the cards wavered for just a fraction of a second.

That was all it took.

The greatsword wielder seized the opening, stabilizing himself and lunging forward with anger twisting his face as he drove a punch straight at Rael.

CRACK!!

The blow slammed into Rael's chest as his body was sent flying like a ragdoll before crashing hard against a tree.

COUGH!!

Rael forced himself up, leaning against the tree which thankfully hadn't shattered due to the impact as he coughed out blood.

He had lightened his body at the very last moment, reducing the impact just enough and his cloak had absorbed part of the shock as well. That was the only reason he was still conscious.

Even so, the damage was done.

The arrow and that punch had hit hard.

Every time he tried to move, he could feel a bone pressing dangerously against his inner organs and his left shoulder, where the arrow had pierced through, had gone numb as if it no longer belonged to him.

But instead of cursing or crying out in pain Rael focused on something far more important because pain didn't matter more than his life did.

How… did that bastard attack so fast?

Everything had been perfect and unless the archer had fired before Rael even lunged forward, there was no way this should have happened.

The arrow would have had to cross hundreds of meters in less than a second—

Which meant only two thing.

Rael's eyes narrowed.

That shot was already on its way… before I committed.

Or the archer had an element or some kind of skill that allowed him to fire arrows with terrifying speed and precision.

In any case… One conclusion was fixed.

I'm so screwed.

Still, Rael didn't lose hope.

I will make sure you fuckers pay the price for every bit of this.

Before he could think anything anymore, his heart started thumping loud and something primal awakened within him.

—

Meanwhile, hidden among the branches of a tree deep within the forest, Ron cursed under his breath.

"That bastard… why did he have to punch that guy this way?"

He and his childhood friend, Rex, had been sent here on a simple mission to kill Rael von Ashborn.

Naturally, Rex, being the reckless fool he was, had insisted that Ron lay low after firing a single provocation shot.

And honestly, Ron hadn't minded much at the time.

After all… the target was supposed to be far too weak to put up any real resistance against them.

Even if the boy possessed a stronger Nexus or even greater potential to be chosen as the Demon King's successor, it shouldn't have mattered because his rank was low.

That alone should have sealed his fate today but then… the boy started using strange techniques and skills.

And worse, he actually managed to land a hit on Rex.

Ron was far from the battlefield, perched high in the trees, yet a chill crawled down his spine the moment he saw a crazed smile on the boy's face.

His instinct screamed and without hesitation, Ron nocked an arrow and poured every drop of wind mana he could muster into it, compressing, sharpening and accelerating it beyond anything he had ever fired before.

He released it in a rush and only because of that split-second decision, the boy stopped just a single step short of ending Rex's life.

Ron exhaled shakily.

…Too close.

Still, despite having barely a small amount of mana left in him, Ron forced himself to focus as he nocked another arrow on his bow, aiming toward the boy's last position—

But then… his eyes widened.

"What the hell… is that?"

But before he could think of anything else something cold pressed against his neck.

"Found you." A cold voice accompanied the cold blade and before he could even utter a single word, the world turned upside down… as he saw blood erupting out of his own severed neck.

"Wha—"

—happened?

He couldn't even complete his words as the last thing he saw were a pair of cold crimson eyes staring at him. And then everything went dark as the death embraced him.

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