The red demon broke through the seal, a scene so sudden that few could process what had happened.
Jirga’s body was flung through the air, crashing to the ground not far from Ye Chui and Debbie. As she struggled to rise, Ye Chui saw five horrific claw marks on her back, deep and ghastly, with red blood mist seeping from the wounds. Heroic spirits felt no pain and, with a supply of magic or sword aura, never tired. Even when injured, they could heal rapidly. But Jirga’s condition was dire. Her body still glowed with golden light, yet the terrible wounds did not heal. She lacked the strength to stand and soon collapsed again, utterly weakened.
A scream pierced the air.
It came from a swordsman. After attacking Jirga, the red demon leapt to the nearest swordsman. Its grotesque, emaciated form resembled a blood-drained corpse compared to the red demon Ye Chui and Debbie had seen in the time echo. Its long, thin claws gripped the swordsman’s shoulders, and its fanged maw bit into his neck. With a scream, the swordsman’s body withered visibly as the demon drained his blood.
“It’s sucking his blood!” someone cried.
“What is that thing!”
“A demon, a demon!”
Others shouted in terror. This eerie creature, which had invaded the divine realm five thousand years ago, instantly evoked the word “demon” in anyone who saw it, the only term fitting for such dread.
After draining the swordsman’s blood, the demon roared. Its red form flickered like a shadow, appearing beside another mage, biting into their neck in the same manner. Those who had faced Jirga with courage were now overwhelmed by panic, fleeing in all directions, screaming as the grey sky seemed tinged with blood.
Meanwhile, in the distant castle, the magical guards patrolling the corridors halted their orderly steps. They turned toward the demon’s emergence, drawing their swords and raising their shields, assuming combat stances with clanking armour. Whether Debbie had accidentally encountered them or the adventuring party had faced them, the guards had shown some intent to fight but never fully engaged. Their true enemy was never these outsiders.
For five thousand years, they had guarded against this red demon alone.
The goddess of old could not kill it, so she sealed it, knowing it would one day break free and bare its fangs. The magical guards existed for this moment.
In the castle’s heart, a resplendent chamber, once the abode of the Goddess of Wealth, held a petrified egg on a tattered bed, worn by five thousand years. If Ye Chui saw it, he would recognise it as the dragon egg formed from the goddess’s black-gold flame dragon form. Over millennia, the egg had turned to stone, its surface etched with rocky patterns, no longer smooth and white.
Yet, as the red demon broke its seal, a low dragon’s roar echoed through the chamber. Cracks appeared on the egg’s surface, revealing a white shell beneath. Light shimmered, as if a small dragon stirred within.
In the decayed garden, Ye Chui and Debbie rushed to Jirga’s side. Ye Chui produced two dragon bloodstones, which Debbie fed into Jirga’s body. Golden light flickered, but her wounds did not heal. She remained terribly weak.
Debbie, shocked, said, “The red demon’s attacks seem to be immune to sword aura and magic?”
As if to prove her words, as the demon caught another swordsman and began draining his blood, Mayor Cass charged forward, swinging his greatsword. Cass understood that this creature, freed from its seal, was swift. Fleeing in panic would only make them its prey. Unlike the others, paralysed by fear, Cass, the town’s top swordsman, burned with fighting spirit.
He unleashed his strongest technique.
[Tempest Slash]
His greatsword descended with a raging wind, a move that had once cleaved through a desert tornado, its power unmatched.
Yet the red demon merely extended a claw, effortlessly catching the falling blade. The wind dissipated, and Cass froze mid-air. His peerless sword aura vanished upon touching the demon.
A bolt of lightning, like a venomous snake, crackled from afar, the advanced attack spell [Serpent’s Strike], cast by a powerful mage from the Kiss of the Goddess guild, his strongest move. But the demon didn’t even bother to block. It let the leaping lightning snake surge into its gaunt, grotesque body. Blue sparks danced across its surface, then faded into nothing.
With a roar, it seized Cass’s greatsword, spun him in the air, and flung him far away. Cass crashed to the ground, rolling twice, toppling a dead tree, then sprang up, his face etched with shock. “This thing is immune to sword aura and magic!”
Magic was a mage’s attack, channelled through magic and a spellbook. Sword aura, at its core, was magic energy transformed into an attack. Both [Tempest Slash] and [Serpent’s Strike] were formidable, yet they dissipated upon contact with the red demon.
Magic immunity!
“How can such a terrifying monster exist?” Cass exclaimed.
The demon roared again. Sealed for five thousand years, its power was nearly depleted. It needed blood and magic to restore itself. Even now, it had not regained a fraction of its former strength. Its blood-red eyes scanned the surroundings, landing on Ye Chui and Debbie’s group, specifically Jirga. Her golden sword aura resembled the goddess’s power, marking her as the strongest here. With a roar, it charged.
No one believed Ye Chui’s group could withstand the demon. Jirga was gravely wounded; how could they resist its onslaught?
Yet…
Bang!
As the demon’s claws neared Jirga, a radiant, holy shield appeared, blocking the attack.
“This is…” Ye Chui’s expression turned to surprise. He recognised it as the passive spell of his iPad spellbook, [Guardian]. When he first used it, many assumed it was light magic, as did Ye Chui initially. But he later realised it wasn’t. His attribute spells came from the app store, but [Guardian] stemmed from an inherent app in the iPad, distinct from downloaded spells.
Until now, it hadn’t shown anything remarkable. But it blocked the demon’s attack. Ye Chui’s spellbook had 63% magic remaining, but the impact reduced it to 5%. Yet it had undeniably stopped the demon.
[Guardian]’s defensive effect wasn’t exceptional. Riken’s [Flame Serpent] or Kemith’s [Water Snake Dance] could heavily drain Ye Chui’s magic, even after his growth in the dragon ant nest. [Guardian] shouldn’t have become so powerful suddenly.
Then, in a flash, Ye Chui realised something. The red demon was immune to sword aura and magic but not to [Guardian]’s defence. Though [Guardian] consumed Ye Chui’s magic, it might wield a unique power. Without its magic immunity, the demon’s attack was merely ordinary.
The demon’s shock surpassed Ye Chui’s. It sensed a familiar aura in Ye Chui’s spell, akin to the power that sealed it, a divine force. Fear flickered in its red eyes.
At that moment, the gravely wounded Jirga dissolved into golden light, recalled to the spirit world by Debbie. A white summoning gate appeared in the air, and a holy white figure emerged.
A pair of beautiful white wings unfurled. The once patchwork body was restored to its original divine form. Light flowed, her flawless face brimming with martial resolve. A longsword coalesced in her hand.
The summoned heroic spirit, the Valkyrie, descended.
