Chapter 212: Power Out of Control, Extreme Rescue

(A brief, minor update.)

"Get off!" With a furious roar, Shuguin’s thigh, gripped tightly by the Great Knight, erupted in searing flames that surged upward along the assailant’s arm.

The grotesque green fire incinerated armor and flesh alike; the metal plate peeled and withered, while the scorched skin beneath cracked and sloughed away, revealing raw, crimson muscle.

"Ugh!" The Great Knight winced, realizing he could not afford to remain locked in this stalemate. If he persisted, his right arm would be ruined long before his inner energy could shatter Shuguin’s tibia.

He exerted his strength, channeling his battle aura into his arm to bolster his straining muscles. Ignoring the agony of the flames, he lunged and hurled Shuguin violently toward the floor below.

Shuguin plummeted at high speed, face still upturned, but several eyes that had suddenly sprouted from the nape of his neck caught sight of the stone spikes rising from the floor beneath him.

He flicked his wrist, and a mass of hair proliferated from his palm, extending toward the distant wall.

Though seemingly soft, the strands became tough and sinewy under the influence of demonic power, anchoring into the masonry and yanking Shuguin toward the wall.

The spikes below seemed to sense his state; seeing him avoid the fall, they burst apart into a spray of earthen spears, lancing toward him as he clung to the wall.

They were joined by a blade of battle aura fired by the Great Knight, who had landed steadily. The razor-sharp aura and the swift, hard stone spears blanketed every possible path of escape.

Shuguin channeled his inner energy, consuming vast amounts of battle aura. He invoked the power of the Shadow Demon—the most versatile of his inner demons aside from the Smoke Demon—and his body twisted, dissolving into a pool of black shadow.

"Clack, clack, clack—shing!" The stone spears violently shattered the wall, and the following blade of aura tore through the masonry where he had been clinging as if it were tofu. But to Shuguin, now a mere shadow, these attacks were meaningless.

Clinging to the wall, the shadow ignored the barrage and moved, slipping directly through the massive gap the Great Knight had carved into the wall, vanishing from sight.

"Spirit Possession—a truly formidable inner energy. The dozen demons within him grant Shuguin such fluid, versatile abilities. With only this catalyzed Great Knight at my disposal, dealing with him is still a stretch."

Count Enkai watched everything in the room through the Mage’s Eyes he had placed around the perimeter. His murmurs sounded like an lament for the difficulty of Shuguin’s power, yet he showed no sign of being truly troubled.

"Don't go up there. If he ambushes you, you won't even know how you died. Stay here and let me flush him out first."

He stopped the Great Knight from pursuing the shadow. Count Enkai observed the room, now plunged into darkness after the magic crystal lamp had been smashed, and began to formulate his plan.

"The Shadow Demon, is it? A powerful force indeed, but that unruly demon is not so easily commanded. Even with a Great Knight’s reserves, how long can you sustain its power?"

"Spirit Possession is a potent inner energy. Without the mansion’s outer array to seal demonic power, his chances of winning are no longer zero. But knowing what I know of demons, you are already in a desperate trap."

...

"Huff, the damage this inner energy does to my bones is a nuisance. I can't afford a prolonged brawl; the outer layer of bone is already heavily fractured. If I let his energy affect me further, my combat effectiveness will plummet."

Shuguin had ended his shadow state, returning to human form. He hid in the corner between a staircase and a corridor, using the power of a high-tier Eye Demon to scan his surroundings.

This demon possessed keen observational capabilities, ensuring he remained outside the range of the Mage’s Eyes.

He pulled out a vial, plunged the needle into his calf, and willed his body not to reject the living blood within.

The concoction made from Wang Yu’s blood was not as potent as a Great Knight’s restorative techniques, but as an emergency measure for non-critical wounds, it was more than sufficient.

Feeling the fine cracks in his leg bone slowly fill and mend with the active blood, Shuguin nodded in satisfaction.

"Whew, am I being too hard on him? Those Abyss Gate members aren't easy to deal with. But with the Smoke Demon and Wang Yu’s combat prowess, he should be able to manage."

"I’ve become quite pathetic, haven't I? Revenge and this current predicament—in the end, I chose revenge..."

His thoughts drifted for a fleeting moment, but he reined them in within two seconds. Since he had made his choice, he would not regret it.

"Find Enkai. He’s definitely in the mansion, but where?"

Alert to his surroundings, Shuguin planned his next move. The house was riddled with arrays; only the Eye Demon’s perception could detect these fluctuations of magic.

His inner energy limit allowed him to use only two demonic powers at once. Choosing the Eye Demon meant severe weaknesses in other areas; if that persistent Great Knight found an opening, he could suffer a devastating blow.

"Got it..." With a plan in mind, Shuguin bit his fingertip, letting fresh blood well up, and smeared it onto the surrounding walls.

He began to run, rapidly spreading his blood throughout the mansion. A demon within him grew feverishly excited by the strong scent of gore.

In truth, what excited the creature most was the active blood he had injected earlier—the blood belonging to Wang Yu.

"Is this guy Wang Yu even human? Compared to him, I hardly seem like a monster at all, despite having these things inside me."

The cracks in his bones that would have been difficult to heal on his own were mostly mended as he ran. The remainder of the blood-based potion was greedily consumed by the Blood Demon within, its power surging ever higher.

Avoiding Count Enkai’s observation, Shuguin smeared his blood everywhere. The act seemed nonsensical—a waste of his own life force—but what was the purpose?

"Thud..." The Great Knight’s iron boots struck the corridor. The gaze shared with Count Enkai swept the area. The mottled trails of blood covering the hallway made both the Knight and the Count frown.

"Is Shuguin mad? What is he doing?"

Enkai muttered, unable to fathom the reason for Shuguin’s bizarre behavior, yet he was certain it served a purpose.

"Gurgle..." A sound so faint even the Great Knight’s heightened senses missed it. Tiny eyes sprouted from the bloodstains that had not yet dried, rotating in the shadows of the Knight’s blind spot, watching in silence.

"Found you..."

A smile touched Shuguin’s lips. In the Eye Demon’s vision, a thin, flickering line of light appeared on the Great Knight’s forehead, extending toward a direction in the mansion—the trail left by magical fluctuations.

Since using the Eye Demon’s power left him vulnerable to a fellow Great Knight, he would use the synergy of two demonic powers to locate Count Enkai’s hiding spot without making contact.

"Drip..." A drop of blood fell from above the Great Knight. The wary warrior would never let something that might be an attack land on him.

With a pulse of battle aura, he shattered the drop, scattering it into a fine mist that drifted outward.

Some of the droplets landed in areas Shuguin had avoided to escape the Mage’s Eyes.

Upon these microscopic droplets, tiny eyes emerged. They took one look at the outside world before dissolving, as the power within them was insufficient to sustain their existence.

But it was enough. The Mage’s Eye floating in the air and the magical line matching the Great Knight now pointed to the same location, confirmed by Shuguin through the combined power of the Eye and Blood Demons.

Synthesizing the two, and having studied the mansion’s layout beforehand, Shuguin quickly pinpointed where Count Enkai was hiding.

"Just as cunning and vicious as I remember. A clever hiding spot. I still have two-thirds of my battle aura—enough to use the Shadow Demon to bypass detection and reach him."

With his mind made up, Shuguin did not hesitate to draw upon the aura-draining power of the Shadow Demon. He dissolved into an imperceptible shadow, slipping through the gaps in doors and windows toward his target.

His battle aura drained steadily as he maintained the shadow form. Within minutes, the Great Knight’s vast reserves had dropped by another third, but Shuguin had reached the vicinity.

"Hm? Something’s wrong. This shadow—it’s unnatural. Get back here, quickly!"

Count Enkai’s voice rang in the Great Knight’s ear. Through the Mage’s Eye, he had captured a series of unnatural shadows approaching his sanctuary.

Even if the first had been a coincidence, the continuous stream left no doubt. It was Shuguin, using the Shadow Demon.

"How did he find me? He should only have the Eye Demon for magical detection... The blood? Using the Blood Demon and Eye Demon in tandem? Shuguin, I underestimated you."

Count Enkai pondered, activating every magic array near his hiding spot and ordering the Great Knight to return at full speed.

"Come to me, then. Playing cat and mouse is pointless. You think you’ve already won, don't you? A researcher who is merely an apprentice mage—if a Great Knight gets close, you’re dead, right?"

"Heh, that logic holds up. But unfortunately for you, your power comes from demons, and I happen to be an expert on them. I know these things better than anyone."

Shuguin solidified from shadow to human form, sprinting down the stairs. His battle aura was down to a third; he could no longer sustain the Shadow Demon.

Moreover, the area ahead was the mansion’s grand hall. The light from the magic crystal lamps made it bright; in his shadow form, he would be glaringly obvious rather than hidden.

"Clack, clack, clack..." The magic arrays hummed, warping the floor of the hall. Earth and stone rose, shifting and coalescing into form.

A swarm of small earth-elemental puppets emerged, their dense formation effectively blocking Shuguin’s path.

Simultaneously, magic flared in every corner of the hall. Searing fireballs rose rapidly, targeting Shuguin as he charged into the mass of stone puppets.

Shuguin wove nimbly through them. A Great Knight was not just strong; his agility and perception were equally terrifying.

These puppets, though slightly more agile due to their smaller size, were still far too slow for Shuguin.

He slid, ducked, and vaulted over swinging stone limbs, maintaining his high-speed advance and dodging nearly every attack.

He plunged into the inner circle of the puppets, one step closer to the "non-existent" mezzanine at the top of the hall where Count Enkai hid. The density of the puppets increased once more.

Several earth-stone golems charged toward Shugin, their earthen bodies fusing and interlocking to form a wall of rock that bore down upon him, sealing off any path of retreat.

The Great Knight’s strength erupted, bolstered by the surge of his battle aura, and his materialized aura armor struck out with devastating force; the wall of earth and stone offered no resistance, shattering instantly into a pile of rubble.

Yet, at that very moment, several high-level fireballs, prepared by the magic circle in the corner of the hall, converged and hurtled toward the center.

Enkai had never factored the lives of the golems into his plans; these fireballs would incinerate Shugin along with the surrounding constructs, blasting him into oblivion.

A thunderous roar echoed as the high-level fireballs collided, their elemental energies intensifying the blast, but when the smoke cleared, only the debris of the golems remained—Shugin was nowhere to be seen.

"It isn't over yet; this one is truly tenacious," Enkai muttered, observing the scene through his Mage’s Eye, knowing full well that Shugin would not die so easily.

Click-clack. From amidst the scattered remains of the golems, a multitude of small stones shifted and coalesced, reshaping themselves into Shugin’s form; though his body bore charred, blackened wounds, none were fatal.

Moments ago, Shugin had pulled the golems atop himself, using the power of the Stone Demon to transmute his own body into fine gravel, hiding within the very shells of his enemies.

The golems had absorbed the brunt of the impact, leaving him with only minor burns from the intense heat.

Leaping high, Shugin drew his pitch-black blade, which reeked of rust and corruption, and swung it toward the ceiling above.

The potent corrosive energy sliced ruthlessly through the chamber’s reinforced protective wall, revealing the scene within, just as the Great Knight arrived in the hall.

"Found you," Shugin spat, his voice cold as he locked eyes with Marquis Enkai, who stood in a panic, fumbling with a spatial spell.

Seizing the breach in the chamber, Shugin vaulted inside, his feet exploding with aura as he lunged toward the Marquis, who was still mid-incantation.

The Great Knight had reached the hall, but Marquis Enkai was merely an apprentice mage; his knowledge allowed for spatial spells, but his rank demanded a lengthy casting time.

At a distance of only five meters, the Great Knight could have killed him several times over before the spell took hold.

"Die!" Shugin roared, pouring a decade of pent-up fury into his blade; a shimmering edge of aura bloomed, a blinding arc of light slashing through the air.

The Marquis’s casting was only half-complete; there was no way he could evade such a strike—or so it seemed.

As if time had been fast-forwarded, the spell model in his hands snapped into completion, the magical infusion finishing in an instant; the Marquis’s form blurred, and he reappeared beside the Great Knight.

"This is... the relic, the Chronos Hourglass?!" Shugin’s face darkened; his killing blow, fueled by his entire strength, had struck nothing but air.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he realized exactly what had transpired.

His time had been accelerated, and only one thing could achieve that: the strategic-grade relic reclaimed by the Royal Family, the Chronos Hourglass.

"Surprised? My apologies. Certain members of the Royal Family decided you should have died long ago. While the Night’s Edge must exist, you are no longer its leader. This relic is their investment in me," the Marquis said, wearing a mocking smile as he watched Shugin leap down from the chamber, sword raised.

"You must understand the Royal Family’s position by now. Including the descent of the God of Fear, everything was planned—a perfect opportunity for a purge, wouldn't you agree?"

"Both you and I are merely pawns, though your path leads only to the grave."

Watching the sword-wielding Shugin with cold indifference, the Marquis began to chant strange, rhythmic syllables.

Shugin did not reply; he simply channeled his aura and charged at the Marquis, who was now shielded by the Great Knight.

"Ugh!" Shugin collapsed after a single step, a muffled groan escaping his lips as his internal aura seemed to drain away, replaced by agonizing pain radiating from his aura vortex.

The power of the demons had slipped from his control; at this very moment, they were revolting.

"How..." Shugin gritted his teeth, struggling to trigger his inner potential, the Spirit Possession, but he found himself unable to do so.

With his aura depleted, his body wounded, and the demons in total mutiny, he lost all command over his own limbs; he could not fathom why they would turn on him now, when they had been silent before.

"Hmm... it is as I suspected. The reason you could command these demons was that you deceived them. You told them that if you died, or if you killed me, they would be set free to return to the Abyss."

"I merely told them the truth. You do not know the Demonic tongue, but I do. If you die, they die with you. And as for your promise to set them free, you could never do it—I am the one who engineered your inner potential."

"Only I, the one who placed them inside you, can truly release them."

"Tell me, who do you think they will listen to? Me, right?"

The Marquis offered a genuine smile, looking down at Shugin, who struggled on the ground, paralyzed by the internal chaos of the demons and the failure of his own power.

"Very well. Kill him."

The Marquis had no more words; he was tired of looking at the defiant, furious eyes of the man gasping for breath before him.

It was time to eliminate this hidden threat that had plagued him for years; no matter how perfect the creation, if it threatened him, he would excise it without hesitation.

The Great Knight stepped forward, raised his sword, and drove it down with all his might toward Shugin’s head.

Clang! A piercing sound of impact rang out, but the blade did not pierce Shugin’s skull; instead, it struck a glowing, transparent shield that shattered under the Great Knight’s strength.

A tarot card slid from the gap in Shugin’s armor: The Chariot, upright and fractured.

Shugin and the Marquis stared in shock, neither understanding how the object had appeared there.

As the shield from The Chariot faded, a second glowing card slid from Shugin’s armor: The Star, upright.

A spatial ripple distorted the air; the sword struck empty ground, and as the card shattered, Shugin’s form vanished into nothingness.