31 Chapter 31

"You asked how we lived up to today," I inquired, slicing stones into the desired shapes with my bastard sword.

Enthralled by my stone carving, Diya responded, "It all started with... To summarize, all Arphenians, regardless of gender, were trained for battle, which explains Diya's impressive fighting skills. It's also worth noting that survivors couldn't completely avoid incestuous relationships, but somehow managed to maintain this process in a somewhat sane state. I also discovered how only three Arphenians remain, as I suspected a decade ago—there were significantly more, about ten families. But they were all killed following Ceius's attack when the demon somehow found the entrance to our refuge. After that, Avdeus further enhanced the labyrinth's structure."

As I conversed with Diya, I began to carve runes, which I had seen in a book but could not understand their meaning. At least not yet, but I grasped their overall function.

"Are you finished?" Diya asked, noticing I had stopped carving the runes.

"I still need to infuse these stones with mana," I replied, looking at the ten marble knives inscribed with runes.

"Tun, can you come to me?"

"Hmm... I'll be there shortly."

Within moments, my feathered friend Tun arrived. Diya, surprised to see Tun, asked:

"Is this your bird, Daeron?"

"More like my partner," I replied, which made Tun puff up with pride. "But a troublesome bird indeed."

Tun was not pleased with the end of the conversation and literally shouted:

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Oh, how cute!" exclaimed the Arphenian princess, her eyes sparkling as she began to affectionately pet the feathered creature.

Initially shocked by her touch, Tun soon began to enjoy it as Diya scratched under his beak.

"Who's a good boy? You're a good boy!"

"Could you help me now?" I asked Tun when I managed to only fill three of the marble knives with magic.

"Just a moment!" replied Tun, clearly enjoying himself.

"We don't have much time..."

A few minutes later, Tun finally said, "Okay, I get it. Stop looking at me like that!" Flying over, he sat beside one of the knives and asked, "Just need to infuse magic into this?"

"Yes. In theory, this should help us defeat Ceius."

Tun quickly infused the remaining knives, but surprisingly, those that Tun filled glowed with a bluish haze, while those filled with my magic shone with a faint whiteness.

"All we can do now is hope these knives will help," I thought as I gathered all the marble weapons likely capable of slaying the demon.

"Alright. The weapons are ready."

Diya, seeing the results of my efforts, simply nodded decisively and led us back. Near the altar, I explained everything and handed four knives to Diya's parents, Avus and Eyvia, as I later learned their names.

Diya received two knives, and I kept two for myself, giving two to each because theirs were larger in volume, while mine were smaller and more convenient for me.

"Avdeus, I think we're ready," I told the spirit, who simply nodded and manipulated the labyrinth to create a direct path to the demon.

"Good luck," my grandfather said as a parting word.

I just smiled and replied, "Don't worry... We'll finish Ceius."

With these words, I aimed to reassure not only Avdeus but also my companions, who couldn't let me face the epic battle against Ceius alone.

According to them, they would at least help me by distracting the demon as much as possible. Under their insistence, I agreed to let them join me. So, I had to create the same weapons for this family as I had.

The direct path created by Avdeus greatly simplified our lives, as I could already sense something sinister ahead.

"I feel something sinister moving ahead... And it's moving fast," Tun, flying above, said.

"I feel it too. It must be the Blind Demon."

"Get ready," I began, noticing all three were already in a combat stance.

"We've learned to sense Ceius's presence over time," Avus explained.

"Indeed, Diya mentioned they were all trained to use magic. And they also have a magical intuition," I thought swiftly.

Meanwhile, the corridors around us began to change their structure, and ahead was an arena.

An arena ahead had quite sinister obstacles, apparently created by Avdeus to aid us.

"Even knowing his power, I can't stop being amazed by such strength... And knowing how it works... Truly a powerful grandfather," I ended with a smile that appeared spontaneously.

"Our target will be here in a few seconds," Tun communicated to me.

"Understood."

"He's already here," I said just as we heard a clap.

Suddenly, before our eyes appeared a grotesque anthropomorphic monster... Which had no eyes, just a flat surface where they should be. Where a human would have a nose, the creature had just two holes breathing deeply. And smelling something, the demon grinned ferociously, revealing two rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Then, bending as if to leap, the demon spoke in an unknown language and growled as it lunged towards us.

Before this, having coursed magic through my body, I could see his movements, just as my companions could. But if there were ordinary people here, they would have noticed nothing before lying dead.

CRASH

The collision between Ceius and Avus was audible as his armor squeaked. Surprisingly, Avus held up against the demon's assault, but counterattacking was not feasible.

"Charge!" I shouted more to myself than to others, as the other two of my allies headed towards Avus.

Diya's mother was the first to reach the demon and instantly plunged a marble knife into where a human's lungs would be.

"KUAAAAAAARRGGHHH!" Ceius screamed in agony, the site where the knife stuck began to smoke, and the runes began to glow.

"It works," a thought flashed through my mind, and I then slashed the demon's legs with my knives.

The demon, in pain, did not kneel but growled even louder, attempting to push away those who dared disrupt his battle with Avus. But Avus didn't allow it, aiming for the demon's neck, though unfortunately, the demon dodged at the last moment.

At that moment, Diya, grasping a knife in a reverse grip, stabbed it into the demon's neck from behind.

"KHAAGH," the demon choked, unable to continue his scream.

Suddenly, a huge wave of malice emanated from Ceius, and taking us seriously, he made some gestures with one hand, causing the entire magical background to tremble.

"Be careful!" I just managed to shout.

And in that moment, darkness enveloped everything...

At the moment when darkness enveloped our surroundings, I immediately tried to enhance my vision with magic. Unfortunately, it didn't help, and I was completely blind, even with my eyes magically enhanced. I then tried to sense anything in the magical aura.

Inhale

Focusing entirely on the magical aura around us... I felt nothing... I was utterly blind.

"Daeron!" Avus shouted from somewhere to the left.

"Avus?!"

"Do you see anything?" Avus asked me.

"No, absolutely nothing. I am literally blind."

I sensed Avus's irritation with the situation... Pause?

Quickly orienting myself, I began to use my Empathy. I could feel the anxiety of the women in our group, as well as Avus's slight fear. Concentrating further, I sensed something else... a terrifying intention to kill the living and destroy all that exists. A desire carrying only violence... and nothing but violence. Realizing these emotions stemmed from Ceius, I tried to pinpoint the demon's exact location.

"Tun, can you see him?" I asked in passing.

"No... I'll keep flying as high as I can," he replied.

"Damn..."

Fortunately, my efforts were not in vain as I began to vaguely discern the exact locations of my companions.

"Avus! Move back vertically! Diya, three steps to the right! Those without instructions, stay put!" I quickly instructed.

All the Arphenians swiftly followed my directions, and soon we stood back to back.

"Be ready for the attack!"

The Arphenians exuded confidence, as if my words had instilled a measure of courage in them. At that moment, I sensed Ceius starting to move. Reacting to this, I accelerated my perception with magic to better sense from where and how this hellspawn would strike.

"Fortify your bodies with magic."

The Arphenians resolutely followed my orders, and now all the Arphenians and one human stood strengthened by magic.

"Avus! In front of you!" I shouted quickly, and the man promptly complied.

We immediately heard the sound of Ceius's claws clashing with a blade.

"RAAAAARGH!" the creature growled, displeased that it failed to kill.

Without wasting time, Avus shouted:

"KNIFE!"

I instantly handed him the knife that jabbed into my side, and Avus swiftly plunged it into Ceius's body.

"SKYAAAAAAR!" Ceius screamed in agony.

Sound of a broken blade

A moment later, I heard the demon, retreating, break the marble knife. I began to sense that Ceius, furious from the injuries, was devising his next attack strategy.

"DIYA! To your right!"

As I shouted about Ceius's next move, I heard the sounds of the girl colliding with the demon.

"Damn! He really is annoying!" Diya said discontentedly, having missed hitting the demon with her knife.

"Avus! To your left!" Without waiting for Diya's response, I quickly issued the next command as Ceius did not wait for us.

The next clash with the demon at Avus's position turned out quite poorly, and I realized this when I sensed fear from Avus and anticipation from the demon.

Quickly pulling Avus towards me, I immediately aimed at the enemy I felt in front of me.

SWOOSH

A swipe of the knife, and in one stroke Ceius lost the fingers on his hands, judging by the number of items that fell.

"RYAAAAAARGH!"

Suddenly, on pure reflex, I jumped back. But I couldn't fully dodge the strike as I felt a slight burn under my right eye.

"Dog!"

"RAAAAARGH!" the demon roared, full of rage, swinging again.

But I didn't give him time for his swing as I aimed for Ceius's lower limbs. However, the strike I delivered only hit air, as the demon quickly increased the distance between us.

"Daeron... Hang on a little longer; I'm about to fully activate the labyrinth..." Avdeus spoke.

"Understood..." was all I could reply, preparing for Ceius's next strike.

Sigh-Exhale

Calming myself and ignoring the pain in my body from using magic for so long.

"Do you not feel fatigue from the magic?" I asked my companions, trying to lighten the atmosphere somehow.

Alas, I was not destined to hear a reply, as Ceius began to act anew.

"Diya! In front!"

"Roger that!" Diya responded, and a moment later, there was a sound of collision.

"Avus! To your left!"

And soon after, sounds of collision came from another part of our group. Apparently, this damned demon decided to wear us down...

"Damn! He can sense the magic!" I thought to myself, aware that Arfenyan also possessed slightly more magic than I did.

I had no time to ponder how this demon might think, for I sensed that Ceius was moving towards me. Habitually preparing my blade for a block or parry, I failed to notice that the magic from Ceius was growing much stronger.

This mistake cost me dearly as Ceius's claws released an energy wave in the form of five arcs that viciously slashed across my torso.

"Cough Damn it... It hurts so bad..." I gasped, clutching my wounded chest.

In the moment I grasped my chest in pain, I had forgotten something important... Ceius was still towering over me, and now another surge of magic was gathering to strike off my head.

"Goodness gracious... Cough... And to think we had just... begun..." I murmured, consciousness fading, hanging on by sheer willpower.

Ceius's claw was already flying towards me, but I kept my eyes open; to close them would be to show fear.

"Heh... It was almost—" I couldn't finish my thought, as runes lit up all around.

The magic Ceius had gathered was now, apparently, being absorbed by the runes and perhaps the surroundings. And the darkness began to dissipate...

"Faster!" I yelled as Diya plunged her marble dagger into Ceius's head.

"Damn... Must make one final effort..." I thought, seeing Ceius writhing in pain and aiming at Diya.

Taking the knife and assuming a precise stance.

"This is the end for you... Cough... Goodbye." I concluded, throwing the knife.

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Chapter 43 has already been published