Ch 24

Areth immediately flew toward the enemy. He crossed the massive lake of molten materials and flew into the distance.

A few minutes later, he arrived on a land smudged with bubbling flesh. The massive puddle was coalescing into a black orb. The tiny orb produced a rhythmic beat, releasing a weak wave of dark mana.

Naturally, Areth would not wait for it to fully transform. He sent a light sword to destroy it, and unexpectedly, the small orb which had turned into a heart was able to move out of the way. It simply relocated itself using teleport.

The heart was formed successfully. All the melted flesh rose up and gathered around it. They condensed into a massive fetus.

"Was it you who woke me up on my slumber?"

The fetus glared Areth.

Areth simply looked at it with contempt.

"Well c'mon then and do something about it."

Areth sent numerous lightning beams toward the fetus. The attacks created large holes on its body, and it nearly disappeared from the bombardment.

However, the holes healed instantly. His attack was rendered futile, just like attacking water.

Furthermore, the fetus was was starting to grow. The limbs matured and muscles started forming on its abdomen. Finally, the chubby face transformed into that of a handsome young man, with long black hair and a pair of horns curling upwards.

Three pairs of feathery black wings grew from his back, one pair covering up his naked lower body, and the remaining wings spread out fully, releasing baleful mana.

"You seem quite powerful." The demon said. "My powers are weakened by your mana. But do not think that it is enough to kill me."

"Alright, I'll give you a chance, perform as you like." Areth said.

The demon extended his hand toward the sky. The black clouds churned and lightning streaked across, a giant thunderstorm was forming.

With a blinding flash, a lighting descended on his hand accompanied by a crack of thunder.

With a towering sword made of lightning, the demon slashed down.

Areth allowed the lightning blade to land on his barrier. The part that came into contact with it disappeared and the remaining energy descended on the ground and formed a massive fissure.

"Impressive!" The voice sounded from behind. Another lightning blade slashed down, but Areth disappeared from his position.

In the sky, Areth pointed his index finger, mimicking a gun. A ray of light shot forth and decimated the demon. Areth waved his hand horizontally, the the laser followed his motion and drew a line on the ground. The light thinned down and condensed to the size of a finger.

Areth slashed again toward the demon who emerged unscathed.

The thin laser went through the demon, dissecting it from top to bottom. A clean straight line emerged at the middle, but the wounds already healed the moment the laser passed through the demon's body.

Areth had noticed this ridiculous regeneration speed. Perhaps it was more accurate to call it reversing time.

"That's some sick ability you have there, kid." Area said.

The demon did not reply. It spread its wings and produced countless dark orbs in the air. Though some of the orbs were corroded by the golden mana, their numbers were still appalling.

They covered the area of several miles forming a dense cluster, the demon even fortified space to prevent teleportation.

"Die!"

The orbs expanded and released purple beams to the sky. The numerous beams simply combined to form a giant pilar rising to the heavens. The massive beam penetrated the dark clouds and light shone from the gap.

The beam disintegrated and Areth remained in his original position. A sigh was heard and his voice reached the demon.

"Forget it. There's no way for you to defeat me at your current level."

Areth fanned using his hand and the demon was diced into countless parts, each part was as small as the size of a finger nail.

The demon's doubtful face remained even as he was cut into thousands of pieces. His eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

Areth performed a backhand wave. The demon was further divided into smaller pieces, they were starting to disperse in the air like grains of sand..

The demon tried countless times, his flesh reaching out to each other to reconnect, yet there seem to be a massive gap in between. His flesh could not reach out to each other.

While he was fumbling about, he heard a chuckle.

"You are wondering why regeneration took too so long, am I right?" Areth did not wait for the demon to reply, because he's basically just dust particles by now, barely alive.

"I merely created 'distance' between them. Do you get it now? Don't worry though, you can try putting them back together in a million years, Hahahaha!"

Even reversing his own body's time did not help the demon. Now he could faintly smell death. He thought that he was powerful enough, that he was a genuine immortal. This was the first time he felt fear.

Areth snapped his fingers, the remaining pieces disappeared and turned into dark mana which were then corroded by the ambient mana in the air. After a while, the demon was erased from existence.

However, Areth's expression was grave. He felt like he now knew how the demons came to be. Every demon he had encountered all have the same kind of mana. Although some were slightly tweaked by their own unique personalities, they possess a general characteristic.

Areth's own mana also have its own uniqueness, just like the dark mana with can permeate to living things.

Areth looked at where the demon disappeared, wondering what else is there in this massive world. He regretted not beginning his exploration in the past, simply because he thought he had seen everything.

Areth returned to where he came from. When he arrived, he saw that the vicinity of the rift was already cleared and the military had put a barricade. They would wait for an entire day before sending people to explore, meanwhile, they were settling the damaged properties and removing hazards.

His split soul returned to his original body.

"Areth, blood." Christine noticed his nose and mouth bleeding and pointed out worriedly.

Anne examined him carefully. His organs seem fine, if it was exhaustion, blood wouldn't have came from his mouth.

Areth dismissed their worried look. "I'm tired, and I think I've just bitten my tongue."

'Kid, just sleep. It's normal to feel stressed in this situation. That's why you should train while you still have the leisure. If the demons invade this world...it would be worse than this.' Leyfin said.

'Alright, I will strive to learn.'

They stayed in the sanctuary for an entire night, healthcare personnels did rounds to the injured and distributed provisions.

They were then allowed return the next day.

There parents brought them home. Areth also met Anne's father, who have a buff build and an intimidating face. He was also a B rank Hunter like his father.

"See ya later, Areth! Rest well."

"Take care!"

Hendrick bought the three into the car and went to their district's Sanctuary for Sarah. Although the Monster tide did not reach the area thanks to the effort of valiant hunters, everyone took the threat seriously.

Soon they all returned home, glad that everyone returned safely and that their house was still intact.