CHAPTER 66: DEFIANCE THAT BREAKS THE DARKNESS.

Nero let out a shrill roar that cut through the serenity of the night.

His rotting body bulged and burst, blackened blood seeping from his wounds.

And yet, it refused to fall.

He heaved his decaying body back.

His bloodied fist wrapped around the shaft of the spear adorned with decorative runes.

His blood was absorbed through the crevices and paths within the surface of the spear’s shaft.

The spear flashed with a glow.

Nero felt the cold metal leave his hand.

Like a bolt of lightning shot onto the surface of the earth, the spear traveled.

The spearhead was rather sharp, and in a split moment, it smashed into the head of the fat Gargoyle.

Instantly, a strange thing happened.

Nero felt an illusory connection blossom into existence between himself and the spear.

It was strange and faint.

But it was there.

And that as not all...

The spear shattered the head of the first Gargoyle like it was made of brittle sand.

The beast heaved back, the chalice of stone in its grip falling to the ground with a loud boom, creating a shockwave.

Falling to the ground, Nero, now completely blind, reached into his satchel with whatever dying ebbs of strength in him.

In it were three Essence Pills.

Without hesitation, he brought them to his mouth and swallowed. Although his throat has begun to decompose, the blood and pus let the pill slide down easily.

In an instant, the warmth traveled from his belly and into everything other part of his body.

Nero let out a groan.

The rate at which his body began to regenerate was astonishing.

His muscle fibers began to knit themselves back into existence, his blood clotting to form his blood vessels.

The rot that had pervaded his body was driven out as the healing properties of the pills worked their magic.

In mere moments, his sight and sensation of feeling had returned.

He gasped deeply as his breathing returned to normal.

***

{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain the Weakened General of Wind, Balthamos}

Seals of Sin: (115/1000).

***

Hearing those words, Nero’s mind turned serene and blank.

And in that blankness, a single purpose was etched.

He was in a state of semi-consciousness, where all he could think of was a single thing.

Instinctively, he stretched his hand out.

The runes on the body of Gungnir glowed as the spear hummed.

Wriggling itself free off the ground, it shot right back into Nero’s grip.

The slender Demon screeched and shot at Nero.

Twirling the spear, Nero blocked the Demon’s frenzied attacks.

It was as though he had been born to wield a spear. It had become an extension of his own body.

The spear was him and he was the spear.

The spearhead hummed as he stabbed forward. The tip smashed into a shoulder of the Gargoyle, piercing a hole right through it.

The Gargoyle swung its other blades limb at Nero, but the Silver Blade in his other hand blocked it.

Sparks flew between human and Demon.

The hollow eyes of the Demon was reflected in Nero’s dark, blank eyes.

In their depths, a golden symbol shone.

Suddenly, the body of the stone Demon trembled.

How long had it been?

It had spent a thousand years recovering in the depths of a dead hollow tree.

It has been sealed there by the Demon King, Baal after a battle against a high Seraph.

Against all odds, it has survived. It had survived a direct strike from an Angel.

It had escaped— reborn into a world where the treacherous Divinity no longer existed!

And yet here...

Here, it could see that same wretched glow.

The golden glare that had once condemned it to a thousand years of suffering.

The maw of the slender Demon stretched open in rage as its strength blossomed, its energy spiralling out of control.

Nero’s eyes remained blank as he fought against the onslaught.

His arms turned into a blur as the spear and blade clashed against the stone.

And then...

The sharp sound of something shattering.

The arms of the slender Demon had been shattered to pieces.

BANG!

A heavy forward thrust.

The entire chest section of the Demon was blown away.

The remnants of the Gargoyle crumbled to the ground.

***

{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain the Weakened General of Water, Arndropheus}.

Seals of Sin: (120/1000).

***

A sharp breath shot out through his lips.

There was a heavy roaring sound as the third beast descended upon him.

The second maw of the amalgam stretched open, the teeth around the mouth grinding viciously.

Nero placed the spear about him even as the entire weight of the Gargoyle collapsed into him.

His blackened muscles bulged as his knees smashed into the hard ground.

A guttural growl rumbled through his throat as he pushed.

He paused with all his might.

The growl turned into an earsplitting roar.

Gungnir glowed a deep crimson, resonating with the blood boiling in his veins.

It shot up, pushing the weight of the Demon away.

Then it shot into the sky.

The trail of air around it burned viciously as it cut through the night sky.

Nero stretched his arm towards the heavens, his face obscured by the shadows created by the glare of the crimson lightning and flames.

A show of defiance that breaks through even the darkest abyss.

Like it possessed a mind of its own, Gungnir fell.

The Gargoyle raised its horn to the sky.

It glowed a deep, scalding white.

Bolts of lightning arced around the stone. Its stinger distorted the flow of air around it as the air pressure began to build so much, the surrounding stones and rocks shattered. And then...

A beam of lightning shot into the night sky at the descending spear.

The two collided mid air.

Despite the obstruction, the spear continued unimpeded, the blaze around it turning more and more vicious.

The Demon tried to steady itself, the bolt of lightning becoming even thicker.

But it could do nothing to stop the descent of the spear.

With a sound like the herald of an catastrophe, the spear struck, shattering the horn of stone and shooting right through the Demon from the crown of its head.

***

{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain the Weakened General of Lightning, Lumintos}.

Seals of Sin: 125/1000.

{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain the Weakened General of Thunder, Parasis}.

Seals of Sin: 130/1000.

***