Chapter 77: AwakeningArmaros rose from the debris of rocks that rose from his impact with the rocky hill, his aura, and expression showing nothing but bloodlust and anger.

    I kept kneeling on the ground, trying to absorb the lunar energy like Yoru had asked me to, but it wasn’t an easy task to focus on while a devil stood in front of me with such an intimidating aura. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It’s been a while now... Since you started messing with my plans, rat..." the devil muttered as blood dripped from his chest due to Yoru’s attack.

    "And now... You are trying to awaken right in front of me!? INSOLENCE!" Armaros yelled with a deep and loud voice.

    At that moment, I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.

    ’Awakening?’ I thought, trying to keep the focus on the lunar energy coursing through my body.

    Armaros launched himself at me once more, his movements much quicker than before, but Yoru was acting like a wall for me.

    Any shadow projectile coming my way was instantly absorbed, and all of his approaches were met with Yoru’s claws that sliced through the air with lunar energy.

    ’Come on, Ichiro! Yoru needs me!’ I thought, giving myself some moral support, unable to watch them fighting any longer without my help.

    Right on time, Vespera and Melina arrived at the scene and saw me kneeling on the ground, struggling to synthesize the crazy amount of energy that flowed through my body.

    "Are you okay!?" Melina said while quickly approaching me, but was halted by Vespera.

    "He is fine! We need to protect him until he finishes there..." My spider companion responded, seemingly aware of what I was trying to do.

    As they both joined the fight with Yoru against Armaros, all I could do was kneel o the ground and overcome the pain and discomfort the lunar energy gave me.

    At one moment, Armaros released a massive shockwave of shadows that were too much for Yoru to absorb, hitting everyone around him and sending them flying away a few meters back.

    Melina crashed her back into a tree, leaving her guard wide open as the devil rushed toward her, his black sword raised in the air and his deranged, evil grin that made him drool as he ran.

    ’No...’ Was the only thing that came to my fully blank mind.

    "Don’t you dare..." I muttered. The wild lunar energy surrounding me became a uniform and thin hue of turquoise light radiating from my body.

    Faster than the blink of an eye, I appeared right in front of Melina, holding my bo to the front, deflecting Armaros sword attack and pushing him back.

    Melina looked up at me with a surprised expression. I hadn’t noticed at that time, but she later told me that my entire body was radiating electric currents, and the energy that coursed through me made my hair and clothes flow.

    My eyes looked shiny, I didn’t show any expressions other than serious or angry, and the same runic marks that Yoru had on his body were now etched all over me.

    "What the hell do you think you are doing?" I asked the devil calmly as he rose from the ground after I pushed him back.

    Armaros expressed a hint of worry, which was the first time he had shown anything other than arrogance.

    "He’s awakened..." Vespera said.

    As soon as the devil tried to move a step towards me, I was already right in front of him, slamming my bo against his forehead, breaking one of his horns, and pushing him back even further.

    Armaros rose again, grasping his broken horn and letting out a maniacal laugh.

    "Who would have thought... Now it will be more beneficial for me to kill you!

    Once I’m done with you all, and I take this whole kingdom for myself, I’m sure Lord Xalathas will turn me into a General!" he exclaimed with airs of arrogance and delusion.

    I didn’t know what he meant, but my mind wasn’t thinking about anything at that moment. All I could feel was the lunar energy coursing my body and the environment.

    However, just as I rushed for another attack, the aura around his body grew even more potent, making me stop momentarily as the shadows enveloped the devil into a massive ball of darkness.

    A few seconds later, the shadows dispersed, showing Armaros in his final form.

    A much bigger version of his body, his broken horn had grown back, and they looked much more prominent than before.

    His eyes glowed red, his hands showed long and deathly claws and his expression said nothing but hatred.

    With the moon shining over our battlefield at the top of the hill, we both rushed at each other, and in the blink of an eye, we exchanged blows at a speed I wouldn’t have been able to keep up in my normal form.

    Armaros quickly stepped to the back and shot a shadowy projectile at me. However, I was able to deflect it to the side with the back of my hand, slapping it away like a flea.

    Right then, I felt a slight flicker in the energy inside of me.

    ’Am I running out of time?’ I wondered before starting another onslaught of attacks toward the devil.

    I was faster. While Armaros was able to defend against some of my attacks, others connected, hitting his face and torso.

    Right in the middle of my barrage, I felt the flicker again, allowing Armaros to deflect my bo to the side, leaving me wide open for an attack.

    The devil sliced his weapon to the side while I took a step back, slashing the side of my torso and cutting through my magical poncho.

    Holding the injury with one hand, I heard my companions on the sidelines.

    "If he starts losing the energy, we need to give him ours..." Vespera said before continuing her explanation that I couldn’t listen to clearly.

    But I had no time to focus on their words as Armaros kept attacking me in a crazed state while I calmly avoided his attacks.

    I got hit once, and that was okay. I didn’t expect to fight a devil and come out completely unscathed, so I didn’t let the wound get to my head. Instead, I had to focus more so I could finish it faster.

    Stepping away from his barrage, I stowed my bo away in my void pocket.

    "Giving up already!?" the devil yelled, seeing me storing my weapon.

    "Give up? I’m just about to end this..." I said as I clenched my fists, the lunar energy emanating from them like a turquoise fire.

    In that quick moment that felt like a second, Armaros rushed toward me with his deranged smile and his sword in hand.

    I exhaled and focused on the energy in my body, sending all of it toward my hand and materializing a shiny, turquoise sword that seemed to reflect the moon’s light with intensity.

    However, just as the sword materialized, I felt the flicker again, telling me my time was running out.

    ’Just a little more...’ I thought, but I wasn’t able to finish my reasoning when I felt a sudden surge in my power.

    Turning my eyes slightly to the side, I saw Vespera and Melina with their hands pointed toward me with a trail of lunar energy that was being absorbed by my body.

    Armaros appeared in front of me, his sword raised over his head as the blade in my hands finished materializing.

    However, just as he brought his arm down to end me, Yoru emerged from my shadow and sliced his arm off, making him yell and step back as he grasped the area where his arm used to be.

    Just before he could complain, I rushed and stabbed through his chest with the massive lunar sword that had fully materialized in my hands.

    Armaros stood before me as my blade pierced his chest, my body trembling with exhaustion.

    "It’s over..." I muttered, but the devil just grinned and raised his hand, placing it in my head.

    At that moment, it was like he had transported both of us into a different dimension.

    Everything was black, and I couldn’t see anything, not even the sword I held seconds ago.

    The only one I could see was Armaros, standing in front of me with a hole in his chest and his cut-off arm bleeding profusely with an evil grin.

    "What is this...?" I asked, noticing that the lunar energy that coursed through my body before was all gone, and I looked like my usual self.

    Suddenly, the scenery changed, and we found ourselves somewhere in End Forest, but it wasn’t the real deal, as I could tell it was all an illusion.

    "Is this a final desperate attempt?" I asked.

    Armaros laughed while coughing blood. "Desperate attempt? Rat, who the hell do you think I am?" he responded.

    "I merely brought you here to show you despair... I may be gone, but it’s still not over for you..." he continued, followed by a maniacal laugh.