The Damned Demon

A sudden silence blanketed the crowd. The air became suffocatingly heavy as everyone watched, wide-eyed and frozen, at the impossible scenario unfolding before them. It was as if time itself had stopped to bear witness to this surreal spectacle.

Varg stood paralyzed, his claw inches from Ceti's throat while his eyes were tremoring.

Unexpectedly, Ceti's hand, which looked fragile and weak just moments ago, shot up and gripped his enormous wrist with an iron-like strength.

Her eyes snapped open, emitting a breathtaking yet deadly blood red light that illuminated the dark tunnel while her scarlet hair began to turn white.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

Her body, frail and debilitated, suddenly began to radiate a blood red light.

It was like a dormant volcano, once tranquil and deceptive, now abruptly exploding into an unrestrained display of power and majesty.

A convulsion seized her, and a cloak of ethereal white fur began to spread across her skin, replacing the red hue.

Her body convulsed once more, bones realigning and muscles contracting, her form undergoing a radical and rapid transformation.

Her slender figure gave way to a muscular, imposing stature. Her stature towered over all present, including Varg who had to look up to meet her gaze.

Her previously delicate features had transformed into a more ferocious countenance. Her eyes, now blood red, beautiful yet deadly, glowed with a ferocious intensity.

The aura around her was imposing, the raw power radiating from her making everyone have their legs tremble.

It was as if the air around her rippled with her power, crackling with an otherworldly energy.

The air grew heavy, the aura she emitted was suffocating, a typhoon of power that made even the bravest of hearts quake.

She stood there, towering at 8 feet tall, an epitome of primal power and beauty. Her blood-red eyes gleamed dangerously, like a wolf under the moonlight, fierce and formidable.

With Ceti's sudden transformation, the atmosphere turned oppressive.

The killing intent was palpable in the air, causing Varg to gasp for breath and his legs to tremble, "I-Impossible…You can't be…" Varg's eyes shone with recognition, but the shock was too much for him to cough out his words.

For a moment, Ceti merely looked down at Varg, her blood-red eyes glowing with a calm rage. Her voice echoed ominously in the still tunnel, "Your pitiful existence was always destined to be snuffed out by my hand."

*Crchk!*

And with a swift, effortless motion, she broke Varg's wrist, causing him to let out a low grunt of pain.

*Riiip!*

Before anyone could react, her claw plunged into Varg's chest, tearing out his heart and casually dropping it with a savage grace that left everyone in stunned silence.

Varg's dark green eyes widened in horror and shock as his body collapsed onto the ground.

In the wake of Varg's untimely demise, the assembled crowd of Hunters and Demons could only watch in horrified silence.

Each gaze met with her tall figure, eyes wide with terror, bodies paralyzed by fear.

The strength she demonstrated and the crushing aura pressing down on them were clear signs that she was a peak Soul Devourer!

Was this a hallucination, a shared illusion of desperation?

Those who knew about the Royal Battlemaster also knew that she wasn't a Soul Devourer and couldn't even transform into her werewolf form.

Impossible, they thought, yet their trembling hearts confirmed the reality.

In the chilling silence, she slowly glanced over the crowd. A sea of faces etched with fear, their once menacing auras now feeble in comparison to hers. Her gaze was sharp and cold, a predator surveying her helpless prey.

They couldn't even open their mouths to beg for mercy nor move their legs to turn around and run away.

Ceti raised her hand and merely flicked her fingers, making the air shimmer with a blood-red light.

An invisible, deafening wave of power cascaded over the crowd. It was swift, like a storm sweeping across a barren field, a gust of wind tearing through the silence.

Before they could even blink, all kinds of lacerations and wounds magically slashed through the bodies of each Hunter and Demon.

Some of the wounds seemed like they came from weapons like swords, spears, serrated blades, while others seemed as if they were caused by mana attacks.

The crowd dropped to the ground one after the other, like dominos, their life essence extinguished in an instant. The sight was horrifying yet oddly mesmerizing, a grim ballet of death orchestrated by her.

No pleas for mercy were uttered, no desperate attempts to escape, just the sound of bodies hitting the ground, echoing throughout the area. One second they were all alive, but the next, they weren't.

Anyone who had seen this would feel as if death had swept through the crowd of powerful Hunters and Demons in an instant.

Ceti cast a nonchalant glance over the sea of corpses.

Turning her attention away from the carnage, her gaze fell upon the unconscious form of Asher.

Her towering form began to shift and compress, flowing like silver liquid under the luminescent light of the cavern.

Bones reformed, muscle retreated, and fur retracted into the flesh, reducing the towering figure back to a slender, humanoid silhouette.

Her transformation was seamless, a beautiful yet terrifying spectacle, while her previously red hair was now a radiant white that flowed down her waist.

Now standing nude in the silence, her silhouette was nothing less than a goddess of war, majestic and formidable. Her skin was flawless, without any injuries or bruises, while her delicate features seemed to carry more elegance than usual.

With a soft shake of her head, she crouched beside Asher's unconscious form, her eyes brimming with a strange mixture of annoyance and concern, "Really now, Asher," she chastised in a piqued tone, her eyes scanning his numerous injuries, "Did you really have to go and wake me up this early? I can't believe you've made me deal with these insignificant things, when you have yet to face the real danger," Her gaze suddenly became glazed as she added, "Or maybe…you are destined to face that alone…"

Her expression softened as she gently touched his face, her fingers brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen across his eyes, "I guess I am being a bit too harsh," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper, "This wasn't your fault after all."

Her gaze fixed on his peaceful face, a sense of resolve washed over her, "You better not die on me. I can't afford to wake up again for a long time," A small, soft smile played on her lips as she continued, "I'm really looking forward to seeing you become the strongest again. It's a day I'll eagerly wait for and the day we can finally..." Her words trailed off as she bit down on her lip.

No sooner had she uttered these words than a coughing fit seized her, a splatter of crimson blood staining her lips.

Her face paled as she wiped away the blood, a flicker of annoyance crossing her features, "Why does time have to be so short," she grumbled, her voice growing fainter.

At the same time, the bruises and the injury on her shoulder from earlier began to magically appear on her body.

Ceti's body slumped to the ground beside Asher as her hair began to turn scarlet and flow upwards into a ponytail on its own.

As she lay there, her gaze never left him, her blood red eyes reflecting his serene face until they slowly closed.

Moments later, the chilling stillness of the place was disturbed by a soft moan.

Ceti's eyelids fluttered open, revealing dark blue eyes clouded with confusion and pain.

She attempted to push herself up, but a sharp pain coursed through her body, making her wince and unable to move even her limbs.

But she was shocked she was still breathing when she thought she had died.

As her eyes scanned the area, they widened in horror upon seeing the gruesome and shocking sight.

Strewn all around her were corpses of Hunters and Demons, a scene right out of a horrifying nightmare.

Her breath hitched as she struggled to comprehend what had occurred or who did this while her gaze darted around the lifeless bodies.

But her heart pounded in her chest as her gaze landed on Asher's unconscious form beside her.

Ignoring the pain surging through her, she mustered the strength to reach out a trembling hand toward him.

She had to know if he was alright. Her hand barely made contact when Asher let out a soft grunt, his eyes slowly flickering open.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips as she weakly called out to him, "Your Highness..." her voice was barely audible, yet filled with palpable relief, "Are you…alright?"

Asher turned towards Ceti, when he noticed her calling out to him, her face white as a sheet.

He was astonished she was conscious and he was still breathing after suddenly getting knocked out.

However, he gathered his thoughts and moved closer, steadying her against the wall. A quick check told him her condition was weak but surprisingly stable, the sickness that had plagued her earlier seemed to have wreaked havoc inside her body but no longer seemed to be killing her.

He also realized that his injuries had stabilized magically and no longer pulled him down.

But his attention was immediately drawn to the surrounding scene.

Dead bodies of Hunters and Demons lay scattered around them in a grotesque display.

The extent of carnage hinted at a battle of colossal proportions, yet he observed there were no signs of struggle from these dead people, and the surroundings were intact.

Usually, if someone or some people killed all these powerful people, the mana in the air would be a chaotic mix of radiant and demonic mana. Yet, the air was as calm as a pool.

This made him knit his brows, "Who... did this?" he questioned aloud, trying to piece together the puzzle.

His gaze then fell on a large mound of glimmering Deviar Shards lying untouched.

He pushed himself off the ground and walked towards it, his eyes reflecting a tinge of incredulity, "Looks like whoever saved us was not just powerful but also benevolent enough to leave us with all these Deviar Shards," he mused aloud, an underlying note of suspicion in his tone. The amount of Shards and the chaotic scene hinted towards a Demon's involvement for sure.

His MP was also miraculously full and this mysterious savior probably even removed the poison from Ceti's body.

But he couldn't think of any demon who was this powerful to help them.

Ceti, on the other hand, had her mouth part as she looked at the sight with a trembling gaze.

Asher turned around and noticed her strange look before asking with knitted brows, "Can you make any sense of this?"

"I…I feel like I have seen something like this before…" Ceti mumbled with a look of confusion and uncertainty.