"E- Elder Tilrith did what...?" Demon Lord Kirgil gasped in shock.
He couldn't believe what his own ears heard, but Rex didn't seem to be joking around.
A confident, and jarring smile adorned Rex's face, depicting that he was absolutely certain and even looked slightly eager to convey the news. But it couldn't be. In Demon Lord Kirgil's point of view, the Elders were all hostile towards him except for Elder Tilrith.
Demon Lord Kirgil didn't bow to their rules, wanting to live a free life as a conqueror should.
Obviously, this irked the Elders, branding him as a parasite.
But it was different for Elder Tilrith, she had never shown any kind of contempt towards him.
Not a hint of annoyance, contempt, or even killing intent came from her. Demon Lord Kirgil always saw her wearing an understanding smile on her beautiful face whenever she traversed into his vision deliberately or accidentally.
Out of all of the Elders, at the very least, she was indifferent towards him.
Due to that, it was very hard to believe that it was Elder Tilrith herself who asked Rex and his pack to dispatch the Rastrikan Demons. The beautiful Demoness who was the dime and also the leader of the current Demon King turns out to be the snake itself.
Gulping harshly, Demon Lord Kirgil then frowned in defiance.
"No, you're lying... She- She always prioritizes the futures of Demons!" He argued back.
But this made Rex's smiles even wider, it seemed Demon Lord Kirgil was blinded by his own desperation and didn't realize even though the answer was clear already. "Precisely..." Rex grinned mischievously. "Shouldn't the answer be clear already? You said it yourself, Elder Tilrith always prioritizes the futures of Demons above all else"
"Doesn't that mean she simply finds you worthless for the Demon Race's future?" He added.
Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Kirgil's eyes widened.
A sense of doubt and dread started to arise within him, thinking that Elder Tilrith was being fake towards him all this time. On one side, he refuses to believe that Elder Tilrith was the one behind all of this. But on the other, he also finds Rex is very convincing right now.
Lowering his gaze to the watery ground, his pupils trembled, shaken to the core.
It was too much for his mind to handle.
Maybe when he was still fresh and strong, this sense of dread and helplessness could be replaced by anger as he would try to survive in the hope that he could confront Elder Tilrith about this treachery.
But right now, none of that sensation was present.
Raising his gaze once again, he regained some hope that this was nothing but fabricated.
"Do you think you can fool me, Werewolf? The Dwarves gained your favor, so you must be attacking us to protect them, not because of Elder Tilrith's request. It would take a lot more to deceive me your wretched bastard!" Demon Lord Kirgil barked in a mocking tone.
Upon hearing this, Rex chuckled, seeing Demon Lord Kirgil being desperate for justification.
His mind is everywhere, and he wants to believe anything but the truth.
"Correct, the Dwarves is under me. But don't you think at this point, with all the destructions I caused to the entire Rastrikan Demons, Elder Tilrith should come to your aid or at least send some help if she was not involved in this...?" Rex asked back, still a devious smirk plastered on his face.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWhen he heard this, Demon Lord Kirgil choked as he couldn't rebut Rex's words.
A permanent death of Demon Lords should alert the others.
Since the Demons were connected to their home and could be revived even after death, if one soul didn't come back, then it should've been noticed, especially when Elder Tilrith is the current ruler of the Demon Kingdom.
Out of everyone, she should've been the first one to notice this.
But where are the reinforcements?
Moreover, Demon Lord Kirgil also remembered the brief exchange he had with Elder Tilrith.
Instead of listening to him, she cuts the communication one-sidedly.
Rex observed as Demon Lord Kirgil's expression darkened and darkened by the second, showing that he was starting to realize that Elder Tilrith was not as good as he thought, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. However, I must say that you put too much trust in your leader for a rebellious force..."
Just like that, Demon Lord Kirgil's newfound hope was shattered into a million shards.
Nothing could rebut Rex's words and justify Elder Tilrith's action.
Slowly but surely, Demon Lord Kirgil started to realize that he couldn't do anything to get out of this situation when his own leader was not on his side. It was a total defeat, and now, his face rests in his enemy's hands.
"I'm defeated..." He whispered silently.
Despite muttering it very lightly, Rex caught him admitting defeat and smiled in triumph.
Only when defeat started to settle in Demon Lord Kirgil's mind dominantly that Rex pivot his body around and strode away. He rests his hand on the handle of Silver Eye and pulls it out of the ground, sparking a blinding white light.
Swish!
A powerful radiance of holy energy coated the entirety of the blade.
Earlier while waiting for Demon Lord Kirgil's arrival, Rex already told Adhara and Ryze that he was going to make an example out of Demon Lord Kirgil who boasts of a fearsome reputation for in the future, none would doubt his strength ever again.
However, both of them doesn't know how he would do that.
Adhara is very curious, while Ryze is somewhat scared of what Rex is about to do.
Holding the Silver Eye in his grasp, Red drew its tip across the ground as he approached, etching a delicate line into the earth. He came to a halt before Demon Lord Kirgil, who had come to terms with the fact that this moment would mark the end of his millennia-long existence.
"Do you have any last words...?" Rex asked, a courtesy before the final act.
Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Kirgil sighed, "Just make it swift, end this misery for me..."
Rex frowned in confusion when he heard this.
On the other hand, finding that Rex didn't answer, Demon Lord Kirgil raised his gaze in confusion. But then, Rex squinted as his confusion turned into a savage smirk, "End your misery...? I think you've misunderstood me, I'm not going to kill you"
"Eh...?" Demon Lord Kirgil's pupils dilated when he heard this.
But following that, Rex thrust the Silver Eye and destroyed Demon Lord Kirgil's Sin Epicenter.
Crash!
Gazing down at his torso, Demon Lord Kirgil gritted his teeth in pain.
"What in the Origin's name are you doing?! You should've destroyed my heart first before destroying my Sin Epicenter!" Demon Lord Kirgil exclaimed, feeling a climbing uneasiness from what Rex was about to do to him which seemed to be a fate even worse than death.
As a Demon's heart possesses the ability to heal the Sin Epicenter, this is a wrong move.
However, Rex seemed to intend to do this.
It was his plan all along to not kill Demon Lord Kirgil, his fate would be way worse than that of Mazel and Aructh to the point that when Rex is finished with him, Mazel and Aructh would be thankful that they were not in his shoes.
"Along your arrogant stampede, countless Supernaturals' lives were taken" Rex said lightly.
He then pulled back before a glow could be seen on his palm.
<Holy Soul Shattering rune is ready to be engraved>
Upon preparing the rune that he bought specifically for this at a hefty 25,000 gold, he stretched out his hand and engraved the rune on Demon Lord Kirgil's chest. He then continued, "I am the embodiment of their wraths, and thus, death is too light of a punishment for you. So instead, I would be making a display out of you"
<The target has been engraved with the Holy Soul Shattering rune!>
<Please cast a soul attack on the target to activate the Holy Soul Shattering rune's effect>
Rex nodded his head before his eyes glowed with a sinister light.
Now that the System had already given him the instruction, he stepped back and smirked.
Demon Lord Kirgil felt an overwhelming unease when he saw this smirk, but his unease didn't last long as an ominous chant that sent chills down his spine escaped Rex's lips, "Decimation Fervor..."
Swish...
Instantly after the chant, a weird phenomenon occurred.
Adhara and Ryze bear witness as countless red lights glowed from beneath the watery grounds, surrounding Demon Lord Kirgil who writhed in agony, unaware of the grim fate that loomed before him in a circle.
"What's going on?" Ryze mused in confusion.
On the other hand, Adhara squinted her eyes and muttered, "It's the Demons' carcasses..."
Just earlier before Demon Lord Kirgil arrived here, the Rastrikan Demons that were revived within Caraptaros were met with Rex and got mercilessly slaughtered with the Silver Eye, killing them permanently.
Most of them sunk into the watery ground, and Demon Lord Kirgil didn't realize it.
Following the red glow from these carcasses was a spirit-like entity crawling out of them, a horrifying sight for anyone to see. It was the souls of these fallen Rastrikan Demons being brought back to the world of the living with their hatred amplified.
Albeit Rex was the one who killed them, these malevolent souls still appeared.
Rex was surprised by this sight.
What's this? I didn't expect this to happen. He pondered, looking around in utter confusion.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHis skill was cast to Demon Lord Kirgil, but it shouldn't proceed like this.
The System told him earlier that although the Decimation Fervor wouldn't summon any souls since Demon Lord Kirgil's victims were not around, it was still enough to stimulate the Holy Soul Shattering rune and cast the effect he wanted.
However, this is a surprise as all of the dead Rastrikan Demons' souls were summoned.
Under normal circumstances, the Decimation Fervor skill wouldn't summon any souls if the directly fallen victims of the target were not around. But somehow, it still manages to bring these souls back to the material world.
Do you have any explanation for this, System?
<It's a special case>
<Something like this could happen if the Rastrikan Demons experienced death 2 times>
Rex frowned when he read this explanation.
Experienced death 2 times? Since they were revived in Caraptaros, they definitely died in the battle at the Dwarven Kingdom. The others should be the ones that killed these demons, so it doesn't make sense, unless...
Shifting his eyes to the side, he looked at Demon Lord Kirgil with interest.
Unless he's the one that killed his own legion.
Despite not knowing the full story of the battle, he could ask Flunra before. But right now, it was better that the Decimation Fervor worked like this, the pain Demon Lord Kirgil would suffer is increased because of this pleasant progression.
It didn't take long before Demon Lord Kirgil was swarmed by the red souls.
GRAAHH!!!
Aructh and Mazel felt their bodies go rigid, for they had never before heard Demon Lord Kirgil utter such a harrowing cry. His anguished scream echoed a prolonged wail that seemed to strain his very vocal cords, making the excruciating torment palpable through his voice alone.
<Calculating Demon Lord Kirgil's Malovelent Souls...>
<49% souls retrieved!>
<10% threshold has been reached. Demon Lord Kirgil is suffering from immense mental pain and bodily pain, all attacks's potency and pain inducement directed at Demon Lord Kirgil will be enhanced by 49%>
Perfect. 49% is right below the mark. Any higher, his soul would've torn apart.
While the featureless red souls relentlessly clawed Demon Lord Kirgil, the engraved rune on his chest was activated. Then, a surge of power pushed Demon Lord Kirgil's own soul out of his own body, positioned directly behind him like a spirit.
As expected of a Demon Lord, his soul is robust, blazing with fire, and huge.
It's an imposing soul, but it doesn't terrify anyone.
Normally, the sight of his soul would, but right now the soul was in excruciating pain.
Upon seeing this with a widened smile, Rex's once-gleaming red eyes began to crackle with sinister bolts of black lightning, a sign of his awakened power coursing through him. He extended his hand toward Demon Lord Kirgil, full of malicious intent.
"Now... Prepare to become the living legend, etched in the annals of my might!"
"A demonstration so none will doubt my power ever again!"
Blitz!
CRACK!