Chapter 31: killing the demon

Dante slowly opened his eyes, looking directly into the darkness where two giant, glowing white spheres were staring back at him. They had no pupils—just glowing eyes reflecting the purple light of the storm outside.

Dante didn’t stand up. He kept his back pressed against the wall, his expression completely deadpan.

"You talk way too much for an insect," Dante said in a flat, uncaring tone. "If you want to fight, come closer and bite. If not, shut your mouth and get lost. I want to rest until the rain stops."

The creature let out a furious, clicking screech that shook loose dust from the ceiling.

The shadows shattered as a massive, armor-plated centipede demon lunged forward. Its dozens of legs ripped up the stone floor as its giant pincer jaws opened wide, snapping straight for Dante’s head.

Dante didn’t try to dodge. In this tight, enclosed space, moving around would only expose his back to the toxic steam coming from the entrance. He simply sat perfectly still, letting his SSS-rank passive defense do the work.

BANG!

The centipede’s massive jaws slammed directly into Dante’s extended left forearm. The physical force of the S-rank monster’s lunge initialized the Vajra Mirror Body instantly. The kinetic impact was multiplied by two and violently blasted straight back into the creature’s own mouth.

The centipede demon’s front pincers exploded into tiny fragments, and the crushing feedback wave tore through its front segments, spraying thick, green blood across the cave walls. The massive beast let out a pained shriek, its long body thrashing wildly as it tumbled backward into the dark tunnel, its own momentum having completely ruined its face.

"What... what kind of skin is that?!" the centipede hissed, its remaining legs twitching in pure shock as it backed away into the shadows. "You didn’t use a mana shield! Your body is a mirror!"

Dante slowly stood up from the floor, his right hand drawing the Seven-Sins Asura Blade completely out . Even though the weapon couldn’t be seen, the air around his right hand began to distort heavily from the sheer, unstable heat radiating from the hilt.

"It doesn’t matter what my skin is," Dante said calmly, his boots stepping over the green blood on the floor. "What matters is that you just mentioned a Queen. Tell me where she is, and I might give you a quick death."

The centipede demon’s eyes narrowed in pure malice. Despite its injuries, its pride as a high-ranking demon of the Black Basin wouldn’t allow it to beg a human.

"A lower creature like you wishes to speak to the Great Queen?!" the monster roared, its long body suddenly coiling tightly. "You will never leave this graveyard alive, human! Die!"

The centipede slammed its tail against the cave floor. Instantly, the ground beneath Dante’s feet began to crack open, and hundreds of smaller, venomous centipedes poured out of the fissures like a black wave, their jaws dripping with a paralyzing fluid. At the same time, the main beast used the distraction to turn around, sprinting back down the deep tunnel at an incredible speed to escape and warn its clan.

Dante looked at the wave of venomous insects swarming toward him. A cold smirk appeared on his face.

"You think you can run?"

Dante didn’t use his sword for the small bugs. Instead, he simply stomped his right foot hard against the ground. The physical impact triggered a shockwave that crushed the nearest insects into paste, while the remaining ones bit his foot, only for their jaws to shatter instantly against his passive reflection.

With a single fluid motion, Dante activated Void Step, ignoring the swarming insects completely. His body turned into a dark blur as he launched himself straight into the tunnel, pursuing the fleeing centipede demon deep into the underground world.

Dante sprinted into the dark tunnel.

Without the system’s map function, he couldn’t see what lay ahead. However, he didn’t need a map right now. The centipede demon was leaking a large amount of green blood, leaving a bright trail on the ground .The creature was also incredibly loud as its remaining legs frantically scraped against the walls to escape.

"You won’t get away," Dante said to himself.

He triggered Void Step once again enough to close the distance quickly. Within a few seconds, he could see the massive tail of the monster just a few meters ahead of him.

The centipede demon turned its head back and saw him. Its white eyes went wide with pure terror.

"How the hell are you so fast ?!" the monster screeched, trying to move even faster down the winding path. "You are just a human!"

Dante didn’t bother answering. He swung his right hand forward, tightly gripping the invisible Seven-Sins Asura Blade.

Even though the weapon couldn’t be seen, the weight of the thirty trapped demon souls made the air feel incredibly hot. Dante aimed straight for the monster’s rear segments and slashed downward.

SLASH!

The invisible blade cut through the demon’s armor plates like a hot knife through butter. The strike completely severed the lower half of the centipede’s body.

"ARGH!" the centipede demon shrieked, tumbling forward onto the ground. It lost its balance completely, violently crashing into a large rock before coming to a halt. Green blood sprayed everywhere.

Dante walked forward calmly, his boots stepping over the severed pieces of the monster. He stopped right in front of the creature’s bleeding head, looking down with a emotionless expression.

The centipede demon was trembling violently. It looked at Dante’s right hand, knowing that an invisible death was resting right above its neck.

"I will ask you one last time," Dante said, his voice cold and direct. "Where is your Queen’s territory? Give me the location, and I will let you die without any pain."

The centipede demon let out a weak, raspy laugh. "Do you think... I will betray the Great Queen? Even if you kill me, you will never survive this place. Our vanguard forces are already moving toward this sector. You are dead meat, human!"

Dante sighed. "What a waste of time."

He didn’t hesitate. He thrust his invisible sword straight down into the center of the demon’s head.

"Ughhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhh"

The blade pierced the monster’s skull instantly. The centipede demon’s body went completely stiff for a second before slumping onto the floor, totally dead.

At that exact moment, a strange reaction occurred. The Seven-Sins Asura Blade began to shake violently in Dante’s hand. The soul of the centipede demon was violently pulled into the hilt, adding even more unrefined energy to the weapon. The handle became so hot it began to burn Dante’s skin, and the physical weight doubled yet again.

"Damn it," Dante muttered, his brows furrowing as he forced himself to hold onto the grip. "Thirty-one souls now. The blade is reaching its absolute limit. If I don’t vent this power into something soon, the sword will really break."