Chapter 175: Settle the scores (11)

Meanwhile, far away from the center of the explosions...

Malrik was moving between the burning trees using his Shadow Step skill, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the catastrophic battle between Lilith and the giant guard.

He continued to retreat cautiously, his eyes tracking their terrifying growth in size while he cursed inwardly.

This is madness... sheer madness. Has turning into a mountain-sized giant become a common occurrence these days?!

Worse yet, he could clearly see that Lilith was still playing around.

Malrik knew for a fact that if she wanted to end the fight and dispose of the giant, she would only need a few moves, especially in her giant form and with that terrifying mixture of elements she had used to wipe out a vast area of the forest.

This is cheating... Can the Manifestation law really materialize different, deadly elements this easily?

Malrik asked himself, but he wasn’t entirely sure if the [Manifestation] law alone was what allowed her to do that, or if it went beyond the limits of the law itself.

Perhaps the Demon Princess possessed a deeper knowledge of the nature and properties of the different elements, which enabled her to understand, control, reshape, and seamlessly integrate them into her fighting style, using her law to turn those elements into deadly physical manifestations.

But amidst his awe, Malrik noticed something else.

Those elements Lilith used—fire, lightning, ice, dark and wind—weren’t just ordinary magical elements. There was something different about them... something strange and frightening that gave them a density and destructive power that exceeded what traditional magic could offer.

This effect wasn’t unfamiliar to him. He had seen it before with some of his undead souls, specifically Winter and Lady Mushroom, when they used the elements of ice and fire.

The secret lay in the law infused within those elements, which gave them destructive properties and effects that surpassed their usual magical nature.

Lilith’s Manifestation law was classified as a High-Rank law, just like the laws possessed by Winter and Lady Mushroom.

Malrik had noticed a clear similarity between the nature of the elements Lilith used and those used by his spirits. But despite this similarity, there was a difference that could not be ignored: Lilith’s elements were noticeably weaker in raw power and destructive capability compared to Winter’s and Lady Mushroom’s elements.

So, the true power of the Manifestation law lies in its immense versatility and flexibility, not in the brute force that a single element can achieve on its own...

Malrik came to this conclusion and stored this information in his mind.

Graaaaaaaaaah!

A disgusting, crazed roar echoed through the forest, ripping Malrik from his whirlpool of analysis.

Malrik looked forward and saw the giant had entered a state of frenzy exactly like that of those crazed Morveth who would throw themselves at him without the slightest regard for their own lives.

A crimson aura rose and terrifyingly enveloped the giant’s body, while the blue blood covering his body began to evaporate into the air.

For the first time since the battle began, the giant managed to strike Lilith and force the Demon Princess to bleed.

It was clear that she didn’t like that at all, but she still didn’t rush to kill him. Instead, she flashed a manic smile and continued to toy with him, showcasing different applications of her law. The sheer versatility and potential of that law stirred a bit of envy in Malrik.

But that jealousy didn’t last long, and it quickly turned into a feeling of nausea as he watched what was happening on the battlefield.

Lilith, in her giant form, had the giant in her grasp, her cable whip wrapped tightly around his neck.

She was about to sever his head from his body, but she didn’t. Instead, she began to pull the whip slowly, relishing in torturing him and tearing his neck apart bit by bit, while a manic and terrifying smile stretched across her demonic face.

Malrik swallowed slowly.

"Rule number one: Never, under any circumstances, make this monster mad."

After seconds that seemed like an eternity, the giant’s head finally separated from his body, and the forest floor shook under the weight of its fall.

Finally... she decided to end it.

Malrik felt a sense of relief that the poor giant’s torment was over. The sight of his torture had already pushed the boundaries of what he could stomach.

But his relief lasted only a single moment.

As the giant’s head fell and crashed into the ground, Malrik caught a fleeting movement in the sky near Lilith’s giant face. He couldn’t make out what it was, but what happened immediately after made him freeze in place.

Lilith’s massive body stopped moving completely, as if an invisible force had wrested control from her in a single instant.

Malrik frowned, and anxiety seeped into his chest.

What the hell happened?!

He didn’t understand what was going on. After a brief hesitation, he decided to risk getting closer. He activated his Shadow Step skill, and the darkness swallowed him, making him vanish from his spot, before he emerged again from one of the shadows near Lilith’s body.

As soon as he reappeared, his eyes widened at the horror of what he saw.

Lilith was still in her giant form, standing motionless. But something inexplicable was happening to her armored body.

Slash!

A deep gash suddenly appeared on part of her armor, as if a massive blade had carved its way through it.

Then another wound appeared on the opposite side, followed by a long crack that stretched across one of her black armor plates. There were no swords swinging, no enemies surrounding her. Yet, blows rained down on her from thin air, leaving behind marks resembling stabs from giant swords and daggers.

This makes no sense! What is happening to her?!

The attacks didn’t stop. The wounds multiplied and deepened, and drops of Lilith’s blood sprayed into the air, scattering around her massive body. As for her giant face, which only moments ago wore a demonic smile, it now bore the marks of a deep frown.

Her features were taut, her jaw clenched tight, as if she were resisting immense pain. She seemed to be wrestling with something invisible with all her might.

This isn’t good...

Malrik thought quickly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Lilith.

Maybe I should summon all the Fallen souls now.

There was a reason Malrik hadn’t summoned any of his Fallen-rank undead souls since the battle began; he was afraid that the parasitic Morveth controlling the herd would flee the moment it realized the extent of the power he possessed.

If that mastermind knew that Malrik possessed six Fallen-rank souls, in addition to an Ascended soul like Lilith, it certainly would have fled immediately, or continued to hide in the depths of the forest without ever showing itself again.

And the last thing Malrik wanted was to lose his chance to draw him out. He wanted revenge for the humiliation he had suffered, and he had sworn he would return here to kill him.

Therefore, he had to first make him feel safe, and trust that he wasn’t facing a threat worth running away from.

As for his reason for refraining from summoning his spirits even after the Morveth and his guards appeared, it was different. In fact, he had two reasons for that.

The first was that he wanted to see for himself the true power of the Demon Princess who was used to calling everyone "insects".

The second was that he wanted to kill that Morveth himself... or at least let Lilith handle the hardest part of the task while he kept the honor of delivering the killing blow.

But now... it seems there’s a change of plans.

Malrik made up his mind and focused his will, preparing to summon all his Fallen souls at once.

But before he could, he suddenly felt a massive pressure descending from the sky directly above his head!

His eyes widened.

He only had a fraction of a second to react. He hurled himself forward with all the speed he could muster, trying to escape the source of the danger.

Boooooom!

The ground shook violently behind him, and a dense cloud of dust and rocks exploded the moment something massive crashed into the earth. Rock fragments shot out in all directions, and some passed within a hair’s breadth of Malrik’s body before disappearing into the rising dust.

Malrik rolled across the ground several times before he managed to stop his momentum. He then quickly raised his head, trying to identify the thing that had nearly crushed him.

From the heart of the dust cloud, a massive silhouette gradually became clear.

The hybrid bird stood on the ground amidst the rising dust, its wings blocking a portion of the sky, while Malrik was still on the ground staring at it cautiously.