Chapter 130 The Battle Thrives

"You're not done yet, are you?" He asked.

All he got in response was a blow of steam from the demon's nostrils before it lowered its body, taking an unmistakable stance for a quick-coming assault.

He gathered the blood around him back into a sleek set of crimson armor again, gripping his spear as he used the residual blood to form a full-fledged lance.

ZAP.

What…? He thought.

It was fast. Too fast. From the enemy who should be half-dead, it exhibited power beyond its previous showings.

An exchange of blows commenced as he managed to react, using his lance to counter the flurry of black lightning-infused fists that came his way.

Full-force was required with every thrust of his spear to cancel out the force of the demon's fist-barrage, spinning it around and using a quickstep to get around it.

Without turning around, it blocked the spear thrust aimed at its back, grabbing onto the end of the spear and hoisting him forward before slamming him against the ground brutally.

What the…?! He thought.

It seemed impossible for such a thoughtless, violent beast to be that skillful, but it became more apparent as he tried another unseen attack, silently guiding a slice of blood towards the back of its neck.

–At the last moment, it ducked its head forward without seeing the attack coming.

"Through The Storm: Blood Blitz."

As it ducked, he took advantage of a simple concept: the fact it could only dodge one attack at a time as he burst forward with a sound barrier-shattering usage of speed, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he slammed his spear against its chest.

It pierced the initial layer of skin, but hardly digging deeper as the horned horse-man demon flexed its chest, causing its muscles to shift in a hexagonal, stiffened armor to prevent his spear from digging in further.

As a counter, the black lightning that was inherent to the demonic beast began to release erratically, spiraling around as strands of the abyssal fulmination burned the walls and shocked him.

–But, he pushed through it, even as his flesh was cooking and blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, it was all he needed for an extra push of momentum as he dug his boots into the ground below.

"Blood King Piercer!"

Shouting this out, he pushed himself further with more strength, drawing more blood from his various wounds as the blood-clad spear grew in size, gathering the crimson at its tip as it began spinning rapidly with a gyrating hum.

"Raaaagh–!" It roared out in pain, attempting to grab and halt the spin of the lance, only to have its hands eviscerated in the spiraling storm of blood.

Even still, the fearsome, erratic strands of dark lightning managed to combat the bulk of the spiraling blood, lessening the damage inflicted.

Though most of its body was being cut up by the wild blood, it didn't seem to be enough to put it down for good as the black lightning began to overpower the swirl of crimson.

…In that case, he thought.

The whirlwind of spiraling blood halted as the particles stood stagnant in the air, throwing the demon off of its balance by the sudden stoppage of such force.

It was coming: an overwhelming force of black lightning manifesting–exuding from the horse-faced demon's position that the monster itself resembled a static screen by the veil of electricity over it.

But–

"Crimson Requiem."

Before the force of black lightning could properly reach him, he commanded the surrounding blood that hung in the air to shift into a network of spikes, jutting out in every direction, but seeking the form of the demon.

It was all in an instant; dozens of large, visceral spikes of crystalized, yet fluid blood formed in the air, piercing the demon throughout its entire body, skewering it completely.

The black lightning quelled not a moment later after the demon's brain was pierced multiple times, leaving it falling to its knees–dead.

Just as it dropped to its knees, he did the same as the defeat of the enemy prompted the [Blood Forger System] to once more return to slumber, leaving him bleeding profusely from many wounds, alone in the destroyed floor.

["Lesser Duke of Hell: Failed Incarnation Amdusias" | EXP +5000]

Bing.

[Congratulations. You have reached Level 23.]

Though the level-up prompted all of his wounds to heal, it didn't suppress his exhaustion that quickly overcame his mind.

"...Can I sleep now? Yeong-Un…You've got it from here, right?" He mumbled to himself before falling face first against the blood-stained carpet.

–

[Seventh Floor, The Same Time]

DRUM. DRUM. DRUM.

"Pyeh!"

An unseen force blasted Yeong-Un back the moment that the dreadlock-wearing, burly man slapped his palm against the astral percussion instruments.

DRUM. DRUM. DRUM.

"Ghh–!!!"

Holding his swords up like a shield, he attempted to guard against the unseen, blunt attacks, but was unable to properly defend against that which he could not see as one came from the left, slamming him into the right wall then knocking him against the ground.

He quickly sprang back up to his feet, though was met with another–DRUM–being hit square in the face as his bruised noise now became broken by that impact, curving to the side as blood spewed from his nostrils.

"My Rock N' Roll is unbeatable! Hahaha!" The burly man laughed out, continuing to hit the drums without any mercy.

Shit…What the fuck is this?! He questioned.

It had been several minutes already of this one-sided beatdown, unable to perceive the attacks as his ears rang each time with a deafening howl of wind before the force slammed into him.

"Gyaah…!" He spit out a mixture of blood and saliva.

It was a one-sided beatdown, but–Yeong-Un smiled once more, much to the surprise of his foe.

"Huh?! What're ya' smiling for?!" The burly man asked roughly.

"--I think I'm startin' to get it now!" Yeong-Un grinned, picking himself up straight.

Was it a bluff, or was it true?

The man could hardly tell through that blood-painted, ear-to-ear grin the blue-haired, scar-faced young man held.

The player-killing, dreadlock-wearing man simply scoffed, "--Before I kill ya' I gotta ask…"

"Huh?"

"Do ya' know where one called "Moon" is? I've got a job to do, after all."

"What…?" He let out in surprise.

In shock from this unexpected question, he fell silent for a moment as the man continued with a further question:

"If not, then if ya' tell me where "Dae-Seong" or "Eunji" are, I'll make it quick!"

"Not a fucking chance!" He roared out with a devilish smirk.

They're after specific members…? Fuck if I'll let 'em! Round two starts now! He thought.