Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 284: The Demon's Cry

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 284: The Demon's Cry

"He becomes nothing more than a beast, starved for blood. I tried to quell that nature, but it's quite engraved in him." Draven sighed.

"Your madness is starting to influence him," Remulus looked to have grown more wrinkles. "Still, what other weaknesses does this demon state have? Becoming a beast that can't discern friend from foe is one."

Draven stood up and cleared the table, dusting off his hands. He rubbed his chin in pondering before answering. "It's too much for him. The demon state utilizes everything he has and ramps it up with the fusion of Ein and Reis. But it's all instinct, no reasoning behind it."

After a moment of silence, Draven resumed. "He moves beyond his limits, but that damages his body. But he can't feel pain in that state. Despite everything an enemy can throw at him and what he does to himself, he'll keep going until his bones are dust."

"So an adequate strategy is to keep wasting time until he falls under the weight of his own power. Without his mind to know when to rest or hold back, that will be inevitable." Remulus chuckled. "I am curious to know what will happen if he can accomplish without needing that demon state."

"Who knows?" Draven shrugged and walked away. "Now stop bothering me."

.......

Orden dragged his body forward, short of breath and bleeding from the various injuries from Oscar's destructive attacks that surpassed all logic and knowledge Orden knew of. He blinked once, and Oscar came into view, taking slow steps toward him. As always, the air was eerily calm and silent around Oscar, except for the light steps that dug into Orden's ears, beating like the hands of a clock.

This demon, no, death itself, was coming for him. He would accept no excuses and show no mercy; only the desire to wipe others from existence could be seen from the abyss that was his dark eyes.

"I guess I bit off more than I could chew." Orden cracked his shoulder, setting the bone back in place, and smashed his hammer against the wall to rouse himself. As the rubble tumbled down from the broken wall, Orden flashed a smile and continued walking. "If you want to kill me, then do it now. But be careful. I won't give up my life that easily. You don't look to be in great shape either."

Although Oscar had handled his twenty-multiple hammer strikes well, the bleeding wounds over Oscar's body told a different story. 'I thought my Earthen Echo was not working, but that's not the case. He's constantly been taking the Earthen Echo twenty times per strike, leading to those wounds. I must preserve and keep at it until he finally falls from the accumulated damage.'

Though he had a plan, Orden paled from the pain of his wounds. Some wounds were more painful than others because of Oscar's Shattering Wave that wrecked the flesh around them. If this continued, Orden would be on the floor instead of Oscar.

"Come. Try to kill me." Orden growled. "Either you fall first, or I do."

However, after taking a few steps, Oscar vomited blood and fell to a knee without uttering a single cry or groan. Blood flowed down Oscar's face, not just from the lips but the eyes, two rivers of teary blood dripping down his cheeks.VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels

"Are you at your limits?" Orden said.

Oscar stomped his foot as his muscles tensed, his cold gaze fixated on Orden. In a burst from his feet, Oscar charged ahead toward Orden.

"Hold on," Remulus waved his hand. Draven's feet stilled and did not move. Rather he could not move against Remulus's pressure.

"Old bastard, let me go. I'm done talking." Draven growled.

"How do you stop the boy when he's like this?" Remulus smiled. "I'm quite interested now."

Draven clicked his tongue, expressing his irritation. "Just knock him out again or hope he regains consciousness before his body destroys itself. Once he's back, he'll stop and wonder what happened."

.......

"What happened?" Oscar asked. His body was too weak to remain up, and so he fell to the side, scraping his nails against the floor in a weak effort to get up. He could not recall anything other than blacking out after receiving Orden's blow.

"You're back?" Orden did not relax despite Oscar's apparent return, keeping his hammer up.

"What do you mean I'm back?" Oscar staggered on his feet before falling back down to the floor. He stared at Orden, confused at the wounds on the large hulk. "How are you so injured? Did some enemy come while I was knocked out?"

"No enemy," Orden walked past Oscar. "I won't kill you since you're back to normal, and I'll keep to our agreement, but I still have a duty to fulfill."

"Normal?" Oscar groaned, unable to understand any of Orden's cryptic words. His head felt like needles had stabbed into every part of his brain. He remembered. He remembered why they were fighting.

"Don't move another step!" He dragged his bloodied body across the ground, leaving a slick trail of blood and sand. But Orden's large figure continued to get smaller as the distance between them widened. "Get back here."

"I'm sorry, but rather than rely on a fringe hope, it's better to eliminate the potential threats. Even if we can't cure him, I'm sure you'd want to keep him around to find a way. All the effort wasted on someone who might be a lost cause does not agree with me." Orden spoke roughly, but he had some empathy for Oscar and Austin.

Then a cold voice came from behind.

"Who's a lost cause? I'll melt you down for that."

Oscar laughed weakly and got to his feet. Across from him and Orden were Erik, Gol-4, and Austin, freed from the parasitic vine. The trio leaped off a stone house, landing before Orden.

Austin spat on the floor, brandishing his two daggers. "It's time for some payback for Oscar."