Chapter 442 The Prelude To The War (4)

Basil's Domain was so quiet that one might hear the sound of a dropping pin. Everyone's gaze was fixated on the falling body of the Dragon that they had thought would give them a hard time.

They believed what their eyes saw but they still couldn't help sucking a deep breath in disbelief. Their leader was absurdly strong. She didn't have the most Magic Circles yet her power was undisputed. They might be fighting against the world but they were sure they would manage with her on their side.

Boom!

Whoosh!

As the body reached the ground, a strong wind swept over them, further emphasizing that the incredible scene indeed happened. They turned to the golden-armour-covered Basil and watched as she gracefully retracted her extended hand.

She held Caliburn and Durendal sideways, lifted her chin proudly and looked at Dantalion tauntingly. They turned to the said Demon to look at his reaction and found him staring back at her in disbelief, which elevated their morale through the roof.

"I didn't know you had so much leisure that you could stand like an idiot."

Basil's words brought the people back to reality. Their bodies immediately tensed as they knew what they would hear next.

"Move your arse."

"With pleasure!"

This time, it was not the Demon who initiated the fight; the people rushed at the still flabbergasted Demons. They regained their composure quickly, however, so they could react in time. At least, that was the case until Basil blasted them with her Dragon Slayer's Killing Intent.

The fearless Demons froze in their places as their eyes widened in terror. They couldn't understand what was happening. They would rather die than endure the killing intent, which was extremely contradictory to their nature. The people reached them in the blink of an eye and thousands of them died at the same time.

Dantalion watched as it was happening and used his Miasma to jolt the Demons out of their state. Very few of them regained their composure but he didn't mind it. He still had his mindless Monsters that could still fight. They were useless by themselves but with the stronger Demons, they could be quite dangerous.

Swish! Swish!

"Tsk. Figured."

Basil's countless flying swords didn't stay idle. They were coming at Demons and Monsters alike, making Dantalion click his tongue in exasperation as they killed his troops with one strike.

Dantalion cast a Dark Spell on his troops, forcing some of them to go on a rampage and jolting the many out of their fear-stricken state. Still, nothing significant changed--his troops were still decimated at a concerning rate.

Sighing as he looked at how it went, he muttered, "I guess it is our time, Chimaera 5.1.2A." His army was on the brink of destruction, so he decided that it was time for him to fight Basil.

Just as he was about to order his Chimaera to fly in Basil's direction; a gigantic sword, one that resembled the one that killed the knock-off Bahamut, appeared before his nose. He was forced to disengage himself from his Chimaera so he could dodge it and save his life.

Whoosh!

"Darn it--that woman!"

The gigantic sword passed by him, striking the ground and killing thousands of Demons just by doing it. He immediately flew in his Chimaera's direction; however, at that moment, Deacon dove down from above, struck the Chimaera and brought it down with him.

Everything happened so fast that Dantalion couldn't stop it. Deacon had been there since the first day and he had never seen Deacon that strong. He took a good look to see what was happening and then immediately nodded his head. Basil was using [Assimilation] on Deacon.

[Assimilation] was an Art that allowed one to share one's power with one's Summon and vice versa. In most cases, it was the Summon who helped its contractor; however, in Deacon's case, it was he who was being helped.

His grey fur had turned gold. His eyes were shining in blue. He was enveloped in a fierce aura, intimidating any Demons nearby. Wind blades constantly struck the ground around him, cutting those who dared to come too close to him.

Boom!

Dantalion's vision shifted from Deacon to Basil as he blocked her kick. The air exploded as she brought them away from their subordinates. When they were far enough, she retracted her foot and remained afloat in the air. Dantalion could immediately keep himself unmoving in the air; he stared at her with a curious look.

"Let our Beast Companions sort things out between themselves," Basil remarked.

"That is not my concern. I was just surprised that you cared for those people," Dantalion retorted with a light shake of his head.

"You seem to know me so much, eh?" Basil smirked.

"I can see it in your eyes. You view people the way we, Demons, view others: anyone that doesn't stand on our side has no worth for living."

Basil scoffed, neither denying nor affirming.

"Your Pacifer Seal still shines in gold, which means your soul remains a male. Can I assume that you just went through [Reverse Cycle]?"

"Does that matter?"

"No, but--"

Swish!

Had Dantalion bent his body one millisecond late, he would have lost his head. He gulped nervously as Durendal passed over his nose, cutting the air and creating a vacuum in it temporarily.

Pushing his body back with the wind, he straightened his posture. He immediately took out his staff and brought out his Seven Spheres of Heresy, a set of Artefacts that he made himself--the weapon that none but him had.

The spheres were the size of an adult's fist. They were white, which was extremely contradictory to the dark aura they were exuding. They were floating above Dantalion's head and moving in a circular motion. They amplified his Mana Pressure and his precision greatly.

"I shall win; therefore, I want to make a deal. Allow me to accompany you for your whole life if I win," he declared.

"You shall lose; therefore, I shall accept. May death be kind enough to let you live that dream."

"That, my flower, is why you managed to capture my heart."

Basil looked at Dantalion in absolute contempt and disgust. She was physically a woman but she was mentally a man. Hearing a man confess his love to her was as uncomfortable as one might imagine. Added to that fact, it was Dantalion who confessed, so her urge to strangle him went through the roof.

Clank!

Appearing before Dantalion, Basil swung Durendal and Caliburn. Three of Dantalion's Spheres of Heresy blocked the swords, giving Dantalion time to retreat and cast a Spell to trap Basil within a space made out of Mana that bombarded her with small needles that would destroy her nerves.

Unfortunately, the space didn't last long. A golden line appeared on it just a second after it trapped Basil within and then it was instantly dispersed as Basil returned to the outside world.

Clicking his tongue, Dantalion sent one of his spheres to Basil. The said sphere assumed the form of a spear. It cut through the air leaving a vacuum in its wake. Basil swung Caliburn to the side, striking it off its path. She then spun herself quickly, returning it to its owner.

The sphere changed shape. It remained a spear but the position of the shaft and the blade was reversed. They weren't the only things that reversed though; the direction it was flying in was too. It was flying at Basil at the same speed as before.

With a thought, Basil summoned one of the gigantic swords that were floating in the sky. It came down and stopped before him, blocking the white sphere.

Boom!

Miasma exploded as the spear hit the gigantic sword. The gigantic sword trembled briefly before shattering to pieces. The spear passed it, striking whatever was behind it. There was, however, no one behind it, so the spear struck nothing but air.

[Path of Glory]!

A golden path made out of True Light Magic appeared in the air, filling Dantalion's vision. He was standing on it by the time knew it and he couldn't move out of it. His body tensed as he saw the golden light ahead moved closer. His Spheres of Heresy revolved around him madly, covering him in a Barrier powered by Miasma.

When the golden light struck him, he gritted his teeth as he endured the impact. He was blinded by the golden light; he felt his soul was also being crushed along with his body.

When his vision returned, his Barrier immediately shattered. He coughed up a mouthful of blood--he was in pain yet his mind was fully awake. He knew Basil was coming, so he had his spheres ready to block her.

[Haywire]!

His spheres gathered in a place and blocked Basil's thrust. His eyes immediately widened in horror, however, since he could see that Basil only had one sword in her hand--Caliburn.

Swish!

Durendal came flying at him from behind. He teleported himself away but it was still too late. Durendal had managed to graze him. [Haywire] immediately took effect. The wound he received couldn't stop bleeding and he couldn't coordinate his body well.

Thousands of all kinds of bladed weapons came at him. He was still figuring out how to master his body, so he could only incessantly teleport himself away or block the bladed weapons with his spheres.

One might wonder why a Demon as smart as Dantalion took a longer time to learn how to control his body slower than Jerion, a mere Demon King's General. The reason was Basil's advancement to the Purple Core Stage. [Haywire] now worked just as fearsome as it did in Basil's past life.

Gorgophone, who was much stronger than Dantalion, had even struggled back then. It would be bewildering instead of Dantalion could immediately regain control of his body.

At one point, Dantalion had given up teleporting around. No matter where he went, bladed weapons were waiting for him, so he figured it was better to save his Demonic Mana; he let his spheres revolve around him, blocking the weapons.

Basil stopped the onslaught. She gathered seven gigantic swords around Dantalion and let them revolve around him. Golden lightning struck the gigantic swords and was transferred to Dantalion in the centre. His vision was coloured in gold again as lightning struck him from seven different directions.

Basil then extended her hand and pointed her index finger at Dantalion. Mana gathered at the tip of her index finger and the aura surrounding her was getting fiercer with each passing moment.

[Heaven Piercer]!

The name of the Art was uttered. A small beam was shot out of her finger. Its size didn't have anything to do with its capability. It pierced through Dantalion's Barrier and one of his spheres like nothing, hitting him right in his chest.