Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

68. Bitter Reunion

"Holy hell! You are getting so powerful it's terrifying!" Magnolia compliments me on the way out.

"Ah, it's nothing," I say. "I'm going back to my inn. Gotta rest."

"You've done humanity a favour," she whispers. "Celestine from the Purists had a taste of human power. Heh, those elven bastards will grovel beneath our feet soon enough."

I put my sword back to its sheathe after wiping off the blood. Magnolia leaves.

She hates other races that much, huh? That's pretty irrational .... I don't want to think too much; I'll just return to the inn.

"Yo, John!" I greet John, who is standing in front of our inn's doors.

"Oh, morning, Vio," he replies. "You got them?"

"Betcha I did. Where's Aelita?"

"Inside, concocting her poison."

A few minutes later, Aelita comes out. Some bloody yellow-ish smoke bursts out from the inn (thank fuck this is not Irvine or we will be explaining this to the police). Aelita takes off her mask. "Fuah. Finished at last." She shows off three doses of paralyzing poison, stored in syringes.

"What on earth happened in that room?" I ask wearily.

"Extracting poison is different from using it as a spell, you know."

"Excuse me," a hooded person approaches. "This is your prize, Ms Vonville."

The person holds a black box on their hands. They hand it over to me.

Hmm ... why do I feel so much mana from this box? Is it an artifact?

"Well, than-"

Why is the mana so turbulent? Don't tell me ....

"Bomb!" Aelita and John shout together. I throw away the box.

"Hundred Layered Gaia's Defense!" Aelita claps her hands. Stone and wood encase the bomb, containing the explosion.

"Die, human scum!"

"Celestine!"

Celestine lunges at me with a dagger. Aelita shoves her spear, thrusting it through Celestine's skull.

Holy hell, when did Aelita get so ruthless?

"Another assassin?" I murmur. "Thanks, Aelita."

"Excuse me, another assassin?" Aelita asks.

"Uh, yeah, I met one in the Nameless Regions."

"Bloody hell, you surely made quite a lot of enemies."

Another person approaches us, carrying the same black box. He couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen, judging from his stature. His sweat falls like rain, his feet trembling.

"You fucking stay there!" I say, summoning a wraith.

"U-uh, o-okay?"

"Open the box!" I order.

He does so. The box contains a sack as well as a golden necklace, with a jade embedded. The wraith removes the necklace and the sack and cuts open the box. It falls harmlessly.

I flick my hand, disappearing the wraith after he hands the prizes over to me. I rubble around the contents of the sack and pull out a small topaz.

"For you," I say, throwing it at him.

"U-uh, thanks?"

I sleep through the day. Aelita and John patrol through the nearby neighbourhood (poor Aelita, she despises slavery that much I'm shocked she hasn't vomited).

I wake up at night, fresh for Angelita and whatever shenanigans she has at her disposal.

You will come back. You will.

"You ready for this, Vio?" Aelita asks.

"Never been this ready."

"Good luck."

The same arena feels colder tonight. Light rain falls from the sky. Princess Suzuran is still chained, paraded near the MC. "Necromancer's Armor Set," I whisper, an assortment of black armor coiling my body.

The Masked Lady-no, I'm pretty damn sure it's Angelita-walks in, her perfectly oval mask intact. She brandishes her blade.

"A new challenger, ladies and gentlemen! Will she finally break the Masked Lady's winning streak?"

"Let us finish this quickly ...."

"So arrogant," I comment. I unsheathe my own sword; an almost identical one.

"Fight!"

"Explosive Marks: 18 Marks!"

So fast!

"Blood Shockwave!" Before she taps me, I push her back a couple metres.

"Blood Salvo!"

She jumps forward, dodging the salvo. She slashes at my head. I raise my own sword, halting it on its tracks.

"Angelita ... it's you, isn't it?" I whisper.

No answer. Her pressure gets stronger. My arms ache.

"Answer me!"

No answer.

"Blood Shockwave!" I shriek, throwing her off balance.

"Blood Vortex!"

"Mana Weaving Technique: Spherical Mana Prison!"

Tch! How can I pierce through her defences?

"Ocular Blast!"

"Akh!" I feel a strong burning sensation on my stomach. Her eyes glow brightly.

Damn it, Grandma, why are your magic spells this difficult to handle? I can't even see where the attack comes from!

"Ocular Blast!"

"Blood Shield!" I scream, casting a wall of blood in front of me.

"Akh!" I fall on my feet, a blast knocking my lower joints down.

"Heah!" She dashes forward, her blade swung.

"Tch!" I parry the swing. "Blood Vortex!"

Swirling blood punches a hole through her stomach, chipping away her flesh.

Damn it. I only parried her for a few seconds, but my arms ache. What monstrous strength!

"Mana Blast!"

"Wall of Anguish!"

My wall blocks the explosion. I hide behind it. I'm not going to tear her mask off if this keeps up!

She punches through the wall with brute strength. I thrust my sword to her neck, only for her to duck. She dashes her own blade.

"AKH!" I scream. Blood spurts out from my chopped left hand. I clench her arm.

"Touch of Decay!"

"Kh!" Her arm rots, the curse steadily moving to her hand and her shoulder. Swiftly, she cuts off her own arm. Blood stains the ground.

I feel my own arm starting to regrow, as does hers. "Hey, Angelita," I say, biting my lips from the painful regeneration, "care to end this madness?"

"I-no-everyone wants you back," I hiss as my arm regrows fully (and so does hers).

Angelita lunges at me, blade in the sky. I raise my feet, disarming her sword. "Blood Chains!"

My chains entangle her, my sword plunging into her rock-hard shoulder muscles. I hold the edge of her mask.

"Go away," she whispers. "Don't waste your life here."

She clenches my arm, pulling it back. "I will bring you back," I whisper, gritting my teeth. My trembling arms tear off the mask.

A face just like mine. A pair of eyes just like mine. A nose and a pair of ears just like mine. A hair colour just like mine.

"Long time no see, Angelita," I mutter, my breath heavy.

Angelita bites her lips. "Likewise, Vio."