Chapter 75: The Eight-Armed Serpent Demon
Demons are inherently chaotic, while Titans are creatures of order; the two are natural enemies, diametrically opposed to each other. Titans feel repulsion and disgust upon seeing demons, and demons, especially the more brutish, mindless ones, are driven by their bloodlust to attack immediately, especially when they outnumber their opponents.
Believing they can overwhelm their enemy with sheer numbers, demons favor the tactic of the demonic sea, given their near-infinite numbers from the Abyss.
"Muria, do you need a weapon?" Cassio's voice reached Muria, whose fists dripped with the dark red blood of demons.
"Of course." Muria grinned, his hands igniting with dragon flame, burning off the tainted blood.
With a hum, two small teleportation arrays appeared beside him, and from them, metal handles began to materialize.
With a clang, Muria grabbed one of the weapons partially transported through the array and pulled it free, revealing two gleaming, menacing weapons in his hands. Both were from his room's wall; one was the double-bladed battle axe he had swung before, and the other was a grotesque heavy sword.
As Muria armed himself, a gold-level demon charged him. Muria swung his heavy sword in a downward slice, cutting the demon in half without resistance as if slicing through butter.
"Such sharp weapons." Muria admired, then complained, "Cassio, you should have given me these weapons sooner. Fighting with fists is messy; their blood keeps splashing on me. It's disgusting."
"Muria, don't you enjoy fighting with your fists? That's why I waited until you had your fill of combat for a day and a night before delivering the weapons."
"Who told you I like fighting bare-handed? I only did that because I didn't have suitable weapons before." Muria said, swinging his battle axe in a wide arc, cleaving a swath of demons in half, their vile blood spraying.
With weapons in hand, Muria's demon-slaying became even more efficient, mowing them down like grass. Each swing resulted in heaps of demon corpses. The demons closest to Muria, confronted with his thunder-wrapped and flame-enshrouded weapons, began to fear.
They wanted to retreat, to flee, but the press of bodies behind them made it impossible. In their panic, some turned on the demons pushing them forward, the inherent chaos of their nature erupting.
"When will this end?" Muria muttered, finding the slaughter tedious.
"Muria, you should manage your energy better to sustain longer combat times, rather than using your strength recklessly. You must be feeling tired by now."
As Muria felt boredom creeping in, Cassio's voice sounded in his ear, "Titans' enemies often come in legions like this. You need to learn how to use the minimum force for maximum damage to prolong your combat effectiveness."
"I understand." Muria nodded and silently resumed his slaughter, beginning to conserve his energy. The dragon flame on his axe and sword no longer burned continuously, nor did the lightning wrap around them incessantly.
Muria tried to follow Cassio's advice, using just enough force to decisively kill each demon. But it was challenging as each demon's strength varied.
Suddenly, the enormous Abyssal Gate began to vibrate slightly, and thick black demonic energy spewed from the swirling vortex within. The air in the Abyssal Training Ground thickened, reducing visibility, and the assaulting demons became more frenzied, their bodies swelling and eyes reddening.
Even those that wanted to flee threw themselves back into the fray, driven by some unseen force, devoid of any reason.
"Something big is coming." Muria swung his axe, decapitating a Gold-level hunting spider demon, then sending a surge of lightning through the creature's twitching remains to fry its insides completely. He kicked another demon, splattering it to pieces.
Muria continued his massacre, but his attention was mostly on the trembling Abyssal Gate. The gate stopped transporting smaller demons, indicating something large was coming through, blocking the portal completely.
"Heloice, should we be leaving?" Muria smirked, feeling the growing oppressive atmosphere and the increasing madness of the surrounding demons.
"There's no need."
"This big thing coming through, even you probably can't beat it, right?"
"Yes."
"Then shouldn't we be running?"
"I've said it already—if a legendary demon appears, Titans will handle it."
As Heloice spoke, an arm holding a scimitar emerged from the gate, followed by a second, then a third, until eight were visible. Then a scaly, seductive face pushed through the swirling vortex.
"An eight-armed serpent demon." Muria stiffened at the sight of the legendary demon known for its ferocity in the Abyss.
"Young Titan!" The serpent demon, its torso now fully through the gate, turned slightly and saw Muria and Heloice still slaughtering demons. Disgust crossed its face as it raised two of its scimitar-wielding arms. A sweep of its blades sent out two hundred-meter-long slashes—one aimed at Muria, the other at Heloice.
Deep chasms formed as the blade slashes extended, obliterating everything in their path, including demons from the lowest cowards to soul-level adjudicators. All met the same fate—obliterated.
"Roar!" At the moment the serpent demon swung its blades, a primal fear gripped Muria, the scent of death overwhelming. In defiance, Muria roared.
Knowing he couldn't withstand the attack, yet unwilling to meet his end without a fight, Muria's golden dragon armor encased him as he raised his axe and sword in defense. Just then, a massive teleportation array appeared before him.
A sixty-meter-tall Celestial descended with two ornate swords, crossing them to block the strike for Muria.
"Boom!" The collision of the great blade slash and the crossed swords sent shockwaves across the area, blasting weaker demons away and shattering the hill of corpses under Muria's feet.
The Celestial, bathed in blazing white flames, grunted softly after blocking the attack. At that moment, numerous soul-level rings flashed beneath him, helping absorb the brunt of the impact.
"Celestial?" Muria was bewildered at the figure blocking the legendary attack—wasn't a Titan supposed to help him?
Then, looking towards Heloice, he saw a nearly seventy-meter-tall Titan wielding a spear, standing protectively before her, having blocked the other slash.
"Isn't it supposed to be a legendary Titan?" Muria's expression was complex, noting the absence of legendary Titans despite the presence of a legendary demon.
"We don't need a legendary Titan to intervene." The Celestial before him spoke confidently, "We are fully capable of killing this legendary demon."
Muria smirked skeptically; two soul-level beings defeating a legend seemed far-fetched. The gap between legend and soul-level was too vast to bridge by sheer strength alone.
"It's not just us." The Celestial, still shrouded in radiant flames, didn't turn but seemed to know what Muria was thinking.
As he spoke, numerous large teleportation arrays formed around the central Abyssal Gate, and one by one, Celestials enveloped in white flames and Titans wreathed in storms stepped through.
These Titans,
each over fifty meters tall, radiated power that made Muria's heart race; they were all at least soul-level three.
The armed Celestials, too, were as numerous as the Titans, each like a small sun, incinerating weaker demons with their mere presence.
"Titans, Celestial Race!" As the eight-armed serpent demon saw the numerous soul-level Titans and Celestials appear, it sensed danger. Even with limited intelligence, it knew it had ventured into perilous territory.
"Why can't I retreat?" As the demon attempted to retreat into the Abyss, it was horrified to find that this Abyssal Gate was one-way—it could enter but not exit.
And as it tried to move, its remaining body parts passed through the gate completely, sealing its fate in the Abyssal Training Ground. But there was no joy in its arrival.