Reborn to Devour: A Demonic LitRPG

It took about five seconds between the initial slash and the purple beam. That was easy enough to keep track of when Armaros would only attack once at a time with a pause between attacks. But, in Armaros’ frenzied state, he seemed to know no restraint with his attacks. It became significantly harder to manage the timings when a second, third, fourth, or tenth strike occurred before the first one had even triggered.

The city, the ground, and the sky were torn asunder by Armaros’ strikes. My eyes watered from the endless flashing light from the purple beams that seared my eyes.

I was in a bind. I tried to sprint through the city and use the destroyed buildings as cover. But, they were immediately ripped apart along with any buildings that lay behind it. It seemed that Armaros had a perfect understanding of where I was at all times.

To prove my theory, I decided to do a sequence of unpredictable actions. I leapt to the left, dropped to my stomach, and then crawled at speed along the rest of the wall. A purple slash cleaved through the wall at midsection height for where I had been standing. Then, a vertical slash where I had dropped to the ground blazed behind.

I took to the skies before the subsequent attacks ripped through where I had been crawling. A grid of slashes covered the sky, forcing me to take ungraceful barrel rolls and turns to keep myself from being carved like a futuristic turkey.

My wings moved with as much power as it could generate, flying high above the city and outrunning the slashes before they could arrive.

But, my plan was quickly read as Armaros adjusted to my speeds and sent a series of beams ahead of my flight path. I had to abruptly turn down to dodge the closest of attacks only to see a black fireball flying directly at me.

Like a hellish phoenix, Armaros screamed into the sky to try to spear into me. Seeing a chance, I rolled to the left and dodged the initial slash.

Frustrated with this fucking cowardly game of tag, I saw my opportunity get proactive and rip into Armaros’ flesh. I raked my claw across his chest. His roasting flesh tore in my hand like a pot roast. His blood immediately evaporated and began steaming, causing his already depleting health to drop even faster.

Satisfied with my counter, I dropped back down towards the surface to plan for my next opening. Purple slashes followed me the entire way, corralling my landing space to a smaller and smaller space.

But, as I reached the ground, I noticed I had a bigger problem to address. An excruciating pain thrummed up from my right hand. It felt like it had been jammed into a raging campfire. Vendetta’s black flames had no preference or target. It would burn whatever that it touched until there was nothing left for it to eat.

“Crazy bitch,” I muttered to myself.

There was only one immediate solution. As another strike crashed down atop me, I reached my hand out and allowed my limb to be severed at the forearm. I quickly went to work at regenerating it. The burning appendage dropped to the ground and was quickly consumed by the flames. In a matter of seconds, all that was left was a pile of ash.

Armaros crashed into the ground with an inferno and a cloud of debris. I quickly jumped away, unwilling to experience any more that the black flames had to offer.

I braced myself, ready to dodge the next volley of attacks that would strike out from the debris cloud. Yet, nothing came. Instead, Armaros stood in place. He chuckled to himself like an inmate who was about to stab someone at lunch. A smile of relief crossed his face as he turned to face the chapel.

“There you are!” Armaros screamed.

His burning wings sent a gust of fire behind him as he rapidly picked up speed. I had to leap further back to avoid the accursed backdraft. He charged back towards the chapel, laughing maniacally the entire way.

“Shit!”

Like a sprinter that tripped at the starting block, I was massively behind Armaros’ head start. Further hindering my chase was the black flames and purple beams that Armaros left in his wake. Even with his forward focus, he was still skilled enough to use slashes that would force me dangerously close to Vendetta’s flames. Unless I wanted to willingly barbeque myself again, I had to find a different way there.

A series of ideas quickly cycled through my mind. I would always reach the chapel behind Armaros if I stayed on foot. All I could do was reach him before he butchered Vendetta. I could fly low, but I was still not as fast as I was running.

I needed to try a different approach.

Armaros incoming.

As soon as I sent Yoshitsune the warning, I went straight up into the air. My powerful flaps took me directly upwards. I flew high up enough that I could press against the barrier that covered the sky.

I looked below. A trail of flame showed me Armaros’ approach towards the chapel. I could also see large holes in the ceiling from where the flames had been eating away at it. I might not win the race there, but I would put myself in a position to potentially deal Armaros a death blow. I pressed both my feet against the magical ceiling and kicked hard like a competitive swimmer to launch back down to the ground below.

My wings folded behind my back as I careened down towards the chapel at speed. Armaros’ trail of flames burst through the opening of the chapel. A spray of sparks and the boom of thunder greeted them before another series of slashes exploded out of the back of the chapel.

As I got closer to the hole, I could see the flaming form of Armaros facing off against Yoshitsune. As though I was a guided missile, I adjusted my body slightly to pinpoint my impending strike.

Armaros looked up at the last second and slashed to intercept, but lacked the ability to dodge in time. I slammed into the burning body, sending us both skidding across the ground and having the slash shoot purple ineffectively into the sky.

I felt his stewed bones pop under the weight of my body and the heat of Vendetta’s fire jump from his flesh to my own. I gritted my teeth and tried to put the pain to the back of my mind.

His blade flashed upwards to slash me again, but I reached down and gripped his arm with my hand. I felt his flesh squish and burst under my strong grip. His brittle arm did not offer much resistance and snapped. The blade shot a tiny flash of light out to the side before falling to the ground. The eye on the cross-guard closed and rendered the blade inert.

A bubble started to form between the two of us. I managed to slash at him one more time before it sent me tumbling backwards.

I rose to my feet and moved my way over to the writhing Armaros. Heat seeped into my body and began to sap my muscles of their strength. I heard flesh sizzle behind my ears and my eyes became dry from the heat.

With a wide swing, my hands slammed down atop the bubble. The weak mana cracked and broke away. I stomped down on his remaining hand and stood over him.

I stuck out my hand to prevent Yoshitsune from charging. Her blade was lofted over her head, ready to take a pound of Armaros’ flesh for herself.

“Stay away, the flames don’t stop once they get on you,” I warned Yoshitsune.

She immediately gave the melee a wide berth. She still kept her blade ready in case she needed to step in regardless of the risk.

“Why, why are you going so far for this woman?” Armaros wheezed, his mana seemingly depleted with his health not long to follow. “If you know her well, then you know that she is not a woman who gives any thought to others. If you do not know her, then I cannot fathom why you would take these flames willingly.”

“You can’t build Heaven here,” I answered as the heat started to get so high that it boiled the saliva in my mouth. “Your arrogance pissed me off.”

“We may not have been who we claimed to be, but that does not mean that our ambition was a lie,” Armaros coughed, blood spilling from his lungs and out his mouth. “Is it so wrong to try to create a world that is free from suffering if you had the chance to?”

“Would it be like that for everyone?” I wondered.

Armaros relaxed his muscles and began to chuckle. The tears that formed in the corners of his eyes sizzled and evaporated as soon as they formed.

“It seems that man was born wicked.”

I didn’t strike again. This was Vendetta’s kill. The flames quickly took the rest of Armaros’ health and he smiled as the searing pain no longer reached him. But that was not the case for me. I stood on uneasy feet. Black flames wreathed my body and rapidly ate away at my health. There was only so much a potion could do for me.

A set of angelic white wings sprung from the ground around Armaros’ corpse and shielded it with white feathers. Dissonant whispers emanated from the wings. I reached out towards it. The scales on my fingers sloughed off my hands to reveal the bloody meat on my fingertips. I recoiled my hand away. These were not Armaros’.

“Ishmael-san,” Yoshitsune said, breaking me away from my fascination.

“Take me to Vendetta before I fucking die,” I replied harshly. “Please.”

Yoshitsune nodded and quickly hustled towards the back of the chapel. Vendetta’s body was tucked away in the hall that Yoshitsune had come in from. Weak flames, like a pilot light, covered her normally raging form. Her body had been bisected diagonally. Her lower half and part of her left arm had been removed in the attack. Only a steady application of potions from Herzblatt managed to keep her alive this long.

“It’s done,” Vendetta croaked. Exuberant flames leaked out of her eyeholes. “I finally did it. I killed him. I destroyed his image and toppled over his city. How long I’ve-“

“Put out your flames, I’m burning to death here,” I snapped, cutting off whatever pointless words that were going to leave her mouth.

“I am afraid that such a thing is not possible. This spell was made to be unable to be dispelled. Even the person who cast it cannot put out the flames,” Vendetta admitted.

“Oh, well that presents a simple enough solution,” I said as I spread my claws.

“That is fine. But, before you do so, I have a request for you. Take my corpse and flee the Desolate Plains entirely. There is a Portal beneath the chapel that will lead you out.”

A marker showed up on my map that looked identical to the Portal that led me out of the Bowels.

“You aren’t interested in reveling in your victory a bit more?”

Vendetta tried to rise on her one good arm, but slipped on the slick blood that poured out of her severed body. I could see the rage and frustration dancing in her flames. This wasn’t good enough, not nearly so. Armaros needed to suffer, for nothing else than my own amusement.

But, those flames died out.

“There is nothing more that I want than to tie Armaros upside down and slit his throat every time he wakes up. I would store so much of his blood that I could bathe in it for years. I want to tear his skin apart so badly that even his magical disguise could not conceal his deformity. I want God to weep at the totality of the punishment.”

“Wonderful,” I said with a grin. “I look forward to hearing all about it.”

“When the Emperor’s Victory procession enters town, our agreement will end and I guarantee you that we will no longer be friends. I have cast aside my old comrades and will be losing my new mercenaries. I will not be able to outlast the entire slave horde. I will have to be satisfied with his humiliation and imprisonment.”

It had not been long since I met the Emperor of the Desolate Plains, but I knew that Vendetta’s words were true. I offered a glance towards Yoshitsune. She nodded in agreement at the proposition.

I shrugged and slashed at Vendetta. Her already weakened spirit offered little fight against me and her flames extinguished from both of our bodies. I sighed in relief as Yoshitsune scooped up the torso.

“I will carry her,” Yoshitsune said.

Yoshitsune took a few steps forwards before stopping and looking towards Herzblatt. The dog priest remained behind with a smile on their face.

“Are you not joining us?” She asked.

“I am not strong enough to join you, friends,” Herzblatt said as he raised a hand to wave us goodbye. “But, do not worry, I will stay behind and preach God’s true intentions to all of these lost souls. No longer will people ignore the opportunities that He provides us.”

“Then you better start running.”

We left Herzblatt behind as I followed Yoshitsune down the stairs and into the prisons. It felt like something was watching us, but Yoshitsune sparked slightly and the sensation quickly dissipated.

The marker led us through a series of rooms before reaching a tight spiraling staircase that led directly downwards. It felt like we ran down the steps for minutes before it deposited us in a large stone chamber.

Eleven statues of angels lined the room. Gold filled engravings were carved into the pedestals of the statues containing the name of each of the leaders of Brunswick, including Armaros. On the far end of the chamber was the marble arch with a red keystone that would send us to the next area.

Yoshitsune stopped just a few steps before the Portal. She placed Vendetta on the ground and looked up at the arch with a pained expression.

“Do you think that this Portal will separate us?” She asked.

“It’s impossible to know for certain,” I answered truthfully. “But, it will be alright. Even if we get separated initially, we will always be able to use [Urgent News] to be able to find each other again.”

Yoshitsune cracked a small smile as the room suddenly lit up.

“Armaros!”

Vendetta’s revival had completed and her flames turned back on. The demon sprung to life. Flames spewed from her body and charred the statues. Yoshitsune hopped in her portal while I absorbed the damage.

“Still dead,” I answered.

The visions of her past disappeared and her flames died down. She looked between the two of us and then at the Portal.

“We’re not across yet?” She asked quizzically.

“Did you really want to cross as a corpse?” I asked before Yoshitsune could answer, her head popping out from a portal.

“I suppose not,” she answered. “Well, shall we?”

Without any further need for hesitation, the three of us walked under the arch. I could hear the Portal whir to life as we were bathed in the red glow of the teleportation magic. I felt a hand wrap around mine and I gave it a gentle squeeze in response. It felt like I was making a promise.

“Now that you’ve gotten your revenge, what are you going to do next?” I asked Vendetta.

“Armaros gave me a wonderful idea,” she answered. “I despise him, but he had a goal that he strove to achieve and I realized that I needed one as well. I’m going to take over Hell.”

“What will you do if you succeed?” Yoshitsune inquired.

“I’m going to take away our abilities and make us truly suffer. Even myself. Do either of you have desires to complete the Main Quest?”

“I’m not sure,” Yoshitsune answered and I felt both.

I had not given it much thought. When I did think about it, I was simply excited by the idea of fighting against the strongest that Hell had to offer. Standing supreme was only proof of my abilities. There was nothing that I wanted specifically nor was there anything about the world I found a need to change. For the first time, I felt like I was in a place built exactly for me.

“I’ll figure it out after I reach it.”

The spell completed and the chamber disappeared.

Main Quest: Keys to the Kingdom (2).

You have risen from a crawl to finally stand on your feet and view this world with greater clarity. Be careful, because if you run before you learn how to walk, you will fall on your face and everyone will pounce to stab you in the back before you even touch the ground. Climb ever higher and scream to the world that you are one of the worthy ones. Struggle until you die and then struggle again.

My hands were empty as I stood alone again. But, I did not wait for anyone this time. I did not need to see Gunner running towards me with a big smile on his face. I did not need to see Miranda or Kenny or Trevor or my Mother. Instead, I blazed my own path through the thick fog of this space.

Ties to my past were no longer necessary. That world was gone; the loss of my real name was the first lesson to get us all to accept that. All that remained was who we were at our core, alone and left to our own devices like the first humans who dwelled in Eden.

The place that I wanted to be awaited at the end of this path would be there because I willed it so. I could feel that statement affirmed with every step. I was the ruler of this realm.

I will be the one to conquer all realms.

[END OF BOOK 1]