Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)

581. Right Hand

The [Hellreaper] lashed out. She was Level 164— she was significantly higher-leveled than Haec, and she was definitely faster. And with his right hand torn off to remove his summoning collar, his fighting abilities were severely impaired.

Her claws were aimed for Betrugil first. Haec himself could hardly react in time. Fortunately, the [Abraxas] himself was relatively quick on his feet. He muttered the name of a Skill as he seemed to be yanked out of the way of the attack. But just barely.

The Primeval Demon struck the ground, before leaping back. She warily spun around to face Taburas and Aemula who were looking on with wide eyes. But she never even looked at Haec’s way.

Because she didn’t think of him as an enemy. She said that he could leave. In fact, she gave him an opportunity to escape as she was attacking his companions. However, he refused to budge. He couldn’t flee. Not when Taburas was still here. Not when Aemula and Betrugil were in this mess because of him.

Instead, Haec rushed the Primeval Demon. She wasn’t wild— even as a [Hellreaper], she could speak. But she was endangering his allies. And he wasn’t going to let her do that.

“No!”

He shouted as he intercepted her. His fist shone with a white light, before his muscles tensed. He swung down with all his strength as he flanked the [Hellreaper]. But right before he could reach her, her eyes flickered.

She saw his attack coming. He expected her to run— to leap out of the way just in time. And during that brief moment of reprieve, he could have asked Taburas to grab Aemula and get out of here. However, that didn’t happen.

The [Hellreaper] simply turned her side to face him, letting her bone-like shell take the brunt of the strike. His eyes went wide as she took the full force of his [Shattering Strike] without even flinching. There was not even a scratch on the pale ivory surface.

She craned her neck as she bared her teeth.

“If you get in my way—”

Her mouth opened wide, and Haec’s eyes went round. He stared in horror as there was a flicker of blue flames from behind the serrated teeth of the Primeval Demon. And there was a crack as her skin seemed to rip open.

“I will kill you!”

The blast of flames began to shoot out as the former Heir of the Netherworld backed up in horror. But before the attack could reach him, Betrugil yelled out and pointed.

“Move out of the way, idiot!”

The [Hellreaper]’s head snapped to the side, redirecting the attack. A pillar of blue flames shot to the sky as Haec looked on. It would have consumed him entirely— it shot hundreds of feet into the air, escaping even the mouth of the crevice.

Haec caught himself and leapt back just in time for Taburas to conjure a spear of ash. She threw it at the [Hellreaper], before it multiplied in numbers. A hundred ashen projectiles rained down on the Primeval Demon.

“We need to get out of here—”

Haec started as he ran up to Taburas and Aemula. But Betrugil cursed, pointing at the [Hellreaper].

“I don’t think we’re outrunning that!”

The [Abraxas] used special, physical curses to impede and harm his enemies— an unusual way to fight. Haec heard of it called as black magic before. Sometimes, it was also called voodoo. And with it, Betrugil was able to manipulate body parts to a certain degree. However, even as he focused his magic on the [Hellreaper]...

The Primeval Demon just walked forward. She barely seemed to be affected by his curses. It was like she was trudging through a sea of Lifeblood. Her movements were slowed only a little bit. But that was all.

“I will slaughter all of you…”

Her neck cracked into place, and her gaze landed right on Betrugil. He winced, but she was faster. She leapt into the air, crashing down into him as she snarled.

“Just like you slaughtered my people!”

“No!”

Haec moved. Once again, the Primeval Demon was faster than him. But this time, Betrugil couldn’t escape. He had already used his Skill to evade the previous attack, and its cooldown hadn’t come to an end.

All he could do was brace himself. But Haec was suddenly at his side, tanking the blow.

“What…?”

Betrugil watched as a flash of white light engulfed both of them. A protective barrier that blocked that [Hellreaper]’s striking claws.

“[Guardian Of Companions]. Are you alright, Betrugil?”

Haec nodded at the [Abraxas]. His Skill allowed him to instantly shield an ally in close proximity. It was one of his greatest defensive Skills— but he couldn’t employ it alone. Only when others were around.

However, due to the circumstantial nature of its effects, it was capable of blocking attacks even from higher-leveled enemies. That was why the Primeval Demon wasn’t able to harm either of them. She pulled back from the barrier as she glared at the former Heir of the Netherworld.

“You—”

She started. But he slammed a fist onto the ground.

“[Pillar of Despair]!”

Her eyes went wide as the ground beneath her feet shook. And before she could even react, a column of stone shot into the air, sending her flying. Haec took a step back as his barrier began to dissipate.

He swept his gaze past Betrugil, looking at Taburas and Aemula standing off to the side. He shook his head at them.

“We can’t run from this [Hellreaper]. We need to defeat it— now.”

He looked at Taburas as he said that. He held her gaze, and she hesitated. Aemula opened her mouth to protest.

“But how are we going to defeat—”

She started, but Taburas spoke over her, nodding.

“Right.”

Taburas raised a hand, pointing at Haec.

“[I Am Your Sword And Shield].”

She whispered softly, and a surge of power washed over him. He took a step back as he felt what she felt. Her strength was his strength. He lowered his head, nodding slowly.

“Don’t worry. I will end this with one punch.”

Taburas nodded. She watched as Haec strode back, walking up to the falling [Hellreaper]. The Primeval Demon came crashing down from the sky as a dark aura wisped off him. A small smile slipped onto his face as he felt the warmth of his companion washing over him.

And he looked back up at the [Hellreaper]. She growled as she faced him. She still remained unhurt— not a scratch on her body, nor on the skeletal bones protruding from her side. She took a step forward as he closed his eyes.

“I am sorry.”

Haec understood how the Primeval Demon felt— to have those he cared about ripped away from him because of the Demon King. He was certain that many under Regnorex’s rule despised it just as he did.

But he couldn’t let those he cared about now be hurt. Not because of a misdirected hatred from the [Hellreaper]. Perhaps if the Demon King didn’t exist, this never would have happened. Haec could still be with Salvos— he could have met Taburas. And he could have encountered the [Hellreaper] too.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t change the past. He could only work on the present. It was why he had willingly submitted himself to Regnorex. He was willing to bear the burden of becoming the Heir of the Netherworld so as to achieve his goals.

The sins of the Demon King became his, and so did the strength of the Demon Kingdom.

Haec raised the stump that had once been his right arm. The flesh there twisted. It bulged, then rippled. He stared at the [Hellreaper] as she charged his way. He had to end this quickly— he couldn’t let this fight drag on. Just like against the [Uroboros]. The very same Grand Skill that had ended the battle against that wild Primeval Demon in an instant.

But the [Hellreaper] was not wild. Which was why Haec took in a deep breath as she quickly approached.

“I am sorry…”

He whispered softly. And the stump began to reshape. A dark crimson skin seemed to flake off— a darker hue than his ordinary skin. A bulging arm grew out of his shoulder— like it belonged to a different being entirely. Only to be wreathed in a dark aura of faux Divine Essence.

The [Hellreaper] screamed as her body was coated in blue flames.

“Die!”

And Haec swung up with all his might. He struck the Primeval Demon before she could reach him.

“[The Right Hand of the Demon King]!”

It was a powerful blow that shook the earth— that pulsed out with a shrill ringing sound. He uttered its name with hatred. Not reverence. But anger at what he had done to get this far. To apprentice himself to someone he hated with his very core.

And the anger transferred itself over to the attack. It struck the [Hellreaper], sending her flying back. There was a loud crack. The bone-like armor she wore seemed to shatter open as her chest burst open. Blood poured out of the gaping wound he ripped through her armor, and she crashed into the cliffside.

Haec took a step back as he panted, feeling the anger he felt fade away with the black aura. His arm returned to normal as he shook his head and turned back to Taburas.

“Is it over?”

She asked hesitantly. Both Aemula and Betrugil looked on with wide eyes— even though they recognized that attack, they were still in shock. They had seen him unleash his Grand Skill upon the [Uroboros] before too, but to see its overwhelming power once again left them at a loss for words.

Haec smiled simply as he took a step forward.

“I—”

And his [Dangersense] blared in his head. The notification he had been waiting for didn’t come. He spun around as his brows snapped together.

“Did you think that was enough to defeat me?”

The [Hellreaper] growled savagely as she got back to her feet. Her body was broken. Her bones had been smashed open. Her skin had been shredded, and her neck was twisted in all the wrong direction.

But she raised her head as blue flames began to wisp over her body.

And her wounds started to heal.

“[My Rage Shall Burn Forever].”

She took a step forward as the bones regrew. Her neck snapped back into place. The gaping hole in her chest closed. And streaks of those blue flames sparked off her body like a shield.

“What…?”

Haec stared. Betrugil took a step back.

“So she has a Grand Skill of her own, huh?”

The [Abraxas] pursed his lips as he spoke. Taburas and Aemula tensed as the [Hellreaper] screeched, before lashing out again.

“I will not die until you are all dead!”

“Huh…”

I lowered my head as my vision began to flicker. [Manifestation of the Old Gods] was coming to an end. It had been active for a while, but I still hadn’t found Haec. Which was expected, honestly.

The Netherworld was a vast place. Even with all the Skills I had now, I was certain that it was going to take me a long while to even find the Demon King’s Domain, let alone find Haec.

“If only I had a way to track them down…”

I sighed as I lowered my head. Then I paused. I raised my head slightly as I thought about it for a moment.

“Or maybe I do…?”

After all, [Manifestation of the Old Gods] enhanced all my senses. It drew from my divinity, and it expanded my perception of the world. Not just with touch or sight or smell, but with my spatial senses too.

“So could it enhance my divine senses too?”

I asked myself as the expanded world I saw flickered once more. I lowered my head, nodding to myself as I recalled my battle against Avaritia back in the Mortal Realm.

“I mean, I do know what Regnorex’s Divine Essence feels like… right? So if I could just find a trail to it…”

I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the threads of mana that wove through the world. The very same ones that had first taught me how to learn magic. And I looked past it— into a layer beneath the world.

A shallow river that did not run as abundantly as the flowing mana.

“Then I could find Haec from that!”

I grinned to myself as I began to follow this trail. It was hard to discern anything in this odd space. It almost felt like it was keeping the world itself intact. I couldn’t really comprehend it. I just used my [Manifestation of the Old Gods] to navigate it, searching for something I recognized.

And I found it. It was faint— and it was about what I remembered of the Demon King’s Divine Essence. Or at least, it was similar enough in nature. So perhaps it could be what I was looking for.

So I nodded to myself as I spread my [Angelic Wings] wide.

“Let’s go!”

And I flew on.