To begin with, the gap between Izroth and Smiling Demon was not small given that the latter was someone in the initial stage of the legendary realm. And, it seemed this gap had only widened due to the benefits Smiling Demon received from the Great Duke, Murmur.
However, Izroth was not speaking empty words earlier when he responded to the Great Duke. In the end, he had no intention of dying in this place!
Smiling Demon lashed out with his palm wrapped in the blood-colored aura. There was an incredible amount of sinister energy contained within this palm that made one want to instinctively retreat before its path.
Zeeeut!
Izroth used Instantaneous Movement and vanished just as Smiling Demon’s attack closed in. However, when Izroth reappeared several meters away, Smiling Demon had already caught up to him!
“Trying to escape?! There’s no use!” Smiling Demon roared as he pressed onward with his attack.
But, this time, Izroth did not immediately retreat. Instead, he slightly adjusted his body as a thin veil of essence formed around his Sword of the Storm. At the same time, Izroth swiftly pulled his blade in front of him as Smiling Demon’s palm arrived.
When Smiling Demon witnessed Izroth’s actions, his killing intent grew as he inwardly scoffed.
“This ignorant child actually wants to defend against my Killing Blood Palm?” Smiling Demon internalized.
“Ridiculous!” Smiling Demon howled as continuous waves of overlapping destructive force descended upon Izroth.
BANG!
Smiling Demon’s palm crashed into Izroth’s Sword of the Storm, causing the blade itself to tremble under the strike’s intensity.
‘It’s heavier than I anticipated.’
Currently, Izroth was being pushed back by the weight of Smiling Demon’s strike. His muscles tensed up as he struggled to hold on under the immense pressure. But, just as it appeared that Smiling Demon was going to overpower him, Izroth was filled with a new wave of strength. Veins could be seen bulging from the flesh on Izroth’s hands and around his neck as Smiling Demon’s momentum began to diminish.
〈Battle Alert: You have activated «Ring of the Ancient Colossus»’s effect «Strength of the Ancient Colossus!»
〈Battle Alert: The effects of Might have been temporarily amplified by 100% for the next 1 minute.»〉
〈Battle Alert: You are now immune to all rank C or lower offensive magic.〉
〈Battle Alert: You are now immune to all physical attacks that would deal less than 10% of your maximum HP.〉
〈Battle Alert: All non-weapon based physical attacks deal 200% of your attack power as bonus physical damage.〉
〈Battle Alert: All weapon-based attacks deal 40% bonus physical damage.〉
〈Battle Alert: Your physical strength has increased by 600%.〉
〈Battle Alert: You will now recover 100% faster from all negative status effects and physical irregularities.〉
After activating Strength of the Ancient Colossus, Izroth’s physical strength soared to new heights. While physical strength itself did not increase one’s attack power, it enhanced one’s overall combat capabilities. Attacks that were previously difficult to resist were no longer an issue. And, it became easier to overwhelm an opponent with physical strength alone as the chances of producing status effects like knockbacks and stuns multiplied severalfold!
In Izroth’s case against Smiling Demon, it enabled him to even the playing field and shrink the basic physical gap that existed between his current level and that of someone in the legendary realm.
But, in terms of strength, even with the effects of his Might doubled, Smiling Demon still held a slight advantage as a legendary being. Nevertheless, Smiling Demon could no longer rely solely on raw physical strength to overpower Izroth.
What Izroth did not understand was how Smiling Demon, someone who was clearly only at the initial stage of the legendary realm, could sustain a Royal Demon of the Underworld and its two ministers. Izroth was unable to see the depths of the Great Duke Murmur’s powers; however, he placed the Great Duke’s two ministers a step or two above Enigma. And, since both creatures served Murmur, Izroth believed that the Royal Demon’s power was by no means weak in comparison.
‘To wield this power… Without a doubt, he must be paying some kind of price in return. The Royal Demons may be powerful, but they are not divine beings; therefore, divine power is out of the question. Then, is it his lifeforce or mana? Either way, I doubt it is something he can sustain indefinitely. Still, I do not have the luxury of stalling to find out. I have to find a way to end this in one go. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to use the Relic of the First Tal.’
The Relic of the First Tal was an SSS-ranked item that Izroth received after he defeated the Lady of Everlasting Rain, Tal’Nis, and cleared her crusade. The magic item could summon a phantom of Tal’Nis who was capable of assisting Izroth in battle; however, not only did the item have a long cooldown period, but it also had a limited amount of uses. That’s why Izroth decided to leave it as a last resort. After all, Tal’Nis was someone who had already ascended to the Divine Realm. If so, her phantom likely had the capability of suppressing figures at the peak of the legendary realm! How could Izroth be willing to use it against a mere head of the Siren organization?
“Hm?” Smiling Demon inwardly frowned as the blood aura around his hands grew increasingly unstable and erratic.
When the blood aura from Smiling Demon’s Killing Blood Palm came into contact with Izroth’s Sword of the Storm, its destructive power began to subside.
It did not take long for Smiling Demon to sense that something was off. For some reason, the power behind his Killing Blood Palm was fading. No, to be more precise, it was as though the blood aura was being drawn away and coerced by an unknown force.
Smiling Demon attempted to halt his attack midway after he felt it slipping out of his control; however, he was a step too late. The blood aura vanished from his palm. Then, not even a fraction of a breath went by as a deep blood aura erupted from Izroth’s Sword of the Storm.
Smiling Demon was pushed back by the abrupt emergence. And, although his mask hid his facial expression, his shock was clear. That’s because the attack aimed at Smiling Demon was of his own creation!
“This aura matches that of my Killing Blood Palm…! How did this brat manage to manifest it?!” Smiling Demon growled under his voice.
Izroth utilized his Second Sword Form: Returning Wave’s Sword Return infused with his essence to send Smiling Demon’s attack right back at the Siren Head Master.
Under normal circumstances, Izroth would not have been capable of driving back Smiling Demon’s strike with his Sword Return; however, the amplification of his Might stat and raw physical strength made it possible!
As for Smiling Demon, since he was familiar with the skill, he thought that he would be able to neutralize a portion of the blood aura redirected at him. However, there was a foreign energy source that “tainted” the blood aura and allowed it to effortlessly penetrate through his defenses.
Smiling Demon regained his footing and looked down at his hand. There was a bruise at the center of his palm from the backlash of his attack. Not only was Smiling Demon’s strike not successful, but he even had his own attack turned against him! How could he silently suffer this humiliation?
“How dare you!” Smiling Demon’s anger exploded as the killing intent around him became suffocating. If the average player were to directly face this killing intent, they would have not had the courage to lift a single finger. But, as someone who experienced countless battles of life and death, Izroth was unmoved by the killing intent and maintained a calm mind. And, what happened next, almost caused Smiling Demon to cough up blood in sheer rage.
Instead of retreating or trying to escape as he predicted, Izroth raced towards Smiling Demon without hesitation!
“He wants to attack me head-on? Good… Very, good…! This kid is not putting me in his sights!” Smiling Demon internalized as he clenched his fists, causing the surrounding air to scatter in all directions.
Then, out of nowhere, Smiling Demon felt his movements grow sluggish. Simultaneously, Izroth appeared to have sped up. The wind seemed to dance beneath his feet as his figure flickered in and out of existence.
