The shadow demonic beasts took on various forms and the overall power between the creatures did not vary by much—except for two in particular.
The last two shadowy figures that emerged as the spatial portals closed possessed a humanoid appearance. They resembled that of ancient warriors on a grand battlefield.
The shadowy figure on the right wielded a dark blue long sword that physically manifested from its own body, while the one that emerged on the left held a mirror in its hands.
The mirror did not release the slightest fluctuation of energy; however, one could tell with a glance that it was no ordinary object.
The ancient shadow warriors were two meters tall and released a natural aura of intimidation. But, the most frightening aspect was that the power emitting from them was no weaker than someone who had stepped into the legendary realm!
With the addition of Smiling Demon and the original shadow he called forth, it could be seen as having four legendary figures as one’s opponents!
However, despite the clear disadvantages he faced with the legion of demonic shadow beasts and multiple powerful entities, Empyrean remained calm and did not waver.
Empyrean raised his hand as an abundance of dense mana started to accumulate at his fingertips.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the mana rapidly expanded into the surroundings, creating a pulse-like effect as it blew past the horde of demonic shadow beasts.
When this pulse came into contact with the demonic shadow beasts, their movements ceased as if they were frozen in place.
At the same time, several of the demonic shadow beasts started to shrink as if their bodies were being forcibly compressed.
It was not long before some of the weaker demonic shadow beasts started to implode from the extreme pressure.
This pressure was generated by Empyrean’s dense magic power and encompassed the creatures in tens of overlapping layers of the wind element.
Every passing moment, the layers would continue to grow in number and collapse in on themselves until the opponent was rendered motionless. Ultimately, it led to anyone that was caught in the initial pulse being crushed by the immense magic power. This was the effect of Empyrean’s S-ranked skill, Atmospheric Pulse!
As the pulse continued to expand and increase the range of its influence, it approached Smiling Demon. But, before the pulse could reach Smiling Demon, the ancient shadow warrior holding a mirror in its hands transformed into a blur.
Woooosh!
In a flash, the ancient shadow warrior appeared in front of Smiling Demon as a thin veil of energy formed on the surface of the mirror.
When this veil of energy revealed itself, the pulse from Empyrean’s Atmospheric Pulse broke down into its fundamental form of mana before being sucked into the mirror.
This prevented the pulse from reaching Smiling Demon; however, it was already too late for the demonic shadow beasts who had already fallen under Empyrean’s Atmospheric Pulse.
In just one move, Empyrean was able to eliminate a little more than a third of the demonic shadow beasts.
The creatures who were fortunate enough to survive until the ancient shadow warrior took action were left in a battered and deformed state.
Suddenly, a myriad of whispers filled the skies. Then, the following moment, the injured and deformed demonic shadow beasts started to regenerate!
The demonic shadow beasts regained their vigor along as their forms were restored. However, that was not all that happened.
The physical appearance of the creatures turned into a deeper shade of darkness. And, the amount of energy each of them emitted seemed to have doubled—as if they had been reinforced by something.
SHRIEEEEK!
The demonic shadow beasts proceeded to race towards Empyrean with their newfound strength!
The first creature arrived within striking range of Empyrean. It possessed bladed claws and jagged teeth as it went straight for Empyrean’s neck!
“…” Empyrean’s gaze traveled above Smiling Demon as he held his hand forward and touched the head of the demonic shadow beast.
Pop!
The instant Empyrean touched the demonic shadow beast, it popped like a balloon as he flooded the creature with his mana. It was an incredibly crude method of mana usage; however, for someone like Empyrean who possessed an abnormal abundance of mana, it was just as effective as any A-rank attack spell.
It was more than sufficient when it came to dealing with creatures like the demonic shadow beasts.
A new wave of demonic shadow beasts swiftly approached Empyrean as he fended them off with a mixture of physical attacks and basic magic.
But, Empyrean’s eyes never once left the entity they locked onto just moments ago.
It was the first shadow creature to make its appearance by Smiling Demon’s side. And, Empyrean sensed that it posed the greatest threat on the battlefield!
There existed a sinister presence around the entity that was difficult to disregard and gave one the feeling that the moment they dropped their guard, they would be devoured by it.
Smiling Demon silently observed Empyrean from a distance. After that last large-scale magic attack, Smiling Demon was certain that he was facing a high-level magic caster. And, when he reached this conclusion, he could not help but smirk underneath his mask.
“A magic caster? Kid, you do not know how poor your luck is to have me as your opponent. I have the great duke on my side and you wish to confront me with magic? How presumptuous!” Smiling Demon stated. He spoke with a contemptuous tone as he scoffed at Empyrean’s reckless actions.
Smiling Demon’s words were not empty. The original shadow he called to his side was not an entity that just anyone could form a contract with. Even someone who had stepped into the legendary realm like Smiling Demon had to retreat them with a certain level of respect. Otherwise, the contract he so painstakingly achieved may be reconsidered.
“I had to offer up 10,000 lives to form a blood contract with the great duke. But, most of those lives belonged to insignificant beings. Kid, with your abundance of mana and magic energy, how many lives do you think you are worth in the great duke’s eyes?”
“I tried to give you a chance to survive, but since you have declined my offer, your life now belongs to the great duke. You should rejoice. With your talent, you will definitely earn a spot as one of the great duke’s ministers. It is the highest of honors to serve the Great Duke of the Underworld, Murmur!”
The Underworld—in RML, it was a place only a select few players knew actually existed. However, it was a location that remained inaccessible to players. No one knew where the entrance to the Underworld was located or if it was an entirely separate realm.
The only commonly known fact was that the existences that originated from the Underworld were all creatures who wielded exceptional power. These creatures were the pillars of the Underworld and ruled with an iron fist. A group acknowledged by the natural laws of the world, the Royal Demons of the Lemegeton. And, ranked 54th of the Royal Demons was the Great Duke, Murmur.
Serving under the Royal Demon of the Underworld were its two ministers. The humanoid shadow who wielded the mirror that absorbed Empyrean’s attack was known as The Great Denier, Aurelianus. And, the ancient shadow swordmaster who had yet to make its move went by The Great Embracer, Amplexus.
Name: 54th Great Duke of the Underworld, Murmur(???)
Level: ???
HP: ??? (100%)
Name: The Great Denier, Aurelianus(???)
Level: ???
HP: ??? (100%)
Name: The Great Embracer, Amplexus(???)
Level: ???
HP: ??? (100%)
Along with the shadow beasts, they controlled an army great enough to level an entire city with their might. Even some kingdoms outside the seven major powers would struggle to fend off such an overwhelming force.
Empyrean remained silent as he fought off the seemingly neverending wave of demonic shadow beasts. Every time he used a large-scale AOE magic, it wiped out a good portion of the demon shadow beasts. However, without fail, the magic AOE skill would be cut short as the mana was broken down and absorbed into the mirror held by one of the ancient shadow warriors, Aurelianus.
It did not take long for Empyrean to realize that defeating the neverending waves of demonic shadow beasts would get him nowhere as long as that mirror was present. And so, he had no choice but to change his approach.
