Chapter 333

Washington D.C. - 2:21 PM

I must not have turned off accessibility mode because text box after text box appeared in front of me despite my closed eyes, but I couldn’t focus enough to read any of them. Holy energy at a quantity my mortal vessel couldn’t contain zapped through me, threatening to burst free.

My body had healed, or at least I assumed it had, and I could feel the ground beneath me. The raw, Demonic debris I was laying on, which would be losing its power over the next several minutes as the lingering holy energy washed it away, felt like a bed of glass shards. Wind passed over my skin, rending it like claws.

The outside of my body was overstimulated, but the inside wasn’t any better. Muscles spasmed, joints creaked, and I was acutely aware of my blood pumping through my veins. Every time my stomach churned, now empty of food, it felt like flaming spears were piercing through my guts. My beating heart wasn’t much better.

Time, unfortunately, was not on my side. I had no idea how long I had been laying there in the rubble. The Demon Lord of Potential was undoubtedly evolving as I laid useless on the floor, and I needed to be ready before he finished.

I tried to push out my awareness aura to get a good view of the area around me so I could prepare. All that earned me was the feeling of my brain exploding. I rolled over onto my side and curled up as waves tore through me.

“B-break…” I managed to say, but my voice was weak and my mouth was dry.

Opening my eyes, I blinked away the blurry light that was somehow making my head hurt even more. Despite that I kept them open. The only way through was to face it head on. It didn’t matter how intense, my usual practice of searching for the pain’s source, isolating the feeling, and ignoring it would still work.

Harder when it was everywhere, but mind over matter and all that.

Uncurling my body, I fell onto my stomach and slowly started pushing myself up onto my knees. Muscles burned as if I were in the flames of Hell, but I still did so. With my stats, there was no way I wouldn’t be able to lift myself up.

“Break f-free…”

I grunted as my fingers formed fists, collecting the dirt into my hands. The Demonic energy in it burned, piercing me through the pain I already felt, and I focused on that. Used it to ignore the rest as best I could.

The text boxes had stopped cascading, leaving one that kept flashing. I still couldn’t read it, but I assumed it was a priority missive from Sara. As my Patron, she could send messages that pushed all the others into the background. The fact that it seemed to keep repeating meant that I probably didn’t have much time left.

On instinct, I summoned my gear onto my body from my inventory. A spike drilled through my head, and I used that as another point to focus on to ignore the rest. My stats increased and helped with the pain, if only a little.

Taking as deep a breath as I could, I tried again. The messages became more frantic.

“B̶r̸e̶a̷k̷ ̸Fr̶e̷e̷ F̷r̸o̶—”

I grunted as I suddenly left the ground. Something had slammed into my stomach, and I broke through a stone wall. A viscous liquid clung to me, burning through my clothes and skin, and I heard a deep voice yelling at me though I could only make out a few words.

“—pid… hole… nd des… my… ing army.”

The moment I landed on a bed of rubble, I gasped and tried again. “B̶r̸e̶a̷k̷ ̸Fr̶e—”

A foot landed on my chest, taking the wind out of me and cracking a few of my ribs. It felt solid, but it also oozed, coating me in more liquid that burned just like the stuff on my stomach. Shield flickered into existence, giving me a moment of reprieve before shattering.

I would normally say that the fact I was still alive was a miracle, but you could always count on Crokillik to play with his food. That didn’t mean I wasn’t about to leave this up to chance. Summoning a vial of tea into my mouth, I crunched down hard. Regular glass couldn’t hurt me, not with my Constitution so high, but I didn’t swallow.

Instead, I put everything that wasn’t liquid back. The system made this easy; the tea no longer had a container, so it couldn’t exist in my inventory. I swallowed down what was left, healing myself.

“—eky bastard,” I heard him say.

My awareness spread out slowly. It was hazy, but firm enough that I could see where I was. What it did to my head barely pinched me when I had Crokillik on me.

It looked like we were in the remains of the Smithsonian. There wasn’t much of it left. The building’s glass windows had been vaporized, the roof completely blown off, and the stone had turned to slag. Less than half of it was still standing.

I focused on a point outside, as far out as and lifted my foot as if I were about to take a step. Fae Step, that glorious skill I had mimicked from Kayla, activated.

<<<>>>

[[Skill]]

Skill Mimicry

You can mimic a skill that you have seen used. The skill you copy can only be used once per day even if it specifies otherwise, but will persist until you replace it.

[[Mimicked Skill]]

Fae Step

Teleport a number of feet up to your Dexterity stat once per day. This ability requires line of sight and effect in order to work.

<<<>>>

Coming out of it on my feet, I staggered before retrieving the Staff of Raphael and leaned on it. My chest no longer burned, but I used Touch of Heaven to heal myself anyway. The pain lessened though I still had trouble catching my breath. Like my body was actively rebelling against me.

Given the amount of holy energy I was containing, that was exactly the kind of thing I was worried about.

Still inside, Crokillik slowly lowered his leg and turned to face me. I had escaped through the barest of holes, since I needed line of effect, but he seemed to see me through the wall itself. He turned, and I wheezed.

“You can’t hide from me, holy man,” the Demon Lord said, his voice filled with calm confidence. 

“Nope,” I agreed, barely getting the word out.

That calmness was going to be annoying to break. In order to kill him off for good, I knew I was going to have to rile him up and cause him to make a mistake. Given that the Hellbreaker was slowly scrubbing the influence of Hell away, I was probably only going to get one good shot at Dragon’s Breathing the Demon Lord away.

My back spasmed as I plotted, causing me to nearly fall. First thing’s first, I needed to actually transform before I could even think of fighting him. I rapidly blinked to get my eyes back into working order as I retreated away from the building. Crokillik approached, his long strides taking him directly towards the hole I had used to escape. It was only about the size of my fist.

That didn’t matter. He went through it, leaving the wall intact.

The Demon Lord of Potential was not a small creature. His chosen form was eight feet tall, wide in a muscular way, and seemed to be based on some kind of Orc. Red skin marred with black ink wore bone and fur armor. A weave of Angelic feathers hung from the black pauldron on his right shoulder, and three inert golden halos hung from his belt along with several human skulls, some still had flesh and hair on them.

Regardless of his stature, he oozed through the hole, stepping through it like it was nothing. He left a small amount of slime where his body touched, which sizzled as it ate through the burnt stone slag. That had been the same stuff that had been on me, and Potential’s true form. The space was opened enough that his accessories, the feathers, halos, and skulls, could pass through easily.

I fucking hated slimes. He looked solid, but that was only because he wanted to.

“I’ve got—” I started coughing, holding up a hand as if that would stop him.

“You’ve got?” Potential repeated, not breaking his stride. “You think you can speak to me? The Demon Lord of Potential? The Emperor’s right hand? Filthy holy man.”

“—One thing to… say to you,” I finished. My throat felt raw, but that was almost a full sentence.

“And not much time to say it,” he threatened calmly. His face split into four sections, showing three rows of teeth on each, while his right arm transformed into a long, black blade from the elbow down. “I’m going to cut you into a thousand pieces, stitch you back together, and do it all over again. You will boil inside my stomach for years to come, unable to die as you scream silently from the pain. I will relish every moment of your eternal suffering.”

The Demon Lord swung the appendage at the charred husk of a car as he passed by it. The blade should have cut through the trunk at most based on its length, but he sliced the whole vehicle into two pieces. Even though he didn’t touch the ground, a thick line had been gouged out on the road.

“Just one thing,” I confirmed as I took a step forward, leaning on the Staff of Raphael to keep me propped up.

Crokillik stopped in front of me and lifted his bladed arm. It touched my neck and cut into me. My blood was absorbed, causing the black sword to sizzle. I would have backed up if I had thought I could do it without falling on my ass.

“You destroy my entire army, everything I’ve worked for here, and you have the audacity to have something to say to me?” he asked, his blade cutting a little deeper. “I’m going to torture your flesh for however long it takes to rebuild, and then some. I’ll start with your throat. Let’s see you try to talk without your—”

I activated Noble Roar. “B̶r̸e̶a̷k̷ ̸Fr̶e̷e̷ F̷r̸o̶m̸ ̵T̸h̴e̵ ̶S̵h̷a̶c̸k̵l̸e̴s̴ ̸O̴f̷ ̶M̸a̴n̸,” I interrupted as quickly as I could. Potential’s stats were overwhelmingly higher than my own, but I only needed a single moment. Knowing that my time was incredibly short, I Constructed two layers of armor around my neck.

The Demon Lord, of course, pierced through it the moment my holy words started. He had flinched, however, and I caught him by surprise.

An explosion rocked the area as the golden energy that had caused me so much trouble began to swirl. It pushed Potential’s slime out of my body and forced him to back away. In an instant his form changed into that of a puddle as he surged back into the Smithsonian to escape what was happening to me.

Wings cut through my clothes like ribbons, erupting violently from my back with such force that I was propelled forward. I fell, landing on my hands and knees as my hair flickered once, twice, and then a third time before finally igniting. A grimy feeling overcame me as the detritus that had been coating my body burned away, and then I felt clean.

I stood up straight as my gear assimilated into the Armor of the End. It covered me from head to toe. The full plate armor was trimmed in gold and pearl white. It was exactly the kind of thing I saw Sara wearing at the end of some of my runs.

Muscles convulsed as I attempted to stand up, but I still managed it. I groaned as I took a step forward. My body wasn’t protesting like it had before—I actually felt pretty good—but this was way more energy than I had felt before coursed through my veins. Like adrenaline, but a thousand times more powerful.

<<<>>>

[[Patron Quest Complete!]]

You’ve done it! I’m so glad you got my warnings. I wasn’t sure if you were able to read them, and things were cut really close, but you’ve managed to pull it off. Your soul has reignited with holy energy.

There will be some side effects as your body readjusts, but you don’t have any time to rest. Your new quest is incoming.

Reward: +150,000 points, Enhancement Jewel for the Scalpel of Angelic Healing.

[[Patron Quest: Destroy the Demon Lord of Potential!]]

The moment the Hellscape is dispersed by the Hellbreaker, you’re going to revert to your normal self. You need to either kill the Demon Lord before then or weaken him enough that you can kill him in your base state. One of those things is safer than the other given that he is now the most powerful Demonic being aside from the Emperor himself.

Good news is, he’s locked out of his evolutionary power for a long time. Surviving the Hellbreaker would have taken too much out of him to change again, even though that’s what made him so much more dangerous than before. That doesn’t make him an easy target, though. It’s like you said, he’s a cockroach. Killing him is hard.

Still, you’ve done it before and you’re supercharged from all the Demons you’ve just permanently killed. I made sure to keep all the same passives on the ring I gave you, even if they were hidden for the time.

Okay, enough reading this. You don’t have a lot of time, so take him out as quickly as you can.

Objective: Kill the Demon Lord of Potential with extreme prejudice.

Reward: +200,000 points.

<<<>>>

I retrieved the Enhancement Jewel from my Inventory as well as the Scalpel of Angelic Healing. It had been a long time since I used one of these. Since Atlanta, when I had put the Nonlethal enhancement on the Writhing Belt Whip.

This one was different, however, and I grinned as I summoned the tool from the extradimensional space in my palm.

“Oh, you are so fucked, Crokillik,” I said as I ran the jewel down the blade. It disappeared quickly.

The Cut Out The Rot skill and Surgical Precision passive didn’t matter. They were nice to have, but not needed for combat. Now ready, I activated the Demon Slayer skill. 

My scalpel transformed in a flash of light, revealing a white blade in the shape of an Angel’s wing. The halo crossguard would protect my hand, and I brandished it in my right hand while I kept the Staff of Raphael in my left. Both holy items empowered me, helping anchor my soul to my body.

<<<>>>

[[Equipped]]

Scalpel of Angelic Healing

(Angelic item; +10 Dexterity, +3 Constitution, Cut Out The Rot skill acquired, Demon Slayer skill acquired, Surgical Precision passive acquired, Angelic Disruption enhancement acquired)

[[Skill]]

Demon Slayer

This skill can only be activated in the presence of Demonic energy. You can transform this item into an Angelic sword that is especially potent against those who oppose the powers of Heaven. While this skill is active, gain an additional +10 Strength and +2 Constitution to your stats.

[[Enhancement]]

Angelic Disruption

This weapon deals 25% more damage to foes ideologically opposed to Heaven. Any such enemy cut by this blade cannot heal their wounds without waiting for the holy energy to dissipate first.

<<<>>>

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, twirling the blade in my hand.

I winced as my fingers spasmed, threatening to let go of it. My soul was harmonizing with my body, but it wasn’t quite there yet; I was going to need to be careful. 

The Demon Lord of Potential drilled through the ground behind me and his body, in liquid form, attempted to engulf me. I calmly turned, looking up at the enemy who seemed to be coming at me in slow motion. My sword moved, cutting through the slime in a way that made him fall in front of and behind me.

There was no helping the laugh that came out of my throat. That wasn’t going to be enough to kill him, not by a long shot, but it had been so clean.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” I told him confidently, as the Reaper’s Black Flames settled into the area. He sprung into action.