"Haa… haa…"
My breathing was ragged, my eyes were heavy. My parched throat craved for relief, and my entire body swelled with unimaginable pain, but I held them all in.
"You've done well to hold on for so long. You're quite a monster. If there were more of you… perhaps things might have gone differently."
Kahn's voice was calm, collected… and arrogant.
'Hehe…'
Just as I wanted.
"You must be feeling pretty good, picking on a kid. I didn't think Demons were such despicable scum, but I guess the legends were true, after all.
"WHAT?!"
Yes…
"YOU LITTLE RUNT!"
… Just like that…
"TO THINK I THOUGHT OF SHOWING YOU MERCY!"
… Lose control, Kahn!
>WHUUUUSSSHHH!!!<
Instantly, shadow spikes began emanating from the floor, heading in my direction as they made to completely tear me apart.
My body was too weak to do anything. Evasion was impossible, even if I tried. But… at this point… I didn't need to!
>SHUUUUU!!!<
The massive shadow spikes that came my way were instantly neutralized, turning into dust.
"Uh?"
Kahn's eyes bulged wide open, but before he could act on his surprise, I made my mood.
"Spellcraft: Magic Fortress!"
I gathered immense Mana from my surroundings.
A large quantity of Mana swirled around me, compressing to form the greatest barrier I had ever made.
The field of concentrated Mana shielded me, emitting golden light that illuminated the dark night.
"W—what is this? You shouldn't have any Mana left—no, you shouldn't even be able to do Magic in your current state!"
"What state?" I smiled.
Kahn's eyes bulged, and he seemed to have realized that my body had recovered to quite an extent.
'I used up all my Potions, but only achieved about sixty-five percent recovery, uh?'
I wasn't certain if my current condition would be enough for what was to come, but… right now, there was no longer any option.
It was do or die!
"… Spellcraft…"
Everything for a distance of two hundred meters became illuminated by golden fragments of light all around.
Like fireflies dancing in the dark, these light particles permeated the area, encircling the vicinity—with Kahn and me at the center.
"W—what is this? What's going on? M—my Miasma?!"
The Shadow Demon appeared frantic at this point, confounded by the disappearance of the demonic energy that once pervaded our immediate vicinity.
"It's all gone…"
Kahn glared at me with shock and confusion, but I didn't plan on saying anymore.
This was a gambit that required all my concentration—my everything. Any mistake and I was fated to die.
'It's time to activate them… my Magic Stones!'
>SHIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!<
All around Kahn, forming a circle across his location, ten pillars of light sprang up. Each pillar contained an intensity of Mana that was incomparably greater than the total sum I had in all five Mana Cores… and there were ten of them!
"W—what is this?!"
Kahn reacted by attempting to escape, but his actions were too late.
>SHUIIIIII!!!<
The light pillars formed a barrier around him, trapping the Shadow Demon at the center. He couldn't escape even if he tried his hardest.
After all, it was fortified and concentrated to the limit.
"YOU BRAT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"
He lost his composure and barked at me, glaring hatefully at my grinning self. I could sense his panic. Kahn probably knew what was coming.
My smile was short-lived, though. My face contorted into a pained expression and blood spurted out of my mouth.
"Guarggghhh!!!"
More crimson liquid dyed the ground—the consequence of pushing myself so far—but I wasn't about to let up now. I had finally come so far.
"You're going to die here… Kahn!" I growled.
The Demon growled and barked some more, desperately trying to free itself from the barrier.
The only way out was through defying space itself and teleporting. To prevent that possibility, I made sure to make him waste his energy in his earlier assaults. As Kahn currently stood—he didn't have enough to escape.
The golden fragments of light that spread for over two hundred meters began converging, atop Kahn, far above him—in the sky.
Several million pieces quickly merged with the orb that began forming as it sucked Mana fragments like crazy. The orb slowly got bigger, and as it did, I compressed it.
My body was in overdrive, working to move the Mana particles to the orb, as well as condensing the mass of Mana that formed above.
"Kuakk!!!" More blood poured out, but I ignored it.
"HEY! LET ME OUT NOW! YOU KNOW I HAVE VERSIONS AROUND, DON'T YOU? I'LL KILL YOUR FRIENDS WHERE THEY ARE! YOU CAN'T SAVE THEM ALL! RELEASE ME NOW!"
"Hehehe… hehehe…" I made a slight laugh, staring at the foolish and ignorant Demon in front of me.
"Unfortunately for you… I have no friends…"
My voice was hollow, but I made sure he heard those words.
Kahn's eyes widened, his expression intensified, and he screamed like a mad man.
No one wanted to die—not even a Demon.
Too bad for him…
'… You reap what you sow.'
The clusters of golden light had reached a crescendo, and the orb—now the size of about a curled-up adult man, brimmed with so much power that I felt my skin stand from my position.
'It's ready!'
I commanded the ten Magic Stones around Kahn to go into overdrive, increasing the destruction that was to come, as well as exploding the multiple pieces of light that still floated around.
Like fireworks, each light fragment exploded into golden glimmers of destruction, getting sucked into the critical orb that was moments from erupting.
Like a swirling wormhole, it took in all the excess Mana around, leaving only my barrier and the one around Kahn alone.
"… It's like I said… Kahn…"
The Demon, who was frightfully staring at the mass above him, now sharply glanced at me.
"… I am going to kill you…"
"DON'T DO IT!!!" He bellowed.
I brushed off all the memories I had of the being in front of me and focused on my goal—my duty!
>KRAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!<
Flashes of golden lightning and blinding light surged from the orb.
"… Die, Demon!"
