Swoosh. Clang. Boom.
The two powerful individuals engaged in combat within the confines of the Birdcage Barrier came face to face, their weapons talked in metallic tongues and the sparks flew as a result.
They clashed once again before disengaging and keeping a safe distance from each other. They appeared to have reached an unspoken agreement to temporarily cease hostilities.
"Aaaaaaargh! Why…. Why aren't you disappearing like the last few times?"
Demonmir asked while looking at Eliza in anger. He was severely injured by Eliza's sword, the slash wounds were clearly seen on his muscular physique. His skin had been charred in some places due to the exposure to the Enderflames.
"What… what the fuck are you talking about?"
Eliza asked while eyeing Demonmir with equal rage in her eyes. She was not in a better condition than Demonmir either. Her left arm had almost been severed from her torso by its shoulder joint. The Witch of the Enderflames had coated her injuries with Enderflames, keeping them from worsening any further than they had to.
By this point, Eliza had come to understand that Demonmir wasn't the average run-of-the-mill Ranker she thought he was. He had forced her to discard the use of the Sin of Wrath Mark. She had tried using her spells with Wrath Mana against Demonmir but they only had the opposite effect on her.
Thus, Eliza didn't take long to realize that Demonmir carries within himself the demon soul fragment of Samael, the Demon Prince of Wrath. She stopped using the Wrath Mana after that realization struck her.
Eliza knew who Demonmir was thanks to Layla. Layla had told her the details of all the important Rankers within Anfang who were still active. Demonmir was mentioned by Layla because he was the host for Demon Prince Wrath's soul fragment.
Eliza didn't know how Eren could make Demonmir appear here on the battlefield. She was even more perplexed by the fact that he had decided to attack her indiscriminately as if he had a personal vengeance on her. As far as she knew, Layla had never bothered Demonmir or his forces while executing the Lazarus Project's prep work during the last decade.
Eliza could only draw one conclusion as she battled with Demonmir for hours on end. She and Demonmir both were set up by Eren to fight each other to death. Demonmir was still yet to understand that he was being manipulated by Eren into fighting her for no reason at all.
"Are… are you fucking deaf? I asked how many times you are going to get resurrected before I kill you for real?"
Demonmir asked in a grim tone as he clenched the grip on the dual axes he was wielding. He wasn't sure how he could take down someone like Eliza who had kept reviving the more he fought her. He was yet to realize that the illusory form of Eliza with whom he had been fighting at the Life And Death Altar had never talked with him. That form just died by his hands before respawning within a few moments, not allowing Demonmir a moment of respite.
Demonmir had been blinded by the rage after he fought Eliza's illusory form for a long time. He had lost sense of time, direction, and spatial awareness as he harnessed the Wrath Mana to his fullest. After all, Eliza wasn't an opponent he could deal with by doing things half-heartedly.
"Kill me?" Eliza laughed mockingly as she looked at Demonmir.
"It seems your brain has stopped working. Did someone hit you there?" Eliza pointed at her own head with her free hand before speaking further.
"Your name is Ottoman, right? The one they call Demonmir? Let me clarify something to you. I have indeed been "resurrected" recently so to speak.
But I have never fought with you before. Trust me. You wouldn't mistake me for anyone else if I ever fought with you," Eliza said as she stepped forward, the cloak of Enderflames surrounding her getting brighter by the moment as she added further.
"You are quite an arrogant man, aren't you? I guess that's something bound to happen since you never faced any real challenge in your life before.
Do you think someone like you can kill me just because you are hosting a Demon Prince's fragment within you? Do you think you are invincible because of it?" Eliza asked as she looked at Demonmir intently, her juniper green eyes reflecting the confidence she had in herself.
Demonmir was about to say something at this point, trying to boast about his demonic heritage. But Eliza didn't allow him to speak and pressed forward.
"What that man Garos said was indeed true. As long as the Demon Prince's fragment within you doesn't get ignited, I have nothing to worry about you in the Land of the Faithless," Eliza said calmly.
"Haah! Your first mistake is underestimating me, lady. And your second and probably the biggest mistake is underestimating the Demon Prince of Wrath, Samael. You'll soon pay for your sin."
Demonmir said while rotating his shoulders clockwise one moment and anticlockwise the other. He could hear the contempt she had against Samael and decided to teach her a lesson in his next round against her.
"Will I, now? And who exactly will make me pay for my "sins" here? You?" Eliza said and smirked.
"Do you even know how long I have lived? Do you even know what era I am from? Even though you have Samael's backing, you are still a greenhorn with a little talent in my eyes.
Maybe you don't know this, but my bloodline origin IS from Samael. House Samael was created by him in Labh Salem a long time ago, Mister Big Guy. So I'm pretty sure I know about him more than you do.
And all I can say about Samael from the records my clan had kept on him is that he is probably the most certified asshole there is among Demon Princes. And from the looks of it, I can say with confidence that his incarnations follow his footsteps," Eliza said before raising both her hands.
She tapped into her Sin Series Mark and injected Wrath Mana into her body as well as the Enderflames around her, making them burn more intensely with even more ferocity than before.
