"Don't think that you are the only demonic Ranker here. I have access to Wrath Mana as well."
Eliza stated in a neutral voice.
"Plus, I have a home-ground advantage with me. I didn't want to engage in a spiritual tug-of-war against Samael when my Soul Space was hurt. But if push comes to shove, I'd go all out.
Even if the demon soul fragment within you does get ignited, so what? All I have to do is buy time and you'll disappear on your own. Plus, I could always make use of Anfang's World Will to corner you, hurt or even kill the soul fragment within you when it gets suppressed by it."
Eliza's words had their intended effect on Demonmir who was too stunned to respond. What she had stated were indeed his weaknesses to some extent. He just didn't think she would be capable enough to exploit them.
The reason why Demonmir was trying to leash Samael's soul fragment within him was also what Eliza had described it to be. If Samael's soul fragment woke up completely within him, there was no way for him to prevent Anfang World Will from kicking the soul fragment out of the world's boundary.
The fusion between Ottoman and Samael's soul had progressed to the level that his soul might also tag along and get kicked out by it. The so-called "exorcism" would end up killing him as well. After all, the same thing had happened to Argo as well.
'She… she is not a simple woman. A Warrior Class Ranker with such a deadly fire-element Ability. Elemental Attainments that are profound to the level of being wielded by Sages. Superior Weapon Comprehension than me.
And her draconic bloodline is even purer than mine. Judging by her mana signatures and the draconic aura surrounding her, she can probably tap into her bloodline transformation and turn into a real dragon. But she refuses to use that card against me.
She is definitely a half-blood. But I don't think she is Last Blood Bastion's trump card. Who the fuck is she?
Wait... She said something about House Samael. I feel like I should know about this woman. Where have I heard about these flames? My mind... has been affected by that damn illusion. I can't remember shit.
In any case, I don't think I should fight her directly. Let's see if I can swindle her first.'
Demonmir came to realize that he had underestimated Eliza. She had a profound knowledge of demonic possession. With all the trump cards she had in her sleeves, she could indeed not lose to him even though they both practically shared the same Ranking Status.
Eliza didn't care about what Demonmir was thinking about her at the time. She completely dealt with the Wrath Mana trying to invade her mana circuits using her Enderflames. She healed herself from the most severe injuries before speaking further.
"Samael holds no power over here, Demonmir. At least not over me.
Garos may have lacked the capabilities to execute the theory he preached, but I'm different. If it weren't for my unstable mana core and my soul injury, I would have killed you by now.
Now the question is: do you want to get in sync with reality or stay within your dreams where I get killed many times by you?"
Eliza asked while trying to heal her injuries using a Healing Spell. Even though she knew who she was battling with, there was not even a hint of doubt or fear in Eliza's eyes. She had absolute confidence to prevail over Demonmir as well as Samael's soul fragment within him.
Eliza knew that she just needed to outlast her opponents and wait for them to make mistakes. This was how she had killed multiple Titans at the same time as well, by simply outlasting her enemies in terms of stamina and mental fatigue.
'Talking with this knuckleheaded demon is good. Helps me buy time for myself. But it can't go on for longer.
I… I probably need to go all out in the next round. I'll use my bloodline transformation this time. I'll ignite my blood for a short period to get rid of this guy. Then I can deal with that bastard Eren," the Witch of the Enderflames thought to herself.
Eliza's dragonoid form had saved her from getting critically injured by Demonmir. However, since she had no mana left within her, she had decided to use that form sparingly, allowing her to avoid the most deadly injuries and fight with Demonmir for longer.
Demonmir had only survived battling with Eliza because he had forced her to dispel the Wrath Mana using his demonic powers. If he hadn't depended upon his demonic heritage that came from Samael, he would have been quickly overpowered by Eliza shortly after their battle started.
"What?" Demonmir looked surprised as realized that he was not inside the illusory realm set by the Life And Death Altar anymore. "This… you are a real person?" he asked while looking at Eliza with suspicion.
"Haah! Get your head out of your ass and look around," Eliza spat in contempt and got rid of the residue of internal bleeding she had. She cleared her throat before speaking to Demonmir in a clearer voice. "Even if you are stupid, there's a limit to how much you let someone play you to this extent," she said while looking in Eren's direction.
"What.. what are you…" Demonmir mumbled to himself as he followed Eliza's gaze and looked past the secondary Birdcage Barrier. He could see that Eren had deployed another Array Formation at a remote corner of the isolated space, standing inside its only Array Eye.
"Grimdawn!" Demonmir recognized Eren immediately. It took him another moment to realize that Eren was the one who had brought him here.
'That son of a whore! He was behind this!'
Demonmir gnashed his teeth in anger as he looked at Eren who had chosen to ignore him and do his things outside the secondary Birdcage Barrier. The realization had finally struck him that he had been dancing to Eren's tune all this while.
"Um… It seems there was a bit of misunderstanding," Demonmir said while trying to get his uneven breath in control. He tried to control his anger and sound as genuine and pragmatic as possible.
"This battle was a huge mistake. It… it doesn't serve us, does it? So I suggest we should stop our uncalled-for conflict… miss?"
Unlike Eliza who was aware of Demonmir's identity by name, Demonmir didn't even know who he had been fighting against. He could tell that someone like Eliza would be very popular in Anfang after seeing her capabilities. But he couldn't remember any famous Ranker who matched her description and battle style.
"That's not how this works, Demonmir," Eliza chuckled in disdain before adding further.
"Do you think I'm some doormat you could just step on without facing any consequences? Even if you were manipulated by that brat into battling with me, my Individuality doesn't allow me to let this slide just like that.
The Demon Prince of Wrath doesn't belong in the Land of the Faithless. Let me set him free. I'll tell you my name when I am about to end your life. Let it get etched in your soul's memories forever."
Eliza said in a cold and callous tone as she stepped forward for the final round with Demonmir.
