"SILENCE!"
Oliver finally couldn't take Eren and Argo veering off on a different tangent anymore. He snapped. The formation was activated once again. The sword ripped through space and approached Eren's side.
Roar!
Argo roared at the incoming sword and charged at it with his beastly leap. Midway through the air, he shapeshifted into his hybrid form and surrounded himself with red and purple lightning.
'This demon beast is going to die not because of the sword but because of his baseless pride. Just like his master.'
Oliver smirked as he watched Argo's impudence. He was sure that he would be able to kill a D-ranked demon beast with his C-Rank elemental sword without much effort.
However, he didn't know at the time that some demons were just too demonic.
Argo activated his Devour Ability as he approached the sword and literally bit into it. The beast started devouring the elemental sword itself, which was supposed to be a rank above him. As a result, his normal figure started to get enlarged unnaturally and his muscles began to get strained.
Oliver felt a threatening vibe coming from the formation itself as if it would collapse. He stopped his elemental sword from approaching Eren and instead slashed it horizontally to get rid of the damned demon beast.
Suddenly, the winds started howling as Argo called them forth to do his bidding. The fire-element mana also surged around the demon beast. The elemental fusion of two elements took place and enveloped Argo in it.
Even the array disk started to shake because of the reverse flow of mana Argo had introduced into the formation. Argo sank his claws and his teeth into the elemental sword and activated his Devour Ability through his limbs as well.
The demonic side of Argo was taking hold over him in times of pinch. He released an eagle cry at Oliver before declaring his intentions.
"Bitch, who gave you the right to silence this Demon Prince? I'mma eat your carcass and chew on your bones like pretzels."
Kiyeeeeeh!
Argo released another ear-piercing eagle cry. The demon beast was clearly using intent-based magic coupled with his demonic aura that also affected people's psyches. And this combination came to him naturally as he expressed his individuality. One could say that his dormant memories were making him turn into the demon prince he declared himself to be as.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
Argo's bones were creaking and his eyes were turning redder by the moment. It was evident that Argo was suffering from having to refine a level of mana higher than his current constitution. But he channeled that suffering into sustaining himself. Using his Ability, he kept destroying his body and building it again to keep himself in the game.
Nobody on Oliver's team had come across a demon beast with such ferocity. For some reason, Oliver believed Argo's threat to be real and not empty words. The beast had gotten even scarier than his master, overshadowing everyone completely.
Argo's aura threatened to seep into the elemental sword itself. This was the first time Argo had released his demonic aura on his opponents to this extent. His presence became too domineering for Oliver and any of his team members to ignore. Apparently, the demon beast didn't like people who initiated challenges at him and then didn't follow them up.
It was as if Argo was turning into a different grade of the beast. This was no epic-level presence they felt. Argo seemed to be on his way to breaking into the legendary category with what looked like a potential ranking breakthrough.
"What... What kind of demon beast is this?"
The ranker who had vented earlier looked at Eren accusingly. He pointed at Argo as he spoke. The beast had climbed onto the elemental sword firmly towards its hilt and was not letting go.
They had tried to shake him off using the elemental attainments that coated the sword as well. As a result, Argo's skin ruptured in various places. But the beast would just intensify his Devour Ability to recover from the injuries he faced.
Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying.
"The kind that lets nothing get in the way of what he wants. I think I have stopped being his master. So you better not come to me for whatever he does."
Eren refused to take responsibility for Argo's behavior. The latter's shenanigans were sometimes beyond Eren's control. So it was better to let Argo be Argo. He looked at his demon beast and pursed his lips before deciding to act.
'I should probably pitch in. Preferably before he hurts himself and asks for more red meat and C-rank people as a reward.'
Eren decided to make a move. His hair turned completely white and elongated. The tribal tattoos on his body became apparent as he changed himself into a summoner before casting an earth-element spell.
This was an earth-element tank spell he had gained from Gilhause Remus. Eren didn't think that he would need to use this spell anytime soon. But he was wrong.
The butcher was about to cast a spell on the V-shaped cut section of the ground. It would allow him to reduce his casting time.
***
Swoosh!
Following Oliver's relentless efforts, Argo was thrown from the sword. Oliver had almost dispersed the elemental sword while trying to get the demon beast off it. He destabilized a part of the sword that Argo was using as his foothold before swinging the weapon harshly. To prevent the beast from snacking on the sword, the Hound abruptly halted the weapon in midair after accelerating it with huge velocity.
Oliver had drops of sweat running down his cheeks. The battle formation put a tremendous strain on the operator's consciousness. Plus, Argo's unexpected way of destabilizing the formation made things more difficult for Arthur's Hound.
He only managed to get the demon beast off the elemental sword because it was him that was controlling the formation. He didn't doubt for a second that the beast would have either managed to eat half of the sword or broken the array disk due to instability if it was anyone else in the team assigned as the operator.
Kiyeeeeh!
Argo released another deafening cry after he got up from the crater he had just created with his body. He shook himself up and stood with some difficulty. He shapeshifted into his eagle form which would allow him to fly with greater precision and control.
The beast was about to attack the sword, intending to devour the whole weapon brick by brick. Nevertheless, Eren's next words compelled him to stay at his place.
"Yo! Let your brother handle it from here."
Eren said to Argo in a mana-infused voice without looking at him. He rolled up his sleeves and lit up his Sativa Stick. The beast was thrown further back, but he heard Eren's message loud and clear.
Behemoth was about to be summoned to the field.
