Chapter 355
Devilborn (5)
"It has... no weaknesses..."
???
Yohan and Reuel's faces turned slightly grim, their expressions tightening as neither of them questioned her words. There was no hesitation, no disbelief spoken aloud. Beforehand, they had done the formality of sharing general details of their path methods, and after recovering from the initial shock and surprise of her colour-changing eyes—which carried far more significance than either of them had first assumed—they had come to understand a minor part of each other's abilities.
Yohan could somehow assimilate and convert damage done to him by others, storing it within himself before releasing it back, sometimes even striking harder than what he had received. It wasn't just endurance—it was conversion, a dangerous exchange that turned harm into power. However, there were clear limitations. He couldn't do so for cold weapons or bullets.
For example, if he was stabbed with a sword, he would be unable to reflect such an attack, especially if he didn't have a sword himself. The damage would remain damage. A possibility of overcoming this might be gained if he reached a higher level of master… but as he was now, it was a clear and present weakness.
This was something he did not share with Natsuki. Only Reuel, IAM, and Henry were aware of it.
Reuel, on the other hand, had the uncanny ability to somehow dodge attacks. It wasn't speed alone, nor was it simply instinct—it was something more elusive, something that made his body slip away from harm in ways that were difficult to follow. He was almost unassailable in direct confrontation, his presence frustrating to pin down. Further details, however, were guarded carefully by him. Only IAM, Henry, and Yohan knew of its weaknesses.
Natsuki held back nearly everything. The only thing she had made known was her ability to discern the "truth"—or more specifically, the weaknesses of living things. Even that came with a cost, as she made it clear that it was mana-draining, not something she could use freely without consequence.
With this limited understanding of each other's strengths, they had all felt reasonably prepared. Confident, even. Each of them possessed something that could potentially kill a devilborn on their own. With three of them together, it should have been more than enough. The real concern had never been victory—it had been restraint. Keeping their trump methods hidden. They would never reveal everything for the sake of a trial, not when failure here did not mean death, but exposure could cost them far more in the future.
And yet—
When Yohan and Reuel heard Natsuki's words, a quiet confusion settled within them. It didn't show outwardly beyond the slight tightening of their expressions, but it was there. Her ability, the one thing she had revealed, seemed to have been nullified instantly. A contradiction they could not immediately resolve.
No weaknesses?
But the scene in front of them directly opposed that claim.
Her sword had pierced through the creature's chest with ease.
Strange noises emanated from it, low and uneven, as though something inside had been disturbed rather than cleanly damaged.
Natsuki didn't hesitate.
Her hand moved, fingers curling as if grasping onto something invisible in the air. Her eyes shifted again, the indigo now turned into a partial golden glow. Then she pulled sharply.
At once, her sword detached itself, sliding free without resistance before lifting away from the creature entirely, the blade gliding back through the air to float beside her once more.
There was barely a reaction from the creature as its back simply slumped, its massive frame folding slightly inward as it continued to stare at them in complete silence.
It didn't retaliate.
It didn't resist.
It simply stood still.
Barely a second passed, yet in that brief moment, Natsuki felt a sharp warning rise from deep within her instincts. It wasn't loud, nor was it overwhelming—but it was clear. This situation was unfavourable.
Deeply so.
She had to put a stop to this strange fight as soon as possible.
But how?
Should she become aggressive—relentless, overwhelming it with continuous attacks, leaving no space for it to act? Or should she remain at the back, taking her time to probe at it, to understand the strangeness that surrounded it?
Either choice felt wrong.
Either choice could trigger something she did not want.
For a moment…
Natsuki—The tyrannical empress—felt hesitation settle within her.
The situation was just too strange.
The creature wasn't aggressive whatsoever. It stayed still even as it was stabbed, its body offering no resistance, no sign of urgency or danger. It remained mostly quiet, apart from the faint, unnatural noises that seemed to come from within it. And most of all—she couldn't see any weaknesses.
None.
And yet…
Her sword had pierced through it with ease.
What was going on?
Reuel still had that faint smile on his face as he spoke, "There's no point in hesitating. I'll be the one to attack it. If there's any problems, I'll be able to survive…"
Yohan started, his voice was tense, "But what if—"
"I'll be careful…"
With a small flick of his hair, Reuel began to approach, his every movement was controlled, his body ready to react to even the slightest change, his attention locked entirely onto the creature.
In the distance, IAM could faintly make out what was happening. His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to a fellow student not too far away—one positioned on a tree branch with a bow, still firing arrows. The student's face carried a mix of awe and relief, clearly influenced by Natsuki's earlier display of power, where she had massively reduced the number of deadline creatures from over a hundred to around sixty.
They were all low spawnlings, but even so, it was an overwhelming difference. The battlefield had shifted because of it. The pressure that had once been suffocating was now bearable.
"Hey, can you see properly from here what's happening over there?"
Ascenders naturally had better eyesight, but IAM, not using his Avien, couldn't see as clearly as he would have liked.
The ascender beside him didn't respond.
He simply kept firing, ignoring IAM completely.
IAM smiled slightly at the behaviour, almost amused. "You know… at the end of the day, this is all an elaborate illusion. You can't really get hurt here… so I wonder—if we win this battle… what sort of things some people like to do to cool down…"
His tone remained light, almost casual.
"Ah… I've heard some people like to torture others. Hearing their screams of pain and agony… before they eventually die…"
There was a brief pause.
"But if that were to happen in here, there would be no problems, right? If I ask Natsuki, I'm sure she'll help me out, right? She does seem like the type of person to cut off a guy's—"
"I-I-I'm sorry!"
The response came instantly, it was panicked and rushed.
"Um—Reuel is approaching the devilborn. He seems to have his guard up as… that's strange… the creature isn't really doing anything… The other two are just watching—oh! Reuel is attacking the creature! He's stabbing and slashing at it… it's not responding… now Natsuki's joining in… they're heavily damaging the creature… but nothing's happening… it's just… standing still."
IAM's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Something's wrong."
Reuel landed the first blow, his spear digging deep into its chest before he pulled it out in a smooth motion and immediately slashed at its legs to impede its movement. Some of its strange, thick liquid splashed onto his cheek, clinging for a brief moment before he quickly wiped it away. To his surprise, its leg was severed with ease.
It was like slicing through butter.
The resistance he had expected simply wasn't there. The blade passed through cleanly, almost too cleanly, and the creature let itself fall to the ground in a slow, almost lifeless manner. There was no struggle, no attempt to stabilise itself, no reaction that matched what should have been a fatal injury.
Even now, there was nothing.
Natsuki moved in without hesitation, her sword flashing as she began to carve into it, cutting it apart piece by piece. Each strike was precise, controlled, yet relentless, her blade tearing through its body as if it offered no more resistance than soft flesh. Limbs separated, sections split apart, and its strange liquid spread across the ground in uneven pools and streaks, thick and unnatural.
Yohan stayed back, watching.
He didn't interfere.
As the two of them completely dismembered the creature, reducing it further and further, something began to settle in the air. With every piece that was cut away, every section that fell, the tension didn't lessen—it grew.
It pressed down on them, subtle but undeniable.
Finally, Reuel stepped back, lowering his spear slightly as Natsuki paused, her eyes narrowing as she focused on what remained.
The creature had begun to slowly disappear.
Its broken pieces faded gradually, losing form as though they were being erased from existence. The liquid followed the same pattern, thinning, fading, vanishing without a trace.
They said nothing.
They simply watched.
Piece by piece… it was gone.
And then—
There was nothing.
That was it.
The creature had vanished completely.
The three of them stood in silence for a few seconds, the weight of what had just happened settling heavily around them. They all knew, without needing to say it, that something was horribly wrong.
But what?
What had they just done?
What had just happened?
Reuel turned to the others, his face twisting into a slightly exaggerated, almost silly expression as he took a sharp breath. "Well… isn't that foreboding."
None of them relaxed.
Their guards remained up, their attention sharp as they waited for anything that might follow.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Then four.
Nothing happened.
The silence stretched, empty and unchanging.
Eventually, they could only glance at each other, the unspoken decision passing between them as they began to move on.
"For now… let's return to help the others," Yohan said.
The three of them turned and began to leave the area...
Behind them, the empty space where the creature had once been remained untouched—
An ominous energy lingering faintly in the spot where it had died.