The following day, when the sun was slowly descending toward the horizon, a monster began advancing toward the Ash Hill, its many sharp legs leaving a faint trail of ash as it moved.
The monster stopped at the base of the great hill. In its scythes it carried a bright monster core. The creature placed the core on the ash and took several steps back, then knelt.
Soon the surface of the ash changed. From the ashes emerged a monster much larger than the carapace centurion. The sun's rays were reflected by a kind of gray chrome armor; on the creature's breastplate, seven stars were engraved.
The creature was as large as a house, with eight legs resembling pillars. Its form was similar to the scavengers and centurions, composed of a polished, lustrous metal shell.
The monster possessed four limbs—two powerful arms ending in scythes, and two more ending in powerful pincers.
Overall, the appearance of the shell demon was creepy and terrifying.
The shell demon began to slowly descend from the mound of ash. After some time, it reached the monster core on the ground.
The demon looked at the core, taking it with one of its pincers, examining it for a few moments, then let out an enraged roar.
The core the Centurion had brought was actually just a simple core from an ordinary scavenger.
The demon swung its scythe but only managed to cut some sparks—the carapace centurion had disappeared.
Lumian smiled as he was halfway up one of the high branches where the demon could not reach him.
The shell demon turned its head, observing the two humans who were defiling the sacred tree with their impure hands.
The demon launched itself forward with the speed of a projectile, its limbs ready to dismember.
However, it was too late. Asael, who had reached the top, used his wind attribute, raising a great cloud of ash that hid part of the tree, buying more time.
They finally reached the branches far from the shell demon.
The furious demon began to scour every part of the island in search of the humans. However, the gray ash mound was desolate and empty.
Soon the sun set, and with it the dark sea returned.
---
Lumian let out a sigh of relief. They had done it—they deceived the demon and reached the branch of the soul tree. Lumian took advantage of the brief time before nightfall; he knew what he had to do and had explained it to Asael.
Once night fell and the demon was set ablaze, they both needed to keep their eyes shut throughout the entire night, no matter what they heard—they must not open them.
To make sure Asael wouldn't open his eyes, he gathered some seaweed and wove it into a blindfold.
When the dark sea arrived, swallowing the land, only the island where the soul tree and its guardian demon stood remained.
"Let's begin," Lumian said.
Lumian took out the fragile clay bottles containing the flammable oil which, when mixed, could corrode metal.
Lumian knew that the metal the shell demon's armor was made of was resistant, so it wouldn't be corroded; on the other hand, it could burn.
Thanks to the utility memory that could launch a burst of fire, they would be able to ignite the demon like a massive beacon.
Asael took out a bone torch, which Lumian ignited using the memory, making the light shine like a beacon for the demon.
Because of the light, the demon appeared in a storm of fury, glaring at the two humans atop the branches.
The demon launched itself toward the humans but couldn't reach them—its rage only increased, more and more.
Lumian threw both jars at the demon; the creature reacted with lightning speed, slicing both containers into pieces. When they shattered, a liquid soaked its entire body.
Lumian held his memory and, pretending a wide smile, activated it.
A stream of fire shot toward the demon, which didn't evade it, certain that such flames wouldn't harm it.
When the blaze ended, the monster was covered in flames; however, the flames did not injure it. Its body surrounded by fire became a beacon for what hid in the dark sea.
The demon roared, attempted to reach the humans, but it was in vain—it could not reach them. So it tried to extinguish the fire by rolling.
The entire island shook under the demon's weight as it rolled on the ground to put out the flames.
Lumian ignored the demon and looked toward the dark sea. A few seconds later, Asael also looked and his face twisted.
"Something big and ugly is approaching," he murmured.
"Yes, and terrifying," Lumian added.
The air grew cold, and a mysterious mist began to fill the island. The demon noticed this and stopped trying to extinguish the flames. The demon looked toward the dark sea, radiating a somber sense of resignation.
Then it was replaced by a dark resolve and a frantic bloodlust.
Lumian looked at Asael and covered his eyes, pulling him out of the trance.
"Put on the blindfold, and remember—no matter if you hear my voice, you DO NOT open your eyes," he said clearly.
Asael nodded. Taking the seaweed blindfold, he placed it over his eyes.
Lumian grabbed Asael by the shoulder, guiding them to a wider area of the branch for what would follow.
Soon Lumian also closed his eyes as the mist engulfed the island, without seeing the terror.
Sitting on the ground, he deactivated his aspect.
"You're not looking, right, Lumian?" Asael asked.
But he didn't answer, keeping silent—the games of terror had begun.
Lumian heard Asael's voice again.
"You're not looking? You're not looking? You're not looking…?"
If Lumian had normal emotions, he would have been terrified, yet his fear was crushed by his defect, leaving him calm. He could only feel uncomfortable because of the voice coming from everywhere.
The voice grew louder, so loud it sounded like a gut-wrenching scream in his ears.
"YOU'RE NOT LOOKING, RIGHT?! YOU'RE NOT LOOKING, RIGHT?! YOU'RE NOT LOOKING, RIGHT?!"
The screams were inhuman. Then everything stopped—an abrupt silence filled the area.
"Open your eyes," he heard Asael's voice. It sounded relaxed; however, he didn't do it.
"Open your eyes… open…"
Just a few centimeters from his face, the voice changed to something authoritative and malevolent.
"OPEN YOUR EYES!"
Lumian ignored the voice.
"It doesn't matter… it doesn't matter…"
Lumian heard again the sound of the waves and the rustling of the leaves in the wind.
Soon the demon roared and struck its limbs, opening a large space where the mist had disappeared.
Soon the island began shaking violently.
The sound of metal echoed everywhere, followed by furious roars and the tremor he felt.
The shaking continued for hours.
---
An eternity later, the noises were gone. Lumian activated his Aspect ability, listening as the dark sea receded due to the sunlight.
When Lumian sensed nothing but ash, blood, and something burnt, he knew the horror was gone.
Removing the blindfold, he opened his eyes; the rays of sunlight bothered him slightly.
He looked at Asael, who still had the blindfold on.
"Hey, it's daytime. The horror is gone," Lumian said, but got no response.
Lumian worried for a moment, but his defect erased his concern for Asael.
Shaking him, Asael let his head droop; Lumian opened his eyes.
'Could it be that he…'
However, before the thought could take root in his mind, he heard a snore.
Lumian sighed in relief, but his relief instantly vanished due to his defect.
Sometimes Lumian hated his defect to death; other times he loved it. It was a strange relationship for him at this point.
Punching Asael, the teenager woke up.
"Who was the funny guy that hit me?" Asael asked.
"Hey, wake up, it's daytime. The battle is over," Lumian said.
"Already?" Asael asked.
"Yes."
Asael removed the seaweed blindfold, noticing that it was indeed morning.
Lumian looked at the aftermath of the battle between the demon and the Horror of the Depths. The island's surface was destroyed and overturned beyond recognition. It was as if a lover of explosions had dropped bombs that left craters and churned earth.
Lumian smelled blood. Looking at the demon, it was dragging itself pitifully from the edge of the island, leaving a line of blue blood as it crawled. Its once proud, pristine armor was full of cracks.
Two of its arms had vanished, leaving only a scythe and a pincer. Likewise, most of its legs were broken or ripped off with brutal force.
But the demon was alive—barely alive—but alive, and this was exactly what Lumian had hoped for.
"Hey Asael, want to hunt demons?" Lumian asked. He discarded his fisherman suit and instead summoned the armor of the Legion of Light for greater protection.
The black suit covered his body, and on top of it, a light armor that gave him great protection without affecting his mobility. His dark-blue hair, like the sea, moved with the wind, and his golden eyes fixed on the demon.
In his hand, the fourth-level sword appeared, manifesting in sparks.
"So you're going to use the armor?"
"Yes, it's quite useful for this situation," Lumian replied. His sword was surrounded by blue lightning sparks.
Asael, for his part, summoned his sword and infused it with his lightning element, though his was more intense than Lumian's.
"Well, let's kill a demon," he said, and both leaped toward the demon.