Chapter 109 – An Easy Kill!

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

The sharp short sword drew closer, and panic seized the Demon Seed.

The assassination had come too suddenly.

He hurriedly activated his fifth Skill.

Damage Transfer (A-Rank, Active Ability): Consumes a large amount of stamina to transfer the next instance of damage suffered by the user to another designated unit.

The designated unit was the Baru Demon beneath him.

But the Skill accomplished nothing.

The Baru Demon's combat instincts were formidable.

Its thick, slick tongue snapped around the airborne Assassin. With a sharp whoosh, it dragged him straight into its mouth.

Crunching sounds followed. Blood poured between the creature's jaws, and the Demon Seed slowly released the breath he had been holding.

Before he could finish exhaling, an explosion cut him off.

Flame erupted inside the Bipedal Lizard's mouth. Smoke and thick black blood sprayed from between its jaws.

Its agonized croaks reached the Demon Seed's ears. He watched his mount-one of only two combat units left at his side-collapse, and the terror in his eyes deepened.

The recipient for Damage Transfer was dead.

The Skill was temporarily useless.

He could be hurt now.

One thought after another fed his terror until his mind went blank. Even the impulse to activate another Skill disappeared.

Then he lost the chance to cast anything at all.

A shadow emerged behind him and wrapped around his body in an instant.

Shadow Seal (S-Rank, Active Ability): Consumes half the user's stamina to seal every Skill below S-Rank possessed by the target for five minutes.

A figure slowly stepped out of the darkness.

…

The cold-glinting short sword stabbed toward the Demon Seed.

This time, there was no Bipedal Lizard to rescue him.

Fortunately, Shadow Seal had warned him. The newly revealed figure was no longer conducting an assassination; this was a frontal attack. The Demon Seed was mentally prepared.

But being prepared was one thing. Possessing the ability to respond was another.

As the blade approached, he flailed both hands and shrieked incoherently. A Level 5 Demon Seed facing a Level 4 human Assassin, yet he behaved like a girl about to be brutalized by a Burly Man.

Fortunately, one Demonic Creature still stood beside him.

Ever since the Demon Seed appeared, the Black-skinned Demonic Creature had behaved with abject submission. The Demon Seed had brought it along to learn about humanity's circumstances and intelligence, though the creature did not know much.

Following the Demon Seed ordinarily guaranteed its safety. At this moment, however, the Black-skinned Demonic Creature had no choice but to step forward.

The pitiful way its master faced assassination made the truth obvious. If it did nothing, both of them would be slaughtered.

The Black-skinned Demonic Creature possessed a respectable Physical Attribute, at least higher than the Level 4 Shadow Assassin's. But its species was innately frail, giving it little advantage over the Assassin.

Besides, its only Skill was Blood Beast.

Still, the Black-skinned Demonic Creature's "heroic resistance" against the "assault" finally brought the Demon Seed back to his senses.

"I may be low on stamina, and my Skills may be sealed, but I'm still a fucking Level 5 Demon Seed…"

The simple thought flashed through his mind, and realization followed.

In terms of individual combat strength, he did not seem that weak. The Baru Demons were already racing back to protect him. He only needed to survive for a few dozen seconds.

The Demon Seed found his "courage." His gaze turned colder as he stared at the Assassin.

One moment later, that courage shattered.

…

More than a dozen figures emerged from the wall's shadows. Identical short swords glinted with the cold light of death. The Shadow Assassins sprang onto the dead Baru Demon and lunged at the Demon Seed.

Despair filled the Black-skinned Demonic Creature's eyes. Even its movements slowed. In one moment of inattention, the opposing Assassin drove a short sword into its body.

The Demon Seed looked even more hopeless.

He knew he could not survive more than a dozen Level 3 and Level 4 Class Holders. The certainty of death instead awakened his viciousness.

Surrendering to the Human Race was impossible. His identity as a Demon Seed-and the Black Crystal embedded in his head-had already closed that path.

He issued one final mental command to every Baru Demon.

Come here. Kill these skulking cowards.

Then he lunged forward and roared in the Demon Realm Language, "For the Demon Race!"

His four stubby legs churned as fast as they could, though he still moved painfully slowly. Two short arms reached for the approaching humans.

A short sword drove straight into his brain.

…

"He was that weak…?"

The leader of the Shadow Assassins stared in disbelief after killing the Demon Seed with a single thrust.

He had expected the Demon Seed to be unimpressive in direct combat, but it was still a Level 5 Demon Seed. It should not have been this useless.

The original plan had called for the first Shadow Assassin to kill the mount with a suicide attack. A second Assassin would seal the Demon Seed's Skills, and the rest would strike together to finish him.

Once these Assassins attacked, Shadow Concealment would fail. A vast swarm of Bipedal Lizards would then surround and kill them.

They had prepared to die.

But no one had expected the Demon Seed to be so weak.

Viewed another way, most of the Shadow Assassins were now going to die for nothing.

"There was no way to know. At least the mission is complete."

A figure appeared abruptly beside the Shadow Assassin Captain and raised the Micro-Nuke in his hand.

"I won't stay, then. I'll leave this with you."

No. 8 handed the Micro-Nuke to the Captain.

Strictly speaking, the assassination had required numerous conditions and coincidences to align. No. 8 had been the Military's final safeguard against anything going wrong.

If the plan failed, he would use his terrifying assassination abilities to launch a one-man suicide attack on the Demon Seed.

Now, it seemed he would not be needed.