Ep.05 Midterms: Morvelum's Flesh Crumbles Away
Morvelum's flesh was peeling off in chunks. It tried to lunge at me now and then, but...
"Master. I'll support you."
With Lilia's flawless assistance—rivaling a high-performance AI—most of its attacks were neutralized. Since I'd entered my demon state, she could wield demonic energy to some extent as well.
"Grrrrraaaahhh!!!!!"
Whether it had lost its mind or not, Morvelum, no longer able to regenerate, swung its sword. Its movements were clearly weaker and slower than before. At this level, I wouldn't even break a sweat.
Crunch-crunch-crack.
I dodged the sword effortlessly and thrust out my mana-clad hand toward where a human heart would be. Inside its bony frame, my grip closed around something sticky and spherical.
'This must be the core. Feels gross.'
Morvelum was incomplete. It was no different from a denizen of hell descending into reality via an avatar. Like some kind of golem, really. The problem was that this golem was ridiculously strong and self-repairing.
"Just get lost already. You're a pain."
"...Wait. The heaven we shall soon forge will descend... Gahk!!!!"
I had no intention of wasting time listening to its drivel, so I crushed the core outright. As the condensed demonic energy slowly dispersed, the pure malice it had directed at me began to fade.
"Dante. Dante Vergilius."
A bizarre voice called from behind me. It wasn't just good or bad timbre—it sent chills down my spine with its explosive crackle. That voice belonged to...
"Barhen."
The one who had summoned Morvelum.
"You insolent brat. Speaking so casually to your professor."
"If you wanted respect, you should've acted like one."
Summoning a demon for his own selfish desires, and still having the gall to show his face.
"Barhen. It's gone back to hell anyway. Give it up."
"...Do you think I'd stop here?"
Barhen's eyes gleamed with a sharp gray light. Even now, he refused to back down?
"I sent the demon packing. You think you'd be any harder?"
It was a bluff. The backlash from demonization left my body sluggish and hard to control. Even against a combat professor, I'd be overwhelmed in this state.
"Impressive, indeed. A mere 4th Circle student, yet so awe-inspiring."
"Then quit while you know it."
"...But you're not the only one capable of great feats."
In an instant, the mana in the area began gathering toward Barhen. Black smoke poured from his body, his eyes deepening into an abyssal void.
Demon human. A vessel containing a demon within human flesh. It was eerily similar to my current state.
"Master. That's dangerous."
"...Yeah, I figured."
"To think a mere human could contain Morvelum."
Lilia was spot on. He was channeling the demon's power through his own body—the horrific state demon worshippers aspired to.
'This is way off. Not like what I knew.'
In the original story, Barhen did nothing and just gave up. But now, he'd entered a temporary demon state using his body as a medium.
'Ah. Butterfly effect again?'
I'd taken the unicorn blood, so he'd used his own to summon Morvelum. The demon, which should've been obliterated by the holy sword, merely returned to hell. And the result? Barhen became its vessel, paying with his own blood and flesh.
Yeah. That was the current outcome.
"Master. He's contained it, but imperfectly."
"I know. I can tell."
Imperfect. Unlike me, with my heavenly body and subjugated demon. It looked ready to shatter any second. But if he killed everyone here and absorbed their souls, he could sustain it. That's why he was holding out—until his vessel broke.
"Huuu..."
My body felt like it could crumble any moment. Despite my high recovery, my limbs trembled, mana unstable. Temporary grogginess. Still, I had to move. I wasn't about to let this second life end so soon.
Vrrrrm.
A crimson-black magic circle bloomed behind Barhen. Spells radiating bone-chilling menace. One hit, and I'd be dead.
"Hup."
I took a short breath and charged straight at him. Surprised by the direct approach, he leaped back to create distance.
'Knew it. That's what you'd do.'
And right into my trap. I could read his inexperienced movements easily enough.
Talent: Insight detects danger.
Talent: Mana Affinity protects the body using mana.
Talent: Heavenly Martial Body instinctively moves the body.
In the blink of an eye—before I could react—Barhen's attack struck true. A 5th Circle fire spell, Hell Fire. Even with all my defenses, the searing pain in my arm lingered.
"Guhk..."
The impact forced a slight gap between us. As Barhen approached to finish me off, chanting another spell...
"Dante...?"
A familiar figure called my name from afar. Luel. The protagonist entering phase two? That was too much.
"What... what's going on?"
"Professor Barhen's possessed by a demon, I guess."
"Wha...?"
"Can you cover me for a bit?"
With a reliable frontline finally here, I could think. Maintaining demonization against Barhen in my current state was impossible. Even with Lightning Fragment, my firepower fell short. I needed firepower to match a demon.
'...Demons don't even show up until Act 5.'
Way too early. Which meant I needed Act 5-level overwhelming power. Unfortunately, impossible right now.
'Or... is it?'
I steadied my breathing, eyes fixed on Luel facing Barhen. She'd grown stronger than in Act 1, deviating from the story like him. Of course, even she couldn't take him alone.
'But maybe it's not about Luel.'
I rose slowly, fully releasing demonization.
"Master!? That's dangerous right now."
"Nah. This is right."
The burden on my body eased, but so did my power—still risky. But it would do.
"Belloa."
"Uh... yeah?"
"Cover me. With protective spells."
"...I'll try."
"Noah."
"Y-Yes?"
"You handled that greatsword well."
A smile tugged at my lips as I charged toward Barhen.
"Dante!?!"
"You're insane."
Luel panicked; Barhen swiftly chanted to target me. Still, I pressed on, dodging simple interceptions while trusting Belloa's support.
"Luel."
"Huh!?"
"Toss me the holy sword—quick!"
"H-Holy sword?"
"The one made from your stigmata. Hurry!"
Flustered but compliant, she hurled the radiant white blade my way. Recalling our prior teamwork with Noah, I caught the hilt perfectly.
Talent: Insight senses the target.
What I held was the sword's true name: Ruinar. The primordial light, the blade that slays demons. Known as the holy sword.
"Let there be light (Yehi 'or)."
I murmured low, pouring mana and holy power into the holy sword.
Talent: Manifestation of Miracles empowers the biblical miracle.
In that moment, a white flash poured down onto Barhen's deploying magic circle.
"Gaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bathed in pure white light, Barhen's body began crumbling slowly—like ashes purified by radiance.
"Master... what was that just now?"
"...What else? A miracle."
An 8th Circle holy spell: Primordial Light. Obviously beyond a 4th Circle like me. Yet the magic consuming Barhen before my eyes was real.
'Holy sword... this thing's straight-up broken.'
Using Luel's stigmata light sword as a medium made it far more efficient. Still... if I'd lacked the holy power, it would've failed.
Trait: Seal of Original Sin - A new engraving has been added.
Stats have increased.
Acquired a new trait.
I owed my survival to the Seal of Original Sin. I still didn't fully grasp its traits, but one thing was clear: it let me convert holy power, mana, aura, even demonic energy. That's how I'd turned everything into holy power and barely pulled it off.
"Dante... what was that just now?"
"A miracle."
That's what I told Luel—
When suddenly, darkness swallowed my vision.