Ambush of a Thousand Arrows

The moment I stepped into the park, a thousand arrows came screaming toward me.

Charna.

The ambush was timed almost perfectly — I had no choice but to use Charna. I stared at the arrows drifting toward me in slow motion.

These aren't the same arrows I saw before. They switched ammunition.

The energy clinging to each shaft was anti-demonic force. They knew I was a demon, and they'd prepared weapons charged with the power that countered me.

Anti-demonic arrows… those aren't easy to come by. They must have spent a fortune.

They'd been planning to kill me ever since I raided Venus Entertainment.

Against anti-demonic arrows, ordinary protective aura won't cut it.

A dark, seething energy rose from my body and wrapped around me — Heavenly Demon Qi. I didn't stop there. I spun that protective aura into a whirling force.

The arrows slammed into the spinning aura. Unable to overcome the rotational force, they ricocheted in every direction. The rain of arrows ended, and men in black suits burst out from all sides.

Roughly thirty of them. Not elf-archer caliber, but not something I can completely ignore either. More importantly — every last one of them is carrying anti-demonic weapons.

This was going to be rough.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art alone wouldn't be enough.

"Heavenly Demon. This is Lady Aphrodite's will. Die here."

First, I used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hacking.

I destroyed the server programs linked to every camera in the park. In an instant, the cameras became useless — none of this fight would be recorded.

I glanced at the status window. My stats had climbed a little since last time.

If they prepared anti-demonic force to kill the Heavenly Demon… then all I need to do is use Lightning.

Every surveillance camera in the park was scrap. Wipe out the ones in front of me, and my identity stays buried.

I opened my palm. Lightning flared at its center, spinning into a compressed swastika of pure thunder.

To me, this was Manryeo of the Noecheonryu. This world's system, however, interpreted it differently.

The compressed Manryeo in my palm blazed a brilliant blue. The moment the enemies charged from every direction, I released it. Azure lightning uncoiled in reverse, sweeping through the surrounding space. Most of them died without even managing to resist — electrocuted on the spot.

A few, however, weathered Manryeo through items or skills of their own. Among them, the one who caught my eye was a white-haired man standing dead ahead. Sparks of lightning crackled around him in a barrier.

"A lightning-attribute barrier."

"…Don't think lightning is yours alone."

Crackling static.

His barrier vanished.

It wasn't just the barrier that disappeared.

Every trace of lightning energy in the area was gone. More precisely — it had been relocated. I looked up. A cloudless, bone-dry sky flared bright, and a bolt of lightning came crashing down at me.

KRA-KOOM!

I caught the falling thunderbolt in my bare hand and hurled it back at him. He couldn't dodge. The bolt struck true and dropped him to the ground — already dead.

Skill ranks climbed.

The influence of Noecheonryu, huh?

A win was a win.

I swept my hand through the air, scattering lightning in every direction. The enemies who'd barely survived died without even managing a scream.

…Here it comes.

A salamander appeared in the sky. The fire lizard, seething with rage, opened its jaws wide and poured a torrent of crimson flame down at me.

I shot into the sky, dodging the attack, and smashed a clenched fist into the fire lizard's skull. Its body heaved and rippled.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I didn't waste the opening — I finished it with Dragon Fist. The salamander's body shuddered, then reverse-summoned and vanished.

The moment I landed, something felt wrong.

My feet are cold.

I glanced down. From the frozen ground beneath me, a chill was climbing upward.

Shhhhhhhhhh.

A snake slithered across the ice. Not a living creature — a spirit, same as the salamander.

An ice spirit? Never seen this one before.

I scattered black flames in every direction. The frozen ground melted away in seconds.

SHAAAAAAAK!

The ice snake shrieked in agony and surged upward. It was over five meters long, its jaws big enough to crush my head in a single bite. Spitting pure hatred, it lunged at me.

"Can't you see the black flames wrapping my body?"

I stood still. There was no reason to stop a moth diving into the fire. The ice snake's long body coiled around me — then sank its fangs into my shoulder. I had my protective aura up, but those ice fangs were razor-sharp.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art and Heavenly Demon Physique went to work on their own, without me lifting a finger.

That's Heavenly Demon Divine Art and Heavenly Demon Physique for you. They handle themselves. Give it about three minutes and the poison's effects will be gone.

Shhhhhhh.

An anti-demonic arrow came flying straight at me. I spun halfway around and dodged it. At the same time, I spotted the ash-haired elf archer — Orlan — perched on a tree five hundred meters away, and flicked my fingers.

Orlan leapt upward, dodging the Black Bullet, and in the same motion drew his bowstring and loosed an arrow. The tip blazed a furious red.

Anti-demonic arrows enhanced with spirit power, too?

Dodging was enough. No need for Sovereign Step. I sidestepped — and the incoming arrow curved mid-flight, tracking straight toward me.

Homing?! He's got every annoying ability in the book.

I sprinted through the park, drawing a sword from my inventory and batting the arrows aside as they came.

Close the distance first.

Easier said than done. He knew closing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gap put him at a disadvantage. He ran backward, loosing arrow after arrow at me without pause.

I cut them down with the sword. It looked easy from the outside — but every impact sent a shockwave that chipped away at my body, little by little.

Should I switch status windows?

I considered it, then decided to stick with the Heavenly Demon window. In a one-on-one fight, it was the better choice. And the gap between us was shrinking. I had no reason to get impatient.

He's the one who should be panicking — not me.

Three hundred meters. Two hundred. One hundred. Fifty.

Almost there.

This chase was mine to win.

Once I get into close range…!

I'd crush this damn elf archer without breaking a sweat!

And then it happened.

A massive presence bloomed beside me — a presence that seized a man's deepest instincts and forced my head to turn.

A goddess in a seductive black dress was smiling beautifully. Her golden hair blazed with radiant light. The line of her full breasts, her narrow waist, and the curve of her hips that followed was a work of art no word could capture.

Aphrodite had unleashed the full power of her Authority of Beauty.

Instinct ripped control of my body away from me. My erect cock started ejaculating on its own. The orgasm kept going and going.

There was zero pleasure in it — just the miserable feeling of pissing yourself in your pants.

But the real problem was worse…

To ordinary people, five seconds is a blink. To superhumans like us, five seconds is enough time to land more than ten attacks.

For an archer, it's enough time to loose more than ten arrows.

Thud! Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

More than ten arrows punched into my chest.

Save Heavenly Mind. Use Complete Recovery. Aphrodite can use her authority again… lure them into letting their guard down… wait. Why am I not dead?

I was slightly stunned.

Anti-demonic arrows were buried in my body, and I was still alive.

None of them hit my heart…?

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (SSS).

Heavenly Demon Physique (S).

I'd underestimated their power far too much.

Thud! Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Orlan closed in on my fallen body, still loosing arrows. It didn't feel like he knew I was alive so much as he was running through a checklist — confirming the kill by the book.

Through all of it, my cock kept ejaculating. My pants were long past soaked — a pool of semen was forming on the ground.

What a fucking mess.

On the other hand, I was a little proud of my stamina.

Five seconds ended a long time ago… so why does the arousal message keep popping up?

Either way, Orlan had stepped into my range.

I surged to my feet, charged him, and seized him by the throat.

"Sylphreo!!"

Orlan cried out in shock. A powerful wind spirit materialized above my head. Blades of wind tore into my body. Blood sprayed in every direction. Strangely, though, there was no pain. I clenched my right fist and drove it at Orlan's head.

The punch landed square on his face. The elf archer's head exploded into fragments. The wind spirit that had been whipping hundreds of blades at me vanished along with him.

My body was a wreck of blood. But I felt no pain, and I was still standing on two feet. I spun around and walked straight toward Aphrodite.

Having lost every one of her subordinates, Aphrodite showed no fear. She just stared at me like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

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"Ridiculous. Whether it's that constellation of yours or some absurdly powerful will… my authority went in all wrong."

My cock was still ejaculating.

"So this fucked-up state my body's in — that's your doing?"