Five Layers of Demonic Curses

I clenched and unclenched my restored right hand.

It was back to normal.

The phantom pain from the moment it had been crushed still lingered, but it was manageable.

I suppressed the agony with Cold Blood.

I stared intently at Ariel.

Thanks a ton. The guy who set up this deathmatch is munching popcorn and rooting for me from the sidelines.

–Is your arm faring well, my partner?

“More or less.”

–To think such slender arms could produce that kind of power.

I already told her. That girl is a monster.

An angel’s rank can be determined by the number of wings. The Seven Archangels who lead Angelus each possess seven wings. Ariel, with six, is just one short.

Honestly, she isn’t someone who should be confined to the Diamond rank. She belongs on the eightieth floor. Her strength would let her operate comfortably even among Grand Masters.

–Can you truly prevail?

“Probably.”

–That answer is unlike you.

“If this weren’t a Tower mission, I would’ve turned tail and run the second it started.”

The Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts—its strongest technique in the first half. Even after perfectly capturing its essence and wrapping it in condensed energy, my arm had been erased.

If I had been wearing True Dragon Armor, I might have gotten away with just a shattered wrist. I had deliberately left it off to measure Ariel’s strength.

She was beyond what I expected.

Still.

“It’s worth trying.”

–Hmph. That is the attitude befitting my contractor.

Memories from my previous life. By combining abilities I had never learned before the regression, I could overcome even an overwhelming difference in raw specs.

Man. It really has been a long time since a player pushed me back in terms of pure stats.

“Goddess. I’ll need your victory blessing.”

–As you wish.

I saved God’s Wrath and Void Reflection for later. Both had short durations, so I activated the more stable and enduring Dragon Form first.

–I shall join the fray as well.

Nyx naturally manifested atop Lexy’s back.

“Y-you may have many tricks, but in the end you are still a mere mortal, it is.”

Ariel stuttered, then took to the sky once more. She soared dozens of meters up before diving diagonally, charging at me in a straight, honest trajectory.

Wow. She really is underestimating me.

Whoosh!

I released the explosive demonic energy blazing from my wings. My body shot skyward just as Ariel had done moments ago. Using the demonic energy as propulsion, I clenched my fist.

White holy light and dark-crimson flames collided in midair. Even though I had taken the brunt of it once before, the overwhelming wave of holy power still refused to feel familiar. It was like being smashed by a dump truck.

Crack! Scales shattered and blood seeped out.

Less than a second after my powerful ascent, my body was already descending. I deployed aura ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blades beneath my feet and spread Dragon’s Wings to brace myself.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just die if you’re this weak, it is?”

“Who? Me?”

“You are a weakling who cannot even endure my power, it is.”

“Looks like you still don’t understand the difference from before.”

Ariel’s entire body trembled lightly.

The 4-star skill I had created by fusing every charge-type ability I possessed. Lethal Charge activated its effect purely on “hit,” regardless of damage.

A charge skill that applied 100% stun on hit. Large monsters or those with stun resistance could endure it to an extent, but unless they possessed complete immunity, their bodies would still freeze for a moment.

“Now.”

Surging darkness swept over her like a tidal wave. A crimson beam carrying the essence of death struck Ariel directly.

It was the ultimate spell I had used against the NPC elf army. The demonic mass that stood in opposition to life eroded her holy light.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Ariel was blasted to the edge of the hill and frantically flapped her wings. She let out a cry like a nightingale, but the impact had not been that severe. I had deliberately spread the Polar Night energy thinly to focus on knocking her away rather than compressing it for maximum damage. Finger of Death was also at a disadvantage against her attribute.

The fact that she regained her balance so quickly told me everything.

Even so, I had created a gap with great difficulty. There were plenty of ways to exploit it.

I closed the torn muscles that even True Dragon Armor had failed to fully protect, then pulled a book from the Pocket of Desire.

Shhhhh!

An eerie black aura that sent chills down the spine simply by existing wrapped around the tome. The forbidden grimoire containing the authorities of the seventy-two demons. Although it was only a portion, at this moment it was the closest thing to the original. It accepted my dark mana and unleashed its power without reservation.

“I’m sorry! This body cannot be affected by a mere mortal’s pathetic curse, it is!”

“No need to apologize. It worked.”

“Hiiiieeeeek?!”

“Why are you so surprised? You’re clearly staggering.”

The authority of a demon that revealed one’s deepest fears to the target. I would show her what a real “pathetic curse” tasted like.

Dark mana and holy power were polar opposites—forces that were fatal to each other. A six-winged angel just below archangel rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could normally repel most interference, but the curse contained within the Lemegeton, infused with the power of the seventy-two demons, would not be so easily shaken off.

“I-I feel… rather dizzy, it is.”

Brrrrrrrr!

A massive hammer spinning dozens of times per second. Holy radiance left afterimages in the air as it spun, generating a white storm. Each individual particle carried the lingering echo of condensed energy. Anything it touched would be pulverized into meat paste—even an ogre.

Even so.

The fact that its range had widened meant…

–The total concentrated power has decreased.

“Kaaaaaah!”

Lexy, wrapped in Polar Night energy, charged straight into the heart of the light storm. A heavy impact rang out as her thirty-meter body was sent flying. The forward momentum of the white vortex slowed for a brief instant.

『I shall prove that even without a corpse, I am not useless.』

Dark mana exploded, freezing the white storm’s movement for a single moment. I had to do at least this much to make my vanguard worthwhile.

Whoong! Whoooong!

The movement of the white particles slowed. The vortex’s advance became sluggish. Yet it was still difficult to stop its forward progress completely.

The gap in specs between Ariel and me was absolute. I did not possess the strength to push back a holy-radiance storm.

That was fine.

I had bought more than enough time to stack debuffs.

Landing a curse on Ariel while she stood at the center of her holy-radiance storm would normally have been nearly impossible. But I possessed the ability to make it possible.

Using eyes that could read the flow of mana, I analyzed the currents within the holy-radiance storm. Then, with the Blessing of All-Encompassing Erosion, I slipped through the gaps and locked onto Ariel at the center of the rotation.

Next?

Time to pile on more curses.

Flip flip flip—

I rapidly turned the pages of the black tome in my hand. I skipped offensive skills like Barbatos’s Iron Mace. Even a demon’s authority would have trouble landing a clean hit on that insane woman. It was better to use the curses I had obtained after claiming Cocytus’s Stele.

Up, down, left, right. A curse of falsehood that disrupted the senses and tangled the victim’s own feet seeped into her.

“It’s a good thing you lack experience.”

Ariel was an opponent I could not face head-on at my current level. Even Rene Davis after fusing with the Eiffel Tower ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would have been cut down in ten seconds in front of this angel. There was no answer if I fought her with proper, straightforward methods. After exchanging blows twice, I became even more certain.

Therefore, I would thoroughly exploit her weakness—her lack of experience.

***

The comprehensive curse gift set that manifested the power of the seventy-two demons. Ariel reacted violently, as if moved by my sincerity.

“I hate it! This curse! It’s scary, it is!”

If you’re going to say that, could you please stop swinging that terrifying hammer around?

Even after I had stacked the seventy-two demon curses five times, the holy radiance clinging to her hammer had not diminished in the slightest.

Boom! Boom!

Every time the hammer struck the ground, the entire hill shook as if an earthquake had struck. Only the Tower’s indestructible terrain allowed it to endure. Had it been normal earth, the landscape would have been unrecognizable.

The Tiger King Cannon—a blue energy bullet carrying the momentum of a mountain tiger—surged forward. From beneath my feet, a stone dragon opened its maw wide.

“D-don’t come any closer, it is!”

She must have sensed the killing intent; her voice was pitiful as she swung the hammer. Yet the Tiger King Cannon, powerful enough to reduce an entire hill to powder just by grazing it, exploded like fireworks the moment it entered the hammer’s trajectory. The ferocious stone dragon was stomped flat by Ariel’s foot and burst apart with a heavy thud.

“Let’s go.”

Nyx, riding Lexy, closed in and unleashed the power of Polar Night. From a distance, Ark provided covering fire.

Flash!

The darkness of night was torn apart. The unclean waves Ark had squeezed out lost their power. A powerful defensive holy technique based on holy radiance. Every one of our attacks was swept away by a single focused counter and completely nullified. The moment we created even the slightest opening, it was erased by holy law.

An impregnable fortress. She was a walking citadel.

–This is troubling.

“You’re doing well. Let’s push a little harder.”

–Hmph. Are you not the one being driven into a corner?

Objectively speaking, perhaps. But I doubted that was how the angel felt.

Boom! Bang!

After that, a war of attrition continued. So the five-layer curse would not dissipate, I maintained it from afar using Blessing of All-Encompassing Erosion and Blessing of Greed, preventing the curse structure from collapsing. With coordinated attacks from Nyx, Lexy, and Ark, we slowly gnawed away at her holy radiance.

***

One solid hit from her would be fatal for me. Thanks to the five-layer curse, clean hits were rare, but whenever danger drew near I blocked with my own body.

“Guh!”

–Are you all right, my contractor?

“As long as she doesn’t hit my head or heart, I’m fine.”

This was the first time since my regression that I had needed to use Ultra Regeneration this heavily. Damn it. She really was disgustingly strong.

Crack. My arm broke again. Just being caught in the hammer’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trajectory had snapped it like a dry twig. Even with True Dragon Armor and demonic energy wrapped around it, this was the result.

Clang! I kicked the hammer away and immediately regenerated the arm. I had lost count of how many times I had used Ultra Regeneration. It was hard to keep track of the arm, and both legs had been broken and crushed more than ten times. All in the span of a few minutes.

If Ariel had been a little calmer, or if I had lacked Nyx and Ark’s support, I would have been turned into well-ground meat paste.

Only the Reverse Scale, which doubled in power while in Dragon Form, allowed me to stand my ground. Even then, a direct confrontation was impossible.

How long had we been fighting? The sacred light of her holy radiance had finally dimmed, if only slightly.

“Hieek!”

“Why are you so surprised?”

I had bitten and torn at her like a dog, yet this was all the damage I had managed. It seemed even that much had been quite a shock to Ariel.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want to use this, it is.”

Sacred light flowed from her angel halo.

She could not remove the Dantalion’s Illusion that clouded her eyes, but Ariel’s gaze pierced straight through it.

Her body shot forward like a comet. It would have been a spectacular sight if I weren’t the destination.

“Until just now she could barely control her own body, yet now…”

“Thanks to foresight.”

The ability granted to a dominion angel—one rank below archangel. Holy Spirit’s Foresight read the optimal future and moved her body accordingly. It was like auto-pilot. A sort of click-and-lock sensation. Easy to say, but utterly absurd for the one on the receiving end. A fraudulent ability that dismantled countless tactical exchanges!

–To speak so confidently, it seems you have prepared a countermeasure.

Well. I didn’t exactly have a plan prepared. If I had to take an unavoidable strike, then the only option was to prepare a counter-technique while bracing for the impact.

I poured every ounce of strength I possessed in my dragon-human form into this breath. I had no strength left to spare. The breath, compressed into a single streak of light, collided with Ariel’s comet-like hammer.

Shhhhh. The breath’s momentum weakened as it began to be pushed back.