Birth of the Demonic Sword

'Let's end this quickly,' Noah thought. His dantian, Demonic Sword, and Night were far away from their perfect condition, so he couldn't express his peak battle prowess for long.

Still, Third Prince and First Princess were busy dealing with the allied powerhouses, and there wasn't any defensive formation on the battlefield. There was no better chance to kill one of the Elbas family's strongest assets.

Black smoke started to come out of Noah's body. His spiked armor quickly formed, and a vast cloud covered a large area in a matter of seconds.

"I see," Second Prince said as the corrosive cloud engulfed him. "The famous Demonic Form. Thaddeus should have given your head to Father when you were still a human."

Another layer of light appeared around him. Its color was white at that time, and the corrosive smoke seemed unable even to get close to that radiance.

It seemed that Second Prince had come prepared. His defenses against the Demonic Form were more effective than those deployed by the allied powerhouses.

Hundreds of slashes flew through the darkness and converged in his position. Second Prince waved his hand, and tens of massive fiery snakes formed around him to block the incoming attacks.

The white light of his defensive item spread on the snakes and made them resistant to the corrosive properties of the cloud, but the slashes carried Noah's sharpness and cut right through them.

Second Prince's eyebrows arched as a metallic layer appeared over his white light. The slashes landed on his figure, but none of them managed to pierce his defenses.

Noah appeared above his opponent while the torrent of slashes landed on his opponent. He pointed the tip of the Demonic Sword toward his head, severing the laws on his path as he lowered it slowly.

A massive fissure appeared on the Royal's spot, and the metallic defense opened in two only to reveal that it was empty inside. Noah felt confused, but a giant reptilian head bit on his torso and pushed him in the distance.

Noah stared at the tall snake that clenched its maw on his body. The white halo around it made the creature unaffected by the corrosive smoke, but its power wasn't enough to pierce his skin.

A strange scent reached Noah's nostrils at that point. His body instinctively rejected that smell, but the dark star spun faster and made him used to it.

Noah's consciousness became able to sense presences around him when his body adapted to the scent. Second Prince had created multiple snakes that flew in Noah's direction and threatened to self-detonate.

'He has studied me for a long time,' Noah thought as he tapped his finger on the reptilian head clenched on his torso.

A small crack appeared on its forehead, and massive openings spread throughout its body due to the effects of Noah's destruction. A human-shaped fissure replaced his figure then, and the incoming snakes detonated only to hit black smoke.

Noah flew toward Second Prince's presence, but another fireball forced him out of his dimension. Nevertheless, he was ready at that time, and he slashed with the Demonic Sword without losing his momentum.

Second Prince was nearby, with his hand pointed toward Noah. He was ready to launch another spell, but he turned himself into flames when he saw Noah's slashing in his direction.

A large chunk of the black cloud disappeared as part of the sky became a massive crack connected to the void. Second Prince's flames struggled to escape the fissure's pulling force, and Noah didn't let that chance go to waste.

He reappeared on the flames' path, and a starry sky spread in front of him. Countless slashes landed on them, and Snore quickly reformed to launch its elemental attacks.

The Blood Companion fell apart and reformed every time he used his movement technique. The higher energy couldn't keep up with his speed, so Snore lost its connection with Noah during his sprints.

A torrent of attacks landed on the flames. A grunt came out of them, but a golden light soon shone from their surface.

Noah recognized that defense and didn't hesitate to rely on his strongest slash to deliver a decisive blow. Another fissure appeared on top of the previous one, but many runes covered the flames and made them disappear from that spot.

Noah turned his head toward another area of the cloud. Second Prince's body had reformed there, but his condition wasn't optimal. Trails of blood came out of his mouth, and a long diagonal cut had appeared on his torso.

The last offensive had been too much even for his many defensive methods. Noah's power was enough to hurt him.

Second Prince coughed blood before cleaning his mouth with his golden robe. The white light still protected him from the corrosive smoke, and his smile remained wide on his face.

"You moved away from the hybrid realm," Second Prince announced. "To think that we invested so much in researching those creatures only for you to discover a superior state."

Noah remained speechless when he heard that, but a sea of saber-shaped runes formed around him. Snore spread its wings too and began to charge its feathers with the primary energy accumulated in the environment.

"I thought you wanted to talk," Second Prince exclaimed while releasing a laugh. "You are right. I am Father's heir and his rightful successor. I have also inherited his curiosity, which makes you the most appealing being in my eyes."

Noah calmly listened to his words while his attacks charged. He had enough energy for a few more exchanges, but he wanted to end the battle with the next one.

Silent orders reached Night, who had hidden its presence inside the cloud. The creature prepared itself for the final assault.

"You still seem a bit too much for me to handle at the moment," Second Prince continued. "I'll be more prepared next time."

Noah launched his array of sabers and feathers and waited for them to near his opponent before using his movement technique. It took him only an instant to reappear above Second Prince and unleash another powerful slash.

Second Prince used all his defensive measures to block the attacks. The metallic layer covered his figure while he turned into flames. Yet, the torrent of sabers tore the dark-silver protection apart and opened a path for Noah's slash.

A fissure appeared on the spot. Half of Second Prince's flames disappeared in the void while the others flew away to reform his body. The Royal reappeared in a maimed condition, with missing limbs and countless cuts, but with his smile still wide.

Second Prince opened his mouth to speak again, but something moved inside the darkness and silenced him. The Royal revealed a surprised expression as a cut appeared on his neck, and his head fell from his shoulders.

"Got him!" Night cheered while half of what remained of its body crumbled. The bird-like puppet flew slowly toward Noah's shoulders before turning into a lump of dark matter that entered his mind.

Noah wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but the decapitated body began to melt right in front of his eyes. It turned into a red liquid that the black cloud consumed in a matter of seconds.

Instead, the severed head continued to float among the corrosive smoke with white light still covering its surface. The head eventually turned to face Noah upside-down with the same smirk that had accompanied the Royal through the entire battle.

"All these data will be interesting to process," Second Prince announced as the light around his head dimmed. The corrosive smoke began to affect pieces of his skin, which slowly consumed what remained of his body.

"It's still too early for a proper battle among our organizations," Second Prince said as his head disappeared inside the cloud. "Spend a few more years taking this region. The real fight will have to wait for Father's return."

When the corrosive smoke destroyed the last bits of Second Prince's tissues, a golden light shot from that spot and landed on the battlefield created by the four powerhouses in the distance.

The light spread, creating multiple formations that gave birth to a series of golden shields and divining the Royals from the alliance's leaders.