Requiem Of A Failed Hero



That curiosity was one thing on Raith's side but right now there was more to deal with.

Balam's fireball was shot at him but he skillfully deflected them away with the sword, although there was a little bit of pressure on his wrist as he did. But it was nothing he needed to pay attention to.

King Balam was surprised that Raith had survived that attack but he was now passed.

'What sort of phenomenon is this?'

Raith lifted his sword to his face, he was getting ready for an attack when King Balam launched himself at Raith with a thunderous bellow, his massive form hurtled through the air with an unnatural agility.

Raith stayed steady and poised to face the king, his eyes keenly fixed on its form and taking in everything about King Balam's form at a faster rate than King Balam himself was coming.

WHOOOOOOSSHHH

As the demon's hand swung down with the force of a crashing meteor, Raith's blade intercepted the strike with a resounding clang, a tremendous dispersal of black lightning followed, razing and destroying the infernal hand of the demon and causing an explosion that caused Balam to stumble backward.

Their clash sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield and the grounds were delved even deeper than they already were. With how ruined the city was, it could be possible that there is no survivor here, but if there is at all, then after this fight, there wouldn't be, a hundred percent certainty because the effect of this fight was more than a man can handle.

Absalom had to take Ryou and Kaiser away from the scene and they flew further backward, which was the palace, it was the farthest away from the point that Balam had been summoned; the area of the archon's temple.

Balam's fiery eyes burned with fury as he unleashed a barrage of infernal flames, attempting to engulf Raith in an all-consuming blaze.

"Sea Splitting Slash"

Raith swung Bal forward, cutting a horizontal splinter through the fire as he swiped his sword.

"Noir"

Wham!

The wyvern dashed forward with an air-defying speed, bringing Raith closer to Balam in an instant. Just as Raith reached the demon, he countered with a swift and precise strike, cleaving his blade through the air from below and swiping his sword which did not touch Balam's hand because even though Raith had closed in, Balam had momentarily tilted back to dodge...

"How laughable." The demon clicked its tongue.

Wham!

Its hand which had just exploded and was already recovering was cleaved away from its body by a gigantic arc that coursed through the air. Using Bal's skill [Space Rapt], the slash, in the last minute the slash defied space and passed through a concept of distance created by the skill, allowing it to grow in size and effect.

Balam tottered but held onto a crushed building to hold himself together, the lava on his hand burned down the building he was holding. Everything he touched was consumed and reduced to molten magma.

King Balam's expression twisted with a mixture of surprise and growing frustration as he watched Raith display an astounding level of strength over and over again for the past ten minutes of just meeting him.

Constrained by the limitations imposed by his towering form, Balam resolved to shed his imposing stature, relinquishing the lofty height that had hindered his movements. In an instant, his figure diminished, shrinking in size until he appeared to vanish from any other perspective.

However, Raith's keen gaze meticulously traced the demon king's every transition, prompting a wide grin to spread across his face.

Descending from the back of the wyvern with a resounding thud that rents the ground beneath him, Raith leaped down to confront the diminished demon king.

The impact of his landing echoed with a powerful resonance, fissuring the earth and setting off trembling vibrations.

"Have you finally decided to get serious?"

Raith said, looking forward. The surroundings became veiled in a swirling mist, an ethereal shroud created by the dissipation of King Balam's searing essence as he adjusted his form to confront Raith more effectively.

Intent on annihilating the archon and claiming dominion over this realm, King Balam found Raith's interference increasingly infuriating and tiresome. Oh, how he yearned to summon his vast assemblage of forty legions of demons!

With such a formidable force at his disposal, victory would come with ease.

Legions were the lifeblood of demons, a manifestation of their collective strength. Though composed of lesser demons, a legion could be led by a demon, fiend, or any being, regardless of their individual rank. As long as they belonged to the legion, they submitted to the authority of its leader, even if that leader was surpassed in power by a subordinate.

One legion consisted of forty demons with one of the forty leading the legion and so if we were to count the number of demons King Balam had, they were one thousand six hundred, and yet all of them had no home.

This reality propelled King Balam's meticulous scheming. Success in his endeavor would grant him a fortress of his own, augmenting his authority.

Over time, he aspired to challenge the higher seats of Felfhiem, ascending to the pinnacle of true demon kingship, surpassing the hollow title he had long adorned as a mere pretender.

"For an eternity spanning a thousand years, I have languished in anticipation for this very moment, and I shall brook no insolence from a lowly worm like you who dares to cross my path, you pitiful human."

Balam's voice seethed with anger as he emerged from the dissipating mist, unveiling his countenance.

His fiery red hair cascaded against his dark skin, etched with sinuous cracks resembling flowing lava.

His small, fiery orbs served as eyes, lending him the appearance of a ragged urchin.

The only vestige of clothing that adorned him was a tattered black cloth, clinging to his lower body as if it had narrowly escaped its last encounter with flames.

Balam's gaze lingered upon Raith, both combatants bracing themselves for the imminent clash. With a deliberate motion, the demon shut his eyes momentarily before gradually reopening them.

In an astounding display of swiftness, he materialized before Raith, his fist blazing with infernal fury, poised perilously close to its intended target.

While it appeared as though Raith would evade the oncoming strike, his reflexes were outmatched. Before he could even react, the demon's fiery fist connected with his face, unleashing a torrent of scorching flames that violently hurled Raith backward.

He careened through a storm of debris, tumbling relentlessly across the ravaged terrain.

The impact with the unforgiving ground sent tremors coursing through Raith's body, jarring his senses.

As he fought to regain his footing, his vision blurred momentarily, his head ringing from the forceful blow.

'...damn'

Even the undefeated commander king's body couldn't negate this one, as expected of a greater demon's blow.

Gritting his teeth, Raith swiftly pushed himself up. Blood trickled from a gash on his cheek, mingling with the dirt and grime on his face from both the fall and the blast of fire.

He focused his gaze on the smoldering figure of King Balam, who stood with a sinister smirk etched upon his fiery countenance.

"Impressive," Raith's voice cut through the aftermath of the clash. He spat out saliva mixed with blood before continuing, "But don't think for a moment that I'll be defeated so easily."

Raith extended his sword with a deliberate stretch, taking a moment to steady his breath.

Fuuuuu

The weight of anticipation hung in the air, accompanied by the whisper of a sword skill:

"Extreme Art of the Blade God."

In a swift motion, Raith lunged forward, his blade slicing through the air in a lightning-fast arc. Balam, taken aback by the sheer speed, struggled to react in time.

Yet, it was not only the speed that caught him off guard; it was the angle from which Raith executed the slash. With bare hands barely parrying the blow, the clash reverberated through the surroundings.

The extraordinary control Raith displayed was nothing short of astounding, a phenomenon attributed to his [Extreme Art of the Blade God] His joints seemed to bend with unnatural ease, granting him a range of motion that defied the boundaries of natural movement.

Mid-air, Raith twisted his torso and rotated his shoulders at an uncanny angle. This shift in body alignment allowed him to strike diagonally, bypassing his opponent's defenses effortlessly. His sword gracefully arced, tracing a path that defied the laws of physics themselves.

Moreover, Raith's footwork showcased a level of mastery that further augmented his uncanny ability to attack from improbable angles.

Every step he took was a meticulous dance.

His swift movements allowed him to constantly shift positions relative to his opponent, capitalizing on every opening and launching strikes from unexpected directions.

Balam was struggling to keep up with the angles of the attack, though the strikes lacked the desired impact. While Balam's single strike had sent Raith reeling, the latter's blade merely glanced off his opponent's body, leaving no discernible damage.

In one mesmerizing moment, Raith leaped into the air, his body twisting in a mid-flight spin. As he descended, his sword trailed behind him in a dazzling whirlwind of steel.

King Balam found himself unable to comprehend the bewildering assault, his defenses shattered as Raith's blade sliced through the air from an inconceivable angle.

Every stroke was a testament to Raith's unparalleled control over his body and the weapon he wielded. His muscles moved with exquisite precision, exploiting his opponent's blind spots and pushing the boundaries of what was physically achievable.

But this fight was far from one-sided.