Ch.8786. Assault (2)

# 86. Raid (2)

“Yes, understood, Executor.”

Lilith’s subordinate cast [Invisibility Magic] and [Undetectable Magic] on the teleportation portal, ensuring humans wouldn’t notice it.

Even after demons raid the city through that portal, humans will have no idea where the portal was located.

That’s how significant the gap in magical knowledge is between humans and demons.

“Now, let’s go.”

Having completed their task, they prepared to return to their hideout.

“Sister, can I have a meal before we go?”

“Do as you please.”

Hearing this, the succubus licked her lips as she searched for prey from their high vantage point.

“Are you sure you don’t want any, sister?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“It would taste good if you tried it, you know?”

Lilith wasn’t completely disinterested in the act.

Sexual intercourse—the symbol of succubi. Succubi are beings who naturally live by engaging in such acts.

But Lilith was denying this fact.

And she managed to live reasonably well without ever trying it.

“I’m fine.”

“Someday, someone will come along to show you how good it feels.”

“I don’t need that.”

Even as Lilith said this, she watched her subordinate heading out to find prey with curious eyes, as if to prove what kind of being she truly was.

Then, while caressing her tiny horns, she thought to herself:

‘What kind of feeling makes them act like that?…’

***

That incident.

About a month and fifteen days had passed since our first date after becoming a couple.

During that time, we conducted rigorous training without missing a single day.

Everyone found it quite difficult, but they kept up well.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

As usual, we were testing our skills against each other in the dueling arena.

Originally, I could easily win even in a 3-versus-1 fight, but now that everyone had leveled up, experienced their second awakening, and gained experience, that was no longer the case.

And thanks to the confidence their growth had given them, they had all become quite positive and passionate.

“We can still keep going! Are you getting tired?”

Of course, they had also become somewhat arrogant because of it…

‘Well… can’t be helped.’

They say rice plants bow their heads as they ripen, but we weren’t rice plants, and especially at their age, they loved showing off.

I wished they would humble themselves a bit, but it couldn’t be helped.

“I was being considerate in case you were tired, but I guess that’s unnecessary?”

To make those upright rice plants bow their heads, I activated both of my unique skills.

It was true they had become stronger, but they were still no match for me, and I was continuously growing as well.

“Let’s make this a bit more intense today. You’d better be careful.”

For the first time in a long while, I activated [Mortal’s End] during our sparring match.

Usually, I would fight with just my sword to maintain balance, but I wasn’t the type to let such attitudes slide.

“Wait… that’s a bit…”

“Could you at least deactivate that one?”

“…”

I spoke to the three who were trembling from the pressure they hadn’t felt in a long time.

“You need to learn to overcome this kind of pressure too. Here I come.”

Then I used [Swift] to approach them instantly.

They couldn’t adapt to my already fast speed becoming even faster.

‘They’re still quite lacking.’

However, as the fight dragged on, they showed some adaptation and threatened me with their unique skills.

Reina’s skill utilization was particularly impressive.

Using [Stealth], which she gained from her second awakening, to conceal herself, then attacking with [Swift], [Reinforcement], and [Lightning Strike]—this method would catch most skilled fighters off guard.

“Reina, that was well done.”

After saying that, I delivered a powerful kick to Reina, who looked bewildered that her finishing move had been blocked so easily.

-Thud!!-

With my strength insanely high from wielding [Sword of the Abyssal Depths] in greatsword form, Reina couldn’t regain her senses after taking my kick directly. Meanwhile, I turned to face the remaining two.

I spoke to Briton, who was holding his shield with a tense expression.

“Briton, block properly. Unless you want a repeat of last time.”

I raised the greatsword high and poured mana into it, stacking [Reinforcement] to increase its destructive power.

It was enough to pierce through [Invincible Rampart] and shatter his shield, but it was fine.

I trusted Briton and brought my sword down hard on his shield.

-Crash!!!-

An enormous sound erupted as sword and shield collided.

Yet remarkably, not even a small scratch appeared on Briton’s shield.

The mysterious shield created by [Invincible Rampart] only crumbled slightly, and Chris, who had helped create this miraculous scene, said:

“Even with [Angel’s Blessing] boosting defense… [Absolute Defense] really is a cheat skill.”

Chris’s first unique buff skill [Angel’s Blessing] and Briton’s second unique skill [Absolute Defense].

[Angel’s Blessing], which increases the highest stat of a designated living being by a certain percentage for a limited time, and [Absolute Defense], which reduces damage taken by 70% for a limited time.

With these two skills applied to Briton, who already had high defense, even my best attack was easily blocked.

“But it’s not over yet.”

Both skills were still low rank, so their duration wouldn’t be long.

They might have already ended.

However, that one attack wasn’t all I had—in fact, this was just the beginning.

As I raised my greatsword again, Chris exclaimed in panic:

“Wait! I surrender! Surrender!”

“Surrender?”

“Are you trying to kill us? Put that down! We’ll really die this time!”

“You never know.”

I ignored Chris’s desperate plea and raised my sword.

Then I swung it toward the two who were dripping with cold sweat.

Even in that worst-case scenario, they didn’t give up and tried to block my rapidly approaching sword.

‘Not that they can block it…’

Chris cast [Angel’s Blessing] on Briton again, and they both held the shield together to reduce the impact as much as possible.

When two people hold a weapon together, their combined stats are reflected in the weapon, so it was a fairly wise decision.

Of course, it was still insufficient, and blocking my sword head-on in that state was impossible.

‘I have no choice…’

-Swoosh!-

I reluctantly withdrew my sword just before it collided with their shield.

The two stared at me blankly, surprised by my sudden withdrawal.

“What? Want me to continue?”

“N-no! Thank you, really.”

“Phew… that was close.”

“Let’s end here for today.”

Hearing the news of the duel’s end—like an oasis in the desert—the two finally relaxed and collapsed on the ground.

Leaving those two alone, I brought a potion to Reina, who was still struggling.

Reina, who had been lying on the ground, immediately got up, drank the potion, and thanked me as soon as she finished.

“Thanks…”

“That move earlier was really good. If you use it like that in real combat, it’ll work on most opponents. Now you just need to raise your basic stats and skill ranks.”

While they still lacked experience, there was definitely a limit to what could be achieved through sparring alone, and they had reached the level where they needed to gain experience in real combat.

From now on, focusing on dungeon conquests would be wise.

Reina, whose condition had improved thanks to the potion, asked me:

“But how did you know? You shouldn’t have been able to see me…”

“Intuition.”

Reina was skeptical of my answer, but it really was just intuition.

“It’s true. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but my senses become more acute when I activate [Mortal’s End].”

Of course, it wasn’t another function of [Mortal’s End], but simply that my agility stat increased, making my senses more acute.

“I feel the same when using [Lightning Strike]…”

Reina was certainly quick-witted to notice so fast.

“Actually, when agility increases, your senses become more acute. If it’s a temporary increase, you’ll feel it even more strongly.”

“You really know all sorts of things…”

“I noticed quickly because my stats change frequently.”

In fact, anyone who experiences frequent changes in agility like me would know this.

“But to dodge it just because of that… I really thought I had you this time…”

“Want me to let you hit me next time?”

When I said that with a mischievous smile, Reina strongly refused.

“No? Absolutely not.”

“Oh… pride?”

“I’ll become so fast that you won’t be able to dodge even at full strength.”

“That’ll be tough.”

Even as I said that, I couldn’t help but smile.

Reina’s passionate attitude and mindset were truly admirable.

“Just wait… someday I’ll gift a big scar to that smug face of yours.”

“I’d find that rather problematic.”

The owner of that voice was none other than my girlfriend, Elizabeth Michael, who had been watching our duel from the stands with her teammates until just moments ago.