Volume 2, Chapter 35 – Retaliation

Without a doubt, Norton was dead.

Fia’s gaze moved away from what had once been Norton and was now just a piece of skin.

From what point did the Despair Demon General become Norton? Did he grow up from infancy, or did he sneak into Norton’s body during the chaos?

No, there’s no need to consider these things. Since Norton was just a disguise of the Despair Demon General, it means that even Norton leading the unconscious Estelle out of the castle was all part of the Despair Demon General’s plan. Norton is dead. What the Despair Demon General said about the bloodline of the Oro family being completely wiped out was not a lie.

This is unpleasant.

I will annihilate him.

Taking a step, Fia, without waiting for the Despair Demon General to speak, smashed her right fist into the left side of the Despair Demon General’s face at the fastest speed possible.

However, the Despair Demon General was already prepared. If he had still been in Norton’s body, he would have never been able to see the trajectory of Fia’s attack. But now, he has recovered his full strength. With a pre-emptive knowledge that Fia would attack him, and with Estelle continuously providing him with mana from the side, reacting was not difficult.

The Despair Demon General took a step back and used his left hand to block Fia’s fist. His blade-like right hand stabbed straight towards Fia’s chest from below. It was clear that Fia’s fist would be blocked by the Despair Demon General, and the tables would then be turned.

Unfortunately, the strength of the two of them was not equal from the very beginning.

[Strength Boost II]

A second before the two were about to make contact, Fia’s right fist suddenly shone with a dazzling golden light. The moment her fist touched the Despair Demon General’s blade-like arm, the latter’s arm, which was reflecting a black glow, rapidly became covered in cracks. With a series of cracking sounds, it shattered like a piece of pottery. The Despair Demon General’s right arm, which was stabbing at Fia, was forced to stop a second before it made contact. The tip of his arm, which had hit the [Bee Shield] force field, even broke apart because it could not withstand the immense force.

The last time they had met, Fia had not displayed such an ability. A look of surprise involuntarily appeared in the Despair Demon General’s mind.

“You—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the featureless Despair Demon General saw a golden light that was rapidly expanding in his vision.

The fist, accompanied by a fierce wind, had already reached the Despair Demon General’s head.

Boom!

First, a ripple-like thing spreads out from the point of contact. Then, the Despair Demon General’s incredibly sturdy body shattered like a stone. The flying pieces of his body shot into the ruins like bullets, creating a series of explosions and rising dust.

I did feel like I hit something, Fia thought. The Despair Demon General’s strength has not become stronger than before. In fact, he seems even weaker due to my increase in strength. Fia calmed her mind and used [Wind of Exploration] to meticulously scan her surroundings.

There was no sign of the Despair Demon General.

Although it was her own sudden attack, the Despair Demon General was too weak.

The anger in Fia’s heart began to brew again.

Death is too cheap for the Despair Demon General. He had said just now that Estelle was providing him with his immortality and an endless supply of mana. The thing on Estelle called the Seed of Despair had not yet disappeared. The Despair Demon General would not die so easily.

Realizing this, Fia suddenly understood where the familiar perfume scent she had been smelling on Estelle had come from—it was probably the scent of the Seed of Despair. The reason she hadn’t immediately connected the scent on Estelle to the Seed of Chaos she had come into contact with on the Moon Dragon Radric was probably that the Despair Demon General had tampered with the Seed of Chaos, making the two scents similar but different.

Tch.

Fia couldn’t help but click her tongue.

As if in response to Fia’s thoughts, the Despair Demon General’s voice appeared again.

“Oh, oh, oh. After not seeing you for a few days, the elf princess has learned such a powerful magic. I thought your nearly infinite mana was your greatest strength. To be able to cast spells from morning to night without stopping, that amount of mana is comparable to Lord Absolute Evil’s. I didn’t expect you to learn magic so quickly as well. It seems I can’t let you live for too long.”

What made Fia’s face darken more than the Despair Demon General’s words was his appearance.

The Despair Demon General’s leisurely voice came from behind Fia, or to be precise, from Estelle. Estelle, who had been lying on the ground just a moment ago, was now standing up again. She was holding her left arm with her right hand and had a strange smile on her face.

“What a wonderful despair… If it weren’t to deal with you, I would have detonated the last bit of the Seed of Despair’s power. It’s a pity that because of you, my plan had to be changed. How are you going to compensate me—hehehe… What a great expression. Even the elf princess can show such a terrifying look. I thought you would be able to remain rational forever.”

The Despair Demon General, who was occupying Estelle’s body, showed a look of mockery. Above Estelle’s head, a seed-shaped black object was suspended.

That was the projection of the Seed of Despair.

The black mist emanating from Estelle’s body was continuously pouring into it.

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Can I destroy it with [Firestorm]—no, is Estelle still alive?

The image of Norton, who was nothing more than a piece of skin, appeared in her mind. The anger in Fia’s heart grew even more intense. But the Despair Demon General did not give Fia a chance to think. He manipulated Estelle’s body and ran straight towards Fia.

Estelle’s speed was incredibly slow, and her body was full of weaknesses. Fia only needed a few fireballs to make Estelle disappear from this world. But Fia knew she couldn’t do that. If Estelle were not dead and the Despair Demon General was actually in that projection, she would have killed Estelle. And that was exactly what the Despair Demon General wanted.

“Die!”

A piercing scream, unlike Estelle’s, came from Estelle’s mouth. The golden scissors in Estelle’s hand swung straight towards Fia’s head.

Fia slightly moved her body to the side, dodging the long scissors. But Estelle’s attack did not end there. As if she had expected Fia to dodge, Estelle changed her swing into a horizontal slash, swinging at Fia’s waist.

A hexagonal shield symbolizing a [Bee Shield] force field appeared at Fia’s side.

With a loud clanging sound of metal on metal, the scissors in Estelle’s hand bounced back due to the immense counterforce. Her body also recoiled uncontrollably. After she finally managed to stand up straight, she wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

“A good defensive magic, but how long can you keep it up? Aren’t you good at fire and mental magic?!”

“Did you get anxious when you saw I wouldn’t fall for your trick?”

Estelle’s mind was on the verge of collapsing. Using [Mental Shock] now would likely cause irreversible damage. The Despair Demon General was trying to provoke her into killing her own companion.

However, just as the Despair Demon General had said, she couldn’t let this situation continue. The Despair Demon General had no way of dealing with her now. She should take this opportunity to calmly think of a way to restore Estelle.

“Then how about this?! If you are hit by a weapon covered in the Seed of Despair, even a vampire cannot be resurrected!”

Guessing that Fia would calmly think of a solution, the Despair Demon General manipulated Estelle and suddenly turned the long scissors around, stabbing it straight into her heart.

Tch.

Fia clicked her tongue loudly. But just as Fia was about to use a spatial hand to restrain Estelle, Noreen’s figure appeared at Estelle’s side. While Fia was fighting the Despair Demon General, Noreen had managed to break free because Fia had not divided her attention to control the spatial force.

In Estelle’s mocking smile, Noreen, without hesitation, swung her sword at Estelle, cutting off both of Estelle’s arms at once to stop the Despair Demon General from killing her sister.

However, the Despair Demon General, who was controlling Estelle, had anticipated Noreen’s move. The former suddenly took a step back with a speed that was hard for the eye to catch. Then, with her elbow, she smashed into Noreen’s side.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

With a light “bang,” Noreen, who was hit in the chest, turned into a puddle of black mucus and fell to the ground. At the same time, Estelle pushed off the ground with force. With the sound of the earth cracking, she shot towards Fia like a cannonball.

Her speed was worlds apart from before.

This was the power of the Despair Demon General.

The ferocious grin on Estelle’s face rapidly grew in Fia’s vision. But Fia’s response was only one—she raised her hand, and a transparent, beehive-structured shield appeared in front of her.

Clang!

A heavy sound, as if it was about to shatter her eardrums, rang out. The defensive performance of the [Bee Shield] force field was already excellent, but Fia could clearly see a blue-purple electric glow emanating from it under Estelle’s full-force attack. If the power had been a little stronger, the [Bee Shield] force field would not have been able to hold up.

After all, it was a First-Tier spell. Even with [Hypercomputation] enhancing it, it was a bit too much to ask it to block the full-force attack of a Sixth-Tier Despair Demon General.

What Fia did not expect was that Estelle’s actions had a follow-up. Estelle no longer retreated after one strike. Instead, she spun her body, and using the counterforce, she swung the long scissors like a whip, slamming it diagonally into the [Bee Shield] force field.

Crack—

A few cracks appeared on the shield.

Seeing the look of surprise on Fia’s face, Estelle laughed triumphantly.

“You’re allowed to hide your strength, but I’m not allowed to feign weakness?! The score from the castle that day, it’s time to settle it!”

The same attack appeared again. The [Bee Shield] force field could no longer withstand Estelle’s bombardment and shattered into pieces. Estelle also threw away the long scissors and punched Fia straight in the face with her right fist. She had calculated that Fia would not dare to retaliate with full force. Close-quarters combat was her best bet.

—But she had clearly miscalculated Fia’s trump card.

The two bodies quickly collided. Fia simply raised her hand and firmly caught Estelle’s fist, which was swinging at her. At the same time, she took out a countless number of yellowish-green short daggers from her hidden right-hand storage backpack. In the grasp of a spatial hand, a total of eleven [Key of the World Tree] filled with mana were all plunged into Estelle’s body.

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Her arms, her thighs, her chest, her abdomen. Besides the places that would cause a fatal injury, the [Key of the World Tree] did not spare a single spot. This was the reason Fia had been hiding behind the [Bee Shield] force field all this time and had not stopped Estelle from shattering the magic shield.

The Despair Demon General thought he could do whatever he wanted with Estelle’s body. But he didn’t know that Fia had the [Key of the World Tree]. People always let their guard down when they were about to succeed. The Despair Demon General was no exception. Fia was waiting for this moment.

The sound of the daggers plunging into flesh and blood rang out continuously. Fia’s expression showed no signs of wavering. To prevent Estelle from thrashing around, she used her left arm to press against Estelle’s neck. A spatial force from behind Estelle’s body struck her knees, and as her body went limp, Fia pushed her down to the ground.

“This is the end.”

“You… what is this!”

Still trying to fight back, Estelle’s eyes widened in astonishment. The veins on her forehead bulged. Fia sneered and pinched Estelle’s chin, forcing Estelle to look her in the eyes.

“Get out of Estelle’s body!”

As if in response to Fia’s words, Estelle’s body suddenly trembled. She opened her mouth wide but could only make a series of “uhh” sounds. Immediately after, a large amount of black mist belonging to the Seed of Despair began to rise from Estelle’s body as if it was being driven out by the [Key of the World Tree]. In just three seconds, the amount of black mist rapidly decreased. In a slightly muffled groan from Estelle, all the black mist was sucked into the Seed of Despair in the air.

A pitch-black, seed-like thing that seemed to have a physical form, was over three meters in size, and was slowly rotating. It made one think of the placenta of a black goat demon. Its very existence was ominous.

“You bastard… The Witch of Hope would actually go to such lengths for you… My perfect masterpiece is going to be ruined by you! Unforgivable… unforgivable!!!”

The Despair Demon General’s resentful howl came from within the seed. Fia first hugged the unconscious Estelle and moved her away from the Seed of Despair. Then she used a small-range [Firestorm] to bombard the seed that was floating in the air.

Besides its color becoming a little lighter, there was no other change. Its defensive power was astonishing.

Immediately after, the Despair Demon General began to summon chaos. In an instant, the chaos from the entire city, as if it had found an outlet, disregarded Fia and the soldiers in the city and all surged towards the Seed of Despair. In less than a single breath, the chaos quickly formed the Despair Demon General’s muscles and blood. They were like wriggling flesh, gradually forming a gigantic monster amidst the unpleasant sound of mucus stirring.

“Your Highness!”

“Lady Estelle!”

Finally sensing the situation, Anastasia and Estelle’s troops also rushed to Fia’s side. Their gazes first fell on Fia, who was holding Estelle horizontally in her arms. Then they all shifted to the huge, pitch-black figure in the air.

Although the thing had not yet fully taken shape, it already had a rough outline. It was a gray monster with a human-like upper body and a goat-like lower body, whose body length and height both exceeded a hundred meters. It was not quite right to call it a human upper body, because there were goat horns that curved backward on top of the head.

“W-what happened?”

Swallowing unconsciously, Anastasia, who was looking up at the black goat, subconsciously grabbed Fia’s wrist, as if she would take Fia and run away if the situation turned south.

“That’s the Despair Demon General. He has absorbed the power of the Seed of Chaos. His mana is at the Seventh Tier… No, it’s still growing. He’s the mastermind behind all of this.”

“It’s still growing?! Your Highness, we must leave this place quickly. And Her Highness Liti, where is Her Highness Liti?!”

Saying this, Anastasia was about to take Fia and run, but Fia did not move. Instead, she handed the now-unconscious Estelle, who was limp in her arms, to Anastasia.

“No, Anastasia. You take Estelle and get far away from here. Didn’t you always want to know what I was capable of? Now is the time. I won’t let this guy get away with this—hurry, have the others leave this place.”

“But Your Highness—”

Anastasia wanted to say something, but Fia, before she could, stood on her tiptoes and placed her index finger on Anastasia’s lips, her expression filled with seriousness.

Anastasia was stunned and dared not speak. She saw a murderous intent at the bottom of Fia’s ruby-like eyes. It was a quality that Anastasia felt was foreign, something only people who had climbed out of a pile of corpses would possess.

“Do as I say.”

At this moment, Fia seemed to have the authority of a god. Her commanding tone and cold voice, for a moment, even made Anastasia think that the Fia of the past had returned. Not only that, but she had an even more oppressive aura of an authority figure, so much so that Anastasia could not say a single word.

Almost subconsciously, she bowed her head deeply.

“Yes.”

After answering, without needing Fia to remind her, Anastasia, who was holding Estelle, turned around and began to evacuate the others.

“Everyone retreat! This place will be left to Her Highness the Eldest Princess!”

These soldiers had already lost their will to fight after seeing the black goat that the Despair Demon General had turned into. Now that they had Anastasia’s command, they were like criminals who had been granted a pardon and fled in a panic towards the sanctuary.

In just a few breaths, the sounds of their running and shouting were already several blocks away.

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The only people left on the ruins were Fia and the Despair Demon General, who had turned into a black goat.

[Flight]

With butterfly-like light wings appearing behind her, Fia flew into the air, reaching a height that was level with the Despair Demon General’s eyes. The Despair Demon General’s body had completely taken shape. His upper body was covered in bronze-colored, bulging muscles, and there were six muscular arms on his sides. Just by looking at him, one could feel the power that he exuded, as if every one of his arms had the strength to smash a mountain.

[Wind of Exploration] reported that the Despair Demon General’s strength was about to enter the Eighth Tier. In addition, after the Despair Demon General had recovered his human-like upper body, Fia was surprised to find that half of the Despair Demon General’s body was a man, and the other half was a woman. Of course, it was more like a magical beast than a human. Fia could only faintly make out the differences between the two sides of his body.

“Ughhhhhh!!!!! It’s all because of you! My perfect masterpiece, my perfect masterpiece has been ruined by you!!! Everyone must die today! No one is allowed to leave here alive!!!”

“So you have no sanity left.”

Fia sneered at the Despair Demon General’s pitiful state.

There were no more hostages around now. She could use her power without worry.

[Firestorm]

A two-hundred-yard-range pillar of fire shot up without a single sign. The Despair Demon General was completely enveloped in it. However, what surprised Fia was that the chaos that formed the Despair Demon General did not turn into ashes like it usually would. The Despair Demon General’s body in the flames only became a little smaller.

Is this the enhanced effect of the Seed of Despair?

If [Firestorm] doesn’t work, Fia will use [Mental Shock]. As a white light flashed, the tremor of [Mental Shock] instantly reached the Despair Demon General. But just as the shockwave of [Mental Shock] was about to hit the Despair Demon General, a layer of black mist suddenly appeared on the surface of his body. The mist dissipated under [Mental Shock], but [Mental Shock] also ran out of strength.

The firestorm gradually dispersed, and the Despair Demon General’s piercing voice made Fia’s ears hurt.

“A mere flicker of light! I’ll show you what real power is! Tremble before the Despair Demon General, you weak elf!”

The moment his voice fell, a visible tremor in the air suddenly rushed towards Fia. What was horrifying was that before Fia could even dodge, the trembling air had already affected Fia.

Is that the speed of light?

But she didn’t feel anything strange.

Fia instinctively felt that the spell was probably a mental magic that had been enhanced by the Despair Demon General.

The Despair Demon General did not give Fia much time to think. From his perspective, Fia had already lost her will to resist because of the mental magic. This was his chance to pursue her. All six of his muscular arms swung at Fia from six different directions. The fierce wind from his fists compressed the air, creating a series of sonic booms.

Soon, transparent magical shields appeared in front of five of the Despair Demon General’s six arms. Unfortunately, these magical shields only managed to hold on for a fraction of a second before they were shattered with a bang.

The feeling of power coursing through his body, coupled with the way he had effortlessly destroyed Fia’s magical shields, made the Despair Demon General laugh uncontrollably. He may not have been Fia’s match before, but now, after devouring the Seed of Despair, even an elf princess who was guided by the Witch of Hope was no match for him. He even felt that even his master, Absolute Evil, would have to retreat in the face of his full-force attack.

However, there was not just one layer of magical shields. After destroying the initial magical shield, the Despair Demon General shattered four or five more layers of magical shields in succession. The fact that his attacks were continuously being blocked and that his fists couldn’t reach Fia made anger well up in his heart. He simply propelled himself forward, putting all the strength in his body into the one arm that was not blocked by a magical shield.

And as the distance closed, Fia, who had been obscured by the layers of shattered magical shields, finally appeared before the Despair Demon General. To the Despair Demon General’s delight, Fia did not choose to dodge. Instead, as if she had been frightened into a stupor, she stood still. And she had even raised her right fist, trying to use that pitiful, muscle-less, and weak fist to fight against him.

How ridiculous!

The Despair Demon General couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“A lowly ant dares to contend with me?!”

Then.

—The right hand that Fia had raised began to condense with a golden light.

[Strength Boost I]

[Strength Boost II]

[Strength Boost III]

Even though it was raining, the light in Fia’s hand was as if a second sun had appeared on the earth. The dazzling light made it impossible to open one’s eyes and look at it directly.

A 200%, 300%, and 400% increase in strength.

It was not additive, but multiplicative.

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In the next moment, Fia swung a punch with all the strength that she had just accumulated.

Boom!

It was like a sudden burst of thunder on a flat plain!

The mocking smile was still on the Despair Demon General’s face, but his arm was shattered piece by piece under the world-shattering force. The immense force not only shattered the bones in his arm but also made the front part of his arm explode entirely.

A rain of blood-mist instantly scattered like fireworks.

“Wh-!”

Before the Despair Demon General could react, Fia, with a speed that exceeded the speed of sound, flew straight to the top of the Despair Demon General’s head. Her right fist was aimed at his forehead, and the full-force attack that had just shattered the Despair Demon General’s arm appeared again.

Bang!

The sound of bone shattering, both terrifying and crisp, instantly echoed in the sky above Oro City. Everyone felt a chill rising from the soles of their feet. People could clearly see that the Despair Demon General’s goat head had been cut in half as if by a knife. A large amount of blood mist exploded from the top of his head. Along with it was a sharp, ear-piercing scream that could shatter all the hair on one’s body.

“Aaghhhhhh!!!!!”

Hovering beside the Despair Demon General’s head, Fia glanced at her bloody fist. But she did not wipe off the bloodstains. Instead, she shook her hand, letting her own blood drip into the Despair Demon General’s reddish-white brain. In just a few breaths, the top of the Despair Demon General’s head was back to normal.

Then, Fia landed on the tip of the Despair Demon General’s nose.

For most creatures, the tip of the nose was one of the most sensitive parts.

As if he had realized what Fia was going to do, the Despair Demon General opened his mouth wide and controlled the five remaining arms to block the attack. However, Fia, before he could, smashed her fist down in front of the Despair Demon General’s eyes.

“No—”

Bang!

Half of his face exploded out of thin air.

Then it quickly regenerated.

When Fia reappeared, she was right in front of the Despair Demon General’s eyeball.

The Despair Demon General’s pupil instantly shrank. After three consecutive attacks, he had already realized that he was no match for the person in front of him. The other person was venting her anger—the anger she had accumulated was being released at this moment. Just as he loved to hear the pained screams of people in despair, the cold and absolutely rational being in front of him, who was like the grim reaper, would make him feel an even greater despair.

Double the pain, an endless retribution.

Realizing this, a chill that was like falling into an ice cellar instantly spread from the Despair Demon General’s feet to his entire body. Fear instantly enveloped his heart. He had never thought that this day would come for him. So when this moment truly arrived, he became incredibly frightened. Almost subconsciously, he wanted to beg for forgiveness, just like the countless people who had begged him for mercy in the past, whom he had considered pitiful.

“He—”

But just as the sound of his begging and the look of fear appeared, the Despair Demon General realized that a look of satisfaction had appeared in the eyes of the grim reaper in front of him.

It was a cruel, undisguised smile, as if she had just had her revenge. She was not an elf at all, nor was she a person chosen by the Witch of Hope. She was a complete and utter monster without a single trace of humanity, she was “Death” itself from the frozen world.

At this moment, the Despair Demon General suddenly understood. The elf in front of him had been waiting for him to show an expression of begging for mercy.

Then, she would trample on him mercilessly, just as he had done countless times in the past.

A bone-chilling pain spread from the Despair Demon General’s eye socket to his entire body. The pain, which was so intense that it made it impossible for the Despair Demon General to make a sound, made him open his mouth wide. But immediately after, the sensation of his tongue being crushed like a jelly filled his mouth. An intense feeling of suffocation filled his lungs. He wanted to shed tears, but that elf did not give him a chance at all.

Torn apart, then healed, then torn apart again.

An endless cycle.

Like a eulogy for the two hundred thousand dead, a continuous, heart-wrenching, and sharp scream after scream echoed in the sky above the ruined city.

In a world without order, this was the best offering for the Despair Demon General himself and for all the people he had tortured to death.

Translator Note

uaaaaaaaaa cool fia! <3