Neo’s heart hammered against his ribs as he cracked the door open just enough to see inside. His eyes widened.
Tara sat locked inside a heavy metal cage in the center of the red room. The bearded demon and the masked demon stood a few steps away, laughing together like old friends sharing a private joke.
The bearded one spoke first, voice thick with amusement. "Who knew you would come again, Tara, after I kicked your ass last time? And that boy—Neo—he was smart enough to back off and not meet you. I bet he’s currently inside that backwards forest with his tribe, acting like a caveman."
Tara spat at him. The thick glob landed near his boot. The bearded demon only grinned wider. He lifted his hand. A pulsing heart rested in his palm, still beating. He squeezed it once.
Tara’s body jerked. Strength drained from her limbs. She sagged against the bars, breathing hard. The bearded demon laughed louder.
The masked demon turned to his companion. "So you needed money to make more of those Ajax monsters?"
He was not short on funds. He ran brothels in every major town and had built his own trademark from the profits. Still, he refused to walk into a losing deal, even with an old friend.
The bearded demon nodded. "Yes. And most importantly, I can create the elite Red Ajax. I showed you the blueprint before. What do you say? Want to invest?"
The masked demon’s eyes lit up behind the mask. He had already heard about the Red Ajax. If the blueprint was real, he would put every coin he owned into the deal. He nodded, excited.
Neo stayed pressed against the door frame and absorbed every word. His gaze locked on the heart in the bearded demon’s hand. He needed a plan. Fast. Thoughts raced through his head until one clear idea settled. He nodded once to himself.
He focused on the heart first. His transportation skill activated. The organ vanished from the demon’s palm and appeared in Neo’s own hand, still warm and beating. Next he targeted the cage. In a blink the entire metal prison carrying Tara shot out of the room and into the high sky above the distant forest. Neo knew that if the cage later hit the ground and broke, Tara would have a real chance to run.
The bearded demon’s head snapped toward the door. The masked demon reacted even faster. Dozens of fireballs screamed across the room.
Neo jumped sideways. The door exploded behind him in a blast of heat and splinters. He kept running, sprinting into the next chamber, determined to force the two demons apart so he could face them one at a time.
The demons exchanged a quick look. The masked one veered left. The bearded one took the right corridor.
Neo felt the masked demon closing in behind him. He triggered a quick inspect. The result flashed in his mind: Transcendental middle rank. Dangerous. Then another detail registered. Both this masked devil and Zeth shared the last name Nyxon. Somehow they were connected to the karma devil Neo had already killed.
As the masked demon pounded after him, Neo shouted over his shoulder, "What’s your relationship with Zeth?"
The masked demon’s voice came back sharp. "Zeth is my brother. He cut his connection with our family and ran off. Why? Do you know where he is? I can even stop my deal with the bearded one if you tell me."
Neo slowed just enough to grin back at him. "He’s in hell. I already killed him. Don’t worry. I’ll let you follow him."
Rage flooded the masked demon’s face. He stopped caring about the red room, the pillars, or the houses around them. He smashed through everything in his path just to reach Neo. Walls cracked. Support beams snapped. The air filled with dust and flying debris.
Neo cursed under his breath. Every near miss seemed to make the demon’s movement faster and deadlier. At this rate a single solid hit would end him.
He scrolled through his skills and locked onto Morning Star. The technique flared to life. A burst of concentrated force slammed into the masked demon and forced him to pause for half a second.
That half-second was enough. Neo activated Slippery Ground. The floor under the demon’s feet turned slick as ice. The masked devil lunged forward in pure fury and immediately lost traction. His boots shot out from under him.
Neo followed up with the Heavy skill. The demon’s body weight multiplied in an instant. He dropped like a stone, smashing through the floor, then the next, then the next, crashing all the way to the bottom level of the building.
Neo used the height. He launched himself downward and landed hard on top of the fallen demon. Nuclear Reactor activated on impact. The concentrated blast tore through the masked devil’s body and shook the entire foundation of the building. Dust rained from the ceiling. The masked demon did not rise again.
A roar of pure anger echoed from the upper floors. The bearded demon had found him. A heavy kick crashed into Neo’s ribs with bone-breaking force. The impact launched him through the air. He smashed through room after room, walls crumbling around him, until he finally hit a pile of wreckage and stopped.
Neo forced himself up. His vision swam. One hand pressed against his side where the ribs had cracked. Pain burned so sharp he could barely form a clear thought. The bearded demon was simply too strong.
Angry footsteps pounded closer. Neo’s eyes widened as a plan clicked into place.
He turned and climbed. Stairs. More stairs. He ignored the fire in his side and forced his legs to keep moving until he reached the top floor and pushed out onto the rooftop.
The bearded demon was already there, blocking the only way down. "There is no place left to run."
Neo did not answer. He opened his system shop and spent every last mana stone he carried. An unbreakable rope appeared in his hands. He moved fast. While the demon still believed he had the upper hand, Neo looped the rope around the bearded demon’s ankle and anchored the other end to a thick support beam of the building itself.
Then he spoke to the system. "Is the demon and the building considered one object now?"
The system took a long time before answering. "As long as the rope doesn’t snap, the skills would consider it one object."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter
