Chapter 202
Chapter 202: Fast and Strong!
Demon Hunters were, by nature, particularly effective at countering Mages.
As a niche choice within the Assassin branch, Demon Hunters primarily targeted demons with thick health bars and high defenses.
This class, designed to contend with demons, had attacks that innately carried additional armor-penetration properties.
On top of that, Demon Hunters received a built-in combat bonus when fighting Mages—dealing an additional 10% damage.
So for the average Mage, engaging a Demon Hunter in battle was absolutely not a wise decision.
But...
Several Demon Hunters gripped their Silver Blades tightly, pressed lightly off the ground, kicked up a gust of wind, and vanished completely from sight.
Those red-cloaked figures crouched along the surrounding stone walls, eyes fixed through their masks, locked onto Viktor.
The Silver Blades in their hands began to spin, shredding the surrounding air entirely, carving fissure after fissure that spread out around Viktor.
Like countless unbound, footless cages, unfurling all around him.
2 red cloaks became afterimages, threading through those chains of shattered air, squeezing into the narrow space, bodies low, bearing down on Viktor in a coordinated assault.
One of them swung a leg out, aimed directly at Viktor's ankle.
The other worked in tandem, leaping high, driving a blade of cold light straight down toward Viktor's skull.
Viktor remained unhurried. As the cold gleam reached his face, he raised his left hand and the Wind Blade along his forearm met the incoming Silver Blade, splitting it cleanly in two.
The sweeping kick coming from below looked, to Viktor's eyes, almost agonizingly slow.
His pupils contracted slightly. The leg had already appeared directly beneath him.
Viktor swiftly raised his foot and stomped down hard.
A firm, solid sensation beneath his sole—then with a light application of force, the sound of something shattering reached his ears.
Viktor's heel twisted. The poor Demon Hunter's foot had flipped completely around.
"Ahhhh!"
A raw, harrowing shriek instantly filled the cavern, reverberating endlessly.
Kavra heard the cry and felt her heart lurch.
One of the Demon Hunters suspended in midair watched his Silver Blade get cut in two and felt something sink inside him.
But when his eyes snapped back to what was in front of him, a streak of shadow slammed into his face.
Bang!
The violent impact drove through his contorted muscles. His entire body was blasted into the rock wall, jaw losing all sensation, hanging completely slack.
Of course, injuries like these were barely more than surface wounds for Demon Hunters of their caliber and their exceptional recovery speed.
They would heal before long.
Still, watching 2 of their number go down in an instant, the remaining Demon Hunters clinging to the stone walls swallowed hard.
The Silver Blades in their hands seemed to tremble, and every face turned gravely serious.
"Viktor Clavena—is he really a Mage?"
"I've never seen such an aggravating Mage."
"Since when do Mages fight in melee?"
Viktor's gaze slowly swept across them.
Above the heads of the Demon Hunters pressed against the rock wall, their individual levels gradually materialized.
All of them above Level 30.
3rd-Tier Demon Hunters.
To figure out whether he harbored a demon, Kavra had truly put in considerable effort.
Demon Hunters were already scarce by nature. Finding even a handful of 3rd-Tier Demon Hunters within the Royal Capital's reach was no small feat.
And yet, to test him, she had summoned this many.
Viktor's gaze fell on the 2 Demon Hunters who were no longer fit to fight.
What a pity.
Better leave them a shred of dignity.
The remaining Demon Hunters exchanged glances, then whipped several meteor hammers from their waists.
The tremendous impact force tore through the space, and even Viktor caught a faint whiff of danger.
He pivoted, planting his foot on the Demon Hunter below him who was still screaming in pain, and stepped back.
The high-velocity meteor hammers crashed into the surrounding area, sending shards of rock and sand spraying in all directions.
The Demon Hunter underfoot was scooped up by his heel in the same motion and sent hurtling away.
"What a nuisance."
Viktor's eyes stayed fixed ahead while his mind remained crystal clear.
In the next instant, those Demon Hunters would probably come surging out of the sand and dust.
As if validating his prediction, several Demon Hunters swung their meteor hammers, bodies leaning forward, and burst through the dusty haze, charging straight at Viktor.
Watching those Demon Hunters come at him like men swinging blindly, Viktor let out a faint smile.
Wind energy began to pass over his body gradually, and the swirling sand and stone also slowed, bit by bit, until everything around him seemed to grow sluggish.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say Viktor's movements had become far too fast.
In the blink of an eye, that black coat had already woven its way through several Demon Hunters in rapid succession, the Wind Blade along his arm grazing past each one in turn.
Whoosh!
The wind surged at speed, sending sand and stone hammering against the rock walls.
The Demon Hunters froze.
Their target—had vanished!?
"He's... behind us!"
One Demon Hunter cried out in alarm. Everyone spun around and found Viktor standing at their backs.
His coat kept fluttering against them.
Viktor flicked his forearm, and in the blink of an eye, countless wind-streaks erupted.
In an instant, the marks that had been grazing across their clothes seemed to activate.
Riding those wind-streaks, they shredded the cloaks right off the Demon Hunters' backs.
Even the black chain-link armor beneath was cut apart in its entirety.
And yet, for all that, not a single wound remained on any of them.
In that moment, they couldn't help but stand rooted where they were.
What was that just now—what kind of speed?
Was it Magic?
In a flash, the Wind Blade along Viktor's forearm dissolved into streaks of colorless wind energy that scattered and faded.
He slowly turned back, gaze falling on the Demon Hunters whose clothing had been reduced to tatters, voice coming out flat:
"Still can't grasp the gap between us?"
He had of course used no Magic. Everything he had done just now was nothing more than the passive bonus from the Calamity of Wind.
Just like Gulton's damage increase and Druga's stamina and recovery boost.
The Calamity of Wind—corresponded to the pinnacle of speed.
This speed might not offer much of a boost to a Mage, but put it on any melee unit...
Nothing could withstand pure speed.
Viktor had wanted to experience the new power the Calamity of Wind had brought him, so he had agreed to play along with Kavra's little trial.
Seeing how Viktor handled everything with ease, holding his own against dozens of Demon Hunters without breaking a sweat—
They couldn't help but step back a few paces.
Their protective gear had been beaten into scrap, and naturally, the tower of confidence standing inside them had crumbled right along with it.
After all, the man in front of them was clearly a Mage.
Yet he had used nothing but melee and a speed they couldn't track to steamroll them without effort.
And on top of that...
They genuinely couldn't tell whether Viktor was a demon or not!
Demon Hunters and demons were like fire and water. When facing a demon, instinct made it nearly impossible for them to stay rational.
Because of this, Demon Hunters would inadvertently slip into a berserk state when fighting demons.
So determining whether someone was possessed by a demon was actually simple for a Demon Hunter.
A demon's power couldn't be concealed. The moment combat began, a Demon Hunter would always sense it.
Yet while fighting Viktor, none of them felt anything of the sort.
In conclusion—even if they wanted to keep fighting...
They couldn't muster the drive.
Because Demon Hunters would not attack anyone unprovoked other than demons.
So... they all simply gave up entirely.
"No more, no more."
"We came here to fight, not to get our clothes torn off."
"Kavra, be honest with us—he's not a demon at all, is he...?"
Kavra stood to one side, both hands gripping a pair of silver daggers.
Just now, she had not stepped forward—she had wanted to observe Viktor's fighting style first.
Kavra had known Viktor would win, but she hadn't expected him to win this effortlessly.
He was supposed to be a Mage.
Kavra shook her head and stopped dwelling on it.
She raised one arm, daggers trained directly on Viktor.
"Then, I suppose it's my turn next."
The words had barely landed when Kavra's back foot pressed into the ground.
In almost the same instant she blinked, both legs coiled and exploded like a leopard's, releasing every ounce of force all at once.
Like an arrow leaving a bowstring, she shot toward Viktor, her speed almost incomprehensibly fast.
In the blink of an eye, a silver cold gleam had already arced through the air.
To Viktor's eyes, however, Kavra's movements were merely somewhat swift.
He shifted slightly to one side. The 2 streaks of cold light swept past him without even grazing his cheek.
Kavra's footwork stopped cold for a split second—she immediately changed direction, cold light flashing again toward Viktor's waist.
Viktor's hands stayed in his pockets, his movements lithe as the wind, a faint cloud-white radiance flickering ceaselessly across his coat.
It was as though some invisible force moved around Viktor, letting him shift and maneuver with ease, slipping clear of Kavra's every strike. The speed of it was jaw-dropping, like a breathtaking gale.
The Demon Hunters, armor completely destroyed, stood rooted in place. Watching Kavra launch her fierce offensive, shock spread across their faces, and words of admiration kept spilling from their mouths:
"As expected of Kavra!"
"What speed! So this is a 4th-Tier Demon Hunter?"
"She's really held her own against that monster this long!?"
Though, in their eyes, Viktor was still the more terrifying of the two.
Kavra's figure flickered like lightning as she sprung lightly, the 2 daggers in her hands flying at Viktor like bolts from the blue.
Viktor sidestepped in a single jump, neatly dodging the attack.
But to everyone's surprise, the 2 silver blades suddenly reversed course mid-air.
Kavra seized the moment, wind rising beneath her feet, and launched herself at Viktor like a streak of light.
Yet Viktor simply leaned back, once again clearing the returning daggers, then snapped upright and in the same motion caught Kavra's wrist with a backhand grip as she appeared in front of him.
Kavra blinked in mild surprise—but felt a flash of delight.
A perfect opening!
All she had wanted was to make physical contact with Viktor's body, and now he had delivered himself to her doorstep.
Her free hand caught one of the high-speed daggers flying toward her in a reverse grip, then drove it straight for Viktor's chest.
But just then, Viktor's other hand caught her remaining wrist in the same manner.
Kavra stood frozen. This posture had left both of them out of attack options.
And if this went on, she was about to fall right into Viktor's arms.
But soon enough, Viktor showed her exactly what a throw looked like.
He seized Kavra's wrists, turned his back to her, and pulled her body up and over onto his back.
Then, he leaned forward, arms driving down.
BOOM!!