Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]

The creature approaching does so with terrifying speed, arriving from the city outskirts to where Chloe and I were waiting in only a matter of minutes. We have barely enough time for the two of us to pull the rest of our equipment out of our inventory and cast our respective shielding and enhancement spells before the monster is looming over us, a smirk on its face.

It has four large black wings which combine the features of bats and dragons, two crimson horns atop of blackened face, itself marred with numerous scars that seem more reminiscent of magmatic rifts with the way golden light emanates out of them.

Numerous blackened teeth emerge as the beast grins at me. With a clenched fist, it emanates a darkened aura that attempts to suppress both our power. Chloe is pushed back by the evil winds assailing us, but I stand undaunted, [Defiant Spirit] activating to protect me. A single impulse draws Filia from my [Inventory] into my hand, my mind whirring with various possibilities of spells to begin constructing, depending on what weaknesses the creature before me presents.

Perhaps it’s wrong for me to judge on the basis of appearances, but the entire aesthetic screams ‘demon’, and I’m disinclined from assuming it flew out here with any sort of good intent.

“Hahaha,” the demon laughs. “So, these are the fools responsible for the death of my subordinate. I must admit, I was expecting someone a little more imposing. Shame on me for expecting a great warrior as opposed to a couple of children barely old enough to stand on their own two feet.”

“Your subordinate?” Chloe asks, flying just behind me.

“‘Servant’ would be more accurate. A woman, really just a simple-minded little girl no older than you, who found her way into my castle and attempted to steal from my treasury. You should have seen the look on her face when I approached her, revealing that I had been watching her since the moment she entered my domain.”

Castle? Is he referring to that castle we saw flying home from Red Clay City? I’d definitely wanted to explore it at some point; it seems it was best that I didn’t, considering the creature that was lurking within.

“What happened?” Chloe asks again.

“Her screams were the sweetest of symphonies to my ears. She begged and cried. ‘Oh please, spare me, don’t kill me, don’t hurt me, I’ll do anything you want.’ A perfect representation of your feeble kind, so high and mighty you think you are until you realize you pathetic humans are nothing more than insects— pests to be exterminated!”

The evil energy is darkening the daytime sky, the sun itself beginning to become eclipsed by dark magic. Chloe screams out, firing her most powerful [Scouring Light] at the disc-like confluence of [Darkness]-aligned Ether gathering overhead. Her attack is blinding, but despite all the power put behind her attack, it fails to dispel the tenebrous aura blotting out the city.

“Of course, I was not without mercy, of a sort. I offered her a simple trade: power and her life, in exchange for eternal servitude, marshalling my dark forces in preparation for a full-scale assault on this miserable world of light.” The demon laughs again. “She took it without the slightest bit of restraint. It truly is remarkable how quickly your kind would sell itself out in the name of power and control.”

“Scarlett,” I say. “You’re talking about Scarlett, aren’t you?”

“Scarlett? Scarlett?” The demon ponders. “Was that her name? She had a name? I suppose she would have called herself something. Ah, it doesn’t really matter. Her death was a small inconvenience to my plans, but I can’t exactly let such an affront to my rule go unchallenged, now can I?” Another dose of fell laughter that echoes both up to the sky and down to the surface two thousand feet below. “Now then, I trust you’ve had time to say your final prayers? I won’t be answering them, but I know your pathetic kind likes that sort of thing in your final moments? Yes, good? Time to die.”

The demon is on me faster than I can blink. He tries to end the fight with a single punch, but I’m agile enough to deflect the attack partially off course. It grazes the side of my waist, eating a chunk of my [Saintess’s Cloister] and pushing me back a few dozen feet. He attacks a second time, trying to combo me out, but I’m better prepared, able to fly up and out of the way of the punch while also evading the follow-up wind cutters that are trying to slice me to bits.

Chloe follows up with another [Scouring Light], scoring a glancing blow on one of the demon’s wings. A few wisps of smoke briefly spawn out, but the creature is unfazed. Its attention now turns to Chloe, who looks as pissed as I feel, probably more.

“You get away from her!” I shout, leaping back and trying to stab the creature’s back with my swordstaff. I’m able to do a bit more damage than Chloe’s initial burst of magic, but far from enough to bring the demonic harbinger to the ground. It tries to bat me aside with a series of beating wingflaps which are tearing apart my [Cloister], now down to barely five thousand points of shielding of the initial over twelve thousand in such a short time.

“Oh, ho?” The demon’s neck turns unnaturally, those ebon eyes staring me down. “You seem quite fond of your partner. A relative, perhaps? Or maybe a lover?”

I didn’t respond. I charge once more, preparing to strike at the base of the creature’s massive wings. I’m rebuffed; the demon sidesteps my attack and counters with a punch to the small of my back that rips off the last shreds of my protection and causes me to cough up blood from the internal damage. My health is still hovering just over 11,000, but as powerful as this demon is, that’s still only enough reserves to survive maybe two more of those punches before it drops to zero.

The demon laughs. “Unlike most of your kind, little girl, you actually possess a modicum of potential. What do you say the two of us make a little deal. You serve me, and in exchange, I’ll let your little girlfriend live. Not such a bad arrangement, wouldn’t you say?”

I extend my impudent digit and flare my defiance outward.

“Ho? Perhaps you care about her less than I had thought. What do you say I throw in a little sweetener to our arrangement. Not only will I ensure that your little lover survives this day, but I’ll even give you a day to evacuate as many people as you can from this city before I reduce it to rubble. I am a demon of my word, you can trust me.”

The only thing I could trust was how absolutely bald-faced this creature was with its audacity. Though, the offer was tempting. Not the one on its face; that one was patently ridiculous. If I accepted the demon’s terms, and even if I trusted that it would abide by its own word— I did not believe that in the slightest— I was still dooming the people of my hometown.

Evacuation will not be able to save everyone— the old, infirm, hospitalized, and so forth. Of those who survive, the nearest cities are hundreds of miles away, involving long stretches through the wilds. Most of the civilians are low-leveled. Even if they are lucky enough to avoid predation, the vast majority, who don’t have survival skills or some ability to grow food, will slowly succumb to starvation.

Reliance on anyone else to intercede, like the local military stationed in and around the city, also isn’t an option. The military would fight it off valiantly, but no one local has the kind of strength I now possess. Maybe Nicholas— Major Richardson— would be able to come up with something thanks to his terrifying combination of mental processing and tactical acumen, bolstered by Skills enhancing both. But I wasn’t going to rely on that.

The real opportunity involves testing my luck against the demon’s power. I’m absolutely confident in the ability of [Defiant Spirit] to rebuff any attempt to alter my mind or otherwise control me. What I’m far less confident in is my hunch that the demon’s ability actually is [Mind-Altering] in nature. If, for instance, it ends up being a curse, or gives him the power to paralyze me at will, I might not be able to wriggle my way out of the contract.

But the simplest reason to reject the offer is the caramel-haired goddess hovering a short distance away. She’s all that’s good and right with the world, clearly too good for me. A [Saintess] in class and demeanor alike, she would be absolutely furious if I took a contract with a demon, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. There was only one option.

“Get fucked,” I say. I activate a simple [Impulse] glyph— easily my most useful single glyph— through my feet, launching myself with an added burst of momentum toward the demon once more. I miss, as expected, but I’m now fast enough, especially coupled with [Valkyrion’s Perception], to evade the counterstrike and take a defensive position between Chloe and our adversary.

“Such a pity. Then you will perish with the rest of your pathetic human scum.”

Overwhelming amounts of negative energy gather as the demon raises his hands above his head. Wisps of shadow congeal into a sphere that’s growing and growing with each passing second. My mind is calm despite my heart and body racing, telling me to flee with a primal fear that I really ought to better heed in times like this.

I take a breath and face the demon, preparing for the confrontation. This really was the only way this was going to end from the beginning. My resolve, all the strength I’ve gained thanks to every challenge I’ve overcome, matching up against the strongest foe I’ve faced. But I’ve survived all of those encounters, even the ones I had no business winning. And I have every reason to believe today will be the same.

“Be careful, love.” Chloe touches me and infuses me with a new round of [Saintess’s Cloister] before healing all of my internal wounds. “This demonstration isn’t just theatrics. Even I can sense that our friend is gathering a ludicrous amount of [Ether] in that attack.”

“I’ll block it.”

“Are you sure, love? I know you’re strong— stronger than anyone else in the city at least, maybe the entire region. But this creature is… eight, ten…”

“Fifteen levels above me. Level 79.” I know this because of [Morningstar’s Triumph] passive, which is currently granting me another fifteen percent to all of my combat parameters.

[Your [Morningstar’s Triumph (Rank I)] has upgraded to [Morningstar’s Triumph (Rank II)].]

Sixteen and a half percent, I quickly correct myself.

“Worse, this demon scum also seems to have equipment of its own to enhance its abilities further. By all rights, there’s no way I can survive his strongest attack head on. And yet, I know without a doubt that I can. Just be prepared to heal me afterwards.”

“You’re going into [Overlimit]?” she asks.

“I still can’t. I have another two days of cooldown after the fight with Lysette. Damned creature showing up right when I’m at my most vulnerable.”

“Then–”

“There is no other option. Not without risking more loss of life, and I’m trying to avoid having other people fight my battles and suffer for my mistakes like I did the last time. I can survive this. I just know that it’s not going to be pretty, and what I’ll look like after taking the blast might haunt you for months or even years still to come”

“Why not try to block it with your magic?”

“I considered that. But even with both of us casting magic together like we did against Lysette, I don’t think we’re going to beat back that attack. It’s in a league above my capabilities. Even against both of our capabilities, working in tandem. But once this attack fails, he’ll be vulnerable. We’ll use that moment to kill him.”

“Then–”

I caress Chloe’s cheek and infuse her with another bout of [Rebellious Surge], letting her feel and even taste my resolve and conviction in the face of what should be certain death. “It’s okay, Chloe. Please just… be ready for when the time comes. It’s time for me to showcase my newest power, the power to defy even death itself.”

“Alright, love. I trust you. Now, and forever.”