2461 Much Worse (Part 1)

'Verhen's thralls are not a threat. They can't be stronger than he is and their equipment is nothing against me. I'll use them as a cover to get close. They share Verhen's same energy signature so he won't see me coming.' The cursed glaive shrugged at the incoming tide.

Valia was at the head of the charge and her presence made Stargazer knit the eyebrows of her host. Not only was the Demon back at six eyes, but also her equipment was whole again.

'That's not just similar gear. The spear she wields and the armor she wears are identical in both shape and enchantments to those I destroyed moments ago. Who would be so crazy to craft more than one set for a mere thrall?' She wondered.

The glaive and the spear met only once, the superior battle experience of the cursed glaive made Valia's relentless training insignificant. Her body was once again cut asunder along with her weapon and armor, the black eye of the Balor stripping the darkness element that gave her body substance.

Yet something was wrong.

During the clash, Stargazer experienced from the Demon a strength far superior to a violet core. Also, even though just by a small margin, Valia's equipment had been more difficult to cut through.

Last, but not least, taking away the darkness element wasn't enough to banish Valia's soul. Under the shadows lay a brilliant flame that burst forward, eating at the living legacy's body and mana.

'The blood!' Stargazer realized when it was already too late. 'These new Demons are not just made of shadows. They come from the stumps and are conjured from Verhen's own blood! But that means...'

Valia roared her challenge and turned her body in a burst of Origin Flames, followed by her army of Origin Demons. The cursed glaive stopped in mid-air, focusing on the defense while making her host look below to confirm her suspicions.

The titan had bled for a while now, forming pools of blood along its path. More Origin Demons were coming out of those pools, each drop turning into a six-eyed flaming shadow with the power of a bright violet-cored Awakened.

'It's a trap! We walked in a damn trap.' Knightfall thought in excitement.

His life had been long and real challenges were hard to come by. After a few centuries, being immortal made things boring.

The enchanted Davross of his body wouldn't age, it would repair even the ghastliest of damage in a split second, and despite his enchantments being old they were still hard to match.

The cursed shield longed and feared the moment when Night would deliver her payment. He longed for it because once upgraded, he would once again be invincible. As long as he had a host, there was no way to kill him.

He also feared it because at that point life would become utterly irrelevant and every victory empty. Unlike his brethren, Knightfall was secretly elated by the new marvels of magic.

Due to their nature, cursed objects knew no pain nor fear and the discomfort at the idea of becoming obsolete was the closest thing to panic he had ever experienced. It was a new feeling and for a being afflicted by boredom, any novelty was a good one.

Knightfall laughed with joy as he conjured several dimensional openings all around himself in a circular barrier. The moment a Demon crossed it, they were cut in half. Their Orichalcum equipment would crumble and the energy of their bodies dispersed through too many exit points to reassemble.

The Demons came in waves, one after another, forcing the cursed shield to consume the spells he had at the ready just to not be swarmed. The battle was frenzied. It was desperate. In one word, magnificent.

Only one thing ruined his fun.

Every single Demon he cut down wore enchanted equipment of some sort. To make matters odder, it was always good equipment crafted by an excellent Forgemaster who had at least a violet core.

'Since when does Verhen possess the treasure of a king? How is it possible that he prepared all of this stuff beforehand? None of that can be the work of my traitorous sister since her core is too weak-' His train of thought derailed when he saw a familiar face in the crowd.

And then another and one more.

'Wait a second. I thought it was strange that no matter how many Demons I defeated more kept coming and I was right. They are not infinite in number. I've just been killing the same guys over and over again!'

Stargazer was in the same situation, but she had an easier time understanding the root of the problem. Valia was hard to forget and she had just reappeared for the fifth time in front of the cursed glaive while wearing the same equipment.

'This doesn't make any sense! This woman keeps coming back even after I completely dispersed the energy in her body. Also, how can her equipment be fixed so quickly and why is it getting more difficult to destroy over time?'

The first spear Valia had wielded was made of enchanted Adamant. The second one, although identical in design, had grey streaks partly covering the silvery of the blade. After each defeat, the grey part became bigger and now the grey streaks were turning white.

Stargazer snarled in fury and frustration, opening the six Evil Eyes on her haft and conjuring Spirit World again. The array allowed her to cast several tier five Spirit Spells and blast the Demons surrounding her into pieces.

She used that respite to employ her breathing technique and recover both her strength and her hosts' while trying to understand the conundrum.

"What's the matter? Are you tired already?" Valia mocked the cursed glaive as another drop of Lith's blood gave her new life and strength.

Stargazer didn't bother replying and slashed at the Origin Demon who was fearlessly charging forward with no care for her survival.

It was then that something unexpected happened. The Davross of the glaive, guided by the mastery of millennia, anticipated the enemy's attack and struck at the incoming spear.

Yet this time Valia's weapon didn't budge, the Davross cutting only halfway through the silvery and white of the haft.

"Are you finally starting to understand what's happening, sister?" Valia's strength now matched that of Stargazer's human host and she kept pushing forward even at the cost of the glaive cutting deeper.

Her body was comprised of black flames whose heat made it difficult for the Awakened to breathe and ate at Stargazer's power core.

"Do you remember about the Golden Griffon? Well, my master is much, much worse!" Knowing to be defeated, the Origin Demon blew herself up before Stargazer's touch could deplete her energy reserves again.

Deranged laughter accompanied the explosion as the resulting burst of Origin Flames engulfed both cursed glaive and host, eroding both their mana and vitality.

Trying to save her strength, Stargazer slashed at the incoming wave of Demons, her anger raising as she recognized more and more faces.

Much to her surprise, their weapons were turning white as well and by joining their efforts, the Origin Demons succeeded in blocking the attack.