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Chapter 13
The Demon Servant
The massive sphere of black fire floated high above the battlefield like a second dark sun.
The surrounding air trembled under its heat. Even the wind that had been sweeping across the empty plains seemed to hesitate, as if the world itself was wary of the power gathering there.
Lucas stood directly beneath the burning sphere.
Dark markings spread across his skin, glowing faintly with crimson light. The symbols were not ordinary magic runes. They were marks of a demonic contract, ancient symbols that represented the binding between master and servant.
The Demonic Contract Mark had fully awakened.
The ground beneath Lucas’ feet was slowly cracking under the pressure of his aura. A faint layer of black flames flickered around his body, dancing like living shadows.
His gaze remained fixed on the monster standing before him.
The creature was massive, towering several meters above the battlefield. Its body was covered with thick armored skin that resembled dark stone. Chains hung loosely from parts of its body as if it had once been restrained somewhere far below the world.
Lucas studied it carefully.
Even without touching it, he could feel the presence radiating from the creature.
Underworld energy.
A presence that did not belong to the surface world.
“So they truly summoned something from the Underworld,” Lucas murmured quietly.
The monster roared in response, its voice echoing across the empty field. The sound carried a strange heaviness, like the voice of something ancient that had been dragged out of a place where it never should have left.
The creature lowered its body slightly, preparing to charge.
Lucas slowly raised one hand toward the sky.
The enormous sphere of black flames responded to his movement, slowly descending.
“Hellfire Sphere.”
The flames fell like a collapsing star.
When the sphere struck the monster, the entire battlefield was swallowed in dark fire.
For a brief moment, everything disappeared inside the flames.
The ground shook violently beneath the impact, sending dust and fragments of earth into the air.
The fifteen remaining Hollow Sigil elite members instinctively stepped backward. Even those who had seen countless battles before could not hide their shock.
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One of them spoke under his breath.
“That power… what kind of servant is he?”
None of them received an answer.
As the flames slowly began to fade, thick smoke spread across the battlefield. The monster’s massive silhouette was barely visible through the haze.
Lucas remained perfectly still.
He waited.
Then the smoke shifted.
A deep roar echoed once again.
The monster stepped forward from the burning remains of the explosion.
Parts of its armored skin were cracked and blackened. Dark blood dripped slowly from several wounds across its body.
But it was still standing.
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So even that wasn’t enough.”
The monster’s glowing eyes focused on Lucas with even greater rage than before.
The creature charged forward.
Its massive claws swung downward with destructive force, aiming directly at him.
Lucas disappeared from where he stood.
The monster’s claws struck the ground instead, leaving deep fractures across the battlefield.
Lucas reappeared behind the creature.
Dark energy gathered along his arm, condensing into the shape of a blade.
“Abyssal Blade.”
With a single precise motion, Lucas cut across the monster’s back.
The blade passed through the armored skin, leaving behind a deep wound from which dark blood began to flow.
The monster roared again and turned violently, attempting to strike Lucas with another attack.
But Lucas had already moved.
His movements were calm and controlled, almost effortless.
He was not rushing.
He was simply dismantling the creature piece by piece.
Each movement of his blade left another wound across the monster’s body.
However, the monster was not alone on the battlefield.
Not far away, the two Hollow Sigil elders watched the fight carefully.
The elder with silver hair tilted his head slightly, observing Lucas with growing interest.
Seraphel Vayden.
The elder who commanded the Wind Spirit.
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
“That servant is far more entertaining than I expected.”
He took a step forward, and the wind around him immediately began to respond.
A thin spiral of air formed around his body, growing stronger with every passing moment.
“I suppose it would be rude not to join the battle.”
The wind suddenly surged.
Seraphel’s figure vanished.
Lucas sensed the change immediately.
Sharp blades of compressed wind appeared behind him, cutting through the air with deadly precision.
Lucas moved sideways just before the attack reached him.
The blades struck the ground where he had been standing, carving deep lines across the earth.
Seraphel appeared a short distance away, landing lightly on the battlefield.
“So you're the one protecting that master of yours.”
Lucas turned to face him.
His expression remained calm.
“Step aside.”
Seraphel laughed.
“You speak as if you believe you control this battlefield.”
The wind around him intensified.
“Storm Step.”
His body disappeared again, leaving behind only a brief distortion in the air.
Lucas raised his blade just as another invisible strike approached.
Their attacks collided in midair, the clash of wind and dark energy sending a shock through the surrounding space.
The battlefield was no longer calm.
The monster continued its relentless assault.
Seraphel attacked with unpredictable speed.
And still Lucas stood between them and the one person he had sworn to protect.
Meanwhile, the second elder remained silent.
Varkul Nocthra.
Unlike Seraphel, he did not rush into battle.
Instead, his attention was fixed on a single figure lying motionless on the ground.
Kashihero.
Dark mist slowly spread across the ground around Varkul’s feet.
His voice was quiet.
“So that is the master.”
He studied Kashihero for a moment.
Despite the chaos around them, the young man remained unconscious, his body still recovering from the overwhelming surge of power he had absorbed earlier.
Varkul raised one hand.
Black shadows began to gather beneath the ground.
“Abyss Chains.”
Dark chains erupted upward from the earth, moving directly toward Kashihero.
Lucas sensed the movement instantly.
His eyes widened for the first time.
“Don’t touch him.”
In a single moment, Lucas vanished from his position.
He appeared beside Kashihero just as the chains reached him.
The dark chains stopped only inches away.
Lucas’ aura erupted outward with terrifying intensity.
Black flames surged around his body like a storm.
His voice was colder than before.
“If you take one more step…”
“…you will die.”
For the first time, Varkul looked directly at Lucas.
The dark elder did not appear afraid.
Instead, he seemed curious.
“A servant threatening an elder of Hollow Sigil.”
The dark mist around him grew thicker.
“Perhaps you are more interesting than I thought.”
Around them, the battlefield remained in chaos.
The monster continued roaring in anger.
Seraphel watched the situation with an amused smile.
The fifteen elite members of Hollow Sigil stood ready, waiting for the moment they might join the fight.
But in the center of it all…
Kashihero lay motionless.
Lucas remained standing beside him like an unbreakable wall.
No one would reach his master without passing through him first.
And yet, something had begun to change.
Deep within the silence surrounding Kashihero’s unconscious mind, the power he had absorbed earlier continued to move.
Fragments of energy.
Fragments of memories.
Fragments of strength that did not originally belong to him.
His fingers twitched slightly.
A faint movement.
Small enough that almost no one noticed.
But the battle had not yet reached its end.
And the moment Kashihero awakened…
Everything on the battlefield would change.
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End of Chapter 13
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