Chapter 212: An Outburst of Power

"Out of my way!" With a furious shout, a burst of searing flames erupted from Hugin's trapped thigh, racing upward along the arm of the knight who held his leg in a crushing grip.

The strange green blaze devoured armor and flesh alike. Metal cracked and withered. The scorched skin split and sloughed off to reveal raw, bleeding muscle beneath.

The knight grunted in pain. He couldn't afford to keep wrestling Hugin like this. Left as is, his right arm would be ruined long before he crushed the man's leg.

With a roar, he summoned his fighting spirit, channeling it into his arm to bolster his already formidable strength. Ignoring the agony of the flames, he twisted his body and hurled Hugin downward, slamming him toward the floor below.

Hugin plummeted to the ground, head still facing up. Several demonic eyes protruded from the back of his neck, catching sight of the earthen spikes sprouting from the ground to meet him.

With a flick of his hand, coarse black hairs burst from his palm, stretching like cords toward a distant wall.

Under the influence of demonic power, even these seemingly delicate strands became whip-strong and steel-hard. They pierced the stone and yanked Hugin away mid-fall.

Sensing that his trajectory had shifted, the ground spikes exploded in a spray of stone lances, each aimed at his body now clinging to the wall.

At the same time, a razor-sharp blade of fighting spirit sliced through the air toward Hugin, courtesy of the grand knight who had just leapt onto the ground. There was simply no way for Hugin to evade the barrage of projectiles.

His potential stirred. A torrent of fighting spirit was consumed in an instant. From deep within, Hugin called forth the most fluid and evasive of his demons: the shadow demon. His form contorted grotesquely as he melted into a puddle of shadowy darkness.

Stone lances shattered walls. A blade of fighting spirit carved through masonry like it was tofu, but Hugin was already gone.

Clinging to the wall, the insubstantial shadow that was Hugin flowed through the gaping hole left by the knight's assault and vanished into the structure.

"Malevolent Possession... a truly incredible potential," murmured Marquis Engel, watching the battle unfold through the many Magician's Eyes he had scattered throughout the manor. His tone was calm, almost wistful, as if appreciating an artful display rather than worrying about an unpredictable enemy.

"Don't pursue him," he ordered the knight. "If he ambushes you in that state, you'll be dead without knowing it. Stay here. Let me flush him out first."

Marquis Engel gazed into the room ahead, which now lay pitch black, the mana crystal lamps having shattered during the chaos. His mind turned silently as he planned his next move.

"The shadow demon is truly formidable, but it's prideful and can't be restrained for long. Even with a grand knight's reserves of fighting spirit, how long can you keep wielding its strength?

"Yes, Malevolent Possession is a powerful potential, and without the sealing array outside the manor, your chances of victory aren't exactly zero... But with my knowledge of demons, Hugin, you'll quickly be cornered."

Hugin, having reverted to human form once more, lay hidden at the narrow junction between a staircase and a corridor. He scanned the surroundings with the power of a high-grade eye demon, a creature with exceptional perception.

Thanks to its watchful gaze, he could stay outside the Magician's Eyes' detection range.

"Damn it, his power's a real pain. If I stay in combat, it'll wear me down fast..."

He pulled out a vial of medicine, plunged the needle into his leg, and carefully suppressed his body's rejection against the foreign blood it contained.

The concoction made from Wang Yu's blood wasn't strong enough to heal a grand knight completely, but it was perfect for patching up his less severe injuries quickly.

As he felt the fractures in his leg slowly mending under the influence of Wang Yu's living blood, Hugin gave a quiet nod of approval.

"...Maybe I've pushed him a bit hard," he muttered. "The members of the Abyss Gate aren't easy to handle. But I sent the smoke demon to Wang Yu, so with that guy's knack for battle... he should be able to manage."

"I'm really something, huh? Faced with the choice between vengeance and victory, I still chose revenge..."

For just a fleeting moment, Hugin's thoughts drifted. He quickly shook his head and rallied. He had made his decision. There would be time enough for regret later.

"Engel's here, somewhere within this estate. I just need to find him."

Hugin planned his next move. The manor was riddled with all sorts of formations, but thanks to his eye demon, he could perceive anything that emitted mana-based fluctuations.

However, his potential only allowed him to use two demonic powers at once, and choosing the eye demon meant sacrificing offense or defense. If that knight found him now, it could end very badly.

"...Got it." Hugin bit his finger, letting blood trickle from the wound. He smeared it across the walls as he broke into a run, rapidly spreading his blood throughout the manor.

From deep within him, a particular demon stirred—one that grew euphoric from the heavy scent of blood.

In particular, it was Wang Yu's blood that caught its attention. His blood was live, potent, and intoxicating.

"Wang Yu... is that guy even human? Compared to him, I'm just someone with extra passengers in my body—hardly a monster at all."

His fractured bones healed steadily as he ran. Though some of Wang Yu's blood-infused serum remained, the majority had been eagerly devoured by the blood demon, whose strength surged.

As Hugin avoided Engel's surveillance, he continued to smear his blood all over the mansion.

Meanwhile, the iron boots of the enemy grand knight stomped against the floor. He swept his gaze around and scowled at the scattered smears of blood now marking the corridor—as did Marquis Engel, who was sharing the grand knight's vision.

"...Has he gone mad? What is he doing?"

Engel frowned. Hugin was surely up to something, but even he didn't know what.

Tiny eyeballs began to bud from the moist bloodstains, giving off so little noise that even the knight's honed senses missed it. Hidden in the corridor's shadows, they turned and silently tracked the knight's every move.

"...Found you."

Hugin's lips curled in a smirk. Through the eye demon's gaze, a faint glowing line appeared above the knight's brow—an unstable thread of magical energy, stretching toward some hidden point in the estate.

If using the eye demon made him vulnerable to direct confrontation with the other grand knight, then he'd simply supplement it with the blood demon's power. That way, he could uncover Engel's hiding spot completely remotely.

A droplet of blood fell toward the grand knight's head. He sensed it instantly.

With a pulse of fighting spirit, he scattered it in mid-air until it was nothing but fine mist.

Some droplets drifted into corners Hugin hadn't dared approach in order to avoid detection by the Magician's Eyes'.

Tiny orbs surfaced in those droplets, glanced once at the world, and then faded away again, lacking the power to sustain themselves. But that single glance was more than enough.

Hugin now had confirmation that there were identical magical threads attached to the grand knight and the Magician's Eyes, all pointing in the same direction.

By comparing the paths of those twin lines and overlaying them with the layout of the manor, which he had memorized in advance, Hugin deduced the location of Engel's hidden chamber.

"Still the same sly bastard as always... well hidden, I'll give you that. But I've got about two-thirds of my fighting spirit left—that'll get me there in shadow form."

He didn't hesitate. Calling once more on the voracious shadow demon, Hugin dissolved into a sliver of darkness and slipped between cracks in doors and windows as he glided silently toward his target.

His reserves drained with each second. Within minutes, a full third of his reserves had been spent—but Hugin was now at the edge of his destination.

"Hm? Something's wrong. That shadow—it's not natural. Return, now!"

Marquis Engel's voice crackled through the knight's mind like a lightning bolt. The Magician's Eyes had detected several abnormal shadows moving steadily toward his refuge.

Coincidence might explain the first anomaly, but not the others. The shadows were creeping closer to him moment by moment. It had to be Hugin, cloaked in the shadow demon's guise.

"How did he find me? He shouldn't have any demon capable of sensing magical threads. Only the eye demon could—the blood. He used the eye and the blood demons together?"

Marquis Engel activated every magical array around his current location as he ordered the grand knight to swiftly return to the vicinity.

"Coming to me, are you? That's fine. Playing cat and mouse with you is pointless. You've already seized the advantage, haven't you? A mere trainee magician cornered by a grand knight—who would bet on me now?

"It's not an unreasonable assumption, but unfortunately for you, your power stems from demons. I am a scholar of their kind, and there's nothing about those wretched beings I do not understand."

Hugin solidified into human shape as he sprinted down the staircase. His fighting spirit had dwindled to a third, no longer enough to sustain the power of his shadow demon.

Ahead lay a wide, open hall. Bathed in the glow of mana crystal chandeliers, it was brightly lit—too bright. In such illumination, stealth could only be a distant luxury.

A grinding clatter rang out as magical formations activated. The stone floor of the hall shifted, rising into jagged shapes as earthen bricks and rock slabs reshaped themselves.

Dozens of smaller earth golems emerged from the transformed floor, their sheer numbers blocking every path forward.

Simultaneously, magic pulsed in every corner of the hall. Searing fireballs began to surge and rise, locking onto Hugin, who had just leapt into the swarm of earthen constructs.

Yet Hugin danced through their ranks with a swift, unrelenting rhythm. A grand knight's physical prowess extended beyond brute strength—his agility and perception were no less formidable.

These small golems were still far too sluggish against a grand knight.

Dodging flailing arms of stone, sliding under swings, ducking, leaping—Hugin pressed forward without pause, avoiding every attack with uncanny precision.

He broke through the outer circle of golems and closed in toward the hidden chamber above the ceiling where Marquis Engel lay concealed in an illusory space. The golems crowded him.

A cluster of them charged forward. Their stone forms fused together mid-run into a makeshift wall meant to crush him and seal off his escape entirely.

But Hugin exploded forward with a roar, unleashing a full-powered strike backed by his dwindling fighting spirit. His body radiated with a visible aura of condensed energy, forming a glowing armor of force. He slammed his blade into the wall of stone, shattering it in an instant.

Yet even as the barrier crumbled, high-tier fireballs shot out at him from every direction.

Engel didn't care for the golems. The fireballs would obliterate them and Hugin alike.

The fireballs collided with a thunderous roar as fiery mana filled the air. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained but the charred debris of shattered golems. There was no sign of Hugin.

"It's not over yet," Engel muttered. "That bastard's not dead." Engel muttered, peering through the Magician's Eyes. He knew Hugin wouldn't be taken out so easily.

From the wreckage of the golems, tiny stones rolled together and slowly shaped themselves into the form of a man.

Though scorched and burnt, Hugin had survived. He had buried himself beneath the golems and drawn on his stone demon's power to transform into a pile of pebbles that hid themselves within the golems' bodies.

Those golems had taken the brunt of the explosion for him, allowing him to get away with nothing more than burns.

As he leapt up high, a corrosive, rust-black blade appeared in his hand, brimming with rot and decay. He slashed upward at the ceiling.

The vicious edge cleaved straight through the magical defenses of the hidden chamber, tearing through its walls like paper. At that very moment, the grand knight finally arrived in the hall.

"Found you." Hugin's cold voice rang out as he gazed at Marquis Engel, who was frantically preparing a spatial spell.

Hugin vaulted into the hidden chamber, fighting spirit blasting from his limbs. He lunged at the marquis.

Engel was but a trainee magician. Though his knowledge allowed him to cast spatial magic, his lack of training meant that he needed an extended amount of time to do so, during which he would be very vulnerable.

Hugin was just five meters away. A grand knight like him would have enough time to kill Engel ten times over.

"Die!" roared Hugin. The fury that had been suppressed for over a decade surged into the blade in his hand. His sword ignited with energy, bursting forth into a blinding arc.

Engel's spell was only half-cast. There was no way he could dodge—or so it seemed.

In a blink, the spell finished. The world itself seemed to skip a beat. Magic surged as Engel vanished and reappeared beside the grand knight.

"That's—a curio, the Chronostasis Hourglass!" Hugin's face darkened. His killing blow had missed.

He hissed, immediately realizing what had happened.

Engel had managed to accelerate time in a small domain around him. Only one thing he knew of could accomplish such a feat: the curio that the royal family had recently reclaimed, the Chronostasis Hourglass.

"Surprised? My apologies. Some within the royal court believe your death would be convenient. The Nightblades still have value, but you, Hugin—you are no longer fit to lead them. Consider this relic their investment in me."

Engel smiled superficially as he watched Hugin leap down from the broken chamber, sword raised.

"Surely you understand how the royal family thinks by now. The descent of the God of Terror was premeditated. A perfect excuse for a purge, don't you think?

"You and I—we're both pawns, but only your path will lead to death."

Coldly, Engel began chanting strange syllables under his breath.

Hugin said nothing. He simply charged at Engel, who now stood protected behind the grand knight.

But the moment he stepped forward, Hugin collapsed to the floor with a dull grunt. His fighting spirit vanished in an instant, replaced by a torrent of pain from the whirlpool of energy within him.

The demons within him had all gone wild, freed from his control.

"What...?!" Gritting his teeth, Hugin tried to call upon his potential, to marshal the demons and restore order—but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.

His strength was gone. His body was injured. And now, every demon inside him was rioting at once. He didn't understand. Everything had been fine before. Why now?

"Ah, just as I thought." Engel said smoothly. "The demons obeyed you because you lied to them. You told them that if you died—or if you killed me—they'd be freed and return to the infernal plane.

"All I did was tell them the truth." He smirked. "You don't know demonic speech. I do. If you die, they die with you. And even if you wanted to let them go, you couldn't. After all, you obtained your potential by my design.

"Only I, who imprisoned them in your body, can truly set them free.

"So tell me, who do you think they'll listen to? Me... or you?"

Engel smiled for the first time as he watched Hugin writhe in agony, powerless against the mutiny within him.

"Enough. Kill him."

Engel's tone turned cold once more. He was sick of this man—sick of his fear and the threat that Hugin had posed all these years.

No matter how perfect the creation, if it became a danger, it had to be destroyed.

The grand knight stepped forward, raised his longsword, and drove it toward Hugin's head.

The sword struck something—not flesh, but a glowing, transparent shield that shattered under the force of the blow.

A tarot card slid from a seam in Hugin's armor as it crumbled to pieces: The Chariot, upright.

Both Hugin and Engel froze in shock. Neither had any idea when that card had been placed there.

The instant The Chariot's shield blocked the strike, another card followed, gleaming and radiant: The Star, upright.

Spatial magic surged. The sword struck nothing as it embedded itself in the ground. And Hugin vanished as the second card, too, crumbled away.