The headless corpse rose to its knees. It forced its hands, dripping with thick Magi, directly into its own chest cavity, gripped its still-beating heart... and crushed it.
I recognized this exact horrific scene from the original game's lore.
It was a sacrificial ritual!
"Tch, get back!"
"Don't stare at it! Take cover!" I yelled, grabbing Elisha by the arm and diving violently behind the thickest piece of the shattered throne.
A localized hurricane of raw Magi erupted from Leon's corpse. It spread in all directions like a shockwave, vaporizing the sand around it.
His skin turned pitch-black. His physical form began to rapidly mutate. A new, elongated head regenerated from the stump of his neck, sprouting jagged, swept-back horns. Thick, obsidian-like scales armored his chest and limbs.
Leon had sacrificed his own soul to fully summon the demon he contracted with. And judging by the mana density, the opponent was a High-Ranking Demon.
