Eric soared into the air, glancing down at the destruction of the diner. Then he looked around him. It was a perfect replica of his town back on Earth from the buildings, the river, and the landmarks to the landscape…everything was exactly the same.
He sensed a massive surge of Mana before him and focused on the bird. "Threatening me is one thing," the space around him shimmering. "…but messing with my memories? You've just signed your own death warrant, you fucking little chicken!"
"Kukuku… you think so?" the giant bird chuckled mockingly. "Look around you, insolent human! This is the mental world I created with my magic!"
The bird grew larger until its body was as big as a truck, and it spread its wings, casting a large shadow on the ground. Its claws were sharp as swords, and its beak was as pointed as a spear.
An explosion of Mana tore through the air, "You're on my turf, you pathetic human! I don't know what mysterious power you possess," the bird flapped its wings rapidly. "...but your defeat is already sealed the moment you set foot here! Die!!!"
Despite its massive body, the bird shot forward like a bullet. Eric reached out his hand and created a multi-layered hexagonal barrier. The demonic bird crashed into the barrier, shattering layer after layer until only one remained.
"Taste this!!!"
Immediately, the bird opened its beak and concentrated Mana in front of its mouth. A dark beam of Mana erupted and struck Eric's last barrier, sending Eric flying far from the diner.
But Eric didn't stand still. He stretched out both hands and redirected most of the beam toward the sky. On the horizon, he could see Somnus approaching him, and then he vanished.
Somnus, who had intended to tear Eric apart with its claws, suddenly found the boy gone, and before the demon realized it, Eric was already above it. Eric gathered super-condensed psychic force into his right fist and morphed it into a giant fist.
"Kuuuggghhh!?!?"
The giant fist landed squarely on Somnus, causing intense pain, particularly in its wings and back. Somnus, who had been flying, suddenly plunged down drastically. Just before hitting the ground, it maneuvered and flapped its wings back toward the sky.
It glared furiously at Eric and soared upward toward the clouds. "Hide and seek, huh!?!?" Eric shouted after seeing Somnus disappear among the clouds. Eric didn't underestimate his opponent and remained on guard.
A black object flew so fast that Eric could only see afterimages. It turned out Somnus had changed its strategy and was focusing on speed. It propelled its body forward as swiftly as a stealth aircraft, making no sound, leaving no scent, and giving off no trace of its presence.
Eric managed to dodge at the last moment, but he still couldn't land a strike if his opponent was too fast. He didn't run out of ideas. Instead, he slowly moved the cars on the ground without Somnus noticing.
A split second later, his instincts told him Somnus was about to pass by. Eric immediately lifted dozens of those cars into the air, turning them into ground-to-air missiles.
Somnus crashed into the dozens of cars that suddenly appeared in the air. Once again, its body was riddled with pain from the sudden impact against the solid objects. "How-" Before it could say more, Eric stacked the cars and made them surround Somnus. He closed his fist, and the cars followed suit.
Rammed and squeezed by the cars, Somnus knew that if this continued, it would be crushed to death. Therefore, it released a burst of Mana from its entire body and used it to coat itself as well.
The pile of cars was flung aside and shattered into pieces. Eric casually swatted and waved away the debris but kept his attention on the demonic bird. This time, Eric took the initiative.
Through his enhanced perception in 100% Rage mode, he detected numerous bodies of water available in the town. Gesturing with his hand like an orchestra conductor, he gathered water from his surroundings, from the river, the sewers, and pipes. He formed a colossal ball of water behind him.
Somnus widened its red eyes and quickly flew off, intending to hide in the clouds. "You're not going anywhere, little chicken!"
Eric fired a high-pressure stream of water drawn from the colossal water mass. Somnus assumed the stream was linear and tried to dodge it.
"Playing with water? You think a mere attack-" it stopped mid-sentence as the water jet homed in on it. Essentially, the water jet had transformed into a deadly homing missile that would chase Somnus wherever it flew.
Somnus, who had originally intended to flee into the clouds, suddenly changed course toward the cluster of buildings below the city. It glided through the buildings, but the force of the water jet was no joke.
The water pierced through the walls of buildings and houses, thwarting Somnus's plan to use those structures as a temporary shield.
Somnus turned right, left, up, down... the water jet kept chasing it, occasionally striking its body and causing it to shed feathers. Somnus didn't back down. It tried to lower Eric's guard by launching a mental attack on Eric through memories and whispers.
Eric, my love...
Even so, I still love you
You know, this is my last moment
I won't give up
Find your own happiness, okay?
Somnus felt the intensity of the water jets decrease. "Hmph, I think he's had enough of-"
"Fucking chicken!!!" Eric shouted furiously, shaking off the demonic whisper. His face was flushing red and he was grinding his teeth. "You… you dare use my memories against me!?!?"
Eric drew more water from across the city. The mass of water behind Eric surged and swelled like a meteor. "Do… not…" Eric raised both hands into the air, "…meddle with my memories of her!!!"
Eric then brought down the giant, meteor-sized mass of water floating in the sky with a powerful swing of both arms. "H-Humaaaaannn!!!" Somnus screamed, cursing Eric. As a last resort, it shaped and unleashed a gigantic blast of Mana rivaling the meteoric water.
The collision between the chaotic Mana and the meteoric water was inevitable. The sky was filled with thunderous clashes between two powers. The demonic bird was certain its Mana would prevail, but it had to swallow the bitter reality when its Mana was easily crushed by the water it had underestimated.
Before Somnus could dodge, the meteoric water slammed into its body. The sheer mass and speed of the meteoric water created a devastating impact explosion. Not only that, when the water crashed hard into the town, it flooded and left it in ruins. Low-rise buildings were destroyed beyond recognition. A catastrophic mudslide engulfed the town, leaving only high-rise structures standing.
The deadly attack showed no mercy, like a divine punishment descending upon this world, punishing the wicked and the sinful.
The bird plummeted into an open park, gasping for breath. Now its body was mangled beyond recognition. Its wings were broken, its legs were scraped, its beak was cracked, and its right eye was damaged. Shortly after, Eric also landed, terrifying the bird half to death.
"I know your body right now is just a projection," Eric said slowly, though behind his words lay a fierce anger. "Jeremy brat said that to kill a demon, someone needs to kill the real body or their physical body."
He added, "Meaning outside this mental world lies your real body." The thick aura of murder made Somnus choke, yet it remained arrogant.
"K-Kukuku! You think you can defeat me, you weak human-"
"I can. And I'll make sure of it!!!"
The ground cracked, tremors and earthquakes shook the entire city. Eric floated back into the air slowly, extending his hand forward. Somnus trembled in fear, for it saw something beyond comprehension.
This place should have guaranteed its victory. The boy should have been dead silent and lost in his memories and longing, just like all the humans it had deceived and defeated. Yet, it was the one who was about to lose and cowering in horror!
Cracked chunks of earth floated in the air, the surrounding streets lost their footing, power poles were forcibly torn from the ground, large and small buildings were ripped from their foundations, and houses and structures flew upward toward where Eric stood.
It didn't stop there. The remaining earth formed a colossal wall flanking Somnus from both sides, as if preparing to crush him to death.
"But for now," Eric's merciless gaze pierced the depths of Somnus's projection body which wasn't even its true body. "…I'll enjoy killing your projection, little chicken!!!"
At the same time, all the massive objects lifted by Eric's psychokinesis hurled toward Somnus like executioners of death.
"Dieeeeeee!!!!"
Furious Eric yelled on top of his lungs. Somnus also screamed something, but its voice was drowned out by the sound of buildings, houses, and colossal walls of earth coming down on it. For the first time in its hundreds of years of life, it wished that all of this were just a nightmare.