Zyel watched with an almost indifferent expression on his face as his lovers, Amelia and Aria, fought against the three heroes with everything they had.
Yet it did not take long for the outcome to become obvious.
After only a few exchanges, it was clear who held the advantage.
The battle itself lasted less than ten minutes, and throughout it all, the heroes maintained complete control.
The one called Jason wielded a holy word, a natural weapon crafted to counter demons and all creatures of the night.
Atsuji possessed the ability to create ice, launching relentless attacks that seemed to perfectly counter the purple flames of the Astaroth.
His power also allowed him to strike from long range, keeping Amelia and Aria constantly at a distance.
Karen, the third of the trio, was a relic user.
The gauntlets she wore granted her the ability to fire beams of energy while also generating shields strong enough to block incoming attacks.
Together, the three heroes moved with flawless coordination.
On top of that, they were simply stronger than Amelia and Aria, who lacked both the experience and the energy reserves of true high demons, having never been trained for such battles.
From the very beginning, it was obvious to Amelia, Aria, and even Zyel, who did not fully understand what was happening but could still sense it, that this fight was unwinnable.
Zyel stood still, watching the one-sided battle without moving an inch.
His eyes tracked every movement as if he were observing a deadly dance unfolding across the battlefield.
Every turn, every twist, every slash, every punch, every kick, every single exchange was etched perfectly into his mind through the lens of his gaze.
He watched as the heroes injured his lovers again and again, each strike pushing them further into defeat.
They were completely overwhelmed. Even with his untrained eyes, Zyel could see it clearly.
The heroes were strong, far stronger than his lovers.
And him?
He wasn't even worth their attention.
From the moment the battle began, they treated him as nothing more than excess baggage, something they could dispose of whenever they pleased.
And they weren't wrong.
Zyel wasn't a fighter.
He had neither the power nor the strength to stand against them.
Just two days ago, he had been nothing more than a normal human, and even now, he hadn't fully completed his transformation into a Lesser Demon.
Yes, he possessed demonic energy.
Yes, his strength had already surpassed that of an average human, reaching the edge of the supernatural.
But compared to the heroes, it was insignificant.
The supernatural world followed a structured system of power:
[Rank-0: Human]
[Rank-1: Initiate]
[Rank-2: Enhanced]
[Rank-3: Awakened]
and so on.
Rank-0 represented the absolute peak a human could achieve through lifelong training, while Rank-1 marked the threshold where strength began to cross into something inhuman, something bordering on the supernatural.
Zyel himself had barely reached the early stage of [Rank-1: Initiate].
Amelia stood at the late stage of [Rank-2: Enhanced], while Aria remained at the early stage of the same rank.
Their opponents, however, the three heroes, all stood somewhere between the mid and late stages of [Rank-3: Awakened].
The gap was overwhelming.
And as if that wasn't enough, Amelia and Aria had already exhausted much of their energy fighting each other in their earlier quarrel.
Now, weakened and unprepared, they were forced into a battle for survival against enemies far beyond their level.
Zyel felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Through the bond that connected them, he could feel Amelia's pain as if it were his own.
But even more than that, he could feel something deeper.
Her regret.
Regret for everything that was happening.
"Amelia…"
Zyel's lips barely managed to form the word.
He saw her glance at him, her lips moving as she called his name.
He didn't need to hear her voice to understand what she was feeling.
"My body… it won't move…"
Zyel's fists clenched tightly, yet his body refused to respond, as if some primordial fear had taken hold of him and rooted him to the spot.
"I want to fight… I want to protect my women… but how…?"
He didn't know.
He didn't know how to be a demon, how to generate power, how to control or use the demonic energy he knew existed within him as part of his new nature.
He knew nothing.
He had never learned anything about being a demon.
He wasn't afraid of the heroes.
Yes, there was fear, fear of losing his life, fear of losing his lovers, fear that they might not live to see tomorrow.
But he wasn't afraid to face them. He wasn't afraid to fight.
And yet, his body still wouldn't move.
"What can I do… Aylin…?"
He called out to the only one he believed could guide him.
[Master, you must feel your demonic energy.]
"I don't know… I can't…"
[All beings possess instincts.]
[Like a fish that darts away from the slightest ripple.]
[Like prey that spirals into terror at the presence of a predator.]
[Like a flock that bursts into the sky at a threatening sound.]
[Like a hand that recoils instantly from flame.]
[You, as a demon, possess instincts as well. Stronger ones. No… something far beyond that.]
[You are the sole wielder of countless Divine Blessings.]
[You carry the strongest form of the Blessing of War.]
[Within you exist the purest forms of instinct, battle instinct, survival instinct, killer instinct. Every instinct, perfected.]
"I… how do I use them…?"
[You must allow your instincts to take control of your consciousness, Master.]
[You do not need to be taught.]
[Everything you require already exists within you.]
[You simply need to feel it.]
[Feel your heartbeat, Master.]
[Feel the warmth of demon blood flowing through your veins.]
[Feel the demonic energy coursing through your entire existence.]
[Let it guide you. Let it awaken your instincts.]
Zyel felt her words echo within his mind.
At some point, without even realizing it, his eyes had closed.
He reached inward, trying to sense whatever lay dormant inside him, something that had always been there, waiting for him to notice.
A warmth stirred beneath his skin.
It flowed like blood, coursing through him as though it were woven into his flesh and bones, regulated by the steady rhythm of his heart.
Then something shifted.
Memories surfaced, or perhaps not memories, but realizations.
A sudden awareness of something that had always belonged to him, something he had never used, never even known how to access.
In the next moment, the world fell silent.
It was as if he alone remained, existing in a hollow, empty space.
Every sound faded, drifting farther and farther away until nothing remained.
Only his breathing.
Only his heartbeat, pounding like distant drums.
And beneath it all, a faint, unsettling sound, something moving under his skin, around him, inside him, everywhere.
The silence shattered.
A surge of violent energy erupted into his awareness, like multiple forces colliding at once.
His senses, now warped and heightened, snapped toward it instinctively.
His eyes opened.
What had once been sapphire blue now burned with a radiant purple glow, the same hue as Amelia and Aria's hair, but brighter, alive with demonic energy.
His perception had changed completely.
The world was drenched in violet, as if the heavens themselves had cast a purple veil over reality.
He could see everything.
Not just what lay before him, but behind him, beside him, above him.
Everywhere.
All at once.
His gaze no longer fixed on a single point.
It encompassed everything within his surroundings.
Then, suddenly, a beam of energy tore toward him, aimed straight for his head.
He saw it clearly.
Time seemed to slow.
The attack crawled through his vision, each moment stretching unnaturally.
He moved.
Just a slight tilt of his head.
The beam missed him completely, passing by his back and crashing into something behind him, obliterating it.
Even without turning, he saw that happen too.
Karen, the one who had redirected the beam toward him, froze.
A flicker of concern crossed her face as she realized her attack had been dodged so effortlessly, by nothing more than a simple movement.
"What the hell, Karen? That's just a lesser demon. Finish the high demons first," Jason said, frowning.
But his words cut off as he felt it.
Something had changed.
All three heroes, who had been moments away from delivering the final blow to Amelia and Aria, now turned their attention toward Zyel.
Even they could sense it.
Something about him was different.
"What are we afraid of? A mere lesser demon?" Jason muttered, stepping forward.
He closed the distance in a few strides.
When he was within range, he swung his sword in a clean, precise arc, aiming to sever Zyel's head.
The blade came close.
But before it could touch him, Zyel moved.
A minimal shift.
Effortless.
The attack missed completely.
Jason's eyes widened in shock.
Then, before he could react further, another shock followed.
A fist shot upward toward his chest.
Fast.
Far too fast.
He barely managed to react, bringing his forearm up to block it.
The impact struck hard.
The force pushed him backward, dragging him several feet across the ground.
"What the fuck?" Jason muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The other heroes did the same, all of them now focused entirely on Zyel.
He stood there, unchanged on the surface.
The same indifferent expression.
The same unmoving gaze.
Yet something about him now felt overwhelming.
He began walking toward them, calm, steady, yet carrying an oppressive presence.
"You shouldn't have invaded this place."
His voice was low, heavy.
"You shouldn't have attacked us."
Each step felt deliberate.
"You shouldn't have harmed my lovers…"
A dark, demonic tone bled into his words, sending an unfamiliar chill down their spines.
"Now I seek payment… and you will pay it with your lives."
[The Assimilation of the Divine Blessing of War has Increased (30%↑)]
[You have developed the Blessed Ability: Battle Instinct]
[Battle Instinct: Activated]
[You have entered a state where consciousness and instinct are flawlessly fused, granting heightened combat awareness]
[You are now able to wield all physical and spiritual abilities beyond their normal limits, reaching the highest output your current body, soul, and power level can sustain]
...
[Author's Note]
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider adding my novel to your library and supporting it with Power Stones. It really helps! No pressure at all though. Arigato!