[Incoming!]

  Julian ducked, the colossal daemon mantis’ massive claw slicing through the air above him with a deafening whoosh. The force alone sent a rush of wind that tugged at his hair, fortunately not close enough to cut the ends.

  Without breaking pace, Julian moved beneath the towering creature, his movements like leaf on water, avoiding the rocks despite the heavy weapon in his hands. His glowing blue eyes left a trail as he weaved and dodged the mantis’ legs, feeling every movement in the wind while listening to MEGAN’s words.

  The greatsword in his hands felt like it pulsed as he swung it, the edge slicing through the air with a high-pitched whistle. And like with the rapier, he aimed for the exposed gaps between the joints.

  He could very well aim at the legs themselves, but he was sure it would take at least 3 swings in a single spot before he could completely slice through due to the exoskeleton—and that was a time he could use aiming at the daemon’s weak points instead.

  The mantis screeched in frustration, its long claws slashing at the ground in wild arcs, trying to pin him down. But Julian’s movements were too erratic, and he made sure to stay beneath the colossal monster.

  And finally, a squelch whispered in the air as the greatsword struck the center, lodging itself into the joint of one of the mantis’ legs. The squelch was followed by a sharp crack that resounded through the glade as the weapon bit deep into its joints. The daemon flinched, its balance faltering slightly as the damaged leg spasmed.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  The mantis writhed violently, yanking its leg back and forcing Julian to pull his blade free before he could sever it entirely. Its other claw came down like a guillotine, narrowly missing him as he rolled to the side.

  [Julian!]

  “Heh…” Julian’s breaths came heavy as he crouched low, but the smile on his face remained as he felt and listened in on the daemon’s every movement.

  He was worried about the daemon being completely undetectable to him, but that problem did not last long at all when it started going wild and fighting head-on.

  Julian’s grip tightened on the hilt of his greatsword as he prepared for another strike.

  But suddenly, it would seem the mantis’ instincts shifted. It lunged forward without warning, its movements unnaturally fluid for something so massive. It suddenly leaped away from Julian, latching onto a gray tree before once again closing the distance between them in an instant, its entire body slamming toward Julian like a spaceship.

  Even with his abnormal senses, Julian barely had time to react. He swung his greatsword upward, holding it horizontally as a makeshift shield. The daemon’s immense weight and momentum crashed into him, the impact sending shockwaves through his entire body.

  The force of the blow knocked him off his feet, driving him backward. His boots skidded against the cracked ground, leaving deep grooves in the dirt as he struggled to keep his balance.

  But the daemon wasn’t finished. It lunged at Julian again, this time standing directly in front of him and unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks with its claws. Julian dodged some of the strikes, but many he was forced to block with his greatsword.

  "Kh!" Julian grunted, the weight of the daemon bearing down on him. Even with precise blocks, the sheer force threatened to crush him.

  The greatsword vibrated in his hands, straining under the onslaught. One of the daemon’s massive claws swung wide behind its back, its sheer size enabling it to strike from unexpected angles. Julian leaped into the air to avoid the strike, but what awaited him above was the mantis’ other claw, threatening to cleave him in half completely.

  “Shh!” Julian gritted his teeth, his smile faltering slightly as he swung his greatsword with all his might at the incoming claw. He wasn’t attempting to deflect the attack—he knew he lacked the leverage in the air, and the daemon’s strength far exceeded his own in the first place.

  Instead, he used the impact to throw himself sideways, allowing himself to maneuver in the air. The force sent his arms trembling, however; the shock rippling through his body. But it was a small price to pay for avoiding being sliced in half—he had no desire to test the limits of his new armor against this foe.

  The daemon, however, was relentless. It slashed again, this time with both claws, heading toward Julian like a pair of giant scissors.

  So much for being a mindless monster.

  But Julian didn’t panic. Instead, he held his breath, focusing his attention—not on the mantis, but on the tower in the distance. He was making sure that Kitty still had no way of seeing what he was about to do.

  Once certain she was preoccupied inside the tower fighting with the smaller daemons, Julian plunged his arm into the darkness again…

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  …this time drawing out Searadyn’s Veil.

  And in an instant, he vanished.

  The daemon paused, its claws slowing down as it tilted its head in confusion. Its prey was gone. Before it could react further, its surroundings began to twist and distort—the ground shifted to the air, then became a wall. The entire space warped unpredictably, causing it to become even more confused.

  But the daemon’s focus snapped back as it spotted Julian again. It lunged, claws slashing, only to strike empty air.

  Khik!?

  A shrill screech escaped the daemon as it suddenly felt a sharp pain in its leg. It looked down, only to see Julian carving through the joint with both the Mantis Greatsword and Searadyn’s Veil, the blades slicing cleanly through its flesh like it was ham.

  The daemon swung at him in desperation, but Julian disappeared again, reappearing on its massive shoulder.

  Unfortunately, his time with [Shadow Festival] was over—most of his MP had actually been spent crafting the Mantis armor and greatsword, and had not completely recovered yet.

  Still, it was enough.

  Julian let out a silent roar as he gripped the greatsword with both hands, plunging it into the gap at the daemon’s neck. The blade sank deep, but Julian wasn’t done. Shifting Searadyn’s Veil into a shield, albeit a smaller one—its full power lost in his battle with Erin—he used it to hammer the hilt of the greatsword, driving it deeper into the daemon’s thick neck.

  Bang!

  The colossal mantis thrashed and writhed, trying desperately to dislodge him. But Julian used its wild movements to his advantage, forcing the blade deeper with every shake.

  When the greatsword was embedded as far as it could go, Julian slammed it sideways, slicing through the tough flesh. Then, he buried Searadyn’s Veil back into the [Shadow Vault], freeing both hands to grip the hilt of the greatsword.

  He roared again, veins bulging in his neck as he poured every ounce of strength to lift the greatsword up.

  Slowly, with a sickening crunch, he began to pry the daemon’s neck apart.

  The air echoed with the sound of ripping flesh and cracking shell, and with a final thunderous snap, the mantis’ head tore free—though not entirely. It swung loosely, still attached by sinew, as the daemon’s body spasmed uncontrollably.

  Even headless, the daemon’s claws flailed wildly, slashing at nothing in its death throes. But soon, its movements slowed, its massive body collapsing to the ground with a resounding thud.

  Julian fell with it, landing hard on his back. He lay there, his arms stretched out to his sides, his chest rising and falling as he finally allowed himself to breathe in relief.

  [Good work, Julian,] MEGAN whispered in his mind. Her usual jolly tone carried a hint of… something else as she continued,

  [You didn’t… even need me.]

  “Nonsense,” Julian exhaled deeply as he sat up. “I would’ve been dead in three seconds at the start without you.”

  [Do… you truly think that?] MEGAN’s voice was softer, almost hesitant.

  “I do.” Julian stood up, retrieving the greatsword from the ground before plunging his hand into the darkness. In an instant, his armor and the greatsword disappeared.

  He then tapped his foot against the ground before walking to his rapier, which rested near a gray tree and casually picked it up.

  [That…] MEGAN seemingly wanted to say something, but fell silent.

  “What was that?” Julian asked, tilting his head.

  [Nothing. Let’s focus on the task at hand, Julian.]

  With that, MEGAN became completely quiet.

  Julian hummed and waited for her to say something else, but when she did not, he returned to the massive mantis corpse, tapping his rapier against its exoskeleton to see if he could get any material from it.

  It was thicker than the smaller daemons’, but not significantly harder. There was nothing to get there.

  “Well…” He let out a thoughtful hum before quickly making his way into the tower. And what awaited him there were piles of daemon corpses.

  Wasting no time, Julian climbed the spiral staircase, moving swiftly toward her location.

  As he drew closer to her position, he tightened his grip on his rapier and leaped forward, piercing the neck of a mantis daemon before it aimed its claw at Kitty.

  Kitty’s eyes widened as Julian appeared out of nowhere, but she quickly glared at him.

  “I had that,” she said, “And why are you here? What about the giant bug!?”

  “It—”

  “Don’t tell me you killed it,” Kitty interrupted, looking at Julian as though he were some kind of monster.

  “It… wasn’t as strong as we thought,” Julian replied softly, stepping down from the daemon’s corpse and back onto the stairs. “But let’s talk later.”

  “Tch, agreed. I just want this shit done too.”

  Kitty had countless questions, but she walked with Julian all the same. Together, they finally ascended to the top of the tower.

  And there, as MEGAN had described, a black cube awaited them.

  “So, we just need to destroy that thing?” Kitty narrowed her eyes, drawing her bow. But as she aimed, Julian suddenly approached the cube.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I want to check what it is first,” Julian replied as he found himself slightly drawn to the cube.

  “Me too, but you said we needed to destroy it. Let’s just do that. Also…” Kitty glanced back, her eyes reflecting the swarm of daemons flying toward them. “...I don’t want to be here when that gets to us.”

  “That—” Julian began, but MEGAN cut him off.

  [She’s right, Julian. Don’t touch it. You don’t know how your shadow powers might react to it. You’ve tried hard to hide your abilities from Kitty—don’t risk it now.]

  “Okay.” Julian took a step back, standing beside Kitty as she sighed and drew her bow again.

  “Damn it,” she muttered. “This would’ve been a great stream. Our first live collaboration, you know?”

  Without waiting for Julian’s reply, she loosed an arrow at the black cube.

  A ripple formed on the surface of the cube at first, almost as if it was swallowing the arrow. But soon, the cube started to crumble into dust. The cloud of daemons who were flying toward them, also dropped to the ground one by one like rain.

  “Well…” Kitty placed a hand on Julian’s shoulder. “...What happens—”

  Before she could finish, a circular light filled with symbols appeared beneath their feet.

  “What the fuck!?” Kitty’s eyes widened. “Julian!”

  “Hm?” Julian, unable to sense the light, frowned in confusion at her reaction.

  “That’s Artemian magic!”

  And with those words, a surge of warmth coursed through Julian’s veins. He wondered what the sensation was at first, but then felt that his surroundings were completely different.

  They were back in the auditorium.

  “Julian…” Kitty’s hand was still on his shoulder. “...That was Artemian magic. How… is that even possible?”

  “That—” Julian began, but a familiar voice interrupted him.

  “I know you civilians have many questions.”

  It was Cindy, with her entire team behind her looking confused—they just entered the portal, and now they were back in the auditorium, and that only meant one thing—

  “But I have a question of my own,” Cindy continued,

  “How did a streamer and a blind man clear a portal by themselves?”

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