"Heh!"

The demon looked ready and eager to fight them, like it had been waiting for this moment.

Elion had fought against opponents stronger than him before, but this was different. Fighting fellow students was one thing.

Fighting a battle-hardened, bloodthirsty demon, one that had effortlessly cut down six powerful mages, was something else entirely. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The pressure was obviously heavier.

Of course...

He was still confident in winning.

But even so, he knew this wasn’t a fight to take lightly. He would need the others.

Not because he couldn’t win, but because he wanted to win cleanly, without taking unnecessary damage and without suffering any serious losses.

He had only said what he had earlier about them not standing a chance alone, just to light a fire in the others.

In truth...

He knew he could take this demon one-on-one.

"So it will be Grog against three humans and a beast!" the demon laughed.

Elion assumed that Grog was the demon’s name.

"I don’t know how you guys fight," Elion said without taking his eyes off the demon, "but just support me however you can. Mostly cut off his escape routes if he tries to evade my strikes."

"Okay," they responded in unison.

Maya frowned slightly as she looked at the demon’s towering form.

"That skin looks thick... do you think our attacks will even do any damage?" she asked.

Elion considered it.

His current sword wouldn’t last long. It would probably shatter within the next few strikes. For a brief moment, he thought about buying one from the system. His gaze drifted to Aeron’s weapon.

"Aeron," he said, "what did you do with your old sword?"

"Huh?" Aeron tilted his head a bit, then his eyes wandered to the cracked blade in Elion hand.

"Oh..."

Without hesitation, he tossed the legendary-grade sword toward Elion. Elion caught it casually, with a brow raised.

"You can borrow that one for this fight," Aeron said, already pulling out another blade.

Elion had noticed the storage ring on Aeron’s index finger ages ago.

The sword he had pulled out was the same one he had seen Aeron use when they first met.

"By the way," Aeron added, "Zenovia uses dark magic, mostly auxiliary. Maya has dual lightning and fire affinity. And I don’t have an affinity to any particular element, but I have a unique telekinetic ability... though it’s not very powerful, which is why you always see me with a sword."

Elion nodded slightly.

"Oh, and Zenovia is primarily an assassin," Aeron continued, "that’s why I said her dark magic is mostly auxiliary."

Elion raised a brow, glancing briefly at Zenovia. Her expression didn’t change.

"Thanks for the information," Elion said to Aeron.

It was brief, but now, he knew a little more about his allies. Just enough to work with.

"Come on, don’t keep Grog waiting! hahahaha!"

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The demon was already charging, and every footfall was like a miniature earthquake.

Elion moved at the same time, rushing forward to meet it with the unfamiliar sword firm in his grip. Behind him, Maya darted to the back of their formation, already preparing a spell, Zenovia slipped off to the side like a shadow, and Aeron stayed close, ready to support.

"Enhanced Cognition."

The world slowed from Elion’s perspective, and the demon’s charge became clearer; each movement was drawn out for him, and each blade carved visible, almost ethereal arcs through the air before they had even been swung.

At the same time...

"Stat Conversion."

His speed surged.

His body moved ahead of the moment, already twisting, weaving through the incoming lines, while his focus locked onto a single point...

The demon’s neck.

’There.’

Whoosh...

When the moment came, he slipped past all four blades as if he had predicted their paths. His body passed through cleaned without a single one of them even touching him.

Around him, the others froze in shock, and their mouths gaped open for the second time that day.

’How is he doing that!?’ Zenovia thought, her eyes widening in disbelief. It seemed like every single moment she spent around this man, she was always in for a nerve-wracking, shocking experience!

’Is this... already over?’

She felt her breath hitch as she waited for the ’inevitable’ to happen. She couldn’t believe it! Wasn’t this demon supposed to be powerful!?

It definitely was, but maybe he was just far stronger!

’How is he so strong!?’

Maya and Aeron had similar thoughts racing through their minds.

Clang!

The blade struck its intended target, but that was not the sound they were all hoping for! It bounced off the demon’s skin like it had hit steel, and a faint chip marked the demon’s neck, but nothing more than that.

The recoil threw Elion slightly off balance, his pupils narrowing in surprise as he immediately pushed off and retreated from the demon’s reach.

He glanced at the edge of the blade with a frown forming on his brow.

’Maya was right...’

The demon’s skin wasn’t just thick; it was absurdly durable. Trying to cut through it felt like striking an impenetrable wall.

Even with a legendary-grade weapon!

’I was wrong...’

His old sword wouldn’t have survived even a single strike.

"Hehe..."

The demon laughed.

"A very strong human... You almost hurt Grog."

And then it charged again.

But this time, it didn’t seem to be targeting Elion. It charged straight toward Zenovia, who was holding a dark pair of daggers in her hands.

Maya chose that exact moment to release the spell she had been holding.

"Thunderclap..."

Crack!

Boom!

A bolt of lightning tore down from the sky, slamming directly into the demon’s body.

The impact was violent and blinding.

The demon groaned, its charge stuttering for a brief moment as electricity coursed across its powerful frame.

But it wasn’t enough to impede the hulking demon. Not even close. With a low, rumbling growl, it pushed through and continued charging forward anyway.

Elion shook his head, letting out a quiet sigh inwardly.

’Of course, it’s not supposed to be that easy...’

He had never expected this to be a completely easy fight. He moved immediately, rushing to intercept.

On his way, he activated Blood Marionette, and the demon’s body jerked dramatically, before sliding and being dragged to a sudden, unnatural halt mid-charge, its momentum cutting off as if invisible strings had yanked it back.

It was restrained for a split second, but just like before, it broke free a second later. But that was more than enough. Elion had already closed the distance, but Aeron was faster to get to it this time.

Shing!

His blade struck diagonally across the demon’s back; however, just like Elion’s earlier strike, it bounced off with no damage.

Elion arrived an instant later.

He gripped the one-handed sword with both hands, shifting into an unconventional mid-air lunge.

"Mountain Splitting Slash."

This time, he integrated a skill into the strike. The blade shimmered with an ethereal glow as it cut through the air.

Shk!

Boom!

The strike landed heavily, and this time the blade bit into the thick skin. Just barely. A shallow cut formed across the demon’s back, and thick, green blood oozed out.

However, most of the force of the strike was redirected toward the ground. The earth caved inward beneath the demon’s feet while it groaned in pain.

Its body twisted violently as one of its arms swung toward Elion, trying to swat him away like an insect.

He darted back instantly, and Aeron retreated alongside him.

"Good strike!" Aeron shouted from the side.

Simultaneously, Zenovia appeared out of nowhere like a shadow slipping through space, her daggers flashing in her hands as she aimed for the demon’s heels.

Clink.

Clink.

They struck with a simple chip, barely doing any damage at all.

She frowned, visibly annoyed, but she retreated swiftly as one of the demon’s massive arms came down in retaliation, the force of it cracking the ground where she had been standing moments before.

The demon straightened slowly, its massive, eight-foot frame flexing. It reached back slightly, feeling the wound Elion had left behind.

It looked at him.

"You... hurt Grog..." Its voice rumbled.

It sounded... shocked. At least, that’s what Elion thought. Something changed in its demeanour. The demon’s expression twisted.

It looked like anger.

It began taking slow, deep, and heavy rumbling breaths. It tilted its head back and roared.

"Haaaaaaaa!"

Boooom!

A violent shockwave erupted from its body, blasting outward and knocking all four of them back, forcing them to brace against the sheer force of it. A wispy, dark aura began to coil around its towering frame.

Boom!

Elion watched with wide eyes as its body grew slightly.

Boooom!

Again.

Boooom!

And again.

Each pulse expanded its size further, the aura thickening, and the pressure intensifying with every surge. Before Elion even fully processed what was happening, the demon stood one and a half times larger than before.

The air grew heavier and denser, and the pressure rolling off its body had doubled. Elion’s instincts screamed at him.

’This is bad.’

A very bad feeling settled in his gut. He checked its level once again, to confirm his suspicion, and his pupils shrank.

’What the fuck...?’

It had been level 54, he was sure of it. But now, it read...

[Level 58.]

’How the hell!?’