Demonic Skeleton God-Chapter 140: Flain vs Head Bandit

Flain looked at the Head Bandit and waited for his next move. The one who attacks first from this distance is at a disadvantage, since the opponent can clearly see the incoming strike.

A small vial with a blue liquid appeared in the Bandit’s hand. He uncorked it and drank it all. Then followed a green potion, which he also consumed.

What he had just used were a mana potion and an Existential Tension potion—these potions replenish a certain amount of mana and existential tension. The Head Bandit had lost quite a bit during the fight with Harur due to the last attack, and since he wanted to be sure he could kill Flain, he decided to use them.

These kinds of potions are usually made by a special type of alchemist. There are potions for health, mana, existential tension, or stamina. In most factions, they are restricted because they’re considered drugs due to one particular ingredient. That ingredient is Blacknight Root—a powerful drug, but without it, the potion wouldn’t work.

It reduces lifespan and is highly addictive. Moreover, a similar effect can be achieved by a supporter with a specific spell. However, the benefits are instant replenishment and no need for a supporter. But since these types of potions are rare, the potions made from them are even rarer. The better the quality of the ingredients, the stronger the potion.

Flain had learned this at the academy from Flor, who, during their conversations, would randomly mention various bits of information. Flain didn’t mind—at least he learned something potentially useful.

The Bandit’s body began to blur again, and he lunged at Flain.

With tremendous force, Flain crossed his blades.

"Looks like we’re starting," Flain muttered with a cold smirk.

The Head Bandit slashed his sword, adding a sharp gust of flame. The first strike was lightning-fast—the blade flared with fire and came at Flain. He intercepted it with both swords, slicing through the air to block it. The flames leapt onto his armor, broke against the cold blades, but did not ignite them.

Flain countered with a series of slashes from both sides, his bony tail swirling behind him, striking from the rear. The Bandit stepped back; behind him glowed a magical buildup—he was preparing another fire wave. Flain sensed it, leapt backward, but the flame didn’t disperse—it sharply curved and engulfed Flain’s back.

[-420 HP]

Flain stepped back. "Nice hit, but now it’s my turn," he murmured.

"Poison Layer."

A green layer of poison appeared on his palm, which he spread over his blades.

Both of them assumed combat stance again and unleashed a flurry of slashes. Flain crossed the air with both blades, the bony spur of his tail threatening from above. He spun sharply and slashed the Bandit in the shoulder. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Tense pink veins spread across the Bandit’s shoulder, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

Fire exploded beneath the Head Bandit’s blade and set the surroundings ablaze. Heat rose to the stars; now was the perfect opportunity.

"Swift Cascade," he murmured.

His swords and tail began to glow, and he launched himself at the Head Bandit, not giving him a moment to breathe.

The Bandit defended himself, but Flain was far too fast. Eventually, the Bandit managed to push him back, ending Swift Cascade. His entire body was covered in slashing wounds and he was bleeding heavily. A strong fiery veil appeared on his sword, and he landed a critical slash on Flain’s shoulder.

[-310 HP]

Flain’s arm began to dangle by a few layers of armor before it finally fell off completely, along with the sword it held.

Flain’s eyes widened, and he ordered Aran, who had been absorbing a soul near their fight, to stall the Head Bandit for a moment.

Aran immediately stepped in front of Flain, and his spear clashed with the Bandit’s sword.

"My king, allow me to kill him for you," he said.

"Focus on stalling him. He’s my target," Flain murmured.

The arm that had fallen off hadn’t been damaged since the first fight with the bandits at the beginning. He had a spell for this, one he had acquired with his first evolution — Necrotic Irradiation. He hadn’t used it until now, although its healing effects would have been useful in some situations. It consumed too much mana: 3 mana per second. With Flain’s mana reserves, that didn’t seem like much, but it was a Stage 2 spell, and Flain, as a Stage 3, would still need time for full healing.

Flain placed his severed arm against his shoulder and said, "Necrotic Irradiation."

From the palm of his intact hand, a strong black light began to radiate, occasionally flickering with black flames.

He placed it over the severed area, and Necrotic Irradiation began to work. From the empty space, bone slowly began to grow, and eventually even armor — plus, it regenerated some HP.

Flain didn’t expect the armor to regenerate as well, but it made sense. Due to the system, his armor was similar to his body. So with Necrotic Irradiation, the armor could also be repaired — useful to know.

After a minute, his arm was fully healed, and he recovered 120 HP while losing 180 mana. In battle, it’s not very efficient since the regeneration takes quite some time, but still much better than the base regeneration skeletons like Flain had.

Meanwhile, Aran was fighting the Head Bandit, who didn’t hold back at all.

"Return to soul absorption," Flain ordered Aran.

The Bandit looked at Flain. "Looks like you’ve finished regenerating. Now it’s my turn to heal." A new mana potion appeared in his hand, which he drank completely before tossing the empty vial aside.

He raised his sword high above his head and gathered an enormous cube of fire into it. Fully ablaze, he threw it directly at Flain. Flain stepped forward and turned, splitting the fireball with his blades and deflecting it to the ground, where it sizzled like a molten crater.

Flain dealt with the fading flames for just a fraction of a second — during that time, the Bandit attacked from the side with two swift slashes. Flain had to duck; the blade whooshed just above his shoulder. The bone spur on his tail reappeared behind the Head Bandit and pierced into his thigh. The Bandit didn’t hesitate and slashed Flain whit fire in the thigh.

[-340 HP]

The fight continued...