Chapter 22: Witch, or Valkyrie?
When the male form dominated, the Yin-Yang Demon possessed immense strength. When the female form took over, it moved with the swiftness of the wind.
Its mismatched lips curled into a grotesque smile, revealing a gaping maw, its tongue writhing like a serpent, tasting the air, anticipating its feast.
A chill settled upon the tavern, the temperature dropping noticeably.
Qin Chu shivered, rubbing his arms, goosebumps erupting across his skin.
What a pathetic Hero, Matras thought, its amusement growing. He was oblivious to the danger lurking behind him.
This Hero was a fool. Did he truly not understand his own vulnerability? To wander into the slums alone, without his guards, to indulge in a late-night drink…
It had never encountered such a reckless individual.
He was a far cry from the First Hero, Jie Luo.
If it hadn’t been for the Phantom Demon’s mark, it would have doubted his authenticity.
He hadn’t even noticed its approach, hadn’t sensed the shift in the atmosphere.
This assassination would be easier than expected.
A flicker of doubt, however, nagged at Matras. Why was the Hero here, in Candice’s tavern?
Surely, a Hero with his status could afford to drink in the finest establishments in the inner city.
And where was Candice?
That half-breed, with her tainted human blood, had likely failed to detect the Phantom Demon’s mark. Typical.
She dared to dream of acceptance among the Demonfolk?
Preposterous. Serving them was a privilege, an honor. They would never accept a creature with human blood flowing through its veins.
Except for the Witches, of course. They were too powerful to ignore.
Matras dismissed those thoughts, its focus returning to the task at hand.
The glory of slaying the Hero.
Success would elevate its status in the eyes of its master, earning it a handsome reward.
Perhaps it could even use the reward to break through its current bottleneck, to achieve a higher level of power.
It had to act quickly. Other Demon assassins lurked in the city, their hunger for glory no less ravenous than its own.
The world around Qin Chu seemed to dim, as if a thick fog had descended upon the tavern.
Matras, its movements as silent and fluid as a falling leaf, drifted towards him, its grotesque face contorting into a predatory grin.
Its right hand swelled, its fingers thickening, its left leg drawing back as it prepared to strike, its fist aimed at Qin Chu’s heart.
It wasn’t using its full strength, but it was confident that the blow would be fatal. The Hero, newly summoned, his body still weak and unaccustomed to this world’s harsh realities, wouldn’t be able to withstand its might. Its fist could shatter steel, pulverize stone.
The Hero’s chest would cave in, its fingers easily tearing through flesh and bone to claim his heart.
Boom!
The air crackled as its fist connected, the force of the blow shattering the bar, sending splinters of wood flying.
Bottles and glasses exploded, their contents splattering across the floor, the scent of alcohol filling the air.
Its fist had pierced the Hero’s chest, as expected. But the sensation… it was wrong. It hadn’t felt the satisfying resistance of flesh and bone.
The Hero’s body shattered like a mirror, its fragments dissolving into thin air.
Matras whirled around, its eyes searching the room.
In the corner, a few meters away, the Hero’s form solidified, reassembling itself from the shadows.
An illusion!
Damn it! When had he learned magic?
He shouldn’t have had the time!
A sense of unease, a premonition of danger, gnawed at Matras. This wasn’t going as planned.
But the allure of glory, of slaying the Hero, was too strong to resist.
Its face shifted, the feminine half expanding, consuming the masculine features, until only a woman’s visage remained.
It lunged towards Qin Chu, its right foot slamming against the floor, propelling its body upwards.
A hand, slender yet strong, landed on its shoulder.
Slap!
Crash!
Its body, momentarily airborne, was slammed back to the ground with bone-jarring force.
The floor cracked, the impact sending a shockwave through Matras’s body. It coughed up a mouthful of blood, its vision blurring.
Candice stood behind it, her high-heeled shoe pressing down on its face, grinding its cheek against the rough stone floor.
Her leg, exposed beneath her skirt, gleamed in the lamplight, its smooth skin as flawless as polished jade.
Her slender frame seemed to possess an impossible strength, her grip unyielding despite Matras’s desperate struggles.
“Shaye,” Qin Chu said mentally, his voice laced with amusement. “Are you sure this woman has the makings of a Witch? She seems more like a Valkyrie.”
Witch?
She hadn’t used any magic, at least not in the traditional sense. She had simply slapped the Demon into submission.
“Well, she can be both,” Shaye replied, her voice nonchalant.
Matras, its body writhing like a worm, its vision clearing, finally recognized its attacker.
“Candice, you treacherous bitch!” it roared, its voice laced with fury. “You dare betray your master?”
Its eyes, both now crimson red, blazed with hatred.
That damn half-breed! It should have known better than to trust her.
Candice, disgusted by its words, twisted her heel, grinding it into Matras’s mouth, silencing its tirade.
“He’s all yours, Great Horus,” she said, bowing respectfully to Qin Chu.
Qin Chu, uninterested in the Demon’s pathetic pleas, approached it. To him, it was nothing more than an experience piñata, its level slightly lower than the Phantom Demon he had devoured earlier.
Still, it would provide a welcome boost to his power.
He squatted before it, ignoring its hateful gaze, his hand resting on its forehead.
“Devourer.”
Candice gasped, a wave of primal fear washing over her. Though he hadn’t touched her, she felt his power, a terrifying force that made her magic, her Battle Qi, churn within her, threatening to escape her control.
To her horror, Matras’s body, previously plump and feminine, rapidly withered, its flesh shrinking, its bones becoming visible beneath its translucent skin.
Its screams morphed into whimpers, its rage replaced by a desperate plea for mercy.
He was draining its life force, its very essence.
But that wasn’t all.
An invisible energy, bypassing her shoe, flowed into her through her foot, drawing her own magic and Battle Qi towards him, like water rushing towards a drain.
