Chapter 90: The Original Form of the Slayer
—— “Hell’s Elegy.”
Accompanied by the bard’s footsteps, the sound of the magic flute suddenly transformed into a mournful melody reminiscent of music played for the dead. He moved and played the flute with one hand while using the other to parry the paladin’s attacks with a longsword. Meanwhile, as he moved, he occasionally tapped his toes on the ground, leaving shallow indents that were not very obvious. The bard’s movements were light and graceful, sometimes giving the illusion of waltzing, as if he were not engaged in battle at all.
“Combat skills of a sword dancer.”
“And the evasion abilities of a jester. It seems he has mastered some techniques of a maestro as well.”
“Just how many specialties from related professions does he excel in?”
“He must absolutely be the Hell Poet!”
Soren’s expression grew increasingly serious, for in just a short while, he had already seen at least three combat abilities from the bard that belonged to related advanced professions. He didn’t doubt that the bard could effortlessly draw another weapon and execute dual wielding techniques, instantly unleashing a sword intent move called [Spinning Dance]. Only a Hell Poet, having lived for many years, could elevate the bard, a jack-of-all-trades profession, to such heights.
“If it really is the Hell Poet! Then the situation isn’t looking good!”
Soren cautiously searched for an opportunity. He knew quite a bit about the Hell Poet, yet the name still resonated loudly, as the Hell Poet was one of the few beings possessing legendary combat abilities, legendary stealth capabilities, and legendary spellcasting prowess. A bard being able to wield a magic flute in conjunction with legendary spells was enough to leave many spellcasters in despair, as if he were using cheat codes like a child of the planes.
Ordinary bards typically had at most second-rate combat skills, second-rate stealth abilities, and third-rate spellcasting capabilities.
But the Hell Poet’s agile footsteps before him brought Soren an overwhelming sense of danger.
Creak!
The music played by the magic flute suddenly ceased. The Hell Poet smiled as he sheathed his longsword and gently pointed his fingertip forward.
—— “Hell’s Elegy – Part Four – Desire for Slaughter!”
—— “Gate to Another World [Legendary Spell]!”
At first, some inconspicuous spell light appeared over the shallow indents left by the Hell Poet’s movement, quickly forming a simple nine-pointed star magic circle. When the eerie elegy halted, a gate to another world rapidly materialized in midair. In the next second, a terrifying low roar emerged from within it. A vicious-looking greater demon stepped out of the portal.
However.
The first target of the demon’s appearance was none other than the Hell Poet who completed the summoning ritual.
—— “Protection from Evil!”
A simple spell light emerged, and the Hell Poet frowned slightly, muttering, “Demons truly are mindless creatures.”
Summoning demons can often backfire.
However, casting a ‘Protection from Evil’ spell could resolve the trouble, at least redirecting their attention to attack others.
Indeed!
As the Hell Poet fortified the spell, the summoned demon immediately turned to charge at the paladin ahead, its massive body adorned with numerous sharp appendages. Each glimmered coldly like a blade. The demon’s form was uncertain, and it was difficult for them to predict how they would take shape, as demons possess strong mutation characteristics. If they wished, they could even maintain the form of an [Abyss Worm] and advance to the legendary domain through combat slaughter.
But at that point, a legendary-level Abyss Worm might be as large as a dragon, and it would be scarcely weaker in combat capabilities!
In theory, lesser demons could control their forms all the way to the legendary domain.
If they weren’t killed!
The summoned demon before them could be called an ‘Aberrant Demon,’ a failed product of demons advancing into the legendary domain, while successful ones would become [Balroth Demons], and a step down could become [Six-armed Serpent Demons]. With poor luck, they might maintain forms like [Frenzied Combat Demons], [Furo Demons], or [Tempt]. Regardless, as long as their strength rose to the legendary domain, the mishaps in their appearances would be relatively minimized. Broadly speaking, the distinctions in demon forms remained apparent even among successful evolved varieties.
However, if they appeared grotesque or resembled aberrant monsters, that would signify a mutation advance failure. (Note: Demon Princes have defective forms and fall into that grotesque category.)
Failure doesn’t equate to weakness!
In fact, the battle prowess of failed products is often stronger; aberrant demons are more powerful than ordinary Balroth demons, but their only drawback is that they possess little intelligence, their souls are chaotic, and their thoughts are entirely controlled by a desire for slaughter, making them ‘madmen’ among demons.
If even demons think of them as madmen!
Then you can imagine how awkward the status of these ‘Aberrant Demons’ truly is.
However.
They are also the demons most eager to respond to calls for slaughter. This type of creature thirsts for bl**d and d*ath; whenever there’s an opportunity to be summoned to planes outside the Abyss, they invariably swarm in response to the spell summons. So theoretically, as long as these ‘madmen’ still exist in the Bottomless Abyss, one need not worry about legendary spells failing to summon powerful demons.
Aberrant Demon [Legendary Creature]!
A creature over three meters tall, weighing more than 8000 pounds, resembling a monster akin to a void horror or a zerg queen. Their bodies are covered with many bizarre jointed limbs, all of which are failures of the demon advancement mutation, and it is even possible to find body parts resembling other demons on them. This type of creature generally lacks brains, possessing only their most primal chaotic nature and instinct for slaughter, but that does not mean they are easy to deal with, as the power, physique, and agility of aberrant demons all improve based on a foundation of 25 points.
“Aberrant Demon [Greater Demon] [Large Outsider] [Large Chaotic Evil Creature] (5th tier).”
“Challenge Level 18+, Biological Level 21+, possessing spell-like abilities.”
“Highest attribute 35 points, lowest attribute 3 points, total attributes valued between 100-125 points.”
“Special Traits: Chaotic Will, Combat Instinct, Desire for Slaughter, Greater Demon Traits, Bite Attack, Frenzied Attack.”
“Challenge Difficulty: S+.”
………………
A greater demon with a challenge difficulty of S+.
Though in terms of life forms they rank lower than the Balroth demons like the Balroth Fire Demon, in actual combat, they wouldn’t be much weaker than the Balroth Fire Demon.
By the way!
Though Soren was reluctant to admit it, the hideously ugly, terrifying creature before him was indeed the original form of the [Slayer Transformation].
They are referred to by demons as—— [Slayer]!
A creature completely dominated by chaos, filled with a terrifying desire for slaughter!
Hehe.
Isn’t it a bit ironic?
In truth, Soren had long anticipated that one day, he might encounter a real Slayer.
………………
The appearance of the Aberrant Demon changed the tide of battle in an instant.
This fearsome monster, weighing over 8000 pounds, charged forward, its body serving as the most dangerous weapon. Its numerous terrifying, spiked appendages could easily shred through steel armor, and its ghastly gaping maw could crush anything in the blink of an eye; even iron could be ground to pieces and swallowed whole.
In theory, they could devour anything and could be digested by their horrifying stomach acid!
Their skin is tougher than dragon skin, possessing immense physical resistance, rendering most control abilities entirely ineffective against them. Their chaotic will grants them immunity to any mind-controlling spells.
Because they are already chaotic enough!…
Such a being, chaotic to the extreme, is difficult to control even for demon lords, and once summoned, they simply cause havoc.
“Ah!!!”
A shrill scream pierced the air.
The Aberrant Demon relied solely on its combat instincts; in just one exchange, it sacrificed one of its arm-like appendages to snap off a paladin’s lower body with one bite.
Demonic bl**d dripped onto the ground.
Soon, the ground began to emit wisps of green smoke, and where the bl**d fell, small pits began to corrode into the earth.
The original form of the [Slayer]!
This thing has been summoned, and the paladin’s situation is looking dire.
…………… (To be continued ~^~)
