NABC Chapter 578: Arcadia, The First Planet In All Creation (LVI)
Chapter 578: Arcadia, The First Planet In All Creation (LVI)
’...Her aside...’Aestrea’s eyes landed on the six-armed demon.
’I need to deal with him first.’
He gripped both of his swords. Since he couldn’t use his authority or divinity, for that matter, he needed to be extra careful when dealing with the demon.
He had six arms after all.
"You are nothing without your divine power, human. You think you can defeat me with nothing but those little blades?"
The demon suddenly spoke, surprising Aestrea.
After all, none of the creatures he killed earlier even managed to utter a single word. To these words, Aestrea cracked his neck.
"I don’t need anything else to kill you."
At those words, the demon roared and attacked first.
Its middle left arm thrust the long spear straight forward, aiming for Aestrea’s chest. At the same time, the upper right arm swung the heavy axe down in a powerful arc.
Swoop!
Aestrea stepped sharply to his right, letting the spear pass just beside his body. He raised the Midnight Sword and met the falling axe head-on.
CLAAANG!
The two blades clashed hard, causing sparks to flew from the impact.
Aestrea felt the force travel up his arm, but he held firm and immediately twisted his wrist, using the axe’s momentum to push it aside.
Without wasting a second, he thrust the Heaven Swallowing Sword forward with his left hand.
The blade shot straight toward the demon’s exposed side, right below the ribs.
Fwip!
The tip pierced the dark scales, and seeing this, Aestrea quickly twisted the sword once before pulling it back.
Spluurt!
Black blood sprayed from the wound as the Heaven Swallowing Sword drained a portion of the demon’s strength.
The demon growled in pain.
"You dare wound me?! I will crush you into nothing!"
Aestrea frowned at those words.
’...Why is his speech so robotic?’
It pulled the spear back and thrust again, this time lower at Aestrea’s stomach. At the same time, the lower right arm swung the jagged sword in a horizontal slash.
Aestrea dropped low, bending his knees and leaning back to avoid the spear. The jagged sword whistled over his head.
He used the low position to slash upward with the Midnight Sword, targeting the arm holding the spear.
The blade connected against the forearm, cutting deep into the muscle. Black blood poured down the arm.
The demon’s six eyes narrowed.
"You fight well for a weakling. But you will tire long before I do!"
Aestrea didn’t waste breath answering.
He stepped forward and drove the Heaven Swallowing Sword into the demon’s thigh in a powerful thrust.
Splurrghh!
The blade sank in deep with another wet sound. He followed up immediately by slashing across with the Midnight Sword, cutting a deep gash across the demon’s chest.
The demon roared louder this time.
It brought the spiked mace down from above with its middle right arm. Aestrea rolled to the side.
CRAAACK!
The mace smashed into the stone floor, sending small pieces of rock flying.
He came up quickly and immediately countered.
He feinted a thrust with the Heaven Swallowing Sword toward the demon’s face.
The demon raised two arms to block.
Aestrea suddenly changed direction and slashed low with the Midnight Sword instead, cutting across both of the demon’s legs just above the knees.
Black blood sprayed in thick arcs as the Midnight Sword carved deep wounds.
The demon’s stance faltered for a moment.
Aestrea stepped in close and drove the Heaven Swallowing Sword into the demon’s stomach with a powerful two-handed thrust, using both arms for extra force.
The blade sank in deep, and once again, Aestrea twisted it violently before ripping it free.
SPLUUURTT!
More black blood gushed out.
"AAARRARGHHHH! YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT, HUMAN!!!"
It swung wildly with all six weapons at once, trying to force Aestrea back. Aestrea stayed calm and moved between the attacks.
He parried the axe with the Midnight Sword, sidestepped the mace, and slashed back with the Heaven Swallowing Sword, cutting into another arm.
’...The Heavenly Swallowing Sword is also absorbing Divinity for him, rather than Nether?’
Nether was the "divinity" for demons, and since his opponent was a demon, Aestrea was extremely confused about why his sword was actually absorbing Divinity instead.
"You... are draining me... with that cursed blade!"
The demon suddenly roared out, causing Aestrea to raise an eyebrow.
"You noticed too late."
He feinted a thrust with the Heaven Swallowing Sword, then suddenly slashed low with the Midnight Sword, cutting across both of the demon’s legs just above the knees.
Spluurt!
Black blood sprayed out in thick arcs.
The demon’s stance faltered. Aestrea stepped in close and drove the Heaven Swallowing Sword deep into its chest.
Claang!
This time, the demon was able to parry his sword with the axe before swinging another one of its arms at Aestrea’s head.
Swoosh!
Aestrea quickly leaped back, narrowly avoiding the blow before landing and shooting towards the demon once again.
He slashed upward with the Midnight Sword, targeting the arm holding the mace.
Crunch!
The demon’s arm jerked, and it almost dropped the mace.
The demon responded by swinging the curved blade from its upper left arm in a fast diagonal cut.
Aestrea blocked it with the Midnight Sword and quickly countered with a quick thrust from the Heaven Swallowing Sword, piercing the demon’s shoulder.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"
The demon roared in pain, black blood spraying from the new wound. It pulled back and attacked again with all six arms in a wild, uncoordinated frenzy.
Aestrea’s eyes narrowed as he dodged and parried.
After several more exchanges, it became clear.
The demon’s movements were too repetitive.
Its attacks followed predictable patterns.
Its dialogue was crude and repetitive, like it was following a script. Its combat instincts were mechanical, lacking true adaptability or creativity.
Aestrea confirmed his thoughts.
This wasn’t an actual demon, but more like a robot-like guardian programmed to act like one.
Ugly dialogue, bad combat instincts, and a body designed to look threatening but lacking real depth.
He decided to end it in one go.
He took a deep breath and settled into a low stance.
"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art..."
The air around him grew colder as a faint silver light began to glow along the edges of both blades.
『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』
Aestrea vanished from his position in a blur of silver light.
A single, perfect silver line traced through the air behind the demon, so fast it looked like reality itself had been sliced.
He reappeared directly behind the six-armed creature.
SHIIIIIIIIIING!!!
An "X" of blood exploded across the demon’s back.
The creature froze mid-motion.
All six of its arms stopped moving.
Its six red eyes widened in shock.
Black blood poured from the deep cross-shaped wound that had been carved through its torso.
The demon tried to turn, but its body refused to obey. Cracks spread across its scaled skin from the point of impact.
With a final, guttural groan, the demon collapsed forward.
THUD!
Its massive body hit the ground, sending dust and small debris flying.
The six weapons clattered uselessly to the floor around it.
"...All of that for this, huh?" Aestrea sighed.
The challenges, instead of getting harder, were getting surprisingly easy, to the point of almost becoming boring.
He walked over to the iron cage where Yennefer was held.
The bars had already begun to dissolve completely, crumbling into dust as the challenge recognized his victory.
The cage lowered gently to the ground, and the last remnants of the bars faded away.
Yennefer lay unconscious inside, her voluptuous body still in the same stunning form he had seen earlier.
Aestrea reached down and gently lifted her into his arms.
She was surprisingly light despite her curves. He held her close, one arm supporting her back and the other under her knees, as he carried her out of the chamber.
The moment they stepped out of the main fighting area, Yennefer stirred. Her crimson eyes fluttered open slowly.
She looked up at him, recognition flashing across her face. Then, without any warning, her expression shifted into pure, obsessive joy.
"Aestrea...!"
She pounced on him instantly.
Her arms wrapped around his neck with surprising strength, pulling him down as she pressed her body against his.
Her massive breasts squished heavily against his chest as she clung to him as if she would never let go.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, locking him in place as her wings spread slightly for balance.
"You’re here... You really came for me..." she whispered, her voice trembling with intense emotion.
Her crimson eyes were wide and filled with a crazy obsession as she stared at him up close.
"I knew you would. I waited so long... I missed you so much... I can’t let you leave me again. Never again."
She buried her face in his neck, kissing and nuzzling him desperately. Her hands gripped his shoulders tightly, nails digging in slightly as if afraid he might disappear.
"You’re mine... You’re all mine now..."