The battlefield fell into a brief, eerie pause.
The Darkness Devil lowered its head, staring at the Control Chains embedded in its body.
For a moment, it simply... processed.
Seriously?
A Control Devil trying to leash it?
What exactly did she think she was doing?
Makima narrowed her eyes slightly.
The lack of reaction caught her off guard.
No submission. No hesitation.
Interesting.
This one had resistance.
Still, in her mind, the conclusion was simple.
If the dog refused to obey, then it just needed to be beaten into submission.
Makima closed her eyes, focusing through the chains, trying to grasp the Darkness Devil's authority.
Even if control failed, testing its power came first.
As long as she could overpower it, everything else would follow.
Her lips parted slightly.
"Use the Darkness Devil's power."
A brief pause.
Then she chose.
"Palm Sound Distortion."
Clap!
Her hands came together sharply.
Crack!
In an instant, the bones inside the Darkness Devil twisted violently, bending in unnatural directions.
Pfft!
The Darkness Devil dropped slightly, blackened blood seeping from beneath its cloak.
Makima smiled, satisfied.
"So this is all you have?"
But the moment did not last.
The Darkness Devil's rage surged.
It had always despised the Control Devil.
Her ability was absurd. As long as her will held strong, she could impose herself on beings far beyond her level.
It was irritating.
Infuriating.
Before Makima could press the advantage further, the Darkness Devil moved.
"Yie."
Boom!
A violent, invisible force slammed into her.
A massive cylindrical wound tore through her body, like she had been hit by artillery.
Blood burst outward.
Makima collapsed instantly.
She could not endure that kind of attack.
Her body was nowhere near Cael's level.
Even with enhanced durability, she was still far too fragile against a Primal Devil.
The gap was undeniable.
And the Darkness Devil knew exactly how her contract worked.
It layered continuous damage into the attack.
So instead of a single death restoring her, the damage lingered.
People would keep dying until she fully recovered.
A cruel, calculated move.
Black blood spilled from Makima's mouth as her vision blurred.
"Cael... it... hurts..."
Pain sharpened her awareness.
And with it came clarity.
She had underestimated it.
The chains binding the Darkness Devil began to crumble.
That was enough.
Cael snapped.
His blood surged, anger boiling over instantly.
"Are you fucking serious?! You think you can just tear into her like that?"
Wind howled around him.
Arrows formed overhead, dense and suffocating.
"Try this, you cheating piece of shit."
They dropped all at once.
A storm of withering arrows crashed down toward the Darkness Devil.
Boom!
The Darkness Devil reacted immediately.
It shrank into the surrounding darkness, minimizing the damage as much as possible.
This was bad.
It calculated quickly.
The cost of continuing was too high.
Its resources were running thin.
And worse...
Something else was coming.
The space around them was getting brighter.
That could only mean one thing.
Another dangerous presence was approaching.
If that one arrived, escape would become far more difficult.
Decision made.
It retreated.
Its body dissolved into a mass of black fluid, forcing its way through the barrage and diving toward the wooden door in the sky.
Bang.
The door slammed shut behind it.
Gone.
The retreat was abrupt, almost desperate.
A complete loss.
It had gained nothing.
And it had no intention of coming back for another round.
Cael stood there for a moment, breathing out slowly as the tension drained from his body.
"Yeah... run, you bastard."
He had pushed himself to the limit.
Every advantage used.
And still, the Darkness Devil could not be killed.
That thing was absurd.
Then, a voice echoed in his mind.
Ding. The host has defeated the Darkness Devil. Dark Water effect activated.
Extracting ability.
Primal, Bell Sound Sword.
Consumes body mass to summon a bell. When the bell rings upon impact, the target dies unconditionally.
Effective even against Primal Devils.
Cael's eyes lit up.
"Now that... is a damn good reward."
Unlike the previous ability he had gotten, this one could actually kill a Primal Devil outright.
If that bastard came back next time...
Things would be different.
But right now, that did not matter.
He turned immediately to Makima.
She was still struggling, her body slowly trying to recover.
Cael knelt beside her.
"Hey, hang on. I got you."
He shifted back to his human form and placed his hand over her wound.
"Dark Hole."
Black light flickered.
The damaged flesh began to disappear, absorbed completely.
The wound widened briefly under the effect, then stabilized.
It looked worse for a moment, but it sped up her recovery significantly.
Her contract continued to function.
Lives paid the cost.
But she healed.
Cael stayed focused.
Careful.
Deliberate.
He kept his thoughts fixed on the Darkness Devil.
Not her.
He was not about to risk triggering her contract in the wrong way.
Once he was done, he pulled out a clean white shirt.
"Here. Put this on."
Her clothes had been completely destroyed in the fight.
That was always the annoying part.
Bodies healed.
Clothes did not.
Makima accepted it quietly, covering herself before stepping closer.
Then she leaned in and kissed him.
Soft, brief, but real.
She pulled back slightly, a faint flush on her face.
"Cael... we actually beat it."
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