78 Cleaning Up 1 (1/2)

'...'

Devil Prince Rumin was speechless when he sensed the deaths of his two most trusted subordinates.

Speechless, frustrated and fuming!

He wheeled away from his sky-rending battle with the woman before him and licked the black blood flowing from his wounded right arm.

Then he broke off the arrow shafts that were still stuck out of his lean but muscled body.

Angular and square jaw, imposing but not overly strong features, sharp sword-like eyebrows and piercing, shining eyes.

If not for his blood red eyes and the small horns protruding from his temples, Rumin looked exactly like a human male.

One that would instantly leave women smitten with his otherworldly good looks!

He was dressed in flowing purple and black robes which now looked worse for the wear - torn and ripped where he had received wounds from the Duke's artefact - The Windforce Bow!

'Damn it all!!! It must have been Morrow interfering with my plans...!' He cursed at his fellow Devil Prince with whom he had a less than pleasant relationship.

He was also certain that his ”ally” who had sent 4 Devil Lords for this joint operation had betrayed him!

Else, how could two mighty Devil Lords nearly at the peak Legendary stage fall to one early Legendary man and his World-class teammate?

And where would a world shaking powerhouse like that near-Mythical mage appear from, if not because of Morrow's scheming?

'Curse you, Morrow, curse you!!! If I can't get the Void Worm... Then neither shall you!!!'

”Woman!” Rumin called out to his opponent, but her only answer was for the runes on her two arms and forehead to light up as she nocked a silver arrow that materialised by itself on her bowstring.

Runes of Agility (Passive) and Strength (Active), one boosting her speed slightly but without costing her any mana while the other absorbed her power to give her a boost of strength.

Along with her Runes of Mana Regeneration (Passive) that she probably had secreted away somewhere on her body underneath her flowing cloak and wyvern hide armour, the peak Legendary human could just barely cross into the beginning Mythical stage!

Though to Rumin, their battle right now was just a farce, a play-acting that would only benefit their common enemy, the dastardly Devil Prince Morrow!

”...You don't have to treat everything I say as provocation, do you...?”

”SHUT UP!” The woman roared in anger, not giving him a chance to speak as her exquisite face twisted in rage.

The gorgeous woman shouted in rage even as she released the arrow with a resounding sonic boom - the arrow soared through the air so fast that the winds it whipped up even shattered the nearby windows and structures!

But her attack merely slid past Rumin's neck as he leaned aside slightly to avoid the projectile. At this distance, all she did was make an empty threat.

Though Rumin certainly didn't understand why the woman seemed so enraged at him - all he did was invade her city, right? Wasn't that par for the course in the perennial struggle between the planes?

He chuckled as he admired his opponent, even as he continuously dodged more arrows, fiery darts and lightning bolts that the Duke hurled his way.

He spoke between movements and made an offer of truce.

”Why don't we call our battle to a halt...? Anyway, I have no interest in fighting anymore, and while we struggle, there are four more Devil Lords and countless pests infesting your city!”

He avoided a triple salvo of shots and then waved his hand to cover himself with a layer of purple corrosive liquid, just a paper thin sheen of it. But when the arrows struck the air before him, they immediately melted without even any remnant or slag left over when they touched the uncrossable barrier.

Then he continued, ”...And, you're exactly my type, a unique beauty who is ravishing, stunning! Why don't we continue this conversation some other time, say, over a cup of God's Tears?”

He suavely complimented her, and casually mentioned a wine that could only be brewed by slaying a divine existence - a decadent luxury that exceeded extravagance!

But at those words, Duke Leanne de Caldis' face turned black and her scowl grew so demonic that even Rumin felt afraid.

Had he just said something wrong? Maybe she was sensitive about her appearance?

But she truly was a sight for sore eyes, beautiful and stately. If not for the slightly discoloured wine stain birthmark on the left side of her face, she would be a galaxy-shaking beauty!

But she burned with anger and suddenly went all out within just a breath's time - without any warning!

Little did he know that it was because she hated handsome and flirty men!

”Soul-Imprint: Concept of Distortion... Soul-Ability: Perversion!” She cried out as she pulled back her bowstring, this time without any arrow prepared...

But the moment the bow reaches its maximum arch in her hands, Rumin coughed in pain.

His heart was pierced?!?

Without the woman even nocking or releasing an arrow?

What madness was this?!?

'Cough cough... Lucky for me that this is just a phantom body...' Rumin plummeted for a while as he fought to regain control of the corporeal form he had taken to enter this plane.

Without a sufficiently powerful portal to cross over with, no mighty beings could make the jump across worlds or planes!

Sensing that this body was near the end of its lifespan, Rumin frowned in frustration, then sighed in resignation.

'Morrow... You d*ck... I'll let you have this round...'

Then he sneered at an idea he had.

He burnt the last remaining mana, life force and devil force left in this astral body and shot out all his power.

Straight at two of the still standing bloodfield formation totems, the pillars of bone, flesh and blood that held up the suppressive formation to prevent the laws of the world from weakening the devils.

'Enjoy losing your four kids, Morrow! Muahahahahah!!!' He cackled in his mind as his soul faded away from this plane and his consciousness returned to the devil realm, where he sat in his study.

* * * * *

It just happened that he saw traces of the other competition contestants along the way and had stopped to question them. From there he found out that Charley was heading in the west south-west direction, roughly headed towards the closest formation pillar to where the Gorun Stadium was. Despite being familiar with the boy's aura, his feeble strength also made it difficult to locate him. It was like trying to find a ringing bell in the middle of the ocean - unless he could zero in on a certain spot, it was impossible no matter how well he could identify the objective!

He ran through the streets swiftly, sometimes jumping to speed through the air, crossing over many buildings instead of traveling around them.

Along the way, he easily dispatched of various minor and mid-leveled devilspawn, some with a flick of his fingers while for others, all he needed to do was to stare slightly hard at them for their heads to pop before his concentrated aura!