434. Falling Sky

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434. Falling Sky

And the siege of Alyras was over. We had won. With a single swing of her blade— and an annoyingly long chant— Kaitlin Darkhelm tore through the [Jinn]’s Grand Skill with her very own. I was impressed. More than impressed!

She reminded me of Mori Gladius! Although… she didn’t have any Divine Essence. Still! It was as expected of the mentor of Alex Cromerth, member of the Vaun Qieur Empire’s elite Swordsguard Forces!

…she was his mentor right? Or was she a captain? Teacher? She was something. It was all the same thing, anyway.

Regardless, I was amazed by Kaitlin Darkhlem. I stared on as she descended from the clouds. No wings. No fancy magic. Just her sword and shield. Her plate armor and visor. Behind me, I could hear the clamorous cheering of a hundred thousand Humans, relieved that it was finally over.

I landed right as Kaitlin did. She turned her gaze towards me— I could see her face through the visor thanks to [Manifestation of the Old Gods]. She looked exhausted, with a small smile slipping across her lips. She stepped past me and gave me a subtle nod.

“Good work.”

I could hear her tinny voice behind the helmet. I beamed and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Of course!”

—–

And with that settled, what was left was to deal with the aftermath of the battle. The [Jinn] had been strong. He was stronger than his level even implied. In fact, I was pretty sure he’d even continuously leveled up through the fight. Still, perhaps it was because of the effects of his Grand Skill, but I leveled up in my Subspecies twice thanks to this fight.

Defeated [Asmodai Jinn (Duke of the Netherworld) – Lvl. 149]!

Less experience is awarded for defeating an enemy with the help of others!

Subspecies [Daeva Cambion] Level Up!

[Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 142] -> [Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 143]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Subspecies [Daeva Cambion] Level Up!

[Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 143] -> [Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 144]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice – Lvl. 112] -> [Draconic Apprentice – Lvl. 113]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Sure, I’d been on the verge of leveling up anyway, especially after defeating Avaritia the way I did. I’d also forced him to use his Grand Skill— and I fought him to the brink of it, until he couldn’t fight anymore. So perhaps that played a part in my double level up for my Subspecies.

Regardless, there wasn’t much use speculating. I gladly accepted each and every level up I got. After all, they only served to bring me closer to my next evolution. Finally, after so long, I was going to evolve again.

I hurriedly distributed my Stat Points and Skill Points and secondary Skill points as the thought crossed my mind.

Salvos (Secely’s Sentinel) (The Devil’s Daughter)

Species: [Archdemon of Pride]

Subspecies: [Daeva Cambion] – Lvl. 144

Class: [Draconic Apprentice] – Lvl. 113

General Skills:

[Advanced Mana Manipulation] – Lvl. 8

[Corruption Resistance] – Lvl. 1

[Identification] – Lvl. 6

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] – Lvl. 2

[Rest] – Lvl. 5

[Wisdom of the Old Gods] – Lvl. 1

[Title Skill: General Status Effect Resistance] – Lvl. 1

[Ttle Skill: Invoke Wrath] – Lvl. 1

[Title Skill: Protection of the Sentinel] – Lvl. 1

[Title Skill: The Devil’s Grace] – Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

[Racial Skill: Divine Essence of the Daeva Cambion] – Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 185 (+30) (+10)

[Strength]: 185 (+30) (+10)

[Endurance]: 185 (+30) (+10) (+3)

[Wisdom]: 300 (+30) (+10) (+20)

[Agility]: 360 (+30) (+10) (+5)

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 3]

[Barrage of Cinders] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Demon’s Mark] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Haste] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Intimidation] – Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Faux Limbs] – Lvl. 25 (Maxed)

[Nebular Construct] – Lvl. 25 (Maxed)

[Radiant Slash] – Lvl. 15 (Maxed)

[Salvo of Vanity] – Lvl. 25 (Maxed)

[The Primordial Spark] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Wings of the Netherworld] – Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Passive – A Hunter’s Sense] – Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Passive – Blue Flames] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Passive – Weapon Mastery] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[My Flame Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] – Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

Secondary Skills:

[Available Secondary Skill Points: 5]

[Draconic Fury] – Lvl. 10

[Fragmented Pocket Dimension] – Lvl. 10

[Full Phase] – Lvl. 5

[Greater Teleportation] – Lvl. 5

[Manifestation of the Old Gods] – Lvl. 5

[Truth Divination] – Lvl. 5

[Warped Time] – Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Passive – Dragon Scales] – Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Passive – Master of Material Manipulation] – Lvl. 2

[Passive – Weaker Regeneration] – Lvl.3

All my Skills were maxed now, and I even maxed out one of my new secondary Skills— [Dragon Scales]. It gave me added durability, which I really needed considering my relatively low [Vitality]. Sure, was I more durable than even the most durable Platinum Ranked adventurers? Yep!

But for a Diamond Ranked adventurer at my level, I was only durable with added protection or with my Skills. So, overall, this called for celebration for me. A total victory from my perspective.

And for some people, this was a time for celebration too. I looked on as Daniel stood before a large crowd of adventurers, soldiers, and civilians. Amanda was by his side. And while he was brave enough to reveal the truth about the fact that he was a [Hero], he wasn’t able to answer the barrage of questions and attention directed his way.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Fortunately, he was saved by Helena Warshade. The Archmage and the other three Elites— I didn’t know their names— had returned to Alyras not long after the [Jinn] had died. Wait, actually, there were four Elites. One of them— Scarlet the Red Rose— had slinked back into the city ahead of the others, and I didn’t notice their entry.

But while there were celebrations being held, there was also grieving. From the loss. The death and the destruction. Soldiers and adventurers who didn’t return from the battlefield. Civilians who were caught in between the fighting.

Edithe stood with the rest of her company, grieving with Hadrian for all the dreamers lost during the fight. Saffron kneeled over the body of Zin Norwood, comforting Gannon as he cried over his mother’s body. Rana Alyras looked over her city and wept for her people as her father paced before his advisors.

It was a victory. But at what cost?

I sighed as I closed my eyes. I was sitting at a hill just outside of the city as Novis, Bellum, and Oriur crowded behind me. Willy floated to my right, oddly silent. To me, this had been a victory, simple as that. But I knew that the Humans— that my companions— didn’t see it that way.

Some people I knew were dead, and yes, I did find it slightly upsetting. But the attacking Demons were dead too. Well… mostly dead. But if the Humans really had wanted to prevent all this from happening, maybe they should’ve done something about the Demons in the Inoria Empire earlier.

Perhaps now they were finally going to make the right decision and intervene.

But it was a little too late. After all, I was sure the Demons saw this as a victory as I saw repelling them as a win… right?