661. Honored Fairy

661. Honored Fairy

Hartia was never a fan of using his third and final Grand Skill. He had three Grand Skills, which was more than most Primeval Demons and Sacred Spirits ever got. The first was his [Fractal Barrier] which was an incredibly powerful barrier that had no cooldown. Based on its defensive capabilities alone, it barely even qualified as a Grand Skill in the first place, but due to its permanency at protecting him, he could see why it was a Grand Skill.

He had attained it back when he first reached Level 150— it was his first Grand Skill— but it couldn’t even level up unlike his other Grand Skills. Still, it was a useful Grand Skill in the sense that it added to his repertoire and protected him from many near-death situations without making it more difficult for him to evolve at Level 200.

However, his second Grand Skill, while having more utility than his [Fractal Barrier], wasn’t as useful in a battle situation. It was called the [Unseen Collar Of Space], and it was what allowed him to improve Regnorex’s control over the kingdom’s network of summoning collars. Thanks to it, he was able to pretty much instantly kill any Demon with a summoning collar on.

It was incredibly powerful in that sense, which was expected since it was his Class Grand Skill. After all, his Class, [Unseelie Lord], was higher-leveled than his Subspecies of [Fallen Fairy]. Not by much. It wasn’t even a 10 level difference. But still, he quite liked his second Grand Skill. And it was what he used more frequently than anything else.

But Hartia’s last Grand Skill was a Grand Skill he hated using. That was why he rarely ever used it unless his life was truly at risk. It was his [Expanding Domain: The Fall Of The Fairies]. With it, he was able to create not only a massive pocket space he could spatially manipulate with ease, but he was also able to summon every single Fairy he had been responsible for killing in his entire life.

And there were a lot of them. Over ten thousand Fairies emerged from the mountains, bearing the faces of his fallen kin. He recognized them. He saw the way they smiled. He heard the way they laughed. But while they bore a strong resemblance to who they once had been, there was something twisted in the way they behaved.

The way their lips curved up and creased their cheeks; the way they thundered with laughter without any change in inflection; their eyes were nothing but dark pits that carried no light. It was all so unsettling.

Hartia looked away from them as his gaze focused on his enemy. No— it was not just his enemy. It was the Enemy of the Demon King. She was the reason why he had been forced to cast this Grand Skill.

While he hated everything about it, his desire to please Regnorex far outweighed his displeasure. After all, the Demon King was the reason why Hartia even had a purpose left.

And that’s not all— the thought crossed his mind as he eyes Salvos flying away from the swarm of Fairies he created with his mind. She had constantly antagonized him, insisting that he was a Fairy and reminding him of the past he had shed. So that is why I shall make you pay.

He watched as his swarm of Fairies descended upon the Enemy of the Demon King, and a sadistic smile spread across his lips.

“That is why I will make sure you suffer before you die.”

***

The swarm of Fairies converged on me as I sent a plume of my gray flames in every direction. They unleashed their own elemental magic my way, only to be incinerated by my attack. I killed them by the hundreds because they had no fear. And perhaps if the swarm was comprised of only low-leveled Fairies, I wouldn’t have had any trouble dealing with them.

Unfortunately for me, a few of them proved to be far more durable than the rest, which posed a major problem.

A Fairy dressed like a knight cut through my flames and swung a sword straight for my head. I ducked under the slash, then I struck him with a [Divine Strike], followed by a [Barrage Of Cinders]. The first attack sent him flying back, but as he parried the combination of flaming strikes that I threw his way.

“You’re so annoying—”

I gritted my teeth as he dodged a flaming claw, then thrust his blade for my chest. I backed away and avoided the attack. He was able to keep up with me to a certain extent due to his levels. He was Level 161. So he was a Sacred Spirit— a Fairy that reached the same evolution as me. That was why he was so strong unlike the rest of his kin.

But even so, I was still stronger.

I watched as he charged at me with a stab again. I predicted his movements and grabbed him by the hand before his blade could reach me. I tossedhim towards a group of Fairies flying straight at me, then grinned as I saw his body burn with a burning mark.

He tried to reorient himself, but the burning magic flashed. And his figure erupted into a massive explosion that took out all the nearby Fairies close to him.

No notifications came with their deaths. It was like fighting my clones and defeating— there was no reward for winning that battle. But I was certain that Fairy knight perished from my [Divine Demon’s Mark]. And the blast cleared out the rest of the Fairies in the area. So I had a moment to catch my breath… only to be forced to look up in alarm as my [Angelic Premonition] warned me of an attack that was to come.

[Fairy – Lvl. 200]

I cursed when I saw the Level 200 Fairy floating above the clearing smoke. She carried an ornate lance that looked just as ethereal as her own body. Pointing at me, she sneered, and her body crackled with electricity.

“Why are you here?!”

I exclaimed, and my body began to flicker. A powerful blast of lightning shot out straight at me, but I teleported out of the way just in time. When I reappeared, I saw a brilliant flash of light. I looked back with round eyes.

The attack struck a mountain in the distance, blowing a giant hole straight through its center. It didn’t explode out like my [Divine Demon’s Mark]. Instead, the lightning blast continued on into the horizon, dissipating right before it reached the edge of this pocket space.

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I cursed as I looked at the damage that was done to the surroundings. Then I looked back up at Hartia, surrounded by an army of Fairies.

“Why are you able to summon a Level 200 Fairy? You’re not Level 200! You’re not even Level 190! This makes no sense!”

He ignored my question, simply taking in my frustrations with glee.

“Oh, you are quite resilient, aren’t you? But that much is to be expected from the Enemy of the Demon King.”

Hartia floated down next to the Level 200 Fairy with a smirk on his face. He didn’t look at her, but without any verbal or visual cues, she raised her lance.

“Certainly, you may be a more capable fighter than me. But you are nothing in the face of the power of an Honored Fairy like Lotus.”

“Lotus? Is that her name?”

I asked with a raised brow. The smile disappeared from his face for a moment, before he nodded.

“That is indeed her name. And rest assured, you stand no chance against her. For she is no mere Sacred Spirit. She is a Supreme Spirit, and she is more than capable of crushing a pest like you.”

And as Hartia finished, her lance flashed with electricity once again. This time, I was prepared for it. I moved to get out of the way, but then space around me began to twist.

I narrowed my eyes. Hartia grinned, pointing at me. My [Angelic Wings] beat against the wind, but I was not moving. I remained in place.