How To Survive A Calamity-Chapter 154: Look Up! [1]

At the same time, outside in the labyrinth.

Alex suddenly stopped moving and trembled in place.

Red streams of blood rolled down his cheeks from his trembling eyes as his face contorted with anguish.

His eyes were blanked out and wide, and his gaze was cast emptily into the vacant space.

"Alex!" Xavier hurriedly responded to Alexander’s sudden reaction. He suddenly became like this the moment he heard Nicodemus Kodrey’s voice.

’Nicodemus...’ Xavier’s eyes sharpened and darted forward menacingly.

"What did you do to him?"

Nicodemus nonchalantly flipped the pages of the strange book as wisps of ominous black smoke continued to billow from his figure. His skin turned paler, and dark vein lines slowly crawled up the sides of his face from below his neck.

He slowly took on a more, non-human appearance as a small dark bump putruded from one side of his forehead.

Xavier’s narrow eyes sharpened with increased wariness.

"Demon Possession."

It was a twisted and dark forbidden art or technique used by Demon Contractors, often Villains.

Xavier grasped his sword tightly as a ghostly hue flowed down his arms and encased the blade of his sword in Aura. The expression on his face became cold and twisted as he gazed disdainfully at Nicodemus unsightly appearance.

"You really Contracted with a Demon."

The Demon Race were the most notorious and diabolical race in the Multiversal war of supremacy against races from different worlds and realms.

It all started with the greed and twisted nature of demoms who desired the worlds of others for their taking. True to their name and race, Demons were a sinister race that were known for often luring and tempting others with promises of desires and vain hopes and power to forming contracts and giving up their humanity and forsaking their race.

The human Awakened society called such defects or people, Villains; a dark group of Awakened with negative or opposing intentions towards the human race that differed from the survivability of mankind’s norms or standards.

Because of this, the Demon races’ power and ability was ever on the rise while the others races like the himans were constantly on the fall across time as long as the war persisted.

Nicodemus cast an undecipherable gaze at Xavier, unperturbed by his now blatant display of bloodlust and animosity.

"That’s impossible. That can’t be true, Nico would never do something like that!" Chelsea retorted in a sharp voice, her trembling words drawing the gazes and attention of Trise, Xavier, and even Nicodemus.

Trise’s expression heated up and contorted as her brows furrowed without a single trace of amusement.

"Are you dumb, blind, or stupid?! Can’t you see what is right before you?"

Chelsea gared and snapped back ferociously at Trise.

"I don’t care! There has to be a mistake!"

"What mistake might you be talking about? That guy is a demon contractor — he’s an actual Villain now!"

"No, he’s not! What you’ve said means nothing! You saw what happened — you saw the Demon, Nico could be possessed or under it’s control. That does not make him a villain. He would never do something like that! This has to be a mistake. Right, Nico?" Chelsea turned desperately toward Nicodemus with a wavering smile.

"Are you getting bullied again?" She said.

Trise was stumped back by Chelsea’s unexpected intensity as she stared at her with wide eyes.

How could someone ao relentlessly ignore the hard truths and facts of reality presented right before them so much like this? She had never seen Chelsea react this strongly about anything over the few days or week they’d known each other for as teammates.

"..." Xavier, meanwhile, watched the exchange between the two young ladies silently from the side without taking his sharp gaze of Nicodemus’s figure for even a fleeting moment.

He, too, wanted to hopefully wish that it wasn’t true. He wanted to believe in Chelsea, and in her words like she did.

Facing an actual Demon at his current level was far beyond his expectations. The calm, confident and rational Xavier Locke wasn’t as certain about his chances of winning or survival. It would be best if everything was truly just a misunderstanding.

But Xavier knew better than to delude himself into wishful thinking.

The signs were obvious and right there, standing right before him in the form of Nicodemus himself.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Xavier had never once been in the presence of a Demon, or a Contractor before, but he had learned enough about the sinister and diabolical race and their traits and characteristics.

He knew the signs of Demonization when he saw it, even for the first time.

Xavier gripped his sword, his mind filling with a chilling coldness like a frozen lake in winter. His senses sharpened, and the weight of his sword felt heavier in his grasp.

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’His progression still seems to be in the early stages. If i strike carefully, then there might actually be a chance for us to win, or survive.’

From the looks of it, Nicodemus’s Demonization was still progressing slowly and in it’s early stages.

Demon Possession involved the contractor adopting part to similar physical trait and appearance of their contracted demon, the more stronger and in tune the contractor became with their powers, which was often relative to the amount of time one had been contracted for.

Nicodemus still looked almost wholly human for the meantime, that meant he either hadn’t been in a contract for too long, or hadn’t really gotten used to enough of the demon’s powers yet.

Or he was simply unable to use enough of the Demon’s ability due to whatever reason.

Following that speculative thought process and belief, Xavier felt there might be a chance out after all.

He had quickly discarded the option of trying to wait it out long enough for the academy to arrive and save them, or trying to escape from the dungeon on their own for the meantime. Experience new tales on novelbuddy

With this unexpected development, Nicodemus appearing as a demon Contractor, Xavier was now completely certain this was beyond the intention or control of the academy.

Now he was completely sure.

Whatever was happening from this moment could get him killed.

He had to tread carefully.

Xavier began contemplating various choice of actions and turn outs on the spot. His mind raced rapidly comparing and contrasting various ideas and plans simultaneously.

But first, to raise and increase their chances of survival - or at least, his...

Thinking so, Xavier cast an unseen glance at Alex’s trembling body...

"Nico, are you getting bullied again?"

Nicodemus met Chelsea’s pleading gaze and lowered his eyes. The dark smoke around him slowly ebbed around his figure. His lips parted with a dreary sigh and a dry voice.

"You were never good at picking hints."

"What?" Chelsea uttered in confusion at his unexpected words and paled the next second.

Before Chelsea could react or blink, Nicodemus vanished into a torrent of formless black smoke. The smoke swirled and churned, then rapidly condensed into a solid figure right in front of Chelsea.

Nicodemus re-materialized, his eyes locked onto Chelsea’s, and delivered a devastating kick to her gut.

-Boom!

Chelsea’s body, unable to react in time, was hurled backwards across the chamber and smashed into the obsidian rocky wall with a powerful crash.

"Chelsea!"

Xavier’s golden yellow eyes flared as he lunged forward at Nicodemus from the side.

Two small pitch black orbs appeared next to both sides of Xavier as he charged.

His sword flashed forward in a swift, diagonal arc, aimed squarely at Nicodemus’s neck.

Time seemed to slow and pull during that moment. Nicodemus’s deep black eyes moved to the side and met Xavier’s glare.

The black book he held in his hand fluttered, but he didn’t flinch. Despite the swift blade racing for his neck, Nicodemus leisurely moved his mouth and lips slowly.

"I asked him what ’fear’ is."

Xavier’s sword whistled through the air, his eyes momentarily flashing with confusion as he heard Nicodemus continue to say.

"I mean Alexander. Perhaps you, too, could show me."

Xavier’s sword froze in mid air suddenly as he found it hard to move his body. It was like controlled of his limbs and kimd had suddenly been hijacked from.

The next second,

Everything went black.

And then,

"What..."

Xavier felt horror from his bones.