I Awakened My Game System! Now Three Great Houses Want Me Dead!-Chapter 112: Daemon

***

The black forest stretched endlessly ahead of Xenos while veins continued to pulse faintly underfoot, increasing in number the closer he got to his target.

Again, there were essentially four Daemons here.

Four bosses, each one in its own quadrant of this land.

The rules were simple: everyone could go after whichever Daemon they wanted, but, though a free-for-all, killing even one would take several Disciples working together.

They were Daemons after all.

Yet Xenos didn’t want to team up with anyone.

He wanted to face a Daemon alone and test his mettle against it.

The man needed to see how far he could really go now, to see if what he had built could break a Daemon... he needed it to be capable of that much. But just as he was about to pass a tiny hill and reach it, Eris’s voice fluttered in his head:

’Someone’s coming.’

’Of course they are.’

Xenos turned around with a sigh.

"THERE HE IS!"

"GET HIM!"

Two silhouettes burst from a black brush.

No doubt they were Priests, their speed said as much.

An improvement relative to last time.

And yet... no objective was given to him.

Even earlier, when the game started, surprisingly, he was given nothing.

This, he could understand, because perhaps these assassins were nobodies...

But what did that say about the Daemons? Why was he given nothing there?

’Weird. Maybe I need to get closer to the Daemon first.’

Well, he’d see soon on the second one, but the first...

"Come."

He’d have to kill them.

"Be a good warmup."

Xenos materialized his sword and gloves as the two assassins fanned out, their bodies flaring with light, making him immediately feel the heat, bright Divinity licking across their daggers.

"Fire, huh?"

He raised his blade, ready to meet them head-on—

’Actually... no.’

Only to then turn on his heel and run.

***

The crowd lost it.

"WHAT?! HE’S RUNNING?!"

"THE STRANGER’S RETREATING!"

"ARE THESE ASSASSINS THAT STRONG?!"

Even Lothar was in belief, though for an entirely different reason.

Since when were these two Fire Priests?!

It was a question he didn’t dare ask aloud.

Unlike last time, they hadn’t come into the arena just before it began.

No, they were here, living in the Academy dorm, and attending every class.

This was something he never expected, making him look at all the disciples under him differently, no longer able to trust who they said they were.

And further than that, why were these two focusing on Xenos?

Did they want him dead so they could have easier access to Lord Arcadia?!

Is that what Xenos figured out? Telling them that he wouldn’t interfere by running away?

But John Tzetzes, who floated next to him, disagreed with that.

"That isn’t escape... the boy is calculating."

Words that paused many in the crowd.

***

And Xenos was indeed.

’Two Priests with the same element, moving in sync, both clearly trained? No thanks.’

He couldn’t use [Fortune’s Wheel,] not yet at least, as that was reserved for the Daemon. The same went for his Hands of Lethe, which meant his only tool here was [Wise Fool.]

That skill demanded precision—a direct hit, and with these two flying around, throwing mini suns at him? Too risky.

So no, he wouldn’t fight fair with them.

Though the assassins seemed not to care for whatever he was planning, they continued their chase after him and began to attack, trying to slow him down.

Fireballs whizzed past his shoulders, slamming into the ground before him, leaving molten craters, yet he didn’t pause for even a moment, using the Corrupted trees as cover, many melting halfway through as fireballs crashed into them.

Xenos kept dodging one fireball after another before suddenly slowing down a little.

’Now to make them overcommit.’

The moment he let his pace drag and faked a stumble, the assassins spotted it instantly, taking the bait.

"Got him!"

They both unleashed a wide sweep of flame, a twin spiral that merged midair into a roaring tornado of fire.

"There we go."

The instant before the flames reached him, Xenos twisted to the side, planted his foot, and swung.

His sword met the edge of the flaming tornado and ’crit’ the attack itself.

BOOM!

An explosion bloomed backward as the two firestorms collided and blew apart, the shockwave sending debris flying in every direction.

The two assassins didn’t even have time to react, their own spells slamming into them, folding them into the inferno.

Yet they somehow staggered out of it alive, their clothes charred and their masks cracked—

"Warmup’s over."

Xenos was already there, not giving them a chance to even breathe.

He stepped forward and swung a single downward slash.

Two heads hit the dirt.

***

"HE DID IT AGAIN!"

"STRANGER! STRANGER!"

"NEVER UNDERRATE HIM!"

And the crowd went wild!

They’d lost their already lost minds.

Even the commentators were speechless for a moment before Lothar finally barked out:

"HOW—? He turned their spells against them!"

John, once more, knew exactly how.

’His Second Rune must’ve reached Rank Four.’

A fact that he wasn’t intent on sharing.

***

Xenos exhaled, watching the ash settle.

’Too easy~.’

But then—crunch, the sound of ice cracking the ground made him instantly move.

He dashed behind a blackened tree, its pulsing veins dimming around him.

Two figures slid into view on a trail of frozen mist.

One was tall, the other short, but both were fast.

’Are they...’

"Ah! We were too late! It’s all because you’re so slow!"

The smaller one shouted at the taller one.

Yes, there was no need to check.

’Arc and Aspen.’

The two wore bluish wolf masks, fitting their Lyacon status.

Xenos didn’t call out to them; he just watched them bicker.

They’d be fine; those two always were.

And as for him? He had his own hunt.

So he turned away, vanishing deeper into the forest.

’Gaia’s out there too... but no hand-holding this time.’

Much like those two and their Daemon, she had her own fight.

Though she was now his wife, he couldn’t protect her forever; she had her own path to walk, and if she wanted to keep up with him, she had to take these risks.

As did Xenos, since he didn’t have the privileges she or the rest of them did.

Only Eris, this mask, his madness, and the urge to push further than anyone else.

That was why he had to face this alone.

And sure enough, the realm granted him his wish.

The black forest finally opened up to a clearing of bone-white grass.

Standing in the middle of it was the Daemon.

Its eyes were pale gray.

Its hair was long and white.

Its clothes were black, and its face was...

Exactly like his.

’...ah.’

Xenos’s grin stretched.

’A Daemon of mimicry, huh?’

He stepped forward, raising his sword.

"Perfect. Let’s see which one of us breaks first."