Rebirth: Necromancer's Ascenscion-Chapter 96: Demon Imps

Imps.

Dozens.

A wave of madness.

Ian exhaled once.

Then—

He moved.

A flash.

A scream.

Another imp fell, its torso carved clean through.

Ian flowed between them, blades a blur, feet skimming the earth like a shadow with flesh. He ducked beneath a claw, spun, severed a head, and stepped into the next strike all in one seamless motion.

They shrieked.

They swarmed.

But they couldn’t touch him.

He was too fast.

Too precise.

Every cut was fatal. Every dodge, exact.

One imp leapt from a tree, shrieking—

Ian caught it mid-air, drove a dagger through its eye, then flung its body into two others before they could pounce.

A third imp lunged for his back.

Too slow.

He twisted, slashing low.

The blade cleaved through its legs.

It hit the ground screaming.

He finished it with a downward stab, then rolled sideways as three more surged in.

A flurry of claws tore through where he’d been.

But the imps kept coming.

From the trees. From the ground. From the cracks between rocks. A tide of bodies and shrieks and teeth.

He wasn’t fighting a pack.

He was fighting a horde.

And they were getting faster.

Smarter.

He sliced through another, but felt it then—a sting across his back.

Claws had scraped skin.

Ian gritted his teeth, spun low, and cut the bastard’s knees out from under it. His other dagger slammed into its skull.

Blood splattered his cheek.

Pain flared across his ribs.

Another imp had gotten through—barely—a slash opening just beneath his arm.

He gasped.

That one paid.

Its head left its shoulders a breath later.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

The imps didn’t care about pain. Or death.

They only screamed. Clawed. Bit.

And then—they changed.

It began with a single imp convulsing, twitching on the ground like something had infected it. Then another.

And another.

Their bodies twisted.

Bones cracked.

Limbs stretched and melted into one another like wax left in flame.

Ian backed up, watching, breath sharp.

"What the hell..."

They were merging.

One imp grabbed another—flesh sinking into flesh—and they screamed together, not in pain, but in birth. Skin tore. Spines cracked. Limbs became longer. Faces fused and twisted until nothing human—or even imp—remained.

A monstrous shape rose from the pile.

Twelve feet tall.

Misshapen.

Grotesque.

It wore a thousand screaming faces across its bloated torso. Arms like jagged scythes. Legs bent wrong. And mana—dark, seething mana—radiated from its core.

Ian’s eyes narrowed.

"Of course it mutates."

The thing roared.

It charged.

Ian moved—

Too slow.

A massive fist slammed into him mid-step, hitting like a siege ram.

His body flew.

He hit the ground, rolled, bounced.

Pain exploded across his side as ribs snapped. A tooth dislodged—then went back into place.

His vision shook.

He coughed blood.

And got up.

Always up.

The demon was already upon him.

Ian ducked just as a scythe-arm cleaved the air above him, splitting a tree in half.

He struck back—daggers flashing—but his blades barely bit through the thick, writhing flesh. The beast screamed, bloodless faces crying out from its body.

Another blow came down.

Ian rolled under it, stabbed upward, felt resistance.

A tendon snapped. ƒreewebɳovel.com

The monster jerked back with a scream.

Good.

It could bleed.

He could kill it without pushing himself.

But it wouldn’t be easy.

The demon swung again—wide, brutal.

Ian leapt, flipping mid-air, avoiding the worst of the blow, though the wind of it still knocked him off balance.

He hit the ground hard.

Pain bloomed again—his leg this time. Something tore.

He ignored it.

No time.

He surged forward—daggers low—and this time, he struck deep. One blade slid between plates of bone, the other carved a gash across the beast’s chest.

A dozen mouths screamed in chorus.

A claw caught him across the shoulder.

Pain.

Real pain.

Ian staggered back, shoulder torn and bleeding. His vision blurred for half a second.

His healing kicked in.

Flesh began to knit.

’Damn it...’

The demon charged.

Ian sidestepped, but it anticipated him—one arm sweeping out in a wide arc.

He ducked, rolled—

Not fast enough.

A massive leg slammed into his side, launching him into the air.

He landed hard, skidding across stone and soil.

Something cracked.

He groaned.

His soul essence sparked, burning to keep him whole. Bones reknitting. Organs mending. But the cost...

Too much.

The demon roared, shaking the trees.

Then it came.

Fast.

Faster than it should’ve been.

Ian steadied his breath.

No more running.

He planted his foot, exhaled, and charged.

The beast swung.

Ian ducked.

Its other arm came from the side—he slid beneath it, shoulder screaming.

Then he was inside the guard.

His daggers flashed once—

Twice—

Three times.

Blood sprayed from the beast’s gut, and Ian didn’t stop.

He jumped, one foot hitting the demon’s leg, pushing off as he twisted in the air. His blades carved two long, brutal lines up its chest.

The monster howled.

He landed behind it.

Turned.

Threw both daggers.

They spun in the air—one catching an eye, the other embedding into its neck.

The creature staggered.

Ian moved.

No weapons?

No problem.

He sprinted, grabbing a fallen branch, and drove it through the demon’s leg like a stake. As it howled, he tore his daggers free in one motion and climbed.

Up its back.

Slashing as he went.

Each cut deeper than the last.

He reached the top—near what passed for a head—and plunged both blades into the skull.

The demon reared.

Screamed.

He held on.

Its body spasmed.

Tried to shake him off.

Ian didn’t move.

He twisted the daggers—

Mana surged up the blades.

His blood essence burned.

"Die."

The beast gave one final shriek—

Then collapsed.

The ground shook.

Silence.

Ian stood atop its corpse, breathing hard, skin slick with black blood, wounds still bleeding despite the system working overtime to heal him.

He was hurt.

Well, he had been.

His wounds healed with a hiss.

He’d won.

He dropped down beside the corpse, knees buckling slightly, hands on his thighs.

"Fucking... things..."

Then—

The system chimed.

[Demon Abomination Slain: Fleshbound Horror]

[Soul Acquired: Absorb?]

[Yes] - [No]

Ian didn’t hesitate.

"Yes."

The soul flooded into him like fire through ice.

His wounds closed completely. His bones mended stronger. Energy crackled beneath his skin—raw and potent.

[+37 Mana Attribute]

[+1600 Soul Essence]

[+450 Necrotic Energy]

[Physical Stats upgraded]

The usual.

Then—

A message.

One he hadn’t seen before.

[Soul Trait Unlocked: Adaptive Resilience]

You have endured and survived against overwhelming force. Your body learns. Your flesh remembers.

You can learn and adapt to the moves of your opponent]

Ian blinked.

Then smiled—just a little.