SSS Demon King System: The Rise of a Dying Extra-Chapter 44: Siegfried’s Trial. (1)

A big sigh was heard.

"It seems this is finally going to end. Really being a guard is too boring, don’t you think? I was starting to get tired."

"Yes, it’s boring," the other assassin responded. "Besides, it’s completely useless. No crazy person would dare come here, I don’t think those dogs are stupid enough to come back."

"Actually, a small group of beast-men just attacked, very desperately. The idiots brought exactly the piece they needed to open the temple, so we’ll soon get out of here," the other responded.

"Ooooh, that’s why you said that before. Great, and I thought we had another three months here," he responded relieved.

Then, footsteps were heard. Both assassins turned to see who was coming.

It was an old man, with hair faded by age, and a freshly shaved beard. His eyes were purple and his features kind.

He dressed elegantly in a suit, which resembled that of a butler.

"Greetings, gentlemen," the old man said.

"What’s this old man doing here? Did he get lost?" the first asked.

"Maybe he’s demented, what do we do? Do we kill him?" the other responded.

The man cleared his throat, somewhat annoyed.

"How rude! They don’t even know how to respond to a greeting. Did you see this, Alice? It seems the Assassin Guild doesn’t teach manners to its people," the man commented annoyed.

The girl beside him nodded.

She was a girl with silver hair and gray eyes, there was no expression on her face.

It was strange, they hadn’t noticed her.

Though, it was also strange that the man referred to them as the Assassin Guild.

"I think we should take care of this, don’t you think?"

But there was no response.

When the assassin turned, he saw his companion was dead, he had been beheaded.

"What the fuck?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Ahem, if you’ll excuse us, we came here to exterminate certain rats who call themselves ’Assassin Guild,’" the man said, acting completely natural, oblivious to the situation.

"Shit!" the assassin didn’t hesitate, he quickly drew one of his daggers. However, upon raising it, he heard something fall. "Huh?"

A wail of pain was heard. His hand had been cut off.

But who? How?

The man looked again at the old man, while holding his injured arm.

He carried a sword, but it was at his waist, he hadn’t unsheathed it.

"It seems we got the most incompetent doormen," the old man complained. "I suppose we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Ready, little one? It’s extermination time."

The inexpressive girl nodded.

And at that moment, the assassin’s head rolled on the ground.

Death had knocked on the door, and was disappointed with the reception.

It was time to retaliate.

* * *

More than ten thousand quadrillion particles were subject to the will of a single being.

Small, or perhaps immense depending on perspective. Each occupied a volume similar to oganesson.

They were "cryomagicules" and "hydromagicules," generated through the condensation of magical power of cold and aquatic nature respectively.

Each intertwined in small masses of larger particles, forming together grains of {ice}.

These were a little different from conventional snowflakes, being a bit larger and in the shape of a star.

They were tiny structures created from magical particles.

When gathered in large quantities, a brutal storm formed.

And with control of it, it was extremely simple to crush someone with them.

Three times.

Three times Lloyd had to die before the Eye of Envy allowed him to gather that information.

A long sigh escaped Lloyd’s throat.

"This is going to be a headache."

The boy was lying down, leaning on the temple door.

He had already died three times, each time he did he appeared again at the beginning of the fog.

The boy understood the nature of the trial allowed him to try again as many times as he wanted.

"I hope time passes differently here, because this will be long."

Lloyd was realistic. If someone was capable of killing him just when he entered their visual range, the idea of confronting him seemed stupid.

Even if Lloyd had unlimited opportunities to face him (or so he hoped), this would become a test of patience.

And mental fortitude.

Lloyd had already died once, however, the last three he had just suffered were very quick deaths.

He felt nothing.

But nothing told him that would continue that way for long.

"First, I must face that storm," Lloyd said.

He had been thinking about it for a while, and had no chance in a test of strength.

"If your enemy is stronger than you, be smarter," Lloyd said, repeating a phrase he had already said.

A smile formed on his face.

His finger rose, and from it a flame emerged, it was the manifestation of the elemental spiritual power within him.

Magic can try to replicate nature, however, it doesn’t succeed.

Magical power manifests ideas, crystallizes memories, but doesn’t create an exact copy of matter.

That’s advantageous, for example, you can make magical fire not extinguish with running water.

And it also means magical water isn’t made of H₂O, but of magical power with a certain configuration; that’s why you can’t drink magical water.

Or at least, it won’t do much good.

However, spirits are the manifestation of the {anima mundi}.

Each spirit is a small atom that reflects the planet’s essence.

And while it’s also energetic, when manifested, its essence is indistinguishable from the element from which it arises.

If you drink spiritual water, the same thing would happen to you as if you drink magical water.

However, magical fire can be extinguished with spiritual water.

Since in its nature, spiritual power forces both magical power and demonic power to follow this world’s laws.

Normally, spiritual power is used to create conventional matter.

But Lloyd preferred to use it in its pure state, since it was much more useful.

"If I remember correctly, it was similar to the Wǔ Xíng elements," Lloyd created a small metal cloud in his other hand. "Their natures can be combined to give rise to every existing substance."

Lloyd fused both elements. Just as if you think of the word {fire} it manifests, if you think of something specific like {magnesium powder} it will appear.

Both in a spiritual state, they fused to form {metallic fire}.

A small white flame appeared, Lloyd didn’t look affected by the flame’s heat.

When arising from you, spiritual power won’t harm you. Moreover, you can configure it so it doesn’t affect matter.

"With this I can solve... That little problem."

Lloyd crossed the fog, with a smile on his lips.

Before leaving, he was surrounded by an aura of gleaming white flames.

When magnesium fire comes in contact with water, a reaction occurs that makes it more violent; it tears oxygen from the water making it more aggressive.

This in the spiritual world would have to be reflected as fire + metal = consume water.

In its spiritual state, this reaction couldn’t be performed on matter, though it would affect its energy.

But with magic, it would occur exactly, or rather a simplified reaction of reality.

That’s what Lloyd had planned at least.

But his theory was confirmed. As soon as Lloyd took a step out of the fog, his aura came into contact with the blizzard, and the mystical reaction was triggered.

With an immense roar and a burst of light, the spiritual flames spread throughout the place consuming each magical particle.

Its potency reinforced more and more, feeding on the blizzard’s own magical power, thus increasing its temperature and aggression.

A satisfied smile formed on Lloyd’s face, as soon as his enemy was drowned in a sea of white flames.