SSS Demon King System: The Rise of a Dying Extra-Chapter 45: Siegfried’s Trial. (2)

The silhouette was swallowed by a violent sea of white flames.

The blizzard had vanished, replaced by the crystallization of hell on earth.

The flames, violent and uncontrolled, began to be directed by Lloyd in a whirlwind that concentrated on his target.

The flames, which before occupied the hundreds of kilometers of prairie, now occupied an infinitely smaller volume, enough to generate a sphere that enveloped his enemy.

It was as if a silver sun had been summoned in the middle of the scenario. Lloyd calculated that at minimum it was capable of transmitting 7,500 degrees Celsius.

"It seems this will be faster than I imag..."

His sentence was cut short; an unimaginable pressure surged from inside outward, like a shockwave that dispersed the flames.

Lloyd’s body received such a shock that his remains became indistinguishable from each other.

When the boy reappeared in his "respawn room," he stayed still, on the floor, lying down while reflecting.

"This time it was Haki," the boy said, lying on the uncomfortable rock floor.

The boy threw a stone in the air then caught it.

"Haki has to be blocked with force. If I could use magic maybe I could make a barrier or something like that... Tsk, being limited to elemental arts isn’t fun," the boy sighed.

He could use Haki, but it was substantially weak compared to his enemy’s.

"Mmm, the Sword of Belphegor."

It was the only sword style he had trained.

Perfect for him, since it consists of making the least possible effort and at the same time, obtaining the greatest imaginable effectiveness.

"Maybe I could try it."

One of the main arts of the Sword of Belphegor consisted of attacking weaknesses.

Its advanced version was capable of creating a mystical phenomenon that literally "created" weaknesses, ignoring the object’s resistance and maximizing damage.

He had to mold his own Haki, so that the rival’s pressure would disperse as much as possible.

"I can’t just go and let them kill me until I find the solution, I must plan it."

Lloyd sighed while getting up.

First he had to try and resist that creature’s Haki again.

From there he would extract enough information to be able to trace a plan.

However, each step he took was slower than the previous one, he was going straight toward certain death.

He was using his life as a learning tool.

Was that right?

Lloyd knew a theory; Theseus’s ship.

If you kept repairing the ship with new wooden planks every time it broke down, there would come a point where it wouldn’t preserve any of the old planks.

In this state, could it still be considered Theseus’s ship?

This was a reflection he himself posed because, every time he died, was it him, or another person?

However, Lloyd couldn’t dwell on it much, he was a transmigrator, and even if each time was a different person, it wasn’t something that hadn’t already happened.

As such, it would only mean something if he dwelled on it a lot.

"Here I am again."

Lloyd observed the landscape still hidden in the fog.

There was no longer an uncontrolled blizzard, now the landscape was colorful, with green grass shining under the sun, and flowers painting a picture that only nature could imagine.

In the middle of everything, he saw his enemy.

It was no longer a silhouette.

It was a knight, wearing wide sky-blue plate armor, almost white.

It was full body armor, more similar to a fantasy element than a faithful replica of what a medieval armor would have to be.

Lloyd took a deep breath; there was Haki, and demonic Haki, depending on whether it’s used with magical or profane power.

If there were multiple types of Hakis, why not invent his own?

It was different from simple spiritual pressure, it was denser.

His spiritual core was "dark" element, a dense mixture of different elemental natures canceling each other out.

His Haki was, in Sebastian’s words: very dense, similar to demonic but without a trace of malice, just a suffocating neutrality.

Lloyd activated it, from his core, outward, he molded a dense Haki "shield."

It was a pyramid with a rounded tip, like half a flattened oval.

Lloyd took a step out of the fog.

The difference was felt immediately. As soon as Lloyd entered the rival’s Haki range, his body was subjected to immense pressure.

Lloyd fell to his knees, overwhelmed by such force, he had to force himself to resist.

But it was too much. Lloyd was subdued, having to support himself with his forearms to not be completely crushed against the ground.

His muscles contracted, his ears hurt, until his eardrums burst.

His eyeballs were crushed by the pressure, his muscles were pressed against his bones that began to fail.

Lloyd fell against the ground, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, there was only pain.

His ribs sank, his internal organs were about to burst.

Lloyd felt his vision becoming increasingly blurry.

Death wasn’t quick this time.

***

"Well, it seems I always have to face old men, how curious," a voice filtered through a metal helmet said.

Clementine had arrived after hearing some screams, apparently there was an intruder.

"Alice, take care of the assassins," Sebastian said calmly while unsheathing his sword.

The girl obeyed, leaving the place and leaving them alone in the middle of the destroyed plaza.

"Don’t think I’ll let you," Clementine’s voice sounded high-pitched, as was natural.

She lunged toward Alice, however, her arm was cut off.

"For a mere infected to think she can escape my blade is substantially insulting," the butler mentioned, with a dark gaze.

Clementine picked up the arm while sticking it back on.

"Infected? What are you talking about? Arg! I can’t stand old people," she growled.

"You don’t know? I see you’re incredibly stupid. Even someone with a parasitized brain shouldn’t show signs of ignorance like the ones you show. Could it be you were an idiot before being infected?"

Sebastian’s tone was rude and contemptuous, as if that woman disgusted him.

"How dare you!" the woman roared, stomping the floor. "Insufferable, ignorant, bastards! Are all old people like this?"

The girl began screaming insults while pressing her temples with her hands and stomping.

Or, in fact, only with one hand... The other had fallen to the ground.

"Huh?" The woman stared at the arm on the ground, as if she couldn’t understand what was happening.

Sebastian sheathed his sword.

"It seems I overestimated you too much. Lucia warned me about you, however, apart from the fact that you could keep talking after death, you’re not the big deal."

The old man walked away, and cuts appeared on Clementine’s armor, as if they had always been there.

Her torso was separated from her limbs and head, and for some strange reason, she couldn’t reunite them.