Conquering The Novel

As the colossal sword bore down, its titanic presence filling the air with impending doom, Ares's resolve remained unyielding. With a flicker of determination, he invoked his last resort, uttering, "Swap!"

In an instant, the very fabric of space contorted, swapping his position with Eris's, leaving her momentarily bewildered.

Swish—

!?

Eris, caught off guard by the sudden reversal, scrambled to conjure a shield, a desperate attempt to deflect the impending cataclysm.

Kaboom—

The colossal blade collided with her hastily erected shield, unleashing a deafening cacophony of force that reverberated through the air. The impact was so immense that it sent Ares hurtling backward, even from his distant vantage point. He crashed into the wall, engulfed in a maelstrom of debris and chaos, as the sheer force of the collision rattled the very foundations of the surroundings.

Thud—

"...Ha, so this was your trump card?" Eris's voice emerged from the billowing smoke, her once stoic demeanor now marked by bruises and signs of the impact. Though she had managed to thwart the initial strike, the rapid exchange had left her vulnerable, bearing the brunt of the assault.

"I concede that I was caught off guard, but it's disheartening that you still couldn't defeat me," she remarked, wiping blood from her mouth, her gaze piercing through the haze to meet Ares's battered form against the wall.

Yet, Ares's response was not one of words but of eerie silence, but his expression suddenly twisted into a haunting grin that sent shivers down Eris's spine.

!?

"You still believe everything is under your control, don't you? Offer a proper apology, and I may consider letting you escape, Argh—" Eris's words were abruptly halted by a sharp, searing pain ripping through her chest.

!!

As she glanced downward, a grim reality greeted her—a sword, which Ares was wielding before, pierced her heart.

"H-How?" She gasped, blood staining her lips, her disbelief evident as her gaze met Ares's.

A glimmer of blue arcane energy glowed across Ares's palm, as he used his telekinesis.

"Telekinesis...?" Eris whispered, her voice trembling with incredulity.

"You thought I had only one trick up my sleeve?" Ares's smirked.

Before using the location swap, he had strategically positioned his sword nearby, ensuring that even if Eris managed to block the initial attack, he could still deliver a fatal blow through his telekinetic abilities.

"...Our paths will cross again, my Ares," Eris whispered with a small smile before tumbling to the ground.

Shatter— Shatter—

As Eris's lifeless form crumbled to the ground, the illusory world surrounding them began to fracture, signaling Ares's victory.

Disregarding the crumbling reality, Ares slowly got up and approached Eris's fallen figure with an air of detachment, his eyes betraying no hint of emotion as if the purpose behind his actions had dissipated along with the dissipating illusions.

Swish—

"...Life will slap you in the face with the people you've trusted," Ares murmured, retrieving his sword as Eris dissolved into the void before him, leaving behind only echoes of their shared history.

Doubt lingered in his mind, a shadow of uncertainty cast by the lingering illusions, but a deeper intuition assured him otherwise. Eris herself had confirmed that she was the one who brought him to this world.

With that acknowledgment came the realization that their shared history, even her sacrifice to save him in his previous life, might have been planned by her.

"...Was that also part of your schemes?" Ares chuckled, realizing that he was playing in her hands right from the start.

Swoosh—

Soon, as the remnants of Belphagor's illusory realm dissipated, Ares found himself engulfed in a dark expanse, similar yet distinct from Jessica's domain. This realm exuded a haunting aura, suffused with fragility and decay, a stark contrast to the solidity of reality.

Amidst the silence, faint gasps punctuated the void, drawing Ares's attention. Advancing cautiously, he encountered Belphagor in his true form—a ghastly being of emerald hue, his features contorted with agony and fear. His visage bore the twisted semblance of a demonic goblin, with bulging eyes, sharp fangs, and gnarled, wiry limbs.

Cough— Cough—

"H-How did you escape my dream realm?" Belphagor's voice quivered, his form wracked with pain from Elaine's lingering blow and the recoil of his own failed skill. Fear showed in Belphagor's eyes as Ares came closer, signaling that his end was near.

"You're weaker than I imagined," Ares remarked stoically, his cold gaze bearing down on Belphagor as he closed the distance.

Belphagor's wounds were left untreated and got worse over time, showing how weak he had become after getting unsealed recently. Elaine's strength was too much for him to handle. When Ares broke free from his skill, it made Belphagor even weaker, turning him into a low-ranked demon with no power.

Step— Step— Step—

As Ares drew nearer, Belphagor attempted to summon a spell, but swift shurikens intercepted his incantation—one piercing his mouth, muting his incantations, while the others ensnared him, pinning him to the wall in futile resistance.

Swish— Swish— Swish.

"Ahhhh!" Belphagor writhed in agony as electricity coursed through his veins within the shuricans, his feeble attempts at resistance falling short.

"Your tricks ends here," Ares declared, standing tall before him, eyes blazing with determination.

Belphagor trembled in fear, sensing an ominous presence looming behind Ares, suffocating him with its intimidating aura.

'Is he truly human?' Belphagor's thoughts raced, his form quivering with an unfamiliar dread—a sensation that even a demon lord, accustomed to facing formidable foes, found unnerving.

In that fleeting moment, as dread gripped him, Belphagor confronted the specter of mortality. The fear of death, once distant and abstract, now loomed ominously before him.

'Ah, is this the dread of impending death?' he pondered, his mind grappling with the harsh reality. Despite his reputation for cunning and intellect, he now faced the sobering truth: his schemes, once celebrated as masterful, crumbled in the face of Ares's unyielding power.

'Lord Lucifer! S-Save me!' Belphagor's desperate plea echoed silently within, hoping for a miracle to save him. But as he saw Ares with his sword, he knew his end was near.

The image of Ares holding his sword haunted Belphagor as a sign of his impending death.

Slash—

With a swift, decisive stroke, Ares cleaved through Belphagor's form, severing his head in a single, fatal blow.

As the lifeless husk crumpled to the ground, Belphagor's essence disintegrated into ashes, leaving behind only a diminutive, palm-sized core of pulsating purple energy.

As Ares retrieved the core, he found himself immidiately expelled from Belphagor's domain.

Swoosh—

***

Thudle— Thudle

Once again, Ares found himself standing amidst the bordering forest that separated the Elven Empire from the Vampire Continent.

The sky darkened, and ominous clouds gathered above, transforming the once-clear sky into a canvas of darkness. Tumultuous winds swept through the air, creating an otherworldly spectacle—a telltale sign of the aftermath following the death of the demon lord Belphagor.

Drip— Drip

The initial droplets of rain began to fall, their gentle rhythm punctuating the solemn silence enveloping the scene. Each drop seemed to echo the weight of Ares's burden, mingling with the blood that stained both his clothes and the ground beneath him.

Amidst nature's somber symphony, Ares stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the sky above. Lost in introspection, his sword remained tightly clutched in his hand.

"...Ares?"

Rose's voice pierced the somber symphony of raindrops, breaking the silence as she called out to him from behind.

!!

To be continued...