The Damned Demon
chapter-643

Arthur crouched beside the Thundering Reaper, his eyes fixed on her weakened form as he gently pulled the ring blade from her abdomen, making her let out a low grunt of pain.

The act was swift, his expression set with determination, "I don't know who you are, but I am taking you back to our agency and then you can answer for your crimes," he declared, his voice echoing with resolve.

"No, you are not," Asher countered coldly from a short distance away. In a fluid motion, he summoned the ring blade back to him. It blazed through the air, igniting with fiery energy as it hurtled towards Arthur.

With a quick reflex, Arthur raised his staff. A powerful, radiant white barrier erupted in front of him, shimmering with intense light as it intercepted the incoming blade. While swiftly put up, the barrier was still strong. Yet it shattered under the sheer force of Asher's attack, the fragments dissipating into sparks of light. A drop of sweat trickled down Arthur's forehead as he realized the magnitude of Hellbringer's power, far exceeding what he had anticipated.

"Why are you doing this?" Arthur pressed, his teeth gritted in frustration and disbelief, "I thought you might be different because your cult targeted and exposed corrupt guilds and evil cults. But now I feel foolish for thinking so after seeing how you and your cult planted those bombs to destroy those Junction Towers and terrorize people."

"You are not wrong to feel foolish because you are being one by protecting that criminal behind you. Once you take her back to the WHA, she will be out there again, killing innocent people. Is that what you want? You are better off killing her," Asher retorted sharply, pointing his ring blade at Arthur, "So obediently, hand her over to me, and I will make sure she won't terrorize your world again."

Anna, still clutching her bleeding abdomen, listened intently to their exchange, a flicker of uncertainty passing through her eyes as she wondered how much Hellbringer knew. Since he was this hellbent on stopping the blue-eyed monster, he must know what most other demons do not.

Arthur, however, furrowed his brows, a hint of hesitation visible on his face before he firmly shook his head, "Stop lying. I have no reason to believe someone who places bombs to weaken our world's security. You must be scared of how successful Project Guardian will be once it becomes active. Otherwise, you wouldn't be doing this and I am not going to let you take her," he challenged, pointing his staff defiantly at Hellbringer.

Asher grunted in frustration, his patience wearing thin, "You fool. You have no idea what's going on, but I don't have the time to enlighten you. So, I will kick your ass and take her anyway," he declared brusquely. In a blur of movement, Asher's figure vanished, reappearing instantly behind Arthur with an air of lethal intent.

Arthur's senses, honed to near perfection and enhanced far beyond those of an ordinary Hunter of his rank, immediately registered the presence of Asher materializing behind him. With swift reflexes, he spun around, his staff coming up in a defensive arc to intercept the slashing ring blade. The clash of energies sparked intensely as dark metal met a powerful radiant barrier.

Asher, fueled by fury and the heat of battle, let out a primal roar and launched a powerful kick towards Arthur's abdomen.

The impact was brutal, but Arthur's resilience was not to be underestimated. Harnessing the core of his power, Arthur retaliated with a burst of radiant white energy from his staff. The beam erupted with blinding intensity, striking Asher squarely. The force was so great that it shattered Asher's skull into fragments, propelling him hundreds of meters across the rugged terrain of the island before he crashed down hard.

Simultaneously, the recoil from his powerful discharge sent Arthur flying back an equal distance, where he landed with a heavy grimace of pain and exertion.

Despite the severity of the hit, Asher was back on his feet, though for some reason his skull was taking slightly more time to reassemble itself and he could feel a very subtle stinging sensation which was shocking to him. After all, he had never known to feel pain from anyone's attacks in his Hellbringer form and it caused him to feel a sense of unease.

However, he grimly noted that his MP was alarmingly low—a few thousand left, severely curtailed by the limitations of his human avatar, and the rate at which it decreased only increased because of absorbing Arthur's attack.

He also knew his bones weren't as strong as his original body since these bones were only as strong as the human avatar he was in, making his defense strength far lower. And to make it worse, he was suffering the debuff he received due to using Rupture of the Damned earlier.

However, determined not to let his target escape, Asher turned to retrieve the Thundering Reaper. But his heart sank as he found the spot empty. She had used the chaos of their duel as a chance to escape!

"Damn it!" he cursed aloud, his frustration palpable. Feeling the approach of other powerful auras, he didn't hesitate. Large skeletal wings burst from his back, and with a powerful thrust, he shot into the skies to evade the incoming Hunters since there was no point in staying here any longer.

Meanwhile, Arthur managed to push himself back to his feet, though he was finding it harder to dispel the dark energy his body had absorbed from just a kick from Hellbringer. Just what was his mana made out of?

With a slight grimance, he scanned the area, his frustration mounting at the realization that both Hellbringer and Thundering Reaper had escaped. He sighed, realizing how close he was to capturing them. Even if it was impossible to capture them both on his own, he could have at least tried harder and bought enough time for other Hunters to get here and help him capture them.

If he had done that, then this world would have far less to worry and the people would have no reason to keep cowering in fear of them.

But now...who knows how many more innocent people might die because he let them escape.

At that moment, several figures descended from the skies, landing with grace and urgency. Among them were Rachel and Amelia, who approached Arthur quickly, their expressions etched with concern and urgency.

"Are we too late?" Rachel asked, panting slightly from the exertion of their rapid descent.

Arthur turned to face them, his features set in a grim line as the pain began to fade away, "Yes, they got away," he replied, his voice heavy with disappointment," It's my fault…I had them, but I-"

Amelia stepped forward and shook her head as she patted Arthur's shoulder, "Don't blame yourself, Arthur. You went up against the demon king and the most terrifying speedster demon we have known in our lives. Nobody else would have survived long enough to tell us they got away."

Rachel glanced at Amelia, and the two exchanged brief looks of relief since it was indeed close. But they were surprised and never expected the Thundering Reaper to get involved in a fight with their cult. It could only mean that she was planted near the tower to keep an eye on everything.

"But I wasn't strong enough…He took me off guard so easily that I couldn't react or recover in time. I think I need more training," Arthur said with a heavy sigh.

"What are you even doing here in the first place?" The tranquil aftermath of the chaotic battle was abruptly pierced by a voice that resonated with authority and a hint of reproach, demanding an explanation.

Arthur turned, his expression one of slight confusion and shame, to see Advisor Ash descending gracefully towards him, aided by the controlled gusts manipulated by Emiko and Yui. His advisor's arrival added a new layer of tension to the scene.

"Advisor Ash..." Arthur began, struggling to find the right words, "...I was here to stop and capture both the Thundering Reaper and the bomber."

Asher clicked his tongue in clear disapproval, his gaze sharp, "As a Hunter, your priority was to help the people who might have gotten injured from the bombing. Apparently, even the President's wife was knocked out cold during the commotion."

Arthur's concern deepened at the mention of the President's wife, "Mrs. Sterling? Is she alright?" he asked urgently, his worry palpable.

"She's fine, but she got jumped by a demon...probably the Thundering Reaper took her by surprise like that while she was distracted..." Rachel interjected, her expression hardened by this fact. It only gave her one more reason to believe her father was really the one controlling the Thundering Reaper to do his bidding.

Otherwise, why would a demoness who never blinked twice to kill Hunters standing before her all of a sudden spare her mother, who was distracted and vulnerable in that moment?

"Thank the angels..." Arthur exhaled in relief, his shoulders slightly relaxing. He then turned his attention back to Asher, earnestly adding, "I am sorry. I badly wanted to catch the Thundering Reaper before she could kill more innocents."

"Forget it. How did you even quickly track them down? You weren't even there when the bombing took place," Asher queried, his curiosity evident as he eyed Arthur critically.

With a hint of gratitude, Arthur responded, his smile appreciative, "It's all thanks to you, sir. When you taught me how to use my senses to save those people during the New York quest, I figured I could use short bursts of light and my restorative power to sense the disturbances in the air left behind by the Thundering Reaper and the bomber to track them down."

Asher raised his eyebrows, impressed despite himself at Arthur's ingenuity. He had not expected Arthur to develop such effective tracking methods independently from a brief lesson given during a moment of crisis.

So maybe he wasn't dumb, at least not when it came to honing his skills. Even Rachel and the others were impressed to hear how Arthur easily came up with such a method on his own.

"But I still lack the skills to fight demons like Hellbringer and Thundering Reaper. So please... train me from scratch," Arthur requested fervently, his gaze sincere and respectful.

"You have to be kidding me…" Asher mumbled and blinked, taken aback by Arthur's request.