[Salvos] 704. Weaklings (Patreon)

704. Weaklings

***

They were weak.

Jofis watched as the flaming apparition zipped away into the distance, fleeing him as fast as it could. And as he gave chase, he could only sigh in disappointment.

“Is this truly the power of the Enemy? To think such a weakling is giving Regnorex trouble…”

It was something Jofis had expected of Regnorex at this point. The so-called ‘Demon King’ was constantly faced with opposition after opposition— and many of them were hardly threats to even Jofis himself. That illusionist insect was another example.

Even though Jofis was no longer the King of Hell, he remembered how stable his rule of the Netherworld had been. It wasn’t tumultuous, filled with rebellion and threats from every angle. No— Jofis’s rule had been stable, because he always snuffed out all threats before they could even grow to challenge him.

But this was to be expected of Regnorex at this point. His problem with his rule lay with his ideology. With his naive desire to unite all of Demonkind.

The thought itself almost brought a tear to Jofis’ eyes with how disgusting it was.

Shaking his head, he continued to give chase to the Enemy’s clone. This was the only feat she was capable of that impressed him. As the Winged Horror, Jofis was renowned for his speed despite his incredible strength.

And while Salvos was not particularly strong, she was definitely fast. 

That was at least an aspect of her powers that Jofis could respect. However, that was where his respect for her ended. 

Her Speed Skill is running out, Jofis observed as he watched the flaming apparition slow down up ahead. It ducked down into a crevice, trying to lose him. But he shot down, moving faster than before as he bared his teeth savagely. Now it’s my turn!

[Divine Ember Impetus].

And in a single instance, Jofis shot forward as he was coated by black flames. The Salvos clone glanced back for a moment, her eyes growing wide. Her body flickered as space rippled around her, clearly trying to teleport away.

But the Winged Horror reached her before she could even get the Skill off. He ripped her body apart as he cackled wildly. And right as the flames that composed her body dissipated, an explosion blasted out, engulfing Jofis.

It was an attack that would have harmed any lesser Primeval Demon. But Jofis was not any ordinary Primeval Demon. The lingering flames from his previous attack shielded him from the explosion, burning through the gold and silver flames that threatened to char his skin.

He smirked as he emerged from the blast unscathed. Cracking his neck, Jofis’s eyes flickered as he emerged a Tablet of Tracking from his side. He had spent too much time chasing down the Salvos clone that he had left behind the Thirty-First Legion, because he wanted to deal with her first.

However, he knew he could very easily find them because of their collars. Or so he thought.

Jofis frowned as he stared down at the Tablet of Tracking. He searched the map, but he couldn’t locate the Thirty-First Legion on the stone surface at all. It was like they had all been freed from their collars while he had been in the middle of pursuing the Salvos clone.

His eyes flickered as he lowered the Tablet of Tracking.

“Hartia must’ve—”

He started, but then he saw a flash of light coming from behind him. Spinning around, Jofis looked up just in time to see a Salvos clone floating there, her figure flicking as she swung down with a scythe that shone black and white. 

“[Divine Strike] and [Divine Radiant Slash]!”

Jofis couldn’t dodge out of the way in time. He was too slow, and this surprise attack caught him completely off-guard. He roared as the attack struck him. The scythe actually pierced the armor on his chest as he recoiled. Blood seeped through the hole on his chestplate, revealing a deep wound sinking underneath.

And the Salvos clone grinned triumphantly. But as she tried to pull the scythe back, he reached out and grabbed it.

“I see now.”

He spoke understandingly as he raised his head. The Salvos clone let go of the scythe as she tried to fly back, and Jofis crushed the weapon in his hands. Pointing at him, she spoke in a soft voice.

“[Sacred Hellfire]!”

The Salvos clone looked on apprehensively, clearly hoping her attack landed. And it did. Jofis raised an arm as if to catch the flames, before they combusted on the palm of his hand. 

However, he didn’t even flinch this time around. As the attack burned his skin. A small smile spread across his lips as he eyed the gold and gray flames. And he raised the burning hand as he pointed back at the Salvos clone.

“[Sacred Hellfire].”

This time, it was he who spoke. And the Salvos clone couldn’t react as she burst into flames. She fell straight from the sky as Jofis landed next to her, watching her writhe and slowly die. Then he looked down at the gold and gray flames burning his right hand. And he laughed.

“I understand now— that Salvos clone wasn’t trying to escape. She just wanted to distract me. Even at the end, she wasn’t teleporting away. She was teleporting this other clone here to ambush me.”

Jofis turned and walked away as the other Salvos clone exploded behind him. Raising his hand, he inspected the flames that continued to eat away at his skin. The first layer of his skin had already melted, and he chuckled.

“Weak.”

With that, he used his left hand to rip his right arm right off. He tossed it aside as he spun around and produced the Tablet of Tracking once again. And eyeing it, he spotted where the last legion that had been freed was located. But only for a moment. Their dots began to disappear on the map one by one, indicating that they had been freed by Hartia.

Snorting, Jofis raised his right elbow as his right arm slowly regrew.

“Even if you run, you cannot hide.”

The Winged Horror took off to the skies and looked down. He saw the tracks that had been left behind by the Thirty-First Legion where he had last seen them.

“Or do you truly think hiding so many people is such an easy task?”

With that, he took off.

***

I waited for Jofis.

I didn’t move. I remained sitting on the ground in the middle of the large valley where all of the freed legions had been gathered. Well— most of them. The ones that were still being escorted by my clones on the way here were more than likely dead.

And it was not my fault that they were dead. My clones tried their best to protect them. But sadly, my clones weren’t strong enough.

My last clone had died hours ago at this point. Well, not my last clone, but the last of my clones that were at the Expanse. And she hadn’t put up that much of a better fight than my other clones either. However, it was not like all the battles between my clones and Jofis were pointless. Not only did they delay him from finding where the real me was currently located, but I also gleaned some useful information from the battles.

For one thing, I now knew Jofis had a regeneration Skill of some sort. All the wounds he suffered from my other clone surprise attack was healed by the time he faced my last clone. Even [Sacred Hellfire] was no longer burning him. But considering that he could use [Sacred Hellfire] himself, there was the possibility he had a method of removing the inextinguishable flames.

Regardless, it was all useful information for me. So now all I had to do was wait. For Jofis to arrive here. Because I knew he would eventually find his way here. After all, following the tracks that had been left behind here was the only way for him to find the rest of the legions. 

And I was right.

I raised my head as I sensed a figure approaching. It moved faster— zipping from just over the horizon to landing right before me in a fraction of an instant. I didn’t even flinch as I saw the lumbering figure standing there in a small crater.

It was Jofis the Winged Horror.

He looked like a [Fiend] of sorts. Except taller— larger than even Haec. And that was not the only difference. He had a pair of black wings stretching out from his back, and a pair of twisted clawed hands fell to the ground from his side. He donned a gray armor that was scarred and bent all across, showing proof of all the past battles he had been in.

Honestly, the armor almost looked like it was there for decoration rather than protection. 

However, what stood out the most about Jofis was not his armor, nor was it his claws or wings. Instead, what drew my immediate attention was his face.

He was, to put it simply, very ugly.

The right side of his face was utterly disfigured— like it had been melted and joined with his neck. The left side of his face was partially intact, however I could see his bones underneath through his missing flesh. That was not all either. It was not like he would have been handsome before his face was mutilated. He would’ve looked like a [Hellbeast] except its face was kicked in, if I had to guess.

And while the rest of his body was a deep crimson in color, the right side of his face was a sickish white.

I smiled as I rose to my feet. Jofis just strode forward slowly, exiting the crater.

“I see you have decided to show your true self, Salvos. Have you finally gotten tired of being a coward and hiding behind your clones?”

The Winged Horror greeted me with his teeth bared, and I smirked back at him.

“Finally, someone who calls me by my name instead of some random title. But no— I have never been a coward. I’m just smart. A genius, some would say.”

“A genius who thinks she can rebel against the Demon King with such a puny army.”

Jofis shook his head as he stepped forward. He gestured vaguely in the direction he came from.

“I alone have killed nearly a hundred thousand of your puny resistance of Demons. And while it pains me to admit, I am not currently stronger than Regnorex. So what makes you think you’ll be able to win against him?”

“The same reason why I think I can win against you.”

I shrugged back at Jofis. He raised an amused brow.

“And that reason is…?”

“Are you stupid? If I told you, then I won’t win.”

I scoffed back at him. The Winged Horror chuckled as he cracked his neck.

“You are amusing, Salvos. But unfortunately for you, Chordus and the others will be here soon. And…”

He cackled as he dashed forward, overcome with black flames— I recognized it immediately. It was [Divine Ember Impetus]. The exact same attack he used to kill my third clone.

“I wish to end your life before they arrive, so die!”

Jofis screamed as he reached me. And I just grinned as I raised an arm. The ground shook as he struck me. A giant crack ripped across the ground, tearing through the valley. A shockwave rippled out, sending out a plume of dust into the air. 

But I didn’t flinch. Even as Jofis’s eyes grew wide, seeing how he was stopped right before me. By a single arm that I held up, burning with iridescent flames.

“[My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends].”

I grinned at Jofis as he stared at me in confusion, taken aback by my sudden surge in both strength and durability. 

“How…?”

He looked like he was just about to disengage, when I charged forward, grabbing him by the face as I flew straight into the mountain up ahead. And he couldn’t break free from my grip.

“And— [Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess].”

I activated two of my Grand Skills, both at once.

And we began our battle as I smashed him straight through the mountain.

Author's Notes:

I made some edits to the last chapter. Salvos has [Claw of Corruption] available because Skill cooldowns reset with advancements/evolutions, and Salvos leveled up in her Subspecies too.

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