Chapter 440: An Even Match

“......” Watching Irus charge toward Darius, Hulim Heyerar pouted, muttering under her breath, “As if you could make me leave......”

Then, Hulim Heyerar shifted her gaze from Irus to Darius.

She tightened her grip on Helkem.

HUM——!

Two magic circles flared to life beneath her feet.

BOOM!

With a deafening crack, Hulim Heyerar’s body shot forward like a projectile, closing in on Darius at breakneck speed from a different angle......

Staring at the two figures attacking him from both left and right, a flicker of rage ignited in Darius’s eyes.

He raised his demon spear above his head, pitch-black light surging from his body.

“DEATH——!”

As he roared the word,

he swung the demon spear downward with all his might.

The pitch-black light exploded outward in a spherical shockwave, engulfing everything in its path.

Irus summoned her bow in an instant, drawing the string taut and aiming straight at Darius.

“Break!”

SWISH——!

A light arrow streaked toward Darius’s attack, meeting it head-on.

On the other side,

Helkem in Hulim Heyerar’s hand blazed with brilliant light.

A torrent of holy light erupted from the blade.

BOOM——!

The two attacks collided violently.

Moments later, a cataclysmic explosion shook the air.

A terrifying shockwave rippled outward in all directions.

Before the aftershocks of the explosion could fade,

SWISH!

Irus closed in on Darius, her movements a blur.

HUM!

A magic circle unfolded at point-blank range.

Countless light arrows shot forth from the circle, raining down on Darius.

Darius lifted his demon spear, tracing a cross in the air, then swung it forward forcefully.

The rotating cross-shaped shockwave shattered every incoming light arrow into dust.

WHOOSH——!

At that moment, the whistle of a blade cutting through the air sounded from behind him.

The demon sword wreathed in holy light was slashing toward his torso.

Darius twisted his body, narrowly dodging the direct strike, and at the same time flipped his demon spear upward to block.

CLANG!

The spear tip scraped against the sword blade, and a tremendous force surged through Helkem into Hulim Heyerar’s hands.

She spun her body swiftly, redirecting the force with a fluid motion, then swung Helkem in a circular arc and slashed at Darius with even greater speed.

CLANG!

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Her attack was blocked by the demon spear once again.

But before Darius could counterattack, Irus’s assault came right on its heels.

SWISH——!

The sharp whistle of an attack filled the air, closing in on his back in the blink of an eye.

WHOOSH!

Darius twisted his right hand, spinning the demon spear in his grasp to face backward, then thrust it forward.

BAM!

Irus was sent flying backward once more.

At the same time, Darius lashed out with his left hand, sending a black shockwave toward Hulim Heyerar that forced her back temporarily.

The three of them separated, putting distance between each other.

And yet, from the start of this furious exchange to this moment, less than a tenth of a second had passed.

The lull in the battle lasted only an instant before the three clashed together again.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG......

The exchanges between them grew more and more intense with each passing second.

Hundreds of collisions occurred every second, and countless spells filled the air, warping the very space around them.

Irus took the lead in the assault, while Hulim Heyerar focused on harassing Darius and disrupting his rhythm.

Their seamless teamwork pushed their combined strength to the point where they were a perfect match for Darius.

CLANG——!

After another earth-shaking collision,

Darius prepared to withdraw his attack to block Hulim Heyerar’s incoming strike—but Irus did something completely unexpected.

Even though her attack was clearly at a disadvantage, she risked injury to press her assault on Darius.

Caught off guard, Darius was forced to prioritize defending against Irus, slowing his defense against Hulim Heyerar by a split second.

CRACK!

The sharp sword blade sliced across Darius’s arm, shattering a gap in his demon armor and sending shards flying. Blood spurted from the wound.

Darius’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Without hesitation, he unleashed a violent surge of power from within his body, rippling outward in all directions.

Seeing this, Irus and Hulim Heyerar immediately retreated to put distance between themselves and the shockwave.

The battle came to a temporary halt.

“......”

Darius lowered his head, staring silently at the wound on his arm.

This demon armor was S-Rank gear......

Its defensive capabilities were nigh-unbreakable—ordinary attacks couldn’t even scratch it. Even Irus’s full-powered strikes had only managed to breach its defenses once before.

More importantly, according to Darius’s calculations, the power of that sword slash should have been easily withstood by the armor—which was why he hadn’t bothered dodging it.

Yet the end result was that the armor’s defenses had been pierced effortlessly.

Darius thought for a moment, then quickly realized the key to the problem.

It was that sword......

His gaze locked tightly onto Helkem in Hulim Heyerar’s hand. He hadn’t gotten a clear look at the sword earlier because of its blinding light—but now, recognition dawned on him.

“That sword......”

He said slowly, his voice cold,

“Why do you have it? What is your relationship to Olubert Heyerar?!”

Darius’s sudden question left Hulim Heyerar confused.

“What do those questions have to do with our fight?”

As she spoke, Hulim Heyerar glanced at Irus.

The two exchanged a look, then prepared to resume their attack.

“Have to do with it......?”

Darius’s voice dropped suddenly, turning dark and menacing.

“Everything! It’s a memory I’ll never forget!!!”

With a roar filled with seething rage, Darius’s aura skyrocketed to its peak.

The two women froze, their movements halting abruptly as they felt the overwhelming pressure.

CLICK!

Darius’s helmet retracted suddenly, revealing his full face—previously, only his eyes had been visible.

When Hulim Heyerar saw his true appearance, her eyes flickered slightly.

A massive scar ran diagonally across Darius’s face, splitting it from one side to the other.

“This scar!”

“It was Olubert Heyerar! He left this mark of shame on me with that very sword!”

“I’ll never forget that strike——!!!”

Hulim Heyerar’s heart skipped a beat.

Her ancestor...... had fought Darius before?

But then again, she recalled that her ancestor’s ascension to S-Rank had been triggered by a conspiracy orchestrated by Gulos. It made sense that he would have hunted down Gulos members afterward—and clashed with Darius in the process.

Moreover, judging by the scar, it seemed her ancestor had won that battle.

Though she had no idea why Darius was still alive.

“I remember now......”

Darius stared at Hulim Heyerar’s face, a sudden realization dawning on him.

“That face—I’ve seen reports on it. You! You’re that man’s descendant—Hulim Heyerar!”

WHOOSH!

He pointed the black demon spear straight at Hulim Heyerar, his eyes burning with hatred.

“Hahahaha...... Looks like I’m in luck today. Not only will I achieve my goal, but I’ll also get revenge on that man!”

BOOM——!

Without any warning, Darius launched an attack at Hulim Heyerar.

“Descendant of Heyerar—DIE!”

“Ninefold Magic Circle! Helkem!”

Layer upon layer of defensive barriers materialized instantly, with Helkem held firmly in front of her as a shield.

The demon spear shattered every barrier in its path, the tip slamming into Helkem’s blade.

BAM——!

The immense force sent Hulim Heyerar plummeting from the sky, crashing downward toward the earth.

Almost simultaneously,

Irus’s attack landed on Darius’s body, opening a new wound on his flesh.

But Darius ignored Irus’s threat entirely, pushing through the pain to chase after Hulim Heyerar.

At S-Rank speed, he closed in on the falling Hulim Heyerar in the blink of an eye.

“DIE——!!!”

The demon spear, wreathed in terrifying power, hurtled toward Hulim Heyerar from above like a falling meteor.

SWISH——!

Suddenly, a flash of white light streaked across the sky.

A figure darted in, grabbing Hulim Heyerar’s body and pulling her out of the demon spear’s path at the very last second.

BOOM——!

With its target gone, the attack slammed straight into the ground below.

After a violent tremor shook the earth, a bottomless crater—vast and gaping—was left in its wake, visible to all.