95: Yurishia vs Guilford, once more

"Calm down. No need to be hostile. That was just a greeting earlier. I didn't come here to engage you in combat."

"Hou? Then what do you want?"

"You ruined our plans many times. First, you let Mythos, the elf king escape from our control."

So that was the creepy shadow I felt back then.

"Secondly, you killed Murglais, an S rank dimensional while you still weren't at full strength. That was a big blow for us. We planned to sacrifice this entire town, but you got in our way. With all the bloodshed we would have been able to maintain the rift open permanently. But what can I say? You were a pain in my ass 10 years ago, and you're still a pain even today."

"And you're telling me this…. Because…?"

"Because I respect you. Yurishia, I came with an offer. Join us."

"Are you insane? Have you been brainwashed or something? The Guilford I once knew would never harm innocent people."

"Spare me the moral speech. That would only be true if people really were innocent. When I first got sucked in the rift, I did my best to stay alive. Did someone ever bother sending a rescue party for me? For the hero that meant so much for them?

No. Instead they destroyed my prized sword and replaced me with 7 other heroes. What's more, they are so arrogant, they have only care about repelling the dimensional, and not finding a solution to stop the attacks from ever happening.

The word hero is nothing more than a tool. You are no different than me. Didn't you also get betrayed? Aren't you tired of playing this game? The God I serve, has granted me power and opened my eyes. The dimensionals aren't monsters. They are the cure this world needs.

Yurishia, join me. Fight back to back with me and together, we can rule this world. A world with no more suffering or evil schemes."

"Yurishia, this guy is definitely supported by an Evil God. This won't end well, no matter how you look at it."

I realize that already. Although I can understand his point of view, I feel like the world this guy is trying to create will only end up in ruins.

"Thanks for the offer, but no. I have my own plans. But more importantly, I don't intend to become such an ugly creature like you. Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Trying to be funny? There won't be another chance for you. I won't make this offer a second time."

"Good. Because I don't want to turn you down twice."

"If that's your answer, I suppose my business here is done for now. But know this. This world will return to its rightful order. Your friends and everyone you hold dear will die. Until the day we meet again, live with the thought that you doomed everyone!"

"Or I can can just end you right now! Haaaa!!"

I closed m fist and threw a powerful punch at him. He reacted swiftly and made an X shape guard with his hands. Even so the impact generated created a powerful shockwave that sent him flying, although he didn't look fazed at all.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Fighting this guy is the worst possible scenario."

"I know, but it is necessary. I need to see how strong he is and also were I stand compared to him. I need to know how he fights and reacts so that I can use all my power in the most efficient way possible."

Guilford landed as if it was nothing. The wings on his back helped him regain balance rather quickly.

"Is that the only thing you Mazoku know? Violence? I am disappointed. Besides, that punch was rather on the light side."

"Oh yeah? Then maybe this will make you go into high gear. [Force Boost Phase 1]! Here I come!"

With tremendous speed I once again closed the gap between us. Because I am at full strength now, the power increase from Force Boost is greatly superior compared to how I used it against Murglais. And that caught Guilford off guard, as I landed a powerful punch in his face making him cough a bit of blood.

"Tsk."

However he quickly spinned around and hit me in my stomach with his tail.

"Kuh…"

A rapid exchange of fists that made the earth shake happened between us. It was almost something like a fight from dragon ball.

"You have no respect as always. As I mentioned, I didn't come to kill you now, however… let's see how powerful you really are."

3 magic formations formed above his head. I immediately leaped backwards.

"There's no escape. [Burning Barrage]!"

Kuh. Seems that with his transformation he's not restricted to holy spells any longer. This is bad. Countless fireballs were flying at me. The weakness of Force Boost is that you can't use magic while it's activated.

"Draw me already! I'll handle this!"

I instinctively followed Zeshia's advice and pulled her. With tremendous speed I begin slashing all the fireballs that were headed for me.

"Come on. Faster! If you don't move faster you'll be overwhelmed by them."

I felt like I was about to dislocate my shoulder but she was right. I swung Zeshia in various arc patterns. Soon only a shadow of her could be seen, slicing magic after magic. Eventually I fully managed to avoid the impact.

The situation wasn't that good. I managed to avoid that, but he has great physical strength and can cast magic at the same time. Moreover… even if he did get serious a bit, he wasn't using his full strength yet.

"Hou? You managed to stop that? I guess that's to be expected of Demon Sword Zeshia. However something tells me you would have sustained great damage if you got hit by that."

Tsk. If he's that cocky, I guess there's only one thing I can do. I canceled Force Boost. Because… it was time to show him a face of me he never saw. My only chance is to overwhelm him with great magical power. World Magic. Magic so strong that it can literally change the landscape of the world. I'm gonna fire some World Magic back to back.

Even if he's backed up by a God, if I throw a meteor on him, even he would be seriously injured. That's when I need to strike with Zeshia. As I prepared move.

"That's enough. This little friendly greeting is over now. My master calls for me. Regardless, I have already assessed that you won't be a threat if I will personally deal with you. Enjoy your days will you still can. The next time we meet… I won't hold back at all."

He then suddenly vanished into the shadows. Without a warning he left. At least I managed to probe his powers. And the conclusion was just as I thought. If he came at me with all his strength… I would have lost.

"Zeshia… we need to talk a bit…"