Chapter 1965: Rescued
Chapter 1965: Rescued
Shir had many questions swirling in his mind.
First of all, how could a Young Demon Emperor be so shameless as to assassinate someone like him?
They both were demigods. Couldn't he at least confront him face to face first.
Didn't he have any pride as the sole inheritor of Elder Ichor's divine throne?
There was no pride in assassinating someone. It only highlighted one's cowardice. At least that's how Shir conducted himself. As someone who was a god's avatar, he had such inborn pride.
Shir knew a lot about Elder God Aleph. The previous Demon Emperor certainly wasn't as honorless as this so-called inheritor.
Even though he was a demon emperor, Elder God Aleph had morals and did things in a just manner. How could a fallen god of such caliber select such a devious motherfucker like Eren as his True Inheritor?
Even if he could, how could this youngling be this proficient in two Classes at once? Was this guy moonlighting as a contract killer somewhere in Labh Salem before he decided to come here and settle for good?
"Y-You…" Shir stuttered, his voice dry and full of shock. "Er… Er… Eren!"
He tightened his grip on his trident and swung it with fury, trying to land a blow fueled by rage and shame.
But Eren had already moved.
He didn't speak. He didn't gloat.
Instead, he dodged smoothly, like a shadow slipping through the cracks of reality.
And then…
His right arm stretched unnaturally, almost like a tentacle made of liquid shadow and flesh. It slithered forward with eerie speed and grabbed Sifrona, who was still lying half-dead where Shir had left her.
Before Shir could react, Eren pulled her into his arms in a princess carry and vanished. He left only a lungful of smoke in his place, which was blown away by Shir's aggressive movement.
[ Blink ]
[ Dynamic Distance ]
The next moment, both Eren and Sifrona were far away from Shir, standing on a large broken pillar surrounded by rubble. A safe distance had been created.
Eren stood still, cradling Sifrona gently in his arms. He didn't look at Shir—not at first.
Instead, he looked down at Sifrona—her body battered, blood dripping from her mouth, but still breathing. She looked up at him, her eyes weak, but her soul calm.
The butcher took another drag of his Stellar Sativa before exhaling a satisfied and calming smoke through his nostrils. He had cut down on Stellar Sativa so as not to burn through his stock.
After all, Stellar Sativa originally belonged to Anfang, and it wasn't very convenient to produce these smokes in Labh Salem. He had tried to mimic the manufacturing process using his potion-related skills and techniques, but somehow it wasn't quite the same.
A part of him recognized that maybe it was his home sickness that made him feel this way. After all, he was also an accomplished potionist and with his skills it was very easy to produce Stellar Sativa Sticks on the same level or even better than the original. And he had done exactly that.
However, some feelings were bound to remain unchanged because they had no logic behind them. They were as unpredictable as intent-based magic.
Thus, Eren had started to cherish the limited stock he had brought from Anfang. He would only light one on special occasions or during critical moments when he needed to keep his mind calm.
"This… this is good stuff," Eren murmured to himself as he looked into Sifrona's eyes. He smiled—a soft, satisfied smile.
Like everything had gone according to plan. Because it had.
Eren already knew he couldn't kill Shir with one strike. The rank gap was too large. Even if his attack was boosted by intent-based magic and other perks, it wouldn't be enough to kill a demigod like Shir in one blow.
Even the fact that he could get so close to Shir and nick him with the dagger's tip without alerting him was commendable enough.
As such, killing Shir in one blow wasn't Eren's plan at all. Who would complete the divine ritual of bringing God Raashim's will to descend at this place if he were to kill Shir?
The butcher only needed to surprise Shir and injure him critically. The wound he suffered now would not be healed anytime soon. Not really. Even if Shir could suppress the injury for the time being, it would eventually turn into his fatal weakness.
Eren made the Diceros Left that he was holding disappear. Thankfully, he had upgraded his Katars into Hex artifacts. This dagger set was very special for him as it was with him for the longest. He could already feel the infant state of a spiritual consciousness growing within the daggers.
Sage Luftansa's legacy also played a huge role in allowing Eren to master his Assassin Path. It was all thanks to those factors that he had managed to strike at Shir and critically injure him despite the wide Ranking gap between them.
As Eren held Sifrona close, the battlefield seemed to pause for a moment.
The Young Demon Emperor had returned.
And this time it didn't seem like he was here to run. He was here to send a message.
Sifrona stared at the man holding her in his arms, unable to believe what had just happened.
She had been so sure that death was just a moment away. Her eyes had already looked into the tip of Shir's trident. Her soul had already whispered a goodbye.
But now, instead of pain and darkness, she felt the warmth of Eren's arms and the faint smell of Stellar Sativa smoke around her. The man didn't even care that he was exhaling puffs over an injured young woman's face.
Her body was still hurting—badly. Her wounds were deep. Blood continued to drip from her mouth. But her heart, which had prepared itself for the end, now beat with renewed life.
She blinked slowly, her blurry vision adjusting as she looked at Eren's calm face. That same confidence, that same dangerous smile was still there.
As if nothing in the world could shake him.
As if pulling someone back from the jaws of death was just another part of his plan.
The butcher almost always played it safe. But every once in a while, he liked to gamble. And he would gamble big.
Tonight was one such night for a huge gamble.