Trading Injury for Injury

Orosius hovered in the void, watching Lilith condense mana into her fists, a mocking curve pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“What, done running? Are you preparing for a final struggle before you die?”

He chuckled lowly, his voice dripping with blatant contempt.

Lilith did not answer.

She simply clenched her fists and looked at Orosius.

“Come then. I won't be running this time.”

Orosius’s smile faltered.

A flash of anger flickered in his dark gold vertical pupils.

“Seeking death.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he was already in front of Lilith.

The World-Devouring Sword was raised high and then brought down in a heavy slash.

The blade was pitch-black, spiraled with dark red patterns, and the sword itself emitted the stench of death.

Lilith’s pupils constricted slightly. She raised her right arm to block her front.

Clang!!!

The blade struck her arm, producing a crisp, metallic ring.

Lilith felt a jolt of intense pain as the bones in her arm snapped instantly.

Gritting her teeth and enduring the agony, she clenched her left fist and threw a punch straight into Orosius’s abdomen.

Boom!

Orosius was sent stumbling back several steps by the punch, but he quickly stabilized himself.

He looked down at his abdomen, where a clear fist imprint remained, but it healed within seconds.

“Good power,” he grinned, revealing bone-white teeth, “but it's not enough.”

He lunged forward again, the World-Devouring Sword sweeping horizontally toward Lilith’s waist.

Lilith leaned to the side to dodge while simultaneously raising her leg to kick Orosius’s knee.

Crack.

The sound of a kneecap shattering echoed.

Orosius let out a muffled grunt, but his movements didn't stop. With a flick of his wrist, he changed the slash into a thrust, aiming directly for Lilith’s heart.

Unable to dodge in time, Lilith could only raise her left hand and grab the blade.

Squelch.

The edge sliced through her palm, and blood gushed out.

But Lilith did not let go.

She pulled hard, dragging Orosius toward her, while her right fist smashed into Orosius’s face.

Boom!

Orosius was briefly dazed by the blow, blood spraying from his face.

But he didn't let go either.

He clenched his left hand into a fist and drove it into Lilith’s abdomen.

Pfft.

Lilith coughed up a mouthful of blood, her body doubling over, but her right hand still held onto the blade with a death grip.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, clashing within the void.

Blood poured from their wounds, drifting away in all directions.

Lilith thought to herself, “It seems this guy’s power is starting to drop. The burst of strength from that 'loan' eventually has to be paid back.”

She could feel that Orosius’s strength was much weaker than before.

Previously, a single swing could have easily sliced her body in two.

But now, while the sword was still sharp, the force behind it was nowhere near what it used to be.

Furthermore, his self-healing speed was slowing down.

At this moment, Orosius clearly felt his power waning as well.

But he didn't care.

He believed he could finish Lilith before his strength reached its limit.

As long as he killed her and seized the Demon King’s authority, any price paid would be worth it.

...

On the other side, Veen was flying rapidly through the void.

He was searching for the sword that Orosius had kicked away earlier.

“I remember it being around here...”

He muttered to himself, his golden eyes scanning the void.

In the distance, a meteorite drifted quietly.

A sword was embedded in the surface of the meteorite.

Veen’s eyes lit up, and he flew quickly toward it.

He landed on the meteorite and reached out to grab the hilt.

He pulled with all his might.

Clang!

The blade slid out of the meteorite, letting out a clear ring.

Veen gripped the sword tightly, feeling the power emanating from the blade.

But right then...

Boom!!!

A violent vibration erupted from the distance.

Veen turned his head to look.

Far away, Lilith was locked in combat with Orosius.

As they hovered in the void, every collision of their limbs exploded with terrifying energy fluctuations, causing the surrounding space to tremble violently.

Lilith relied on her high physical durability and strong recovery, while Orosius relied on his abnormal self-healing. Both sides had adopted a style of trading injury for injury, completely devoid of technique, consisting only of the most primitive slaughter.

Orosius thrust the World-Devouring Sword into Lilith’s body, but because his strength had dropped, he could no longer manage to cut her in half at the waist, leaving only a bloody hole.

Lilith, in turn, grabbed Orosius by the hair and used her fists to pummel his head. Every punch carried terrifying power, making blood spray from Orosius’s face.

Both were covered in wounds and drenched in blood, but neither gave an inch.

Watching this scene, a flash of resolve crossed Veen’s golden eyes.

He tightened his grip on the sword, and with a flicker of his figure, he vanished from the spot.

...

On the battlefield.

Veen appeared behind Orosius.

He held the sword that could cut through anything, pointing the tip at the center of Orosius’s back, and lunged.

Orosius reacted instantly.

Without looking back, he swung his left hand backward, driving a fist into Veen’s chest.

Squelch.

Orosius’s fist pierced through Veen’s chest.

Veen let out a muffled groan, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but his right hand still held the sword hilt in a death grip.

Orosius turned his head, a flash of mockery in his dark gold vertical pupils.

“What, still trying to sneak attack?”

He grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth.

“How naive.”

But in the next second, his smile froze.

He realized his body could no longer move.

He looked down at Veen’s chest.

There, a golden rune was slowly emerging.

It was the sealing rune left by the former Demon King.

At the moment he was impaled, Veen had forced the rune into Orosius’s body.

“You...”

Orosius’s pupils shrank, shock flashing in his dark gold vertical eyes.

Veen looked at him, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

“Three seconds,” he said softly, his voice carrying a trace of exhaustion. “It’s enough.”

With that, he let go of the hilt and his body began to fall backward.

But as he fell, he used the last of his strength to throw the sword in his hand.

The sword traced an arc through the air, flying toward Lilith.

Lilith reached out and caught the sword.

There was no hesitation, no doubt.

She gripped the sword and swung it at Orosius’s head.

Orosius finally felt the aura of death.

He wanted to dodge, wanted to resist, but his body was bound by the sealing rune, leaving him unable to move at all.

He could only watch as the blade pierced toward his head.

“No!!!”

He let out an unwilling roar.

But it was too late.

Squelch.

The blade cut through his neck, beheading Orosius in a single strike.

After delivering the blow, the sword began to crumble.

It then turned into countless black motes of light, dissipating into the void.

Orosius’s corpse began to plummet toward the void abyss.

The World-Devouring Sword slipped from his hand and hovered in the void, its blade still pitch-black and spiraled with dark red patterns, as if mourning its master’s death.

Lilith’s body stumbled back as she gasped for breath.

She was covered in wounds and soaked in blood.

Veen hovered in the distance, the piercing wound in his chest slowly healing.

He looked toward where Orosius was falling, a flash of complexity in his golden eyes.

“It’s over...”

He said softly, his voice carrying a hint of weariness.

Lilith raised her head and looked at the World-Devouring Sword hovering in the void.

She reached out and grabbed the hilt.

The hilt was icy, feeling like cold iron to the touch.

She tried to destroy the sword.

But no matter what method she used, even employing every spell she knew, she could not cause any damage to the blade.

Helpless, Lilith could only give up.

She stored the World-Devouring Sword inside her personal storage space, planning to deal with it later.