The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 637: “Make Your Grand Entrance—”

“Bang—!”

Under the dazzling, golden light of the Holy Sword, the death aura rapidly purified and vanished.

Mara narrowed her eyes.

“As expected of the Holy Sword that can slay the Demon King, even in its sealed state, it still possesses such power. Truly… disgusting.”

Mara waved her hand, and the death aura transformed into a massive black wave, crashing towards Shien. The sheer scale of it was terrifying.

“Swoosh!”

Shien teleported away, appearing a distance away.

“Seems like you have some skills, Your Imperial Consort,” Shien said, genuinely impressed, looking at the unharmed Mara.

Her strength was extraordinary. Not only was she a true Limit Level expert, but her combat experience and abilities also far surpassed ordinary beings, giving Shien the feeling that she was indeed a millennia-old monster.

Even the High Priest, who had lived for thousands of years, likely paled in comparison to Mara in terms of combat experience and skills.

Even Machi, the Demon Spirit who lived in the same era as Sophie, the Elven Queen, was probably far inferior to Mara at the same level.

Mara’s strength was greater than Aldia, the strongest human, and even Yulin, who was also at Limit Level. She was the strongest being Shien had encountered below Transcendent Level, even surpassing the uncontrolled Lilith he met in Cosmos.

This wasn’t to say that Lilith was weaker than Mara. In terms of pure power, even in her uncontrolled state, Lilith was undoubtedly Transcendent Level.

However, in that state, Lilith only knew how to recklessly use her overwhelming power, without any combat experience or skill. She didn’t even see Shien as an opponent, only instinctively releasing her power to defend herself when he approached. As a result, with her power nullified and her mind unclear, she was severely injured by Shien’s Holy Sword, weakening her strength.

Mara, although her pure power was far inferior to Lilith’s at that time, had vast combat experience and skills, and her mind was sharp and clear. Shien couldn’t nullify her power with his blessing, so he naturally found Mara more troublesome than the uncontrolled Lilith.

The Greater Spirit of Death, conceived by the High Priest, an existence capable of naturally surpassing the limits of life, yet somehow stuck at the final stage, was truly extraordinary.

“It seems I’ll need to use some of my trump cards to deal with you,” Shien murmured.

Mara heard him.

“Finally getting serious?” she asked, her smile not reaching her eyes.

“Wasn’t I serious just now?” Shien asked casually.

“Of course not,” Mara smiled, her eyes flickering, “After all, that Holy Sword is still sealed, not showing its true power, right?”

“What about you, Your Imperial Consort?” Shien asked, “Aren’t you going to show your true abilities?”

Shien hadn’t unsealed his Holy Sword, and Mara was also hiding her true strength.

“I haven’t seen your Unique Skill yet, Your Imperial Consort,” Shien said casually.

But Mara’s next words stunned him.

“…I don’t have a Unique Skill,” she said indifferently, her smile disappearing.

Shien was stunned.

“No Unique Skill?”

Impossible. A Limit Level being without a Unique Skill?

Was she trying to trick him?

Mara’s expression remained indifferent.

“I’m telling the truth,” she murmured, “Unique Skills are personal miracles, impossible to share through [Symbiosis].”

Shien frowned.

But before he could think it through, Mara returned to her usual demeanor.

“Although I don’t have a Unique Skill, I’ve prepared some entertainment,” she said, her voice like a poisonous rose, a sweet smile on her face.

“If I calculated correctly, it should be arriving soon.”

These words made Shien’s eyes narrow. The strange magic power and ominous premonition he felt since entering the palace intensified.

He glanced at Diere and Capeline, noticing their unfavorable situations. Diere was being relentlessly attacked by Wolram wielding the replica Holy Sword, her black robe tattered, and Capeline was covered in wounds from the half-undead Harvis, on the verge of collapsing. The Broken Blade knights were also struggling, their strength and magic power waning, their defenses against the vengeful spirits weakening.

At this rate, casualties were inevitable.

“Weng—!”

A trembling sound echoed around Shien, and a terrifying magic power, like flames, erupted from his body.

“Hmm?” Mara’s expression changed.

“That is…!?”

Everyone stopped for a moment, a sense of trepidation filling their hearts.

Shien’s presence surged, and everyone instinctively looked at him.

Shien closed his eyes, his magic power surging within him.

“—Make your grand entrance—”

He whispered, awakening the power hidden within him.

“—[Samsara of Heaven’s Decree].”

Flames, like materialized magic power, burned fiercely around him.

“Boom!”

An aura far more terrifying than before erupted from Shien, instantly suppressing everything.

“What!?” Mara’s eyes widened in shock.

She could feel Shien’s power suddenly more than double. If before, he was a Limit Level combatant on par with her, now, he was half a step beyond that level.

“He… is he already trying to transcend to that realm…!?”

Mara’s expression changed repeatedly.

She was prepared for Shien’s increased power, knowing he was a Hero with the Holy Sword, a weapon that could even injure Lilith and counter all evil. She knew that once unsealed, the Holy Sword would greatly enhance his power. She was prepared for this.

But she didn’t expect Shien to achieve this without unsealing the Holy Sword.

“Is that his Unique Skill?” Mara wondered in shock.

“No, his Unique Skill should be growth-type, not combat-type. That’s what the young master and I concluded.”

Mara and Danas had both guessed that Shien’s Unique Skill was likely related to growth. His growth rate was too fast, reaching this level in such a short time. Even for a Hero, this was too exaggerated.

Even Mitra, the strongest Hero in history, took ten years to reach level one hundred and then entered the Supreme God’s Inner Sanctum to achieve Transcendence.

Even the strongest Hero took ten years to reach Limit Level, and Shien had been in this world for less than a year, conservatively speaking.

To have the power of a top-tier Legendary, even Limit Level expert, in less than a year, there had to be a reason.

Since Shien had never shown any Unique Skill-like abilities in combat, even against Machi, many, including Mara and Danas, guessed that his Unique Skill enhanced his growth rate.

The rumors of Shien easily learning various skills from countless masters in the Royal Capital further confirmed this.

Therefore, some top experts already guessed that Shien’s Unique Skill was growth-type, not combat-type, practically useless in battle.

But now, Shien displayed such power, making Mara uneasy.

Seeing the increasing pressure from Shien, Mara couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Come forth! Demon Lord Larva Legion!”

With Mara’s shout, the throne room began to tremble.

“Bang!”

In the next second, the floor exploded.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” …

Explosions echoed as the floor crumbled, sending rubble flying.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!”

Terrifying roars came from underground.

Massive shadows emerged from the ground, appearing in the throne room.

“What is that…!?” Diere, Capeline, and the others were horrified.

The creatures emerging were monstrous, with human upper bodies, centipede tails, and dragon wings.

Demon Lord Larvae.

Seven of them appeared in the throne room.

The magic power in the air instantly became evil and oppressive.

Chapter 638: The Enraged Mara

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!”

The half-human, half-centipede monsters appeared on the battlefield, letting out terrifying roars that shook everyone present.

The roars were heart-pounding and fear-inducing. Coupled with the terrifying aura emanating from these monsters, Diere, Capeline, and all the female knights of the Broken Blade Knight Order were filled with terror.

“They’re all Legendary-level…” Diere muttered in disbelief, barely blocking a strike from the replica Holy Sword with her dual blades.

“See? That’s the Imperial Consort’s method!”

Wolram, although initially frightened by Shien’s aura, regained his composure upon seeing the Demon Lord Larvae, sneering at Diere.

“How is this possible…!”

Capeline, desperately resisting Harvis’s attacks, felt a surge of despair upon seeing the Legendary-level Demon Lord Larvae.

Even in the Empire, there were only two known Legendary-level experts.

The Kingdom also only had three known Legendary-level experts.

The Elven Race also only had three.

Even throughout the entire Human Realm, the total number of known Legendary-level experts probably didn’t exceed twenty.

But here, there were eleven Legendary-level Demon Lord Larvae.

Eleven of them.

“I paid quite a price to borrow these from the Original Demon, you know?” Mara said, staring at Shien, who was wreathed in flames.

“Originally, I borrowed twelve Demon Lord Larvae from the Original Demon, but you eliminated one.”

Mara was referring to the larva she lent to the Raifurut family, the one Shien had already defeated.

Therefore, Mara had eleven remaining.

“Even for the Original Demon, who has been collecting sacrifices for the Demonic Refining Ritual for a thousand years, lending out these twelve Demon Lord Larvae isn’t a small matter. If it weren’t for my abilities being highly valued by them, and their Demon Lord creation plan nearing its final stage, they probably wouldn’t have been willing to lend them to me.”

Mara smiled sweetly, as if regaining her confidence.

“I hope you enjoy yourself, Hero.”

Saying that, Mara waved her hand again, and the death aura around her spread out, entwining the Demon Lord Larvae.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!”

The larvae roared, ghastly green light flickering on their bodies.

Mara was using her necromancy to turn these Demon Lord Larvae into undead.

Thanks to this, not only were they under her complete control, but their power also surged due to the influx of death energy.

Their levels weren’t equal, although all Legendary. Some were above level ninety-five, while others were just barely level ninety.

But under the amplification of the death energy, their levels all rose to between ninety-five and ninety-eight, incredibly powerful.

“Attack!”

Mara commanded the eleven Legendary Demon Lord Larvae, sending them, wreathed in ghastly green light, towards Shien, who was covered in flames in mid-air. They spewed their dragon breaths.

The ghastly green dragon breaths, filled with the aura of decay, turned the air into poisonous gas, causing a burning sensation in the lungs.

In response…

“[Bestowal: Reflection].”

Shien calmly chanted the new magic spell.

The flames around him seemed to transform into translucent mirrors of magic power, surrounding him.

“Boom!”

The dragon breaths struck the mirrors and were reflected back at the larvae at an even faster speed.

“Gaaaaaa—!”

Pained roars came from the larvae as they were struck by their own dragon breaths, their bodies either vaporizing or smoking, instantly suffering heavy damage.

“Bang!”

At the same time, Shien, as if shattering the air, transformed into a stream of light and shot towards Mara.

Shien clearly didn’t want to deal with the undead Demon Lord Larvae, but to directly eliminate Mara.

“Don’t even think about it!”

Mara, sensing Shien’s intention, was already prepared. With a wave of her hand, a massive amount of death aura surged out like an avalanche, engulfing Shien.

Before the black avalanche, Shien seemed insignificant, like an ant about to be swallowed by a tsunami.

But wreathed in flames, he charged forward without hesitation.

“[Bestowal: Annihilation].”

Shien used the most powerful and terrifying property of Bestowal Magic.

Limgir was annihilated by this move, not even leaving behind a corpse.

Under this terrifying magic, the death aura that touched Shien vanished without a trace, not dispersed or purified, but truly annihilated.

“Swoosh!”

Shien teleported, appearing before Mara.

“…!”

Mara’s heart trembled. Sensing the terrifying pressure from Shien, she didn’t dare to confront him directly, releasing a large amount of death aura and sending the vengeful spirits roaring towards him.

At the same time, Mara retreated like a ghost, instantly moving a great distance.

Unfortunately…

“Slash!”

A tearing sound echoed through the throne room.

Shien appeared silently before Mara again.

He hadn’t directly resisted the death aura attack as before, but teleported behind the retreating Mara and launched a fatal attack before she could react.

Perhaps he had intentionally created the illusion that he would resist head-on, only to seize this opportunity and catch Mara off guard with teleportation.

Mara’s head was severed.

Yes.

Shien severed Mara’s head.

However, looking at the headless Mara, Shien raised an eyebrow, not showing any joy, but instead dodging to the side.

“Thud!”

Almost simultaneously, Mara’s headless body moved, her hand transforming into a claw and slashing towards Shien.

The claw narrowly missed Shien, tearing through the air with a cracking sound.

“Slash!”

Seeing Mara miss, Shien mercilessly swung his sword again, severing the hand she used to attack.

Mara’s body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.

Just as Shien was about to finish her off, several dragon breaths bombarded him.

Shien was hit, the flames around him sputtering and dimming slightly.

“Tsk…”

Shien clicked his tongue, forced to stop. Even with the divine defense of [Inner Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree], he couldn’t recklessly endure dragon breath for too long.

Shien teleported away from the dragon breaths.

At this moment, Mara’s head and severed hand flew back, reattaching to her body. Death aura surged into her body, and soon, both her head and hand were completely healed.

“That hurt,” Mara said, touching her neck, as if in a daze, “Is this the power of the Holy Sword?”

Although Shien hadn’t unsealed his Holy Sword, its remaining power, even with three seals, was still incredibly sharp.

At least, ordinary weapons couldn’t harm Mara, who possessed the Greater Spirit of Death.

Only the Hero’s Holy Sword could so easily sever her head and arm.

But this clearly enraged Mara.

“You dare to injure my body with that filthy sword! You will pay!”

Mara, however, didn’t attack Shien, but instead gathered a vast amount of death aura and bombarded the ceiling.

“Bang—!!!”

The ceiling of the throne room instantly shattered.

…

At this moment, everyone fighting in the Imperial Palace heard that loud explosion.

The sound that shattered the throne room and pierced the sky.

The throne room crumbled before everyone’s eyes, a large amount of death aura pouring out.

Mara emerged from the death aura and rose into the air.

“Ugh…”

“Ah…”

In the ruins of the throne room, the female knights of the Broken Blade Knight Order lay on the ground, groaning like fish caught in the crossfire. The undead mummies were buried under the rubble, seemingly unable to move.

“Cough…” Capeline pushed aside a piece of rubble, kneeling on the ground, covered in wounds and coughing.

“Ugh…” Diere was nearby, her black robe tattered and her mask cracked, as if about to shatter.

They looked battered, but were undoubtedly better off than the undead mummies.

Shien hovered in mid-air, wreathed in flames, with Diere and the others behind him. He had clearly blocked most of the impact, allowing them to escape.

“Gaaaaaa—!”

The eleven Demon Lord Larvae shifted between reality and illusion, seemingly avoiding all damage with their special ability.

They surrounded Shien, as if preventing him from disturbing Mara.

However, Shien didn’t even look at them, his gaze fixed on Mara, who was gradually rising into the air, the ominous premonition in his heart intensifying.

“No!”

His intuition told him to act now.

So, he teleported, easily escaping the larvae’s encirclement and charging towards Mara.

“Gaaaaaa—!”

The larvae reacted, preparing their dragon breath attacks.

But an even larger dragon breath suddenly descended from the sky, stopping them.

“Roar—!!!”

With a roar, a pitch-black dragon swooped down from the sky, appearing before the larvae.

Yulin had arrived.