“Alice!”
Liyakade looked anxiously toward Alice.
Black threads had wrapped Alice into a cocoon.
She ran toward Alice, but the moment she turned, she felt a piercing pain in her right arm.
Darkness had instantly flashed to Liyakade’s side.
A pitch-black Shadow Claw severed Liyakade’s forearm in an instant, and blood gushed out.
Without Alice’s interference, Darkness could freely move through the shadows in the cave, her speed more than double from before.
She seized the moment when Liyakade was distracted, rushed through the shadows behind her, and sliced off Liyakade’s arm in a single strike.
“Liyakade!?”
Seeing Liyakade injured, Field and Chloe panicked as well.
For a moment, they were at a loss, even wanting to rush to aid Liyakade.
But Liyakade actually didn’t need their support.
The spurting blood instantly coagulated, and on the ground, streams of blood formed sturdy Blood Thorns that shot toward Darkness beside her.
Seeing this, Darkness had no choice but to dive back into the shadows, instantly darting away and widening the distance from Liyakade.
“Go save Alice first!”
Liyakade ordered the two to attack the black Shadow Cocoon binding Alice.
On the front lines, Liyakade could still hold out a while longer; her injury was a minor issue.
With the regenerative ability of Blood Magic, as long as Darkness could be defeated, even if she was barely alive, Liyakade could fully recover.
But Alice was different.
If Alice couldn’t be rescued, the three of them alone would have a hard time defeating Darkness.
However, in the brief moment of Field and Chloe’s hesitation, they had already missed the best chance to save Alice.
In the distance, Darkness snapped her fingers.
The Shadow Cocoon entwining Alice expanded again, and before Field and Chloe could attack, black threads crawled up their bodies as well.
The two, unable to move, couldn’t help Alice at all.
Even when Field tried to burn the black threads with Magic Power, she couldn’t break free, and both were soon cocooned into a mass of darkness by Darkness.
Then, Darkness pointed at Liyakade.
A sense of crisis exploded in Liyakade’s chest.
She quickly spread her wings and flew toward the cave’s midair, but it was too late.
Black threads shot up from below, piercing her wings and ankles.
A shadow flashed.
Darkness appeared from above the stone wall, her sharp claws slamming down at Liyakade.
Liyakade was smashed into the ground.
Blood holes from the impalement in her wings and calves kept bleeding.
“Stand up. Wounds of this level should heal quickly for you, right? Weren’t you acting all tough just now?”
Darkness looked at Liyakade, lying in a deep pit, her tone mocking as she slowly walked over.
At this moment, Darkness already believed victory was in her grasp.
The only one who could restrain her, Alice, was under her full control.
The others were bound.
Only Liyakade was left who could move freely.
But with Liyakade at LV.57, how could she possibly win against herself at LV.63?
So, Darkness had already started celebrating in her mind.
Watching Liyakade’s wounds slowly heal, Darkness taunted her further.
“Heh, I’m so jealous of your regeneration speed. Supersonic Regeneration is a unique trait of your kind, but… I don’t really need that kind of ability.”
“After all… right now, I’m the one overwhelming you, Liyakade!”
As she finished, black shadows surged from under Darkness’s feet, rushing at Liyakade as if to pierce her completely.
“This is only my normal regeneration speed.”
A pitch-black Shadow Blade erupted from the ground, impaling Liyakade’s body.
But in the next instant, Liyakade grasped the Shadow Blade, her claws crushing the shadow that pierced her body to dust.
The blood holes in her body closed rapidly.
Darkness immediately sensed something was wrong with Liyakade.
She tensed, staring at the Liyakade before her—a lamb that should have been ready for slaughter.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… this is just my normal regeneration speed. I haven’t even used Supersonic Regeneration. No, in fact, I can’t even use Supersonic Regeneration yet.”
Liyakade focused her Magic Power on the tattoo on her abdomen.
She could feel the tattoo growing hotter, and her Magic Power limit constantly breaking through.
But at the same time, Liyakade’s consciousness was slipping away.
“I originally thought I wouldn’t need to use this move…”
“What did you do!?”
Darkness could also sense Liyakade’s sudden surge in Level.
She didn’t dare let Liyakade continue.
In a flash, she drove her right claw mercilessly through Liyakade’s chest.
Under the pitch-black Shadow Claw, a round hole burst open in Liyakade’s chest, crimson blood splattering across Darkness’s right arm.
However, Liyakade did not fall.
No, rather, her movements showed no sign of slowing.
She gripped Darkness’s right hand tightly, the crushing strength from Liyakade’s claws warping Darkness’s palm.
The intense pain forced her to bend over, half-kneeling on the ground.
“Ah!”
“It’s someone from Minotauros’s side… Darkness, master of Shadow Magic. Since you’ve attacked my other half, you must be prepared to be killed by me, right?”
The gaping hole in her chest did nothing to hinder Korim’s voice.
On the contrary, as she spoke, blood threads surged from the torn opening, quickly filling the void in her chest.
“No… impossible, I clearly destroyed your heart…”
Darkness stared in horror.
Just now, she had completely crushed Liyakade’s heart, yet she was unscathed, even her heart rapidly restoring.
In Darkness’s understanding, no demon could survive a destroyed heart.
Not even Darkness herself.
Perhaps the Demon King Darkness served—Minotauros, with his massive body and three hearts—could achieve this, as long as all three hearts weren’t destroyed at once.
But Liyakade before her was so small, Darkness couldn’t imagine where she could even hide a spare heart.
Korim raised her head.
Her crimson eyes shimmered with killing intent.
Darkness shuddered at Korim’s gaze.
Such composure—as if holding the power of life and death over her.
This was not the same Liyakade as before.
As someone who had played the original work, Liyakade naturally knew what skills the original possessed.
The original’s Supersonic Regeneration not only negated fatal injuries but also restored a large portion of health.
Whether the heart was pierced, or even the brain destroyed, the original could recover instantly.
Her health bar was essentially fake.
Only by dealing a fatal blow while allowing Alice to attack simultaneously, disrupting the original’s Supersonic Regeneration, could her regeneration and true health be barely suppressed.
Such a skill that brought endless hardship and party wipes in the true ending—how could Liyakade ever forget?
“This is Supersonic Regeneration—the power to instantly heal even mortal wounds. Even if you cut off my head, I could immediately generate a new body.”
As she finished, blood threads wove a new arm from Korim’s right shoulder, forming sharp claws that she swung toward Darkness’s forehead.
With her current strength, Darkness could not withstand this strike.
Her head would explode like a shattered watermelon.
No, no!
Darkness instantly sank.
It was her lifesaving skill.
Even when caught, she could liquefy into shadow and escape her enemy’s grip.
Of course, it consumed a vast amount of Magic Power.
Darkness darted through the shadows toward Alice.
She didn’t know what had happened to Liyakade, but she knew that the current Liyakade was not an opponent she could face.
She regretted not dealing with Alice first.
If only she had killed Alice when binding her, she could have at least completed her primary goal.
But at that moment, Darkness suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
“Impossible! I’m inside my own Shadow Domain! How can she attack me?”
Darkness looked at her shoulder.
Only then did she see the blood that had splattered onto her arm earlier had transformed into crimson threads, running through the ground and connecting to Korim’s hand.
“Trying to run?”
Korim swung her claws, and a Blood Net instantly dragged Darkness out from the shadows.
“No, impossible…”
Darkness had never experienced such a thing.
She had been forcibly pulled from the shadows by someone else—and that person wasn’t even a user of Light-Attribute Magic, but a demon like herself.
“What’s impossible? If my blood is on you, I can drag you out no matter where you flee.”