Birth of the Demonic Sword

The humanoid creature didn't have facial features. Its head only had a large mouth filled with two rows of razor-sharp teeth on both sides. Its arms were long and ended into seven claws, and its slim legs featured two different knee-like joints other than the familiar ankles and waist.

Noah had never seen or heard about a similar creature. He couldn't even study it with his senses since his mental waves could barely notice that strange existence.

The other experts were in a similar situation. That strange existence didn't appear in their minds. It seemed to have features similar to the empty creatures in the void, and Noah couldn't help but link those common abilities.

The creature had appeared after black spots had gathered in the lower part of the sky. The empty beings from the void might have followed the trail of energy dispersed during the destruction of the dimensional tunnel, but that idea still left many unanswered questions.

The empty creatures couldn't have possibly kept up with the group's speed. Only beings that had appeared near the sky could enter the hole at the last instant, but that didn't explain the whole situation either.

The white layer had closed before the appearance of the strange creature, meaning that the empty beings would have had to cross the sky to appear inside the Immortal Lands.

That was theoretically impossible, especially since Noah and King Elbas had already tested what the touch between the empty creatures and the sky caused. They would regain the laws that Heaven and Earth had stripped away from them and revert to their original form.

The situation appeared far different now, but Noah still felt confident that the empty creatures had something to do with that strange existence. After all, only the void and the windy regions could hold species capable of surprising him, and the source of the black being was quite clear in that situation.

"Did Heaven and Earth finally send something?" Divine Demon asked as excitement built in his insides, but his friends quickly contradicted him.

"How can you even connect that creature to Heaven and Earth?" Robert asked. "It has no aura at all. It's similar to our enemies in the void."

The sky seemed to add fuel to that conversation. Another black spot spread under the creature standing upside-down, and its size increased once the blackness flowed inside its body.

"It might actually be part of those creatures!" Steven exclaimed. "Are they fusing themselves? Maybe they used this method to become strong enough to pierce the sky."

"That's not how the reaction works," King Elbas rejected that idea. "I told you what happens when they touch the sky."

"How would you explain this then?" Robert asked while glancing at the creature again.

"The sky is letting them pass," Noah explained and made everyone glance at him in surprise.

"Why would they even cooperate?" The Foolery snorted. "One betrayal from Heaven and Earth doesn't seem to be enough to teach them a lesson."

"I believe they didn't make any pact," Noah added. "According to Caesar, Heaven and Earth's enemies attract them, probably due to their d.e.s.i.r.e to acquire laws capable of threatening the rulers. Still, their condition is a curse that they can't overcome."

Noah explained everything in brief lines. Of course, his words still carried a bit of uncertainty since it had been impossible to study those creatures. He guessed that those beings had developed the non-existence law, which obviously left nothing to inspect.

"We fight then," Divine Demon laughed.

"The brute obviously had to be happy about that," King Elbas commented, but his eyes suddenly widened when he realized something.

A fiery spear promptly appeared in his hands, and King Elbas didn't hesitate to point it at the Foolery. The pig had already opened its mouth, but the sudden event made it unable to say anything.

"Not a word," King Elbas threatened, and the pig limited itself to smile.

King Elbas had finally stopped the pig's irritating comments, but he didn't feel better after watching that shameless face. He knew that the Foolery would wait until he forgot about the matter to say something that would make his patience reach its limits.

"Sword Saint," Noah said while ignoring the bickering happening next to him. "Poke it a bit. Let's see how it reacts. Robert, do the same. I want to know if this creature shares the same weaknesses of the empty beings in the void."

Sword Saint and Robert didn't hesitate to follow those orders. Robert was the first to attack. He gathered a large toxic mass above his head before throwing it toward the creature.

The toxic mass burnt when it touched the sky, but it still enveloped the strange creature in its purple shades. Yet, Robert showed a confused expression when he sensed that his ability was disappearing.

Waves appeared on the purple mass and converged toward its center. The strange creature soon reappeared and showed how Robert's ability couldn't escape falling in its black insides.

Sword Saint didn't hesitate to attack at that point. He casually waved his fingers and generated a storm of slashes that flew toward the creature.

The humanoid monster stretched its arm toward the slashes, but its large mouth curved into an ugly smile when it understood how powerful that ability was.

The creature disappeared from its spot and materialized into another area. It was still standing on the sky, and another black patch covered the white material before flowing inside the monster and increasing its size.

"You go ahead and prepare defenses," Noah ordered after studying that scene. "The two of us should be enough to deal with this creature, but we'll retreat toward the landmass if the situation gets ugly."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Divine Demon snorted while putting a hand under his chin and looking at the side to gain a respectful aura.

"We need sharpness in the battle," Noah complained.

"I'm the best swordsman in the entire higher plane!" Divine Demon shouted.

"I beg to disagree," Sword Saint commented after clearing his throat.

"Is that a challenge?" Divine Demon asked as his eyes lit up.

"Of course," Sword Saint replied in a calm tone. "The path of the sword isn't something that experts can invent on the spot."

Divine Demon had already stopped listening to Sword Saint. He had only needed to hear the positive answer to his question to activate the breathtaking effects of his law.

Azure energy flew out of his body and gathered in his right palm while taking the shape of a long sword. Divine Demon's aura even began to radiate a faint sharpness, but that feature couldn't match his companions.

Noah quickly wielded the Demonic Sword, and Sword Saint joined his hands before separating them to create a silver blade. The three experts then turned toward the strange creature, and they didn't do anything when they saw that more dark patches were appearing under its feet.

The other experts shot sorry glances at Noah. They were about to leave him alone with Divine Demon, and the situation didn't foreshadow anything good since the expert had already managed to activate a challenge.

"Go!" Noah roared so that even the magical beasts could feel compelled to return to the landmass. "We'll handle this!"

The experts and magical beasts couldn't help but leave at that point, and the creature followed their departure with its gaze. It even seemed about to bend its strange legs, but its figure disappeared when a series of multicolored slashes crashed on its spot.

****

Author's notes: The side effects of the vaccine are here. I don't know if a night of sleep will make them disappear, but I guess that resting won't hurt. I'll take a one-day break on "Demonic Sword" and write only one chapter for Chaos' Heir tomorrow(two if I really feel like it/better). Chapters will go back to normal on the 5th. I'm honestly sorry for putting you through this, especially so close to my past fever. I'll try to become immune to this stuff.