Parallel Memory

The Rank-B Devil Contractor taking charge was good news for the other Devil Contractors. Others didn't want to bear the brunt of Zeros' attack.

[ "Spear Gigantamax" ]

The Rank-B Devil Contractor used his skill. He has grown the spear in his hand by ten times its original size. His handle seemed to be the same size, but the other part of the spear had turned 10x larger.

The Rank-B Devil Contractor lifted that huge spear and aimed at Zero.

"Take this!"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor showed no mercy and even though they were asked to capture the students, he attacked as if he was trying to kill Zero. Maybe he forgot that or maybe he chose to ignore it.

Anyway, he didn't hold anything back when attacking Zero. The spear which had been turned into a giant spear, aimed at Zero's heart.

[ "Dual Art: Dark Ice Embodiment" ]

Zero immediately used the Dual Art and Dark Ice Embodiment without any delay. Unlike before, he has a better grasp of the strength of Rank-B and himself. He realized that without using Dual Art, it is very difficult to defeat people of Rank-B.

Moreover, his opponent was a Devil Contractor and there would be no consequences for killing him, so he wasn't hesitant to use his Dual Art.

-WHOOSH!

!!!

Rank-B Devil Contractor didn't back down when he saw Zero using the skill. He was secretly sneering in his heart, thinking that Zero was attempting to block his attack for naught.

This skill was specifically for increasing the power of his attack and he believed that Zero, who is in Rank-C would not be able to block it.

-CLANK!

"WHAT? How?"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor exclaimed in surprise.

To his surprise, Zero parried the strike easily. The spear, which is 10x bigger than a normal spear, was blocked by a sword that was very tiny in comparison to his spear.

"Haaaaa…"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor pressed on and tried to crush Zero who was blocking his spear. He intended to crush Zero with its pressure. Though the most that it did was to make his sword vibrate a little.

The expression on Zero's face was especially calm when facing the Rank-B Devil Contractor. Even with the huge spear only a meter away, he didn't seem scared at all.

The reason Zero was looking calm was not that he was trying to look calm but because he had the strength to compete with Rank-B Devil Contractor.

Moreover, every piece of artifact that Zero was wearing was of high rank and this gave him an advantage over the Rank-B Devil Contractor who only had a decent artifact.

Even with the Rank-B Devil Contractor increasing the power of his attack, Zero's sword artifact could not be broken by him.

"This can't be!"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor once again could not believe his eyes.

He had used every ounce of strength he had and was unable to even push Zero back from his initial position. Zero was like a mountain that refused to be moved.

For him, who always thought of Devil Contractors as the superior species, it was a huge blow.

Before becoming a Devil Contractor, he was also a normal human. His potential as a human was limited, and the highest he could achieve in his lifetime was only Rank-E.

However, after submitting to the Devils, it was as if his potential was unlocked. He was able to swiftly increase his strength and had even managed to become Rank-B which only elites and talented humans can become.

The once strong human that he thought was invincible died in his hands more times than he could count. He had surpassed all those people he once idolized.

Due to that, he thinks that Devil Contractors are better than humans. As a human, he was weak but as a Devil Contractor, he had become very strong. This is why he thinks that Devil Contractor is better than humans.

Therefore, he is unable to come to terms with the fact that the humanity that he abandoned and looked down upon had a person who could easily suppress him despite being Rank-C -. This was more depressing than losing to the Professor who was ranked higher than him.

"DIE!"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor shouted angrily.

The Rank-B devil contractor lifted the spear again and prepared to strike Zero. With anger burning his eyes, he had again struck Zero.

-CLANK!

Another strike was blocked.

CLANK!

Another one!

CLANK!

…

Every one of his strikes was met with Zero's defense. The Rank-B devil Contractor got angrier with each strike but his strikes were easily blocked each time. Although he tried, his strength was less than Zero.

The other Devil Contractors who had Zero surrounded could only watch from afar. As the clash of power and mana auras rages, the others cannot even consider approaching the fight. The force generated by Zero and the Rank-B Devil Contractor clash was sending everything flying away from them.

The Devil Contractors who are watching this unfold would have been thrown off if they were not of a high rank.

The Devil Contractors watching from afar as well as the Rank-B devil Contractor knew that this was going nowhere and that he was not able to win against Zero. After all, despite attacking so much, Zero had yet to be hit even once.

-CLANK! -CLANK!

He tried a couple of times more but Zero stood there like how he was initially which meant that his attack did not affect Zero.

Instead of affecting Zero, it was he who was getting tired of lifting his spear which is significantly larger than normal. In hope of defeating Zero quickly, he has neglected his stamina which was draining quickly because of the heavy weapon.

His moment became sluggish compared to when he came, plus he was not in a great condition even when he came. He had just fought with the Rank-B + Professors of Ace Academy and had already spent much of his stamina and mana.

It was foolish of him to come here and challenge Zero who had chosen to ignore him. Now, he began to think of a way to get away from there.

[ "Dual Art: Glacier Shadow Slash" ]

This did not escape the eyes of Zero who had been training with Rank-B from NightShade Guild. He could already estimate the power of Rank-B and knew that the Devil Contractor in front of him was running out of power.

Taking the opportunity when the Rank-B Devil Contractor slowed down, Zero launched his own attack.

The Devil Contractor immediately retracted the spear to its original size and used the spear as well as his mana barrier to block the incoming attack.

-SWISH! -SWUSH! -BOOM!

"A-AH!"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor had managed to block most of Zero's attack but some of the slashes had managed to hit his body. While it was only a minor cut, it was painful nonetheless.

Zero was not done yet. He would not miss the opportunity of Devil Contractor being delayed by his attack. After using Glacier Shadow Slash, he immediately changed his target to all the other Devil Contractors.

It was best to reduce the enemies when the opportunity arose. Or else you would not know when they would take an opportunity to attack you when you least expect it.

[ "Dark Icy Surface" ]

Zero didn't hold back even when dealing with those Rank-Cs Devil Contractors. He immediately used the Dark Icy Surface to instantly trap every one of them including the Rank-B Devil Contractor into the Dark Ice.

The color of the Dark Ice changed from Dark transparent to Dark red. The Dark Ice does not only trap enemies inside it, but it also has thorns stabbing inside.

The Rank-C Devil Contractors died inside the Dark Ice while the Rank-B Devil Contractor barely survived. In front of Zeros' ruthless attacks, Rank-Cs could not do anything.

The Rank-B Devil Contractor used every ounce of mana he could release and broke free from the Dark Ice.

"Hah…hah…"

The Rank-B Devil Contractor panted heavily.

At that moment, he was feeling dread at the prospect of dying. His previous all-mighty expression had turned into that of a person desperately looking for a way to survive.

Though Zero had no intention of letting him go. Zero prepared himself to once again strike at the Rank-B Devil Contractor.

-WHOOSH!

However, suddenly a portal opened in between the area of Zero and the Rank-B Devil Contractor. Zero stopped in his tracks and became alert.

From the aura that was coming from the portal, Zero knew that the Devil coming out of the portal would be of very high rank. If it was at the rank of the Devil that Professor Mia was fighting then he would have no chance. However, if it was below that then he might have a shot.

Instead of running, Zero waited there because the Devil might have come to support the Devil fighting Professor Mia. If the Devil who was appearing from the portal was stronger than Professor Theo then he had to help them or else Professor Mia might face some problem.

"This seems to be the right place!"