The Primal Hunter

Jake was blasted backward as he blocked with a barrier of stable arcane mana. A torrent of flames bellowed out from the Demon Lord, obscuring its form even as it walked forward. As the one closest to the gate, Jake had taken the brunt of it, but he had reacted quickly due to his danger sense, not truly taking any damage.

A wall of roots shot up from the ground just after Jake got shot back, but a blast of deep red flames removed it instantly. Everyone retreated back to Jake as the Demon Lord walked through the burning wall of vines, properly revealing its form for the first time.

As Jake had initially seen, it was about five meters tall and had rock-like outgrowths on its skin; all of them were cracked with red energy pulsing beneath. It carried a large sword that looked like it was made of stone with red glowing veins of lava running through it and otherwise didn’t have any equipment, its bottom side covered with a loin cloth of sorts. The demon’s entire body released a constant stream of heat energy, and its form burned perpetually. If its skin was red due to the fire or it was just its usual skin tone, Jake didn’t know. Its head looked vaguely humanoid with two large curled horns like that of a goat, and it had two burning red eyes that stared down the party in front of it.

There was no doubt about it… this was the strongest foe they had faced in Nevermore so far. That entire difficulty-setting thing allowed them to encounter opponents worth fighting far sooner than expected; this Demon Lord was proof of that.

Jake grinned as the Demon Lord also assessed the five of them. The Demon Lord sneered as it spoke in a deep voice, its words infused with Willpower.

“Kneel.”

That command became the starting shot as their entire party moved in unison. The Demon Lord legitimately seemed taken by surprise at their immediate response, but it still managed to react. A blast of force blasted it in the side, making the demon stumble slightly as it blocked a blow from the Sword Saint, roaring at the water mixed into his attacks.

Jake shot an arrow toward the demon’s ankle to try and limit its movements, but it managed to shift its stance and do an upward slash, sending out a massive wave of fire that sent the Sword Saint retreating. Just as it was about to do a follow-up, a green hawk barreled into it from behind, Sylphie having turned herself into wind earlier to get around the demon.

Sylphie managed to punch a hole in the demon’s backside from the impact but still found herself on the defensive as the wound released a blast of fire, and the blood that dripped down the demon’s body burned like lava.

Dina also finally released a proper attack as a massive spear of wood shot towards the Demon Lord, forcing it to block with the flat side of its large blade. The impact still sent it skirting backward and gave Jake and the King an opportunity to each land a ranged blow in the form of a golden blast of force and an arrow. As the demon stumbled, the Sword Saint got close and cut its leg, aiming to sever the tendons on its ankles. Assuming it had any.

The Demon Lord roared and slammed its sword into the ground with both hands. A massive blast of fire exploded out from its body, forcing them all to disengage. When the Demon Lord’s form was revealed again, it looked calmer. It also seemed to have truly realized it was surrounded by powerful people. It regarded them for a moment before grunting.

“Very well.”

It squeezed the handle of its sword, and the stone-like sword cracked. Stone slowly fell away, revealing a pulsing orange blade of metal that released heat powerful enough to make Jake activate Scales of the Malefic Viper just to be on the safe side. Dina also responded quickly and sent out green waves of energy toward each of them, resulting in a faint glowing green barrier covering their bodies. Jake instantly felt the temperature lower and gave Dina a nod as they prepared to reengage the demon.

The demon swung its empowered blade toward the people in front of it and sent out a crescent wave of flames. A golden magic barrier met the flames, and Jake jumped back as he began charging his Arcane Powershot. The Sword Saint stormed forward after the King dispelled the barrier, and together with Sylphie, the two of them engaged their opponent in a melee. The Fallen King also began charging some magic of his own as Dina retreated back and stood beside Jake as she also began preparing a spell of her own.

Aware of what they were doing, the Demon Lord wanted to stop them, but the Sword Saint wouldn’t allow it. He activated his boosting skill properly for the first time since entering Nevermore, and Sylphie soon followed suit as the Demon Lord got more and more aggressive. They both needed to avoid the sword at all costs, and Jake saw that Dina’s protection spell wouldn’t last much longer against the intense fire energy.

Luckily it didn’t have to.

Jake was ready and sent the mental go-ahead to the Fallen King. The Unique Lifeform reacted instantly as two massive golden chains erupted from his hands and flew straight toward the Demon Lord. The demon tried to avoid them, but just then, thorned roots shot up from the ground and entrapped its feet, allowing the chains to hit.

Less than a quarter of a second later, an arcane explosion was released as an Arcane Powershot shot through the air, releasing a devastating trail of destruction. The Demon Lord roared as it blocked with one of its arms, not able to raise its blade in time.

Despite the power of Jake’s attack, the Demon Lord managed to partly block the hit. Its arm had a huge chunk of flesh blown off, revealing the obsidian-like bone beneath, but the Demon Lord also borrowed the momentum from the impact to retreat. The Sword Saint still managed to give chase, and using his Rainblade, he did an upwards cut aimed straight at where Jake had also just hit. Once more, the Demon Lord was ready to respond, but the Fallen King yanked the golden chains, making the demon fail to dodge and allowing the Sword Saint to land a solid cut. Even then, the arm was not fully severed; the sword stopped by the bone, only cutting halfway through.

Just as Jake feared their attack had failed, a green bullet swept through the hallway. The arm was hit straight on, and in an explosion of fire, blood, and bone, the lower arm of the Demon Lord was severed just below the elbow.

Sylphie materialized not far from Jake, a few of her feathers burned despite her ethereal form when attacking the demon. Jake had already pulled out another arrow and was prepared to continue his attack when the Demon Lord once more erupted in crimson flames. The golden chains of the Fallen King rapidly melted away, and the demon retreated back, but it was once more caught by Dina attempting to immobilize it. The Fallen King also didn’t take its chain being melted lightly as the Unique Lifeform flew forward, his ivory claw now glowing golden.

Jake, the Sword Saint, and Sylphie also gave chase as the Demon King took blow after blow. Its body was honestly ridiculously tough, its metallic bones so durable that causing any proper damage was difficult. Dina had to soon focus solely on protecting them from the extreme heat aura from the Demon Lord.

The demon’s sword was still by far the most dangerous thing. Due to overconfidence in his barrier, the Fallen King had attempted to get close and land a solid blow, believing his defenses would hold up. This was proven not to be the case when the King was slammed in the chest, the barrier breaking, and the Fallen King being sent flying several kilometers down the hallway. The Sword Saint also failed to respond in time at one time when the large Demon Lord used the severed bone on its hand to stab him in the shoulder, leaving a nasty burning wound.

They all felt pressured, but the situation was still under control. Yet the Demon Lord didn’t seem afraid in any way, just annoyed. It fought valiantly, but it was slower than any one of them besides Dina and the Fallen King, so it failed to do a lot of damage that Dina couldn’t quickly handle. The Sword Saint also managed to nullify many of the major fire attacks, though it did look like his own blows utilizing the concept of rain failed to do much. Nevertheless, the wounds accumulated on the Demon Lord, and considering its missing hand, it was only a matter of time.

At least, they thought it was. Sure, they had considered the Demon Lord had some hidden tricks, but what it did next was still surprising.

Swinging the blade widely, a wave of fire was sent out, making Jake and the others momentarily retreat like always. Usually, when this happened, it just gave Jake time to charge up an attack, but this time the Demon Lord changed its behavior entirely.

Rather than keep attacking, it straightened its back and scoffed.

“Pathetic… this body,” the Demon Lord said as it frowned deeply before turning to the five of them. “You are worthy adversaries. We will meet again.”

With its one remaining hand, the Demon Lord stuck the sword into the ground, and a pentagram-shaped magic circle appeared beneath its feet. Jake reacted quickly and fired an arrow, but a red barrier covered the demon, and before anyone else could attack, a red flash of light brought the Demon Lord away.

What the fuck? Jake cursed internally at the fucking thing just running away. He was about to yell at their host when a system message popped up.

Achievement earned: Defeat the Demon Lord during your first encounter. 250 Nevermore Points earned.

Okay, so at least they got a bunch of points for it. Jake still didn’t feel satisfied.

“Should we have gone all-out using boosting skills and everything?” he questioned aloud.

“I… I don’t think that would work. That was a Demon Lord, after all,” Dina said, shaking her head.

The four of them turned to look at Dina, with even Sylphie, who had landed on Jake’s shoulder, tilting her head.

Dina seemed to get what they wanted, as she explained. “That is a Demon Lord, a very particular subspecies of the demon race. Demon Lords are notoriously difficult to kill, and they are even able to resurrect if slain. These are not true resurrections but more like their remnant energy regathers, and an entirely new creature with a new Truesoul is born in its place, though at a slightly lower level in most cases. Due to this, many just seal away Demon Lords instead. In the end, time kills everything that is not a god, no matter how tricky they may be.”

“Oh,” Jake said, wondering why he had never heard about them before while also thinking that sounded kind of similar to some of the fiction he used to read before the system. “Do they also have inherent knowledge like True Royals?”

“A little, but it is very limited, so for one to be able to speak is already proof it has lived for a pretty long time, and even if all Demon Lords are born C-grade at minimum, being halfway to B-grade may mean it has gained those levels itself. Demon Lords are also usually born through large-scale sacrificial rituals, which means they usually have subordinates… this one was alone and weakened after being sealed in for a long time,” Dina shook her head.

“I see,” Jake nodded. Its comment about its body being pathetic was likely genuine. They hadn’t faced the Demon Lord at full power.

“Does that mean that even if we killed this Demon Lord, it would only be temporary? That we would face it again later on?” the Sword Saint asked.

“Well… usually they take at least a decade or so to resurrect, so probably not?” Dina said, a bit unsure.

“Wait, if they can keep resurrecting, doesn’t that mean whenever a Demon Lord is spawned, there will always be one more in the multiverse?” Jake questioned.

“They can still die permanently dependent on the way they are killed, and the amount of times they resurrect is still limited. The problem is that you can’t really know how many resurrections a particular Demon Lord has left, hence why most prefer to seal them,” Dina once more explained.

“Definitely going for the kill next time either way,” Jake said, getting a nod from the Sword Saint and a screech of agreement from Sylphie.

“I believe I can make its death quite a bit more permanent than usual,” the King shared. “As long as you shatter the soul enough, the regathering of energy should at least be slowed down enough for it to take millennia for any new Demon Lord to emerge if what you explained is correct.”

“Aight,” Jake said approvingly. “Now, let’s check what was behind that damn gate.”

During the fight, they had traveled several kilometers down the hallway as more space helped them avoid the large sweeping fire attacks. Now with the Demon Lord gone, they could rush back down the hall and finally see what had been behind the gate requiring four damn keys.

Making it there, they first saw that the portal was gone, and behind it was a relatively small chamber, barely wider than the normal hallway. On the other side of this small chamber was the gateway leading onto the next floor, making Jake and the others feel pretty relieved.

“So, at least this was the right way,” Jake smiled.

“No, it wasn’t,” Minaga chimed in.

“Clearly was. I see the gateway right there,” Jake shrugged.

“I guess it depends on your definition of what the right way is. This was technically one of the ways you could take, but not really the one most are expected to take, so to call it the right way isn’t entirely accurate.”

“This seemed like the most straightforward way, though. Humor me, if you will. What was the other way we could have gone?” Jake asked, partly to have the Unique Lifeform divulge more information about the labyrinth and partly because he was genuinely curious.

“See, if you had done any of the other rooms that you so quickly avoided, you would have known that there was a second way into this room that wasn’t through the gate that would also unleash the Demon Lord. The friendlies in these mystical rooms you so adamantly avoided would have told you that through the efforts of a cult of demon-worshippers, a Demon Lord has been summoned. They would then have led you to a mage who could use the four keys to instead teleport you to that central platform right there.”

A spotlight appeared from nothingness in the middle of the room, highlighting a slightly elevated stone platform with several patterns carved into it.

“I am trying to tell a story here, too, you know? Not the best story, maybe, but I am trying. Granted, I care more about the mechanics of an experience over the background story, but I still put in effort, so you will learn this lore if you want to or not!”

“Fine, fine,” Jake said, not wanting to argue. “But do tell me, since you keep insisting we did it wrong… would the other way have given more Nevermore Points? Would it have been faster?”

“…”

“How do you even make audible silence? That makes no sen-“

“Would you look at that? The entire first layer of the labyrinth is now collapsing after you so haphazardly released the Demon Lord! Hurry into the gateway before it is too late!”

Jake was about to respond to what he thought was an obvious joke as the ceiling began to crack, and in the hallway behind them, the entire thing began to collapse in on itself.

“Fucking hell,” Jake cursed as he and the others charged forward.

“Did you find it necessary to annoy him??” the Sword Saint said as they reached the gateway.

“In my defense, I think he is genuinely enjoying this,” Jake smiled as they entered the gateway and moved onto the first in-between room of Minaga’s Labyrinth.