The Damned Demon

Lawrence, who had been scanning the surroundings, suddenly turned to him, his voice calm but firm, "I detected three signatures a few hundred meters from here. They\'re not moving, which means they\'re probably incapacitated. I\'ll go retrieve them with my guards." He glanced over at Amelia and Jim, "I request you two to stay here and guard the asset. It wouldn\'t be good for all of us to split up entirely."

Amelia nodded, offering a reassuring smile to Remy, who sat inside the truck, his expression tense, "You got it. I\'ll stay inside with Remy." She hoped her calm demeanor would ease his nerves, but she felt a growing unease herself.

Jim stepped forward and nodded, "I\'ll stand guard out here, just in case."

Lawrence acknowledged them with a curt nod, then gestured to his team to follow him. As they moved away, Jim called out to Lenny with a note of caution in his voice, "Commander, be careful."

Lenny scoffed, briefly turning his head back towards Jim, "Careful? She\'s barely breathing. She might as well be dead, pfft."

Amelia watched them leave, her eyes briefly flickering with concern. She hated Rebecca for many reasons, but at this moment, she couldn\'t help but feel a pang of worry for her. Rebecca was, after all, an important tool in Asher\'s plans. Even if she won\'t really die, it would be a costly price to pay to lose her human avatar, which she carelessly used.

"Is something wrong?" Remy asked, his voice breaking through her thoughts. He had noticed the fleeting tension in her expression.

Amelia quickly composed herself, chuckling softly, "No, nothing. I was just wondering if Hellbringer would show up, considering his cult is here."

The mention of Hellbringer caused a flicker of anxiety to pass over Remy\'s face, "If he shows up... is it possible to defend against him? I heard that once he attacks, he leaves no survivors."

Amelia sighed, though her tone was reassuring, "We\'ve got two peak S Rankers and me, a peak A Ranker. I think we\'ll be fine. Hellbringer is still just a low-level Soul Devourer. Don\'t worry."

Jim overheard their conversation and subtly nodded to himself with a satisfied smirk, though a hint of worry was still lingering in his eyes.

Before Remy could respond, Jim\'s voice cut through the moment, sharp and alert, "Someone\'s coming from the other side."

Amelia and Remy immediately turned their attention to the approaching figure. A hooded man, clad in black, was walking toward them from the direction where Rebecca lay. The air around him seemed to hum with a strange energy.

Amelia\'s frown deepened, and she shot a glance at Remy, "Stay here. I\'ll check it out." Remy nodded anxiously as Amelia stepped outside, moving to stand beside Jim, both of them watching the hooded figure with wary eyes.

Meanwhile, Lenny had already stopped in his tracks, about a hundred feet away from where Rebecca was lying on the ground. He scowled, his sharp eyes locking onto the hooded figure who had just reached Rebecca\'s side. Without hesitation, he pointed his sabre toward him. "Stop right there, you little rat."

The hooded figure halted, standing perfectly still near Rebecca. Lenny\'s scowl deepened, "Now, get on your knees and show your face," he barked, his tone filled with venom.

The hooded figure complied, slowly lowering himself to his knees, but he kept his face hidden beneath the dark hood.

Lenny\'s patience quickly wore thin. His grip on his sabre tightened. "Are you deaf? I ordered you to show your ugly face. Don\'t test me." His voice was filled with growing frustration.

But the hooded figure remained silent, unmoving. Lenny\'s annoyance boiled over, and he grunted in irritation, "Fuck this. You\'re going down anyway," he snarled, raising his sabre high. The blade glowed with a radiant brown light, crackling with energy as he swung it down in the air.

The earth beneath Lenny surged forward, a wave of destruction rippling toward the hooded figure with terrifying speed. It tore through the ground, leaving a deep, jagged line in its wake as it hurtled toward him.

But just before the wave of earth could make contact, the hooded figure vanished. In the blink of an eye, the figure was gone, as if he had been swallowed by the shadows.

Lenny\'s eyes widened in shock, his sabre still raised mid-swing. "What the—!" But before he could finish his thought, a surge of suffocating darkness loomed behind him, making the hairs on his neck stand on end. His instincts screamed, but it was too late.

"Look out!" Jim shouted, his voice filled with urgency.

Lenny spun around just in time to see a hooded figure materialize from the shadows. His throat was immediately caught in a vice grip, the hooded figure\'s hand clamping around his neck with terrifying strength.

"You have no idea how long I\'ve been waiting for this moment to fuck you up," the hooded figure growled, his voice low and venomous, cutting through Lenny like ice. A strange, primal fear gripped Lenny\'s chest, and for the first time in a long time, he felt genuinely rattled. Who was this bastard, and why was he feeling so terrified by his voice and words?

Jim and Amelia wasted no time, pointing their weapons at the hooded figure, both of them tensing as Jim called out, "Back away, Hellbringer! We know it\'s you. You don\'t have the numbers or the strength to stand against us here."

Jim\'s voice was steady, but there was a layer of caution. He didn\'t want to start a fight unless absolutely necessary—especially not when they still had the upper hand.

Remy\'s eyes widened with terror as he realized who stood before them. Hellbringer... His heart pounded in his chest, every instinct telling him to fear. Despite Amelia\'s previous reassurances, the mere presence of the demon king made him feel it was futile, his mind swimming with dread.

However, he was determined not to succumb to this fear and prepared himself to at least go down like a Hunter should, even if the worst happens.

"Hellbringer…" Lenny grumbled, forcing a cocky grin onto his face, trying to mask the flicker of fear he had felt. He let out a mocking chuckle. "You must be the dumbest demon king to ever exist, delivering yourself straight to us!"

His eyes gleamed with malice as he suddenly plunged his sabre forward, driving the radiant brown blade right through Hellbringer\'s chest. Lenny\'s grin widened, expecting Hellbringer to falter, to scream in pain.

But nothing happened.

Jim furrowed his brows, watching Hellbringer\'s eerie stillness, his lack of reaction. Something felt off—too off.

Lenny\'s confident grin faltered when he realized the blade had done nothing. Hellbringer didn\'t flinch, didn\'t even let his breath tremble. The demon king simply stared at him with cold, hollow eyes. Before Lenny could even comprehend it, he heard a low, unsettling hiss—like burning flesh, followed by a sizzle of vapors rising from Hellbringer\'s figure.

"It\'s time you got burned by my flames of damnation," Hellbringer said, his voice a deep, mocking growl.

*BOOOM!*

Suddenly, Hellbringer\'s entire body ignited in a burst of dark green flames, consuming him in a blaze that sent shockwaves of power rippling through the air. The explosion of light and heat expanded outwards, engulfing everything in its path.

"NO!" Amelia shouted, trying to raise a shield, but the dark explosion was too quick. The green flames swallowed her, Jim, and Lenny in one blinding instant, the ground shaking beneath the force of the blast.

Inside the truck, Remy\'s heart nearly stopped. He instinctively raised a Willforce barrier around himself as the explosion shook the earth, sending tremors through the forest and causing the truck to shudder violently.

But fortunately, the explosion didn\'t come anywhere close to the truck.

However, the lingering shockwaves slammed against his barrier, throwing him backward inside the vehicle. He hit the back of the truck hard, but his barrier had shielded him from serious harm.

Panting and wide-eyed, Remy scrambled to his feet, peering out of the truck, "Oh no..." he whispered, dread creeping into his voice. His hands shook as he stared at the devastation outside. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

The eerie dark green light had faded, but smoke and ash still hung in the air like a suffocating veil. Amelia... Professor Jim... He feared the worst.

But as the dust began to clear, his breath hitched in his throat. Amelia and his professor were still alive.

Amelia was kneeling on the ground, slightly battered but breathing while his professor was still on his feet.

Their armor was singed, their faces etched with pain, but they had somehow managed to survive the onslaught. Amelia looked exhausted, her hands trembling as she quickly forced herself to stand, while Jim appeared better off.

Remy was glad to see that his professor must have had the time to raise a defensive barrier to protect himself. But why didn\'t he extend that barrier to Amelia? As a peak S Ranker, he could have easily lessened the impact on her.

But what drew Remy\'s eyes—and froze his blood—was the sight of Lenny.

The Supreme Commander was bloodied and battered, still hanging limply under Hellbringer\'s tight grip. Hellbringer\'s figure had fully transformed into a blazing skeletal form, his bones wreathed in dark green flames, and his cloak trailing like smoke. In his other hand, a glowing, spinning ring blade was embedded deep into Lenny\'s stomach, its fiery edges sizzling against the flesh.

Jim blinked his eyes, trying to stabilize his mana after feeling as if a part of his strength had drained. He wanted to take a moment to regain his lost strength while Hellbringer was still distracted with Lenny.

"Do you think this is painful?" Hellbringer\'s hollow voice echoed, chilling and emotionless. He slowly pushed the blade deeper into Lenny\'s abdomen, twisting it ever so slightly, "This is nothing compared to what you\'ve done—the lives you\'ve taken. Now, I\'ll show you pain you\'ll never forget. Look into my eyes and see the hell that awaits you."

Lenny\'s entire body trembled violently as he coughed up blood, his wide eyes locked with Hellbringer\'s. The dark green glow of Hellbringer\'s hollow sockets bored into him, and for a moment, Lenny saw it—a hellish void, flames licking at his very soul, a darkness so deep and consuming that he felt his spirit being torn apart.

"NOOOOO!!!" Lenny screamed, his voice filled with raw terror, as his consciousness got swept into a realm of hell he never expected to get pulled into.