Don’t blame Little Ghost Scythe for not dealing high damage—after all, this Demon didn’t use its full strength when attacking her.
Otherwise, Little Ghost Scythe’s counterattack would have shown this Demon just how painful a full-powered strike really is.
But even this stagger was enough for Luo Shuangyue to seize back the initiative on the battlefield.
Realizing that this Demon was far tougher than she initially thought, Luo Shuangyue put aside her slight underestimation and fully unleashed all her power.
The massive scythe blade she wielded cut through the air relentlessly, while a pair of dark purple butterfly wings unfurled behind her, boosting her speed to a level not much slower than the Demon’s.
Though she still couldn’t surpass this strange Demon’s pace, she no longer had to stand still like a sitting duck taking hits.
The clang of metal on metal echoed endlessly throughout the Void Domain, turning the entire sky into their battlefield.
Their movements had become so fast they were nearly instantaneous; one moment they were exchanging blows hundreds of meters apart, the next they could be battling somewhere else entirely.
As the relentless fight continued, the red health bar above the Demon steadily decreased at a consistent rate, while the blue bar hovering above Luo Shuangyue descended much more slowly.
The Demon’s bulky body made it impossible to flawlessly dodge Luo Shuangyue’s attacks, but its own strikes rarely connected with her.
Even when they did land, without speed enhancements, its attacks weren’t powerful enough to pose a serious threat to Luo Shuangyue.
At this rate, Luo Shuangyue’s victory was entirely predictable.
“This Demon Lord’s stats are far stronger than any Demon Lords we’ve encountered before… It even surpasses those powerful Demon Lords we kept detailed records of,” Monice said uneasily, despite the favorable situation on Luo Shuangyue’s side.
Yes, this Demon was being suppressed by Lord Dark Moth, but Dark Moth’s combat strength was not that of an ordinary Initial Bloom-class Magical Girl.
If even Dark Moth needed to expend such time and effort to defeat this Demon, then a normal Initial Bloom-class Magical Girl would be completely outmatched.
What’s most troubling was that this Demon Lord had appeared out of nowhere—there had been no prior observation or reports of such a Demon Lord.
Surely it didn’t just suddenly show up during the Magic Department’s cleanup of the wilderness Demons?
“Rosemary, if it were you facing this Demon, what are your odds of winning?”
“Maybe… less than ten percent,” Xia Mo bit her lip, refusing to sugarcoat the truth.
She knew this Demon’s power well. Its terrifying speed was a nightmare for her, and her Magic Artillery’s strength could not match Luo Shuangyue’s scythe strikes.
If Luo Shuangyue was struggling so much, Xia Mo’s situation would be even worse.
That ten percent chance was only if her ultimate Magic Artillery could break through the Demon’s defense, and the Demon recklessly charged into the full blast of her ultimate Magic Artillery, absorbing all the damage before dying.
While Monice and Xia Mo were exchanging words, Luo Shuangyue’s battle had already become crystal clear.
After enduring countless attacks, the Demon’s metallic shell finally lost its defensive effectiveness.
Luo Shuangyue’s scythe sliced into its body.
The Nether Force-infused Magic Power surged along the blade and manifested inside the Demon as twisted thorns that spread through its flesh, draining its Magic Power and destroying its body structure.
The Demon emitted a piercing shriek as a powerful Magic Power backlash erupted within, sending Luo Shuangyue flying backward.
After momentarily forcing her formidable enemy to retreat, the Nightmare seemed to realize continuing the fight would mean its death.
A flicker of hesitation appeared in its eyes.
Before it could decide, tendrils of black energy converged on its back.
Little Ghost Scythe, holding her small scythe, leapt out and struck the wound Luo Shuangyue had made on the Demon’s back.
“Wa—” Luo Shuangyue gasped, “Little ancestor, not now!”
It wasn’t that she worried about Little Ghost Scythe’s safety.
Though this little creature appeared human, she was actually a concentration of demonic energy.
Even if shattered, Luo Shuangyue could regenerate her with a bit of Magic Power.
In simple terms, the Little Ghost Scythe we see now was like a robot controlled by the real Little Ghost Scythe hiding within Luo Shuangyue’s consciousness.
So even if the external Little Ghost Scythe were destroyed, it wouldn’t affect the one inside Luo Shuangyue.
What Luo Shuangyue really worried about?
Herself.
She had exchanged countless blows with this Demon Lord, and the strike she just delivered injected a large amount of her Magic Power into the Demon.
If Little Ghost Scythe’s strike landed now… well, that would be a spectacular sight.
Her blue bar would plummet dramatically—and that would be even more beautiful.
Crack!
Clearly, Luo Shuangyue’s warning came too late.
At the moment she cried out, Little Ghost Scythe’s little scythe already struck the Demon.
The once lively battlefield instantly froze.
Luo Shuangyue’s face drained of color as she fell from the sky like a wounded bird.
And the Nightmare King…
It didn’t leave quietly.
Dark purple light burst forth from every wound on its body.
The instant Little Ghost Scythe’s strike landed, the tremendous force erupting from within tore the Demon apart.
Its health bar, which had been half full moments ago, immediately dropped to zero.
In midair, the Demon exploded into a beautiful purple firework.
Xia Mo had no time to be shocked by Little Ghost Scythe’s power and hurriedly flew up to catch Luo Shuangyue in her arms.
“Th-thank you. If you hadn’t caught me, I probably would have fallen to my death.”
Luo Shuangyue’s face was pale, and her blue bar was nearly empty.
Little Ghost Scythe’s strike had not only depleted the Demon’s health bar but also drained Luo Shuangyue’s blue bar.
But the little creature seemed completely unaware that she almost took her owner down with her.
She looked up at the purple fireworks in the sky, her eyes shining with curiosity.
“Can these things… be eaten?”
She reached out and caught a wisp of flame.
The dark purple fire effortlessly merged into her body.
“It really can be eaten!” Little Ghost Scythe’s eyes lit up.
This Magic Power perfectly matched her, absorbing without any energy expenditure at all.
She immediately reverted to her black mist form and split into several parts, beginning to devour the Magic Power exploded from the Demon.
This Nightmare Power was not monopolized by Little Ghost Scythe.
A large portion transferred to Luo Shuangyue’s body, causing her previously depleted blue bar to rise rapidly as Little Ghost Scythe absorbed the power.
Luo Shuangyue was dumbfounded.
So you could do this?
After killing a Demon, you could replenish your blue bar by eating its remains?
Little Ghost Scythe gathered Magic Power swiftly.
In no time, she had devoured all the purple Magic Power in the sky, and Luo Shuangyue’s Magic Power had recovered to about 60%.
This meant that Little Ghost Scythe’s strike consumed only about a tenth of Luo Shuangyue’s total Magic Power.
That kind of expenditure was completely acceptable.
A move with such destructive power costing only a tenth of her Magic Power was unimaginable to others.
After finishing her feast, Little Ghost Scythe returned to humanoid form and noticed a black crystal floating amidst the Magic Power.
Curious, she hugged the crystal and tapped on its pitch-black surface.
Hard?
Thinking this, Little Ghost Scythe opened her tiny mouth and bit down on the black crystal.
Crunch.
“Wait!” Luo Shuangyue panicked and hurried over to snatch the Demon’s Royal-class Monster’s Core from Little Ghost Scythe’s hands.
This thing couldn’t be eaten recklessly.
Little Ghost Scythe chewed twice and revealed a pitiful yet innocent expression.
“I’m hungry!” she said, clearly enjoying the taste of the black crystal, which made a pleasant cracking sound as she bit it.
So she was a little unhappy when Luo Shuangyue snatched the Royal-class Monster’s Core away.
Luo Shuangyue glanced at the Core, now missing a corner, and gave Monice a complicated look.
“Are you sure nothing bad will happen if she eats this?”
Monice folded her domain after the Demon was destroyed and Luo Shuangyue had secured the Royal-class Monster’s Core.
“Don’t forget what she was before,” Monice said, meaningfully.
As for Luo Shuangyue’s question, Monice seemed to think Luo Shuangyue was seriously underestimating her little pet.
This was the actual incarnation of the Demon Emperor—one of the most gluttonous among them.
You really think she’d get sick from snacking on a Demon Lord’s core?
As for the Demon Lord’s consciousness… did Luo Shuangyue believe one Demon Lord’s will could overcome a Demon Emperor?
This remark jolted Luo Shuangyue.
Right, despite Little Ghost Scythe’s small and cute appearance, before becoming humanized, she was a Demon Emperor capable of destroying an entire city alone.
Compared to such a powerhouse, this little Demon Lord was nothing but a mere snack.
“So, we’re just going to let her eat it?”
“Let’s take it back for now.
The Magic Department is currently collecting these things.
If we hog a piece of Royal-class Monster’s Core, they’ll have quite a few complaints,” Monice said after a moment’s thought.
Though the Core had been nibbled on a bit, it was mostly intact.
There was little the Magic Department could say after it was handed over.
The most important thing now was to quickly process the battle data from this fight, to see Luo Shuangyue’s true combat strength with Little Ghost Scythe and just how powerful this Demon Lord really was.
An hour later, Luo Shuangyue sat expressionless in a room resembling a classroom, watching Monice and the Director engage in a heated discussion over the recently collected data.
“I believe you when you say Lord Dark Moth is currently the strongest Initial Bloom-class Magical Girl, but what’s going on with this data?
Are you serious about this Demon Lord’s stats?” the Director asked Monice loudly, pointing at the data displayed on the large screen.
“You’re telling me this Royal-class Monster’s shell can withstand attacks from Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls, and Initial Bloom-Class Magical Girls can’t even scratch it?
It has speed beyond Initial Bloom-Class Magical Girls, and even decent long-range attacks?
You call this a Royal-class Monster? This Royal-class Monster can take on three of the strongest Royal-class Monsters previously recorded!”
The Director wasn’t doubting Monice but was utterly baffled by the numbers she’d calculated.
The Royal-class Monster Luo Shuangyue had just defeated was in a completely different league from all others.
It was covered in a hard shell, highly mobile, and had versatile attack methods—nothing like the Royal-class Monsters the Magic Department had encountered before.
“If this data is accurate, I have to suspect this thing is an alien Demon that fell from the sky.”
“Actually, that’s not impossible.
This Demon might really have fallen from the sky,” Monice cleared her throat.
Demons in space?
This question had puzzled many for a long time.
Eventually, a brave Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl ventured into space physically and discovered that some Demons did exist there.
Though they were few in number and structurally very different from land Demons, their strength ranged from Soldier-level to General-level.
With their scarcity and limited power, they posed no threat to those on land.
So people gradually stopped paying attention to Demons in space—after all, anything falling from the sky could be dealt with by a single blast.
There were enough problems on the ground to deal with without looking up.
But this new Demon completely shattered those assumptions.
It seemed the Demons from the sky were far stronger than those on the ground.
“Fine, I’ll send this data up the chain.
Whether the higher-ups believe it or not isn’t my problem.
You can explain it to them yourself,” the Director said.
“That depends on whether they dare to question me,” Monice snorted.
She wasn’t afraid of those so-called ‘higher-ups.’
To be precise, a few of them actually bore grudges against her.
In a high-tech office, a blonde girl in a black dress with a monocle sipped her steaming red tea while opening a red email recently delivered to her inbox.
“Ah, a newly discovered Royal-class Monster from Xinghai City?”
“Oh, and that Lord Dark Moth’s battle data.
Wow, these stats are impressive—stronger than the carefully trained Initial Bloom-Class Girls on our side.”
A few days ago, this place had been in uproar over Lord Dark Moth’s existence.
Now, after seeing the battle data, the blonde girl thought Dark Moth’s new path seemed quite promising.
She scrolled down further, and the Demon’s data appeared on her screen.
“Hm?”
Her tea paused mid-sip as countless numbers flashed through her mind.
She quickly reached a conclusion—the stats of this Royal-class Monster far exceeded even the strongest Royal-class Monster recorded in the Magic Department’s database.
That strongest Royal-class Monster had spent untold years consuming Demons before ascending to the peak of its class, in an era before Magical Girls appeared.
But this new Demon was stronger by a large margin.
“Miscalculation?” she wondered, scrolling to the bottom to check the data recorder’s name.
The name made her expression complex.
If it was this person, then the data was unlikely to be wrong.
“This has to be reported to the others.
Such an abnormal Demon appearing is definitely a bad omen!”