As Anthony deftly weaved through the throngs of demons, his mind focused intently on his next move.
'OP system, I need my katana'
[Ding]
[Affirmative, Host]
In an instant, the system responded, seamlessly acquiring a new katana for Anthony.
Its sleek blade materializing as if summoned by his very will.
With the katana now in his grasp, Anthony's fighting style shifted seamlessly.
His muscles relaxed ever so slightly, but it did nothing to lessen the potency of his strikes.
His knees bent, and in an instant, he launched himself upwards, propelling toward the ceiling with explosive force.
But the demons were relentless in their pursuit.
A B rank demon leapt in perfect synchrony, its movents a mirror to Anthony's.
Its claws shot forward, aiming for the kill.
Its eyes burned crimson with ferocity, and its horns spiraled from its temples, a grotesque crown of malice.
With a fluid, almost poetic movent, Anthony's katana t the demon's claw head on.
A spark erupted on impact, briefly illuminating the dark expanse of the cavern.
In that fleeting mont, the rest of the demons closed in, their attacks converging.
Anthony's body twisted mid-air, his katana flashing with a deadly precision that left no room for hesitation.
Before the B rank demon could react, its head had already separated from its shoulders, the body following in a seamless fall as gravity took hold.
Anthony's feet lightly touched the ceiling, his gaze focused as he assessed the incoming attacks.
'Although they aren't worth it'
He mused inwardly.
'I might as well use it. It's been too long since I last unleashed my techniques'
His elbow bent with subtle precision, adjusting the balance of his katana.
The wind itself seed to whisper, a hissing prelude to the impending storm.
And then, in a blur of motion, he moved.
[Endless Technique: Katana Series: Continuous Slash]
With a single, fluid motion, his katana shot forward, moving at a speed that blurred the air around it.
The first slash landed.
Then the second.
The third followed, and with each strike, the rhythm quickened.
Tens. Hundreds.
Each demon that dared approach was cleaved in half.
Every attack was countered with lethal precision.
No mana was expended.
No elents were invoked.
Just the pure, unrelenting mastery of swordsmanship.
Sword marks painted the ground and ceiling alike, a hauntingly beautiful testant to destruction, as though a celestial being had left its mark upon every stone present.
The pillars that had once held the ceiling collapsed, and the ceiling itself followed in a catastrophic descent.
Earth rained down from above, burying more demons beneath its weight.
Yet, no light pierced the darkness.
It remained shrouded, even as another ceiling revealed itself, untouched by the devastation above.
Anthony's feet touched the earth with a deft, almost silent grace as he landed.
Then, his restriction bracelet vibrated, signaling a notification.
Beep.
"Ten minutes have passed"
As the bracelet chid, the OP system followed suit.
[Ding]
[The Host has been cursed]
[All physical abilities have been halved]
A sudden, tangible weight descended upon Anthony.
His strength and speed dropped by exactly half, the shift almost imperceptible yet profoundly disabling.
His mind raced, processing the information in an instant.
'The military'
He thought, narrowing his eyes in realization.
The notification from the restriction bracelet had coincided perfectly with the system's alert.
It couldn't have been a re coincidence.
He was certain it wasn't an attack from the demons.
Every demon he had encountered thus far relied solely on raw physical strength or their elental affinities.
None possessed any special abilities, at least none he had yet to face.
'Does this an another curse or restriction awaits once I reach the twenty-minute mark?'
A wry smile tugged at Anthony's lips as the thought crossed his mind.
'Then let show them what I can do, even without my physical prowess. Even the most basic of spells can be just as destructive'
With that thought, mana surged from his core.
Though restricted to a D rank, the mana within Anthony's core was anything but typical.
His lips parted, and his voice rang out with precise intent.
[Fire Magic: Fireball]
At first glance, the spell seed insignificant in such a chaotic environnt.
But with the right control over both elental forces and mana, it beca a force to be reckoned with.
A crimson fireball materialized, burning with an intense, searing heat.
Then, it multiplied, both in number and potency.
The flas seed endless, a mirror to the demons' relentless tide.
Instantly, the temperature in the cavern skyrocketed.
The darkness, once so pervasive, was obliterated beneath the blaze of raw, fiery light.
For the first ti, the relentless tide of demons ca to an abrupt halt.
They felt it.
Horror.
Their insatiable hunger for carnage, their thirst for destruction, seed to vanish in an instant.
Then, the fireball struck, with no discernible target in mind.
A deafening boom reverberated through the cavern, the sound of raw power unleashed.
Painful screeches echoed as the demons were consud by the searing flas.
They had no ti to retreat.
The black blood spilled from their forms, sizzling and burning as it t the inferno.
The very earth beneath them began to lt, and a small stream of lava began to pool, its molten glow reflecting the chaotic destruction.
But Anthony wasn't finished.
[Earth Magic: Earth Spikes]
He invoked yet another basic spell.
No mana zone was required.
Mana surged from his core, and the earth beneath him quivered in response to his command.
With a sudden, violent tremor, earth spikes shot up from the ground, impaling every demon within their reach.
In a desperate bid for survival, the demons scrambled for higher ground, so clinging to the cavern walls, others latching onto the ceiling in a futile attempt to escape.
But it was futile.
Wherever the earth lay, spikes erupted from it.
Flesh was torn apart.
Blood dripped freely from countless wounds.
The sound of demon corpses hitting the ground echoed through the cavern, a grim symphony of destruction.
Without hesitation, Anthony continued to cast basic spells, his control over the elents unfaltering, each spell more devastating than the last.
He wielded fire, earth, and other forces with precision, as the minutes steadily ticked by.
Ten more passed in a relentless cascade of destruction.
The restriction bracelets humd once more, vibrating with another notification.
Beep.
"Twenty minutes have passed"
At the sa mont, the system responded.
[Ding]
[The Host has been cursed]
[Mana core capacity has been halved]
Anthony, however, remained unbothered.
His rampage of spellcasting continued, relentless and unyielding.
Then, without warning, it ca.
An eerie silence descended.
A chilling stillness blanketed the cavern.
No living being stood.
No living being moved.
There was only one left.
Null Anthony.
He had eliminated the seemingly endless wave of demons.
Standing alone amidst the destruction, a faint smile curled on his lips.
'That was fun'
He mused inwardly, his eyes flicking to the tir on his bracelet.
'Eight more minutes remaining'
Anthony thought, then effortlessly levitated into the air, settling into a ditative sitting position.
In just twenty two minutes, he had obliterated the relentless horde.
Now, he simply waited, his mind at ease, as the remaining ti ticked down, knowing he would be teleported automatically once it was over.
________________
In the dimly lit room, an oppressive silence hung in the air, heavy and unyielding.
All eyes remained fixed on Anthony, their gaze with various emotions.
They had watched him from the very beginning, through every mont, until the end.
One word resonated in their minds as they observed him:
'Monster'
He showed no sign of physical exhaustion, no labored breath, no staggered steps.
His face bore no pallor, no trace of mana depletion.
He simply floated, calm and composed, as though he hadn't just achieved the impossible.
To them, it was impossible, utterly incomprehensible.
Colonel Vazeryth's ntal grin finally made its way to his lips.
He had observed Anthony's control with rapt attention, and all that ca to mind was that the young man was flawless in every regard.
Breaking the silence, he spoke with a tone of quiet command.
"Release the ant for him by the twenty-fifth minute"
The room froze at Vazeryth's words.
A heavy stillness descended as every mind present absorbed the weight of his command.
Yet, not a single soul questioned it.
This was the order of a Colonel.
This was the military.
And they understood: every order carried imasurable weight.
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