Hm...? What the...? Where am I?
Ow...sothing’s chafing and digging into my wrists. And my shoulders and arms feel sore, I-...wait, why can’t I move them?
I squinted slightly as I began to open my eyes, a bright blue glow surrounding , and a disconcerting, prickly sensation in the air.
What’s going on?
I feel so woozy-...wait, that’s right!
I was fighting that Archdemon, and then he summoned a ton of Monsters!
It’s all kinda hazy after that, what-...?
"Ah, it seems you’re finally awake, Kaivel Intrix."
Huh?
I turned my gaze forward, in the direction the voice had co from, an unfamiliar figure coming into sight.
My eyes widened as I looked down, a massive, flowing stream of energy below .
Is...is that an exposed Mana Current?
"Who are you?" I uttered as I turned my attention back to the figure...but one look at his Aura gave my answer.
I’ve never seen such a massive, imposing Aura before. It’s so dark and ominous, impossibly intense and vast, it’s practically radiating power.
"I am Vaszel Vos Kealfaos, also known as the Demon Lord and Monster King," He introduced himself with a smile.
"A child?" I blurted out in bewildernt, his right eyebrow twitching with an incredulous look of irritation on his face.
He looked like a prepubescent kid, maybe a twelve or thirteen year old.
The front of his hair was black and spiked up, the rest of it was a dark red, wild and pushed back, going down to the base of his neck.
His eyes were red, with the whites of the eyes black like all Demons, but...he doesn’t have horns, and his skin looks human, with a fair complexion, instead of the usual scaly red skin.
His fangs were white instead of black, though his claws were black. Actually, his entire hands, forearms and elbows were black and scaly, with curved spikes extending out of his elbows.
His tail was narrower and longer than other Demons, his wings more sleek. The top of his ears were narrow and pointy, and he had a third eye on the middle of his forehead.
He wore a coat that had red buttons, with the sleeves ripped off, a black cloak that extended down to his knees, with a jagged red pattern across it.
He had on black trousers and tall black boots that went halfway up his calves, with a streaky red line across the sides.
"I am not a child, I shall give you one warning not to make that mistake again," He remarked icily.
"Yeah, my bad, Vaz-...can I call you Vaz? Sorry about that, you look like a human kid with a high budget cosplay on, so yeah."
"You certainly are bold, provoking in your current predicant. This is a special prison cell...see the crystals lining the walls?
They amplify the waves of Mana that leak from the Mana Current below, creating a dense chamber of Magical energy.
Due to that, it is nearly impossible to control your Magic while in this space. I’m sure, with your strength and power, you would be able to break free of those shackles without much trouble.
But without being able to control your Magic, you would plumt straight into the Mana Current and die," He inford with a smirk.
The shackles around my wrists were attached to chains embedded in the ceiling, and I was dangling over the Mana Current.
The Demon Lord was standing on a platform a few dozen ters ahead, and there’s nothing else to stand on.
But, uh...
It doesn’t feel like I’ll have any real trouble channeling my Mana and using my Magic. Ai?
Great. But I’ll play along...
"Yeah, now that you ntion it, I am having trouble channeling my Mana. Vaz, you bastard," I growled, putting on a frustrated look on my face.
"Do not call -...well, I suppose it does not really matter. Or rather, it will not matter. For you will die soon enough."
Let’s take a look at what the final boss is packing, Appraisal:
Personal Details:
Na: Vaszel Vos Kealfaos
Age: 367
Gender: Male
Height: 5’2"
Weight: 56 KG
Skills:
Appraisal
Item Box
Immortality
Negative Energy Generation
Elental Immunity
Status Effect Immunity
Demonic Arts:
Larceny
Evolution
Intimidation
Disintegration
Petrification
Alchemy
Reflection
Binding Chains
Gravitational Field
Divide
Pause
Rewind
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Stats:
HP: 17,000
MP: 20,000
Strength: 16,000
Agility: 22,500
Vitality: 18,000
Perception: 22,000
Power Level: 19,250,000
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding .
Obviously, I knew he’d be the most powerful being I’ve ever co across, but not by this much. A Power Level of nearly fucking twenty million?!
And that’s a lot of Demonic Arts he’s got. That Immortality Skill must be a step up from Instant Regeneration. I really hope it doesn’t an that he’s completely unkillable.
And that Larceny Skill, I’m guessing it works like Invidia’s Pilfer Skill, but likely permanent. Those Empty Skill Slots, he can probably use Larceny to fill them...ohh, now I get it, that’s why he wanted alive, he wants my Skills.
Yeah, that must be how he got at least so of the rest of his Skills too, he probably started with a few Skills and a bunch of empty slots...huh, that’s giving the impression that he’s got a System.
Uh, Ai, what are the chances that he’ll be able to steal my Skills?
Okay, good.
No, I can’t be sure unless and until he tries it, I can’t completely rule it out yet. It’s certainly concerning, but...
The Demonic Arts that have the most concerned are the ones called Pause and Rewind.
Because those sound like ti-manipulation abilities. Can he really freeze and turn back ti?
No, it can’t be that convenient...otherwise, he could’ve just spamd those abilities and adjusted his moves to ensure his victory ages ago.
Maybe there’s so specific activation conditions, either that or those Skills have limitations.
Sothing like, he can only freeze ti for a short while and turn back ti a short amount.
Or, hopefully, I’m completely wrong, and they have nothing to do with ti manipulation. Like, maybe Pause could be an ability that freezes a person in place instead of freezing ti, like the effect I trigger when I use Command: Don’t Move.
Hm? Wait, I almost overlooked a key detail...
"Now, then-...," He began, as he started to raise his hand towards .
"Hold on a sec...are you from my world?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
He tensed as his eyes widened, his face twisting into an expression of imnse rage.
"H-How...," He uttered seethingly.
Just play it cool...
"While I definitely won’t be able to cast my offensive Skills in this place, a low-cost Skill like Appraisal, I can just about manage. And I can see your age, which is most unusual.
See, for whatever reason, I can never see the ages of Monsters, or any beings from this world, for that matter. But that isn’t the case with you...I think I get it, you’re a human who reincarnated into this world, aren’t you?" I realized, his expression and reaction all but confirming it...
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