Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 216 Mission: 07-5 Fire Bird

Like a laser cannon, the lightning pierced through the air and struck the burning bird. However—

It seems to be different from the original goal.

Crimson magma gushed out from behind the flying creature, setting its entire body on fire, and its companions around it also made similar movements. The burning monsters instantly turned into a fiery red cloud and approached this side.

"Hey V, is this not good?"

"……certainly."

He hadn't expected that the mythical Hanba had unknowingly tamed a group of fire bats from the demonic realm—even including the more powerful Hell Bats as his subordinates. This was undoubtedly a further blow to V and Nero, who were determined to defeat it.

Divine beasts were considered the lowest level of combat power, at the five-digit level. Having sealed his bloodline and Yama Blade, Nero was already barely calling himself a five-digit warrior, and faced a real challenge in this battle. Meanwhile, the Hanba had also begun to move. This mythical beast's most distinctive features were surprisingly humanoid arms and legs, its golden-red feathers radiating light and heat. Just getting close to it made Nero's mouth feel even drier.

"But there's nothing we can do. Let's get started."

V opened the poetry collection that he couldn't put down and recited a line from it as if it meant something.

“No bird can soar high on its own wings.”

The giant familiar named Nightmare once again transformed into a meteor and slammed into the swarm of bats. The headless giant swung its thick, tumorous arms, tearing through the swarm of bats like a pitch-black hurricane, its sharp, hooked nails sending up splatters of blood.

"Then let's get started."

Under normal circumstances, Nero might have activated her demonic transformation to continue the poem, but unfortunately, she couldn't. The seal on Sparda's blood had significantly impacted her control over her magic power. The phantom sword she once wielded effortlessly now struggled to concentrate. So even though she had finally transformed into the Arrogant Demon through the power of the magic stone, she seemed only capable of unrefined attacks.

After transforming into a bird-like demon covered in green feathers, Nero flew towards the group of bats. Red and black magic power gathered between her hands and then turned into a thick beam of light that pierced the sky.

This beam of light was aimed directly at Hanba, who was shielded by a swarm of bats. The flaming black bats, suppressed by the power of arrogance, were unable to withstand the blow. Even the spurt of magic energy from the attack was enough to injure and knock them down. However, when facing Hanba, its golden feathers, emitting high temperatures, almost perfectly blocked Nero's attack, and from the outside, it seemed that it had not caused much damage at all.

Was it offset by the divine power of light and heat?

Nero didn't have time to think before she collided head-on with a swarm of bats. The liquid flames of ordinary fire bats couldn't hurt Nero at all, but she also had to guard against the lava-like attacks of those hell bats. Moreover, if she remembered correctly, these hell bats—

At that moment, V on the ground directed the shadows to launch countless spikes from the walls on both sides, instantly impaling the evasive fire bats into skewers. Griffin's lightning swept across, roasting the skewered bats to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Nightmare leaped up again, his body twisting like rubber, passing through the sweeping lightning like a ring of fire, and his massive arms brought down with unparalleled force.

Unfortunately, despite the stunning visuals, Nightmare's slow movements ultimately only managed to knock down the two Hellbats it had initially targeted. The Hellbats, pinned to the floor by its fists, trembled twice before suddenly exploding. The violent explosion enveloped Nightmare. Indeed, these Hellbats, faced with no hope of survival, would self-destruct.

"These guys are just crazy!"

The Hell Bat, initially struck by Griffin's attack, charged directly at the Black Bird, vengefully, causing Griffin to scream. V, leaning against the wall and flipping through his poetry collection, calmly warned, "Next time, remember to break the fire sac on its back. It's what makes it self-destruct."

A good reminder! Nero, who had encountered them in the game, was completely unaware of this setting. Since a precise attack was required, Nero swung her serpent-belly sword, Echidna, through the air. The emerald-green scaled blade, under her control, was like a cunning snake's kiss, tearing through several fire bats before precisely piercing the hellbat's fire sac.

It was also because they looked so eye-catching. Among the pitch-black flame bats, the burning hell bats were as conspicuous as fireflies in the dark night.

After disposing of the nearest Hellbat's self-destruct ability, Nero clenched his left hand, gathering a dark ball of magic within his palm, crushing it and casually flinging it out. The concentrated magic transformed into an irregular, pitch-black barrage that engulfed the area before him, repelling the approaching enemies. Nero then whipped out his sword again, striking down the Hellbat, its flames extinguished, as it retreated.

"A corpse will not avenge the injuries it has received."

V recited another poem to suit the occasion, then flipped the pages of the book, chanting while silently giving orders to his familiar:
"Drive your cart and plowshare over the bones of the dead."

"As you wish, great poet."

At that moment, Griffin sheathed the lightning he had just unleashed, wrapping it around himself and charging towards the now less dense swarm of bats. Nightmare followed closely behind, charging like a bull, clearing a path for V. Protected by these two, V glided forward on the shadows, closing the book with a crisp sound of tearing air, and swiftly passed under the swarm of bats.

Nero quickly grasped V's intention. As the saying goes, "Capture the leader first." Their time was limited, so they shouldn't waste any more time. Gathering her own strength, she, with the help of her fist Gilgamesh, unleashed a red and black shockwave, piercing the swarm of bats before her.

Then he brandished his snake-belly sword, deftly removed the fire sac from the back of the attacking hellbat, and passed through the gap he had torn open.

Then, they came before Hanba.

Light and heat reached their peak at this moment. Facing the enemy's attack, this mindless beast released the power in its body without reservation.

The high temperature quickly deprived V of his physical strength - his current body was even inferior to that of a normal human. Therefore, he immediately ordered Nightmare to launch a final full-strength attack, after which he had to temporarily evacuate.

The black giant reached out to grab the golden bird, and then a pure white beam of magic burst out from its bright single eye.

(End of this chapter)