Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

His body heat rose so much that white mist escaped his lips with each trembling breath. Assailed by the life-draining mist and the sickly rays of the dark sun, a feeling of weakness gripped him by the throat as his limbs stiffened and legs buckled amid the charging skeletons. Yet, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched despite the terrible situation.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Demonic essence roared in his veins as macuahuitls and tepoztopilli whistled in his ears. Moving with beastly grace, his hair danced as he dodged the lethal strikes.

In the same movement, his blade blurred in swift arcs, crunching noises accompanying its trajectory before skulls collided with the ground.

Simultaneously, a dark inferno burst in his palm. Each fiery tongue took the shape of a lifelike Eastern dragon, their heat scorching and freezing the air. Vapor swirled around him as he aimed his palm at the sun hovering above the snorting lich.

WHOOSH

His hand blurred the next second as he hurled the hundreds of dragons.

With a deafening roar, the dragons streaked forward, melting, then freezing the ground and walls in their wake in a paradoxical spectacle.

BOOM

A deafening explosion rocked the air as dust rose and melted in a firework of burning particles. The shockwave threw the skeletons off balance as layers of frost devoured their bones before the heat caused them to crack like glass.

However, his team felt a soothing warmth caress their weakened limbs, as though Adam had controlled his powers to spare them and strike his enemies.

Free from the skeletons' relentless aggression, they coughed and gasped for air. But disturbing cackles forced their gazes to the lich.

"Fool! The fire of Xibalba's eternal radiance will never wane!"

A skeletal smirk split his face as his sun fought back against the dragons. Like the monstrous maw of a black hole, it devoured everything upon contact and blazed with double the ferocity.

"Hahaha! Thank you for increasing its strength, foolish demon. You'll soon visit Xibalba and its cruel lords. They'll dip your soul in dark rivers, give you a body to plague it with the worst diseases and laugh while you try to survive their horrible tests. But don't worry, pitiful creature." Hints of dark pleasure suffused the lich's voice. "I'll call you back to serve me before your mind collapses."

Meanwhile, Adam's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the unforgiving ground. Clutching his chest with a twisted grimace, he gritted his teeth—in vain. His lungs burned, his heart throbbed, and blood poured out with each painful cough.

'That's why I hate undead creatures and their bastard's abilities.'

Two chaotic pools swirled in his eyes as he forced his trembling legs to support his ashen body. He glanced at his weakening friends and reassembling skeletons, his blood boiling and his fists tightening. They could hold on. He trusted them.

'I'll win before they fall!'

With the declaration, dark flames erupted from his hands and waltzed around him. Fire and frost melded into blazing halberds, greatswords, and war hammers. Hints of divine lights suffused their structures and brightened the dark undergrounds as angry gales rose from his flapping wings.

However, the lich's grating cackles reverberated with the noise of his bony staff striking the ground.

"Let me guess? Kill the caster before the spell can drain you?"

The lich shook his finger, his smug tone giving him the irrepressible urge to punch his skull to oblivion.

"I'm eternal! Nothing you can think of will work! Xibalzaktun!"

Adam heard the noise of scraping bones behind him. Yet his instincts didn't warn him of any strike, making him frown and continue his charge. Instead, he saw the skeletons' dark bones whistle past him to gather before the lich.

Like blocks, they slotted themselves with each other to create a towering bone golem. Almost as tall as the jotuns, the purple flames flickering in its eye sockets landed on him as its jaw split open.

ROAR

Gales crashed on him with its roar, slowing his charge as grotesque forearms formed. He shuddered at the sharp bones piercing their frames, making them look like two massive clubs studded with sharp bones.

He stabilised himself against the wind, then swept his hand and stomped forward.

"You think I'll fear your puppet?!" His eyes swirled faster as his energy rumbled into action. "It won't save you!"

His fiery weapons cleaved through the distance in a heartbeat, arcing around the giant to strike the lich directly.

However, his eyes widened the next second, and a muffled curse escaped his lips.

In a show of unnatural swiftness, the golem's armored arms split the wind.

BAM

Dull noises echoed as they intercepted the weapons' trajectory despite their speed. Worse, their heat made the bones sizzle and layers of blue frost spread before it shook them off dismissively.

Heart drumming and more blood trickling from his lips, he lunged at it despite his growing fears.

'Everything will be fine after I behead the lich.'

He channelled his essence to his feet mid-air, flames bursting in a dark jet. Propelled forward, the wind whipped his hair as his blade glinted.

"Your measly strength won't destroy my golem." The lich chuckled. "You're lucky, though. It was at least five times stronger when I was a living archmage. So, by all means, amuse me with your vain attempts."

'I don't care what you were in the past,' Adam smirked as a divine glow engulfed his scarlet blade. 'I don't need to destroy it!'

With a ferocious slash, he collided with the golem's chest. Yet even his blade failed to slice through it. But it didn't matter.

Eyes blazing, he ran on the protruding rib cage, dodging the arms about to crush him. With each step, his blade flashed, leaving insignificant nicks in the bones.

A dozen strikes later, hellfire chains erupted from his blade—just what he had been waiting for. After all, the golem would have hindered him if he targeted its master without countermeasures.

Then, he propelled himself to the stunned lich as they bound the golem's powerful limbs in their infernal glow.

"Not in your dreams! Illusion of Xibalba!"