The party proceeded with weapons drawn and at the ready . Chilly autumn air caressed them . Clyde couldn't help but notice that none of Hade's demons sp.a.w.ned or patrolled . He asked Alice about it .

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"Father either has them at a meeting or actually gave them a night off," she said . "That or something ridiculous is happening that we cannot understand . "

"We really need to have a conversation with your father," Chika said . "And I don't mean the talking kind . "

Alice shrugged .

"Don't look at me to stop you . Just know that he's way stronger than me . "

That silenced the group . Could they actually defeat a freaking demon lord? Clyde wasn't about giving up—this city could use some night life . Also, the people disappearances needed to stop .

Abruptly, Alice halted, raising a hand .

"I sense Deathbladers," Alice said .

"Death what?" Yusuke said .

"It's the name of Nezerath's elites," Alice replied .

"Sounds like a name the edge lord would choose," Clyde said .

"Not just him," Kitome said . "All men choose stupid names . "

Suddenly, a voice barked from the dark .

"I'll make sure to have you bent over nicely, taking the plowing as I mess you up, magical girl . No one will insult us and live . "

Five demons dressed in bloodred ninja garb approached them . Each of them wore capes of a different color, curved swords in hand . They were well-muscled and with skin tones ranging from blue, green, red, and purple . One of them had an alligator-like tail . Others had devil tails . Clyde a.n.a.lyzed one .

House Ashfall Elite Guard

Level: 39

Type: Monster

Work under: Ashfall family

Special: Breath Blade . [Does demon damage . Does severe damage . ]

Weakness: Metal . Fire .

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Resistances: Your hostile detection isn't high enough .

Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn't high enough for this .

Clyde a.s.sumed Yuki's absence meant that she led another group . By the intense look on everyone's faces, they too knew the fights were going to be difficult .

[Your party has entered combat]

"Battle formation five," Clyde ordered . "Keep up with your partner . "

The group fanned out and began the attack . His partner, Alice ran aside him as they engaged the first elite . Formation five was perhaps the best one for a situation like this where the enemies were stronger . Duo attacks were more likely to trigger, delivering ma.s.s amounts of damage . Before they set off, Clyde drilled the formations to Yusuke . They also arranged the partners . This was a frenzy at first, Chika and Harumi arguing to be his partner . Even Kitome tried to his surprise, blus.h.i.+ng when Seth called her out for it . Toru came in with the a.s.sist, stating that the strongest member needs to be by the leader just in case something happened . Alice looked as if she knew she'd win . The arrangement was sorted to Clyde and Alice, Seth and Kitome, Chika and Toru, and Yusuke and Harumi . Yusuke's job was to protect Harumi of course .

Alice made the first move, demon sword in hand . The elite guard parried the strike and Clyde's sword . Clyde too used a demon blade, given to him by Alice .

[The elite guard used Breath Blade]

Mist and lightning oozed from his sword as he moved incredibly fast . Clyde dodged, relying on the airflow, and then countered with a Spirit slash . The elite guard roared .

[The elite guard's HP has dropped to 175%]

"Two hundred percent," Clyde said . "f.u.c.k, they're all mini-bosses . "

[Alice activated Targeted Raid Ender . ]

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The elite guard laughed then dodged the powerful blast of magic .

"Princess Alice, we wouldn't be the elite guard if we didn't know how to capture you . You may be more powerful, but—"

Clyde pulled his sword out of the guard's throat, admiring the Deep slash . Well, he risked the MP via flash step, but it was better than listening to the f.u.c.ker blab .

[Your MP has dropped to 70%]

[Elite guard's HP has dropped to 90%]

The elite guard hopped backward, allowing another one to join in . While everyone else fought just one, Clyde knew with Alice on his team, they'd end up with the extra .

[Elite guard 2 activated Breath Blade . ]

Clyde dodged but was still grazed . And it did a lot of damage . He was sure its higher level factored into that .

[Your HP has dropped to 82%]

A graze did this much damage? Oh…severe damage . Clyde gulped, focusing on the moods, the breathing, the steps it took, and the air disturbed .

[Alice used tier 2 spell: mocker's wind . ]

A blast of wind with literal laughing smashed the guards to the ground . Clyde wasted no time, leaping for the one he previously damaged . Alice's attack did some nice damage .

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[Elite guard 1's HP has dropped to 33%]

He made sure to hone in the damage with a Deep slash . The guard surprised him by putting up a barrier, blocking Clyde's sword . A tail wrapped itself around the young man's leg . Then he found himself tossed to the site .

[Your HP has dropped to 77%]

Clyde roared, anger overrunning his thinking .

"Enough! I will not be humiliated by mere guards . "

He leapt to his feet, snarling, eyes s.h.i.+ning brighter than the sun . A vicious white around bubbled around him like lava .

[Warning! Warning! You do not have access to this system! Your body cannot handle this kind of power yet!]

Clyde smirked, outstretched his hands and then unleashed spirit waves, nearly ten times larger than normal . Each guard it hit was instantly obliterated into nothingness . Somehow none of the energy even so much as grazed the young man's party members . Soon, the area was filled with silence . Heavy and anxious silence .

Like the snuff of a candle, the aura vanished along with the lights in the young man's eyes . He collapsed to his knees, breathing hard .

[Your MP has dropped to 25%]

Sweat trickled from his forward . What the h.e.l.l did he just do?

[You've earned the t.i.tle, Reckless Abandonment . ]

[You have attracted the notice of all enemies in the city . There's a consequence for breaking logic and using abilities that your body isn't ready for . As the Stone, you must learn to control your—]

He cut off the prompt . No way in h.e.l.l was he going to let himself be lectured by the kidnapping watchers who put him in this situation . He wasn't an idiot . He knew what he just did was unnatural . That didn't mean he could just do that at will—the anger got the better of him .

[Harumi used Ma.s.s Medium Heal . ]

[All HP Healed . ]

[Battle completed . Victory! Reward: 850,000 EXP and $30,000 . ]

[Congratulations . You've reached levels 33, 34, 35,36, and 37 . ]

[ Congratulations, you've learned a special! An ultimate attack . Tier 1 skill: Omen's Desolation . ]

[All of your sword skills have gained 1 level . ]

[ You have learned the skill, Shatter strike 1 . Does physical and fire damage . Chance to break barriers at 5% . ]

[You've earned the t.i.tle, Man of the Impossible . A level is just a number to you . ]

Clyde stood back up before anyone could reach him . He dusted himself off, putting on a neutral, hopefully, team leader expression .

"It's not over yet," he said, "let's get going . Also, don't expect me to be able to pull that off again, not until I understand it . "

His party nodded, surprisingly accepting his lack of an explanation without so much as a protest . Alice smiled at him like a wife proud of her husband .

Clyde allowed everyone to take a break, hydrate or stretch before proceeding . Alice warned him that Yuki's group was approaching .

Sure enough, ten minutes later, a beautiful maid flanked by four elite guards approached them . The pressure of Yuki's strength struck Clyde for the first time . Purple aura raged around her . She moved with the grace of a dancer .

"Well," Clyde said to his party, his voice light and humorous, "the real fight's here . "

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