Death Heir's Devouring System
Chapter 71: Cleanse Me

Chapter 71: Cleanse Me

Just like before, the Duskguard sensed the Death Heir’s approach. It raised its sword to intercept the incoming scythe.

A heartbeat later, it slashed, blade tearing through the air, aiming to sever Azrael’s head.

With a slight smirk, Azrael raised his arm. Truth Devourer met the blade of the abomination head-on. He felt the force of the impact travel through his bones, but the armor held. So did his footing.

Gravebloom blurred through the air, moving towards the legs of the horse. Like a lever, he pulled with all his might, causing the horse to stagger to the side.

The rider was about to act until Seraphina jumped. Her foot hit the knight square in the chest, causing it to let go of its mount and be sent in the far distance.

"Azrael?" Seraphina exhaled, her sword already going for the throat of the horse.

"The one and only," he replied calmly. As her blade pierced the beast’s neck, his scythe sank deep into its abdomen.

Black blood poured from the wounds. A chilling cry escaped the horse’s maw, its form unraveling into the shadows.

Lifting her gaze, Seraphina’s eyes nearly bulged out seeing the armor that Azrael now wore.

"Did you...? What did you do?" The way she barely was able to blurt out the words painted a clear picture of how surprised she was that Azrael had managed to evolve the armor so quickly.

"Nothing much," he said, glancing toward the rising knight. "Just crossed the Golden Lands, entered the Blizzard Region, dueled a Profane Knight, jumped off a cliff, and nearly died. Got rescued by a group of Proven who’ve been here long before us. Then headed for the Blood Lake, met a sleeping Queen, robbed her of her flower, and nearly drowned in her blood. That caused the armor to evolve. That’s pretty much it."

Blinking once. Twice. Thrice. Seraphina sighed and shifted her gaze toward the knight as well.

"After the battle is over, I want you to tell me in detail about the Proven and what their target is."

’No surprise, she is most concerned about the mention of the Proven.’

"No information comes for free. You will have to pay first."

He lunged at the knight, not giving her a chance to reply. Seraphina followed a step behind.

Enraged that its companion had fallen, the knight roared, swinging in a wide arc aiming for Azrael.

He sidestepped calling forth Mother Needle. Using the short blade, he redirected the weight of the strike, simultaneously closing in with his scythe.

Unfortunately, while his defense had improved significantly, his offense hadn’t. The blade carved a shallow cut on the knight’s shoulder, but it wasn’t enough to cause major bleeding.

That would have been a problem, if not for the woman that was by his side.

Going low, she kicked the knight behind the knees, causing it to kneel. At the same time, her sword was already going for its lowered head.

With an inhuman grunt, the Duskguard raised its free hand behind its back, catching the light sword, stopping it from falling on its head temporarily.

"Checkmate."

Azrael, having placed a foot over the Duskguard’s sword, preventing it from being lifted, thrust Mother Needle straight into the helmet of the corrupted monster.

Without hesitation, he twisted it, causing as much harm as he could.

Had this been a human, the fight would be over—sadly, however, it wasn’t. The Duskguard jumped from its kneeling position, headbutting Azrael in the chest.

The inertia was so heavy it made him stagger back.

With wrapped hands around his torso, the Duskguard attempted to lift him up, or at least crush him. But it failed.

Azrael had a large grin on his face. Using [Blood Manipulation], he had willed for the blood that had seeped from his foe’s wounds to go against its movements, hindering it. A feat that had once been impossible, until Truth Devourer’s passive boost made it real.

With a fluid motion, Seraphina’s sword pierced the knight’s back, going over to the other side. A heartbeat later, Azrael moved his body, and a cracking sound echoed across the plain as he snapped its neck. The body of the Duskguard went limp and fell lifelessly to the ground.

’The system didn’t announce the kill, so Seraphina took it after all,’ he noted, throwing a look to her.

Even now, her form was flawless. The golden armor only made her more breathtaking, enough to turn heads of both men and women, if they weren’t in the middle of battle. Aside from her slightly messy hair, she looked completely composed. Even her breathing remained steady.

He, meanwhile, looked like a monstrous being escaped from a nightmare, his form still cloaked in blood from the Blood Lake.

’Wait, did she have it under control?’

The thought vanished as quickly as it came.

"Let’s go for the Nightfletch."

Before she could respond, he lunged at the nearest archer.

The moment Cinder was shot down, Azrael’s worst fears about these creatures were confirmed. He hadn’t bothered to count, but already dozens of Chosen lay out of the fight, fatally wounded by their endless arrows.

Dodging the projectile that had been hurled his way by a hair’s breadth, he neared the first foe and struck. Unlike the Duskguards, the Nightfletch didn’t have such formidable defenses.

Gravebloom severed the left arm of the abomination, causing it to drop its bow.

Leaving no room for a breather, Azrael stabbed with the short sword under the knight’s helmet.

[Corrupt soul has been devoured. The taint in your soul grows darker.]

Azrael found it strange that he felt satisfied the moment the system’s words echoed in his head. Not because he had slain such a powerful monster alone, but because he’d avenged the strike against Cinder.

’When did I start caring about meaningless things like that? Must be because I’m starving.’

Throwing all pointless thoughts aside, he focused on butchering as many monsters as he could.

Thanks to his aid, Seraphina wasn’t tied to keeping one of the Duskguards at bay. That allowed her to roam around the battlefield free.

After dozens of agonizing minutes, the field finally grew still. The fallen knights lay scattered across the Golden Lands, while the Chosen stood victorious above them.

"I am beat," Azrael sighed. He needed a shower and food urgently.

Corruption Progression: [70/100]

His eyes grew colder seeing the number. The dark thoughts about having to kill more monsters to grow stronger returned. If there was one thing he despised, it was not being able to act level-headed, and unless he lowered his Corruption, he wouldn’t be able to.

Of course, he could temporarily counter it by raising his Purity, but to do that he would need to slaughter a lot of Blessed, and the whole camp wasn’t going to be enough.

Left with no other choice, he paced toward the woman who seemed to draw all gazes towards herself.

The Chosen, who had surrounded Seraphina, moved the moment they sensed Azrael. He wasn’t exactly known for his friendliness, and his current appearance and foul mood did nothing to ease the atmosphere.

Slightly surprised that he had approached her so casually in the open, Seraphina raised an eyebrow, sending a glance toward his extended arm.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The payment I want for the information you desire," he spoke calmly.

"Cleanse me."