The Demon King's First General
Chapter 172: Death And Rebirth

Chapter 172: Death And Rebirth

Celestine looked at the demon a meter away from her; the red dice dangling on his left ear was continuously spinning while glowing with a white radiance.

’That thing, same as before! Maybe that’s the reason why he can move inside my domain,’ she thought.

She wanted to scream due to frustration, but the blade of a scythe aiming at her neck prevented her from doing so.

"You’re contemplating too much," the demon’s voice reverberated in the open air.

It was not that loud, just enough to irritate the enchantress even further. She put her umbrella in front to defend, then she let go of it and controlled its movement through her eyes.

Its thick canopy blocked the scythe’s trajectory, but the demon kept on attacking.

"Though, I’m quite intrigued. What’s the real purpose of this invasion?" Zeno asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

The jet-black scythe vanished from his hand; it was replaced by a pair of daggers, and his speed became much faster. He appeared behind the woman with his right fist being clenched. Afterward, the dagger turned into a gauntlet that covered the entirety of his hand all the way to his arm.

He threw a punch straight at the enchantress’ side, enough to send her flying hundreds of meters away. Her body slammed into a destroyed building, causing it to collapse. She found herself lying on the ground with debris on top of her. The strength of the punch fractured her ribs, and some of its bones punctured her lungs; even her head was bleeding, painting her ash-colored hair red.

Despite having experience with Zeno’s punch from their first battle, she still felt shocked due to how powerful it was.

"You’re asking a question, yet you treat me like this," Celestine uttered as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Then, she closed her eyes, and her body disappeared from the site. The next second, she appeared once again next to the demon without a single scratch on her body.

"That time manipulation is really convenient, isn’t it?" Zeno asked, his expression somewhat teasing.

Celestine kept her silence and just rolled her eyes as a reply. Afterward, she snapped her hand, and the umbrella started spinning, making its already sharp canopy much more dangerous.

It was hurled towards the demon at unimaginable speed, but Zeno just parried it away with ease. Then the flying object circled around him, and it became so much faster, enough to leave several afterimages.

As it reached its maximum speed, it began to attack, its canopy aiming at the black-haired demon’s head; however, its attempt to injure the soul devourer was just a fleeting dream. With the help of Eliana’s Legacy, Zeno could see where the attack would come from, its next pattern, and even its trajectory.

Given this fact, a smile formed on his lips, and then, while evading, he glanced at the enchantress; the black dot under his right eye vanished, and his hair returned to its silver color.

Afterward, black lightning jolted downwards and struck Celestine. The burnt smell of flesh drifted into the air while an ear-piercing scream reverberated as the enchantress felt extreme pain coming from the black spikes with sparks of electricity that impaled her entire body.

"W-What the hell is this?" She stuttered, confused about what happened.

She closed her eyes as she couldn’t bear the suffering any longer.

Then, for the third time around, she appeared unscathed next to the demon. However, this time, there were some slight changes; her body was trembling, and a hint of fear was now present in her eyes.

She could always reverse the time as long as she had enough energy; she was basically immortal. However, the pains she suffered were all real, and having several near-death experiences in the hands of a single individual inflicted distress in her mind.

Then, a piece of memory regarding Him resurfaced in her thoughts.

’Avoid fighting him in the meantime, especially you, Celestine.’

With this realization, she bit her lower lip and summoned back the umbrella.

"For some reason, I don’t like that expression you’re now making," Zeno stated, and then he charged towards the enchantress.

Meanwhile, a strange creature emerged from the umbrella; it had a humanoid form, but its head resembled that of a horse. Its presence was of a demon, yet it smelled like a human.

It intercepted Zeno’s path, but he didn’t pay it any mind. With the jet-black scythe in his hand, he cut it in half and went straight to Celestine.

The enchantress was startled; she understood that the strange monster would not stand a chance against the demon; however, she still hoped that it would give her ample time to escape.

Zeno performed slashes all around Celestine as soon as he came closer, giving her no room to breathe.

’How will I flee in this state?’ The Enchantress of Time thought, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

Then, she felt a burning sensation on her chest and as soon as he lowered down her gaze, she noticed two daggers piercing her from behind.

"I already said you’re contemplating too much," Zeno stated as he moved both of his hands in the opposite direction. The daggers ripped the woman’s body apart.

Blood splattered on the demon’s face, giving him a menacing appearance.

The next second, the dismembered body vanished, and Celestine appeared once more, unscathed.

Zeno lunged at her and struck the dagger on her head. Celestine failed to react; her mind was still occupied by the pain she felt. The moment the dagger pierced her brain, she died once more, and her body disappeared, but it reappeared again at the same location.

Zeno smiled upon seeing this development; as soon as he saw Celestine’s body appearing, he killed her on the spot. He sliced her neck, ripped her chest open, and blew her head away, killing her in every method possible.

"I wonder how many times you will come back to life," Zeno uttered as he cut off her head from her body.

This continued for several minutes; the Enchantress couldn’t react; even lifting a finger was impossible; her umbrella remained on the ground motionless.

Then after Zeno pulled out her heart and destroyed it with his hand, colors returned in the grayscale area and the time began to flow. The silver-haired demon smiled upon seeing this scene.

"Out of energy at last," he uttered while staring at the enchantress’ eyes that gradually lost their radiance.

After a hundred instant deaths and rebirths, Celestine’s body remained suspended in the air, being held by the demon.

. . . . .

"General Arthur!" Blackwell’s yell echoed across the battlefield.

He trembled the moment he understood the scene present before his eyes: the Demon King’s General holding the body of a woman.

"Celestine," Blackwell uttered in disbelief.

He knew that there were gaps in his memory because of the enchantress’ domain. He didn’t have any idea how long the time was frozen, but to subdue Celestine, the woman who always appeared unscathed no matter what happened, was a truly remarkable remark.

The next second, Zeno let go of the woman’s neck, and her body fell onto the ground. Blackwell flapped her wings and rushed towards the enchantress.

Aside from the blood dripping from her lips and the hole on her chest, she had no other wounds.

"S-She’s dead," Blackwell stated while looking at the woman’s lifeless eyes.

Then the silver-haired demon landed next to the black dragon.

"Any lingering feelings?" Zeno asked as he stared at the corpse.

"N-Nothing, General," Blackwell answered.

The next second, Zeno turned around and took several steps forward; he gave a glance at those individuals staring at him—the red dragon flying in the distance, the empire’s prince gritting his teeth, and the Queen of Sirens whose eyes were twinkling in excitement.

"Uoiea, does anyone here know her?" He asked, his voice dull and cold.

"Why are you looking for her?" Kreigster asked; a ball of purple flame sprouted on his hand.

Zeno diverted his gaze on the empire’s prince, then while staring at him, he ordered. "Blackwell, bring that human here."

The black dragon didn’t reply; his body shrunk in size, and dark energy enveloped him. Afterward, a man with black spiky hair stepped out of it. Then, he looked in the direction of Kreigster.

The next second, he vanished from his place and appeared next to thr prince, his hand clenching, forming a fist shrouded with dark energy.

Afterward, he punched him without even a warning; Kreigster failed to react. He felt the insides of his body rumbling; he coughed up blood while holding his stomach. Then, the man grabbed him by the hair and dragged him in front of the silver-haired demon.

He threw him on the ground; Kreigster tried to stand, but something heavy stomped him from behind. Blackwell put his foot on his back, and then a magic circle appeared underneath them. The spell prevented the prince from transforming into fire.

"W-What will you do to me?" Kreigster asked as he looked at the silver-haired demon.

"Where is Uo—" Zeno was about to reply with a question when he felt something amiss.

He turned around; aside from Celestine’s body, he saw no one in there; even Eliana’s Legacy couldn’t detect someone’s presence. He looked at the woman’s corpse and noticed the bluish-white orb still attached to her chest.

Then the ground began to tremble, thunder rolled, and a series of lightnings followed. Afterwards, with Celestine’s body as the center, an explosion occurred, and something erupted, which illuminated the entire ground.

"Is this scene a little bit familiar?" Zeno conveyed as he stared at the giant pillar of blue flames reaching the sky.

"But how?" He added; confusion and curiosity were written on his face.

. . . . .