The Demon King's First General
Chapter 71: I’m Built Different

Chapter 71: I’m Built Different

Revenants were beings born from a soul that still had lingering attachments to the world. The people said that they rose back from the dead to haunt the living, while others concluded that the only reason for them to return was to give themselves justice. Some even thought they were souls that lost their way into the cycle of death and rebirth and ended up possessing another dead body or their very own shell.

However, neither of these reasons was accurate when it came to the exact definition of revenants. After all, not a single soul could stay in the world for so long once they were cast away from their shells. Even necromancers couldn’t defy this logic; they had the ability to control and use dead bodies as their puppets, but one’s identity, personality, and even memories couldn’t be retained.

They would just be an empty shell, incapable of processing thoughts, but revenants were not like them; they were undead with emotions and had the ability to think like a normal being could. Even these creatures’ fighting prowess was greatly improved and couldn’t be compared to their power when they were still alive.

Monstrous strength that could rival minotaurs and speed faster than harpies built the revenants’ battle arsenal. However, they lost their affinity to wield different elements aside from undead energy, but there were a few exceptions that managed to keep it and still had the ability to use their element when they were still alive.

They were also known as treasure keepers, which is the main reason why they managed to return. Objects filled with highly concentrated energies attracted the souls of dead people, making them their protectors.

Though there was a downside to being a revenant, those who became one would be stuck inside a certain place, unable to leave, and days without them feeding from another creature’s life force could cause them to perish a second time around. This was the reason they were not a common entity in Exgreia.

Despite this, they had full control over the place, allowing them to distort the space and separate the area from the rest of the world.

. . . . .

The woman stared at him; her mind went blank as she heard the demon’s response.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

Zeno made a single step forward, but hundreds of ice shards pointing at him emerged from the surface of the lake. Then he glanced at the sharp objects surrounding him and smiled.

"Women," he uttered while shaking his head.

The next second, he returned his gaze to the revenant and let out a burst of energy that created a shockwave, sending the shards away from him.

"Is it underneath this lake?" Zeno asked before looking down on the crystal-like ice.

"No, it’s not in there," he said, answering his own question.

Then he lifted his head and looked straight into the woman’s eyes. They stared at each other for seconds before the woman averted her gaze from him and spoke.

"Are you talking about the key?" She asked.

Zeno’s smile became wider upon the mention of the key, but the woman’s next words erased the curl on his lips.

"A man went here several days ago. He was looking for the same thing, but like what I told you, he also found nothing in here," she said.

The demon put his hand on his chin and thought for a second as he heard the woman’s reply.

"Then how come you became a revenant without the interference of an object of high value?" He asked with uncertainty.

Upon hearing him, the woman pulled something from her robe. It was a silver ring with black ancient characters curved on its shank. Zeno examined the object from afar. It was emanating a high volume of energy but was not visible to the naked eye.

’Is that it?’ He thought.

After all, he had no knowledge about the characteristics of the keys. He only knew that there were eight of them distributed around the world of Exgreia, and not a single person, with the exception of the gatekeeper, could identify them at a glance.

"Anyway, I’ll take it," Zeno said as he extended his hand forward.

"But I can’t give it to you," the woman replied as soon as she saw the demon’s action.

"I know; that’s why I said I’d take it," the demon uttered.

Then he leaped up in the air and plunged towards the woman with a jet-black scythe in his hand before swinging it, reaching for the woman’s neck. However, he cut nothing aside from the air as the woman vanished all of a sudden, and then he took a glance behind him after feeling a cold sensation.

A palm wrapped in freezing energy, moving towards his head, was what Zeno saw as he looked back. He moved his head sideward to dodge the attack, but it was soon followed by another palm strike that was aimed at his back.

Zeno was sent a few meters away, then he put the scythe over his head and grinned. Seconds later, the woman appeared in midair with the intention of kicking him from above, but her foot was blocked by the weapon’s blade.

"Your fighting style reminds me of someone I despise—too bad he’s already dead," he uttered, smiling.

The woman used her weight and tumbled backward before landing on the smooth surface of the lake.

"Then let me send you to where he is now," she said.

Afterward, she stomped with her right foot, and a glacier started to protrude in a straight path towards Zeno. Meanwhile, the demon swirled the scythe around him before it turned into a spinning black dice at the top of his palm. The next second, it stopped, with one of its surfaces glowing a white hue.

Zeno raised his arm while aiming at the large chunk of ice coming at him, and a jet-black bow materialized in his hand. As he pulled the string, an arrow took shape at his fingertips.

As soon as he let go of the string, the jet-black arrow jolted and pierced the glacier, causing it to split in half while also changing its trajectory.

Afterward, the woman started running around Zeno to dodge the incoming projectile. Then she waved her hand, sending hundreds of icicles towards the demon from all directions.

Meanwhile, Zeno bent his knees and jumped up in the air. He made several shots, aiming for the woman’s head, but walls of ice blocked the arrows from reaching the revenant.

’I need greater strength,’ he thought, then took a second to look at his wrist, which still had three names written on a red-colored tint.

"Tss. This restriction is very unpleasant sometimes," he uttered before plunging once more in the woman’s direction.

The revenant looked at him with a deadpan expression. She halted her tracks and entered into a short fighting stance by putting her right foot forward and raising her fists at the level of her chest. Then she made a spinning kick as soon as the demon came closer with a punch aimed at her.

The bow was now nowhere to be seen; instead, it was replaced by a pair of jet-black gauntlets that covered the demon’s arms.

Soon after, a loud bang reverberated around the place, and the collision of their fist and foot created shockwaves that shattered the ice inside the frozen lake. Even the trees shook before falling due to the severe vibrations.

But their bouts didn’t end there; they were followed by several explosions as soon as the demon made the thick layers of ice that were sent to imprison him crumble with a loud bang.

"This is exhilarating; show me more!" Zeno exclaimed while still smiling.

However, the woman was still wearing her deadpan expression while thinking about how to defeat the silver-haired demon. It had no effect on her now, but a while ago, she noticed that every time they collided with each other, her energy was getting sucked out of her body.

’He’s chipping my energy away,’ she thought as she watched out for Zeno’s unpredictable movements.

This was not a serious problem for her, but once their battle continued a little longer, the effects of Piero’s Legacy would lead her to her own defeat.

Several moments had passed, and their fight remained at a stalemate. Meanwhile, the tranquil scenery of the lake was destroyed. It was replaced by craters from the explosions that deformed the ice, causing a narrow stream of water to surge.

Then, after blocking each of their attacks mid-air, the two people landed at the top of the glaciers that the revenant had made earlier.

Being undead, the woman showed no signs of tiredness; she had the stamina to play with the demon all day long, but she still needed to monitor her energy.

On the other hand, Zeno was still smiling, admiring the presence of the revenant in front of him. In fact, he didn’t expect that he wouldn’t be able to overcome the woman’s formidable defense.

Then he looked at his right wrist, and upon seeing that the names written there were disappearing little by little until they were erased completely, he grinned.

"I admit it, you’re strong, but you see, I’m built different," Zeno said, and the shards of ice from the frozen surface began to vibrate again.

"Chrysantheum," he whispered.

The next second, dark clouds gathered above the sky, and a thunderstorm let out an ear-crashing sound. Then the demon, who was holding a pair of daggers in both of his hands, disappeared without a trace.

The woman knitted her brows and searched for Zeno’s presence while preparing herself for any surprise attack. Afterward, she looked above her and noticed a silhouette plummeting at her position.

Then she didn’t waste any seconds and leaped several times backward, but as soon as the demon landed, black lightning came afterward, hitting him. The entire lake melted as black spikes with flickering electricity came out underneath, chasing the revenant.

Even though the woman felt troubled due to the sudden change of her opponent, she remained calm and collected while dodging the spikes, but another bolt of black lightning came straight at her from above without any warning.

. . . . .