The Final Desperation

Ezekiel watched this escape with an indifferent expression and gave the instructions for pursuit. Genji's powers might have exceeded his expectations, but he was only delaying the inevitable. All they needed to do was follow the compass and capture him.

As they marched forward, the compass turned multiple times, displaying Genji's craftiness in his escape route. There were several instances when it circled behind them, catching Ezekiel by surprise. Undoubtedly, if he hadn't tracked him, they would have never found Genji.

"Take some troops and go ahead," he instructed some generals. "We should be catching up soon, so see if you can capture him. If not, delay, and we'll form another encirclement."

The generals were annoyed at the order, but put aside their feelings, understanding this was the best course of action. A group of nimble troops separated from the main pack in despair, the demons knowing they were nothing but vitality packs.

Still, they had no choice but to follow through. Otherwise, the generals would plunder their vitality and pick another replacement. It was not like they were picky about who provided the energy.

Since resisting was futile, they might as well obey and go unnoticed. Who knows, maybe the target was weakened enough that they won't be needed? It was unlikely, but miracles do happen. If they don't even try, then how can they live? After an hour of running, they discovered a figure on a red horse.

"You have got to be kidding me," Genji muttered as he sensed the approaching enemies. He had barely recovered from the last battle, and more demons already caught up? "Fine, let's see which of us dies first."

Genji hopped off, and Bruce returned to sheath form. He chugged multiple potions, and two sharp daggers emerged from their leather coverings. The generals grew cautious and immediately sapped their troop's vitality. They had witnessed firsthand the consequences of letting their guard down and had no intentions of replicating it.

Heavy fists struck at Genji, aiming to cripple him. Multiple twists shaped Genji's body as his muscles contracted in weird ways, allowing for several close dodges. Then his daggers swept back, leaving shallow cuts on their necks.

Like this, a series of exchanges ensued. Dodges and probing attacks chained into each other without pause, leaving a sequence of afterimages. After a while, the generals confirmed that Genji was weakened from the previous battle and unleashed all their powers.

Within moments, Genji got sent flying, and his body bounced off the ground like a pebble skipping across water. A mouthful of blood poured out from his mouth when he landed, grimacing in pain.

"As I thought. I can't match them like this."

Genji had used all his active skills to break out from that encirclement and had nothing to fight these generals. Many of his powerful skills had longer cooldowns than the time he was given, leaving him weaker than his opponents. The only skills off cooldown were the ones on his cloak and [Kraken's Grasp].

But neither option could finish this battle. Kraken Summoning could eliminate one general, but it would leave him with nothing to deal with the others. As for his speed-boosting skills, they were nothing without the power to back it up, making them only viable for escape.

However, Genji doubted this was feasible since the demons were tracking him somehow. Rather, it would only weaken his strength further, worsening his situation. 

Nevertheless, Genji didn't give up under these harsh circumstances. Since active skills couldn't be used, he would rely on his self-created ones. It's not like he was out of trump cards. No, he still had one more: the skill he created before this world.

Bringing his hand up, he gave his chest three hard thumps with the bottom of his fist. At his motion, his heart pulsated with stress, and his energy went wild. His blood vessels stretched under this pressure and strained with tension. His veins throbbed with a dull pain as his body pushed itself beyond its limits.

His muscles grew tired and sluggish, struggling to lift his body. He grew light-headed, and his breathing became rugged, like an out-of-shape gamer running a mile for the first time in years. It felt miserable like his body was shutting down, as if hit with a heart attack out of the blue.

All these changes occurred at once, and his body fumbled to adapt. His chest radiated with pain, and his ribs poked into his lungs, groaning under his thumps. As it dug in, the increased heart pressure pushed back, trying to balance all these factors.

And at the center of all this was a minuscule core condensed from his energy, a shadow core that cracked under this intensity. A small part chipped off this perfect sphere and started a line of imperfection that stretched across its surface. Yet with this crack, a familiar frenzy forcibly imbued itself into Genji's energy.

Genji smiled when he sensed this trait, knowing that this technique had worked as intended. Next, he channeled his energy according to his memory, and a distinguishable vortex materialized around his right dagger.

Shadow Devour!!!

Genji's dagger cleaved through his foes before they could react, bursting out with his greatest speed. A single graze slashed across their necks before the rampant energy drilled into this opening and coursed through their physiques, devouring all signs of life. The next moment, the generals collapsed, becoming withered husks.

[You have slain: 5 Demon Generals]

[Your maximum energy has increased by 102 points]

[You have obtained: 5 epic items]

Genji paid no attention to the prompts and rushed to stabilize his body. There was a good reason he waited until now to use this technique, despite its shorter cooldown than his Legacy Liberations.

This was a flawed technique that overdrafted his body and shadow core. This wasn't a simple over-drafting either, as the price was horrendous.

Just that single moment had damaged his foundations and rendered two core refinements useless. It was a last resort, but it temporarily allowed access to his strongest move, allowing Genji to kill with a single graze.

Following a hasty core repair, Genji hopped onto Bruce and made his getaway. After so many fights with the demons, he knew that more of them would soon follow. They were relentless for some unknown reason, and he was out of strength. In his current condition, even a single captain could finish him.

He was running for his life now and needed time to recover. However, life often goes against one's hopes and pummels them with despair. Within hours, the army found Genji again and surrounded him. They sealed off all routes of escape and intensely observed his every motion.

His ragged appearance did little to lower their guards as the generals commanded the army from a distance. A flood of demons swarmed his every direction, further testing if he had any other trump cards.

Oppressive echoes of footsteps converged on his position as the red skies were illuminated with green flames. The demons were determined to end this and would continue until they succeeded or died trying.

"Since you want to kill me so much, I'll indulge you. Let's see how many of you I can drag down," Genji snarled with a ferocious craze and pulled out his remaining poison.

The approaching demons shivered under his gaze, but the generals forced them to continue marching. It was now or never.

A huge mist of unknown poisons coated the area, and Genji dived back into battle. Each swing of his daggers met a fierce counterattack, both parties desperate to survive. At least, that was what the demons thought, but Genji had given up on that. That was why his suicidal fighting style greatly intimidated the demons and claimed so many lives.

The generals noticed this hesitance and their eyes became colder. Since they were so afraid, they didn't need to think anymore. A ripple of energy swept across the army, and the demons started burning their life force. Their eyes glowed red, going berserk and losing all rationale before engaging Genji in a suicidal battle.

Bodies fell without pause around him as he pushed through the crowd, swinging with everything he had. Blood ponds gathered around his feet, clinging to him and soaking his skin. A heavy scent of iron covered the battlefield, growing stronger with each moment.

Genji lost himself in this slaughter, thinking of nothing but ending one more life. His body went numb from the carnage, and his senses dulled in the blood. Everything was exactly like he expected, but he allowed it, throwing himself further into this craze. Now, the only idea left was to make the demons regret their choices.

Eventually, the poison took effect and further stiffed his body. Exhaustion assaulted his mind, but he persevered, knowing that it was much worse for his foes.

They inhaled this toxic fume and became slower, leaving more openings. The warm blood also nurtured more poison, seeping into any wounds the demons suffered. Then the cycle repeated, intensifying and worsening the infection.

The generals watched this with a grave expression, acknowledging that Genji was deadlier than expected. Who would have expected that such a fatigued foe could cause so many losses?

"Go. Attack him," a general ordered the demon captains. The normal demons weren't enough, so they sent stronger forces. The captains in question cursed their bad luck but didn't dare to defy him. The abilities of generals didn't just work on normal demons, but all demons weaker than them.

If they didn't want to lose their mind and risk perishing, they should do everything they could to finish this. With this mindset, they drew strength from their subordinates and attacked Genji with equal desperation. Genji's battered body slid back from the impact, but a deep wound appeared on his attacker's chest.

Then this wound festered into black, greatly weakening the demon before he collapsed from the poison. The other captains saw this dreadful scene and became cautious, further diminishing their chances of survival. After all, the longer they stayed in this blood, the weaker they would become. A few more clashes later, the captains retreated in fear, and the generals frowned in displeasure.

"Fine then. We'll make you fight him."

Another energy wave scattered amongst the retreating group, forcing them to burn their vitality. The captains sensed this and knew they couldn't retreat anymore. Since the generals left them their rationale, then they must still have some value. As long as they could defeat Genji before losing their life, they could undo this transformation and survive.

Genji traded multiple injuries with this desperate group and started a chain reaction in their weakening. Seizing this opportunity, he delivered some more attacks at them before kicking them aside and allowing them to succumb to the poison.

"I'm reaching my limit," he thought with rugged breaths and blurred vision.

More troops were closing in, but his body felt heavier than gold. Nothing he did moved his arms, but he kept trying. Bloodshot eyes stared back at his enemies, sending more shivers down their spines. The next moment, they pushed down this fear, convincing themselves that Genji was about to collapse, and continued.

In a way, they were correct, but Genji wasn't willing to go down like this. Using the last of his willpower, he drew out his remaining strength and lunged at the closest demon. His dagger stabbed into the unlucky demon's eye and pierced deep into the brain. Then both of them toppled over, deprived of all strength.

"This is the last one. It's a shame I can't drag more down with me, but at least the afterlife won't be lonely. I look forward to your curses, you bastards."

The next moment, Genji blacked out, the exhaustion and poison finally catching up to him. On his collapse, Ezekiel canceled his debuffs, cautious of weakening Genji any further. They had lost so much to reach this point, and they couldn't screw up now.

"What astonishing willpower," Ezekiel commented as he approached the scene.

"Yes. It's honestly shocking how far he can push his body. With those injuries, he should have died multiple times over, but he persisted until now."

"But that only makes our plans that much easier. With that kind of body, we will be unstoppable when we cross over."

"That's a given. It's absurd how tenacious his body is. It's almost like he's used to being injured and his body adapted to fight in that condition."

"You can think about that later. For now, move aside so I can preserve his life," Ezekiel spoke up again, cutting off the chatter between the generals.

Although annoyed by his haughtiness, they understood that this was required since Genji was rapidly slipping toward death. Ezekiel stopped beside Genji and lifted his staff. A red light seeped from the skull on the top and entered Genji's body.

Subsequently, Genji's crashing life force stabilized, pulling him back from the verge of death. Ezekiel waved his staff again and siphoned vitality from the nearby demons before feeding it to the failing body. Color returned to Genji's skin, and his wounds slowly closed under this nourishment, becoming secure enough for transportation.

A normal demon scooped up the limp body, and they began their march back. Everything had been prepared for this moment, and they just needed to carry it out.

Hours later, they came to a large pool full of viscous red fluid and dumped Genji into it. This was a healing mixture they had created in anticipation of Genji's severe wounds and their insurance on the body returning to peak condition. It was also because of this that they dared to injure Genji so badly before capturing him.

The generals stepped back and allowed Genji to absorb the viscous fluid. His life force slowly recovered, and his injuries faded. It was a slow process, but the generals weren't worried about Genji waking up. Ezekiel had taken careful attention to ensure that.

"What a scary foe. He managed to kill half of us before we captured him," a bored general commented, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"You're right. It's a good thing we succeeded, or we will have hell to pay."

"You mean the essence of the world?"

"What else? So many of us died within this short period, and the world lost a decent amount of essence. It's going to take a while for it to recover, and during this time, it won't produce many resources. If we have to deal with this, many of us will starve. This world's already running low on essence, and this loss only makes it worse."

"Then it's a good thing we got a way out. As long as we break the seal on the other world, we can plunder to our hearts' content. By then, it doesn't matter how barren this place becomes."

The other generals nodded in agreement, but they suddenly became quiet, their mood somber. When the demon noticed this, he asked, "What's wrong? Why did you all get so gloomy? Isn't this something worth celebrating?"

"It is, but who's going to possess the body? Who's going to be the one to destroy the seal?"

"This... I didn't think of that."

"None of us did. We were too focused on getting here."

"So who will it be?"

The demons fell silent for another moment, considering the possibilities before they all burst out at once.

"I'll do it. I'm the strongest and most likely to win a fight."

"I'll do it. I'm the fastest and most likely to survive."

"I'll do it. I'm the most eloquent and can gather the most subordinates."

"I'll do it. I'm the smartest and least likely to be discovered."

"I'm the bravest, so this dangerous task should be left to me."

"Nonsense. If the task is so dangerous, it should be given to me. I'm the oldest, so if I die, our strength will be weakened the least."

"No. It's because you're old that you can't do it. What will happen if you need to adapt to something?"

"Shouldn't that be more of a reason for me to go? With my experience, I can make the best decisions in a split moment."

"Bullshit. What experience? It's all the same here. What you know, we all know. With how important this task is, we need a mind that isn't worn down by time. Someone like me, who can think on my feet."

"I can say the same to you. What smarts? We are all brutes who think with our bodies. At best, you're someone who thinks about things because you aren't confident in your body. All of us can do that. We just choose not to because it's a bother."

"Then doesn't that mean I'm the best candidate?" The strongest demon asked, eyes creasing upward with joy.

"Your body means nothing. You'll be abandoning it to possess the human. Like I said, I'm the best candidate because I have a good brain."

"Like hell you do..."

Like this, the general devolved into an arguing mess, all insulting each other and propping themselves up. This was a given since everyone wanted to be the person to possess Genji. That was because they could leave this world before everyone else.

The other world had more resources and life than this one. It might be harsh, but it was a heaven to the demons who were used to this one. Plus, even if they failed their task, they could still enjoy their life in heaven. What was there not to like about it?

The argument/insulting fest continued for some time before they came to a simple solution. They would pull sticks and leave it up to chance. Otherwise, they would never resolve this issue and start a battle royale from the anger.

But that would be counter-productive since the whole point of this debate was to migrate to the other world. Who would remain for migration if they started an internal conflict over it? The half-dead cannon fodders at the end?

Please, they needed to survive until then, but with the general's tendencies, they would become energy packs right away. After all, if they didn't use it, the others would first. By then, it would be too late for regrets.

"Alright. Gather around, everyone. In my hand, I have 5 normal sticks and 1 short one. We'll conduct multiple rounds of elimination until one of us is left. We have no problems with this, right?"

"None."

"Then start pulling."

Minutes later, one general restlessly picked a stick with closed eyes. The crowd went silent, and the general peeked from his position. Then he went wild with joy, becoming the lucky fellow to possess Genji. The surrounding generals shot jealous looks at him, but they stayed in position without any intentions of breaking the agreement.

"Sigh, I knew Jeremiah has always been lucky, but I didn't think it would be to this extent. How stupid."

Concurs sounded around the speaker, their voices dripping with envy. Then they turned their attention to Genji, who had absorbed the entire solution and returned to his peak.

"Since that's settled, let's bring him to the ritual altar."

When they arrived at the specified location, they encountered Ezekiel sitting on a rock. At his presence, the lucky demon tensed up, thinking this former general would contest for the opportunity. To his relief, Ezekiel only shot them a brief look before entering the vicinity.

"Since you've selected the candidate, let's get started. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly since this is such an important ritual."

The generals followed, peeling off Genji's equipment before placing him at the center. Then Ezekiel slammed his staff, starting the ritual with a tremendous wave of energy.