"You were persistent, much like an insect...but now, you die," Remarked the Demon, starting to step towards Ariella.
"I won’t let you!" I snapped, sprinting across the space as fast as I could, before leaping forward and raising my hand as I got the Demon within the range of, "<Obliterate>!"
Her eyes widened slightly as a bright flash of purple erupted, before she quickly sprang back, grimacing as the beam sliced across the bridge of her nose, blood streaming down her face.
Damn it, that was only eight percent...I knew it wouldn’t be enough, but I had no choice.
"You’re really starting to piss me off...fine, then, I’ll get back to her, you die first!" She snarled as the wound rapidly closed up, retracting her whip before swinging it at me furiously.
"<Lethargy>, <Devour>!" I chanted as fast as I could, her whip snapping my blade in half before slamming against my chest, Devour once again failing to bite through the whip as I got sent flying back, skidding across the ground as the Demon stumbled slightly.
"Hm, a wave of energy that raises fatigue, is it? You certainly have a lot of strange tricks, don’t you? But it is futile, human. This weapon of mine is special, you see...there are only ten of its kind in existence, the Personalis Arma. These weapons transform to fit their wielders, they even make us more powerful.
Your group might have stood some small chance against an ordinary Greater Demon, but my Personalis Arma puts me a step above other Greater Demons. That still holds true even without the use of my Negative Energy. Even with all your tricks, you were doomed to die by my hand from the start," She informed me, as the two halves of her whip began to extend out.
Shit...just one or two hits from that thing is strong enough to break my short-sword, it doesn’t matter how many copies of it I make.
Devour and Drain are still way too slow to be of use against a Monster of this level, and she certainly isn’t going to get close enough for me to try and use them on her in the first place.
Command is still on cooldown, same with Lethargy, and I’ve already used Obliterate too, she’ll kill me before I have time to charge up my Rage Meter again.
And my MP’s too low to use some of my other Skills that could help.
Based on her movements and the way she fights, she isn’t very skilled, she’s just been using her immense strength and speed to overwhelm us, so maybe if I could get close to her-...except, that’s going to be next to impossible with how fast that whip moves, I’ll get snared and shredded if I try to rush in.
<You should try stealing it>
Huh? Not the time for jokes, Ai. How am I supposed to-...? Ohh.
Right, that Skill...thanks, I completely forgot about it.
"Ah, it seems you’ve finally accepted your fate, human. Any last words before you die?" Inquired the Demon, as she raised her whip with a smirk.
"Just one...<Steal>!" I exclaimed as I focused my gaze onto her whip, her eyes widening as it suddenly disappeared from her grasp, her mouth falling open as it reappeared in my hand.
One of my Envy Skills, Steal...by focusing on an object while chanting, I can teleport that object straight to my hand.
I winced as I felt a sharp jolt in my hand as I grasped the whip, a repelling force bursting out of the handle, just barely keeping my grip over it as the force ripped the webbing between my thumb and index finger spart, several thin streams of blood running down the side of my hand.
"No! Give that back!" Yelled the Demon frantically, as she began to rush towards me in alarm, when suddenly, everything around me slowed down, like time was moving in slow motion, before coming to a stop.
Did...did time just freeze? What-...?
<Hold onto the weapon as hard as you can, do not lose your grasp over it>
Huh? Uh, yeah, okay. But why-...?
<Initiating Override of Ownership>
<Failed>
I winced as another burst of force erupted from the handle of the whip, triggering sharp twinges of pain across my hand.
<Commencing Second Attempt>
<Processing>
My eyes widened as the whip suddenly changed shape, transforming into a black rod, the intense waves of repelling force fading away.
<Ownership Reset>
<Initiating Routing of Ownership Status to Kaivel Intrix>
<Processing>
A strange sensation began to well up inside me as I felt a current of energy connecting me to the rod, a purple glow surrounding it.
<Ownership Link Established>
<Securing Link>
<Processing>
<Link Secured>
I stared as the rod tranformed, taking the shape of a short-sword, a gleaming black blade with a glowing, dark purple pattern across the middle of the blade, before a display popped up in front of me:
Name: [ ]
[+10% Boost to All Stats While Equipped]
[+25% Slashing and Piercing Damage]
[MP + HP Transfer]
<Please Designate a Name for Your New Weapon>
Huh? Uh, okay.
Hm, let me think. Oh, I got it, let’s go with...Desecrator.
A large mass of purple energy suddenly manifested and swirled around me as the flow of time abruptly returned to normal, engulfing my entire body before erupting fiercely, triggering an intense shockwave, a startled cry ringing out as the Demon got blown away by the blast.
What...what just happened?
"N-No, that’s...that’s impossible. Only when the current wielder dies can a Personalis Arma be taken up by a new user. No, more than that...humans should not be able to handle one of those weapons! So, how...how is this possible?!"
"A ten percent boost to all my stats, a twenty-five percent boosts to my bladed attacks, and when I cut an opponent, it transfers a bit of their health and Mana to me, huh?" I muttered, a strange sense of confidence welling up inside me as I turned my gaze towards the Demon, before I shot towards her.
She growled before slashing at my head with her claws as I closed in on her, but her movements were even slower now, while I was faster.
Her claws severed a couple of strands of my hair as I ducked, before she cried out sharply as I whipped my new blade across, inflicting a deep gash across her right side as I shot past her, my eyes widening slightly as I felt some energy and Mana flowing into me from the blade.
She quickly spread out her wings and flew up as the cut I’d inflicted began to heal, a shaky look on her face as she shot up into the air...