It was a mawdrith.

  A greater demon.

  A Platinum Rank threat.

  But I already knew that. Not just because of my experiences in my past life. It was also from my experiences in my current life as Eli of Velmond— after all, I had battled a mawdrith alongside Myrla and Sonia just a few months back.

  We would’ve lost, if not for the interference of an Inquisitor named Kai. And honestly, whenever I thought back to that fight, I felt like I could have beaten that mawdrith if I didn’t need to protect all the nearby passersby.

  That was why even though I was faced with this mawdrith— despite it being a Platinum Rank threat that I should have run from, at least according to the assignment guidelines— I was grinning with excitement.

  Because ever since that last encounter with a mawdrith, I had only grown stronger, reaching Gold Rank.

  And now, it was time for me to have my rematch.

  ***

  Cecil stepped back, staring at the greater demon with wide eyes. This was not the first time he encountered a greater demon before, although this was the first time he had seen a mawdrith— he first heard about it just a few months ago, back when news spread throughout the Holy Academy of Eli, Myrla, and Sonia apparently fought one.

  They hadn’t brought it down, according to what was said. However, they had held it off until an Inquisitor arrived, which earned them a Distinction Point by Headmaster Kaelen Angelus himself.

  After all, it was not expected by any reasonable or sane individual to think that three Silver Ranks teenagers could ever defeat a Platinum Rank threat.

  So as soon as the elf saw the mawdrith lying there at the back of the room, he moved even before the greater demon could rise to its feet.

  “We need to get out of here—” he started as he turned around.

  But Eli just stepped forward, ignoring him as he held a hand out. Once again, his light barrier engulfed the group to protect them. And that was not all— a white glow overcame him as flames wisped off the tip of his fingers.

  It was evidently clear what the white-haired boy was intending to do, even without any words said. However, he made his intentions clear a moment later as a magical armor formed over his body, before a shield made of white flames came into existence in his hand.

  “Sonia, Cecil, the both of you should run. I can handle this myself.”

  “What?” Sonia blinked.

  Cecil just gaped at the white-haired boy. “You can’t be serious, right?”

  But as the three of them spoke, the mawdrith rose to its feet and growled, eyeing them as the imps in the room fluttered back as if to make way for the greater demon.

  The elf stepped forward and grabbed Eli by the shoulder. “Are you crazy? You’re going to get yourself killed. We can’t—”

  But before Cecil could even finish, Eli suddenly shoved Cecil back into Sonia, knocking the elf and the black-haired girl out of his light barrier and out of the room. Blinking, Cecil rose back to his feet and tried to re-enter the room.

  Unfortunately for him, he was stopped by the light barrier, smacking face-first into the translucent white dome.

  “This…?” Cecil stared through the barrier for a moment.

  “Sorry, but there isn’t enough time to argue about this,” Eli said as his light arrows conjured around him. Behind him, the mawdrith had shot into the air, leaping forward to pounce at him. “Just get out of here.”

  That was the last thing the white-haired boy said, before a wall of white flames also rose up behind the barrier— almost like a curtain— blocking the elf from seeing what happened next. All he could hear was the sounds of fighting as the mawdrith’s ferocious roars echoed from the other side.

  “Eli…” Cecil stared at the wall of white for a long moment, processing this.

  What exactly was Eli doing? Did he seriously think he was capable of defeating a mawdrith alone? No— that couldn’t be it. He should have known that wasn’t possible. Not for him.

  After all, he had failed to defeat a mawdrith with Myrla and Sonia’s help not too long ago.

  Then what could it have been?

  The only other possibility before gritting his teeth.

  Eli is trying to sacrifice himself to hold off the mawdrith so we can escape…

  But that was to be expected of the white-haired boy. That was exactly how he was always. So selfless— so reckless.

  Even though Cecil was the one who was supposed to be a saint, he was constantly always being protected and saved by Eli.

  I can’t let him do this, the elf thought as he clenched a fist. I can’t let Eli get himself killed to protect me again.

  Resolving himself, Cecil spun around and turned to the black-haired girl who was just staring dumbfounded at what had just happened. She was evidently still stuck in a stupor, also trying to comprehend what was going on.

  “Sonia—” he started.

  And she broke out of her stupor, nodding immediately. “Right, I’ll get my mother.”

  “Thanks,” Cecil said, before turning back to the barrier that was blocking his path. He produced his dagger as he stepped forward. “I’m going to save you, Eli.”

  And with that, he swung out at the barrier as hard as he could.

  ***

  Sonia and Cecil were only going to get in the way, so I had to force them out of the room. Perhaps if Myrla were here, I could rely on her help. But I didn’t want anyone else’s help anyway.

  I wanted to win this fight on my own to see how much stronger I had become, while keeping the levels for myself. Was it selfish? Probably. But it was a necessity too.

  So I turned my attention back to the mawdrith right as it leapt at me. It was barely slowed by the front of my [Domain Of Light], smashing straight through the glass-like barrier. But I suspected this would have happened, which was why I had instantly cast my [Aura Armor Of Light And Retribution] while conjuring my [Shield Of Holy Fire].

  So as soon as the mawdrith reached me, I just raised the flaming white shield to protect myself. It was not a small shield by any means— it was as tall as I was and even wider. While it was evidently made from fire, it also had a solid surface that seemed rather ornate.

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  And not only did the [Shield Of Holy Fire] hold up just fine from the mawdrith’s pouncing attack, it also absorbed the impact, so I wasn’t sent flying back.

  As the mawdrith clashed with my shield, I rained down my [Arrows Of Light] onto the back of the greater demon. The projectiles weren’t enough to bring it down immediately— of course not, considering just how durable and powerful it was. But they were still enough to hurt my target.

  So the mawdrith leapt back as its skin was pierced and cut open from the hailing projectiles. I continued the onslaught of [Arrows Of Light] as I backed away, holding open my other hand as I began to conjure up a [Greater Holy Fireball].

  Multi-casting like this would have been difficult for an ordinary Gold Rank— especially with every spell being at maximum output— but I was no ordinary Gold Rank. That was why I was confident I would win this battle against a Platinum Rank threat.

  The mawdrith tried to dodge out of the way of the [Arrows Of Light] at first, leaping around the room as the floating balls of light hovering around us went scattering in terror. But the greater demon realized quickly that it was too slow to be able to avoid all of the projectiles. So it resorted to swiping them out of the air with its claws.

  But that only served to distract the mawdrith as I finished conjuring up my [Greater Holy Fireball]. I sent the sphere of white flames out into the center of the room, engulfing the greater demon with the blast.

  The inferno swept across the room, killing many of the nearby demonspawn as well. A flurry of notifications flashed from the corner of my eyes as that happened.

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Demonspawn] - Experience is awarded for killing an enemy!

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Demonspawn] - Experience is awarded for killing an enemy!

  …

  But of course, I didn’t get a single level from killing such weak demonspawns.

  I kept an eye out on the notifications though, hoping to see anything indicating that the greater demon had been killed. However, of course, such an attack wasn’t enough to bring down a Platinum Rank threat.

  The mawdrith exploded from the flames and crashed straight into my shield. It unleashed a flurry of clawed strikes at me, all of which I blocked. But would eventually overwhelm my [Shield Of Holy Fire] and get through to me.

  I tried to use my [Arrows Of Light] to get the mawdrith off me. Unfortunately, it was already burnt and hurt, so it cared less about the pain than it did killing me. The projectiles landed on its back and barely slowed its movements as I gritted my teeth.

  I couldn’t let this keep up. It would probably take at least another two dozen [Greater Holy Fireballs] to bring down the mawdrith. At that point, my [Shield Of Holy Fire] would have been destroyed. Already, I could see chinks forming on the flaming surface of my shield.

  I needed to use my [Lance Of The Divine] to win this battle. But first, I needed to get the mawdrith off me so I could cast the spell.

  That was why I unleashed a small fireball of [Holy Fire] down between us. It wasn’t as powerful as a [Greater Holy Fireball], but it was enough to knock the greater demon back. Of course, due to the properties of [Holy Fire], it didn’t burn me in the slightest, even if it sent me stumbling away.

  As the mawdrith picked itself back up, I held a hand out and began to create a lance made out of white light.

  It would take a moment. And I knew the mawdrith would have finished its recovery before I could finish creating the [Lance Of The Divine]. That was why I also quickly expanded the area of my [Domain Of Light] across the room, before using the same trick I used to defeat the spectral sentinel.

  Mirrors rose all across the room, hiding where I actually was standing by reflecting my image. The mawdrith looked up and blinked as it saw this. It glanced around in confusion for a moment, before lashing out at my nearest reflection to it.

  The mirror shattered all around the room as the mawdrith went on a rampage. Unfortunately, since the room was much smaller than the arena I was in when I battled the spectral sentinel, I wouldn’t be able to hide where I was for long.

  But I didn’t need a lot more time to finish what I was doing.

  As soon as the mawdrith finished destroying the last of the mirrors, I finished creating my [Lance Of The Divine]. It wasn't like my [Aura Armor Of Light And Retribution] or my [Shield Of Holy Fire], which vaguely resembled real items but still retained their magical look.

  Instead, it was an actual lance I held in my hands. Ornate and adorned in precious-looking jewels, I held the weapon up along with my shield as the mawdrith turned to me.

  This was why my [Lance Of The Divine] was my strongest Skill. Because it was a result of light magic creation, not simple conjuration.

  As such, when I wielded it, I was given a boost in my Attributes, just like if I were wielding a real artifact. And coupled with my [Boon Of Strength], I was not certain that I would be able to deal deadly damage against the mawdrith.

  It charged at me as I held up my shield to block its swiping claws, before countering with thrust from my [Lance Of The Divine]. The attack dug deep into the greater demon’s skin— doing more damage than all my [Arrows Of Light] did, combined.

  The mawdrith recoiled in pain as I grinned, taking another step forward and thrusting out with my lance once again. But the greater demon moved back, dodging the attack, before following-up with a quick counter.

  I just took the brunt of the attack with my shield again and used that opportunity to strike out and land a clean hit.

  This repeated again and again. Each time I attacked the mawdrith on my own, I missed, because I was too slow. But when the mawdrith attacked me in return, I just blocked its attack, which let me land a counter.

  And after only five clean hits on the mawdrith, its movement had already slowed greatly. It looked like it would go down soon from just a few more attacks. So I knew this battle was already over.

  Or so I thought.

  Because when the mawdrith swung at me next… my [Shield Of Holy Fire] shattered. I blinked and jumped back, dodging the follow-up strike from the greater demon.

  I stumbled towards the wall as I stared at my broken shield. It slowly faded away, and I pursed my lips. I could have tried to conjure up a second [Shield Of Holy Fire]. But—

  The mawdrith saw this opportunity of me being open and pounced on me, not giving me a chance to even breathe. I barely moved out of the way in time and tried to counter it with a thrust of my [Lance Of The Divine].

  But the mawdrith had anticipated it and leapt out of the way. It landed across the room from me and glared at me as I steadied myself. Landing a hit on it while it wasn’t preoccupied was difficult.

  Perhaps I could have tried to distract it— cast a few more spells that allowed me to create another [Shield Of Holy Fire]. But I sensed what was going on outside of my [Domain Of Light]. For a while now, Cecil had been trying to break into the magical dome.

  I had focused on pouring my magic into the [Domain Of Light] to repair it every time it got close to breaking. But soon, the elf would be able to break through and join the fight. I didn’t want him to steal my experience, so I had to end this.

  And if I wanted to end this battle right now, I was going to have to let myself get hit to land a hit.

  So that was exactly what I decided to do.

  The mawdrith charged at me once again, but I didn’t move out of the way. Instead, I charged straight back at it with my [Lance Of The Divine] held out. I had to aim for its neck if I wanted to finish it off in a single swift blow.

  So that was what I tried to do.

  Right as I got close— as the mawdrith’s claws came for my chest— I thrust out with my lance for the greater demon’s neck. I knew that with my [Aura Armor Of Light] I could tank at least two or three blows before it was broken.

  But I didn’t expect the mawdrith to anticipate what I was doing and barely move its neck to the side at the last moment. Of course, my lance still made contact and cut into its skin, drawing blood. However, it wasn’t enough to finish off the mawdrith.

  And then it struck me, sending me flying across the room. I crashed into the back wall and groaned as I lay there. Pieces of my armor had broken off. The [Lance Of The Divine] had been knocked out of my hands. My chest was exposed, and I looked up as my head spun, staring at the mawdrith as it drew closer to me.

  It was hurt. Very badly hurt. Blood poured out of its neck. But it was not dead just yet.

  It staggered forward towards me as I tried to pick myself up. I scanned the room, searching for my [Lance Of The Divine]. It lay about a dozen feet to the side of me. About the same distance away from me as the mawdrith. I had to get to the weapon first before the greater demon got to me.

  Otherwise, my [Aura Armor Of Light And Retribution] would be destroyed, and I would have no protection. But just as the mawdrith began to bound back towards me— right before I could use [Quick Dash] to move— something happened.

  The pieces of my broken [Aura Armor Of Light And Retribution] flashed and flew into the air, shooting straight at the mawdrith before it could reach me. The projectiles completely shot through the mawdrith’s neck, finishing it off.

  I blinked, glancing between the dead greater demon and the now inert pieces of my broken armor.

  “I didn’t know it did that,” I said.

  And with that, the battle was finally over.

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Greater Demon] - Additional experience is awarded for killing an enemy above your Rank!

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 3!

  +3 [Strength]

  +2 [Speed]

  +1 [Vitality]

  +1 Free Point

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 4!

  +2 [Magic]

  +1 [Strength]

  +1 Free Point

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 5!

  +4 [Magic]

  +2 [Dexterity]

  +1 Free Point