Chapter 445: Abisharon Demon?

The Vampire Descendant said as much, but her gaze remained locked on the spot engulfed by the explosion. The crystal at the tip of her walking stick pulsed with light, ready to deal with any surprises.

So far, her talk of feeling a chill was just banter. But if that Elf wasn’t completely dead when the explosions ended, things would get truly chilling.

She wasn’t the only one on guard. Ron, Aive, Victoria, and the others all watched nervously, waiting for the smoke and dust from the explosions to completely dissipate. Ming Datiss was a curious creature they had defeated countless times, yet he always came back alive and kicking. What’s more, his new master was the true, all-powerful ruler of the Delusional Land.

Even Ron himself wasn’t sure if their carefully designed trap would be enough to kill him.

Potion-making, poison-making. To Ron, the line between them was blurry. The applied principles weren’t so different, but upon closer inspection, they were ultimately distinct.

He had used magic to extract and combine specific organic materials from Spore People and Delusional Plant People, creating a simple mixture to throw at Ming Datiss. While making it explode was easy enough, controlling the blast’s intensity was another matter entirely. For that, Ron could only rely on his knowledge of magic to guide it.

But one thing had to be admitted: Ron’s current skill level was still a far cry from that of the being who had created Ming Datiss.

"COUGH, COUGH COUGH!"

A wracking cough, so violent it sounded like someone was trying to hack up a lung, made everyone’s heart skip a beat. As the chain reaction of explosions died down, the already-dead plants had to die a second time, obliterated to dust on this occasion.

But the being at the very center of the blast was still stubbornly alive! Or rather, hadn’t died again!

"Not bad... not bad at all." The sound of bones grinding, clicking, and reassembling made Ron and the others frown. The Elf, despite his utterly wretched appearance—like a goat that had been flayed alive—was still standing. He could even speak and was now approaching them at a brisk walk!

"Your methods are much stronger than before, you bastard!" Ming Datiss’s entire face had been destroyed in the blast, and nearly all his teeth had fallen out, yet this didn’t stop him from speaking. "But you were wrong! You miscalculated!"

"Because I... am also far, far stronger than before!"

"Ming Datiss, you’ve already lost!" Anastina stared at her enemy’s face in disgust. She never thought the shell of an Elf could one day sicken her to such a degree.

After the Eldest Princess of the Hailan Empire, he was the second.

"Lost? Hehe, don’t be so shameless," the unrecognizable Elf cackled. Though his bones were rapidly re-forming, he showed no sign of regenerating his flesh. Instead, he raised his already mutated claws and began to tear at his own fragile skin. "Ron! Our duel isn’t over yet!"

"I’m not dead yet!"

"However, this outer shell was indeed holding me back. Perhaps I should even thank you for allowing me to reveal my true form—to appear in my strongest state!"

As he spoke, Ming Datiss dug his sharp claws into his already tattered epidermis and, with a violent tug, ripped it downwards from both sides!

"RRRRIP—"

The scene, playing out like something from a horror movie, made Ron gasp. He thought he’d seen it all in the Delusional Land—Ghost Witches, demons, the Undead... but this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a gory transformation with his own eyes!

’Is this... his second form?’

’How many times have I killed this guy? He’s probably got third, fourth, and fifth forms waiting!’ Ron griped internally. But when he saw the new body that emerged from beneath the torn skin, he couldn’t help but gasp again.

This time, it wasn’t just him; even Jilannis, who was standing to the side, stared with wide eyes.

"Is that... an Abisharon Demon?!"

Ming Datiss’s entire body had now mutated into the same form as his claws. He was covered in dense, dark-green scales. Though completely naked, he looked as if he were wearing armor. There were even a large number of armored plates protecting the area around his cloaca—it was utterly insane.

But what surprised everyone most was when this creature, who could no longer be called an Elf, raised its right hand. A Magic Ball of highly corrosive toxins coalesced in its palm!

"No, that’s not right. Every Abisharon Demon was once a mortal who, in life, earned Tiamat’s favor in some way. As a reward, their souls are transformed after death into terrifying devils to serve Her in the Nine Prisons," Jilannis said, her brow furrowed. Her lake-blue eyes sized up the sneering Ming Datiss as he stepped out from his own flesh, and she quickly made her judgment. "He had no channel, no opportunity to serve the Dragon Mother."

"The being behind him? No, that can’t be it. This isn’t the style of the Tyrant of Scales. Besides, with Her power, there would be no need to go through all this trouble—this is Tiamat we’re talking about!"

Although it was commonly claimed that the Five-Colored Dragon was sealed in Avernus by a powerful curse from a forgotten Giant Deity, Jilannis, as one of the world’s foremost Casters, had her reservations. And even if She really were imprisoned there, She would never use such a convoluted method if She wanted to infiltrate the Material Plane!

She was one of the most ancient and powerful beings, one who very likely participated in the creation of the world!

However, Ming Datiss’s next words made the Elf Grand Mage’s expression shift dramatically.

"Jyejyejye... I didn’t expect you to recognize an Abisharon Demon," Ming Datiss’s voice was no longer shrill in his new body, but had become cunning and venomous. "As expected of the Grand Mage His Majesty once relied upon."

"A pity that you’re also a turncoat, a traitor who fled after the empire’s collapse. Do you have any idea the sacrifices and costs we paid for that!"

"My relationship with His Majesty Laine was purely contractual. When the Laine Clan could no longer fulfill the contract, I naturally had no reason to stay," Jilannis said, her eyes narrowing slightly, a dangerous red light flickering in their lake-blue depths. "He was not my lord, and I was not his vassal. Where is the rebellion in that?"

"As for you... is this how you speak to me?" Jilannis herself said no more, but a voice identical to hers, only far more arrogant, rang out from her Sword-Singing Lion Armor. "The entire Laine Clan, from top to bottom, is filled with muddle-headed fools like you. No wonder you became a public enemy and met your end in a mere three hundred years!"

"You’re courting death!" Jilannis’s words made Ming Datiss tremble with rage. He let out a monstrous roar and lunged directly at the Moon Elf. His claws, dripping with a potent Strong Acid capable of making all life decay and perish, swiped viciously at the former Chief Grand Mage’s face!