Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

As all those notifications appeared in Kaizen’s vision as pop-ups, he moved his left hand and deleted them all at once. There was no time to read them with a demon right in front of him.

Kaizen gazed at Belial with a cold stare, still with the newly revealed secret echoing in his mind like a secret stolen from hell itself. He could feel the essence of the newly acquired ability pulsing inside him, but unlike usual, he chose not to activate it immediately. It was as if he was savoring the power before deciding how to use it.

“A demon stronger than you?” Kaizen asked, still digesting Belial’s secret. “Who?”

“I don’t know, he’s never worked with me. He’s quiet, reserved.”

The demon Belial, for his part, seemed to be in internal agony at having been forced to admit that he wasn’t the strongest. Silence hung over them, broken only by the subtle sound of the wind blowing through the ruins of what was once a city. 

“You surprise me, Belial. I expected a darker secret, but it seems that even the most cunning demon has his limits.” Kaizen broke the silence once again, his words laden with subtle sarcasm.

Belial, despite his despair, couldn’t help but wonder if the revelation of his secret was enough to guarantee his survival. Kaizen, with an almost bored expression, began to walk slowly around the demon, like a predator circling its prey.

“You, Belial, possess valuable knowledge, but what you don’t understand is that true power lies in the ability to use that knowledge. The fact that you have confessed this secret does not mean that you are weaker or stronger; it just means that you are predictable and manipulable. Ah! It also means that you are afraid.”

Belial felt a pang of anger at Kaizen’s words, but he knew he couldn’t hit back. However, his cunning mind kept looking for a way out of the situation. 

“Well, don’t worry…” Kaizen turned away. “I don’t usually act like the bad guy, so if you cooperate, I won’t have to kill you and…”

Seeing Kaizen turn his back on him, Belial seized the opportunity. With one swift movement, he conjured a shadow blade and advanced towards Kaizen, determined to change the course of the battle. However, just as the shadow blade was about to touch Kaizen, an invisible force stopped Belial. Belial was perplexed, stunned, his blade stopped centimeters before it hit Kaizen’s body.

The demon glanced incredulously at Kaizen, who seemed completely unperturbed as he looked over his shoulder at his back.

Kaizen, with a subtle smile on his lips, raised his hand and made a casual gesture, as if he were swatting away an annoying fly. The shadow blade disappeared, dissipating like smoke.

Belial stepped back, perplexed and furious, gritting his teeth. “What are you, Kaizen? I’m sure you’re not just a Psyker.”

Kaizen just laughed. “A Psyker? Well, it’s good to know that this plural and singular thing about Psyker tales confuses even demons. I’m not ‘a’ Psyker, Belial. I am ‘The’ Psyker.”

The demon, now full of frustration and despair, tried a different attack as Kaizen spoke. He concentrated his energy in his hands and launched a torrent of black flames towards Kaizen. However, even the most fiery flames suddenly stopped before touching him, as if they were hitting an invisible wall.

Seeing this, in an act of desperation Belial advanced towards Kaizen, ignoring any rationality. He tried to use his physical strength to knock down the supposedly invulnerable Kaizen. However, before Belial could touch Kaizen, an invisible force stopped him in mid-air, as if he were caught in a web.

lightsΝοvel “Tsk. You’re too pushy.” Kaizen said, looking at Belial with a mixture of disdain and pity. “Did you really believe you could win? Your desperation has blinded you to reality, Belial. Now it’s up to you to accept the consequences of your actions.”

With a simple blink, Kaizen undid the barrier that held Belial in the air. The demon fell to his knees, defeated and humiliated, in front of the human. 

Kaizen looked down at him, as if he were looking at an insect. “You’ve hurt three people here, apart from the hundreds of others, but don’t worry, your death won’t be quick, nor will I be the one to decide whether you live or die.” He took a step back and retreated, and then Og’tharoz appeared, glaring angrily at Belial.

Og’tharoz’s eyes, once filled with rage, now displayed concern mixed with fury. He stared at Belial for a moment before asking:

“Where exactly is Luna?” Og’tharoz’s voice was calm, but there was a hint of pleading underlying it.

Belial, even though he knew he had already lost and was facing death, smiled, as if he was enjoying the situation. “Ah, sweet Luna… Og’tharoz, look, do you really think that something as pure as love would survive in hell? You think that if you find her, you can save her, don’t you?”

The demon warrior’s expression contorted with anguish. He lifted Belial by the neck, ignoring his weak resistance, and faced him.

“Anyway, if you want information about Luna, you’ll have to earn it.” Belial looked at Og’tharoz, even though he was being lifted. “You know, the first circle of hell is vast, and finding someone specific is not an easy task. But if you keep me alive, maybe, just maybe, I’ll share what I know.”

Og’tharoz clenched the fist of his other arm, fighting the urge to crush Belial right there, but released it. “All right, I’ll let you stay alive, at least until you find Luna.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Belial said, smiling.

“But not for me, I don’t trust you, Belial,” Kaizen declared as he took a step forward. “You know that I will never allow you to go free, nor will I allow you to return to hell alone. From now on, you will be nothing more than a slave.” Kaizen drew a sword from his inventory, the Sword of Shadows.

At that moment, Belial had an ominous feeling, but he didn’t want to believe it.