THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 374: Gavid lindman vs Astaroth (1)

The Throne Hall trembled as two SS+ class auras clashed violently, each vying for dominance.

Astaroth, the proud 19th-ranked High Demon, found himself shaken when his hand passed through Gavied Lindman as if striking a ghost, not a man of flesh and blood.

But it didn’t end there. Gavied rematerialized just as Astaroth passed through him—and with his revealed Aether blade, he slashed the demon cleanly, drawing black blood that splattered across the floor. Astaroth immediately retreated, his body crackling with gray lightning.

“That’s strange… Astaroth.”

With confident steps and a storm of SS+ aura exploding around him, Gavied advanced. His eyes were pitch black—identical to Astaroth’s own—and his long coat fluttered violently in the wake of the power shaking the chamber.

Raising his sword, he aimed it at the demon.

“You always claimed to be above us. That our power could never reach you. So tell me now…”

“Why the hell did you run?”

Provoked by those words, Astaroth’s face darkened with fury, veins pulsing across his forehead.

“You damned traitor!!”

Unleashing a thunderous surge of lightning, Astaroth blew apart parts of the throne hall and charged at Gavied in a flash, striking with terrifying speed. Gavied raised his Aether to block, but the force of impact launched him backwards.

Astaroth didn’t stop there.

His fists burned with explosive lightning, and he rained blow after blow while Gavied focused on defense, repelling what he could with Aether—and letting the rest phase harmlessly through his intangible body.

From time to time, when the moment was right, Gavied would strike back with a precise counter, carving through Astaroth with brutal efficiency.

Enraged, Astaroth increased the speed of his blows, delivering dozens of afterimages as he tried to overwhelm him.

In mere seconds, the two had exchanged an impossible number of strikes.

Unlike Astaroth, however, Gavied stayed composed, steadily drawing the demon into his tempo—and then cutting him down when the openings appeared. One well-placed blow even severed one of Astaroth’s horns.

“Why… can’t I hit him?!”

“…”

Gavied said nothing.

With exceptional skill and near-perfect timing, he blocked what could be blocked .. and let everything else pass through him.

Slowly… but surely… Gavied began gaining the upper hand.

Realizing the damage piling up on him, Astaroth leapt back and thrust both hands forward.

“Take this!!”

Concentrating an immense amount of gray lightning around his arms, he fired a catastrophic beam of condensed energy straight toward Gavied.

The beam detonated the entire area, blasting outward and unleashing a violent thunderstorm across the skies—visible to every terrified citizen of Caeled below.

It was a devastating, full-force attack, launched at point-blank range. Astaroth was certain it had done damage… at least some.

But that certainty was shattered the moment he felt a silver sword pierce through his chest ..

Gavied Lindman still stood before him. Untouched.

He had simply phased through the beam using his Phantom Form, then struck as soon as Astaroth dropped his guard.

“I find it funny… How a stupid demon like you dares to mock us and claim superiority.”

Dark energy coiled around Gavied’s blade, spiraling rapidly into a miniature vortex that exploded inside Astaroth’s chest.

“Wave Zero.”

A wave of dark force burst forth from the sword, blowing open a massive crater through Astaroth’s torso. The demon reeled back, spitting black blood.

Staring up at Gavied, who now towered above him with disdain, Astaroth’s fury reached a peak. His silver hair shot upward as lightning surged around him.

“Blood Activation!!”

Unleashing his full power at last.

The upper half of the tower shattered instantly, leaving both men standing atop a ruined battlefield trembling beneath the pressure of demonic aura.

“I’ll kill you here and now!!”

“Let’s see you try!!”

Without warning, both charged—vanishing into a storm of fists and blades that devastated everything around them.

Astaroth was not at full power, still wounded from his previous clash with Emperor Maekar Valerion. Even so, his blows were ferocious, and Gavied remained firmly on the defensive.

But even as Astaroth’s speed rose, and the pressure increased…

Gavied continued deflecting what he could—and letting the rest phase through.

’Something’s wrong…’

As the battle stretched on, Astaroth’s rage gave way to cold focus… and suspicion.

’He can let my attacks phase through him. So why… is he still blocking with his sword?’

The two kept sprinting at blinding speed, leaving behind trails of dark aura that intertwined violently in their wake.

Even though Gavied had reached the SS+ class, he was still inferior to Astaroth in terms of aura output and raw physical power.

Yet he managed to endure—thanks to his Phantom Form, which gave him a clear advantage against Astaroth’s explosive speed and overwhelming might.

’That damn Phantom technique is the only thing he has that works on me… If I break through his defense even once, it’ll be over.’

But no matter how many times he tried, Astaroth failed to land a single direct hit.

Everything he threw at Gavied simply passed through.

Still, Astaroth knew no ability was flawless. He pressed on relentlessly, tearing the battlefield apart, enduring whatever Gavied threw back at him.

Although Gavied landed multiple strikes, the damage wasn’t critical—Astaroth’s demonic vitality healed it all in seconds.

“Faster!”

The two exchanged blows at astonishing speed. Astaroth’s fists relentlessly slammed against Gavied’s Aether sword, trying to break his guard.

“Faster!!”

The demon’s arms were now invisible from sheer velocity, forcing Gavied into retreat under the non-stop barrage.

As he attacked from the front, Astaroth secretly shaped his lightning aura into a celestial orb behind Gavied’s back—taking advantage of his distraction.

He waited for the perfect moment …then fired a beam of lightning straight at Gavied’s exposed rear.

At first, Astaroth thought the attack would phase through him like all the rest.

But the result exceeded his expectations.

As soon as the lightning neared Gavied’s back, it exploded violently on contact, causing Gavied to grimace in pain as blood poured down his spine.

The attack didn’t pass through him—causing Astaroth to erupt in manic laughter.

“Ahahahahaha! So that’s it!”

Coating his fist in lightning once more, Astaroth threw a punch—but it phased harmlessly through Gavied’s face as he quickly pulled away to create distance.

“Your ability isn’t that special after all, Lindman!”

“…”

Astaroth’s aura pressure surged. He was ready to end it now that he had figured it out.

“You’re not invincible. Your power doesn’t activate automatically, does it? Kekekeke…”

Hearing those words, Gavied focused on mending the wound on his back. He tossed his tattered coat aside and rose to his feet, his silver Aether blade glowing brilliantly.

“…That’s true.”

He looked down at his sword.

Phantom Form—his ultimate sword manifestation—rendered his body intangible, making him untouchable.

But it wasn’t perfect.

Gavied couldn’t maintain his phantom state at all times. He had to observe his opponent carefully, and only the targeted part of his body would shift to an ethereal state in time to let attacks pass through.

That was why he blocked some of Astaroth’s quicker strikes instead of letting them phase through—because he couldn’t detect or react fast enough.

And that explained why the lightning beam struck him earlier ..cit came from a blind spot. By the time he sensed it, it was too late to phase.

“That’s a massive weakness, Gavied Lindman… Kekekeke! Now that I know it, your power won’t help you much longer.”

“You talk too much.”

Even after his weakness was exposed, Gavied showed no panic. He simply raised his glowing sword again and stood his ground.

“Come.”

This time, Astaroth ramped up his speed to the limit, channeling a significant portion of his power into agility and wave manipulation.

With a mere gesture, dozens of celestial orbs formed and began raining down gray lightning while Astaroth launched a simultaneous assault from the front.

Surrounded by fatal strikes, Gavied fought desperately, blocking with precision as Astaroth cackled madly.

“You can’t win, Gavied Lindman!!”

Even though Astaroth was still weakened from his clash with Maekar…

He was clearly overpowering Gavied Lindman.

The difference in potential between demons and humans was vast—and Gavied was learning that the hard way.

Now that he couldn’t phase through all of Astaroth’s attacks, he found himself cornered.

Little by little…

The wounds on Gavied’s body began piling up. Though he still managed to strike Astaroth several times…

The difference in endurance was night and day.

Astaroth’s wounds healed instantly, while Gavied bled continuously onto the shattered battlefield beneath them.

With thunderous lightning crashing down endlessly…

The tide of battle had fully turned.

Astaroth pushed his speed to the absolute max, making it impossible for Gavied to block every strike.

After countless exchanges and nonstop barrages from the celestial orbs…

The battle came to a sudden halt—when Astaroth’s hand pierced straight through Gavied’s abdomen.

Blood poured like a waterfall at the demon’s feet.

Phantom Form couldn’t save him from Astaroth’s blisteringly fast strikes—attacks too swift for his eyes to register. In the end, he lost the timing and failed to phase his body in time.

His form battered and torn, Gavied Lindman had reached his limits. Astaroth slowly pulled his hand out of Gavied’s abdomen.

“You dared challenge me with that pitiful level of power? Betting everything on a single, useless ability? Kekekeke… How naive you are, Gavied Lindman.”

The celestial orbs surrounding Astaroth began to glow once more, charging up as he prepared to finish it. Gavied dropped to one knee, clutching his sword—blood spilling from every inch of his body.

“Even if you defeat me here… I’m just one demon. There are plenty far stronger than me who can take my place. What exactly did you think would happen if you won?”

Astaroth sneered, convinced of his victory.

Without hesitation, he unleashed a storm of lightning beams from every direction, all aimed at the traitor who dared raise a sword against him.

But Gavied Lindman—his eyes now completely blackened—remained still, haunted by Astaroth’s words echoing in his mind.

What exactly did you think would happen if you won?

“…It’s time to find out.”