The all-knowing Player (Solo Leveling)

The Demon King (2)

Corresponding episodes: 86, 87, 88

The sky rumbles threateningly above our heads as we face Baran on Qibli's back. Above us, the brooding clouds absorb any light the moon could offer. Below us, sparks of mana and explosions boom through the battlefield. The wind carries screams and the sharp clash of weapons to our ears as it howls between the destroyed watchtowers.

Scarlet mana flashes in Baran's eyes upon seeing my dagger pointed at his frame. The mana thickens dangerously as he rears his head back again, calling upon another electric breath. It crackles and pulses between his fangs, an orb of destructive power summoned so fast we barely have the time to react before he aims it straight at us.

"Sio! Moon!" I shout, jumping off Qibli's back as the dragon dives toward the ground, taking Jin-Woo with him.

The electric beam follows my frame terrifyingly closely, so closely I can feel its stinging heat prickling my skin as the black-scaled dragon rises from the chaos of the battlefield with an anxious growl. Qibli swerves violently to the left, then whips around to stare at the wyvern, the gold of his eyes shining vibrantly. The laser beam he shoots from a distance grazes the mount's neck, earning a shriek as the wyvern twists its neck in pain. Baran's attention instantly snaps back to Jin-Woo and Qibli. The electric breath shifts toward the boys right as I land on Moon's back. Streaks crackle around my partner's cape, eating away at its edges as he escapes the beam by mere centimeters.

{Cassiopeia has used [Skill: Hymn of the Blazing Fire].}

A pillar of fire erupts from the battlefield. It clashes against the electricity with such force it sends a booming shockwave through the courtyard, tearing cracks through the castle's ramparts. As Baran keeps on furiously spitting electricity toward my partner, I let Moon carry me back up, her body growing in size as we approach our opponent dangerously fast.

The wyvern shrieks, flapping her wings in an attempt to scuttle away. Too late. Moon's enormous maw closes on its right wing and rips it off. The electric attacks stop immediately. Baran spins toward me, leaping off his mount just as Cassiopeia's fire finally engulfs its frame. The blade of his longsword flashes among the embers as he pounces on me upon landing on Moon's broad back. I summon my daggers, blocking his strike just in time.

Sparks fly as our blades collide with painful screeching. The impact stirs up a shockwave of mana that crashes into the sky. The clouds answer with menacing rumbling, the humidity in the air thickening. We both stumble forward as Moon reels dangerously in the strong gale we triggered. My mana flares around my frame as my feet skid apart in search of balance, grounding me on my dragon's scales.

{[Skill: Critical Attack] has been activated.}

I leap over the short distance separating me from the Demon King. My daggers slice through the sky, sparks of silver shooting toward my enemy to deliver a series of deadly strikes. But all the blades manage to do is to clank off Baran's longsword as he finds his balance just in time to deflect each of my attacks. Another series of mana waves rolls out at each brutal collision. The blue electricity of his blade crackles up my arm, cutting thin tears through my sleeve. I grit my teeth and push forward in an attempt to drive him to the edge of Moon's back.

But all that crosses his face is a mocking sneer as his feet remain rooted on my dragon's back. The surrounding mana pulses anxiously again, its hum turning to a shrill cry of warning as something monstrous whirrs to life in his throat. His jaw drops open, revealing another orb of electric mana spasming in his mouth. With nowhere to take shelter, I can only flinch away as he prepares to unleash a storm that will lead me straight to death.

And Jin-Woo barrels into the fight from Qibli's back, smashing his fist right into Baran's jaw.

The following shockwave crashes over our frames with such power it mercilessly drags Moon through the squalls. She flaps her wings frantically against the gales as the Demon King is sent flying away by Jin-Woo's powerful punch. The electric breath he meant to unleash on my frame propels him further away at dizzying speed, uncontrollably cutting through the sky. A deep rumbling thunders over the battlefield as the clouds absorb once again the beam of monstrous energy.