With blinding speed, Hazel vanished before the demon's eyes. Before the demon could react, Alexa was snatched away. The demon stared in disbelief at Hazel holding Alexa, then looked at his own hand, or rather, the stump where his hand used to be.
The demon screamed in agony and fury. "Why isn't it regenerating?! What did you do to me?! Why can't I regenerate anymore?!"
"I will make sure you never hurt my people again," Hazel said, his gaze a monstrous side-eye directed at the demon. He gently placed Alexa and the surviving students down before turning back to the injured demon.
"General, I need your help!" the demon cried out. Instantly, a powerful demon general materialized beside the Shadow War Lord.
"You are truly pathetic," the general sneered at the Shadow War Lord. "I can't believe you were beaten this easily. How can you call yourself a war lord? You are a disgrace to the demon lord's army."
Without a moment's hesitation, Hazel hurled his scythe towards the demon general, but the general easily sidestepped the attack.
"You missed," the demon general taunted.
"You were never my target," Hazel replied, his voice chillingly calm.
The demon general's eyes widened in horror as he looked back and saw the Shadow War Lord lying in two severed pieces.
Immediately after killing the Shadow War Lord, Hazel received a series of notifications:
[You have leveled up]
[Player is now successfully at level 100]
[Player is ready to evolve]
A radiant light erupted around Hazel as he began to evolve.
The demon general, realizing the danger, lunged to attack before Hazel's transformation could complete. He threw a full-force punch, but Hazel, his transformation reaching its peak, effortlessly stopped the general's fist with a single finger.
Hazel's appearance had undergone another dramatic change. His hair turned a vibrant lemon yellow, and his eyes shifted to the same striking color, as did his clothes. He radiated an even more potent and monstrous aura.
"Shit," the demon general hissed, knowing he was facing an overwhelming power.
Instantly, Hazel delivered a devastating punch that shattered the demon general's jaw and sent him hurtling away with explosive force.
Hazel appeared instantly where the general had landed and delivered another brutal punch into the ground. The demon general died instantly, the force of the blow obliterating the ground around Hazel.
~In the Demon Realm~
--Boom--
A violent tremor shook the Demon Lord's chamber, impacting him directly. "How is that even possible?! I'm not even on the battlefield!" the Demon Lord roared in confusion and fury.
"Who dares show such disrespect to the Demon Lord?!" he bellowed, his voice echoing across the demon realm. "It seems I have lost two of my best. I think it's time to take matters into my own hands."
"I will teach you some manners today and make you taste defeat," Hazel declared to the demon lord general.
The general, barely able to stand, struggled to speak, his jaw shattered by Hazel's attack.
"Don't worry, I will end you quickly so the pain can end," Hazel said as he confidently approached the broken demon, his lemon-colored hair and eyes radiating power.
Knowing his end was near, the demon lord general, with a desperate surge of adrenaline, fled with what little speed his ravaged body could muster. He covered a significant distance in mere seconds.
Looking back to gauge his escape, the general was horrified to find himself still in the exact same spot. "What? How is this possible?" he thought frantically.
He ran again, pushing his broken body to its limit. This time, it felt like he had gained considerable ground. He dared to glance back – nothing.
I escaped! he thought triumphantly. But as he looked forward, Hazel stood before him. He whipped around – still in the same place.
"Do you really think you can escape your doom?" Hazel's voice echoed in the general's mind.
"Let me go, please!" the general pleaded telepathically. "I promise not to hurt any human again. Please have mercy!"
"Your doom is nigh," Hazel said aloud, his grip tightening on the general's neck.
[Your illusion creation, which is now Soul Torment, has driven the target to craze.]
[Target will die in 15 seconds.]
The general was now kneeling, lost within the horrifying illusions of Hazel's Soul Torment.
"Alexa, can you stand?" Hazel asked, turning to the injured assassin.
"Yeah," Alexa replied, struggling to her feet.
"Finish him," Hazel commanded.
With only three seconds remaining on the Soul Torment countdown, Alexa called out, "Shadow Eater!" The general's shadow rose like a monstrous entity and devoured his head.