The Genesis Of A Necromancer - Chapter 165

Chapter 165: strange demon
The tension in the air was thick, suffocating.

The crowd was restless, eager to see blood spill upon the stone arena.

They had already decided the outcome before the first move had even been made.

Jack was the underdog, the sacrificial lamb.

But they were about to witness something entirely different.

The announcer raised his arm.

“Contestants, please entertain us.”

The moment his hand dropped, the match commenced.

Jack reacted instantly, his body moving with the precision of someone who had fought countless battles.

His opponent wasted no time either, slamming the base of his staff against the ground. A pulse of dark energy erupted from the impact, sending jagged tendrils spiraling toward Jack.

They were like white snakes… almost see-through.

[Ding: Soul attack detected. Soul snakes will reduce life force by 5% with each successive hit.]

With the system notification, Jack knew just how scary the spell was, and it didn’t even look like the demon mage had used a quarter of his strength.

Jack dodged, narrowly avoiding the attack as the tendrils twisted through the air like hungry vipers, seeking to ensnare him.

He moved with fluidity, shifting his weight effortlessly as he closed the distance between them.

His dagger flashed.

A quick slash aimed at the demon’s midsection.

But his opponent was fast.

With a flick of his wrist, the black staff created a defensive barrier of swirling souls, blocking the strike at the last second.

The impact sent a resonating hum through the air, and Jack felt the force reverberate up his arm.

He leaped backward, narrowly dodging another incoming strike—a concentrated blast of soul energy meant to pierce straight through him.

He could hear the screeching sounds of the souls as they were hurled toward him.

‘He’s stronger than I expected…’

Jack wasn’t naive. This demon wasn’t just skilled—he was being trained. And not just by anyone.

His words earlier confirmed it.

‘Master wants me to win…’

Layla.

She was watching, analyzing.

Jack couldn’t afford to show too much, couldn’t risk drawing even more suspicion to himself. He had to be careful.

He had to play his part.

His opponent didn’t wait. He raised his staff high, and the squealing souls around him coalesced into multiple orbs, hovering ominously in the air before launching toward Jack with deadly precision.

“Soul Bomb,” the demon said in the demonic tongue.

Jack reacted instinctively, weaving through the barrage with rapid, precise movements.

The crowd gasped as he flipped backward, barely escaping an orb that exploded upon impact with the ground, leaving a deep, smoldering crater in its wake.

This wasn’t just a match.

It was a test.

And Jack refused to fail.

Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward, feinting a strike before pivoting sharply, aiming for his opponent’s exposed side.

The dagger in his grip became an extension of his intent… the intent to kill.

It sliced through the air in a blur.

This time, it found its mark.

The demon grunted as the blade cut through fabric and flesh, drawing a thin line of dark crimson. But he didn’t retreat. Instead, he slammed his staff into the ground once more, sending a shockwave of energy outward.

Jack barely had time to react as the force sent him skidding backward, his boots scraping against the stone floor.

The crowd erupted into chaos, their previous certainty of Jack’s defeat now wavering. The announcer, who had expected an immediate loss, was now leaning forward, eyes wide with interest.

Layla’s smile widened.

‘A demon with barely any aura hiding under the queen’s shadow, and a demon with an aura I can’t seem to see through.’

Jack smirked.

‘I guess that speed won’t be enough.’

This wasn’t going to be the easy slaughter they had anticipated.

The battle was only just beginning.

The next instant, Jack blurred.

A shocked gasp escaped from the crowd.

“The hell, how is that Zhurak demon so fast?”

The earlier faces that looked at him with pity were now filled with shock and anticipation.

“We might actually witness something spectacular in this tournament… Look at that Zhurak move!” The commentator’s voice filled the entire arena.

He was getting pumped up to see the outcome of the fight.

A few moves from Jack, and he had completely swapped the atmosphere from earlier with one of tension.

They were all curious to see what he would do next.

The demon mage was still shocked by Jack’s sudden disappearance when he heard a cold voice from behind.

“You shouldn’t turn your back on your enemies.”

He turned in panic, quickly using his staff to block the dagger.

Jack’s dagger hit the metallic staff.

A spark was caught at the point of impact.

The force was so intense that the mage felt his muscles shake.

He couldn’t stand the force of Jack’s attack.

Naya frowned as she watched the battle below.

The first battle ended with the loss of a Maugrin, and this was also turning against their favor.

She turned her head to Layla, who sat with a calm face.

“Isn’t that your student? How can he be having a hard time defeating a no-horned demon? A Zhurak, nonetheless? If we keep losing like this, it would be a good hit to our name.”

Layla’s brows twitched with the queen’s words, her smile fading into a deep frown.

“My Queen, you seem to underestimate my student… Wait. I select talent. You’ll see…” she said with a confident smile.

Naya turned her gaze to Layla.

She didn’t say any more and calmly watched the battle unfold.

The four demon generals didn’t look too happy with the way the battle was turning out.

Jack’s sudden increase in speed was giving him the upper hand.

“Just how much did this Zhurak train to become this strong physically?” one of the demon generals finally voiced his thoughts.

“Train… That’s highly unlikely. I can only see more fishes,” Layla scoffed at the demon general.

She glanced from the side of her eyes at the queen’s shadow.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Naya, and her curiosity was reaching its climax.

She knew Layla to be a very reserved person, the most secretive of all the generals. Seeing her act in such a way made her really curious.

She was smart, and she knew that the demon general had definitely noticed something that she didn’t.

‘What might that be?’ That was the thought in her mind.

She stared several times, but she still didn’t feel or notice anything.

Jena, who was still inside the queen’s shadow, sat quietly. She had no idea what was going on at the surface and wasn’t bothered by it either.

Her task was to find out where the queen kept the Eye of Eternity.

She had already scanned the queen with her eye the moment she entered her shadow… She didn’t see the Eye, so she could only wait till the queen returned home.

The mission wasn’t a tasking one. She had done the same so many times and never once had been caught.

‘I won’t fail… Master.’ Her frail voice sounded in her mind. She clenched her fist tightly.

A thought flashed in her mind, and her cheeks turned rosy red from the thoughts.

But she refocused her gaze on the queen.

The battle was still ongoing, and even with restrained strength, Jack still didn’t face any issue dealing with the demon Maugrin mage.

Although he had managed to close in a few times, he couldn’t get a hit. Each time, even when it appeared as though he caught the demon off guard, at the nick of the moment, he would dodge or deflect in panic.

‘How does he keep knowing when I’m close to him?’ Jack thought, a mix of frustration and intrigue.

The demon’s unconscious actions were shocking.

‘Hmm, normally, with the speed you’re moving at, he shouldn’t be able to counter.’ Even Erebus was shocked by the strangeness of the event.

Jack dashed again, turning into a blur.

He was so fast that it seemed as though he had become one with the air itself.

The mage looked around, sweat dripping down his face.

He felt the air whoosh past him…

‘That scent…’ The demon caught the whiff in the air and quickly spun around, once again blocking Jack’s attack with his staff.

‘Not this time,’ Jack thought.

He staggered back from the force of the attack, but Jack wasn’t pushed back.

[Hop Technique]

He hopped forward, thrusting the blade.

The sharp edges of the blade came closer to the demon’s neck.