Reincarnator RB Dragons, ch 54

The fight was not going well. Kevin sprang aside, barely dodging a gout of hellish flame that demolished the forest behind him. However, unlike the way Historia had fought with Lydia, the demon was not toying with him. He was deadly serious, aiming to kill.

So far, Kevin’s experience, his natural strength and agility, and the augmentation of all of his divine support spells, more than he’d ever been able to cast before, plus his abilities he’d gotten from monsters, and [Elvish Acuity],were all working together to keep him alive.  Even [Perfect Seasoning] had been useful, helping him find areas to escape to when he was attacked with area spells.

"Kevin, Kevin, Kevin," said Historia conversationally. The demon gestured upwards and Kevin barely managed to dodge a cage of spectral bone that erupted from the ground. He ran towards Historia, trying to get close enough to use his blade, but the demon pivoted and sent a slash hellish of energy his direction. Kevin dodged to one side and threw out his empty hand. He had barely gotten close enough to hit Historia with [Soul Shock].

The demon grunted as he took the damage, but it wasn't enough to even split the skin. Kevin just wasn't strong enough yet. He had a feeling that this spell would have probably killed any normal person.  From a certain perspective, it was one of the most powerful attacks he had since it couldn't actually be dodged very easily. However, it took some time to cast, he had to be relatively close to hit, it left him vulnerable in some ways, and most importantly, it wasn't doing enough damage to Historia.

Based on what Kevin could see, the spell probably made the demon probably felt like he was getting hit by a giant baseball bat of spirit. Meanwhile, despite Historia's powerful regeneration, the stab wounds on his side still oozed evil looking blood. The substance was thick like pitch or tar and smoked as it dripped on the ground. Kevin suspected that the reason the wounds hadn't healed yet was because his sword had been divinely enchanted.

But he was confused. He’d assumed his soul magic could be effective on the demon, maybe even super effect.v  It seemed Historia was confused too. The huge fiend glanced at Kevin's leg where he'd taken a nasty cut earlier after bouncing off the ground and he grunted, "Your largest wound has already closed. Interesting. You seem stronger in this incarnation than you did when you lived as a dog before."

Kevin grinned through bright, bloody teeth. "I don't know," he snarled. "It's a mystery for the ages, isn't it?" However, despite all of Kevin's bluster, he wasn't feeling optimistic about survival.

He just wasn’t able to do enough damage to Historia to end the fight.  Meanwhile, his mana kept draining in his werewolf form.  There just wasn’t enough time to drag it out any further.  If he did, he was concerned about Lydia, too.

The hatchling hadn’t moved in a while.  Her large, limp form draped over the rocky ground.  Early on during his battle with Historia, the demon had gotten a sly look and threw a large rock at Lydia.  Kevin had ignored it, even scoffed at the dragon.

If he’d shown any concern at all, that might have been the end.  There was no way that Kevin could defend both Lydia and himself.  He’d actually drawn Historia away over the course of the fight, exploiting the fact that the demon’s actual mission was to kill him.  

Lydia had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Lion Iguana Neurotoxin Venom] had slowed the demon at first, but it looked like he was shaking it off.  Kevins odds of survival were getting worse by the second.

The sky overhead was hazy, seen through some sort of dome, likely Historia’s cloaking spell.  There was no way he could exist on this world without being immediately destroyed if he couldn’t hide himself well.  They hadn’t reached the edge of the bubble yet, and now Kevin suspected it moved with the demon.

He and Lydia  weren’t getting help. There would be no rescue, no reinforcements, no Alariel flying in to save them.

I’m running out of gas, he thought.  How can I be sneaky? He snarled at himself. Don’t think like a werewolf, think like a goblin!  Ironically, that actually did help him think of a plan.  It wasn’t a good one, but it was a plan.

The five minutes or so had been a blur as Kevin had stayed alive and not much else.  If not for the initial damage he’d done, he might not have held on this long.  Historia was favoring one side of his body now.  But the advantage of this fact was the demon hadn’t seen much of Kevin’s magic.  

He probably only thinks I can use [Soul Shock].  He hoped he was right.  His plan depended on it.

Kevin began gathering up [Arcane Surge].  He also reached out, using what as almost the last bit of his mana to prepare a large mass of spectral power for [Spectral Weaponry].  Straining every bit of his magic control, he also gathered power for one last [Soul Shock].

The other part of his plan would depend on how well he knew Historia.  Kevin hoped he had accurately predicted the demon’s personality.

Then, the next time Historia threw another wave of dark energy at him, Kevin reacted similar to how he had before.  After barely dodging, he ran in, acting like he was trying to get close to use his sword.  Historia pivoted and threw spells at him, destroying the ground and chewing up the surrounding vegetation.  

This time, Kevin let himself get hit by some of it.  It was a gamble.  Luckily, he timed the self-sabotage just right, and instead of losing a leg, he just lost part of his foot.  He cried out and rolled forward, crashing into a pile on the ground.  But as the shadow of the demon covered him, he raised on hand and unleashed [Soul Shock] right into Historia’s face.

With a cry of pain and rage, the demon reeled back.  Then Kevin hopped to his feet, ignored the injury, even through agony, [Past Limits Focus] activating on its own.  He ran as fast as he could at the infernal giant, but Historia was just too large.  His legs were so long that two steps back took him out of Kevin’s range.

That’s when, with a cry of frustration and hate, Kevin reared back and threw his sword at Histroia.  The blade threw true, point first, buzzing like a spear for Historia’s chest.  Quick as a cat, the demon bent down just, grabbed a fallen tree, and whacked the sword away.  Then he smiled.  The gigantic mouth full of shark teeth came closer, filling Kevin’s vision.

He was spent.  There wasn’t much left to give, and Historia must have felt it, too.  Like a striking snake, the demon darted forward.  Kevin tried to get away, reaching one arm behind him, but his foot gave out and he landed on the smoking ground.  The next thing he knew, he was lifted into the air, laughing growing louder as Historia brought him closer to his maw full of teeth.

The mouth opened wider.  Historia’s massive arms were practical impervious, and his fingers were armored, too.  Kevin was covered in blood, exhausted, almost at the end of the line.  But this was what he wanted.  Now it was time to see if his gamble would pay off.

He activated [Spectral Weaponry] again forming a long, powerful spear that floating into his hand.  The moment the strangely buzzing material touched Kevin’s skin, he cast [anti-bin], and [weapon swiftness].  Two divine spells were all he could manage without making noise or taking more than a second, after all.

His spirit, already ragged, felt like it was tearing in two, but he endured it.  [Past Limits Focus] was being pushed to its limits as well.  The ability let Kevin keep his wits.

Then he activated [Arcane Surge].  This time, in the spaces between moments, Historia felt something was wrong.  The demon’s huge eye began to roll in its socket, changing from a look of pleasure to worry, but it was already too late.  

Kevin dumped every scrap of [Arcane Surge] into his spectral, divinely enchanted spear. He activated [Ambush Camouflage] on a whim, and surprisingly, it activated. Then, using every muscle in his divinely buffed body, he threw the spear down Historia’s throat.

Light flashed.

When the darkness moved in, Kevin wondered if he was dying.  He decided that wouldn't be such a bad thing, but he hoped that Lydia was still alive.