Once Human, Now a Parasite

As she heard that, Lucy frowned and asked:

"I thought it was the first time you’ve met us . "

The Joker burst out in laughter and retorted:

"Naaah I tricked you two . I already knew Arthur but it was the first time I saw the old you . "

He paused for a second before resuming the long story:

"It not long after we became brothers that we reached the underground city . "

Still standing behind the door, Angelina was listening to the narrating Joker and becoming more and more dumbfounded . To think that Arthur was the Joker’s brother, if her mother were to hear of this, she would certainly flip out . In terms of status, Arthur is her son-in-law but also the brother of her teacher, which makes him someone she should treat with respect rather than kill him at their first meeting .

****

Fifteen days after the brother’s brawl, the trio managed to reach the old church which became heavily fortified and surrounded by countless guards . This place seemed to be the territory of those dark-skinned creatures as Arthur and co haven’t met a single Cthulhu ever since they arrived in White Raven .

"Do we slaughter our way through or?"-The Joker

"There’s too many of them, we won’t be able to hold on for long . "-Arthur

Leiu was about to suggest something only for a violent tremor to occur, startling the hiding trio . The red sky was split in two as an evil and suffocating aura spread to all directions . The ground under the church cracked and a large hand sprung from the underground, it used the surface to support the body coming from below and in the process, killed dozens of those dark-skinned creatures .

It didn’t take long for a gigantic monster-like creature to appear before Arthur and his brothers . This being had dark skin and long white hair, it was carrying a blood-red bow and its pupils were golden like the sun .

The second it appeared on the surface, it immediately spotted the stealthy invaders as it turned its head towards them, staring at them with its golden eyes .

Having been discovered, the three jumped in front of the gigantic creatures, ready to fight, however, the creature was as sentient as its followers .

"I thought you’ve got rid of all those low-lives . "

It had a deep voice that resounded across the whole area, making its kneeling followers tremble with fear . One of them was different than the others, it was taller and had countless scars on its body . It was definitely their leader and the one who facilitated the summoning .

"My liege, please rest assured . We will get rid of them right now . "

It motioned for the kneeling creatures to apprehend the invaders and put them to rest but its actions were a bit late as Arthur, Wolfram, and Leiu already started their assault .

Each of them unleashed a devastating strike, killing many of the defenseless enemies . By the time they picked their weapons and were about to fight, more than a third of them were slaughtered .

In reality, the trio’s goal was to eliminate the boss first so after getting rid of some of them, Arthur and Leiu leapt at the gigantic beings, each swinging down their weapon .

Makaze sent out a creepy jet black skull while Anduril unleashed a strike that split the very fabric of this world, causing the fragile space to shatter in pieces .

Alas, this ’Devil’ was way stronger than any of their other opponents . It simply used its blood-red bow to block the two strikes, not even flinching when it was hit by their combined assault .

Just as it blocked their two strikes, a large chicken came flying from above and crashed into the Devil . Just as the two clashed, the chicken exploded, causing the target to take a few steps back .

By the time the dust cleared, countless Dark-skinned creatures appeared from underground, the surrounded their ’God’ and raised their weapons .

"A bunch of flies!"

An arrow made of white light materialized in the Devil’s hand, it swiftly raised its bow and readied itself . Despite its enormous size, its movements were nimble and fast .

The Devil pulled the string and released the arrow, sending it flying at the prepared trio . The might of the arrow was so strong that the collateral damage it did was enough to kill many of the Devil’s followers, however, it was uncaring about their miserable lives and only wanted to get rid of those invaders .

Leiu stabbed Anduril on the ground, resulting in a thick wall made of darkness to sprung from below and block the incoming arrow . However, it wasn’t enough to totally resist it so Arthur conjured a semi-transparent Dark Barrier which not only strengthened the black wall but also acted as another layer of defense . The Joker added the last touch by throwing one of his special cards at the wall before him .

The card flashed with a red light before it melted inside the dark wall, causing it to change color and rise even higher, piercing the clouds and splitting the sky .

In the end, the arrow was only able to penetrate half of the wall before it vanished, nonetheless, the Devil wasn’t done with them . It started bombarding them with numerous white arrows, each one stronger than the last .

By the time the wall was obliterated and a hole big enough for arrows appeared, the trio was ready to launch their counter-attack . Arthur was the first to attack, he tightly held Makaze, which became much larger than its master . Black flames covered them both as the red sky was covered by an encroaching darkness .

Stuck in that world of absolute darkness, the Devil started firing arrow everywhere, obliterating the forest surrounding the church and killing many of its followers .

The darkness lasted for a brief moment before it was absorbed by Arthur, who injected into Makaze and slashed down, sending a devastating strike at the Devil .

This time, the hit was enough to damage the opponent and cause a bloody scar to appear on its stomach but this was but the beginning as The Joker flashed a card at the Devil while mumbling

"First move of the Magician Series: The Devil Within!"

The card turned into countless specks of light and in its stead appeared an equally large being, very similar to the devil but its skin was red instead of black .

It ran toward the Devil and pushed it on the ground then mounted it before starting a bombardment of punches . Unfortunately, the Joker’s ’summon’ lasted for five seconds but dealt considerable damage as the Devil’s face had been beaten into a pulp .

Last but not least was Leiu, who surprisingly discarded Anduril and pulled what seemed to be a pulsating black heart from his chest . He crushed the heart then used the Darkness within it on the ground, causing it to transform into a dangerous black whirlpool which devoured everything .

Everyone in their surroundings was sucked into the whirlpool, including the injured Devil . Unlike its followers, which were dead for sure, the Devil managed to break free from that whirlpool after an intense struggle, however, it suffered heavy damages and was on the brink of dying .

"Fools! You don’t know who you’re facing!"

He glared at them while snickering, uncaring about its current state . It hysterically laughed while stating:

"My death will be your reckoning!"

He stabbed his hand on its chest, ending its own life and lifelessly falling the ground . Before they could catch a breather, the three noticed that the corpse of the Devil started ballooning in size, clearly about to explode .

Left with no choice, they swiftly retreated, easily dodging the explosion that occurred right after . Sadly, when they thought this will finally be over, the trio was met with another thing that shocked their very souls .

An earth-shattering earthquake occurred seconds later and a majestic city rose from below . The shimmering Mana Crystal pierced the blood-red canopy and stretched as far as the eye could see .

Affected by the red sky, the crystal shone with a malevolent red light before it started shattering, revealing a figure as big as the crystal .

It was a dark-skinned creature with surprisingly handsome facial features and a strange-looking golden and red bow on its back . Its height surpassed 100 meters and the pressure it emitted was truly frightening and suffocating .

To make matters worse, several silhouettes appeared around this god-like figure, they had the same size as the Devil the trio had just killed and there were at least ten or fifteen of them .

It was then that the three brothers tasted real despair but it only lasted for a second before each of them picked up their weapon, ready to fight again . There’s no place to run to and no one to lend a hand, they were on their own and they truly believed they can get out of here alive .

"We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools!"-The Joker