CHAPTER 99: TOO MUCH HATE

’This thing has too much hate inside it...’ Johan’s body unconsciously trembled after seeing the pure rage in the Daimon’s eyes—even though they had just met.

For a creature that was a user of Fell Hex, and with rage being an emotion of strength, the combination became a recipe for disaster.

Sebastian’s body disappeared, instantly appearing behind the Daimon as his sword instinctively moved to cut its head off.

Manabeasts had unusual regeneration capabilities, but they all depended on either Aether or Mana. When a sword like this is used, of course they die instantly.

The Daimon sensed the danger seeping from the blade just two centimeters from his neck. His right elbow instantly moved, trying to strike Sebastian in the gut—but—

Sebastian vanished, appearing right above the Daimon, startling him. He immediately understood that it was Orihime’s doing, just as he unsheathed his long sword to deflect Sebastian’s attack.

But suddenly, Sebastian vanished—Johan appearing instead. And he showed no intention of parrying the incoming foot-long sharp blade, simply letting it hit his chest.

The Daimon paused. It was too easy.

The blade instantly cut through Johan’s ribs, trying to split him in half—but his eyes widened when Johan, instead of begging for mercy, grinned.

The blade, even at that speed, began to slow—as if it were being cemented into place. And it was—by Johan’s flesh.

The Daimon immediately tried to pull the blade out, but Johan, with a grim face and a crazed grin, grabbed the Daimon’s hand holding the blade, canceling his escape before it could even start.

Even though Johan couldn’t feel pain, he could feel the cold blade against his sensitive organs—and it felt worse than pain. Like touching the inside of your throat—no pain, but a nauseating, uncomfortable sensation.

The Daimon’s eyes trembled as the gleam of Sebastian’s blade reflected in them—heading straight for his heart.

And for the first time in his life... he felt the threat of death. There was not a single fight he’d ever been in that ended so one-sidedly. He hadn’t even had the chance to use his martial arts or swordsmanship.

He fanatically tried to pull the blade out—but it was no use. Johan wasn’t just holding his hand normally; he was applying a four times gravitational pull—something that required immense strength to break free from.

The Daimon closed his eyes as the blade came within a centimeter of his heart. Orihime, Olivia, and Sebastian all saw this—and assumed he had finally given up. They even celebrated slightly in their hearts—they hadn’t even needed to use their full strategy.

But Johan, with the blade stuck between his ribs, felt an ominous feeling. And as someone with the God Tree’s instincts—that definitely meant something.

The air began to tremble—as if molecules were separating and breaking apart. Fusion reactions sparked between them, causing micro-explosions to form out of thin air, startling both Sebastian and Johan.

Sebastian immediately used anti-gravity—not as powerful as [Reflect], but still strong enough to prevent his body from exploding into pieces.

Johan’s body did explode—into millions of pieces—but...

He walked out from behind Olivia, still standing beside Orihime at the backlines. He had used Perfect Clone the instant he felt that ominous premonition.

Orihime quickly reacted too—teleporting Sebastian beside herself.

"W-What was that?" Olivia asked hesitantly, watching the chain explosions still occurring in the air—the Daimon hidden somewhere behind the smoke.

"He... felt fear. And used that somehow, with Fell Hex, to cause this..." Johan said, uncertainty in his voice, still startled that his and Sebastian’s perfect plan had failed.

But he had clearly seen the Daimon’s dark purple eyes trembling—just like any other human or animal facing death. Manabeasts were mutated biological creatures, after all.

"He released some of his Aether. Maybe... using that fear of death to increase its potency..." Orihime said with an emotionless face. Since it happened within her spell range, she had clearly seen what the Daimon had done.

The explosions finally ceased. The smoke slowly cleared—revealing the unharmed Daimon.

But then—

All four of them noticed the Daimon’s fingers twitching violently, even though he looked calm on the surface.

Johan’s mind lit up instantly—remembering a game guide he’d once read about defeating a Daimon. He quickly turned to Orihime and the others, explaining his discovery seriously.

"His finger and brain connection weakened because he just felt relief—a positive emotion. Daimons use a specific kind of Fell Hex—one powered purely by negative emotions. In return, positive emotions become a kind of poison to their bodies."

Orihime’s face went pale. He could never be defeated as long as he—or anyone among them—harbored even a trace of negative emotion.

Sebastian nodded seriously, instantly shifting his mindset—focusing purely on hope and the image of defeating the Daimon.

Meanwhile, Olivia looked a little shaken—unconsciously feeding her fear to the Daimon. She still couldn’t fully control her emotions. She wasn’t a warrior and had never trained in breathing techniques or mental endurance exercises.

Johan sighed.

Fell Hex was a mysterious, high-risk, high-reward technique. His Aether had become incredibly potent with just a little fear—but his fingers had weakened so much that he couldn’t even grip his sword properly due to a sliver of relief.

The Daimon quickly composed himself, drawing from his reserves—the hatred of Orihime’s clone, the fear he had just felt, and his raw rage at having come so close to defeat.

His fingers immediately stopped twitching. His eyes grew sharper. And the pressure emanating from his body made even Sebastian begin to sweat.

Then, the Daimon leaped toward them—almost flying through the air with how weightless he seemed. But they knew—it was just a jump.

Instantly, he was mere centimeters away.

At first, his blade was aimed at Sebastian, and everyone—including Orihime—focused on Sebastian.

But then Orihime’s eyes widened—her knees giving out as she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

The Daimon charging toward Sebastian vanished—replaced by a second, eerily identical Daimon slowly pulling a long sword from Orihime’s back.

His pupils lifted high—as if mocking them.

A.N.=Another mass release for my good kittens, edited Chapters from mobile on library’s internet, sorry if any errors, I will edit in 2-3 days, so if you’re then you’re good