Chapter 40: The Power of Demons (III)

Fireburning Demon was stunned by Donald’s words. It had only intended to move the other party with its speech to set itself free, but it never expected the contradictions in its own words, leaving it unable to speak further.

After laughing, Donald stopped wasting time on Fireburning Demon. With the meat already on the cutting board, everything would be done according to his will.

He took out a moonblade—a weapon far larger than those used by ordinary night elves. It had a hilt in the center and long, sharp blades extending from both ends like those of a long bow. Unlike ordinary moonblades, this weapon resembled a sun surrounded by two crescent moons. Outside the hilt was a steel ring shaped like a sun, resembling a finger guard, with an octagonal blade that allowed the demon hunter to not only swing and slash but also strike and block head-on.

This moonblade was a weapon exclusive to demon hunters, obtained by Donald through the Book of Summoning after his class change. It was a two-handed weapon. However, since he was still a mage who needed both hands to cast many spells, and space sigils made it convenient to store items, he hadn’t brought it with him.

The demonic power a demon hunter could absorb had to be either unclaimed or one they had hunted themselves. That’s why Donald took out a moonblade, preparing to use it to eliminate the opponent.

His moonblade was newly forged and had not yet been infused with any magical power. Yet, in terms of sharpness, it was already sufficient to cut through a demon’s tough skin.

With a hissing sound, Fireburning Demon, still screaming in terror, had its throat cut. Blood, steaming like magma, gushed out. At the same time, an invisible dark red force began flowing continuously from Fireburning Demon to Donald’s body.

“Ah…”

A scorching force surged into his body. First, his body trembled with pain, as if burned and torn apart, the pain reaching deep into his soul. Then, a sense of satisfaction, as if floating on clouds, arose—similar to the effects of drugs—making Donald fully understand the meaning of “pain and pleasure.”

As more demonic power was infused, a vague demonic shadow gradually formed behind Donald. This was the unfully integrated demonic power, stored as a projection within it.

Since it was his first time absorbing such power, the process was slow. With experience, it would become easier in the future. Even weaker demons could have their power drained and turn into corpses with just one encounter.

As the Fire-Burning Demon took its last breath and turned into a withered corpse, the silver badge in Donald’s spatial mark shattered as well. Having completed the process of absorbing power, Donald took a deep breath, exhaled a puff of foul air, and then laughed excitedly. He now felt his body brimming with strength; his once soft physique had developed firm, smooth muscle lines, and his height seemed to have increased by an inch or two. His facial features had also changed slightly, becoming more defined, adding a touch of resilience to his already handsome appearance. After his emotions settled, Donald ordered his summoned creatures and Clinton to clean up the battlefield, then began studying the new abilities he had gained from absorbing the demon’s power. First was the activation of the Demon-Hunting Eye, which gave him a natural advantage when facing demons—staring at them could, with some probability, intimidate them into fear, even preventing them from fighting or escaping. This ability depended on the number of demons he had slain and the target’s willpower. Since the Fire-Burning Demon he had absorbed possessed mental magic talents and could cast Fear once a day, the power of the Demon-Hunting Eye was further enhanced. At the same time, he could see through the basic attributes and sources of power of demon creatures, allowing him to predict most of their abilities. The Fire-Burning Demon could use abilities such as Detect Goodness, See Through Invisibility, and Detect Magic, so Donald’s Demon-Hunting Eye could now not only target demon creatures but also easily reveal magical traps and invisibility spells below silver level. Additionally, the Fire-Burning Demon’s talent for fire power was also passed to him to some extent, greatly increasing the strength of his Sacrificial Fire. The Demon Skin he acquired also granted him two innate spells: moderate fire resistance and a Scorching Shield. The former made fire spells below level three almost ineffective against him, while reducing the energy damage from bronze-level flames by 30% to 40%. Flame attacks from silver-level stronglings could only reduce the damage by 10% to 20%. The Scorching Shield surrounded him in blazing flames, and any enemy who approached to attack him would suffer burns—equivalent to being able to cast a level-four bronze spell, Flame Shield, at all times.

However, by inheriting the advantages of the Fire Demonic Power, he also took on its drawbacks. Thus, when faced with attacks from freezing cold and similar energies, Donald would suffer double the damage.

In addition to these abilities, he could temporarily or permanently infuse demonic power into his weapons, a process akin to enchantment that allowed him to transform the Moonblade into a powerful magical weapon. The specifics depended on the attributes of the demonic power used. For example, if he infused Fire Demonic Power into the Moonblade, it would gain basic flame damage and the ability to project flames.

Unfortunately, Donald did not inherit the Fire Demonic Power’s flame abilities. Otherwise, like those sorcerers or evil magicians, he could cast flame spells at will, greatly enhancing his strength. Yet, infusing weapons with demonic power could achieve similar effects, so Donald was not disappointed.

His passive skill, Evasion, was also enhanced by the demonic power. It made his movements swift, allowing him to create shadow illusions when dodging enemy attacks. Whether in ranged combat or close-quarters fighting, there was a chance that enemy attacks would hit the shadow illusions instead of his true form. This evasion ability grew stronger as the power of the demonic illusions increased.

Finally, there was the ultimate skill already available: Demon Transformation. It allowed him to take on the form of the most powerful demon he had hunted, gaining its strength boost. This increased a Demon Hunter’s life force by at least one rank and provided extremely fast magic recovery. Both his spellcasting and combat abilities grew by more than ten times, and he could use all the innate abilities of that demon.

Donald couldn’t resist giving it a try. His muscles began to bulge, his bones grew larger, and soon he stood three meters tall, with a pair of dark demonic wings appearing on his back. Aside from his face remaining his own, his body was essentially that of a human-shaped demon.

It turned out this ultimate skill altered his appearance, causing his body to swell dramatically. Though he didn’t develop scales or anything similar, he became even more demonic, looking like a demon king.

After recovering from the transformation briefly, Donald let out a sigh.

“What a shame—such a form is far too eye-catching! Though it can’t be easily shown to outsiders, it truly lives up to being a hero’s ultimate skill. I feel that after transforming, my strength has surpassed the bronze level and approached the early silver stage. Even compared to the original Fire Fiend, I’m only slightly weaker in terms of power, but using it at critical moments can save my life!”
Donald’s sudden transformation into a monster didn’t surprise the summoned creatures cleaning up the battlefield or his utterly loyal subordinates like Clinton at all. Eric, who knew little about demons and mages, simply thought Donald was experimenting with some strange spells, so he didn’t give it much thought.
Additionally, Donald used the Book of Truth to assess his own condition. The results showed that after acquiring the heroic race traits and demonic power, his vitality had reached the limit his current body could sustain. His lifespan was several times that of ordinary humans in the main world, and with his current level of strength, living for three hundred years wouldn’t be a problem. If he could absorb one or two silver-level demons, his lifespan could even increase to four or five hundred years, and as long as he could handle it, he could keep improving indefinitely.
This was a huge surprise for Donald. Compared to other human lords and mages, he had plenty of time to gain military achievements, manage his territory, and cultivate himself. If he still couldn’t become a great lord or a gold-tier powerhouse, then living such a long life would be a waste!