Forsaken By The Gods, I Made A Contract With the Demon King

Levi felt a familiar sensation wash over him. The world around him blurred, and in the next moment, he found himself transported to a new floor of the sanctum.

Gone were the vast arena and the chained deity. In their place lay a landscape of nightmares.

The sky above was an inky void, devoid of stars or the red moon he had grown accustomed to. Instead, twisted, gnarled trees dotted the landscape, their branches reaching out like grasping claws. The ground beneath his feet was soft and spongy, giving way slightly with each step.

Levi remained remarkably calm as he surveyed his surroundings. He had encountered a god, and by this point, if anything were to surprise him, it would have to be at least a Demon King.

"This place is different from the second floor," Levi mused. The second floor was also a desolate land, but the terrain there was stable, with a red moon hanging in the sky, providing adequate light. Here, visibility was poor, with only a twilight-like illumination from an unknown source.

Suddenly, Noir, still perched on his shoulder, let out a distressed caw. The bird's feathers were ruffled, its small body tense with anxiety. At the same time, the Eternal Vigil around his neck flared up, signaling imminent danger.

Following Noir's anxious gaze, Levi's eyes scanned the eerie landscape and noticed movement in the shadows. Dark shapes flitted between the trees, always just out of clear sight. A chill ran down his spine as he recognized what they were.

"No way…"

Black Wings. Dozens, if not hundreds of them.

But these were not like the one he had faced before. These were smaller, weaker—more like the phantom flock that Noir could summon. Still, their sheer number was overwhelming.

Suddenly, a screeching cry pierced the air, causing Levi to instinctively activate his [Second Skin] from the Eternal Vigil. Dark vines erupted from his pendant, forming an invisible armor just as a massive shape descended from the inky sky.

Without warning, the shadows surged forth. Instead of attacking Levi directly, they all glided into the sky and, under his wide eyes, began to merge. One after another, the wings combined until, before Levi, stood a massive abomination.

The creature landed with an earth-shaking force. It was a colossal bird unlike any he had seen before, standing easily twice the height of the one he had defeated on the second floor. If not for the recent illusion of the goddess, its appearance might have frozen him in terror.

The abomination had twelve eyes, all gleaming with malevolent intelligence, and a sharp, golden beak—though, unlike the goddess, it exuded no divine aura.

Instinctively, Levi's eyes scanned the runes that materialized before him.

[Lord of the Dark Skies]

[Rank: Inept-Fallen]

Levi's blood ran cold as he read the monster's rank. This was far beyond anything he had faced so far.

Sweat dripped down Levi's back as his eyes met the massive bird, which seemed to be sizing him up rather than attacking. The Black Wing's eyes gleamed with malice, its beak twisting into a cruel snarl as it loomed over Levi, casting a suffocating shadow. Its massive wings beat slowly, stirring the air with an ominous rhythm that filled the twisted landscape with a palpable sense of dread.

There was no speech, only a low, guttural growl that reverberated through Levi's bones—a harbinger of the bloodshed to come.

Levi tightened his grip on his Eternal Vigil, pushing down the rising terror that threatened to cripple him. The creature's beady, predatory gaze locked onto him like a hunter stalking its prey, while the lesser Black Wings emerged from its shadows in response to their master's unspoken command. The dark horde moved in unison, a living mass of screeching, flapping death surrounding Levi.

There was no escape, but Levi had known that from the moment he stepped into this wretched domain. He wasn't here to run.

"You think you're scary, huh?" Levi growled, his voice a rasp of defiance.

With a guttural snarl of his own, he activated [Demonic Transformation], feeling the familiar surge of dark energy flood his veins. His muscles bulged, and his skin darkened, hardening into a hide tougher than mortal flesh. His hands morphed into deadly, serrated claws, and his vision sharpened, becoming almost predatory.

His heart thundered in his chest, matching the pounding beat of the Black Wing's wings.

The Black Wing's eyes narrowed, suddenly sensing danger from Levi. It didn't wait for him and commanded its phantom flock. The lesser Black Wings launched themselves at Levi, following their master's command—a tide of razor-sharp beaks and talons.

Thankfully, Levi's transformation completed before they could reach him, and he met them head-on. His clawed hands tore through their ranks with brutal efficiency. Blood sprayed the ground in thick arcs as he ripped the creatures apart, their dying screeches filling the air.

[Phantom Flock]

[Rank: Inept Essence]

Each of the monsters was at the peak of essence rank, but Levi, in his transformed state, was largely unaffected by their attacks. His demonic skin was so tough that it would be a miracle if these creatures could injure him. Moreover, the Second Skin of the Eternal Vigil was working wonders right now.

Despite this, there were so many of them that Levi felt as if for every one he killed, three more took its place. Their talons clawed at his flesh, their beaks tried to gouge deep into his limbs, but it was all for naught—they couldn't penetrate his defenses. Yet, he still felt the force of their attacks, like standing behind a bed while a truck slammed into him.

Even if he wasn't injured outwardly, his insides churned from the impact.

Levi barely registered the pain. His demonic form, with its lowered pain sensitivity, was built for this kind of relentless assault.

But so was the Fallen Rank Black Wing. It seemed to have finished observing Levi, as it flapped its wings and rose into the sky!

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Mass Release 01