Modern World Warlock-Chapter 363: Netherius’ Transformation

After Asphodel was flung into a crumbling building, she rose from the debris and licked the drop of blood that traveled from her head to her lips.

Her body produced a dark red aura as her obsidian hair flowed in the wind, and when the vampire mother grinned, her fangs seemed to have grown as well.

"How bothersome. You were supposed to be on my side," Netherius spoke as his missing arm regenerated.

Asphodel used her bat wings to hover near Dante, and the warlock could sense the vampire's overwhelming aura, making it clear that she was finally taking her opponent seriously.

Even though Dante had known Asphodel for many years, he had only seen her being truly angry once.

'Yeah, this district is done for…' Dante thought, quickly scanning the destruction that surrounded them.

"Dante. I'm going all out," Asphodel muttered under her breath, making the warlock sigh, knowing that he would have to do the same.

With a grin that reached both of her ears, Asphodel flew down with her relic in hand, clashing against Netherius' scythe and generating another shockwave that only added to the destruction of the city.

The necromancer wasn't smiling anymore. Initially, he was enjoying using his powers to their extent, but as his subordinates kept betraying him, his plans began to crumble, and his smile faded once he realized that his victory wouldn't be as easy to attain as he believed.

When Netherius released a wave of necrotic energy to push Asphodel away, Dante appeared from behind and slashed his back with his scythe.

"Hmm?" Dante hummed when he felt the blade of his weapon striking a rigid frame, feeling a sudden force that pushed him away while burning his skin and making him roll on the ground for several meters.

'-The hell was that?' He thought, standing up and gazing at Netherius.

Right when Netherius was struck by Dante's scythe, he cast a spell to protect himself before it could utterly slice him in half, making the necromancer's body contort as the sound of his bones breaking echoed in the battlefield.

His skin was completely covered by a thick mantle of bone, which was the reason Dante's scythe couldn't completely slice his body.

The necrotic energy that revolved around Netherius made it difficult for Asphodel and Dante to approach, so they waited a few seconds for an opening to appear.

A few seconds later, the swirling energy expanded and pushed the pair back a few meters, but Dante kept his gaze locked on his enemy.

Netherius' entire body had changed. He didn't look like a human anymore. Instead, his whole body was made of weaved dragon bones.

He had five horns on his head that resembled a crown, and the only visible feature of his face was his aquamarine eyes, glowing under the bone layer.

For a brief second, Dante was frozen in place with his eyes widened. The overwhelming aura that flowed from the necromancer was on par with that of the strongest demon kings he had faced.

Since Dante was a master at controlling umbra, he was always able to 'steal' most of the energy that demons used, no matter how overwhelming it felt.

However, Netherius barely extruded any umbra from his body—it was pure necrotic energy that corrupted and withered anything it made contact with.

In response, both Dante and Asphodel released their pent-up energy, and the clash of their powerful auras created a flash of light before the sound of their weapons hitting each other drowned the area.

With Netherius' transformation, he was able to block the attacks from his opponents' relics using his bone-layered arms.

Using the blood pouring out of her injuries, Asphodel chanted the spell "Burning Blood" and aimed her palm at Netherius, shooting numerous blobs of blood at him.

The necromancer avoided the first few projectiles, but with Dante pressuring him at a close distance, he was forced to raise one arm and take the hit.

Right as Asphodel's scalding blood landed on the necromancer's forearm, it made a sizzling sound and produced a bit of smoke. Still, it would take a lot more projectiles to fully melt the bone layers covering his body.

When Dante tried to use the opportunity to strike with his scythe, Netherius instinctively generated a powerful shockwave that pushed him back, making him vault in the air and land safely on his feet.

Without wasting a second, the necromancer advanced simultaneously and appeared before Dante, raising his bone scythe over his head. However, his arm seemed to get stuck before he could bring down his blade.

Dante noticed the thin red thread holding the necromancer's arm back, which was being controlled by Balthazar, standing over fifty meters away from the battle.

Gritting his teeth and letting out a somewhat exhausted grunt, Dante waved his scythe horizontally and generated a massive wave of black fire that not only struck Netherius' torso but also kept traveling further and destroyed the base of a building, knocking it down.

Still, while Dante's attack would have sliced anyone else in half, all Netherius had was a large, black, burnt spot on his body. Nevertheless, the attack angered the necromancer even more.

As the two lunged forward and continuously clashed their weapons at speeds that would have been hard for an average person to see, they moved along the streets of the city, leaving a wake of destruction in their trail.

Even with their incredibly fast movements, Asphodel also joined the clash and supported Dante, trying to overwhelm the necromancer with their attacks.

While Netherius couldn't block every single strike, his hardened body did the job for him, as he could barely feel their blades hitting.

Asphodel used "Burning Blood" to burn through his defenses while relentlessly waving her blade and stabbing the areas that were sizzling.

Suddenly, Netherius opened his arms as he was still holding onto his weapons, leaving what seemed to be an opening for the pair to attack.

'Hmm?' Dante thought, instantly recognizing the bait that the necromancer had set up for them.

However, Asphodel was blinded by her onslaught of attacks and took the opportunity to land a powerful strike.

Right as her red rapier made contact with his body, the vampire widened her eyes, feeling like her body had gotten stuck.

*Stab!* The gushing sound of flesh echoed, and when Asphodel regained her movement, she noticed the massive bone spike that had stabbed her back and was coming out of her belly.