Master Of None

The swing at Pride resulted in a chilling blast of water elemental mana creating an ice thrown blade. This managed to grind on the swords that Pride used to block. He still maintained the perfect crossed X shape. 

With a slash, Barry was forced back and narrowly dodged the damage. Onyx was still relaying the information to him through his skill from Walker. "This demon said he molds others. He attacks the mana system." Barry knew that this meant that if he were to fall to this demon that he would most likely end up fighting as a puppet and not as a dead man. 

"He is a title holder. The odds are that it is his skill to take over the bodies at some point or some way. It's terrible. That means at least, every single demon here could have had their own lives and dreams. They were taken by him." Walker felt that he couldn't just idly heal Barry. He needed to fight too. "If we take this one down we may be able to rescue some of the soldiers. I don't know though." 

Walker and Barry nodded as Barry attacked again. However, Walker also attacked. He spun the spear he had made and activated the blade of night and day skill. The light and darkness elemental mana flared to life and he pushed off the ground propelling himself toward the distracted demon of pride. 

Pride saw this coming and easily blocked the attacks of Barry and Walker at the same time. Walker tried to use the spear to attack with the skills he had but every single attack was blocked with the soft ting of metal. Barry was the same. However, the movements that blocked Walker's attacks also attacked him. 

Barry was not a defender. He was an attacking tank of a berserker. This meant that every attack left its mark on him. Luckily he was not receiving deep wounds. But this gave him the feeling that he was just being toyed with. 

"Neither of you can stand up to me. My lord sent me here to damage your weak pathetic city. Although, that would be imperfect. I will perfectly destroy and erase this place. I will take it for my own and build it better. It will be perfect." Pride smiled and the perfecting of his face stayed chillingly focused on Walker and Barry. 

The two swords he held shrieked with his mana and Pride rammed forward trying to stab Barry and Walker at the same time. Walker's instincts pushed his body to move at the same time as the attack came. The dance of the wild rabbit skill was already activated causing him to duck under the sword. Barry managed to use the ax to swing and deflect the attack. 

The inequality of their methods infuriated Pride. He struck again and again attempting to wound them but only managed shallow cuts and missing slashes. "You imperfect weaklings! My attacks are perfect. You must fall to them!" Pride was beginning to unravel. The more explosions from defeated demons seemed to affect his mind. He couldn't help but want to attack more when he felt a presence. 

"Ahh Pride. I thought you said you were the most powerful. How sad you are. How imperfect. You thought that your form was perfection. But you never melded perfection with power. I sent you to weaken the humans and that is what you have done. Their farmlands are burned. Now I am done with you." The voice of the demon lord rang in Prides' mind. 

The bloodshot eyes of the demon known as Pride turned completely red. He had been cast aside. Only imperfect tools were cast aside. He was not imperfect. He couldn't be. He refused to be. He was perfect. He was ideal. He was powerful. He would shape the world. He would mold everything. 

"I will show you all perfection!" The rumble of mana within Pride caused Barry and Walker to retreat. "I shake the world with my purity. I balance the light with the dark. I hold all in my hands and show it the shape it should take. I am the perfect being that stands above any and all who come to existence. I am Pride, god of the world." 

The mana caused Pride's body to change. He started to twist in on himself and become larger. His madness from being cast aside by the demon lord he had taken pride in and the insults that came with it were too much. All Pride had was his mastery skill and title to lean on. He would start his own domination. 

"This thing is losing it," Barry shouted out loud not waiting for Onyx to relay the communication. 

"That was a mastery skill. I don't know what we should do but we need a big attack." Walker was worried that Barry would lose himself to the berserk traits he had to gain the power needed to defeat Pride. 

The hulking form Pride had taken had six arms holding gruesome curved swords. He had gained six horns evenly spaced on his head. The slicked back hair had become black spikes like needles. His perfect clothing fell away to patterns of runes carved in to his body in perfect symmetry. All the demons he had molded fell to the ground with their mana seeping out of them toward Pride. "Feel the strength of a perfect being!" The roar that came through the brutal sharp teeth shook the ground. 

"Perfect being? A perfect being doesn't rob their army of mana and let an old man like me fly on the back of my summoned partner to face you, does it?" Ibis had floated down and stood in front of Pride. "You two can back away a little. I think it's time for me to retire as the guild master. Barry, my daughter will be in your care. I expect you to support her as the vice guild master for some time. Now, let's see who has the stronger mastery skill. The title holder Pride, or the white Ibis that crushed puny demons like you with a casual glance." 

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