53: Run away?

Being “pointed at and scolded” by Clarissa like that, Jerome lost all face! But he really didn't dare to “fight back hard”. He could only secretly curse Clarissa in his heart; curse as he might, in reality, he wouldn't really go and meet Clarissa's gaze.

Especially after that brief eye contact, Jerome felt a “high-level suppression,” he felt that heart-palpitating sensation. It was the feeling of “high-level suppression.”

Jerome repeatedly thought in his mind, “How is this possible!”

He was a Demon King! Even a Demon God might not be able to exert “high-level suppression” on a Demon King!

“High-level suppression” might not even exist between a Demon King and a Demon King Species; it could only be exerted on monsters, because becoming a Demon King or a Demon King Species was a leap in life, a change in hierarchy!

However, Jerome had just felt it... along with a sense of dread.

He even seemed to see a gigantic figure, a body covering the sky and earth, with wings spread wide, filled with disaster, death, destruction...

Who exactly was this guy! Where did she come from! Jerome originally didn't quite believe Clarissa when she said she wasn't a Demon King...

Now, he believed it... How could this be a Demon King! Of course, Jerome also didn't believe Clarissa was an “Apostle of the Gods.”

Gods? The so-called gods, he, Jerome, had already killed several of them!

Even gods couldn't exert “high-level suppression” on a Demon King!

Especially that gigantic figure he saw... Which god looked like that!

Clarissa had no idea Jerome was thinking so much.

Looking at Jerome's unmoving demeanor, Clarissa secretly sighed, “As expected of a ‘battle-hardened’ Demon King, he's completely unfazed by words.”

Since that was the case, then it was time for raw power! Fighting was the only way! Clarissa flapped the wings on her back, and a circle of ripples exploded behind her.

Clarissa's dragon wings sliced through the air, carrying a few wisps of white airflow as she charged towards Jerome.

Jerome waved his hand, and countless ice spikes swept towards Clarissa like a storm.

Jerome, who didn't dare to engage Clarissa in close combat, instantly transformed into a spellcaster.

With powerful magic and the strength of a Demon King, his mastery in such “magic” would not be low.

Especially since Jerome himself was considered “dual cultivation of magic and martial arts,” he was not unfamiliar with playing ranged combat when close combat was not feasible.

Clarissa looked at the sweeping ice spikes and slashed out with “Rupture” in her hand.

“Black Flame: Earth Shattering Slash!”

The black flame slammed into the ice spikes, and the columns formed by countless ice spikes were pierced through as if by a drill entering The Ground.

The black flame went straight through, charging towards Jerome.

Jerome flew upwards, then slammed both hands down.

A massive layer of ice appeared above Clarissa's head and crashed down fiercely.

Clarissa frowned slightly, spread her dragon wings on her back, and charged rapidly towards Jerome.

“Whirlwind Sword!”

The next moment, Clarissa accelerated sharply.

Jerome raised a hand, and an ice-blue beam of light shot out from his hand.

Clarissa's straight-thrusting knight's sword turned to block horizontally in front, and the ice-blue beam of light slammed into it, pushing Clarissa back.

Clarissa felt her vision darken; she had been pushed back into the range of the ice layer that had fallen earlier.

The next moment, the ice layer crashed onto her.

Boom!!!

The Ground trembled.

“Phew~” Jerome looked at the spot hit by his attack and let out a slight sigh of relief. This time, she shouldn't be feeling good!

Jerome was still very confident in his power; with powerful magic and extremely cold temperatures, he, who was known as the “Extreme Ice Venerable,” wielded Ice-type magic with unparalleled skill!

Even other Demon Kings would not feel good after taking that hit.

An ice-blue light lit up in Jerome's hand, gathering magic power.

Having finally gained the upper hand, he wanted to press his advantage!

Unfortunately, Clarissa was even fiercer than he had imagined.

Boom!

Clarissa shattered the ice layer and burst out from within, showing no signs of injury with such fierce momentum.

Jerome raised a hand, and the magic he had prepared was released.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless ice-blue orbs of light flew out from his hand.

The dense orbs of light enveloped Clarissa, making it impossible for her to dodge.

If she couldn't dodge, then she would smash them! Clarissa's pupils narrowed slightly, and black flames attached to her body surface.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ice orbs slammed into Clarissa's body one after another; the impact was strong, but it was secondary—the strongest aspect was the extremely cold magic power they carried.

Fortunately, Clarissa's black flames were also formidable.

The ice orbs could not stop Clarissa's advance.

Jerome frowned, looking at Clarissa, who was burning with black flames all over her body; clearly, she was holding nothing back.

The end of the battle was close combat.

Clarissa approached Jerome and fiercely slashed down with her sword.

“Black Flame: Earth Shattering Slash!”

Jerome condensed an ice shield in front of him to withstand Clarissa's attack, and his right hand shot out an extremely cold beam of light towards Clarissa.

Bang!

Clarissa endured Jerome's attack; in terms of power level, Clarissa's black flames were clearly superior.

With Clarissa's powerful body and black flames, enduring Jerome's extremely cold beam attack, when she was prepared, Jerome's attack clearly couldn't shake her.

Clarissa frowned, and the black flames on her body suddenly surged.

Jerome felt a threat from Clarissa; this sudden feeling made Jerome frown.

Bang!

Countless ice spikes exploded from Jerome's body, attempting to envelop Clarissa.

“Again with this move! It's useless!” Clarissa roared, and the black flames on her body surged, transforming into a giant black flame dragon. Those ice spikes melted upon contact with the black flames.

“Huh?” Just as Clarissa was about to get “fired up” and fiercely battle Jerome.

She found that Jerome was already gone.

“Ran away?” Clarissa felt a sense of being left hanging, and the black flames on her body slowly receded.

She carefully sensed her surroundings; indeed, Jerome was nowhere to be seen, likely having already fled.

Jerome, who had already run more than ten miles away, slowed down his escape. He used the escape skill “Ice Crystal Leap,” consuming half of his magic power to directly flee far away.

“Phew~ Forget it, I'll give up on this place! It's not a place worth fighting for anyway...” Jerome sighed, feeling that he was truly a bit unlucky!

He had nothing to do, so he brought one of his subordinates and casually joined a monster army to come here.

He had intended to “show off,” but as a result, his subordinate died, and he himself fled, completely losing face!

The threat he had just felt from Clarissa wasn't due to fear.

He just felt it wasn't worth it!

If he continued fighting, it would definitely be a huge loss; even if he could win, he wouldn't feel good. Since that was the case, why bother fighting!

After all, he himself was just here to “mess around.”

He wasn't that dedicated, and it would be a thankless effort.

Such a losing endeavor was not something a smart demon like him should do.