Bab 73: Acedia
"Hellfire! Purge this world of the sinful and temper the pure!" Uriel started the fight with a chant.
White fire brimming with pure radiance enveloped her whole figure, creating a miniature star.
Acedia flinched as the light blinded his vision. Smoke started to hiss from his body as the heat of the flames scorched him.
The radiant star started to shrink as it was absorbed by Uriel's blade, infusing it with extreme heat and the property of her flames.
She stretched her wings wide as she crouched mid-air and turned 90 degrees.
With her head towards the demon and her heels on the opposite side, she pulled her right hand with the glowing hot sword to her left side.
Then she kicked off.
With speed so terrifying that the explosion resulting from the kick was dozens more times louder than a clap of thunder.
Space itself seemed to distort with her speed as the glowing blade left an afterimage, giving her the appearance of a shooting star.
Demon of apathy nodded in approval.
"An original seraphim must be at least capable of this much. But how about you try a bit more? It's not like there is anything in your way." He analyzed her with boredom evident in his voice.
He raised his right hand and covered it with an immense amount of mana, demonic essence, and miasma to the point where he looked like he had a vortex of swirling dark energy as a hand.
The sword collided with his forearm and the resulting impact shook the whole volcano. Uriel quickly retreated back to her original position after seeing the state her opponent was in.
"Ouch, that hurts. Is pain nullification doing its thing?" He complained as he grabbed his bruised arm.
He continued as he saw the damage notification."That's a lot of damage for such small wound. I almost forgot how fearful angels can be when they are not yapping about justice and stuff.
Whatever, it's my turn now."
He snapped his fingers with his left hand and 3 purple spheres the size of a basketball materialized in the air.
Then, he opened his mouth and the magic spheres flew into his mouth as the seraphim of judgment stared in shock.
"Yuck!" He shivered at the taste.
"But I tasted worse."
"Anyway, it's my turn for real now." He smirked as he covered his fists with a silver aura.
Noticing the gaze upon him, he pondered what made Uriel so distraught.
"Uhh, refreshments are allowed, right? I didn't break any rules, did I?"
"Is that your kin?" She muttered as the actions of the demon disturbed her to a degree that she did not know was possible.
"Even the lord of gluttony does not consume his followers without feeling yet you consume their souls as if they are just a snack."
Acedia shrugged.
"They kept sleeping and I didn't want to go out and fetch some food so… well… food is food.
Although my fellow sloths taste like shit the nutrition is there so no complaints from me."
Uriel's expression darkened as she assumed a combat stance once again.
"Truly, apathy is a great sin. It must be exterminated right here and right now."
Acedia raised his arms in resignation.
"Whoa, whoa! No need to jump to the extremities right off the bat! Are you seriously going to kill a demon duke? In current times? Don't you need everyone to be able to fight that thing?"
He tried to persuade the seraphim to recede her bloodlust but to no avail. He had already gotten on her "Must exterminate" list.
"Even if I spare you, what's the point? You will sleep through the end of the world, won't you?"
She refuted his argument and summoned the same colorless radiant flame and enveloped herself with it, augmenting her already superior physical prowess even further.
She was about to summon more flames to enhance her sword but decided against it.
'He probably used the skill [Idle] when he received my strike just now.' She analyzed her opponent.
'I remember Raphael warning me of it. It reduces the speed of anything he wants, including particles right?
I felt my flames freezing in place right before the moment of impact. The particles infused with my blade separated and remained in place so only my sword reached him without the enhancements.
That explains the lack of injury. Another thing about him was [Apathy] was it.
It makes him immune to all sorts of status effects and that includes my hellfire.
Troublesome skill for sure but I can win.'
With the analysis of Acedia fully formulated in her head, she dashed straight at him once again but with even greater speed than before.
With techniques honed for more than a dozen millennia, she slashed and stabbed at him.
Not bothering to dodge, Acedia responded by enhancing his fists with an aura of lethargy and signaled Uriel to attack.
His movements were crude and unrefined compared to her elegant sword dance but with his skills, he dealt more damage than her. In just a minute, both of them traded over a thousand attacks.
The sword weaved through the air gracefully and every swing found its mark. There was no fault, nothing to criticize in her swordsmanship. Every slash and every stab became the foundation for the next strike.
She responded to the Acedia's fist aimed at her gut by gently putting her sword under his hands and pushing forward, altering the direction of the attack.
She continued the parry by pushing the sword to his throat and cutting it.
The result was a shallow cut comparable to that of a scratch. It did not bleed and did not deal any significant damage.
Acedia, on the other hand, fought wildly as he spent most of his time in slumber.
There was no pattern in his movements, no techniques, and no grace. Each attack was aimed at a different part of Uriel.
Every time he was about to receive a strike, he used [Sloth] to slow it down and minimize the damage.
Every strike of Uriel naturally had divine magic infused to it which caused agonizing pain but he didn't mind. He quickly returned the favor.
He sent a downward strike at her hips which she parried just like every other strike before it.
However, even though the fist itself didn't reach the body, the silvery hue around it grazed her knee.
Her eyes turned to slits.
'He attacks poorly so there is no concern about me losing health but the silvery aura, I can't avoid it from this distance. Every contact with it costs me tremendous energy. Damn, this vessel, at this rate, I will be unable to fight and he would suffer minimal injuries.'
Her frustration grew bigger as her disappointment in herself grew as well.
She blocked another punch by Acedia and was about to counterattack when something unexpected happened.
The silvery hue surrounding Acedia's fists suddenly grew in size and swallowed her whole.
The gray fog obscured her senses and dulled the feeling in her vessel, making it harder for her to move.
Once it dissipated, she found out that she was unable to her limbs.
'That is what enough exposure to [Lethargy] does to you. Your body practically falls asleep and you won't be able to move.' Acedia grinned.
'Looks like I'm acquiring a new descendant today.'
He covered his arm with miasma, giving it a corrosive effect.
Then he struck Uriel with all of his strength and watched her plummet to the ground.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Billurigan
Billurigan Check out my new novel, Apocalyptic Ravager.
Sorry if the chapter quality is a bit low today. I was a bit tired after working on that novel so give it a read.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone