Mind Demon's Path of Domination

P'oof came to a grinding halt in front of a colossal cliff. He was surrounded by eerie forestry, and for some reason, he felt a strangeness about the entire situation.

"How much further is it?" he asked, looking at the silver savage in his hold.

Mark slapped away the man's hand and stood up straight. He took some steps back and dusted his white robes.

P'oof frowned.

"You really are a fool, P'oof."

The man frowned. He was not that foolish after all.

Mark smiled. "How could a mere silver savage have come this far, alone? This is already fifty kilometers away from that city. If a silver savage moved this far, he would be with his team of five. Yet, you trusted me like the naive fool that you are when I told you the armor was this far."

The man frowned and took a step back.

Mark cracked his neck and untied the top of his robes, becoming naked above the waist and revealing the toned, black-skinned body of the silver savage underneath. This body would be destroyed in this battle, but Mark didn't care.

"P'oof, you will die here. Do you know why?"

"I'll die here?" The man sneered. "Big words for a silver to speak. Truly, did you notice our mind manipulation of you? Lucky that you came to me instead of me coming to you."

Mark chuckled and his body suddenly blurred, moving at incredible speed for a Silver Savage and a precise punch went directly for the man's face. The man moved calmly, appearing behind Mark with unbelievable speed.

P'oof coldly stared back. "Scum."

Sword!

A sword appeared in the man's hand and he swung it at Mark's neck. Smiling, Mark ducked down and dodged the attack. His leg twisted up and kicked P'oof right in the face.

Chuckling, he distanced himself.

P'oof touched his face and dirt smudged his hand. "Eh?" He frowned. "You predicted my attack?"

A Silver Savage's body just wasn't fast enough to dodge that attack otherwise.

"Or did you think the same trick would work twice on me?" Mark said. "Try something else—Little Boy."

Crunch.

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

The man moved at his full speed this time and just as Mark was about to dodge the first slash, another sword appeared in the Gold Lord's left hand. Just as he was about to swing it, Mark, instead of dodging, attacked.

This time, his kick was headed straight for the balls.

But their stats just were too different and the sword cut through Mark's legs first before it curved and danced throughout his entire body. The sword only left his body after completely chopping him up, of course, the man didn't cut the mask.

"As long as you have the mask, you can be healed. Be ready for hell from now on," P'oof said. "And I will show you true terror, too."

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Blood pooled underneath him, but Mark was calm. Truly, that sword was the sharpest thing he had seen in his life.

It was just a Pinnacle Tier 2 Savage Magic, but the Mask of the Savage gave it the power of a Tier 3 Low-level attack!

Mark coughed, blood leaking from everywhere.

"You don't understand, P'oof." He chuckled. "I told you, you will die here. And you can't heal a dead body, this savage mask on my face—it doesn't work. Why?" The mask crumbled, revealing a calm set of golden eyes beneath it. "Because I am no savage."

P'oof took a step back.

Mark stood up groggily and the chopped parts of the silver savage's body crumbled away from him, revealing his lean and masculine savage body—a hamster appeared on top of his head.

His entire body was bloody. Soaked. He took a stance, and P'oof instinctively cast his second Savage Magic around himself.

Tier 3 Low-level Savage Magic—Glass Dome.

Mark sighed inwardly. None of his attacks could break that defense.

"What are you?!" P'oof asked, yellow eyes wide. "You are no demon, you are too short to be a demon while being as strong as you. You are no human either—I can feel it, if I don't give my all, I surely can die here. You are no savage either, my blood is too calm for that."

Mark grinned. "Forget that question. Do you know why I brought you here for a fight knowing that I would be at a disadvantage?"

"...Why?"

"I've been avoiding fights with people who could actually kill me like a plague. The first thing I think of when I see a stronger person than me is 'Run!' 'Escape!' or 'Scheme!' and I don't like that. I want to defeat you, kill you. Directly, in a fight."

P'oof raised both of his swords and took a deep breath. "So, I am your training partner?"

"Oh, you became calm quite quickly."

"You underestimate me, Devil. I shall have your head."

They both became silent and their mindpower began to stir like a boiling pot.

Clench.

The sword of the savage flew towards Mark's face with immense speed and Mark moved his head slightly, letting the sword go past him. The savage was upon him, crouched below, sword drawn.

Just as the man was about to swing the weapon, the ground below him rose as if a giant was pushing it up from below the land.

Alchemic Shapeshifting!

Mark jumped back, spinning in the air with his eyes locked on the enemy.

"You fool, how would you dodge an attack in the air!" P'oof shouted and threw a sword right at Mark's chest.

Dream Wings!

Mark blurred through the woods and appeared in the distance, slamming his foot against the cliff face. Two metallic wings spread out behind him. He looked down at the savage with golden eyes condescendingly gauging the man.

"You are not as strong as you appear," he said. "P'oof."

The Savage gritted his teeth. "You saw through it, so what?"

Γн*іѕ?-&іՏ%-#∂%-!

P'oof had two Savage Magic. Sword Creation and Glass Dome. One for offense and the other for Defense. It was perfect against Mark—he couldn't break a Tier 3 Defense, so P'oof would be invincible against him.

But no, there was a big weakness.

P'oof could not use both of those attacks at the same time. When he attacked, he couldn't defend. And he didn't have the Physical and Mental Resistance that demons did. Mark's foot crunched against the cliff and his eyes suddenly widened.

This! This is it!

He had manipulated P'oof and made him come here by playing with his greed. He had played with the man's heart. And in the entire process, he hadn't used Heart Input even once, even though he could have used it easily.

The essence of Heart Input was to manipulate a target's heart!

His actions, his mindset, his soul—they all suddenly began to resonate slightly better with his own demonic trick like it had never done before!

Heart Input was finally becoming his own.

"Oh, P'oof. You act like you are not worried, but why? Why is your forehead sweaty? Why are your teeth clenched? You have never been in a situation like this before, have you?"

The man flinched.

This is it!

"P'oof, look behind you."

The man turned back in immense fright and gritted his teeth when he saw nothing. Why was he so worried in the first place?

I have the Glass Dome around me, my enemy can't break it!

He turned back to look at Mark, but suddenly, he froze. Mark's face was inches away from his own, the devil's nose was touching the Glass Dome.

"Aren't you attacking?"

Sword!

"Fool."

Dream Shock!

The sword lost half of its power and Mark easily dodged it. He brought his hand towards the enemy's face, ready to gouge out the blanked-out man's third eye. Just then, his heart thumped violently and Mark jumped back in sheer instinct.

It was still too late!

A sword fell from the sky and fell right on his shoulder, like breaking through paper, it slashed through the Defensive Magic Aura and then entirely severed his right shoulder. His arm flew through the air.

Violet demonic blood gurgled out of the arm.

Mark distanced himself from P'oof, who had already used Glass Dome again.

He praised, "You created a sword in the skies, just in time for it to fall on me when I come close to you. What an amazing tactic."

The man had snot and tears on his face, full of fear. Then, he saw Mark's severed arm and heaved a deep breath in, adjusting his mind.

"You are a demon!" he shouted.

The severed arm had been burned to ashes by the Will of the Savage World. That only happened to demons. And he will slay a demon today, leave this place alive. He had even severed one of the enemy's arms!

Mark felt the immense pain of a severed limb and gritted his teeth. He touched his shoulder with his free left hand, looking down at the enemy from the cliff face again.

"Demon, I took one of your arms, your head is next. Do you feel fear?"

Mark chuckled. "Fear?"

Alchemic Shapeshifting!

His shoulder stopped bleeding and a new arm was created there in place of his old one. Blood, nerves, muscles, all of it was on point. As for the energy of his body, he absorbed some Black Water into his body and its healing factor made him completely healthy again.

"For a mere arm? I can grow these out for as many times as I want!"

P'oof was completely appalled.

"As for head?" Mark laughed. "Who knows? Maybe I can regrow heads, too."

Suddenly, Mark felt an immense sense of satisfaction. Heart Input, it was his own demonic trick now. Through and through. If he told it to merge with another of his demonic tricks, it would no longer show any resistance.

He had understood the base nature of that demonic trick—to manipulate hearts—and toyed with someone's heart without using the Trick itself. Every demonic trick had such a base nature, and he just had to figure out the nature of all of his own and make them all acknowledge him as his master.

For now, he and his first demonic trick had resonated.

Suddenly, Mark frowned. His mind was now incredibly clear. He had used Dream Shock on his enemy, it should have depleted most of his enemy's Mindpower when the guy resisted it without any defensive mechanisms.

Why hadn't the man got exhausted?

Mark noticed it and Reol'ran warned about it at the same time: "I don't know what is the deal with his Third Eye entirely, either. But someone or something is giving P'oof extra Mindpower through that Third Eye. That means he might even match your inexhaustible Mindpower—exhausting him tactic is out of the question now."

Savages were indeed more than what met the eye.

What was giving them this energy then?

Mark said calmly, "P'oof, be ready. Next time I come close, you will die."

P'oof calmed down. "Next time you come close, I will have your head." The slit on his forehead opened and a mask appeared, sleek, cold, and dangerous. Three eyes stared at Mark intently.

Mask of the Savage!

Mark paused.

Bringing that mask out should have made P'oof vulnerable. Now, Mark knew what to break to make sure he killed P'oof. After all, a savage can only die if their mask is broken.

Yet, why would he take his mask out regardless?

Does that mask have some secrets I don't know about? Does it make him stronger?

"Mark, be wary."