Chapter 749

Chapter 749: The Crippling Spell

At night, Jesse pondered over the report, wondering if he had missed anything. Suddenly, he remembered something else he hadn’t done. He tapped the demon bag and asked, "How’s it going, Saenor?"

"Ah, master!" Saenor sprang from the bag, saying, "I’m awake! What is your command?"

Jesse stared at him. "Don’t forget our agreement about the language curse. Are you stalling again? Is it truly so hard to cast a spell?"

"It’s not that I refuse to cast it, master. I’ve painstakingly gathered this power, only to release it now…" the imp grumbled. "I wanted to savor this power longer. The Soul Shards transformed by Doomlord Kallez—by the abyss, I never dreamed of tasting such treasures where I came from! Back there, I could only inhale wisps of fel magic drifting from furnaces…"

"Is casting one language curse truly this troublesome?" Molofeel shook her head. "I might as well learn the spell to assist our master. No wonder Kallez couldn’t hear you—you’re not just weak, but growing utterly useless."

"Who says he couldn’t hear me?!" the imp shrieked. "Didn’t I record all those words master needed translated?! Fine! Since it’s master’s command, I’ll cast the language curse!"

Molofeel gave a soft chuckle. Jesse set his scroll aside and said, "Proceed."

The imp’s thin black lips quivered. He gathered a ball of fel fire in his hands, leaped up, and jabbed a finger toward Jesse. Before Jesse could decipher the chanted words, a familiar burn tingled in his throat.

Though he recognized the sensation of a language curse, it lacked the searing agony Kahlor’s curse had inflicted. This felt like a slow warmth spreading through his neck.

"I succeeded! I succeeded!" The imp scampered in gleeful circles before bouncing before Molofeel. "See?! Simple! I always knew I could… I’m a true demon!"

"A demon casting demon spells? How ordinary," Molofeel muttered. She turned to Jesse. "In’gru… In’ka… In’kailash… In’ecindalas… In’k…"

Jesse attempted the Cripple incantation. Demonic rumbles shook the tent—each warped into nonsense by the curse—yet he found resisting the imp’s magic easier than expected. Soon, he voiced Cripple’s opening syllables.

He cleared his throat, swallowing against the warmth. Could the imp’s weaker magic make his curse fainter than an Orc’s, easing resistance?

Jesse drew a sharp breath, fighting the curse’s grip, and forced out: "In, ka, ke, wi, la, li, ka, ga, de!"

He roared the full spell in a demonic voice. Power gathered by the sound snuffed all lanterns, bathing the tent in sickly green fel radiance.

With no target, the gathered fel magic quickly faded.

Molofeel reclined slowly, smiling in Demonic. "Master, your voice is… alluring. Perhaps we might truly converse in Demonic henceforth?"

"But… my… voice," Jesse rasped in Demonic, "relies… on a curse… to form…"

As the curse faded, he understood its flaw.

Though easier to resist, the imp’s curse lasted shorter. To mold it into a lasting enhancer for demonic spells, Saenor needed greater power—a stronger curse.

Then it might become controlled "demonization."

Jesse commanded, "Saenor, accompany me. I’ll test Cripple on beasts. Spiders dwell in Storm Altar’s canyon—ideal targets."

"Test it on me," Molofeel offered.

"Certain?" Jesse asked.

"No beast can reveal your spell’s true strength," she replied. "I wish to know if I can withstand Ered’ruin’s Cripple now."

Jesse glimpsed an odd intensity in the succubus’s fiery eyes. A speaking test subject was convenient.

He lifted the demon bag. "Then we practice in the ravine behind camp."

Midnight found them walking past Orc leather tents. Rhythmic grunts echoed from unseen quarters.

They left the warlocks’ enclave for a desolate ravine flanked by black cliffs. Molofeel’s hooves crunched volcanic ash as she strode ahead. "Begin, master."

Scarlet flames ignited her Mageweave markings. Fire-lit eyes made her a dancing spirit in the mountain’s shadows. Jesse mused: controlling such a demon with Cripple would mark true mastery.

"Language curse, Saenor," he ordered.

"I cast it already! My power is spent!" the imp whispered. "A Soul Shard might…"

"Drink a Mana Potion," Jesse said. "One’s in the bag."

"Ouch…" The imp shook his head and opened a bottle, then muttered, "What a strange taste!"

After drinking, the imp quietly recited the language curse and aimed it at Jesse, who once again felt a burning sensation in his throat… "In’ka’k’we’li’ka’ga’d!"

This time, Jesse gathered his strength and will to forcefully shout the spell at Molofeel. A wave of spreading fel magic immediately descended upon the succubus, extinguishing the magic flames around her!

Yet Molofeel wasn’t fully subdued. She vanished in a swirl of shadows and reappeared behind Jesse. Familiar with Shadowstep, Jesse instinctively dodged sideways as the black Tosrezm long knife grazed his neck, nearly beheading him…

"What are you trying to—" "Dodge, Seso!"

Before he finished, Molofeel’s Blade of Eternal Darkness thrust toward him! Thick shadow energy blocked the blade as Dark Protection shimmered into place.

Jesse grabbed Molofeel’s Cripple-bound arm to disarm her, but she easily pulled free.

Her movements were slower than during other hunts. Jesse thought without Cripple, his neck or eye would’ve been torn open already.

Molofeel swung her dagger horizontally, striking the Dark Protection’s dark aura. The shield shattered, and the succubus vanished into shadows to evade the blast. Her shadowy form, trailed by Cripple’s green light, darted four to five meters away, trying to approach from another angle.

This time, Jesse spoke the Curse of Weakness in Demonic. Molofeel groaned as she stumbled from the shadows, nearly falling.

Seizing her stumble, Jesse focused on her Blade of Eternal Darkness. A crimson thread shot from his hand, but Molofeel’s Mageweave flared as she shouted and wrenched free from Gorefiend’s Grasp. Wielding both blades, she charged again—only to be yanked backward by a purple shadow gripping her throat.

Jesse had cast the Choking Spell, locking her throat tight!

Weakened by the curse and restrained by Cripple and the Choking Spell, Molofeel couldn’t move. Jesse clenched his fist and asked in Demonic, "Well, Sayaad? Still challenging your master?"

Molofeel gave a pained laugh, hurling the Blade of Eternal Darkness at Jesse. The dagger struck Dark Protection like thick sludge, slowing before clattering down.

Staring at the blade and messy boot prints, Jesse realized he hadn’t moved an inch.

Suddenly, he felt his Choking Spell weakening. Molofeel’s strength surged, her flames reigniting.

Cripple’s effect was fading…

Molofeel roared, shattering all Jesse’s control spells. Her Mageweave and horns blazed, her remaining dagger igniting. Freed from demonic binds, Jesse sensed her shadow resistance matched Vyletongue’s from Maraudon!

After all, it was copied from Vyletongue’s skin…

Unfamiliar with Cripple’s chant, Jesse fumbled to recite it as Molofeel charged through flame-scorched shadows. He desperately triggered Shadowstep to flee.

Sinking into darkness, he shifted directionlessly—but when he opened his eyes, her blade pressed his chest. His hand had barely touched Azuresong Mageblade’s hilt.

"Shadowstep needs practice, master…" the succubus whispered. Jesse sat on a dark stone. "True. I yield."

Molofeel sheathed her weapons, wagging a finger. "Yield? You held back. No spell truly hurt me. Had you drawn that sword, I’d be in the Twisting Nether instantly. Besides, my strength comes from your—"

She licked her sharp tongue, lowering her gaze.

Though her words flattered, Jesse knew his Cripple lacked power and duration—especially compared to Kallez’s casting after a portal injury. "Scared me," the imp peeked from behind the stone. "Thought you’d die, Sayaad!"

Ignoring him, Molofeel straddled Jesse’s legs, gripping his shoulders. "After tormenting me with such magic, master, won’t you compensate me?"

Nearly 1.7 meters tall now, she loomed close. Jesse felt she’d become a different demon.

"This fight drained me."

Molofeel’s tail fetched a Mana Potion from her bag. "Drink this." "I’ll hide again," the imp said, ducking behind the stone.

Jesse drank, inhaling the unleashed demonic scent from Molofeel’s crimson chest.

The succubus slowly rose, then sank down, closing her eyes with a gasp. "Haven’t felt this good in ages… dear."

"Been that long?" Jesse asked.

"I meant the fight," Molofeel met his gaze. "Battling a spellcaster like you rivals physical bliss."

"Then let’s replace… this… with sparring?" Jesse offered.

"Unless ordered, I refuse," Molofeel murmured. "I want both."