WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 161 - The System

161: The System

161: The System

Just as the daemon’s monstrous maw surged forward, something moved fast.

A flicker of light.

CLANG!

The daemon’s jaws slammed shut, not on Ben, but on something else The pickaxe.

It hovered, unmoving, wedged between the fangs and Ben.

Light began to pulse from within it, soft at first, then brighter.

The void trembled.

CRACK.

The daemon reared back, shrieking as radiant cracks split its teeth.

Then the pickaxe changed.

It twisted midair, spinning faster and faster, shedding pieces of its former self in bursts of blinding white.

Then the fragments gathered assembled rebuilt.

Metal locked into place like armor forged from raw will.

A plume of fire curled upward, forming a helm.

The shaft of the pickaxe extended, morphed, lengthened, until it became a massive greatsword, its edge glimmering with runes.

And standing in its place was a towering figure.

A knight.

Seven feet tall, plated in black-gold armor.

Its pauldrons were jagged and broad, like broken wings.

The chestplate bore a single sigil a stylized eye with a crack running through it.

From beneath the helmet, no face could be seen, only the burning outline of a soul within, pale silver flames crackling behind a black visor.

The sword it wielded was massive, too large for any normal being to carry, yet the knight held it one-handed without problem.

The knight raised its free hand and pointed the blade toward the daemon.

A familiar echoed through Ben’s mind.

“Careless as usual.”And with that, it stepped forward.

The daemon fight back, a shadow of teeth and hatred, claws extending like spears, jaws unhinged to consume.

But the knight moved first.

In a blur of motion that bent the darkness itself, it vanished then appeared in front of the daemon, sword already mid-swing.

BOOOOOOM!

The slash cleaved through the void, splitting the darkness itself.

The impact tore across the daemon’s chest, sending it reeling backward with a howl that warped the space around them.

The knight didn’t give it time to recover.

It advanced, step by thunderous step, sword raised high.

Each movement carved glowing cracks in the air, as if its blade didn’t cut flesh, but reality.

The daemon shrieked.

Tentacles burst from its back, writhing like vipers, each one lashing toward the knight.

One by one, the knight severed them in midair, each strike clean and brutal.

Sparks of corrupted aether sprayed with every hit.

But the daemon didn’t stop.

It slammed its fists together, forming a ball of writhing shadow that pulsed with stolen aether, then hurled it like a comet.

The knight raised his free hand.

A circular shield of golden light burst into being, rippling like water as the blast slammed into it.

The impact roared, shaking the entire area, but the knight didn’t flinch.

Instead, it stepped through the explosion.

The golden light fractured, shards flying past the knight’s cloak as it dashed forward, sword low.

It spun, rising in an upward arc, decapitating one of the daemon’s heads with a single blow.

The daemon screamed, its severed maw dissolving into black mis, but already, more mouths formed, twisting, multiplying in grotesque fashion.

A thousand eyes opened across its body.

A thousand voices whispered in madness.

“$@%#%@^6#%@*!!!”

The knight didn’t answer.

It surged forward again and brought its blade down like divine retribution.

The sword met the core of the daemon’s body, and stopped.

The daemon caught the blade between two clawed hands, its maw splitting wide.

It roared, and the void behind it cracked open, revealing swirling galaxies of corruption.

Chains shot out from its back, binding the knight’s arms, legs, and throat.

The knight trembled, but its eyes didn’t dim.

The burning silver flame in its helm flared brighter.

Suddenly, the blade shattered into a hundred fragments.

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

Each piece flew like a bullet, slicing through the chains, stabbing into the daemon’s body.

The knight raised one arm.

The sword reformed in its hand with a pulse of light, in the daemon’s chest.

“BANISH!!!”

The runes across its armor ignited.

From the blade to the knight’s feet, light surged.

The daemon screamed.

And then the explosion tore everything apart.

The void pulsed once, then rippled.

From the smoke and shattered space, the daemon emerged again, mangled, scorched, but not yet dead.

Its form was reduced, with half its limbs missing and one eye hanging loose like a comet of ink.

It’s eyes filled with malice focused on one target, Ben.

He still kneeling, breath ragged, blood trailing from his mouth, Ben’s eyes fluttered, barely conscious, his soul still reeling from the attack.

The daemon roared.

“#@^^$@^@@#%@.” Its voice scraped against existence.

It slithered, swelled, and come toward Ben like a meteor.

Ben could do nothing.

But the knight moved.

A flash of light flared across the void.

Then the knight was there between them standing tall.

The daemon’s claw shot forward, serrated and burning with aether.

BOOM!

The impact cracked the void like glass.

Energy exploded outward.

The daemon shrieked, its claw cleaved clean off in a single motion, but it came again with another, and another.

Slash.

Parry.

Strike.

Block.

Every movement was now costing the knight more.

Its armor cracked.

One knee buckled.

And then it roared with one final surge.

The sword ignited with silver flame.

It blurred in a single, perfect arc.

SLASH.

The daemon stopped.

Its form split apart.

Silence followed.

Then the fragments began to fade, dissolving into light and dust, vanishing into the void like breath on a mirror.

Ben blinked, the haze finally thinning from his mind.

The knight stood still, back turned to him, cracks running deep across its armor.

Then a voice exploded inside his skull, sharp and furious.

“You’re the worst host a system could ask for!

I was just starting to stabilize, and you go and consume a daemon?!

What the hell were you thinking?

You think you’re some overpowered web novel protagonist?

Invincible?!”

Ben groaned, still catching his breath.

“Don’t yell at me.

You didn’t warn me either.”

“Oh, I’m the problem now?” the voice snapped.

“Maybe use your brain once in a while!

Who in their right mind eats a daemon without knowing what it is?!”

“Figured I’d learn something,” Ben muttered.

“Learn something?!

From an eldritch abomination?!

That thing almost took your body over!”