Jack didn't allow it.

He pressed forward with relentless aggression, Oscar became a blur of strikes that forced Pho on the defensive.

High thrust, low sweep, overhead strike, the spear attacking from every angle with speed that made countering impossible.

Pho blocked what he could, his dual swords moving in coordinated patterns that should have created an impenetrable defense.

But Jack's enhanced speed found gaps that shouldn't exist, exploiting fractions of seconds where his positioning wasn't perfect.

Four seconds passed from the last healing on Crimson recovery.

Pho saw his opening. Jack had committed to an overhead strike with Oscar, his scaled form momentarily extended, defense compromised for the sake of offense.

Both black ice swords came around simultaneously, one high and one low, creating a pincer that couldn't be fully avoided.

Jack tried to pull back, enhanced speed giving him time to react. He twisted, scales rippling as his body contorted. The low sword missed completely. The high sword caught his shoulder.

[-1,519 HP]

[HP: 1,856/3,375]

[-169 HP]

[HP: 1,687/ 3,375]

His sword tore through his scaled armor.

The black ice blade carried properties that transcended a normal sword.

Striking at something deeper than mere flesh.

Pain exploded through Jack's shoulder, his grip on Oscar faltering for a fraction of a second.

Pho pressed his advantage, both swords coming around in a combination that should have ended the fight.

But Jack's spear mastery made it difficult for Pho.

His body moving on instinct refined through countless hours of practice.

The shaft intercepted one blade while Jack's scaled hand caught the other.

The sword bit into his scales, but not deep enough to penetrate.

He shoved both weapons aside with raw strength and started his counter attack.

Piercing Strike!

[-21,876 HP]

[-2,770 HP]

[Pho HP: 188,646/227,000]

Oscar drove forward with every ounce of Jack's enhanced strength behind it.

The four-bladed tip punched completely through Pho's chest, emerging from his back in a spray of dark blue blood.

Blue lightning discharged directly into the wound, spreading through Pho's body in visible arcs that made him convulse.

Jack yanked the spear free and immediately activated his next skill.

Spear Barrage!

His scaled form became nearly invisible. Three thrusting attacks executed in under a second, each one targeting a different vital point with precision that denied any possibility of defense.

The first strike hit Pho's left shoulder, shattering the joint and rendering that arm nearly useless.

The second drove into his side, cracking through black ice armor to reach internal organs.

The third targeted his right leg, destroying the knee joint with force that made bone fragment outward.

[-36,096 HP]

[-7,950 HP]

[Pho HP: 144,600/227,000]

[HP: 1,518/3,375]

Pho collapsed to one knee, blood pouring from multiple wounds.

His dual swords fell from nerveless fingers, clattering against the frozen floor.

His blank white eyes showed something between pain and shock, it was a struggle to remain upright.

Jack stood over him, Oscar's tip pointed at Pho's throat, red eyes gleaming with savage satisfaction. Ten seconds. That's all it had taken to reduce a Disaster-class demon lord from full health to critical condition.

'Seven seconds remaining. I need to finish this quickly.'

But Pho's blank white eyes met Jack's gaze with something that looked almost like... satisfaction?

The Deathfrost Demon's body tensed, muscles coiling despite the catastrophic damage. Both hands slammed into the frozen floor, black ice spreading outward.

Suddenly, Pho moved faster than someone injured should be capable of.

Faster than Jack expected.

Both black ice swords launched upward from where they'd fallen, spinning through the air, aimed not at Jack but at each other in an X-pattern that would intersect exactly where Jack stood.

Jack saw it coming.

He saw the trap.

Saw that Pho had been playing dead, conserving strength for one final gambit.

The swords closed in from both sides, moving with speed that even his enhanced reactions struggled to track.

'Arc Reversal.'

The skill activated with perfect timing.

His free hand came up, catching the intersection point where both swords would meet.

The swords struck as he swung his hand in front of the swords, like he was swatting a fly.

The impact should have severed anyone's hamd, but not Jack's.

Instead, the force was reflected back at Pho.

But it wasn't just the swords' physical force being returned.

The compressed energy exploded outward.

The black ice swords shattered instantly, fragments erupting in all directions. The reflected attack struck Pho's center mass with devastating efficiency.

[-122,580 HP]

[Pho HP: 22,020/227,000]

"WHAT!!!"

The Deathfrost Demon's scream echoed through the throne room, his black form was thrown backward by the impact.

He crashed into the far wall hard enough to crack stone, blood spraying from his mouth, his blank white eyes going wide with genuine shock.

Black Ice Soul flickered around him, the technique struggling to maintain stability as Pho's HP dropped into critical range.

His body sagged, arms falling to his sides, head lolling forward as if consciousness itself was slipping away.

[HP: 1,011/3,375]

[HP: 842/3,375]

Jack's scaled form remained ready, Oscar held defensively, red eyes tracking Pho's collapsed figure for any sign of deception.

The Deathfrost Demon looked finished.

Barely clinging to life, Black Ice Soul was the only thing keeping him from dying outright.

'Time to heal. Infernal Conversion, deactivate.'

The scales began receding immediately, black demonic armor sinking back into Jack's skin.

And Pho's blank white eyes snapped open, perfectly clear, showing no trace of the damage they'd displayed moments ago.

A slow grin tugged at his lips, eyes glittering like a cat that just spotted a mouse.

"Got ya bitch!" Pho said with a shit eating grin.

Both of Pho's hands, which had been hanging limply at his sides, slammed into the frozen floor strong enough to crack the stone.

Black ice erupted from directly beneath Jack's feet, spreading upward with speed that denied any possibility of escape.

Jack tried to activate Abyssal Steps.

But the skill wasn't working.

The black ice wrapped around his legs instantly, hardening before he could move.

It spread upward, covering his thighs, his waist, the bottom of his torso.

His left hand, which had been at his side, was caught and frozen in place. Only his right arm remained free, Oscar still gripped tight.

"Ice Prison. Complete immobilization from the waist down. You've fallen into my trap."

Pain exploded through his lower body, the ice constricting like a a pair of plump thighs about to suffocate him.

[HP: 673/3,375]

[HP: 504/3,375]

[HP: 335/3,375]

The damage came in waves, each one representing another second of Frenzy drain combined with the prison's crushing force.

Jack's HP plummeted slowly by the second.

[Blood Frenzy: DEACTIVATED]

[New Status: Demonic Exhaustion]

[HP drain reduced to 1% per second]

[All stats: -80% until demon heart consumed]

[Warning: Critical HP. Death imminent without healing.]

Pho rose from where he'd collapsed against the wall.

His wounds were still present, blood still seeping from his body, and the corners of his mouth.

But his movements showed none of the weakness he'd displayed moments ago.

He'd been waiting for exactly this moment when Jack would be vulnerable.

"You thought that attack finished me," Pho said, walking forward slowly.

His blank white eyes tracked Jack's trapped form with satisfaction that bordered on ecstasy.

"I've survived worse. Much worse."

He stopped perhaps five feet from Jack, close enough to strike but far enough to savor the moment.

"But you? Your transformation is gone. Your healing is disabled. Your stats are crippled. It's not hard to tell by looking at you."

Pho's hand came up, black ice forming around it into a blade that gleamed with dark promise. "This is where it ends, Soul Warden."

{Jack! JACK! Move! Break the ice! Do something! We're at 10%! Stats are gone! We can't fight like this! Jack, please, I don't want to die! Not here! Not like this! I never even got to….}

'Shut up Oscar.'

{Huhhhhhhh???}

Jack smiled and met Pho's gaze.

"What's so funny, Soul Warden. You're about to die."

"I can't wait to wipe that shit eating grin off your face."

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