Infernal Entity: Evolving With My Demonic System-Chapter 58: Overload Timeout

The moment the system message appeared, Axel understood what it was trying to tell him. He didn’t need to read the rest. Infernal Core overloading.

All of a sudden, his heart started pounding harder and faster, like it was trying to break out of his chest. That same familiar hot energy surged through his body, not like fire on skin, but like something alive moving inside him.

This time, it was quite different. The last time Axel had an Infernal Overload, he was still a halfling. His Infernal Core was a level 1. But now he was a demon with a level 2 Infernal Core. The difference was vivid.

Something raw twisted deep inside him, something dark and undiluted, rising fast and refusing to be pushed down. It was Rage.

It filled his chest, clouded his thoughts, and sharpened everything he looked at. Up ahead, Luke Fern looked like a mess. His burned body was laying across the dome but Axel could barely see him due to his blurry vision.

The cracked floor, the scorched glass walls... it all felt distant compared to the rage brewing inside him.

"Dear host, calm down!" Aurora said quickly. "You’re a young demon and your emotions aren’t stable yet. Strong feelings like rage can overload your Infernal Core. You have to control yourself!"

Axel clenched his teeth and groaned as his hands shook around the sword.

"Then tell me how to stop it."

"There isn’t a quick fix," Aurora replied. "As time goes on, you’ll learn to control yourself through discipline. There are also other methods to stabilize yourself."

Axel let out a sharp breath as he felt his anger twisting even deeper.

"So you knew this could happen and didn’t warn me? Fighting a Firestarter was your damn idea in the first place!"

"You know what happens when your core overloads right? It could be catastrophic if you don’t stop..."

Axel’s gaze snapped back to Luke. The Firestarter was now standing, burned and breathing hard, but he wasn’t finished. He still had 5 HP left and Axel could feel how close he was to collapsing. His HP was at one. One more hit and it was over.

He laughed under his breath, low and bitter.

"I can’t win like this. He’s far more superior than me. The only way is by using the damn Infernal Overload."

"How do humans say it? FUCK NO! That will cause severe backlash. Nerve damage, brain damage, even death. Your body might not survive it, you Infernal idiot!"

Axel tightened his grip on the Godrend Sword and pushed himself upright.

"I’m already screwed either way," he said through clenched teeth. "So I might as well take that second-year with me. I’m not losing!"

The system window flashed into view.

< [Do you want to use Infernal Overload? [Y/N]

[Further output will result in a 200% increase in Infernal Slashes but also severe backlash] >

"Yes!" Axel shouted.

< [Infernal Overload active]

[Time left: 20 seconds] >

"Arggghhh!!"

Axel screamed as power tore through him. His eyes turned completely red on the outside, his vision was bloodshot, flooding with heat and shadow. His muscles swelled, veins standing out across his arms and neck. Energy poured off his body in small waves, cracking the ground beneath his feet.

"What the fuck? Is he on an Overdrive Serum?" A second year student asked.

Drax, who had been trying to convince himself that Axel couldn’t possibly be beating one of his best fighters without foreign help, finally found a reason to believe so.

"Red eyes! Bulgy muscles! He’s on a fucking Overdrive Serum!" He growled angrily.

Nile protested. "You can’t be so sure!"

Drax turned to her, furious. "Watch it! I’ve listened to you run your mouth here, all day long. The evidence is right there! Your friend cheated. Cheating means automatic loss."

He stared down at Nile. "Rules are rules..."

Back in the dome. In a blink, Axel vanished and reappeared several meters forward. He swung the sword, barely aiming at anything and Hellrand Slash ripped through the air in a violent blur, faster than anything before.

The slash moved forward and slammed into the ground just a few feet from Luke, exploding in a shower of heat and force.

Luke stumbled backwards and Axel was already moving again. He delivered another slash, then another.

Each one was bigger, faster, heavier. The air shook with every swing as Hellrand energy tore across the dome. Axel’s movements were wild now and unstable, driven by pure instinct and rage. He was no longer being the smart fighter he used to be.

He just kept missing again and again, Luke was barely dodging any of his attacks.

Axel released another Slash and Luke barely had time to react. He raised fire walls, rolled and stumbled around with flames bursting around him as the Ruin Echo blast passed inches from his body and detonated behind him. The dome filled with light, heat, and deafening impact after impact.

"Someone stop him!" Luke panicked. "He’s gone berserk!"

Axel didn’t stop, he dashed, spun, and swung, unleashing Slash after Slash, overwhelming everything in front of him. His breathing turned ragged, his vision pulsing red at the edges, but the power kept pouring out.

Luke screamed as one slash grazed his arm, tearing through flesh and fire alike. He fell to one knee, struggling to stand as another slash smashed into the floor beside him, throwing him sideways.

Axel raised the sword one last time and brought it down with everything he had left.

The Hellrand Slash tore straight through Luke.

"Gahhh!"

It hit him square in the chest and carried him across the dome before slamming him into the ground. The explosion rocked the arena and when the smoke cleared, Luke lay motionless on the floor, breathing but barely.

< [Infernal Overload timeout] >

Axel’s muscles shrank back as pain started hitting him. His legs buckled, and the sword slipped from his fingers as he collapsed forward. His eyes went hollow and his body hit the ground hard.

Both Axel and Luke Fern lay on the glass dome, both unmoving.