About two days later, we can finally head out of town in search of the disturbance. My wounds have recovered fully by now. I am amazed at the effect of the cooling gel. I made a number of them and distributed to everyone. I also given them some agility and strength potion along with a secret weapon the local alchemy taught me. It will be invaluable in the upcoming battle with the demons.
Kronk did not just sit by idly for the past two days. He figured out the direction on where the great demon was coming from and showed us the location on the map. He also told us about the type of ranking that demons have.
Lesser Demon > Great Demon > Greater Demon > Demon King
Lesser demons in general are quite weak. They do not have the healing factor that great demons have. If we were to encounter a group of lesser demon, we should be able to take them out. Greater Demons on the other hand, are powerful beings. Powerful enough to be on par with a blue or red dragon. Some even surpasses the power level of dragons but not strong enough to be a Demon King yet. There have only been one Demon King that existed and it almost caused the destruction of this world. Elves, humans and reptilians all fought together to bring down the King.
I asked Kronk about the strange roar that the great demon used on us. We all lost control and rushed in blindly to attack it. He said that was one of their signature move. It is something like a taunt that makes you lose control. Stronger demons can even make their opponents in a frenzy state with their bloodlust. Should we encounter such a demon, we better pray that our mind is disciplined enough to counter such attack. Otherwise, all of us will be dead before we even know it.
We headed out to the location shown to us. Kronk was bringing along a.. staff? Or perhaps a walking stick? All I know is that he is used it when he is walking. The location brought us to the south of the continent. The town was located in the southwest.
I am very thankful for Kronk. Without him, we just won't make it in this continent. He is always the first to predict the weather or any incoming attacks. So far, we have not encountered any death-storm. Mostly, it is just the burning rainstorm which we were able to shade ourselves by hiding in caves. There are a lot of caves in this continent. Kronk said that the reptilians made it themselves for temporary shelter. Demons on the other hand are able to withstand all the weathers here. I asked Kronk on why they used mud for their houses when burning rainstorm happens more frequently. He said that reptilians in general are able to expel their heat much easier than humans. By using mud, they can retain the heat in the building while their cold-blooded body can expel the heat naturally. No wonder they can stay in this continent so well.
So far, we only encountered stray lesser demons which we were able to dispose of easily. We did not even need to aim for the brain like some zombies. Ah, I completely forgot to mention that the flora here are dangerous as well. Giant sundew and Venus flytraps exist in this continent. Like I said, Kronk saved us more time I can count. Pietro very nearly became plant food when he almost stepped on a giant sundew’s hidden sticky tentacles.
Two days later, we were only halfway through the journey. We camped in another cave that we found for the night. The intensity of the demons were getting stronger the closer we reached the location. We are definitely on the right path. It was John and my turn to take point for the lookout. We saw both Pietro and Rose sleeping (not side by side) which I thought is a good opportunity for me bring up a conversation with John.
“Do you still think Pietro is hiding something?” I whispered to John.
“Can’t say. I can’t shake the feeling that he is up to something. But so far we did not detour anywhere nor did he give out any unreasonable orders. Maybe we should cut him some slack,” said John.
“Perhaps. He is stern but that does not warrant suspicion. I’ll just continue to keep an eye on him just to be safe,” I said to John.
A moment of silence engulfs us. Was John always so distant towards me? I don’t remember this being the case. While it did seemed like Lily was the one holding us together, John and me had our meals together before and which being cheerful and talked about almost anything. Did something happened? I tried to make more conversation with him.
“John, you met with Lily right? How is she? I have not seen her in like, forever,” I said to him.
“Hm? Oh, she’s doing great. She’s a total babe now. You won’t recognise her for sure,” he chuckled.
“Haha, I’m sure I can recognise her signature glasses. Not many elves wear those anyway,” I told him.
“You’ll be surprised. She’s changed now. Who knew that elves only starts growing more mature after a century. But one thing still remains though,” John said while looking down.
“She’s still on to you. You should meet up with her for old times sake,” he said.
What? Lily is still on to me? On what basis?
“You’re just messing with me. There is no way that she is still interested in me when we have no met for so long. I’m certain that she have met with plenty of other dudes in the past five years. Did you even hear her say it?” I questioned John.
“Oh, I am fairly certain. When I asked her about you, she feign ignorance and said who is Zen? Oh that Zen. Then she began talking nonsense while being flustered. It’s quite obvious she is still into you Zen,” said John.
Why do I sense the feeling John is disappointed or feeling down?
“John.. are you.. perhaps?” I stopped at the end.
“What are you boys talking about?” said a voice behind.
Both of us turned our heads quickly and saw Rose. Was it time for our shifts?
“Is it time already? Felt like we only sat for awhile,” I asked Rose.
“No, it is not time yet. I just woke up and saw you two chatting so I thought I should join in. Is that alright?” asked Rose.
I hope she did not hear about our conversation about Lily. She can get overly jealous when I talk about other girls. Like some over protective little sister that can’t seems to let go of her brother.
“Hey John, I… am sorry,” I said to him.
“Hm? Oh.. it’s nothing. It’s not your fault really. I blame myself. It is probably due to the sudden meet up after such a long time that I was stunned by her changes. I’ll get over it, don’t worry,” said John.
This deep conversation is really affecting my mood. I did not know John had feelings for Lily. Did she changed so much that even John fell for her? I must steady myself if I do meet her one day since I know very well that I am sucker for female elves. I feel sorry for John though. Surprised he did not try to whoo her.
“Who are you guys talking about?” asked Rose.
“Um.. we.. were.. talking about John’s elder sister! That’s right. John have not met with his sister for a very long time and was surprised by her changes. Ha ha ha,” I tried to talk my way out of it.
“Yes, we were talking about my wonderful and genuine elder sister that most certainly exist. I certainly met her recently and was surprised by her. Har har har” said John.
Brother, you suck at lying.
Rose was squinting at the both of us but we avoided her gaze. She then sat on the log beside me and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Are you sure the both of you are siblings? From what I’m seeing, you two are more like lovers. Hahaha!” John said while he laughed.
“Oh please, she is just an overly attached and protective little sister,” I said bluntly.
“As long as I am at Onii-chan’s side, I don’t care what he says,” retaliated Rose.
“You can’t stick with me forever, Rose. The both of us will probably get a partner one day. But you can visit, don’t worry,” I said to her.
“Until then, I’ll stick with you. So bear with me,” she said.
“Rose will be a beauty when she’s older. I am certain she will have flocks of guys chasing after her alright. Haha,” said John.
“John.. I would rather you go for Lily than touch my little sister. Let me warn you,” I said to him.
“Who’s Lily?” asked Rose.
“Er.. John’s elder sister. That’s right,” I said without thinking.
“That does not make any sense!” shouted Rose.
Both John and me laughed while Rose was pouting waiting for us to answer. Pietro was awake now and it was time for us change shift. John and I headed into the cave to rest where John whispered to me.
“I won’t touch Rose or Lily, don’t worry. I owe you that much. But you, on the other hand, have to pick one,” he whispered to me.
“What are you talking about? I can’t pick Rose. I don’t even see her that way,” I said to him.
“Dude, seriously? Even a dense guy like me can see that Rose and Lily is into you. Even if Rose is not aware of it, when you start dating other girls, she will get jealous for sure. You are her hero Zen. Will you be okay if Rose started dating other guys? Think about it,” he said and lay on the sleeping bag.
Will I be ok if Rose starting dating other guys? I mean.. sure? I guess? I don’t know what to feel right now. I really just see her as my little sister. As for Lily, I might have a crush on her, but after so long, I really don’t know what to feel when I see her again.
I just lay on the sleeping bag and closed my eyes. Now is not the time to think about romance. Tomorrow might be a dangerous day. I should focus on that more instead and get some sleep.
I hope to God that Kirin does not disturb me when I sleep tonight to talk about girls. Please don’t.
***
Dawn arrives and we prepared ourselves for the inevitable journey. Kronk scouted ahead and from what he can see, we should be able to see what is causing the disturbances after we climbed up that hill which he pointed out. Good, once we are able to see then we can call for reinforcements and finally head back to the West continent after that.
After a quick meal, we packed up and headed to the hill in question. We thought that we will need some climbing gears to climb the hill but Kronk had already prepared a rope for us to climb all the way to the top. Is our guide not afraid of being ambushed or attacked by demons? I mean, sure, he can predict the weather and foresee an attack. But still, what if he met another great demon? He literally ran away at the sight of it previously.
We all took turns to climb up. It wasn’t easy but there were footholds against the rock that we can use to climb. Good thing the hill was not too steeped to climb. John and Pietro climbed first then I followed suit. I asked Rose to climb before me but she said I’ll be looking at her butt so she pushed me to climb first.
Upon reaching the peak, we were greeted with a huge area of clearing for miles away. At some considerable distance from where we stood, we can finally see what we were looking for. There was numerous demons flying around a central area. And in the middle of it all, there was a menacing looking demon. Is that a great or greater demon I wonder?
Kronk was the last to made the climb. He joined in to see what we were looking at. He said that the demon in the middle is definitely at least a greater demon. But from the looks of it, he is not capable of controlling many demons. Its demon influence is not at the level of the Demon King who can control all the demons in the entire Northern continent. But it seems like he is preparing for war. While not a huge army, there was certainly around a couple of hundred demons under his control.
The greater demon raised his arm while holding something. Is that… a katana? Huh? Why would a demon be wielding a human weapon? That is.. odd.
Inazuma started to rattle on my hips. Is Kirin excited or something? I never felt Inazuma rattled like this before. The greater demon unsheathed the katana and pointed towards a direction. Wait, that direction is.. where the town is! Is it going to rage war with the reptilians? Would they even stand a chance?
I looked at Kronk and he was panicking. He looked as though he wanted to run away or perhaps to run back town and help in protecting. What are our options then? We are kind of done with the quest and can fallback to call for reinforcements. But will they be able to reach in time to help out in protecting the town? I felt that might not be the case.
Another option is to leave the reptilians to their fate. But I am not so cruel when they showed me such great hospitality so far, even though we were completely different beings. I continued to ponder in thoughts when Pietro raised a question.
“Kronk, if we were to defeat the greater demon, would the demons disperse upon it’s death?” He asked Kronk.
“All the demons will break free from his influence. But if they reached town before we defeat it then it would be for naught. The demons will still wreak havoc while fighting with each other.
“So our only option is to quickly defeat it before the demons reaches the town,” said Pietro.
“I do not agree. We should hurry back to town and help out the reptilians instead,” said John.
“We won’t make it in time. Even though from what we saw that not every demons was capable of flight, there was still a considerable number of those that was flying earlier. We just won’t make it,” said Pietro.
“You do remember the four of us almost died while fighting a great demon. If it were not for Zen’s perception to aim for the brain, the four of us would have been dead by now,” said John.
“But now we are all well equipped, aren’t we? We also know their weakness so we are more capable now. As the leader of this group, I say we fight the greater demon,” said Pietro.
“That is madness. Our deaths would not serve a purpose in protecting the town. We stand a better chance in helping the town directly instead of throwing our lives here for nothing,” said John.
Both of them have their own points. It is certainly better to eliminate the greater demon directly and disperse the influence. But if we fail, it would be for nothing. The town would be destroyed in the end along with our deaths. From that perspective, it would certainly be better to just help the town directly. All four of us fought a great demon before and were almost beaten. Who knows what is the power of a greater demon.
Both of then continued to argue while I pulled Rose further away from them to discuss our own.
“Any idea what we should do? We are running out of time,” I asked Rose.
“I think we should…” Rose paused as both of us heard a loud shuu noise.
A moment later, a huge bang erupted. Was that.. a firework? I looked back and saw Pietro holding a circular container with smoke trails from the top. He must have pulled the rope to fire the firework.
“W.. why did you do that? You just doomed us all!” Shouted John.
A wind pressure slammed against the cliffs in-between us and John’s side. Something sliced the hill we are standing on. I looked towards the clearing and saw another coming straight for us. This too sliced the hill behind us which caused our side to crumble. The hill is falling apart!
John’s side seems to be stable but ours is falling apart. We are losing foothold here. I thought of jumping to the other side where John, Pietro and Kronk was until I heard Rose screaming. I looked towards her and she was falling off towards the ravine. Without thinking, I rushed and jumped towards her immediately.
Both of us are free falling now. I was able to reach Rose which I instinctively hugged her. Shit shit.. I got no parachute here! How do I break the fall and land safely?!
Should I stab Inazuma into one of the tree trunks to stop the fall? What if it breaks? Kirin will kill me before I even fight the greater demon. Wait.. what is that coming at us? Is that… giant Venus flytraps?!
A few of the leaves were aiming straight for us. These plants must have thought we were easy prey that would fall directly into its mouth. But this is a good opportunity for me. I shouted to Rose to hang tight to which she hugged me tightly. I spun our body to avoid the leaves aiming at us. A couple of them knocked onto each other to our favour. I avoided the one aiming at us and quickly unsheathed Inazuma with my right hand. I stabbed into the soft stem of the leaf that aimed at us making sure the blunt part was facing the bottom. My right arm was straining as I gripped Inazuma one-handed. We were slowing our descent. We came to a stop when we were close to the ground. The leaf split apart and fell sideways. Sorry about that but you did try to eat us.
Damn it. What the hell happened? Where did the wind pressure come from? Was there someone strong enough to slice a hill apart?
It took me about a moment to realised that Rose was still hugging me tightly. I held her shoulders to see what was wrong but I only then did I noticed she was shaking. Was she afraid of something? Is that why she didn’t react much when the hill was crumpling?
I thought we could finally have a breather but a loud crash suddenly erupted from behind us. It would seemed like something large have landed. I braced the thought and prayed that it was just a part of the hill or something. Unfortunately, it was the greater demon we saw earlier. It had two horns, blue colour but slimmer body than the great demon we fought, but still with elongated arms and claws. The wings are more logical now. Giant majestic wings tucked behind its back. But this one was holding a katana. A shiny purple katana that looks like a legendary item. This is bad, really bad.
Rose has recollected herself due to the sudden loud crash and I told her now is not the time to be scared. She need to prepare her spells and if opportunity arises, drink our stats enhancing potions. We will need everything in our disposal including my secret weapon.
“You,” the greater demon pointed at me.
Huh? They can speak? Since when? I was expecting it to say something like “Ahhh, fresh meat!”
“You… know me?” I replied back.
Perhaps an opportunity did arise. I hid Inazuma behind my back. Rose caught on immediately and quickly rustled her bag.
“Your features looked... familiar. Just like the human that fought with the Demon King. I recognise those features,” said the greater demon.
Did I look like my father that much to be so easily recognised? I should drag this conversation more for Rose to prepare.
“You are mistaken, I am only fifteen years old. It is not possible that I fought the Demon King,” I said to the demon.
“No.. you did not. But perhaps your ancestors did. Yes.. you are probably his son. The resemblance are uncanny. I shall kill you and become the next Demon King. I will succeed where he failed,” said the demon.
“Who are you? Do you serve the Demon King?” I asked the demon.
“Served him I did. No longer. I was the first lieutenant of the Demon King. The sole survivor from the great demon era! I will reunite the demons and become the next Demon King!” shouted the demon.
“Really? Sounds like a remnant of the past clinging on to the future. You can barely even control a hundred demons yourself. I doubt you are able to succeed in any way possible,” I said to the demon.
Rose tugged my cloak from behind to signal me that all is ready. Good, it might be tempted to attack us soon.
“I do not like your words, human. I am a greater demon from that era. You will cling onto your life while I drag your body to the other demons. They will acknowledge my strength while we devour your warm corpse,” said the demon.
Ugh, I doubt I taste nice. But play time is over. Time is of the essence should I wish to save the town from utter destruction.
I checked Inazuma’s blade to make sure. Alright, Rose did an excellent job. Talk no jutsu is over, time to roll.
I rushed to the demon while Rose stayed closely behind. I can see the demon was ready for our attacks. I was expecting it to take a swipe at me with the katana or its claws but it suddenly roared. Shit, is this their taunting spell?
Both me and Rose were being pushed back by the roar. Huh? Seems like it is just a normal roar to push us back. That’s strange. I made a small nod to Rose to which she understood to hang back. I ran up to the demon and got ready to defend myself. Odd, it is not attacking me. I was on its right side where it was holding the katana. I took a gamble and decided to attack the demon. I used Shadow Strike on the demon’s right arm. I cut through the meat but not the bone. I pulled Inazuma back to further the cut. Steams was arising from the wound. Can’t healm can ya?
The reptilians found the perfect recipe to prevent the demons from healing quickly overtime. It is a sort of wax coating that you need to spread on your blade. Limited effect and use but better than nothing. But why is this greater demon not attacking? Things are getting awfully sus now. Should I hang back and see it’s next move?
Just as I finish that thought, the demon started attacking.. but very slowly. It is trying to swing the katana but it looks like the demon is having difficulty in wielding it. I only just noticed that the katana’s tip was always touching the ground. It took some great difficulty for the demon to finish his swing.
BOOM!!
Yikes! I’m glad I dodged it! It sliced the entire landscape where it was aiming for! Holy shit, I must never get caught by its swings or I’ll be decimated. As I was recovering from the extend of the earlier attack, Rose came in to attack of her own. She took a few stabs at the demon’s torso and used her signature Holy Strike which pierced through the demon’s body. Rose is really good at aiming at the opponent’s weak-point. I also noticed that demon’s are more vulnerable to piercing attacks rather than slicing.
The demon swung his left hand at Rose. Much quicker than his katana attack but nothing Rose cannot handle. She dodged low, pulled out her rapier from the torso and stabbed at the demon’s foot. She leaped back quickly to regain her bearings. Steams were also arising from where she stabbed. Good, she coated her rapier with the wax too. My attack earlier was starting to heal now albeit quite slowly. Now is my turn to push the attack.
I went in close to the demon. It saw me but did not react much. I rushed behind the demon instead and sliced both of the knees. Even though I could not slice through the bones, I can still cut through the flesh. The demon grunted and tried to swing the katana again. I quickly did an uppercut and somehow managed to sliced off the demon’s right wing.
“You’ll pay for that, human!!” shouted the demon.
I can see that it is going to swing the katana towards me now. I must dodge it. Just as the demon almost managed to succeed in swinging, Rose came in to stab at the demon’s arm. The demon dropped the katana which fell to the ground with a loud thud. My goodness, how much does that thing even weigh?
The demon is pissed now. It swung its left arm again at Rose which is way faster than before. Shit, is Rose going to get pulverised?
“Accelerate!” shouted Rose.
She managed to dodge it at the last moment. The demon rushed towards her in attempt to punch her. It is much faster now compared to the sluggish movement it was doing earlier. Was the katana weakening the demon? I threw my dagger at the demon to get it’s attention.
Thung!
It hit the back of the demon’s head but it did not pierce the skull. The demon looked back at me wanting to strike back. Rose reacted quickly by grabbing the falling dagger and pierced the demon’s throat. Nice, quick thinking Rose!
The demon roared in anger which caused a shock wave. Both Rose and I flew back some distance from the demon. It tossed the dagger aside and rushed back to grab the katana. Can we win this? Can Rose and me beat this demon? The demon reached the katana and attempted to lift it. It seems to be struggling to lift it with one hand. Now is our chance.
Both Rose and me rushed in and pierced the demon’s torso forming an X with our both of our weapon. The demon roared in pain but still focused on lifting the katana. It then reached down to grab it with the other hand. I’m not going to let you lift the katana. I quickly reached into my back pocket to grab my strength potion. I can hear Rose chanting her other spell.
“Light Blessing!” shouted Rose just as I finished drinking my potion.
Time to slice this moron. I pushed Inazuma forward from where I pierced it. I used all my strength and managed to sliced it all the way through the demon’s left arm. Rose instead aimed for the demon’s head to pierce it’s skull. Hopefully we can kill it if we destroy it’s brain.
The demon dodge Rose’s attack with a spin and hit her with its left wing. I leaped back to regain my bearings to see what the demon will do next. Alright, Rose blocked the wing attack earlier. It seems like we can do this.
The demon roared even louder this time. What? It is healing all of its wound. Even the wing that was sliced is regrowing now. Not good, all that we did was for naught. And it seems like our wax coating are also running out from our blades. If it attacks us without the katana’s de-buff, both of us might not make it out alive.
Rose quickly took out a potion and drank it. The demon rushed to attack her to which she barely dodged it. It must have been the agility potion that she drank as the Accelerate spell should have worn off by now. The demon really hates Rose as she did many things that angered the demon. I rushed to help her while picking up the dagger that demon threw on the ground. The demon moves nimbly and fast. Rose is getting cornered by its attack. I might not make it in time to help her.
What? Why did Rose stopped moving? Is that… her foot is stuck on a giant sundew?! Shit, the demon is going in for the kill with its claws.
“ROSE!!” I shouted.
A small axe and spear pierced at the demon’s torso and face. This made the demon stopped its attack and leaped back. Rose quickly sliced at the sundew’s sticky tentacle coils before it grabs her in. Oh, thank god. Just the thought of seeing Rose dead in front of me brought me to realised that this is not some fun and games right now. This is a life and death situation.
John and Pietro appeared from among the tress to join us in battle. Kronk is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he went back to the town to help out. I quickly took out the cloth that had the wax coating and wiped it across Inazuma. You want a battle? I'll give you a round two with the four of us.
About two days later, we can finally head out of town in search of the disturbance. My wounds have recovered fully by now. I am amazed at the effect of the cooling gel. I made a number of them and distributed to everyone. I also given them some agility and strength potion along with a secret weapon the local alchemy taught me. It will be invaluable in the upcoming battle with the demons.
Kronk did not just sit by idly for the past two days. He figured out the direction on where the great demon was coming from and showed us the location on the map. He also told us about the type of ranking that demons have.
Lesser Demon > Great Demon > Greater Demon > Demon King
Lesser demons in general are quite weak. They do not have the healing factor that great demons have. If we were to encounter a group of lesser demon, we should be able to take them out. Greater Demons on the other hand, are powerful beings. Powerful enough to be on par with a blue or red dragon. Some even surpasses the power level of dragons but not strong enough to be a Demon King yet. There have only been one Demon King that existed and it almost caused the destruction of this world. Elves, humans and reptilians all fought together to bring down the King.
I asked Kronk about the strange roar that the great demon used on us. We all lost control and rushed in blindly to attack it. He said that was one of their signature move. It is something like a taunt that makes you lose control. Stronger demons can even make their opponents in a frenzy state with their bloodlust. Should we encounter such a demon, we better pray that our mind is disciplined enough to counter such attack. Otherwise, all of us will be dead before we even know it.
We headed out to the location shown to us. Kronk was bringing along a.. staff? Or perhaps a walking stick? All I know is that he is used it when he is walking. The location brought us to the south of the continent. The town was located in the southwest.
I am very thankful for Kronk. Without him, we just won't make it in this continent. He is always the first to predict the weather or any incoming attacks. So far, we have not encountered any death-storm. Mostly, it is just the burning rainstorm which we were able to shade ourselves by hiding in caves. There are a lot of caves in this continent. Kronk said that the reptilians made it themselves for temporary shelter. Demons on the other hand are able to withstand all the weathers here. I asked Kronk on why they used mud for their houses when burning rainstorm happens more frequently. He said that reptilians in general are able to expel their heat much easier than humans. By using mud, they can retain the heat in the building while their cold-blooded body can expel the heat naturally. No wonder they can stay in this continent so well.
So far, we only encountered stray lesser demons which we were able to dispose of easily. We did not even need to aim for the brain like some zombies. Ah, I completely forgot to mention that the flora here are dangerous as well. Giant sundew and Venus flytraps exist in this continent. Like I said, Kronk saved us more time I can count. Pietro very nearly became plant food when he almost stepped on a giant sundew’s hidden sticky tentacles.
Two days later, we were only halfway through the journey. We camped in another cave that we found for the night. The intensity of the demons were getting stronger the closer we reached the location. We are definitely on the right path. It was John and my turn to take point for the lookout. We saw both Pietro and Rose sleeping (not side by side) which I thought is a good opportunity for me bring up a conversation with John.
“Do you still think Pietro is hiding something?” I whispered to John.
“Can’t say. I can’t shake the feeling that he is up to something. But so far we did not detour anywhere nor did he give out any unreasonable orders. Maybe we should cut him some slack,” said John.
“Perhaps. He is stern but that does not warrant suspicion. I’ll just continue to keep an eye on him just to be safe,” I said to John.
A moment of silence engulfs us. Was John always so distant towards me? I don’t remember this being the case. While it did seemed like Lily was the one holding us together, John and me had our meals together before and which being cheerful and talked about almost anything. Did something happened? I tried to make more conversation with him.
“John, you met with Lily right? How is she? I have not seen her in like, forever,” I said to him.
“Hm? Oh, she’s doing great. She’s a total babe now. You won’t recognise her for sure,” he chuckled.
“Haha, I’m sure I can recognise her signature glasses. Not many elves wear those anyway,” I told him.
“You’ll be surprised. She’s changed now. Who knew that elves only starts growing more mature after a century. But one thing still remains though,” John said while looking down.
“She’s still on to you. You should meet up with her for old times sake,” he said.
What? Lily is still on to me? On what basis?
“You’re just messing with me. There is no way that she is still interested in me when we have no met for so long. I’m certain that she have met with plenty of other dudes in the past five years. Did you even hear her say it?” I questioned John.
“Oh, I am fairly certain. When I asked her about you, she feign ignorance and said who is Zen? Oh that Zen. Then she began talking nonsense while being flustered. It’s quite obvious she is still into you Zen,” said John.
Why do I sense the feeling John is disappointed or feeling down?
“John.. are you.. perhaps?” I stopped at the end.
“What are you boys talking about?” said a voice behind.
Both of us turned our heads quickly and saw Rose. Was it time for our shifts?
“Is it time already? Felt like we only sat for awhile,” I asked Rose.
“No, it is not time yet. I just woke up and saw you two chatting so I thought I should join in. Is that alright?” asked Rose.
I hope she did not hear about our conversation about Lily. She can get overly jealous when I talk about other girls. Like some over protective little sister that can’t seems to let go of her brother.
“Hey John, I… am sorry,” I said to him.
“Hm? Oh.. it’s nothing. It’s not your fault really. I blame myself. It is probably due to the sudden meet up after such a long time that I was stunned by her changes. I’ll get over it, don’t worry,” said John.
This deep conversation is really affecting my mood. I did not know John had feelings for Lily. Did she changed so much that even John fell for her? I must steady myself if I do meet her one day since I know very well that I am sucker for female elves. I feel sorry for John though. Surprised he did not try to whoo her.
“Who are you guys talking about?” asked Rose.
“Um.. we.. were.. talking about John’s elder sister! That’s right. John have not met with his sister for a very long time and was surprised by her changes. Ha ha ha,” I tried to talk my way out of it.
“Yes, we were talking about my wonderful and genuine elder sister that most certainly exist. I certainly met her recently and was surprised by her. Har har har” said John.
Brother, you suck at lying.
Rose was squinting at the both of us but we avoided her gaze. She then sat on the log beside me and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Are you sure the both of you are siblings? From what I’m seeing, you two are more like lovers. Hahaha!” John said while he laughed.
“Oh please, she is just an overly attached and protective little sister,” I said bluntly.
“As long as I am at Onii-chan’s side, I don’t care what he says,” retaliated Rose.
“You can’t stick with me forever, Rose. The both of us will probably get a partner one day. But you can visit, don’t worry,” I said to her.
“Until then, I’ll stick with you. So bear with me,” she said.
“Rose will be a beauty when she’s older. I am certain she will have flocks of guys chasing after her alright. Haha,” said John.
“John.. I would rather you go for Lily than touch my little sister. Let me warn you,” I said to him.
“Who’s Lily?” asked Rose.
“Er.. John’s elder sister. That’s right,” I said without thinking.
“That does not make any sense!” shouted Rose.
Both John and me laughed while Rose was pouting waiting for us to answer. Pietro was awake now and it was time for us change shift. John and I headed into the cave to rest where John whispered to me.
“I won’t touch Rose or Lily, don’t worry. I owe you that much. But you, on the other hand, have to pick one,” he whispered to me.
“What are you talking about? I can’t pick Rose. I don’t even see her that way,” I said to him.
“Dude, seriously? Even a dense guy like me can see that Rose and Lily is into you. Even if Rose is not aware of it, when you start dating other girls, she will get jealous for sure. You are her hero Zen. Will you be okay if Rose started dating other guys? Think about it,” he said and lay on the sleeping bag.
Will I be ok if Rose starting dating other guys? I mean.. sure? I guess? I don’t know what to feel right now. I really just see her as my little sister. As for Lily, I might have a crush on her, but after so long, I really don’t know what to feel when I see her again.
I just lay on the sleeping bag and closed my eyes. Now is not the time to think about romance. Tomorrow might be a dangerous day. I should focus on that more instead and get some sleep.
I hope to God that Kirin does not disturb me when I sleep tonight to talk about girls. Please don’t.
***
Dawn arrives and we prepared ourselves for the inevitable journey. Kronk scouted ahead and from what he can see, we should be able to see what is causing the disturbances after we climbed up that hill which he pointed out. Good, once we are able to see then we can call for reinforcements and finally head back to the West continent after that.
After a quick meal, we packed up and headed to the hill in question. We thought that we will need some climbing gears to climb the hill but Kronk had already prepared a rope for us to climb all the way to the top. Is our guide not afraid of being ambushed or attacked by demons? I mean, sure, he can predict the weather and foresee an attack. But still, what if he met another great demon? He literally ran away at the sight of it previously.
We all took turns to climb up. It wasn’t easy but there were footholds against the rock that we can use to climb. Good thing the hill was not too steeped to climb. John and Pietro climbed first then I followed suit. I asked Rose to climb before me but she said I’ll be looking at her butt so she pushed me to climb first.
Upon reaching the peak, we were greeted with a huge area of clearing for miles away. At some considerable distance from where we stood, we can finally see what we were looking for. There was numerous demons flying around a central area. And in the middle of it all, there was a menacing looking demon. Is that a great or greater demon I wonder?
Kronk was the last to made the climb. He joined in to see what we were looking at. He said that the demon in the middle is definitely at least a greater demon. But from the looks of it, he is not capable of controlling many demons. Its demon influence is not at the level of the Demon King who can control all the demons in the entire Northern continent. But it seems like he is preparing for war. While not a huge army, there was certainly around a couple of hundred demons under his control.
The greater demon raised his arm while holding something. Is that… a katana? Huh? Why would a demon be wielding a human weapon? That is.. odd.
Inazuma started to rattle on my hips. Is Kirin excited or something? I never felt Inazuma rattled like this before. The greater demon unsheathed the katana and pointed towards a direction. Wait, that direction is.. where the town is! Is it going to rage war with the reptilians? Would they even stand a chance?
I looked at Kronk and he was panicking. He looked as though he wanted to run away or perhaps to run back town and help in protecting. What are our options then? We are kind of done with the quest and can fallback to call for reinforcements. But will they be able to reach in time to help out in protecting the town? I felt that might not be the case.
Another option is to leave the reptilians to their fate. But I am not so cruel when they showed me such great hospitality so far, even though we were completely different beings. I continued to ponder in thoughts when Pietro raised a question.
“Kronk, if we were to defeat the greater demon, would the demons disperse upon it’s death?” He asked Kronk.
“All the demons will break free from his influence. But if they reached town before we defeat it then it would be for naught. The demons will still wreak havoc while fighting with each other.
“So our only option is to quickly defeat it before the demons reaches the town,” said Pietro.
“I do not agree. We should hurry back to town and help out the reptilians instead,” said John.
“We won’t make it in time. Even though from what we saw that not every demons was capable of flight, there was still a considerable number of those that was flying earlier. We just won’t make it,” said Pietro.
“You do remember the four of us almost died while fighting a great demon. If it were not for Zen’s perception to aim for the brain, the four of us would have been dead by now,” said John.
“But now we are all well equipped, aren’t we? We also know their weakness so we are more capable now. As the leader of this group, I say we fight the greater demon,” said Pietro.
“That is madness. Our deaths would not serve a purpose in protecting the town. We stand a better chance in helping the town directly instead of throwing our lives here for nothing,” said John.
Both of them have their own points. It is certainly better to eliminate the greater demon directly and disperse the influence. But if we fail, it would be for nothing. The town would be destroyed in the end along with our deaths. From that perspective, it would certainly be better to just help the town directly. All four of us fought a great demon before and were almost beaten. Who knows what is the power of a greater demon.
Both of then continued to argue while I pulled Rose further away from them to discuss our own.
“Any idea what we should do? We are running out of time,” I asked Rose.
“I think we should…” Rose paused as both of us heard a loud shuu noise.
A moment later, a huge bang erupted. Was that.. a firework? I looked back and saw Pietro holding a circular container with smoke trails from the top. He must have pulled the rope to fire the firework.
“W.. why did you do that? You just doomed us all!” Shouted John.
A wind pressure slammed against the cliffs in-between us and John’s side. Something sliced the hill we are standing on. I looked towards the clearing and saw another coming straight for us. This too sliced the hill behind us which caused our side to crumble. The hill is falling apart!
John’s side seems to be stable but ours is falling apart. We are losing foothold here. I thought of jumping to the other side where John, Pietro and Kronk was until I heard Rose screaming. I looked towards her and she was falling off towards the ravine. Without thinking, I rushed and jumped towards her immediately.
Both of us are free falling now. I was able to reach Rose which I instinctively hugged her. Shit shit.. I got no parachute here! How do I break the fall and land safely?!
Should I stab Inazuma into one of the tree trunks to stop the fall? What if it breaks? Kirin will kill me before I even fight the greater demon. Wait.. what is that coming at us? Is that… giant Venus flytraps?!
A few of the leaves were aiming straight for us. These plants must have thought we were easy prey that would fall directly into its mouth. But this is a good opportunity for me. I shouted to Rose to hang tight to which she hugged me tightly. I spun our body to avoid the leaves aiming at us. A couple of them knocked onto each other to our favour. I avoided the one aiming at us and quickly unsheathed Inazuma with my right hand. I stabbed into the soft stem of the leaf that aimed at us making sure the blunt part was facing the bottom. My right arm was straining as I gripped Inazuma one-handed. We were slowing our descent. We came to a stop when we were close to the ground. The leaf split apart and fell sideways. Sorry about that but you did try to eat us.
Damn it. What the hell happened? Where did the wind pressure come from? Was there someone strong enough to slice a hill apart?
It took me about a moment to realised that Rose was still hugging me tightly. I held her shoulders to see what was wrong but I only then did I noticed she was shaking. Was she afraid of something? Is that why she didn’t react much when the hill was crumpling?
I thought we could finally have a breather but a loud crash suddenly erupted from behind us. It would seemed like something large have landed. I braced the thought and prayed that it was just a part of the hill or something. Unfortunately, it was the greater demon we saw earlier. It had two horns, blue colour but slimmer body than the great demon we fought, but still with elongated arms and claws. The wings are more logical now. Giant majestic wings tucked behind its back. But this one was holding a katana. A shiny purple katana that looks like a legendary item. This is bad, really bad.
Rose has recollected herself due to the sudden loud crash and I told her now is not the time to be scared. She need to prepare her spells and if opportunity arises, drink our stats enhancing potions. We will need everything in our disposal including my secret weapon.
“You,” the greater demon pointed at me.
Huh? They can speak? Since when? I was expecting it to say something like “Ahhh, fresh meat!”
“You… know me?” I replied back.
Perhaps an opportunity did arise. I hid Inazuma behind my back. Rose caught on immediately and quickly rustled her bag.
“Your features looked... familiar. Just like the human that fought with the Demon King. I recognise those features,” said the greater demon.
Did I look like my father that much to be so easily recognised? I should drag this conversation more for Rose to prepare.
“You are mistaken, I am only fifteen years old. It is not possible that I fought the Demon King,” I said to the demon.
“No.. you did not. But perhaps your ancestors did. Yes.. you are probably his son. The resemblance are uncanny. I shall kill you and become the next Demon King. I will succeed where he failed,” said the demon.
“Who are you? Do you serve the Demon King?” I asked the demon.
“Served him I did. No longer. I was the first lieutenant of the Demon King. The sole survivor from the great demon era! I will reunite the demons and become the next Demon King!” shouted the demon.
“Really? Sounds like a remnant of the past clinging on to the future. You can barely even control a hundred demons yourself. I doubt you are able to succeed in any way possible,” I said to the demon.
Rose tugged my cloak from behind to signal me that all is ready. Good, it might be tempted to attack us soon.
“I do not like your words, human. I am a greater demon from that era. You will cling onto your life while I drag your body to the other demons. They will acknowledge my strength while we devour your warm corpse,” said the demon.
Ugh, I doubt I taste nice. But play time is over. Time is of the essence should I wish to save the town from utter destruction.
I checked Inazuma’s blade to make sure. Alright, Rose did an excellent job. Talk no jutsu is over, time to roll.
I rushed to the demon while Rose stayed closely behind. I can see the demon was ready for our attacks. I was expecting it to take a swipe at me with the katana or its claws but it suddenly roared. Shit, is this their taunting spell?
Both me and Rose were being pushed back by the roar. Huh? Seems like it is just a normal roar to push us back. That’s strange. I made a small nod to Rose to which she understood to hang back. I ran up to the demon and got ready to defend myself. Odd, it is not attacking me. I was on its right side where it was holding the katana. I took a gamble and decided to attack the demon. I used Shadow Strike on the demon’s right arm. I cut through the meat but not the bone. I pulled Inazuma back to further the cut. Steams was arising from the wound. Can’t healm can ya?
The reptilians found the perfect recipe to prevent the demons from healing quickly overtime. It is a sort of wax coating that you need to spread on your blade. Limited effect and use but better than nothing. But why is this greater demon not attacking? Things are getting awfully sus now. Should I hang back and see it’s next move?
Just as I finish that thought, the demon started attacking.. but very slowly. It is trying to swing the katana but it looks like the demon is having difficulty in wielding it. I only just noticed that the katana’s tip was always touching the ground. It took some great difficulty for the demon to finish his swing.
BOOM!!
Yikes! I’m glad I dodged it! It sliced the entire landscape where it was aiming for! Holy shit, I must never get caught by its swings or I’ll be decimated. As I was recovering from the extend of the earlier attack, Rose came in to attack of her own. She took a few stabs at the demon’s torso and used her signature Holy Strike which pierced through the demon’s body. Rose is really good at aiming at the opponent’s weak-point. I also noticed that demon’s are more vulnerable to piercing attacks rather than slicing.
The demon swung his left hand at Rose. Much quicker than his katana attack but nothing Rose cannot handle. She dodged low, pulled out her rapier from the torso and stabbed at the demon’s foot. She leaped back quickly to regain her bearings. Steams were also arising from where she stabbed. Good, she coated her rapier with the wax too. My attack earlier was starting to heal now albeit quite slowly. Now is my turn to push the attack.
I went in close to the demon. It saw me but did not react much. I rushed behind the demon instead and sliced both of the knees. Even though I could not slice through the bones, I can still cut through the flesh. The demon grunted and tried to swing the katana again. I quickly did an uppercut and somehow managed to sliced off the demon’s right wing.
“You’ll pay for that, human!!” shouted the demon.
I can see that it is going to swing the katana towards me now. I must dodge it. Just as the demon almost managed to succeed in swinging, Rose came in to stab at the demon’s arm. The demon dropped the katana which fell to the ground with a loud thud. My goodness, how much does that thing even weigh?
The demon is pissed now. It swung its left arm again at Rose which is way faster than before. Shit, is Rose going to get pulverised?
“Accelerate!” shouted Rose.
She managed to dodge it at the last moment. The demon rushed towards her in attempt to punch her. It is much faster now compared to the sluggish movement it was doing earlier. Was the katana weakening the demon? I threw my dagger at the demon to get it’s attention.
Thung!
It hit the back of the demon’s head but it did not pierce the skull. The demon looked back at me wanting to strike back. Rose reacted quickly by grabbing the falling dagger and pierced the demon’s throat. Nice, quick thinking Rose!
The demon roared in anger which caused a shock wave. Both Rose and I flew back some distance from the demon. It tossed the dagger aside and rushed back to grab the katana. Can we win this? Can Rose and me beat this demon? The demon reached the katana and attempted to lift it. It seems to be struggling to lift it with one hand. Now is our chance.
Both Rose and me rushed in and pierced the demon’s torso forming an X with our both of our weapon. The demon roared in pain but still focused on lifting the katana. It then reached down to grab it with the other hand. I’m not going to let you lift the katana. I quickly reached into my back pocket to grab my strength potion. I can hear Rose chanting her other spell.
“Light Blessing!” shouted Rose just as I finished drinking my potion.
Time to slice this moron. I pushed Inazuma forward from where I pierced it. I used all my strength and managed to sliced it all the way through the demon’s left arm. Rose instead aimed for the demon’s head to pierce it’s skull. Hopefully we can kill it if we destroy it’s brain.
The demon dodge Rose’s attack with a spin and hit her with its left wing. I leaped back to regain my bearings to see what the demon will do next. Alright, Rose blocked the wing attack earlier. It seems like we can do this.
The demon roared even louder this time. What? It is healing all of its wound. Even the wing that was sliced is regrowing now. Not good, all that we did was for naught. And it seems like our wax coating are also running out from our blades. If it attacks us without the katana’s de-buff, both of us might not make it out alive.
Rose quickly took out a potion and drank it. The demon rushed to attack her to which she barely dodged it. It must have been the agility potion that she drank as the Accelerate spell should have worn off by now. The demon really hates Rose as she did many things that angered the demon. I rushed to help her while picking up the dagger that demon threw on the ground. The demon moves nimbly and fast. Rose is getting cornered by its attack. I might not make it in time to help her.
What? Why did Rose stopped moving? Is that… her foot is stuck on a giant sundew?! Shit, the demon is going in for the kill with its claws.
“ROSE!!” I shouted.
A small axe and spear pierced at the demon’s torso and face. This made the demon stopped its attack and leaped back. Rose quickly sliced at the sundew’s sticky tentacle coils before it grabs her in. Oh, thank god. Just the thought of seeing Rose dead in front of me brought me to realised that this is not some fun and games right now. This is a life and death situation.
John and Pietro appeared from among the tress to join us in battle. Kronk is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he went back to the town to help out. I quickly took out the cloth that had the wax coating and wiped it across Inazuma. You want a battle? I'll give you a round two with the four of us.
