The demon laughed at their attempt to organise themselves for a fight. The sound was like shattering glass mixed with grinding tal.
Unnatural and chilling.
"He's laughing at us..." Cain muttered, gritting his teeth. His knuckles whitened around his sword hilt.
"Calm down. Don't let this abomination make you lose your composure." Theodore's voice cut through the fear like a blade. As the leader of the group, he knew that Cain and Abel were slightly reckless at tis.
They needed to be kept in check, especially now.
Cain nodded, forcing himself to breathe. His nerves were already on fire, every instinct screaming to either fight or flee.
The demon didn't seem interested in waiting any longer.
One mont, it stood at the edge of the clearing, red eyes gleaming with malice.
The next—it vanished.
"Where did—" Abel started.
A blur of motion.
The demon reappeared directly in front of Lupin.
"No!" Jasmine cried out.
The demon raised its leg and kicked. Lupin flew backwards as if he weighed nothing. Lupin's body crashed through the tree line, splintering trunks and disappearing in an explosion of debris and leaves.
Theodore gulped as he watched the destruction. Lupin was incredibly strong, and he knew that.
And the demon had dispatched him with a casual kick.
His eyes snapped back to the demon, who strolled toward them with the unhurried confidence of a predator that knows its prey is cornered. Its molten veins pulsed brighter with excitent.
"Eliza! Now!" Theodore shouted.
From her elevated position, Eliza and the other archers didn't hesitate. Bowstrings sang in unison as they loosed a volley of arrows. The sky darkened montarily as dozens of shafts rained down.
The demon didn't bother dodging. It simply continued its leisurely approach as arrows struck its obsidian hide. Several embedded themselves in its shoulders and chest, but they might as well have been pinpricks for all the damage they caused. The wounds leaked a smoking black ichor that hissed when it hit the ground.
The demon still had the sa, cruel smile as it reached up, casually plucking out arrows from its flesh.
With a flick of its wrist, it sent the arrows hurtling back, not at the archers, but at Theodore.
"Incoming!" Theodore shouted, raising his shield to block the arrows.
Two blurs of motion—one from the right, one from the left—converged on the demon simultaneously. The twins moved like mirror images, having used the arrow distraction to position themselves.
Cain struck low, his blade whistling as it slashed at the demon's hamstring. At the exact sa instant, Abel attacked high, aiming for the junction between neck and shoulder.
The demon's reflexes were inhumanly fast, but the coordinated attack forced it to defend both sides at once. It twisted, avoiding Abel's strike by milliters while blocking Cain's sword with a forearm. The blade bit into the demon's flesh but didn't cut deep.
"Now!" Theodore shouted, charging forward.
While the twins occupied the demon's defenses, Theodore aid for its exposed back. His sword glowed with the enhancing buffs Jasmine had cast, the blade leaving a trail of golden light as it slashed downward.
The blade connected, cutting a diagonal line across the demon's back. Black ichor sprayed from the wound.
The demon roared, not in pain, but in anger.
"Retreat!" Theodore commanded.
The three fighters disengaged in perfect sync, leaping back to their defensive positions before the demon could counterattack. It was a textbook execution of the maneuver they'd practiced countless tis during .
The demon touched the wound on its back, looking at the black substance coating its claws. Its eyes narrowed, burning brighter with rage.
"You actually managed to hurt ," it said, voice dropping an octave lower. "A mistake I won't allow twice."
It moved faster than before. One mont it stood ten paces away, the next it materialised directly in front of Theodore.
The demons claws extended, aiming for his throat.
Theodore's eyes dilated.
'Too fast.'
He couldn't raise his shield in ti.
A silver streak shot from the debris. Lupin, bloodied but far from defeated, launched himself at the demon with his fangs bared. The massive wolf slamd into the demon's side just before its claws could connect with Theodore's flesh.
The force of Lupin's attack sent the demon staggering sideways. Its claws raked the ground where Theodore had stood a heartbeat earlier.
Theodore, seeing the damage, gulped audibly.
Lupin didn't relent. He circled around instantly, teeth snapping at the demon's arm. The wolf moved, keeping himself between the demon and the humans.
Jasmine rushed forward the mont she saw Lupin return, her hands already glowing with mana.
"Cover !" she called to the others as she reached the wolf's side.
The demon snarled, refocusing on this new threat. It started walking towards Lupin, only to be t with another coordinated assault from the twins and the archers, who rained arrows on the demon.
"You're fighting us!" Cain shouted, slashing at the demon's legs.
Theodore circled around, providing another angle of attack. The warriors maintained constant pressure, never allowing the demon a clear path to their healer.
From his observation point, Arthur watched with growing approval. They weren't fighting as individuals—they were functioning as a cohesive unit, protecting their vulnerabilities while maximising their strengths.
"They're learning," he murmured.
Jasmine's hands worked quickly, the green healing light flowing into Lupin's injuries. The wolf's torn flesh knitted together before her eyes, muscles and sinew rebuilding with supernatural speed.
"Almost done," she whispered to the wolf, who kept his gaze fixed on the battle, clearly eager to rejoin.
Eliza coordinated the archers for another volley, this ti aiming for the vulnerable points they'd identified from the first exchange.
"Attack its eyes and the joints in between its armour," Eliza shouted as she pulled her bowstring alongside the archers next to her.
"Ready... loose!" she commanded.
Arrows whistled through the air, forcing the demon to shield its face. Two arrows found their mark, embedding in its shoulder joint.
Theodore seized the opportunity. "Go!"
Arthur watched with a smile on his face. He had instructed the lesser demon to give them hope of winning.
"Then...Break that hope. Let's see what they do when all hope is lost."
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