* * *
If only he hadnt collapsed at that ti. If only he had regained consciousness a little sooner and recovered quickly. The Knight Order might have been able to scout the swamp safely and only need to reinforce the seal.
He felt a twinge of regret, but feelings were feelings. Lun rested his hand on the scabbard of his sword and stared ahead.
Standing alongside Lun, Van had also raised his aura, his senses heightened. With reddened eyes, he glanced at Lydon and Garuel, who were materializing the seal behind him, and then at Jeff, who was pacing the periter.
Hey, you go back now.
Pardon? However, I need to see how the situation unfolds before I can report to His Majesty.
Blabbering is one thing, living is another. You wont survive here with your skills.
It was a very rude remark, but Jeff couldnt find a suitable rebuttal. The commander of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order also only asked to be guided to the seal circle, and he did not tell Jeff to participate in the subsequent fight. That was no different from telling him to go back once the guidance was over.
But he was also a decent scout leader. Even if a demon did appear here, he was confident that he would be able to survive. Besides, if he went back, he would only be able to give a pathetic report to the King: A High Demon may have appeared in the swamp, and the seal may have been broken, though I cant confirm it myself.
It was Garuel who saved Jeff, who hesitated to leave due to the dark future. As he was helping Lydon infuse light mana into the magic circle, he smiled lightly and said.
Even if I cant protect you, I can save you. If you are confident that you can do a good job protecting your own head, its okay to stay.
Pro, protecting my head?
Jeff couldnt tell if he was being reassuring or sarcastic. In the end, Jeff decided to watch them from a distance. It was just a general observation of their movents, but it was enough. Jeff was confident of his own survival, so hed simply identify the enemy and get the hell out of there.
Hmph, this is much worse than the seal in the Empire.
The materialization of the seal was complete. Lydon looked at the oval seal in the air, disappointed. It was much smaller than the one in Alithis.
Garuel comforted him, concealingly clutching his left hand as the demonic energy began to stir.
Its an outer seal. If it was at the sa level as the seal in the Empire, other knight orders would have co along. The seal is still intact, so be satisfied with that, Sir Lydon.
Thats the most frustrating thing!
After grunting loudly, Lydon rose into the air and looked around. The location they were currently in was the very center of the swamp. There was a wide swamp surrounding the land where the seal circle was located.
There was no sign of life in the brown, turbid swamp, except for a few dead, barren plants floating around. The eerie silence hung ominously in the air.
Lydon looked up from his montary contemplation of the sparse landscape, took a deep breath of the humid air, and muttered.
Hes really here.
Cadels words were spot on.
Hes outside the seal circle. He hasnt touched the seal circle yet, but hes probably realized that were approaching it. Hes lying in wait, and hes going to show himself when the seal is activated. So we need to position ourselves to keep the demon away from the seal, and then defend it. This fight isnt like the fight with Elvie, its not a solo effort, its a team effort.
That was the mission given to the Knight Order. Lydon stared at the swamp ahead, rembering Cadels words.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. A gentle breeze swept across the ground where they stood, and soon began to create a small whirlpool in the center of the swamp.
This was no ordinary whirlpool. Black petals from so unknown source were mixed in with the fast-moving wind. The dried and decayed petals made a cool friction sound, staining the color of the swirling vortex black as it grew faster and faster.
Van, Lun, Lydon, and Garuel quickly assud combat stances in front of the seal circle. And the next mont.
Whoong!
The vortex dispersed as if bursting, and the figure of a man was revealed on the swamp where nothing was visible.
As expected, humans have arrived.
Black hair that fell in waves to his waist and skin as pale as a corpses. Jet-black eyes without scleras were fixed on the Knight Order. A strange elegance that did not suit a demon flowed from him.
As he stretched out his blood-red lips and smiled, the dark red wings on his back spread wide. His appearance was so gorgeous that it could not even be compared to Sellevs or Elvies. He flapped his wings once, as if to show off, and spoke in an elegant deep voice.
My na is ndel Haliev. Ill be upset if you die without knowing myna, so Ill tell you in advance.
The first to attack was Lun. As his silhouette vanished in an instant, three flashes of light appeared behind ndel. There was no way that ndel could have reacted properly at the first strike due to Luns improved speed compared to before.
Phoosh!
A large amount of blood spurted from the torn flesh along the sword energy. ndel turned his head slightly to stare at Lun, who now occupied his rear.
Thats fast.
Maybe youre just slow.
Lun raised the corner of his mouth slantedly and raised his hand on his sword, sarcastically as if provoking. He too was keeping an eye on ndel, but his attention was focused on the wound he had cut a mont ago.
The wound is too shallow compared to the amount of blood. Moreover, that thing that fell on the floor is.
Blood was clearly gushing from the cut wound. However, what was actually lying on top of the swamp were bone fragnts from unknown sources. Did the blood droplets clump together? The yellow bone fragnts slowly sank to the bottom of the swamp.
Unfortunately, Im not slow, and if that attack isnt backed up by power, you cant kill .
ndel raised his right hand as he spoke calmly, and a blast of turbulent wind mixed with demonic energy exploded around him. Lun, who had been trying to resist the wind pressure, reflexively stepped back when he noticed the rush of black petals that followed the wind.
Youre not going to cut it? Youve got good sense. Youre a pretty good human being.
A black glare flashed across ndels eyes as he praised Lun for choosing to evade. A quick look away, and he saw the ice spear rushing straight at him. It was close enough to fill his field of vision, but ndel swung his hand without blinking, and the wind that followed the direction of his swing deflected the ice spears trajectory, grazing his cheek just barely.
An obvious surprise attack. That was the level of attack ndel assessed, but it was also just a trick. As soon as the ice spear that was blocking his vision disappeared, Van, clad in aura, ca right in front of his nose.
The greatsword, engulfed in red sword energy, aid at his chest with a heavy striking sound. ndel, who had easily retreated, tried to create a gale once again.
Kiing.
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before his eyes.
Kugh!
ndel reflexively closed his eyes from the stinging pain. He hurriedly launched a gale towards where Van was, but the attack was aid at his body from a completely different place.
Van, covered by Garuel, changed the trajectory of his blade just as ndel closed his eyes. A powerful swing of the greatsword sliced deeply into ndels side. He was about to follow up with his next move, but a quickly approaching Lun stopped him.
What?
Look at that.
Luns gaze fell on ndels freshly slashed side, where the blood from the wound had long since turned to bits of bone, pooling in the swamp.
In addition, the black petals that ca in through the wind penetrated the cracks of the wound and filled the empty space like flesh. The black stitched wound soon healed completely without leaving any scars.
Another damn regeneration.
The main reason why High Demons were so difficult to defeat was because of their terrible regeneration ability. Both Sellev, Elvie, and the one-ard Ashvka. You could never hurt them with simple attacks.
Well have to wait a little longer to find out the identity of that bone fragnt.
As Lun spoke, Van, who was fixing his greatsword, nodded slightly.
All we have to do now is distract him. Lets leave the seal circle to the rest and create a gap.
anwhile, ndel, who had regained his sight, patted his regenerated side. Despite the onslaught from the start, there was still an air of nobility in his deanor toward humans.
Thats a good combination. You get speed and power from different humans. Its interesting. Human cooperation has always been interesting.
Shut up. You dont need to bring all that sentintality into the fight.
As soon as Van rushed forward, a circular wall of ice surrounding the three erupted. An instant chill enveloped the three n. ndel looked up at the ice wall rising high into the sky and muttered darkly.
It looks like it will be a pretty good al.
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