The five of us tensed as we faced off with the two n atop the rocky hill. The sun shone high in the sky. No one said anything for several seconds. A cold wind blew through the vale and reached us, bringing with it the sll of blood and death from the carnage down below. I studied both of the n, trying to glean as much from them as I could.
One of the n had short dark hair, with tanned skin and a muscular physique. Like us, he wore tough and practical clothing. If it weren't for the blood that drenched his entire body, he could have passed as an adventurer. However, it was his blood-red eyes that caught my attention. A sign that this man had swallowed a demon's blood and beca a fiend.
The other man was taller but thinner than his companion. I couldn't discern anything else about him, since he wore black hooded robes that concealed the rest of his body, including his face. Despite that, an air of corruption clung to him. This happened when a wizard summoned a demon. They beca tainted. This was why demon summoners took pains to hide themselves.
A fiend and a demon summoner. They made for quite the pair. It looked like my plan had succeeded. Unfortunately, my plan had succeeded too well. At Third Rank, both the fiend and the demon summoner were well above the five of us. Our chances of surviving this encounter were slim, and everyone knew it. Unlike the five of us, the fiend and the demon summoners looked relaxed, almost nonchalant.
Thank the gods Cally and I set up a contingency plan before we left Icefall City. However, we needed to live long enough for it to bear fruit.
"Who are you people?" I asked, stepping in front of Cally, hiding her with my body.
The fiend let out an unsettling giggle.
"Does it matter?" He asked. "You're going to die anyway."
The demon summoner sighed.
"Perhaps you aren't as smart as I thought you were." He said. "How disappointing. It should be obvious who we are, and why we're here."
Andre snarled at the pair.
"Foul creatures," he said, "Lay a hand on us, and my family will scour this land until nothing remains of you and your ilk. If you know what's good for you, you'll let us leave."
A valiant attempt, but I doubted it would work. Still, Andre earned points for trying.
"By the ti your family realizes you're dead," the demon summoner said, "We'll be long gone from this land, little lordling."
The fiend made an exasperated sound.
"Yap yap yap." He said. "I'm bored. Can we kill them now?"
"Go right ahead." The demon summoner said.
The fiend cackled, before rushing towards us. He moved so fast that I could barely perceive him.
"Move!" Cally shouted.
I stepped aside, getting out of her way. The temperature in the area dropped as Cally released a wave of frost. The fiend paid it no need and continued to charge forward, intending to plow right through it. He failed to notice that the frost shimred with motes of golden light. The demon summoner was more perceptive.
"Wait!"
It was too late. The fiend collided with the wave of frost. Under most circumstances, a Third Star martial artist could shrug off a First Circle wizard's magic. However, in this case, the fiend let out a roar of pain as his skin started to sizzle and smoke. He stopped in his tracks.
"Run!" I shouted.
The five of us started running. The rough terrain slowed us down, but our desperation gave us speed. Despite this, I risked a glance back. I watched as the demon summoner ford a series of mudras and spoke an incantation. Dozens of blades made from black air ford around him before shooting towards us.
I pulled out a glass bottle and drank its contents, before I used [Concealing Mist] and breathed out a thick white cloud. Like Cally's wave of frost, it shimred with little motes of golden light. When the blades of black air t my [Concealing Mist], they sizzled and exploded into nothingness.
"How did you do that?" Andre shouted.
"Holy Water!"
After our encounter with the hellhounds, my companions and I bought several bottles of Holy Water from the Church of the Sun. We didn't use them when we fought the imps, since we didn't need to, so we still had plenty on hand.
Cally and I both had an affinity for Water. We discovered that while we couldn't control the Holy magic contained within the Holy Water, we could control the water itself. The fiend and the demon summoner were both corrupted by demons, aning that Holy Water affected them as well.
That was why I stepped in front of Cally earlier, to hide her actions while she pulled out one of her bottles of Holy Water and prepared to use it. Despite this, the odds were against us. We had a limited number of bottles of Holy Water. Sooner or later, we would run out. However, that was fine. We just needed to buy ti for our contingency plan.
As we ran down the rocky hill, Cally started to lag behind. The rough terrain took its toll on her. While she was robust for a wizard, she wasn't as physically fit as a martial artist.
"Leroy, grab Cally!" I shouted.
Without a word, he grabbed Cally and threw her over his shoulder. She let out an indignant squawk, but knew better than to fight back. However, I had a feeling that she would make pay for this indignity.
My intuition scread at in warning. I glanced back just as the demon summoner unleashed another barrage of black wind blades, this one even larger than the previous one. I pulled out another bottle of Holy Water and drank it, before using [Concealing Mist] again.
The thick white cloud blocked most of the black wind blades, but three of them got through. One flew towards , while the other two flew towards Andre and Richard.
[Elusive Mist]
I twisted my body to avoid the black wind blade flying towards , but I moved a little too late. It grazed , cutting a line of fire across my left arm. Blood seeped from my wound, soaking my clothes.
Andre and Richard didn't even try to dodge the black wind blades attacking them. Both summoned Auras for a brief mont to protect themselves. Impressive, considering their ages.
Andre's Aura resembled a lion made of fiery red light, while Richard's Aura resembled a tall mountain. However, they didn't escape unscathed. Both grunted as the black wind blades hit them and left them with deep wounds. Still, it was better than the alternative. Without their Auras, the black wind blades would've cut them in half.
The five of us soon reached the bottom of the rocky hill. As we did so, a ferocious roar echoed out. I glanced back again to see the fiend, still standing at the top of the rocky hill, pick up a massive boulder. With another roar, he threw it at us.
"Scatter!"
We split up to avoid being hit. I veered to the left with Leroy and Cally, while Andre and Richard veered to the right. The boulder slamd into the ground, almost hitting us and throwing up a cloud of dust into the air.
Right after that, a whirlwind of black air ford in the air above Andre and Richard, attempting to pull them in. At the sa ti, the fiend charged towards Leroy, Cally, and myself. He ran down the rocky hill, taking great leaping steps. At this rate, he would reach us in a matter of seconds.
"Young Master!" Richard cried out.
I looked over and found Andre floating in the air as the black whirlwind tried to pull him in. Richard held him by the foot, anchoring him. However, he was also about to be pulled in. I didn't know what would happen if they entered the black whirlwind, but I doubted it was anything good.
I wanted to go help them. However, if I did, that would leave Leroy and Cally vulnerable.
"Go!" Cally called out. "We'll be fine."
As she spoke, she pulled out her own bottles of Holy Water and started harassing the fiend with her magic. I gave her a nod, before rushing over to Andre and Richard.
By this point, both of them were in the air, flying towards the black whirlwind. When I felt its pull, I leapt up. I flew towards the black whirlwind, moving faster than Andre and Richard since I wasn't trying to resist. When I neared it, I pulled out my second-to-last bottle of Holy Water and threw it. When the black whirlwind sucked in the shimring liquid, it sizzled before exploding into nothingness.
Once the black whirlwind disappeared, the three of us started falling. Andre landed light on his feet, like a cat, while Richard slamd into the ground like a heavy boulder. I rolled when I landed, to disperse the force of my fall, before leaping to my feet.
Ti seed to slow down as I assessed the situation. Things looked dire. If we only had to deal with either the demon summoner or the fiend, we would be able to fight back. However, facing both at the sa ti ant this was a losing battle. We couldn't even flee. At this rate, we would die before our contingency plan arrived.
I decided to take a risk, one that would leave vulnerable right after. If I failed, I was dead. However, as things stood, I had little other choice.
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"Here." I pulled out my last bottle of Holy Water and tossed it over to Andre.
He caught it on reflex.
"Help is coming." I said. "Stay alive until then."
I didn't even wait for his reply before I ran towards the fiend. Cally managed to keep him at bay by combining Holy Water with her magic, but it was just a matter of ti before he reached them. When he did, he would tear them to shreds, just like the stone tusk boars. I couldn't let that happen. This whole excursion was my idea, so it was up to to keep everyone safe.
"I'm going to crush your skull!" The fiend yelled as Cally launched a barrage of ice spikes towards him.
He avoided most of them, but one of them tagged him. Black blood oozed from the wound. The fiend let out a frustrated scream, before he picked up a nearby rock and threw it at my companions. Leroy twisted around, to keep Cally safe. The rock slamd into his right shoulder with bone-breaking force. Even from this distance, I heard a sickening crunch.
My heart leapt into my throat when Leroy tumbled to the ground. Sohow, he still had enough presence of mind to avoid landing on Cally. The fiend laughed and rushed towards them again. Fuck! I wouldn't be able to reach them in ti, not like this.
[Lightning Dash]
I appeared right in front of Leroy and Cally, intercepting the fiend's path just before he reached them. A sadistic grin spread across his face when he saw . With less than a second to react, I mustered every drop of mana I had and summoned my own Aura.
For a single second, a dragon made from silvery-blue light appeared, surrounding my body. The air around crackled and I slled ozone. A draconic roar rang out as I pushed beyond my limit and used a technique far above my current level.
[Storm Dragon's Fang]
I thrust my sword towards the fiend, piercing his chest. His flesh burned and blackened as my Lightning coursed through him. He didn't even have ti to scream before he started falling to the ground, his body twitching. Even if that didn't kill him, he wasn't getting back up any ti soon. Good. That was what I wanted.
The second ended and the consequences of my actions hit right after. I hunched over and vomited out blood. Pain coursed through my entire being. My left hand burned for so reason.
All in all, my body was in terrible condition. Using both my Aura and [Storm Dragon's Fang] caused to suffer several internal injuries. It took everything I had to remain standing. At this point, even a child could defeat with ease. However, if this gave us enough ti for our contingency plan to arrive, then it was worth it.
"Look out!" Soone shouted. I couldn't tell who.
I looked up to find dozens of black wind blades flying towards . Even if I could run or use [Concealing Mist], I wouldn't be able to avoid them all. It looked like the demon summoner had decided to finish off.
Soone stepped in front of . Cally. She pulled out a bottle of Holy Water and used it to create a barrier made of blue light that sparkled with golden motes.
It wouldn't be enough. Cally's barrier was too small. There were too many black wind blades. Idiot. She should've run when she had the chance. However, it was clear from her body language that she wouldn't.
I wanted to tell her to go. There was no need for both of us to die. However, when I tried, bloody gurgling ca out. My body refused to listen, so I couldn't even push her out of the way. Well, fuck. At least we wouldn't die alone.
Just before the black wind blades reached us, sothing rushed past and blocked their path. It was a figure at Third Rank. They wore tal armor and wielded a round shield. Both the armor and the shield were red trimd with gold and decorated with a rose motif.
With a shout, the figure raised the shield. A massive rose-shaped barrier made from red light expanded out. It was more than large enough to block all of the black wind blades. A mont later, they hit the barrier in quick succession, almost sounding like machine gun fire.
At first, I feared the barrier wouldn't hold. With each hit, it grew weaker and weaker, like a wilting rose. However, my fears proved unfounded. The barrier held until no more black wind blades remained.
Afterwards, the figure dissipated the barrier before charging towards the demon summoner. Soon, more people ca into view. They also wore red armor trimd with gold, though theirs was less ornate. So of them followed after the figure, but the rest took up a defensive formation around us.
Our contingency plan arrived. The cavalry was here. Relief filled , so strong that I collapsed on the spot. However, before I hit the ground, soone caught . Anna's face ca into view. She wore a strange expression on her face, one I couldn't interpret.
That was the last thing I saw before, without warning, I lost consciousness.
The next thing I knew, I found myself lying on my back and staring up at a canvas ceiling. There was no gradual waking up, no stirring of consciousness. One mont I was out like a light, sleeping a dreamless sleep, and the next I was awake. It was a sudden transition with nothing in between.
A second after I opened my eyes, the pain hit . It felt as if lightning had scoured my insides, leaving raw and tender. That wasn't far from the truth. By using my Aura and a technique beyond my current level, I had pushed my body and my mana core beyond their limits, damaging both.
While it was worth it at the ti, that didn't make the experience any less painful. Still, if I had to go through it all over again, I would make the sa choice. If it ant protecting my compani-my friends, there was little I wouldn't do.
When the pain subsided, or at least lessened to a manageable level, I sat up and looked around. I laid on a bed that sat in a pavilion tent. A crude glowstone lamp hung from the ceiling, filling the tent with warm yellow light. At the foot of the bed sat a wooden chest. To my right stood a wooden nightstand with a pitcher of water and a cup on it.
Simple rugs covered ground. In the middle of the tent stood an enchanted brazier with a Fire elental crystal. It emanated a gentle warmth. Off to the side stood a simple dining area, consisting of a wooden table with two wooden chairs.
Through the tent's seams, I saw that it was evening, though I didn't know how much ti had passed. Hours? Days? Weeks? It was impossible to tell.
A simple flap served at the tent's entrance. Beyond it, I heard the faint sound of conversation. The sll of cooking food teased my nose. Despite this, I didn't feel hungry. I was in too much pain for that.
My mouth felt dry and I tasted so lingering remnants of my blood. With a shaking hand, I reached over and poured myself a cup of water. I almost dropped the pitcher when I first picked it up, but recovered in ti. The water tasted divine and I drained the cup without realizing it.
Afterwards, I went to stand up and leave the tent. It was a terrible idea to go moving about. However, I couldn't sit here and do nothing. I needed to go find my friends. How was Leroy? Had he survived? What about Cally? I wouldn't be able to rest until I saw them with my own eyes.
However, I soon realized that I wore nothing at all. Whoever brought here had stripped of all my clothes. This was a conundrum. While I wasn't ashad of my body, that didn't an I wanted to flaunt it to the rest of the world.
I searched the wooden chest at the foot of the bed and found a set of simple cotton clothes. They were too big for , but they would do for now. Besides, it wasn't as if I had much choice. I didn't find any shoes, so I went without.
When I finished dressing myself, I went through the tent's entrance. My body protested with each step, but I pushed through the pain. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the Icefall region's cold air hit . The cotton clothes I wore provided little insulation. Worst of all, without any shoes, treading on the bare ground felt like walking on ice. Despite this, I continued forward to find my friends, or at least soone who could point in their direction.
Outside, I found myself in so kind of camp. A small number of large pavilion tents made up the center, including the one I just left, while a larger number of smaller tents ford the periter. Another tent sat sowhere between the two, both in size and location. Since the sound of conversation and the sll of cooking ca from here, I guessed this was a ss tent. Large glowstone lamps placed at strategic locations illuminated the camp.
A number of people wearing red armor trimd with gold either stood sentry or patrolled around. At first I considered asking one of them about my friends, but decided against it. I didn't want to distract them while they worked. Instead, I headed towards the ss tent.
As I drew closer, the sound of conversation grew louder. When I entered, I found a number of won inside. Unlike the others outside, they didn't wear armor. Instead, they wore the tough and practical clothing typical to the Icefall region. Based on their physiques, I guessed they were all martial artists.
The won sat around two rectangular wooden tables that were flanked by rough wooden benches. A crude cooking area occupied the far end of the ss tent. They talked and joked among one another. The scene reminded of my team from my second life, when we hung out in between closing Gates.
When I entered the ss tent, everyone looked in my direction. Their eyes widened and all conversation stopped.
"Oh my." One of the won said with a gasp.
I opened my mouth to ask about my friends, but a voice called out to first.
"Lord Gabriel?"
I turned to find Leroy standing a fair distance away from . It looked like he had just exited one of the large pavilion tents. He wore his right arm in a sling, but otherwise seed fine. I heaved out a sigh of relief.
"What are you doing out here?" He demanded, marching towards . "You should be resting!"
"I needed to see if you and Cally were all right." I said.
Leroy stopped in front of and examined with a frown on his face. Unlike , he wore clothing suited for the cold climate.
"Cally and I are fine." He said. "You're the one in critical condition. Co on. Let's get you back to bed. You shouldn't be up and about."
Leroy all but dragged back to my tent. Behind , I heard the won in the ss tent break out into excited murmuring.
"Did you see him?"
"I've never seen a man so beautiful before."
"No wonder the young mistress is so interested in him."
Their reactions confused . What were they talking about? With the disguise ring on-Wait. I thought back to Leroy's greeting earlier. He called Lord Gabriel. I was so relieved to see him that I failed to notice it at the ti.
When Leroy and I entered my tent, I basked in the gentle warmth for a mont, before I walked over and sat on the bed. I then checked my left hand. The disguise ring was gone, replaced by a scorch mark around my finger. It looked painful. However, I hadn't noticed because of my internal injuries.
"You must be freezing." Leroy said.
He went up to the enchanted brazier and turned up the heat.
"Leroy," I said. "What happened to my disguise ring?"
Leroy stiffened for a mont, before he gave a sympathetic look.
"According to… Anna," he said, "Using Aura sotis interferes with disguise rings. That was why she didn't bother with one."
I grimaced.
"Does this an Anna and Andre saw my real face?" I asked.
Leroy nodded. I sighed.
"Well, this complicates things." I said.
I wanted to keep my identity a secret from Anna because my face suited her tastes, according to Cally. Anna would redouble her efforts to pursue and I still didn't know if I wanted to be with her. Besides, it was part of this weird courtship of ours, where I was Anna's prey.
However, the bigger issue was Andre. Clan Leone held a grudge against Mother. As her son, once they realized that I was part of Murim, they would make my life more difficult. Even if Andre didn't realize I was Gabriel Sturm, he would recognize as a Sturm. My hair and my use of Lightning made that obvious. Given what happened with my parents, House Sturm and Clan Leone didn't have a good relationship.
"Oh well," I said, "There's no use crying over spilt milk. Tell . What happened after I fell unconscious?"
Leroy gave a brief summary. After I killed the fiend, Anna arrived with the squad of her Clan's warriors. They subdued the demon summoner. However, before they could capture him, which was the entire point of this excursion, he committed suicide.
Damn it. Well, at least that was one less enemy. Still, I wish we could've captured him alive. If we had, we could've interrogated him and found out the location of our enemies' hideout.
After the demon summoner killed himself, Anna's people set up camp at the base of the rocky hill. That happened a few hours ago.
"Why?" I asked. "Why not return to Icefall City?"
Leroy's expression beca strange. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, the flap to my tent opened and Cally marched in.
"You!" She said, pointing a finger at .
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