Disgusting sounds echoed all around—wet, snarling, the chorus of hundreds of demons feasting on the dead. The noise shifted and faded from one direction to another, like a grotesque tide.
This wasn't like looking at a battle between two great powers, the outco had already been decided, all that was left now was for the victims to get their bodies defiled and devoured by the cursed abominations.
Ari was the first one to react. Her green eyes burned bloodshot, her clenched jaw tight as her knuckles whitened from the pressure gripping her daggers.
Just when she was about to jump in the middle of the demons, Zaroth's firm hand stopped her in place.
"Do you plan to jump right into your death?" The Beast Master spat with irritation.
"These elves are my kind, I can't just watch helplessly while they are getting devoured!" she retorted.
"Sure, then I let you go on your own. You slay a few maybe even a dozen, then get overrun and die a pointless death. Is that your genius plan?"
A flicker of hesitation passed over the elf's face.
"I don't know if it's because you are too hot-headed or because you have gained confidence by staying with our group, but don't jump on every enemy you see just because you can't control yourself."
His voice grew colder; he wasn't suggesting. The tone alone made it clear, you either follow and obey or we leave you should you prove to be a nuisance.
"I… am sorry," Ari whispered, nodding her head obediently.
With a sigh of relief that the elent of surprise was still on their side, Zaroth turned into a shadow and appeared at the slaughter.
First before scanning for any devastating threat, he searched for imps like the one that had announced his location last ti. He had been scarred from last ti, with his lesson now learned he knew to always be on the lookout for the loud nuisance.
Thankfully none were in sight, this demon group either didn't have any or they had lost them in the battle for the village.
'None of them are as terrifying as the demon leader from before. Most are weak, and the few stronger ones would barely last a second against ,' he thought, still cloaked in shadow.
To be on the safe side he reminded himself of the Demon Hierarchy that he had been taught before in the academy. There were categories similar to every other creature: Minor, Lesser, Interdiate, Greater, Overlord, Archdemon, Primordial.
If he had to guess, the demons that he had needed Eldros's help to defeat had been either of the Greater or the Overlord tier.
The ones here? At most, Interdiate. The real threat was their numbers.
Since the only problem was their numbers he didn't feel too worried.
Exiting his shadow he summoned his beasts as well as the Unholy Judger, starting the lee.
Ari leapt into the fray the mont Zaroth began his assault.
Zaroth and Eldros moved with deadly grace, decapitating demons left and right faster than the eye could follow.
Ari was surprisingly not far behind their might. Was it because her body had finally recovered after a full night's rest? Or was it simply that the thirst for vengeance burned so fiercely it drove her forward?
Luna and Vera as before stood back, Vera too weak to do anything while Luna was watching over her.
"It's kind of relaxing to be honest," Luna muttered sitting on the ground watching the destruction.
"No need to fight, the people with you would take care of it soon enough," she smiled at the deadly sight.
Vera spared the dragon a single glance before her attention was torn back to the massacre.
"Maybe for you, there is no need to worry what would happen if sothing goes wrong because you are strong… but I am weak. There is always that worry in the back of my mind if I am not always on guard I would perish."
"That sounds like your problem," Luna shook her head. "If you don't want to feel like that, you have to either beco strong enough to enforce your will on the world… or find people that are willing to look after you."
She sneered, "well it seems you have been able to do the latter at least."
Neither Vera nor Luna said anything else, watching the battle in complete silence.
A dozen minutes later, stillness descended on the ruined village. Corpses of demons and elves undistinguished from one another lay on the ground polluting the air.
Ari's chest rose and fell heavily, taking ragged breaths. Her beautiful brown skin was almost entirely hidden under layers of black, sticky blood.
Thankfully, she hadn't suffered any injuries—these demons were far too weak to harm her. The blood covering her was simply that of her enemies.
Zaroth wasn't much cleaner, though his composure made it seem otherwise. He would definitely need a bath.
His clothes were soaked with sweat and blood against his skin, and the scent he gave off would repel even the dirtiest holess n.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered going toward Ari.
She, an elf, had the best chance to find the containnt rune that had been hidden sowhere here.
It didn't take her a long ti to find it, it was hidden in a similar manner as the one in her village.
Navigating the underground tunnels their eyes stopped on the mighty rune. It looked similar to the last one, with just slight changes.
Ari breathed a sigh of relief, glad the demons hadn't ventured deep enough to find and ruin the rune.
"We have to inform the other villages about this," she said, a plan forming in her head.
While this was happening Vera approached the rune once again, fingers tracing over the surface in a calculated movent slowly learning the ins and outs of the way it functioned.
Zaroth didn't interfere, he knew when learning sothing one needs utmost concentration.
After she was done they left the village, continued their search, the location of other villages had been put on hold since there was more pressing matter.
Bath! Everyone needed a bath and desperately so! First published on *.
Zaroth was so desperate that he even summoned his beasts and had them spread out searching for any signs of water that they could find.
"There!" Finally after a long enough search, Nightshade—being the fastest of them all—had picked up on a source of water, causing Zaroth to break into a sprint.
A wide smile spread across his face as he reached a small lake fed by a waterfall. The water looked clean, and shallow enough for him to fully subrge in comfort.
It was like a call no sane man or woman could refuse.
Not caring about etiquette he stripped in a second jumping into the pleasantly cold water.
The sudden movent caught Ari and Vera off guard—they quickly looked away, while Luna bit her lower lip in amusent, feeling a heat rising in her body.
Everyone was too preoccupied with their own needs to notice...
The thing watching them from behind the waterfall.
Its eyes narrowed. Its breath silent.
It waited.
For the perfect ti to strike.
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