Chapter 17: Demon Continent [STAR]
Remember the type of storms that I mentioned before? Majority of them are from this continent. If you're unlucky, you’ll be bracing the death-storms until you melt to your bones. Upon reaching the Northern continent, we were immediately embraced by a burning rainstorm. Our guide advised us to stay inside the cabin area until it passes. We can literally see steams rising from where the rain droplets landed. We would have been cooked alive if we were to walk outside now. The cabin was getting extremely hot from the inside as the temperature rises around us. The guide had prepared some ice which he took out from his cooler box. He probably had gotten them from the City Of Lilies Dahlee before arriving here. We used these ice to cool ourselves as much as we can to prevent our body from overheating or dying of a heat stroke.
For the guys, they can strip their shirts and expose their top half. But for Rose, it was just not possible for her. Maybe if it was only me then she might have stripped her top but seeing as there were three other males in the cabin, she is definitely hesitating. I gave some thought and gestured Rose to come over. I told her to sit behind me and face the corner. That way, she can at least strip partially and I would be blocking the others from seeing her. She agreed and proceeded to do so. The extreme situation makes your mind impervious to embarrassment. I am sure everyone is praying for the storm to end rather than thinking of lust currently.
It took about an hour before the storm subsided. All I can think of is our survival rate out there. In this continent, not only will you be bracing the elements, we will also be in danger from the demons. This will be the hardest quest assigned to me thus far. Like some optional quest that I foolishly insist on doing even though it’s not my end goal. Thankfully, we have a guide with us. Without him, we would had been dead before putting a foot on this continent. All of you reading will be pressing F to pay respect to my coffin right about now.
All of us disembarked from the boat after making sure it was no longer raining. The temperature was still hot but thankfully the cool winds from the sea helped to cool our surroundings. Our guide gestured us to hurry towards the closest town. Storm usually comes twice in a row on this continent. We ran as quickly as we could with our bags. Thankfully, the closest town was not far from the port that we disembarked from. Or should I say, some wooden planks that turned into a jetty. A small town was in sight right after we climbed up the stairs of a small cliff. And the guide was telling the truth. We could definitely see another storm approaching us soon based on the formation of the dark clouds. We definitely have to leg it before we get cooked alive.
We ran as fast as our legs could carry us. Our guide ran the fastest. Like a basilisk lizard running on top of the water surface; he glided his way atop the sandy terrain. He is definitely a local here seeing that he is so knowledgeable about the Northern continent. We arrived at the small town and thought that everything was safe. All of us were panting and my legs were starting to cramp. I am not used to running on such soft sands. But our guide shouted at us to seek shelter immediately. Once again we had to high tail and followed after him, where he led us into what looked like a mud house. We rushed our way in and found ourselves in a tavern. All of us sat on the floor panting and too tired to move. None of us cared that people were watching us. Wait— people? I looked around and found that all of them were lizard species. Oh, so reptilians are native to the Northern continent it would seemed. I should have studied more about the Northern continent before coming here.
Not a moment too soon, we heard loud crashing sounds outside. I peeked out a window and saw that it was raining hails now. A hailstorm right after a burning rain? Geez, what is with this continent?! But surprisingly the interior was warm despite having no fireplace around. Seems like mud is a good insulation hence the reason why they used mud to cover the buildings.
Wait, what about the burning rain earlier? Wouldn't they be cooked alive from the heat as it was retained inside?
"Welcome to Sliddy's bar. It's been a while since humans visited my bar sss," said a female reptilian.
Now I know what you're thinking, and don't you dare start with all that rule 34! Reptilians are basically lizard like creatures that happened to walk bipedal. While that is technically true, they resembled humans much closer than I thought. While some have long shaped mouth, some of them have mouth that is closely similar to humans. The way they walk is similar to us as well. One thing that stands out is their signature scaly skin all across their body and their tail.
"Sliddy! How are you sss?" asked Kronk.
"Oh, you old goat sss. We just met a few monthsss back. I see you brought these humans along with you. Isss there something going on?" she asked him.
"They are here to investigate on the disturbancesss by the demonsss," he said.
"O that is good sss. We are used to fending off a couple of demonsss on our own. But lately, more and more of them were coming into town causing problems for usss," said Sliddy as she wiped a glass cup.
"Is there any idea what would had provoked the demons into attacking this town?" asked Pietro.
"We have some general idea sss.. It is usually a new demon that had gotten powerful enough to rally the other demonsss together," she explained.
"Demonsss are always fighting among themselvesss for power. It is their nature to be the strongest sss. However, every once in a while, there are some demons that inherited the demon king's influence sss," said Kronk.
"So, we are to determine whether there are any demons that is strong enough to rally their brethren, is that correct?" asked Pietro.
"Perhapsss.. we shall see," said Kronk.
I asked Kronk on whether we should settle in with this tavern or somewhere else. He told me we don’t really have much of a choice as there are only two towns available on this entire continent. The other town is far to the east. If we were to travel from the Eastern continent, then we would have to settle down in that other town. And he also recommended Sliddy’s bar as she is used to meeting humans. He couldn’t promise us that the other taverns might have lizard people hunting us for meat at night. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or being serious.
Alright then, here's hoping that there are enough rooms for all of us. Thankfully there are. But— there is a problem. This continent uses different currency from the West. There is a bank in town where we can change but it was still raining hails outside. Kronk decided to book for us in advance. He said we can repay him later after we visited the bank. Kronk— my man. I will always remember you brother.
Each of us got our own room. It wasn’t exactly the best, but better than sleeping outside with burning water or hails assaulting you. I heard stories that the Demon Continent was an inhospitable place but to think there were actually some sort of civilisation here. These reptilians make do with what they have living here while facing constant assaults from the demons. Well, you can technically say that reptilians are a sort of demon race themselves but at least they are civilised enough to create their own society rather than constantly fighting each other.
I sat on the bed and turned my gaze out the window. We certainly need to be prepared for what’s to come. I do not wish to be caught off guard by the weather if I can help it. The sooner we figure out what’s going on, the faster we can leave this continent. Easier said than done since I don’t even know where to start? I heard a knock on my door and I asked whoever it was to come in. It was Rose.
"Onii-chan, are you okay?" she asked me. Hm? What did I do that made her worried about me?
“Yeah, I'm fine. What made you think I’m not?" I asked her.
"Because your eyes were bloodshot earlier. Let me see them," she said as she sat in front of me.
What? My eyes were bloodshot? Is it due to all the running? Or perhaps it was from the heat vapour rising from the ground? The thing is, I don't feel any pain on my eyes at all.
"Hmm, it looks better now. You might need to get some rest. According to Kronk, this hailstorm might last for a couple of hours," she told me.
I got a good look at Rose while she was staring into my eyes. She is definitely getting more matured now. Her hair is a little longer but I believe she maintained it at shoulder length. Short hair definitely suits her more. Not to mention she is getting taller. I can finally see what the others are saying that she will be a beauty in the future. Perhaps she will be. Am I going to end up as the shortest? Geez.
"Then, let’s get some rest. We might not know when we will be able to sleep peacefully once we head outside with such unpredictable weather," I told her.
She nodded and headed back to her room while I rested on the bed. I am still bothered about Pietro. Was I mistaken that he has some sort of hidden agenda in coming here or am I just being paranoid? Either way, we will know once we head out later. Here’s hoping there won’t be any more surprises for today.
***
A couple of hours passed and we can finally visit the bank to get our coins changed. The currency here is smaller in value than the Western counterpart. One copper coin is worth five stone coins, while a bronze coin is worth five copper coins. According to Kronk, some stores do accept Western currency but it is better to get it changed so as to not get ripped off.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
We were about to head out of town but— where are we supposed to go? Where do we even begin searching when there are practically no recognisable landmarks, some portal in the sky or a giant arrow pointing the way? Nevertheless, we still need to proceed somewhere. We asked Kronk and he just shrugged. He said that if there are no demons around then it could be anywhere in this continent. Ahh geez, without any waypoint, we might be spending an entire month or longer on this continent. I shuddered at the thought. Come to think of it, time to update my quest log.
Side Secret Quest Unlocked: Investigate the disturbance in the Northern continen—
Crash!
Something huge landed behind us as we were walking out of the town's entrance. All of us turned our attention to what caused the commotion. A menacing creature; standing with two legs, two wings and a long tail. It has a single horn in the middle of its head, small wings that seemed to defy all logic and long elongated arms. And those nails— wait, those are claws. And those are some mean looking claws.
“D— d— d... demonsss!," shouted Kronk as he ran away to hide.
The four of us unsheathed our weapons and stood ready. The demon was looking around as though it was smelling for something. It then turned its head towards the four of us but decided to ignore us and walked ahead.
Is it going to just walk away? Should we ignore it and proceed with our mission? But the town will be in trouble if we left this demon roam freely here. Who knows what destruction will it wreak.
All of a sudden, it stopped moving and turned it’s gaze at us once again. Its eyes suddenly turned red and it leapt towards us. No wait, it is aiming at me!
I stopped its claws from sinking into my flesh with Inazuma. I am being pushed out of the town’s entrance. What ridiculous strength does this demon have? How is it even flying with such small wings in the first place?!
A large spear pierced the demon's back. Pietro threw his spear and it hit home. I can see John chasing after us with his giant two-headed axe ready to swing. Rose was all the way at the back chanting a spell. The demon turned its head to look at his back, either at the spear or who threw it at him. Now's my chance.
"Shadow Strike!" I slashed the demon's torso.
Nice. Inazuma was able to slice through its thick hide. It flew upwards with the spear still attached to its back. Seriously, how is it flying with those ridiculously small wings? Red blood was spilling from its torso but it didn’t seemed to bother. Is it me, or is the wound— healing? The demon pulled out the spear and threw it at Pietro which he dodged it. It then landed on the ground and adjusted its neck. Is it underestimating us? Are we just some fun amusement for you?
It let out a roar that triggered us to attack it. All three of us charged towards the demon. Rose finished her chant for "Accelerate" which boosted all of our speed. We thought we were able to finish off this demon but we were all thrown back by his arm swing. Wait, what the hell just happened? Why were we even charging blindly at it in the first place?
The demon roared again and this time, it readied its claws. I was thrown far back so I was not affected. I saw John and Pietro charging in once again. Even Rose was charging in right now. Shit, how do I stop it?! They are going to be torn apart by those claws!
I looked around for something and found that I had my dagger with me. I quickly threw the dagger at the demon and thankfully it pierced through its mouth. This somehow broke the spell and the three of them came back to their senses. All three of them leaped back instantly as they realised they were in such close proximity to the demon. However, it would seemed that all of them are still in a daze as they kept shaking their heads as if to regain their bearings. That spell must had messed with their heads.
The demon turned its gaze towards me and glared angrily. It tossed my dagger aside and walked slowly at my direction. I prepared myself for the inevitable close combat. Even though evening was approaching, it was still too bright for me to use Conceal. I only have Fear and Shadow Strike at my disposal now. The rest will depend on my combat abilities. I knew demons were tough creatures but not like this. I used Fear on the demon as it approaches me. It seemed unfazed by the spell and tilted its head as though mocking me and my spell.
The demon initiated the battle with a roar and swiped its right claw at me. I dodged by jumping and tried to slice its hand off but I couldn’t get through the thick bone. It swung its left claw to which I swerved myself back to the ground. I was prepared to rush in for a counter when all of a sudden I was hit by its left leg. The damn demon kicked me. It predicted that I would dodge his attack by swerving myself back to the ground, and it took the opportunity to counter me. My right arm was burning with pain as I flew some distance away from the demon due to the power of that kick. I tried getting back up but the concussion and pain was getting to me. Am I down for the count this quickly?
***
My head feels muddled. What did the demon do that cause all three of us to lose control? I need to focus— Need.. to... focus...
"Argh!" I heard someone shouted which snapped my out of my daze. Wait— that sounds like— Onii-chan?!
I quickly regained my senses and saw him flying some distance away as the demon kicked him on his right arm. Oh gosh, is his arm broken?! That is going to take months to heal!
This demon is going to pay for what it did to him. I can see both Pietro and John was also regaining their consciousness and rushed to protect Onii-chan. John took point and rushed-in to attack the demon while Pietro covered him from the back. I rushed to check on Onii-chan. He is hurt— very hurt. I can see his right arm bruised badly. But upon inspection, it seems like his arm is still intact. I’m glad that it’s not broken. Perhaps his chained cloak helped in mitigating some of the damage.
I should help out those two. As much as I want to help Onii-chan patch his wound, I should quickly end the pathetic life of this demon first. John was fighting the demon at the front. Any attack the demon tried was blocked by Pietro from behind. The both of them seems to be experienced with each other’s strength and weaknesses. I readied my chant for another spell.
"Light Blessing!" I casted.
This spell increases your defence and attack power. Although I am the one who receives the highest buff, at least all three of them still receives a percentage of my spell’s buff. I wished there was a spell that can heal wounds though. Onii-chan was moaning in so much pain but there was nothing much I could do for now. I need to stay focused. This demon is in the way and it must be eliminated.
John’s face was smashed by the demon’s horn. He wasn’t expecting a headbutt from the demon. I rushed in quickly to help both of them. My rapier attacks fast but lacks in attack power. With ‘Light Blessing’, it should enhance my attacks to be strong enough to pierce its hide. The demon was now pushing back John and Pietro's assault. John’s nose was bleeding but that only made him grin. His bulky body made him the perfect tank. Pietro, on the other hand, was unharmed.
I stabbed the demon with a couple of my swings. The demon swung its left arm backhanded which I dodged low to avoid it. I placed all my strength on my left foot and lunged at the demon. My rapier pierced through the demon's side torso which made it roared in pain. Pietro also lunged and pierced his spear into the demon's torso from the front, pinning him in place. John finished the demon by swinging his axe and decapitated the demon. It is finished now. Thank God!
I rushed back to Onii-chan to check-up on him, leaving Pietro or John to recover my rapier. Both of them were panting when the demon’s body finally slumped to the ground with a loud thud. Pietro approached the body to recover his spear when he suddenly shouted “Shit”.
It was then I heard clanks of weapon being tossed to the ground. The demon— was still alive? I turned to look behind and the demon had removed our weapons from its body, picked up its head and stuck it back on its neck. It then adjusted its head and gave us an evil smile.
Shit, I am unarmed now while Pietro only have his short spears. Are we able to reach our weapons in time to help John in this fight? How do we even kill this thing?
***
Ouch— damn demon! That freaking hurts. Can I still move my arm? Alright, I can move it, but it hurts like hell to even move an inch. I was fading in and out of consciousness when a familiar voice woke me; a voice that I had not heard in a long time.
"Aim for the brain, boy!" said Kirin.
I opened my eyes and noticed that Rose was crouched next to me. The three of them were looking towards the demon seemingly adjusting itself. Is that, Rose and Pietro's weapons on the floor at side of the demon? What happened? Did the demon disarmed them or something?
This fight has been going on for too long. We need to end this. I thought I would not be needing to use my secret items so soon but I guess we don’t have no choice now. I took out two potions and a pill from my hip pouch. The pill is to numb the pain while each respective potion increases my agility and strength. Sadly, I had not found the recipe to create the perfect potion that increases all stats, but still, better than nothing.
I whispered to Rose telling her to use all her spell buffs. She said that "Light Blessing" is still on cooldown but "Accelerate" is ready now. I informed her to use it when the time is right.
I got up and held Inazuma with my right hand. Even though the pain was numbed now, I can still feel my right hand not responding exactly how I want it to be. No matter, this will only fuel my anger further. I am angry that this demon had caused me so much pain. One demon and we are already struggling this much? How strong are the other demons on this continent? And how stupidly strong is the Demon King to be able to unite all of them?
I placed my full attention on this demon. Focusing on how I must defeat it. I performed my usual breathing routine to calm myself before a fight. After a short while, I unleashed Fear on the demon. Perhaps it was due to night approaching us that caused Fear to have an effect on the demon. Its hands started shaking a little which I took advantage of. John followed suit but was unable to match my speed. I reached the demon first and swung Inazuma with an uppercut. The demon leaped back but it reacted too slowly. I sliced it’s front chest and it was now bleeding.
The potion must had given me the surprise advantage. I continued pushing my attack towards the demon and performed a downward strike. The demon blocked with its arm expecting the blade to get caught in its bone again but it had not realised that my potion had boosted my attack powers. I sliced through the bone and its arm fell off. The demon roared in pain and retaliated with a swing of its right claw. Rose timed her spell and chanted “Accelerate" which I dodged to the side and rushed behind the demon. John had made it to front of the demon now and was ready to strike with his giant axe.
"Aim for the brain!" I shouted.
John immediately changed his swing into a downward strike while I went for a stab. Both axe and blade hit the mark. John's axe pierced the demon's skull from above while I pierced it from behind. The demon’s eyes rolled, slumped on its knees and fell flat to the ground. Pietro having finally gotten back his spear came and stabbed the demon's head a couple of times for good measure. After a couple of minutes in making sure it’s dead, we all fell to our knees.
Geez, what a tough fight. Just one demon and all of us were struggling this much. How are we supposed to fight so many of them out in the open then? Kronk rushed towards us to help out.
“You guysss! I can’t believe you all managed to beat a great demon sss!” shouted Kronk.
“Great— demon? What do you mean? Explain,” asked Pietro.
“That just now wasss no ordinary demon sss. It was a great demon sss,” said Kronk.
“Whatever it was, it’s dead now. Can we please focus on mending our wounds and get Onii-chan some medical treatment, please? Kronk, can you help with his wound?” asked Rose.
“Let’s head back to the tavern sss,” he lead the way.
Upon reaching the tavern, Sliddy was surprised in seeing us back so soon while being wounded when we were supposed to be heading out of town. Kronk informed her that we had defeated a great demon to which she was amazed by it. She quickly brought some bandages and ointments. For normal scratch wounds, the ointment worked wonders. It seemed to close the wound but with a searing effect. Small steams appeared after applying the ointment. But for my arm’s case, it required some cooling gel and sticks wrapped with bandage. I won’t lie, it felt like my wound was getting better by the minute. I need to know what recipes to make these healing items! Why don’t we have anything similar in the West?!
Rose seemed to realised my amazement and she went to talk with Sliddy to ask how she made them. Hopefully some girl talk can help persuade her into lending us the recipes. I headed back into my room to rest since I can barely move my right arm with the bandages. I was careless. I thought I was ready but what a joke. To be injured without stepping a foot out of town. I seriously need to prepare even more than what I have right now. Perhaps I will need to find a medicine or alchemy shop first to do all the necessary preparations.
Rose came to my room to show me what ingredients were needed to make those healing items. Sliddy said it was not a closed secret as reptilians used this on a common basis. Reptilians in general have better healing factors than humans but only the legendary Sladar Slitherman is capable of healing almost anything at insane rate. Let’s see what it says.
Healing Ointment (suitable for minor wounds)
Dragon’s blood + Fire snail or fire slug’s slime + purkette fat. Boil them for around 15 minutes until they coagulate.
Cooling Gel (suitable for internal bleeding)
Dragon’s blood + Ice plant’s seed + boofette fat. Boil them for around 15 minutes until they coagulate.
D— dragon’s blood?! Are they seriously using such premium ingredients to make these? I clarified with Rose that what they were using was it indeed using real dragon’s blood as in those flying mythical beings. As it turned out, I was deeply mistaken. It was actually from a native tree that they called it Dragon’s Blood tree. It is the sap that is being used as the ingredient. Even the fire snails and ice plants are all native here.
Phew, now that is good news. And here I thought I will have to go on a dragon hunt just to create these alchemy. If these ingredients are native, perhaps I can purchase them from a merchant or medicine shop here. Sliddy did say that they use it on a regular basis so hopefully there are some ready made ones that I can buy.
No wonder I had no luck in getting any sort of breakthrough trying to create any sort of healing items no matter how many or what combinations I tried. Who knew all you needed was ingredients from other continents to make them. I will probably buy a couple of them before heading back to the West. Any healing items is better than plain old bandages.
Since the currency here is of lower value and I brought along my alchemy equipments, I will make more potions and healing items for everyone before leave this town. I won’t take any chances with this continent any longer. To the alchemy shop I went.