The disguised figures didn’t attack Percy but looked more often in his direction. A black lightning current swirled around one of the figures’ hands, but he didn’t release another lightning bolt. All he and the other disguised figures did was watch the fight.
Either this will kill me, or it will explain quite a lot to me.
Percy wasn’t sure how stupid his next move was on a scale from one to ten, but it was probably high up there. Still, he used [Consume] to devour all demons considered his property. Dozens of rows of razor-sharp fangs, engulfed in pitch-black darkness, gushed from his hands in excitement. At least, that was what Percy felt from his Ego. It was on ecstasy, pleased about what was going to happen.
The abomination burst high up into the air and divided into dozens of streams that spread everywhere. The streams crashed heavily into the demon corpses and devoured them quickly before moving onward to capture the next target. Once there was no interface left in Percy’s range anymore, it felt like something strong pulled Percy in a different direction. He nearly gave in to it, if not for the disguised figures staring at him through their masks.
His chest heaved up and down heavily when they looked at him, and he burst into a cold sweat.
The abomination retaliated, but it obeyed at the end of the day. It returned inside Percy, and a notification popped up.
[46 Lesser Demons have been slain(Archyeas, Minos, Gynlds). 635,532 Prosperity has been added.]
Why are they only looking at me? They don’t even release any bloodlust, either. It’s almost like…they never intended to join the battle. But why did they kill that vice-captain, then? Maybe he did something that allowed them to attack. But then…someone must have given them orders to attack only when ‘something’ particular happens. That doesn’t make any sense, or does it?
Percy was fully aware of how provocative and foolish it had been to use his Ego when the disguised figures looked at him, but that was all they did. They might be interested in his Ego, yet neither acted upon it. That explained enough to Percy to be relieved but also scared.
What in the seven hells is their plan?!
One of the shadowy figures – the traitor controlling the black lightning – turned around when one of the Doomfeeders roared at the top of its lungs. Its pillar-like arms were drenched in blood and squashed intestines, probably a result of the pillar crashing down upon the enemies and squashing them to death, but it was also not unscathed.
The Doomfeeders were slower than the Pleacis and had difficulty enduring the bombardment of elemental projectiles, arrows, and crossbow bolts. The Artifacts used against the Doomfeeder were also effective, restraining one of the Doomfeeders while weakening its brethren. The shadowy figure released a few more lightning bolts, killing a noble and the knight standing beside him.
The lightning bolts couldn’t be blocked easily if you focused on something else. You had to focus on the disguised figure to observe his actions intently to predict the trajectory of the black lightning bolt before it whizzed through the air.
The noble and his knight were too focused on the Doomfeeders to notice the lightning bolts early enough. They screamed in defiance once their danger sense perked up, but it was already too late. The lightning bolts pierced their armors with horrifying ease and continued their path, ending the noble and his knight in one go.
But the lightning bolts weren’t only headed for the combatants. The disguised figure turned to the incapacitated men and women, electricity currents playfully swirling around his fingers.
Others seemed to notice that move and shouted something, but Percy didn’t hear their words anymore. His wildly beating heart filled his ears as he turned to the Wintermoon mansion.
No more Demons emerge from the mansion…but why do I feel like the battle is not even close to being over?
A Minos charged up to Percy and switched into a combat stance, ready to kill the Lesser Demon when a bloody-red war axe swooped past his head. The axe whirled through the air and embedded deep into its target, splitting the Minos’ skull with a loud crack.
The Minos collapsed to the ground while its dark blood gushed out of the split-open skull.
A moment later, a familiar Ego appeared beside Percy, his body covered by deep gnashes and dark bruises.
Erik!
“Who are these guys?” Erik asked Percy, who could only shrug, “I don’t kno–....”
Percy stopped mid-sentence when he saw something from the corner of his eyes. Someone burst through the thicket of the Moonlight Forest and stumbled inside the wide-open clearing. At first, Percy was certain the Demons hiding in the Moonlight Forest were coming for them, but his worries were replaced by surprise.
“Tarlek!” He exclaimed before being forced to turn to two Gnylds and another Minos attacking them. The corner of Erik’s lips curled upward, but he hadn’t turned to his brother yet. Instead, Erik focused on killing the Lesser Demons before them first. They died quickly as Erik and Percy unleashed more mana to strike down the Lesser Demons. Also, they had already analyzed the attack patterns of the three kinds of Lesser Demons and devised a simple tactic to kill them.
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The Minos was a straightforward fighter and could be defeated easily by using its charges against it. The Minos’ momentum could be taken advantage of, poking the Lesser Demon in the chest, only for the Minos to keep charging and push the blade deeper into its heart.
Either way, the Lesser Demons before them were taken care of quickly, and the duo turned around to look at the brother and friend. Tarlek had already found them, but he could hardly move. His body was covered in dozens of deep cuts, yet none of them was deadly. What worried Percy was Tarlek’s deadly pale complexion, his blue lips, and his glassy eyes.
He couldn’t even put it into simple words other than saying that Tarlek’s eyes looked like the life in them had been sucked dry.
Something happened to Tarlek in the Moonlight Forest, pushing him to the brink of death.
“How in the seven hells?!” Erik blurted out in utter shock, his eyes widening in terror.
He rushed to his brother, ignoring the fights around him. Percy was forced to kill two Lesser Demons to protect Erik, but that was not all. He took it upon himself to use [Consume] again.
[2 Archyeas, 6 Gnylds, and 4 Minos have been consumed. 164.921 Prosperity has been added.]
Maybe using his Ego attracted unwanted attention, but Percy felt bad about Tarlek’s condition.
The more Prosperity I have, the more I can help!
“Did you have to use it all?” Erik asked in terror when he reached his brother. Tarlek’s lips parted, but all that escaped them was a groan. He was forced to nod slowly instead, but even that hurt. His legs quivered, and Erik had to lunge forward and grasp his brother’s arms, or Tarlek would have collapsed to the ground right there.
Erik cursed, the worry in his eyes intensifying. In the meantime, Percy had no idea what they were talking about, but he didn’t stay idle. He retrieved a few potions and walked up to the brothers.
“Does he need an Intermediate Healing Potion, or will an Accelerated Regeneration Potion be more helpful?” Percy asked, “His external injuries don’t look too bad. Did he use too much mana? I only have an Ordinary Mana Potion with me.”
Erik cursed again and looked wildly at Percy, who returned the gaze with a dead-serious expression and three different types of potions in his left hand.
“He needs Lifeforce, but the Healing Potion is too weak,” Erik grit his teeth, “It’s not enough…”
Percy clicked his tongue and used [Consume] on his Prosperity, “It sure will be.”
Potion of Intermediate Healing
Perfect Quality
Potency: Ordinary ⭐⭐
[Minor Regeneration⭐], [Stamina Boost⭐], [Boost of Life⭐],
[Surge of Life⭐⭐⭐],...
The moment Percy saw [Surge of Life], he reacted. Not knowing how long Tarlek had to live, Percy drained his Prosperity to move as quickly as possible.
[500,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]
[Potion of Intermediate Healing’s [Surge of Life⭐⭐⭐] is overflowing with Prosperity.
Dormant effect has awoken.]
A mana flood surged into the Potion of Intermediate Healing, but that was only the beginning. The red liquid within the glass vial began glowing vividly, attracting Erik’s attention. Only a few people were near the border to the Moonlight Forest at this moment, so no one – other than those following his every action – could see what he was doing.
Yes! But is that enough? I…don’t know…
[75,000 Prosperity has been consumed]
[Potion of Intermediate Healing’s potency is overflowing with Prosperity. Potency rank increased: Ordinary ⭐⭐→ Ordinary ⭐⭐⭐]
[150,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]
[Potion of Intermediate Healing’s potency is overflowing with Prosperity. Potency rank increased: Ordinary ⭐⭐⭐→ Ordinary ⭐⭐⭐⭐]
[300,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]
[Potion of Intermediate Healing’s potency is overflowing with Prosperity. Potency rank increased: Ordinary ⭐⭐⭐⭐→ Ordinary ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]
[Your Tier increased by one rank.]
The potion was altered again. Its color was more vibrant, further highlighting the vivid glow within the red, viscous liquid. Erik stared blankly at Percy, who eagerly handed him the Potion of Intermediate Healing.
“That’s all I can do. I don’t have enough Prosperity to strengthen the potion any further,” Percy said, “I hope it will be enough. No. It has to be enough!”
Erik grit his teeth and nodded slowly as he accepted the potion. Gratitude glimmered in his eyes before he turned dead-serious again. He removed the cap from the potion and trickled the viscous liquid into his brother’s mouth.
Tarlek swallowed the potion with the last bits of strength inside him before his legs caved in. Erik and Percy shuddered and expected the worst, thinking they had been too late, but Tarlek’s breathing regulated after a few seconds, and his complexion improved quickly.
“Thank heavens,” Percy murmured, his legs wobbly as the tension left his body.
Tarlek was going to live!
Erik looked at his brother for a while and turned to Percy, his eyes red with tears.
“Thank you… We owe you for this one. I- I don’t know what I would have done without this potion…” Erik stammered, but Percy waved him off.
“We are friends. Of course, we help each other!”
Erik’s lips parted to say something, but they closed again after a second. He nodded slowly.
“I will remember what you did today.”