While Elalios was battling against a fourth class demon, a certain group was also caught in a fight not far from the king’s castle. The demon invasion affected the whole town of Deyrem, and that included the Tigers, who were not safe from the demons.

Rodo, the leader of the Tigers originally intended to defeat Kael once and for all, but he was going to do it at night. Unfortunately, as the demon magister couldn’t wait, initiating the demon invasion during the day, Rodo didn’t have a choice but to set aside his animosity towards Kael, and focus on a more pressing matter. Even if the Tigers were a bunch of rebels, they’re still humans and that means that demons are their greatest adversaries. It was a good thing that even with Rodo’s hostility towards Kael, his humanity remained intact. The Tigers became an unexpected aid against the demons.

[Fire Shot]

Rodo’s subordinates fired multiple shots left and right. There are so many demons wrecking havoc in the town. Their attacks caught the demons’ attention, but even if the demons were directly hit, their durable bodies still held on. It was a problematic trait of the demons, but it was still good for Rodo. His priority was to monitor what’s going on around town, and the attacks of his subordinates deterred the demons from distracting him.

“Master, the demons are strong. We must get out of town”, one of Rodo’s grade A mage said.

“How about the people? We’re just leaving them behind without helping even for a bit?”, Rodo asked.

“They did not care for us, why should we help them?”, the grade A mage answered.

“You’re naive”, Rodo stated. While saying those words, he was helping a weak man get up as the man was trapped in a rubble due to the demons’ destruction. After the man thanked him, and ran for safety, Rodo continued speaking. “We will never convince anyone that we have a just cause if we let this kind of opportunity slide. Listen. This is our time to do something that will make many people in this town to feel indebted to us. Should we not use it?”

Hearing Rodo’s reply, the grade A mage and even Rodo’s other subordinates praised their master’s brilliance. They didn’t know that Rodo’s objective for helping was simply because he wanted to help the people.

Nevertheless, hearing Rodo’s statement gave his subordinates motivation to help everyone that they came across. Their kind acts helped Rodo to see more of what’s happening around. But, when Rodo got a clear picture of what’s happening, he was terrified to accept what he observed.

Rodo came to a conclusion. The demons within his reach were five, and he could still see more than ten demons from afar. It was an unbelievable sight to be seeing so many demons at once. But it was more terrifying than surprising for demons to attack the town in unison. The situation seemed to imply that someone was capable to mobilize so many demons to one cause, and it was safe to assume that whoever was responsible for the invasion was also a demon. Rodo had a bad feeling about what’s happening. He looked at his subordinates who were so enthusiastic to help the people because of his words. Even if he wanted to help the people, the lives of his subordinates bear more weight. He must decide whether to retreat somewhere safe before a demon arrive that could eliminate all of them, or risk their lives and hope that such demon wouldn’t arrive. Rodo was thinking carefully, but after a moment, he was interrupted by someone.

“You seem dangerous”

Rodo heard those words from his right side. He turned to look who was talking, and saw a figure who was taking his time walking towards him.

“Feel free to escape, but I’m warning you, you won’t get out of here alive”

Rodo noted the features of the one approaching him. It was a demon, but unlike the numerous demons wrecking everything around the town, Rodo felt that the one approaching him was different. One of his subordinates noticed the demon, and without his master’s approval, he shot a fireball towards the demon.

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The demon looked at the person who hit him. He was unaffected by the attack, but his face contorted to anger. Seeing the demon’s face brought chillls down Rodo’s spine.

“Retreat!”

Rodo screamed as loud as he could. All of his subordinates heard his voice, but his command was only for one of his subordinates. All of them returned to Rodo except for one. The person that attacked the mysterious demon was held by the said demon.

“Is that a fire to you?”, the demon asked Rodo’s subordinate, while holding the poor human by the neck. The grade C mage was moving around, trying to get out of the demon’s grasp. The mage shoot another fireball at the demon, which angered the demon even more. “Do you think that little fire could burn?”

Rodo had enough time to do something, but when he collected his wits and tried to get near, the demon looked at him.

“This one should be punished before dealing with you”, the demon said, his cold gaze pierced through Rodo’s eyes.

The demon returned his gaze towards the grade C mage, and then he spoke.

“This is what fire looks like”

[Dark Flame]

The grade C mage was engulfed in black flames. The flames dissipated after a second, and the grade C mage vanished without a trace. There’s no ashes left, it was as if the grade C mage didn’t exist.

“Now, as I was saying, I won’t let you escape”, the demon said. “Either you accept to fight me or try to escape without hope”

Rodo was unable to respond to the demon’s challenge. His remaining subordinates were more affected by the cruel display that the demon showed. His subordinates couldn’t control their anger. They were blinded by their emotion without knowing the power that the demon holds. Without Rodo’s command, all of them rushed towards the demon preparing to unleash the strongest attack they could conjure.

Rodo called for them to come back. His subordinates couldn’t hear his command. All of them attacked the demon, their joined attacks creating a powerful explosion. The air was disturbed, waves of strong winds pressed against half destroyed houses. After the violent display, a cloud of smoke obscured the position of the demon.

“Did we get him?”

Rodo knew the answer to his subordinate’s question. It didn’t take long for his subordinates to know it as well. The cloud of smoke gave way to the figure that was supposed to be struck by the combined attacks of mages. The demon was unscathed, and it was angry.

[Dark Flame]

The demon conjured a black flame hovering above his hand. Rodo knew what’s coming, and he didn’t want another one of his subordinates to die. He prepared himself to intercept the incoming attack.

“I don’t want to repeat myself”, the demon said.

[True Summon: Flame Tiger]

Seeing Rodo’s summon, the demon seemed to calm down a bit. It was a strange behavior, but it was a relief for Rodo.

“Will you spare them if I agreed to fight you?”, Rodo asked. It was just then that he managed to say something to the demon. The demon showed a wicked smile.

“That’s not for you to decide”, the demon said. The flame above his hand disappeared. “But, you’re my true objective, so I will accept your demand”

Rodo urged his subordinates to focus on the other demons and help the townspeople. At first, his subordinates wouldn’t listen, but when he mentioned his power in comparison to them, his subordinates reluctantly gave in. As his subordinates got away, Rodo returned his attention to the demon.

“You’re an incompetent leader”, the demon said, seeing that Rodo needed a valid reason before his subordinates were convinced to follow his command. Rodo agreed to the demon’s statement.

“Let me introduce myself”, Rodo said. “Rodo, leader of Tigers”

“Meaningless, but I’ll play along”, the demon said. “Eizer. I am here to take your life”