A familiar voice, that’s for certain. For a second, Cadell accepted that he would also suffer like Drogo. But, the person who called him gave him hope. Even he was confused that he felt relieved seeing his fellow servant. Seqina managed to get to him, and that was enough.

“Seqina, I’m glad you’re well”, Cadell said. Seqina greeted him back.

Since the time he realized that the demon invasion was actually happening, Cadell couldn’t help but be worried for Elalios and Seqina. Now that he saw that Seqina was well, his worry eased for a little. He forgot what he was about to do, but Brunus called for him and make him remember.

“Brother, the demon..”

Cadell looked at Azere who was walking to them. The demon was taking his time, assured that victory was for him.

“Seqina, my apologies. Right now, I’m in a little trouble”, Cadell said. Seqina looked at Azere.

Seqina remembered her encounter against Talzer. Her mind was screaming that Azere was at the level of Talzer, a demon that she could not imagine to ever defeat on her own. However, the situation was different. She was assured that she had the help that they needed. She called for a person not far from them. Her teacher appeared before Cadell and Brunus.

Brunus was alerted of Azere’s movement. Not once did he took a glimpse to anything happening around him. Not even Seqina’s voice made him turn. But, for some reason, he was overwhelmed by curiosity to take a glance, and see who was the second person that Cadell was greeting. His eyes widened as he looked.

“Me-Meredith?”, Brunus uttered. He was baffled to see an infamous person, the so called “master of potions”.

The woman looked at Brunus. She was smiling, but not of joy. Rather, she was amused that Brunus called her like they were acquaintances.

“My apologies, but I’m afraid I didn’t know you mister”, the woman stated.

Brunus was stunned for a moment, but he recovered fast. He was about to say something, telling Meredith that she was known all over the kingdom, but the woman didn’t allow him. What he heard next was Meredith’s warning.

“We have no time. We can still save him”, Meredith said.

Meredith moved forward, looking at Drogo’s pitiful condition. Drogo was dying, but he wasn’t dead yet. Meredith could still save him, and that’s what she intended to do.

However, Azere was also moving forward. As Meredith was walking towards Drogo, the demon stopped in his tracks, looking at the woman with amusement.

“Humans could never sense true danger, could they?”, Azere said, mocking Meredith.

Meredith didn’t pay attention to what the demon was saying. She went near Drogo, and then she pulled out a vial of potion from her coat. She opened the vial, and carefully raised Drogo’s head, then she put the opened vial near Drogo’s mouth.

“Good men shouldn’t suffer like this. Drink and save yourself”, Meredith requested.

Slowly, Drogo gulped the potion down, not knowing what’s going on. His body’s instinct was the only one moving for him, for he couldn’t sense anything anymore. After giving the vial of potion to Drogo, Meredith drank one for herself as well.

[Strength Boost]

Meredith lifted Drogo, walking back to Seqina and the others. Azere, on the other hand, didn’t do anything. The demon watched the woman like he was expecting something to happen.

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“Fool! You’re going to die without me doing anything!”, Azere said, then he burst into laughter. The demon pointed out the effect of the black liquid soaking Drogo. Of course, Meredith made contact with the liquid the moment she held Drogo. But, despite the demon’s claim, and the terrified faces that Cadell and Brunus showed, Meredith was unfazed. She put Drogo down near Seqina, then she finally paid attention to the demon.

“Be careful from now on, I won’t do it again”, Meredith said.

Azere waited for something to happen. Meredith showed discomfort on her face after some time. Then, she spat out a dark substance, and was evidently disgusted by what she just expelled. After that, Azere was still expecting something but nothing happened to Meredith. What the woman showed however, was her animosity towards him.

“Huh? That’s it? How?”, Azere exclaimed. Just then, as if answering his question, Drogo woke up in a violent cough, spitting out the same dark substance that Meredith spat out. He vomited way more than what Meredith released. After that, Drogo was okay.

“What happened? What did you do, human?”, Azere asked. He couldn’t pretend that he was having fun anymore, seeing that something reversed the effect of his power. Meredith didn’t give him an answer.

“You vile demon, I will make sure that you will suffer”, Meredith said. Her change of behavior terrified Seqina. It was the first time that Seqina witnessed so much hatred from her teacher. But it was a good thing that her teacher was not among the enemies.

Meredith pulled out another vial and drank the potion in it. She walked towards Azere, her right hand outstretched. She glowed in a golden light, and golden orbs started appearing near her.

[Flame Lotus]

The golden orbs around her began accumulating on her hand, and a beautiful red orb of light was created. Soon after, her glow dissipated and so were the golden orbs around her.

“Kazer, how long would you stay idle?”, Azere said, desperate for an ally. He was starting to feel doubtful that he could win the fight against the humans alone. Kazer stood by him, but he was not as worried as Azere.

“Are you seriously afraid of this filthy human?”, Kazer asked, pointing at Meredith.

“Who do you think I am, Kazer? Someone like me have no fear”, Azere boasted. But even if Azere denied it, Kazer knew that his fellow demon was affected by what Meredith did.

“Really? Just kill her then. We must return to the Great Lord”, Kazer stated.

“Okay, then”

[Dark Rain]

Just like before, a cloud appeared, this time on top of Meredith. Meredith realized what was about to come, and rushed towards the demons. Azere was taken aback by the potion master’s sudden movement.

“I won’t allow you!”, Kazer said.

[Dark Wind]

Meredith dodged the dark wind easily. Kazer was still affected by his left eye. The demon tried again, but Meredith dodged it again. Eventually, Meredith reached them.

Kazer quickly moved, trying to hit Meredith with a punch. However, it was what Meredith expected.

“Release”

After commanding the flame lotus, Meredith retreated immediately. The red orb hurled Kazer back, hitting Azere as well. When both of the demons were within the red orb’s range, it burst into a red flower, engulfing the demons in flames. Even if the demons wanted to, they could not escape the scorching heat, and even with their durability, the flames still destroyed their body. After the flames disappeared, the demons were almost dead, which was exactly what Meredith wanted. She wanted the demons to suffer before actually putting an end to them.

The three mages, Cadell, Brunus, and Drogo, were left amazed by Meredith’s power. Brunus and Drogo witnessed the power of the infamous potion maker. Seqina was also amazed but not so much, as she expected such feat from her teacher.

Meredith walked to the demons after waiting for some time. She would finally end Kazer and Azere. But, she stopped her movement when she noticed someone walking towards the demons.

“This is a failure for our Great Lord”

Meredith was about to continue walking when the figure spoke again.

“This is what happens when you disobey the Great Lord’s orders”

The figure looked at Meredith. Meredith felt strange, something she didn’t feel from Kazer and Azere. The figure went past the two demons, and faced Meredith.

“You seem dangerous”, the figure said.