Droz, along with the rest of the demons, stayed guard at the edge of the Elgion forest. They watched with great tension as their enemies, both the Cursed Children and the elves, were getting closer. Seeing both factions coming at them, Droz couldn’t help but grin at the sheer absurdity of it all. Each faction had their own intention for the princess. It was as though she was the most important person in the world. To which whoever had their hands on her would have a chance to control their fate.

And that most important person in the world right now was at the hands of the demons. And as one would expect, having her in their possession brought all kinds of big trouble. Personally, Droz had nothing to fear against their enemies, as long as they couldn’t cast holy magic — which what seemed to be that these groups lacked.

But there was still the part where they could feel pain. And not to mention potential torture if they were ever captured. Where the most sadistic ones could have all the leisure. But they’ll cross that bridge when they cross it. For now, they have to complete their mission. To let Rytus and the princess escape so they can make their way back to the demon lands.

The couple of demons that stayed in the air moved to cast their magic. They waved their hands, unleashing a wide and deadly wave of violent infernal flames at the dark fogs. Upon making contact with the magical flames, they reverted back to solid matter, with some of them falling back to the ground. The rest did their best to maintain flying.

Droz turned towards one ally with him on the ground.

“There are too many Cursed Children. Let me handle the elves, there’s only three of them.”

“Right.”

He watched his fellow imp leave to face the Cursed Children before turning towards the running elves and hiding behind the trees. While hiding in the shadows, his hands turned to claws, and he waited for the elves to arrive.

The moment the elves stepped into the forest, Droz instantly came out of hiding. He moved and swirled with great swiftness, his blazing infernal claws left several bright trails through the area. Cutting through the trees with ease, leaving them with flaming embers, and with that, slashing at the three elves as well.

He slashed a male and a female elf on the chest. The leading elf, however, managed to deflect the claws with his sword. The latter elf glared at Droz.

“You.”

“Hey, we met again.” Droz grinned before immediately swinging a sharp hand at him.

The elf, Alruwin, blocked the attack with gritted teeth. His eyes narrowing at the heat the blaze was emitting.

“I have no time for you!” Alruwin shouted with blatant irritation.

“Too bad,” Droz flashed him with a mocking smirk, which served to only irritate the elf even more.

The female elf slashed the imp’s back, cutting deep into his flesh. The latter instantly turned around and swung a wave of inferno at her as his wound immediately healed. Burns were made all over the elf’s body, mostly on the arms which she used to cover her face.

The other elf spawned vines from the ground, lashing violently at the imp. But with his flames again, he easily cut and burned off the plants. Such things would be useless against him.

With the demon’s back directed at him, Alruwin fired several wind slashes at the imp before physically cutting him as well. Droz swung his claws at Alruwin a few times while blocking the rest of the attacks coming at him. At the same time, the female elf, with her speed, was able to land a few hits. But Droz was basically unfazed, he kept on moving, and rapidly healing in a mere moment.

Alruwin swung his sword down heavily at him and at the same time spawned several sharp and thorny vines right at the enemy’s feet. They quickly wrapped around his legs and body tightly. With him tied, the elves altogether stabbed their blades and unleashed a burst of wind into his flesh.

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“Gah!” Droz shouted in pain.

Blood exploded out of the demon’s body. However, he was still standing strong. Flames gathered on his claws, and before the elves could step back, his flames exploded in all directions. The elves pulled out their swords as wind barriers protected them.

Droz grinned as he coughed out blood, his wounds rapidly healing again.

“Heh, guess I really have to cleave you up, huh?” he said.

Alruwin narrowed his eyes. “I’m wasting too much time. Hold him back.”

Alruwin began running, but the demon quickly caught up to him. Grabbing his shoulder.

“You ain’t running, pal!”

“Tch!” Alruwin held out his hand at him, firing a blast of wind. But not before the demon could grab on his hand as well.

Droz ignored the wounds he was sustaining.

The female elf pierced her sword into Droz’s chest from the back, while the other attacked from the front, intending on pushing him away. But Droz kept a firm grip on Alruwin’s hand, no intention of letting him go. Enraged, Alruwin spawned a dozen vines to wrap around the demon, the thorns digging in deep. And he swung his sword down at the demon’s arm. He wasn’t able to cut it off, but it was enough for the demon to loosen his grip and allow Alruwin to escape from his grasp. At that moment, Alruwin fired another powerful blast of wind. This time, blowing Droz away from him.

“No!” Holding out a hand, Droz unleashed a large bolt of fire at Alruwin.

The elf conjured a shield wind just as the flames hit him. It exploded into a ball of violent flames, completely covering his vision and burning his surroundings, setting the grasses and trees on fire. He swung his sword in the air, cutting through the curtain of fire.

He saw his fellow elves holding the imp demon back. With that, Alruwin continued on, sending his winds to clear out the fire in his way. He had no idea where exactly the princess was in this dense and dark forest. But there should be signs of the demons’ path, like monster deaths or footprints. As someone used to the forests, there were plenty of ways to tell.

While Alruwin got through the demon blocking his way, the Cursed Children above the forest overwhelmed the few demons with their great number. The demons were able to obstruct several, but a few managed to reach them and thus ravaged the demons.

A cursed child grabbed a demon and dragged him to the ground, landing violently. They raised their claws against each other. One brightly blazing, the other repulsive and monster-like. They swung at each other, digging into each other’s skin. Blood spilled. Wounds were made, fatal and savage. However, in merely a moment, the both of them healed completely.

Despite the pointlessness of it all, they were relentless in landing damages on the other. They attack, they heal. They didn’t even bother defending at all. Indeed, they were fighting like beasts, monsters, but one that may never die no matter how many wounds were inflicted upon them. Perhaps this could be an endless battle.

However, the imps were unlike the Cursed Children. For these children cursed by the goddess, were truly, and absolutely immortal, unkillable. They have endured pain all of their lives. Every night, they felt the most intense of pain, of torture, and have driven them close to madness. Perhaps some already were. And with this maddened mind, pain caused by physical things, like burning claws, was trivial compared to the pain they were currently and ever experiencing. Where their flesh was forcefully morphed and shifted like a constant growing cancer. Outside and inside.

The cursed child bit on the demon’s neck, the numerous sharp teeth digging deep into flesh before sucking in his blood.

“Agh! Let me go!”

The demon could clearly feel his blood being drained, and it was not a pleasant feeling at all. He forced himself free and cleaved through the monster’s chest. But not before he received a slash himself. The demon cried in pain, and then the monster swung down both his claws. Again, again, and again. He was being torn apart. The demon’s body was being horribly mutilated.

“F-Fuck, stay away from me!”

Unlike the Cursed Children, the imps have a limit on how much physical trauma they can endure. Unlike these monsters, they cannot bear a week’s constant torture, a thousand swords, or a million arrows. Although it may vary from each demon, everyone has their limits. They can regenerate, yes, but their mind could only take too much agony. And thus, like any other creature, they attempt to flee. To escape the despair and the constant pain. No one likes pain, not even them.

But the relentless monster would not let him get away.

“Unlimited supply of blood!”

“D-Dammit!”

He bit through the demon again, plunging his claws into his heart, preventing the imp from getting away.

And like what happened here, the other demons, despite not dying, were disposed of. The Cursed Children’s path was clear. Their leader flew at the head with several Cursed Children behind him. The demons that took the princess have hidden themselves under the trees. It would be hard to track them down, perhaps it was best to descend.

As he was about to do just that, there was a bright blue flash in the distance amidst the forest. He pointed.

“There.”