“Oh shit! They’re here!” Venzus exclaimed as the Cursed Children descended upon them.

But the three demons didn’t stop, using the trees as cover from their attacks. Thankfully, they were not aggressively going for Rytus who had the princess with him, for they feared hitting her. Venzus, on the other hand, was sending waves of flames at the fogs. The dark monsters that hit in them were pulled out of their foggy state, but there were also others still coming at them.

As they frantically ran while fending the enemy off, Venzus turned towards Arashia.

“Arashia! Use your net!”

“B-But my mana!”

“Do it! Do it wide and strong!”

“Do it, Arashia,” Rytus said.

She was reluctant to do it, of course. She was not one to rely on her physical weapons, like her claws. She preferred her magical attacks. And running out of mana would be detrimental to her potency. That said, it came to her own preference — to spend as little as mana as possible but giving the best result. Perhaps she was just wary.

Although, considering the situation, she had no choice, it would seem. And thus, she jumped and turned towards the Cursed Children, holding out her hand. Strings appeared between her fingers before they shot onward. A wide blazing inferno of a net caught up a great number of the enemies.

“Eh?!” But there were still a few that evaded and were still coming at them.

“Less is better!” Venzus swung both his hands wide, shooting wide arcs of flames from each of his sharp fingers towards the enemies.

And at that moment, Arashia’s ears perked, sensing someone else coming. And they were coming fast. Upon realizing that, she instantly leaped right beside Rytus and held out her hand. She caught a blade that was only a few inches away from the princess’s sleeping face. Arashia’s hand bled.

The elven wielder of the sword clicked his tongue in annoyance. Arashia subsequently kicked the elf with exquisite strength and agility before conjuring a flaming whip striking at the elf. The latter cast a wind to block the lashing lengthy whip and once it passed, he ran to catch up to the demons.

He swung his sword in the air, hurling multiple slashes of wind at them. But Arashia deflected them off with her whip of fire.

“Dammit! Boss!” Venzus shouted. “It’s hard to fight while running. We hold them off, you keep going!”

Rytus deliberated for a moment, glancing at the increasing number of Cursed Children. They were starting to swarm them. He hesitated to let them go. He was planning on bringing them along with him. It would be hard to travel without a companion while carrying the dangerous princess around. However, he should be able to garner more demon allies once he reaches Shinoroa.

“Very well. Fight off as many as you can.”

Venzus nodded. “Arashia! You heard that?!”

“It’s a t-terrible plan!” she exclaimed while driving off the elf. Her face was frantic.

“Stop complaining and do your job!”

She moaned. “Fine!”

The two of them stopped. Venzus planted his hands into the ground, and then a tall wall of fire erupted like a geyser. They burned and blocked off a major number of Cursed Children. But even that wouldn’t last long. Several of them got through, and thus Venzus jumped up and grabbed them with his flaming claws.

Arashia, meanwhile, tackled the elf, as she considered that it was the only way to really stop him. She then quickly pushed him off to a tree before he could hit her with a sword. The moment he crashed on the tree, Arashia swung her whip, wrapping itself around the bark and the elf with it. His skin sizzled in the burning heat. The female imp pulled, and the whip tightened before the tree was rooted out of the ground, hurling it away along with the elf.

Before he could hit the ground, a burst of wind broke the tree and the flaming whip into pieces. The elf, Alruwin’s face, contorted into pure anger. The simple task of killing the princess, after all that they had done to achieve this, was becoming harder than they had ever wanted, or imagined. He couldn’t let this absurdity go on. It was utterly frustrating. It all should have been simple, just to follow the plan.

As he charged towards Arashia, several thorny vines sprang out of the ground, launching towards her. The demon fended off the vines as the elf came and attacked. He rapidly swung his sword, gradually making cuts on her skin. He was more relentless.

Arashia had a whimpering face, but was still trying her best to fight him. But Alruwin attained the upper hand and pierced his sword through her neck. She choked, about to move back. But Alruwin kicked her far away with the help of a wind burst, towards the Cursed Children to be precise.

His path now clear, he rushed onward to chase down the princess. On the way, he glanced to the side to see the leader of the Cursed Children weaving through the trees, and along with him were a few of his own repulsive kind. Usually they would have attacked each other, but they have something more important to do.

Rytus realized the enemies were getting close to him. But he was right by his destination already. The magic circle for teleportation was now in sight. Glowing brightly like a beacon in the darkness. They had to place the circle in a safe place, where any major enemies wouldn’t easily notice. He considered anywhere in the capital to be risky. They also needed a place where the enemy couldn’t swarm them. Thus, he chose the forest filled with powerful monsters and numerous seas of trees.

“Rytus?!”

There were two imp demons standing guard on the magic circle. Monster corpses littered the area.

“Is it ready?!”

“Yes!”

“Hold them off!”

The two demons saw the enemies behind his tail and thus quickly moved in to intercept. One demon faced the elf, blocking his way. The other waved his hand at the Cursed Children, sending numerous small dots of flames at them, and they exploded into a small blazing explosions, prompting the monsters to halt.

Heneis, the Cursed Children’s leader, was momentarily pushed away by an explosion, but he immediately pushed through. At the same time, he had realized that the demon carrying the princess was already standing in the circle, now shining brighter than before. Magic began to swirl around it.

The elf saw the same, and he vigorously punched the demon in the stomach while at the same time spawning vines to hold the demon’s feet.

With strained faces, both Heneis and Alruwin quickly charged towards Rytus. The latter ready to swing his blade, the former extending his hand to reach out for the princess.

“I won’t let you escape!” Heneis shouted.

As the two of them were only a few meters away, Rytus gritted his teeth, growing incredibly nervous as they got closer. It felt like his soul was going to leave his body. He cannot let them either get the princess or step into the circle. But then, the teleportation magic activated. Rytus’s vision was filled with blinding light.

“NO!” The elf, Alruwin, reached the circle. But not before it was over. He looked down at the glowing fade of the dust. He took a few deep breaths. Rage filled his heart, gripping this sword tightly. He almost had her. He almost had the person who threatened his people and civilization. And yet for just her to get away? He couldn’t be more outraged. He glared at the two demons standing, staring at them with a smile. “DEMONS!”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Uh oh.”

“Time to go.”

And with those words, the two demons quickly ran into the forest. Disappearing into the darkness.

“YOU!” Alruwin was about to chase them down, but then he realized the increasing number of Cursed Children coming. He clicked his tongue and decided not to chase the demons. Instead, before anything else, he too quickly escaped from the area.

Heneis on the other hand, fell on both knees beside the fading magic circle. No one knows what kind of face he had right now. But, one could imagine, he must be distraught.

A cursed child approached. “The demon escaped?”

But Heneis didn’t respond, only keeping his head down, his fists clenched tightly.

Another cursed child approached. “Shit! They could be anywhere.”

“They must be going for the demon lands.”

“Still, that is several days to the shores alone.”

Another cursed child joined in. “They’ll be in the middle of the sea by then. Or wherever they deem to stop.”

“This is a great failure, Heneis.”

“We have followed your plan, and where did that get us?”

“We shouldn’t have followed your plan!”

“Who knows what they’re planning to do with her!”

The cursed children began murmuring to each other.

“This isn’t his fault, no one could have expected this.”

“That’s right.”

“We were in this together, you agreed to do what he says!”

Some were against them, while the others were questioning his leadership.

“What will you do to fix this, Heneis?!” One aggressively stepped in. It was Aurel. He stood beside Heneis, looking down at him. “Her Eminence could be killed at this rate!”

Heneis slowly looked up at him. There was a moment of silence before he stood up.

“I will fix this.”

“Huh? And how are you going to do that?”

He stepped back and peered at his surroundings, at his people.

“Catch the demons. They should still be here somewhere.”

“I don’t know if the others are still feasting on the ones they captured, if they have not escaped already.”

“The male and female demon from before had already escaped as well.”

“If we do manage to capture them, I doubt they’ll talk that easily,” said one.

“Then we’ll make them talk. Now go! Catch a demon! The more the better!”

The cursed children looked at each other for a moment. Perhaps hesitant to follow his words, or doubt in Heneis’s plan altogether. But still, in the end, one by one, they began to leave.

Two cursed children remained with him, Galik and Aurel. The latter glaring at Heneis.

“If she dies,” he said. “I’ll throw you into a volcano, where you will spend an eternity.”

With that threat, Aurel turned into a fog and left. Heneis sighed.

“This is bad for you,” Galik said. “If this goes on, they’ll remove you as leader.”

“Yeah? And who will they appoint?”

Galik had no answer.

“We have always been people that had no direction. What makes you think a lot of them can lead?”

Many of them had already given up to the curse. Only a few individuals like Heneis urged them to do what must be done. The one to lead them, who dictated the path they should take. They were sheep, hardly a shepherd. Lacking great ambition, and the initiative to achieve it.

“... I suppose.”

“Wow, you failed. That sucks.” Another voice joined in, it was the Eternal Wanderer.

“Taneva.” Heneis glared at him. “Why are you here?”

“To watch the show mainly.”

“I mean, why are you truly here? You did nothing, nothing at all.”

He shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“Your side should have saved the princess. Don’t you have a stake here as well?”

“You say that as if my side thinks as one. Personally, I don’t have much stake. But for them, I guess. But well, they didn’t do anything at all. So I guess that’s that.”

“You could have stopped the demons so easily.”

Taneva grinned. “I could have, but it’s not my place to intervene.”

“I truly cannot understand you.”

The two cursed children turned into a fog and ascended into the air before disappearing into the darkness.

***

It was a place of commerce, mainly through the sea. Where merchants, traders, or sailors, hailing from the various countries in the world, with some even coming from other continents, come to trade, or merely to sightsee, or perhaps find a new place to call home. Mainly that mattered in this republic was the smooth sailing of their economy and trade. And they prefer not to involve themselves with the politics of their neighboring nations.

This was the Eventon Republic. It was a nation led by ten councilors, with one of them being the head of them all. But every choice was not determined by him alone. Crucial decisions were made through majority votes. It was a fairly democratic nation. A big and prosperous nation, where most of the people had jobs and could obtain the money to feed their family. Where the ambitions of a successful business were not far from reality. It was the land of the free, where the citizens could always have that Eventonian dream.

Although, one must not underestimate their greed, especially those in the nation’s higher society. No matter how great the city may appear, the people within it would not always be as good or great.

And within the docks of this wealthy nation lies quite a little shoddy warehouse. Which was under control by a shadow organization that exists in this nation. One that deals in illegal transactions, but primarily in human trafficking. One that transports human beings they could obtain, whether through kidnapping them from remote villages, travelers, or those that were sold to them. Apparently, there were plenty of customers for humans.

Inside this secluded warehouse was a magic circle. It shone brightly for a moment before a silhouette appeared inside it. The moment the light faded, the silhouette became clearer. It was a man, on his shoulder was a white-haired princess, deep in her slumber.

“Thankfully, they truly held their end of the bargain.”

The man, or rather, the imp, sighed in relief. Rytus was quite concerned that the humans they paid would just become negligent, and somehow cause the circle to be erased even just slightly. After glancing at the princess for some assurance, he quickly left the warehouse and headed for one of the small wooden buildings.

It would have been ideal to teleport straight to the demon lands, but that was impossible. For their lands, and even the surrounding sea, was a forsaken region. Their leylines have been disconnected from the rest of the world, and thus teleportation was impossible. The closest they could afford was only this place. The reason for the disconnection was because, of course, their demon god. The enemy of the other gods, and thus they cut off the leylines on the region which he took as his own.

On the way, he looked at the numerous sailing ships of various sizes docked on the shore. Considering that it was nighttime, the place was extremely quiet, except for the distant laughter and shouts. Humans having a drunken night, it would seem.

The moment he arrived at the building, he was about to knock but stopped halfway upon considering that the princess might wake up. He feared that sudden noises would disturb her, that was the last thing he needed right now.

And thus he quietly pushed the door, forcefully opening it. It was irrelevant whether it was locked or not. Inside, there was a plump man sleeping on the chair, his head leaning back. Rytus quietly approached and covered the human’s mouth. That, of course, woke him up.

“Mmm-mmm!” He looked up at Rytus with wide eyes. He recognized him.

“Lower your voice, do you understand?”

The man faintly nodded his head while glancing at Rytus’s package placed on his shoulder. Once the man acknowledged, Rytus removed his hand from his mouth.

“Sir Rytus, you’re finally here.”

“Ready the ship. We’re moving out now.”

“What? Now? We can’t do that.” The man was raising his voice in a hush tone.

Rytus frowned. “We are moving, now.”

“This is too sudden, sir. We have yet to fill the currently available ship.”

Growing impatient, Rytus grabbed the man’s shirt on the collar and glared down at him.

“Listen here, human. We paid you a tremendous amount for this moment. For a ship to move once we return.”

The man quietly squealed, fear in his eyes.

Rytus continued, “Get ready to sail, dockmaster, or I’ll consider our contract void. You know what that means.”

“... A-Alright sir. I’ll, I’ll get things ready. But please, give me a couple of hours.”

Rytus pondered for a moment, a couple of hours shouldn’t be an issue. It was impossible for the opposition to catch up to them anyway. Especially that they have no idea where exactly Rytus and the princess could be.

“Very well, but no more.”

“Y-Yes, thank you.”

Rytus let him go. “The magic sealing shackles, where are they?”

“H-Here.”

The dockmaster walked over to a wooden box and pulled out shackles made of dark metal, the chains quietly clanging.

“Bring it with you and lead me to your ship.”

“Yes, sir.”

Anxiously, the human led Rytus to the ship. It was a galleon, large enough to carry dozens of people inside it. And it was docked somewhat at a secluded section of the docking area. Once they stepped on the ship’s deck, the human urged the few men that were guarding the ship to quiet down.

Rytus could hear faint sobbing under the floor, but he paid it no mind and turned towards the dockmaster.

“Let’s put her to the brig and have your men help me set her up.”

“Y-Yes.” He beckoned the men.

When they approached, they gawked at the young woman with beautiful white hair. Their eyes went so wide, as if they were popping out of their eye sockets.

“Wow, she’s beautiful. So fucking beautiful.”

“Never seen anything like her.”

“What is she supposed to be?”

They began muttering.

“She looks delicious.”

“She looks like a great fuck.”

“She supposed to be for sale? Must cost a hell of a fortune.”

“I wanna touch her.”

Rytus glared at the humans.

“You will not do anything harmful to her. That is absolute, do you understand, humans?”

“Huh?”

The men squinted their eyes at him.

But before anything else, the dockmaster chimed in.

“Do as he says. He’s one of them, demons.”

Hearing that, the men quickly stepped back, shaken by the revelation.

“R-Right, sorry.”

“Yeah, we won’t hurt her or anything.”

“There’s plenty of pussies here anyway.”

“Enough, let’s go and attach the shackles before she wakes up,” Rytus said in a stern tone.