Just as the demon lowered its pierced limb and began to move forward, the flashing red light on the arrow still lodged in its arm seemed to ignite in a blaze of radiance. In the next moment, a flash of blinding light and the sound of an explosion spread through the forest, transforming the creature's entire forearm into a bloody red mist.

The injured demon stumbled to a stop, staring dumbly at its destroyed limb, while its companion continued rushing forward in a blind rage. Garren dashed in front of the creature, holding his tall shield high above his head as he expertly blocked the falling bone sword crashing down toward him.

Bone and metal crashed together with a violent CRACK! Forcing Garren back a half step from the power of the blow.

As the second demon's oversized sword bounced off the shield, Edgar spun through the air beside it, whipping his entire body to add momentum to the edge of his blade. In one swift motion, the mercenary leader sent his blade sailing all the way through the demon's neck before lightly landing on the ground beside it. The sound of his feet hitting the floor was immediately followed by the thudding sound of the creature's oversized head falling beside him.

While Garren and Edgar dealt with the second demon, Belle lined up another shot at the first. She sent her arrow piercing through the air, aiming toward the monster's heart this time. The witless, insectile demon tried to block the arrow in exactly the same manner as it had the first, forgetting that its forearm was already destroyed.

The centipede-esque demon raised its stub of an arm to block, coming to a sudden halt with a dumb look on its face as Belle’s arrow passed by the empty air where its arm should have been, piercing directly into its heart. In the creature’s final moments, it pulled a large horn from its waistband and pressed it to its lips. The demon blew with all its might, sending an eerie blast of sound echoing throughout the forest before finally collapsing to the ground, dead.

Edgar stood perfectly still for a moment after witnessing the creature’s actions, listening quietly to the sounds of the forest as his grip on his blade tightened. For an instant, the soft chirping of insects was the only sound—until the skittering of insectile legs spread down the mountainside toward them from afar.

“Run!” Edgar spoke in a hushed tone as he led the way down the mountainside, glancing toward Belle, whose years of well honed teamwork allowed her to read his intentions without a word.

Belle slipped away from the group, pulling her hood over her head and disappearing into the canopy in an instant. Elara watched nervously as her grandmother left the group, but her trust in Edgar prevented her from second-guessing his orders.

The group continued to rush down the mountainside in absolute silence for the next twenty minutes, until Belle suddenly returned from the woodline with a grim expression on her face as she ran beside Edgar.

“Four in pursuit, dozens more combing the mountainside. We can’t outrun the group directly chasing us. There is a Refined Realm female demon among them—she appears to be the leader,” Belle stated in a swift but even tone.

Edgar nodded firmly, his grizzled face set with determination, as he led the group into a small clearing before raising his closed fist in the air to signal a stop.

“Hold! We make our stand here. I’ll take the leader; Belle and Garren will handle one each. That leaves the final demon to your team, Elara. Do your best to protect yourself at all times. If you can hold on long enough, one of us will come to support you.”

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Elara’s eyes widened for a moment, but her expression quickly changed to one of determination as she nodded in response to Edgar’s words. Her two daggers glowed an eerie green as she prepared her spell.

A few moments later, four large demons skittered into the clearing. They slowed and came to a stop when they saw their prey waiting for them. The female demon at the center of the group stepped forward, the viscously sharp teeth jutting out of her mouth clenching and releasing rhythmically as she turned her head from side to side, scanning the group of humans before focusing her furious gaze on the grey haired human male slowly approaching her.

“Your choice of companions alone makes you worthy of death, human. You travel with both the scourge and a traitorous demon girl. Bow your head and accept the touch of my blade; the gods will your death,” Katukla hissed angrily toward Edgar.

"No gods of mine, demon!"

Edgar did not deign to respond any further to the demonic tribe leader; instead, he held his sword up high above his head as an intense pressure that could be felt by everyone in the clearing began to radiate from his body.

Katukla narrowed her eyes, her angry expression switching to one of stern focus as she stared at the man before her. “Refined Realm! Leave this one to me!”

The furious expression quickly returned to Katukla’s face as she summoned her strength, raising her bone daggers high as she matched his energetic pressure before dashing forward to clash blades with Edgar. The deafening impact of their exchange of blows was intense enough to shake the leaves in the surrounding canopy and marked the beginning of the battle.

Belle targeted Katukla’s second-in-command—the most powerful of the male demons in the tribe, who wielded two massive bone cleavers. The demon fought like a berserker, ignoring the arrows that pierced his flesh as he dashed into the woods in pursuit of Belle’s retreating figure.

Garren led another of the demons away from Edgar’s fight, drawing his short sword as he bashed his shield forward with tremendous force. He caught the demonic insect by surprise, sending the creature rolling through the forest as its sharp legs tore through the soil, skittering desperately to regain footing.

Elara rushed toward the final demon, tossing a spark of magic from her hand that floated into the air in front of the monster’s ugly red face.

CRACK!

A flash of blinding light and a stunningly loud noise exploded forth from Elara’s spark of magic, causing the demon to stumble backward as it lifted its bone axe to shield its eyes.

“NOW!”

Even as she shouted the words, Elara dashed forward to attack, ducking low as she stabbed a glowing green blade into the demon's abdomen.

BAM!

Elara was unable to retreat swiftly enough, and she was struck by the demon's instinctual counterattack. Luckily for her, the creature was still blinded, so her life was saved when she was hit with the shaft of the axe rather than the blade.

Nevertheless, the blow sent Elara tumbling across the forest floor—her face pale with pain as she gripped her stomach and gasped desperately for air. Pom and Anthony both rushed forward at the same time, helping Elara to her feet as the demon shook its large head aggressively in an attempt to restore its vision.

Pom took that opportunity to launch a potion at the creature, but her aim was rather poor; the potion struck the ground near the demon's clawed legs with insufficient force to break the glass.

Elara raised her dagger with a pained expression, attempting to limp forward toward the demon that had finally regained its vision. Anthony gritted his teeth hard as he realized how desperate the situation was, glancing back at the figure of Edgar desperately holding back the demon matriarch.

There would be no reinforcements from the mercenary leader anytime soon; in fact, Anthony was uncertain if the man would survive the current battle at all. The demoness was pushing the older man back with a furious barrage of dagger strikes—each attack so swift and powerful that it could cut through the trunk of a fully grown oak in a single swipe.

Pom seemed to realize the same thing—a look of resolve crossed the frightened young girl's face as she rushed toward the demon, a valiant shout spreading forth from her lips.

“Come get me, you ugly jerk!”