“Why is it that you only remember I am around when you are doing something incredibly dangerous,” Esben asked with his shoulders drooping in defeat, “My ability to shapeshift has more potential than just using me as bait, you know!”
“Relax,” I replied as I patted Esben’s arm, “You are not the bait this time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. If anything, your job is the easiest. All you need to do is transform into this oversized muscle head here and stay in the city.”
“You want me to pretend to be Svend?” Esben asked in disbelief.
“Can you do it?”
Esben gave Svend a sidelong glance “Of course I can do it. I am just making sure I will not get in trouble for this later.”
“Don’t do anything to embarrass me and you have my word you will not be punished in any way,” Svend said with a deep chuckle.
“Alright then,” Esben said as his body began to morph and grow. Within a short few seconds, two identical giant men stood next to each other.
Svend and I gave Esben a few pointers to make sure he would not give away our game and then sent him out into the city. The Demon Aym could not see inside Dragon’s nest so unless Esben did something incredibly out of character, it should be easy to keep the Demon fooled.
Now that Svend’s real location was hidden, our next objective was to draw the Demon in. If we just went straight towards his location, the Demon would undoubtedly expect a trap. Even if he thinks Svend is not with us, Aym was unlikely to let us get close.
After spending a moment in thought, I looked towards Cyra. “How about you and I go hunting?”
“Hunting?” Cyra asked in surprise.
“That’s right, let’s see if we can add a bear or maybe a few deer to my undead army. You have been hunting before, right?”
“Of course I have!” Cyra responded indignantly, “But wouldn’t it be too obvious a trap if the two of us wander off on our own?”
“That is the idea,” I replied with a grin.
Following my command, Donte moved Dragon’s Nest several hours outside the city where a thick forest grew. Nox and Sylvie also found their way to the same forest, careful to keep their distance and appear like ordinary animals. I even had Sigmund dress up like a hunter and head that way on foot.
Once we arrived, Cyra and I Stepped out of the protection of the Preateritum remnant. I immediately felt the unnerving gaze of the Demon peering at me from a great distance away.
I could not help but cross my arms in discomfort despite knowing it did nothing to prevent the gaze that focused on me. This Demon’s talent might not have been strong but it was incredibly annoying.
Unable to do anything about the gaze just yet, Cyra and I hopped down into the sea of trees. Svend was left behind on the floating island, hidden from the Demon’s view.
Down on the forest floor, the ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves that rustled as we walked. I did my best to ignore the gaze that followed me as I genuinely started to look for a few animals to hunt.
Cyra was much less patient than I was. Her finger twitched in irritation and small sparks of flame appeared as she breathed. I was worried that if we did not resolve this soon, she might burn the entire forest down in a fit of rage.
“There is no way this is going to work. The trap is too obvious,” Cyra complained with a mumble. We had to be careful when speaking not to move our lips too much or Aym would know what we were saying.
“Maybe,” I replied with a shrug, “Worst case, the Demon continues to watch us indefinity. I doubt he has that much patience but if he does, at least we know he is not out attacking people.”
“I guess you are right,” Cyra replied with a sigh, “I just can’t stand it. His gaze feels like insects crawling across my skin!”
“Be patient. The game has only just begun,” I said despite agreeing with Cyra’s feelings.
The two of us fell silent as we trekked deeper into the forest. Our adventure lasted several hours. During that time, we encountered a pack of wolves, one bear, and three elk. All the animals joined the ranks of my undead army with little fanfare.
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While we hunted, Nox and Sylvie were always nearby. They stayed well hidden. Even if the Demon, Aym, could see through solid objects, he would have to look closely in order to spot the two animals. Sigmund stayed further back, fulfilling his role as an inconspicuous hunter. If Aym decided to attack me, he would find himself surrounded in a well laid trap.
However, I never actually expected Aym to attack. With his talent, he would probably see something was wrong eventually. In fact, I wanted him to know I was setting a trap here. I just could not make it too obvious.
My true goal was not to lure Aym into attacking me, though if he did, that would be a pleasant outcome. My true goal was to draw Aym into investigating Dragon’s Nest. Thanks to the information Irene had provided I knew that was the true reason he was here and now the stage was set perfectly for him to do just that.
As far as the Demon knew, Svend was back in Kala and I had set my trap in the forest. After hours of wandering through the woods, the floating island was left far in the distance. With all the strongest people nowhere near his goal, this was bait the Demon could not resist.
Sure enough, four hours after the start of our little diversion, an explosion rocked the forest. Birds and beasts fled in terror as two figures clashed with the power to topple mountains.
I smiled gleefully as my domain wrapped around my body as thin as a second skin. I floated up into the air as if I was stepping on a cloud. Once above the treetops, I was able to see two figures fighting not too far away.
The first was Svend. The second was the Demon, Aym. At first glance, it was difficult to tell Aym was a Demon. If not for the glowing red eyes, you could even call him handsome with slick black hair and a well-chiseled jaw. However, on closer inspection, you would be met with horror. The Demon was covered in small snakes, each barely bigger than a worm. They slithered out of small puss-filled holes that dotted the Demon’s body like parasites. I knew from experience that each of those small snakes was vicious and toxic, capable of corrupting an unwitting creature in a matter of minutes.
The Demon held what look like an iron bar in his hand as he faced off against Svend. It’s tip was permanently glowing with red hot flames that created a shower of sparks as it blocked one of Svend’s punches.
Despite managing to block Svend’s blow, the Demon was still sent flying backwards. He crashed to the ground as another explosion shook the forest.
Svend’s booming laughter echoed through the air as he stood above the Demon. “Finally, an enemy I can punch!”
The crushed bodies of hundreds of squirming snakes fell to the ground as the Demon pulled himself free of the crater. His eyes narrowed as he looked up a Svend. “As usual, Berith was right. I should not have gotten greedy.” The Demon said with a hiss. As he spoke, a domain spread from the demon.
The Demon’s domain felt very different from Svend’s or Sebastion’s. It felt twisted and toxic. As it spread, the surrounding trees and vegetation instantly turned a sickly red color. Insects and animals not fast enough to escape began thrashing on the ground in agony as their bodies deformed and distorted. This was demonic corruption just like the blood mist, only this corruption happened in seconds.
In an instant, a large section of the forest stretching in every direction had turned into an inhospitable hellscape. Most of the animals died from the sudden influx of energy, leaving behind horribly mutated bodies that resembled nothing of the creature they had once been. Almost a dozen, however, did survive. The rapid corruption left the new Demonkin hideously deformed but it was obvious Aym did not care. Obeying the Demon’s command, the creatures gathered around Aym as he turned to flee the trap he found himself in.
Not willing to let the Demon escape, Svend barreled down towards the ground like a cannon. The Demonkin threw themselves at the rapidly approaching figure with no care for their own life. Svend did not slow down, or even bother to strike the creatures, as he crashed down like a meteor. The Demonkin were turned into a bloody paste as Aym hastily dodged the giant man.
The Demon had no intention of fighting Svend alone as he flew away as fast as possible. As he flew, his domain touched new stretches of the forest. It corrupted the plants and animals there just as it did before and ruined the land for years to come.
Svend chased after the fleeing Demon, catching up enough to strike a few more blows but Aym was clever. He angled his body so that when he was hit, he would be sent flying further away from his pursuer rather than into the ground.
This chase continued for several minutes. The Demon corrupted all the land it passed, creating a small horde of deformed clambering Demonkin that followed in his wake.
Despite the damage, it looked like Svend would have little trouble bringing the Demon down. Aym had always been one of the weakest among Envy’s followers. He usually avoided direct combat when I clashed with Envy in the past. It appeared that not much had changed since back then. Though, I did notice his domain was quite a bit stronger than what I remembered.
As Aym fled, he suffered more and more wounds. He had taken one of Svend’s attacks to his shoulder and nearly lost his arm in the process. However, despite his hasty retreat, Aym was not getting any further away. In fact, it appeared like he was getting closer.
“Something is wrong here, Cyra. Prepare for battle.” I said softly as a glyph formed in my hand.
Cyra nodded solemnly as flames ignited around her in an inferno. I watched the battle between Svend and Aym carefully. The Demon was not flying straight here but sure enough, he was getting closer and closer to us as the battle progressed.
I felt his domain encompass us as the surrounding forest began to twist and deform. The thin layer of domain armor hugging my skin protected me from the effects of the corruption but with my current strength, I would only be able to resist the energy for five or six minutes.
Still, I could not understand why the Demon would come this way. He was already injured and barely managing to stay ahead of Svend. If Cyra or I joined the fight he would only be in a worse position.
As I was distracted, Cyra moved to intercept the fleeing Demon. As she separated from me, I felt the presence of another corruptive domain overlap with the first.
Without warning, three figures appeared behind Cyra. Three Demons, each one was stronger than Aym. I recognized one of them as Seir, the teleporter.
I tried to shout out a warning as Cyra was suddenly surrounded by the three enemies, but before she could even respond, they had already attacked.