Alkelios rushed towards what he perceived as the most dangerous enemy. He was a warrior and could tell who was strong or killed at a glance. And the being standing before him was both.

Amar Sin was once a powerful King of a kingdom called Mesopotamia in the Human Realm. Unfortunately, his burial ritual went wrong and he became an Edimmu. He was sent to the Demon Realm where the Lilim household took him in. They raised him to become somewhat decent in social interactions. Now, Lilith had sent him to find Melakios and convince the boy to head to the Academy. It wasn’t necessary, but Amar Sin made sure to make Lilith as happy as he could.

Before him stood a Wandering Spirit carrying a long spear with the design of snake scales running down it, and a round shield depicting a scarab beetle. He didn’t have to breathe, but Alkelios unconsciously did the motions. He finally calmed down in the face of imminent death to ask a question.

“What are you here for?”

The middle aged man had long gray hair that reached his knees. It wasn’t frayed or tangled, but long and straight. His eyes were blood red and his skin was pale and cracked. His nails were filed into points as were his teeth. His black suit and tie were now stained in blood as it dripped from his fingers and mouth. Surrounding him were the corpses of the 20 odd Demon gang members. They were ripped to shreds to the point of not being able to differentiate the carnage from monster mount feed.

The Edimmu opened his mouth and a nasty decaying smell wafted over. It was a good thing Alkelios couldn’t actually smell, although he saw the green colored breath and slightly gagged. The Edimmu continued by saying,

“I’m here to take Melakios to the Academy for Lilith.”

“So you aren’t going to hurt him…”

Alkelios visibly sighed in relief. But then another question escaped his lips.

“But what if he doesn’t want to go?”

“Too bad.”

Amar Sin began to gather his power, boosting it to the level of a Duke. Alkelios readied himself once more and tried to remember his training. Then, Amar Sin attacked.

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Clair flew to what she believed to be a troubling enemy. She herself could fly and knew flying enemies were difficult to deal with. But upon flying closer, she received a mental transmission from their leader, a women with dark gray hair and scales on her forearms. She had horns and a tail.

“Halt, are you the companion of Melakios?”

Clair nodded in confirmation.

“Have no worries, we are only here to stop Valafar. It seems Lilith sent someone, although they may be a difficult contender. Go team up with the girl, she needs help.”

Indeed, even with the floating disc shield, Teiko had been surrounded by high leveled Demons. It took everything she had not to die. Clair rushed over to help after knowing that the cloud riders were allies.

Teiko was a Lord Level Warrior, but had the knowhow and tools to be a decent Baron Level. Clair arrived just in time to knock away a sneak attack aimed at her blind spot. She then started to attack the Count Level Demons. Teiko nodded in gratitude as she began to fight back with renewed vigor.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

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On the other side of the valley, Melakios approached Valafar and his men.

“Hehehe, looks like you are all alone! We came prepared this time! It was merely coincidence that Gäap sent some men, too!”

“He wouldn’t have needed to if you were more competent. Now that I am stronger, you have no hope.”

“Bullshit. You have no fighting experience and we outnumber you almost 200 to 1!”

Suddenly, a voice familiar to Melakios rang out.

“Not anymore, you're not!”

“Ala!”

Yes, it was indeed Ala, one of the Four Corners!

“Hello again, Melakios. I’m glad to see you’re doing well. We’ll take on the weaklings, but we might have trouble with the other Count.”

“No problem, you just take care of what you can. Thanks for the help. Tell everyone back home I miss them.”

“Then you should return sooner.”

“Maybe later.”

After the light conversation, the two sped off in opposite directions, each going for one of the Counts. The small fry battled small fry. Seeing his group be evened out again, Valafar was fuming. He went to help capture Melakios, but the boy was already standing before him, bloody sword in hand. He had already defeated the Count!

“Damn. Whatever, they said it was fine to break a few legs as long as it’s not permanent. Let’s go! It’s time to repay you for what you have done to my men!”

“None of this would have happened had you never messed with me!”

The two clashed, sword on sword. The Argive Sword produced sparks as it ground the other sword to bits. Melakios slashed with his free hand and cut across Valafar’s shirt. Valafar decided to aim a kick at Melakios’ left leg, as it was the one most forward. Instead of dodging, Melakios sent some of his own attacks, catching Valafar off guard.

This led to him losing focus and causing his kick to weaken. But it still broke his leg! Pain rushed through Melakios’ body as he tried to take out some medicine from his pack rat. Valafar took the chance and aimed another kick at his other leg, only to get a sword in it! He was tricked!

“Idiot, like I’m going to give myself an opening that obvious on accident? Scram.”

He wished he still had his spider launcher, but he forgot to make a Core for it. He had to rely on other means to catch his opponent off guard and take advantage. This was a human more demon than a Demon!

He sliced horizontally, cutting Valafar’s neck. Valafar slowly crumpled to the floor grasping his throat as he died.

Melakios absorbed the soul and went to help Ala with the remaining Demons, absorbing as he went.

That was when he heard an inhuman scream.