"What the hell is that?"
"A demon," Kai said a bit too casually. And then she reached her arm out, an electrical current suddenly permeating her hand.
"Okay, that's new," I muttered to myself.
"Demons make it a habit of trespassing into our village quite often. They are different from the regular monsters you see in Etheryn and marked as the undead. That being said, they usually hunt at night."
"Well, this one's an exception to the rule, a true rebel."
"I don't have my arrows, but I should be able to get rid of this one quickly."
Just like that, Kai summoned a sigil in the air. The lines of the circle began fizzing, an electrical current running through her arm and out her hand. Before I could blink, she shot a lightning bolt right at the demon.
The creature let out a screech as the bolt hit, its wings fluttering wildly. But instead of falling to the ground as I expected, it straightened up, surprisingly unphased by the attack. Its mandibles clicked together, more of that disturbing sound coming out of it. If I had to guess, the bastard was taunting us.
"Doesn't look like that worked," I whispered, taking another step back.
Kai didn't respond, instead her hand began to glow again with another wave of electricity.
Another shot, this one a lot bigger this time. It was about half the size of the demon, yet it stood there, ready to take on the damage.
Kai hit the creature square in the chest, causing it to jerk back with a shriek. The demon shook itself and then let out an even more menacing roar, its antennae quivering. I noticed that it didn't seem particularly hurt, just rattled. Two shots like that and still standing, without a scratch on it, either. Despite her last bolt pushing him back a few feet, the demon wasn't backing off.
I held my blade tightly in front of me, ready to defend us if the demon decided to charge. But instead of coming at us, it started a series of complex movements with its arms. It seemed to be drawing something in the air, a faint, glowing symbol that hung there for a moment before dissipating into thin smoke.
"An invocation, a demonic ability to channel and use dark energy for summons. I'm not sure if it was letting me hit it on purpose to absorb my energy for its summon. I need to kill it now."
The demon's eyes flared brighter, and all of the hair on my body stood on end as I felt a dark aura ripple through the air. This energy coming directly from the demon was definitely something that warranted all of my attention.
Kai cocked her elbow back as two fingers pointed at the bug. The other arm was stretched out, and then between two arms, a thunder arrow took shape.
Okay, this had to be the big daddy of moves under her tool belt, because that arrow's aura was packing one hell of a punch. Torrents of wind surrounded her, blowing her hair back as the energy crackled around her.
The demon, sensing the change, finally decided to take flight. Noticing this, Kai unleashed the arrow without hesitation. It shot toward the bug creature with an unnatural speed. Seriously, I didn't even see it! One moment the bug was intact, and the next, not so much.
Kai cleaved it in half.
The arrow on steroids left a vibrant yellow trail behind. The residue looked like it had power of its own as it hovered in the air. The demon wasn't looking too fucking smart after that amazing move, shaking under the pressure of pure magic. A smile stretched across my face as I stared at the beast, impressed with how strong Kai was. But we couldn't celebrate just yet.
Again, the demon proved to be resilient.
That energy I'd felt earlier came back, and before we knew it, the demon's thorax began to bubble from its tear.
There was another energy that I was sensing, one closer than the bug demon in the sky….
"Kai, look out!" I shouted, shoving her away from the acid spew of a demon bug that came right behind us.
We landed on the ground, my back hitting the dirt hard, but we were safe from the green acidic spray that the demon spat at us. Kai got up from my chest, her hair tousled over her face as she fought to recompose herself.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked her as she sat over my waist, trying to fight a blush creeping up her face.
"I'm fine," she said as she cleared her throat and dismounted me. "And you?"
"I'm good," I assured her, getting off my ass.
"Thank you." She nodded. "But our challenge here has multiplied." She looked across from us at the demon bug that looked identical to the one in the sky.
When I looked back up, I realized what had happened. Instead of dying as it should, the demon had healed. Worse than that, its split body had regenerated; both the top half and the bottom half that'd fallen on the ground when Kai had attacked it.
"Regeneration, another neat trick," I muttered to myself. "Between the summoning powers, the acid spit, and this new number, we might have our hands tied. But I noticed something," I said, Kai turning to me to elaborate. "It's not very fast on the ground. More than likely, the other half teleported behind us. Another trick. Otherwise, we would have seen it coming. Since it spawned, it hadn't made an effort to show us its foot speed. So, I'm going to say that it's safe to assume that its footwork is slow." I tightened my grip on my knife, and squared myself for a melee fight. "We even the odds. I'll take this one on, and you tackle the aerial bug. Should be easy, right? Seeing as you have those pretty angel wings?"
"Are you sure? Your level may hinder you in this battle."
I nodded. "I'm sure. I might be a low-leveled human, but I can fight. You don't have to worry about me."
She smiled. "You're brave, Lucien. Let's fight… together."
Kai spread her wings, the massive span making me feel small in comparison. They were magnificent and radiant up close, the idea of flight making this low-leveled human a bit jealous. While Kai looked a little worried about me, she didn't hesitate to take flight, shooting up into the sky and leaving me behind to face my half of the demon bug.
I turned around and let out a ready sigh, the creature putting off more of that same aura. It was big, but it wasn't sabertooth tiger big. My first encounter with a threat truly set the bar high. The demon bug was grotesque, with its slimy exoskeleton and jagged mandibles, but it was nowhere near the beast that could have torn me to shreds with one swipe of a paw.
I wouldn't drag my feet with it, seeing as I knew what it was capable of. When I dashed in, it towered over me, emanating a greenish glow, its huge mandibles opening up as if to swallow me.
Its mandibles opened wider and I saw the green glow of toxic spit building up. I dodged sideways, just as the acid came gushing out. It let out another screech and then lunged at me. I took a deep breath, tightening my grip on my knife. The bug was easy to read, and I managed to roll out of its way just in time, feeling the gust of wind as it missed.
This new angle was perfect. It was dangerously close, and my position left me with a clear advantage. I pivoted at my heel and swung my knife straight through the demon's exposed underbelly. Hot, pus-colored guts sprayed from its insides, more than I expected. Shit, it felt like I'd just stepped on a giant roach, the smell alone enough to force me back as it oozed. The demon bug roared in pain and thrashed about, its mandibles snapping wildly at the air.
With a deep breath, I charged toward the infernal creature again. The demon gave a low hiss as it saw me approaching, its clawed appendages reaching out toward me. I swerved to avoid them before rushing in again to deliver a stab at one of its legs.
Now, it decided to play defensively.
Two shots to zero—honestly, I would have done the same thing if I could teleport. He vanished, but there was one thing I noticed about my [Undead Sense] that I hadn't before. I focused on the skill this time, and I was able to track the fucker down as he teleported, my instincts kicking in just as it reappeared on my left. The demon was quick but not quick enough. I spun around, jamming my blade into its side. It howled in pain as more pus poured from the wound.
Suddenly, the demon vanished again, only to reappear several feet away this time. It was limping now, one of its legs dragging. Its mandibles clicked and clacked together, its alien eyes focused on me with a desperate fury.
Overhead, I heard the piercing cry of the second demon bug and craned my neck to see Kai soaring through the sky like a fiery comet. She was hurling bolts of divine light at the aerial demon which was trying to evade her attacks yet failing miserably. Dark smoke was trailing its flight, its wings visibly singed by Kai's relentless barrage.
I had no time to relish in her victory though, as my demon had bolted upward, flexing its wings out and taking immediate flight!