Chapter 27: Separate Runs
"Damn it."
Kraft returned to the group, remorse etched on his face. The metallic taste of failure lingered in his mouth as he wiped demon blood from his blade.
That demon proved too cunning; he had originally intended to launch a surprise attack, directly splitting him in two under the cover of night, but the creature detected him instead.
The creature had sensed his approach despite Kraft's centuries of refined stealth, a troubling development.
The demon clutched his injured abdomen, dark ichor seeping between his fingers.
Anger surfaced on his grayish-white face, distorting features that might once have seemed noble.
People said that demons couldn't comprehend human emotions, but they possessed their own feelings; they simply couldn't grasp the profound tenderness in other races or even animal species.
This one radiated pure malice, cold and calculating.
The demon suddenly raised his hand, and the ground began to shake violently. Dust and pebbles danced as tremors rippled outward from his position.
The remains of the monsters the group had previously annihilated began to writhe, their fragmented limbs gradually piecing together.
Bone fragments clicked against each other with sickening precision.
With the bizarre monster that had swallowed Serie's magic as the core, they started to gather into something far worse than their individual parts.
Kurtz and Serie sensed danger and simultaneously launched their attacks.
The air crackled with concentrated mana as both elves drew upon their reserves.
Two identical beams of light instantly appeared above the demon, though one of the light beams held somewhat smaller volume.
The difference in their magical output proved subtle but telling.
Serie's beam held steady while Kurtz's flickered slightly at the edges.
The demon, however, cast defensive magic; the black barrier couldn't fully withstand the attacks of the two, hairline cracks spreading across its surface like a spider's web, and it shattered quickly.
Seeing this, the opponent directly manipulated the monsters around him, using these monsters as shields to block the subsequent explosive attacks.
Chunks of rotting flesh absorbed the magical energy, dissipating it harmlessly.
When the smoke cleared, neither the demon nor the constantly piecing-together monster beside him suffered harm.
Worse still, the acrid smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
In fact, because the two had eliminated some more monsters, the scattered remains on the battlefield actually caused that monster to grow several sizes larger.
Each defeated creature only fed the abomination's hunger.
"What is this thing!?" Soma had never witnessed such a scene; his pupils suddenly widened, and he asked with a trembling voice.
His axe felt inadequate against something that grew stronger with each blow.
"Something like Dark Magic?"
Kraft answered uncertainly, his warrior's instincts recoiling from the unholy sight.
During his two centuries of adventuring, he had heard that a race skilled in Dark Magic existed, possessing the special ability to resurrect dead creatures.
Tales whispered in taverns late at night, dismissed as folklore until now.
At first, he didn't believe it at all, but now, this so-called resurrection seemed so blasphemous.
The wrongness of it made his skin crawl.
The monster eventually coalesced into a gigantic, deformed mass of flesh, with various monstrous heads on it that appeared simply horrifying to behold.
Eyes of different creatures blinked independently, while mouths opened and closed in silent screams.
"Eat them all but that unknown race."
The demon commanded, and the flesh mass rolled towards the group with disturbing fluidity.
For some reason, when the demon saw Kurtz, hunger arose within him. Not mere appetite—something deeper, more primal.
Pure appetite consumed him, unmixed with any special feelings. His mouth watered despite himself not wanting it.
Theoretically, their race only needed very little food to survive, but this demon sensed that eating Kurtz would make him stronger.
The thought sent shivers of anticipation through his form.
Perhaps this unknown race before them naturally served as their race's nourishment, or rather, food.
The monster attacked, forcibly disrupting the group's formation, and split them into two battlefields. The coordinated defence they'd maintained crumbled under the creature's relentless advance.
Soma and Kraft fought on the right, while Kurtz and Serie battled on the left. The distance between them might as well have been miles.
"Kurtz!"
Soma roared, wanting to rush over, but monsters entangled him. Claws raked across his armor as he fought desperately to reach his companion.
Kraft continuously swung his longsword but couldn't break through the increasingly dense monster encirclement.
Each cut spawned two more enemies, an endless cycle of violence.
"How many monsters has this demon controlled exactly?"
Kraft felt secretly alarmed; they had already killed at least a hundred of the opponent's monsters on their journey, yet the monsters surrounding them showed no sign of decreasing.
If anything, their numbers seemed to multiply.
Seeing this, Kraft no longer held back his strength, unleashing his full combat power.
His blade sang through the air with renewed vigor, and his powerful aura forced the demon to send most of his monsters to contain him.
Now, before Kurtz and Serie, only the demon and the disgusting monster he had created remained. The odds had shifted, but not necessarily in their favour.
However, Kurtz dared not act rashly, fearing that killing monsters would only strengthen that monster. Every instinct screamed at him to attack, but logic held him back.
Since that held true, Kurtz simply pulled his junior master beside him. Serie's surprised expression almost made him smile despite their dire situation.
Serie hadn't reacted yet when she felt a tightening around her waist. The unexpected contact sent a jolt through her usually composed demeanour.
Kurtz wrapped one arm around her waist, while his other hand condensed a dazzling ball of light. The spell formed faster than he'd ever managed before, desperation lending him speed.
Blinding white light erupted, causing all the monsters, including the demon, to instantly cover their eyes, unable to see their direction. The brilliance painted everything in stark white, erasing shadows and depth.
Seizing this gap, Kurtz picked up Serie and quickly retreated, simultaneously shouting to Soma and the others.
"Break through separately! Rendezvous at Gemir Forest!"
Gemir Forest possessed a barrier, and monsters couldn't enter it; as long as they escaped there, everyone would stay safe.
The ancient protection is still holding after all these centuries.
Moreover, they had confirmed the coordinates of that human tribe earlier, so they could easily regroup there.
Seeing these fellows split into two groups and flee, the demon hesitated for a moment, ultimately choosing to pursue Kurtz and the other. The hunger drove his decision; only a small portion of monsters went after Soma and his group.
"Put me down!"
Carried on his shoulder, Serie felt as if her stomach churned, nearly throwing up her dinner from the jostling around.
The indignity of it stung almost as much as the motion sickness.
Kurtz also knew that this position made her uncomfortable, so he changed his posture to one similar to a princess carry.
Her weight felt negligible in his arms, but her proximity proved distracting.
"My lady, this isn't like the situation in the swamp last time."
Last time, the demon in the swamp hadn't appeared, nor had he created such disgusting monsters; other than the Demonscale Beast proving a bit difficult to deal with, it hadn't actually posed much danger.
But the situation differed now. Death followed close behind them, patient and hungry.
"I can walk on my own!"
Serie still wanted to protest, but Kurtz clearly wasn't giving her the chance. His grip tightened slightly, protective rather than possessive.
However, without Kraft as a guide, the two quickly lost their way. The forest paths all looked identical in the moonlight, and seeing the relentless monster army chasing them, Kurtz temporarily blocked them with a Wall of Thorns, then put Serie down.
"Let's run separately!"
Kurtz vaguely felt that the demon seemed more interested in him. The hungry gaze had proved unmistakable.
"No!"
Serie refused outright, her voice sharp with determination.
If they ran separately and Kurtz encountered danger, she wouldn't be able to save him at all. The thought of losing him to satisfy her pride seemed suddenly foolish.
Although many monsters stood before them, she wasn't completely incapable of dealing with them; it would just come at a cost. Her mana reserves were substantial, if carefully managed.
However, the demon behind them didn't give them time to discuss; the wall of thorns broke quickly, and the monster opened its massive maw, spewing out a black breath that reeked of decay and death.
"Careful!"
Kurtz pushed Serie away, but the explosion's shockwave sent him flying over ten meters.
His entire body burned with pain, ribs screaming in protest, and before he could speak, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed out.
But he ignored it, shouting towards Serie not far away: "Go!"
The metallic taste filled his mouth, but concern for her overrode everything else.
Then he provoked the demon: "Come and chase me if you dare!" His voice carried across the clearing, raw with challenge and desperation.
Seeing this delicious food provoked him so, the demon raged once more and prepared to pursue, but the sound of an explosion behind him made him stop.
The air itself seemed to thicken with magical pressure.
The elf's magic power began to surge throughout her body; he could clearly see the mana emanating from the opponent continuously increasing, growing brighter with each passing second.
"Hmm? She still hid her strength?"
Although the demon felt somewhat surprised, he didn't pay too much attention, as he commanded hundreds of monsters and the pieced-together monster beside him; no matter how strong the opponent proved, she couldn't possibly defeat him.
However, just in case, he still ordered the monsters around him to attack Serie, while he alone pursued the fleeing Kurtz.
The hunt would prove more satisfying if he could savour it properly.
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