I Can Fight, Too! - III

The one in the middle had the weakest Constitution, which meant the weakest defence. He could take him.

Kai took a spear off the ground and threw it at the demon on the left, who was slower than the one on the right. While the demon defended, he lunged at the demon in the middle while risking being attacked by the one on the right.

He was hit by the mace from the demon on his right, yet he endured it. The crack on his rib became bigger. Another five minutes dropped off his timer.

*19:54:39*

Kai swung his right hand, which was blocked by the demon in the middle. Albeit being slightly weaker than mid-tier demons, these veterans were not to be underestimated. However, Kai wanted to finish it fast, nonetheless.

As the fight dragged on, his determination could wane. After all, he didn't want to succumb to a darker path if possible. But if he fell into a state of contemplation at this point, it could spell his end. After losing so many demons while pursuing himself, they surely wouldn't be kind to Kai.

Kai had predicted the demon would block his attack, he was prepared. He thrust his remaining left hand akin to a spear at the demon and it connected. With determined attacks, Kai's attacks using his hands were better than regular weapons.

Kai felt his hand tear through flesh and veins in the demon's shoulder as it screamed in pain. Kai continued in a circular motion and slashed its throat. The blood spewed and temporarily blinded the demon on the right just as it was preparing to hit Kai again.

The demon in the middle tried to keep the blood from flowing out, but his own blood had coloured him from a dark shade of blue to red already. The demon slowly collapsed while making gurgling sounds, indignance clearly visible in his eyes. His body fell next to one of Kai's zombies.

As soon as killing the demon, Kai managed to dodge the other two demons and ran away from them with a cruel laugh. Unbeknownst to them, this was a nerve-wracking experience for Kai and his non-existent nerves.

The remaining two demons, seeing the pitiful death of their comrade, got madder. The minutes-long camaraderie they had improved here was already seeping out as an unbridled rage. They ran after Kai with all their might.

Kai did a whole circle with the demons running after him. The more Kai run, the angrier they became. Their crazed eyes only wanted to smash this creature to smithereens, but they also never forgot Lady Naamah's wishes. They would break its ribs but stop right before destroying it.

"Stop there, cowardly skeleton!" yelled one of the demons as it was stopped in its tracks.

It was Kai's zombie which had collapsed for no reason before. The demons had simply assumed it had accumulated enough damage and didn't think too hard about it. The zombie bit into the demon's leg. Kai returned and unleashed a flurry of blows against the demon. It looked to the demon as if the skeleton had been waiting for this.

Before the slower demon could catch up, the demon succumbed to its wounds and died a horrible death under the attacks of both the zombie and Kai.

"We have been idiots!" yelled out the remaining demon as it turned around to run away. It had been breathing heavily and it had taken too much damage from the prolonged battle.

It no longer wanted neither the honour of bringing the skeleton back nor the favour of Lady Naamah. The demon convinced itself that just by bringing more information, it would be doing a good job.

"Don't let him escape," the Crow sent another mental message to Kai. As Kai naturally absorbed the magic around him, it made sending him messages with a medium as magic a lot easier.

After killing the second demon, Kai ran after the remaining demon. Their speed was around the same, but the demon was quite fatigued. It managed to escape this "oasis", inside the unforgiving jungle.

As Kai got closer, he thought about letting it escape. He gradually slowed down and let the demon open some distance from himself. If it escaped, he wouldn't be at fault.

"Even that crazy bitch shouldn't be able to say anything, then!" Kai started convincing himself. "I did all I could, after all!"

As the demon was almost lost between the trees, a flash of yellow appeared behind it. With a shriek, the demon attacked it, but to no avail. The Crow grabbed the demon by the throat and squeezed. The demon died shortly after, not being able to make any more sounds as it passed away.

The Crow's yellow eyes fell on Kai. She briskly started walking towards him.

…

Revered Scholar Barbas boasted a bigger frame than his colleague Aldan. Both were almost high-tier demons who had chosen the way of the pen, not the sword. Their race belonged to mid-tier demons based on strength, but their bloods were so pure that not even high-tier demons dismissed them easily.

Barbas had blackened skin but almost always wore robes that covered his face and body. He had two small horns protruding from his head. Differing from low-tier demons, he boasted enough strength to crush a regular human with one hand. He enjoyed it, too.

After hearing the news from the demon who managed to get back alive, he sent word to Aldan, the other scholar demon.

Aldan preferred to always stay by the side of Lady Naamah whenever possible. He was a demon still controlled by the fickle nature of his youth. Even though he was smart, Barbas was a lot older than him, he was wiser.

"Tell Aldan to get here at once," Barbas said to one of his messengers as he mumbled under his breath, "That greenhorn humiliated himself, trying to impress Lady Naamah."

Not long after, Aldan entered Barbas' tent. He had deduced the happenings from the message already, coming in with a sour face.

Even though Aldan's skin was similar to low-tier demons, it was still turquoise in comparison to the dark blue skin of a low-tier demon. He had a sharp chin and eyebrows that were black slits on his face. His face was almost akin to that of lizardmen. He was quite conscious of this fact, and was known to have executed a low-tier demon for making a comment about it behind his back.

"I assume you want to be involved in catching that skeleton?" Aldan asked, his dislike for Barbas apparent.

Barbas was sitting on his chair and his desk had multiple rare artefacts and classified documents. He blew air out of his nose and spoke whilst enunciating each word:

"Call your minions. I am taking control."

Aldan was taken aback, "You can't order me!" he lashed out, albeit with some fear in his heart.

Even though Barbas wasn't a warrior, this didn't mean he was weak. Aldan clearly knew that he was far stronger than himself. Even though they boasted the same status, as advisors to Lady Naamah, as the Revered Scholar, no one would go after him for killing the lesser-known advisor, himself.

"Gather the mid-tier demons and the incubi commanders. We will deal with this issue at once," Barbar spoke in a solemn tone, completely ignoring Aldan.