Little Demons (01)

There was a rhythmic sound of crunching in the air as the quartet moved around. When Teta hopped, the scarred imp would crawl under him and act as a footstep. The two were in sync, almost acting as one unit. The only female imp among them seemed to be much faster than the two, running side by side with them and acting as more of a lookout in case anything went awry. Alban was pretty impressed with the teamwork, but he found it a shame that he couldn't exactly replicate it...there was only one of him after all.

At times, the imps would pause in their movements. Whenever they stopped, they would take the time to search the area for tracks, staring intensely at them. Alban saw a single line that was slightly curved for the most part, and he instantly recognized it as a floratine's tracks. As he got ready to follow it, the female imp tugged at his shorts.

"Not there. Bigger one there!" She pointed at the sand a bit further away from the floratine traces, where there was a vestige completely unknown to Alban. There were three depressions in the sand, the front two looked like they were made by claws, while the last was a bit further behind it. The trace looked exactly like a circle. As he was getting ready to inquire, he saw the imp scurrying after her fellows, and proceeded to follow them once again.

The traces were followed for a long time, but the imps did not falter. They substituted their positions when one of them seemed tired, and Alban helped them out a bit by sharing some cloud beads he collected along the way. He couldn't have his guides pass out on him, after all...and they looked really hungry. Looking at the imps again, he soon saw them stop and arrange themselves in a triangular formation. Two were in the back, while Teta was in the front, hunched down on all fours. The opponent was in sight.

It was an odd looking creature the likes of which Alban had never seen before. The tajarans, the floratines, and the imps resembled something he knew, but this creature didn't. The monster was only a bit taller than him, but he saw a gaping maw across its front side that was as tall as Teta. The creature looked like a triangle, with two sides extending down into claws reminiscent of a bird's. They extended down and took the shape of legs...it almost looked similar to a harpy's. The back leg was like a peg, it looked wooden and circular, and there was no foot at all. The monster slowly turned around to look at Alban and the imps, and a figure that looked like a young woman grew out of its top.

[GROARRKK]

It was fierce. It was loud. And it was clearly the monster Alban heard at the start of his life in Nightmare. It didn't seem as powerful as he thought it was, he considered that first monster as an adult by now. Maybe it was something similar to that adult, seeing as its roar wasn't exactly similar to what Alban remembered. He quickly Inspected the monster, hoping he would at least know the species name.

{Isoceles Banshee}

Beware their mouths.

Estimated Attack: 10

Estimated Defense: 5

Alban didn't know how much health Teta, the scarred imp, and the girl had— but he was sure they wouldn't be able to take a single bite from the isoceles banshee. He was getting ready to leap and save them at a moment's notice, justifying it with excuses like 'can't have them die, they have to show me their tactics.' It was poor rationale, the truth was that he was a bit happy to have someone to talk too, no matter how poor they were at it.

The imps didn't back down from the scream directed at them, although their knees seemed to be shaking a bit. Their eyes were sharp and crisp, reflecting a stable and focused resolution. Teta dashed forward, crawling at first but then twirling and hopping in the air as the banshee's claws swung at him. The movements of both monsters were quick and distinct, but the imp was more dexterous in his movements, at times jumping on the banshee's scaly legs. Avoiding the mouth at the front, he clung onto the bottom of the banshee.

As Teta was maneuvering and drawing the ire of the enemy, the scarred imp crept around its back. It scaled the pole-like leg and held onto it, his own claws gleaming but not yet striking. The female imp hung back, and to Alban's surprise she conjured chunks of rock and hurled it at the eyes of the banshee, diverting its attention when it seemed to come close to knocking off Teta.

A sharp whistle came from the leader imp's mouth, and the three soon became more frenzied in the attack. Teta bit into the banshee's fleshy underbelly, ripping and tearing and eating it alive. The scarred imp jumped directly on the banshee's back and started digging into its flesh as well, shoveling the meat into his mouth. And the girl imp was not lagging behind either, throwing the rocks directly at the mouths of the banshee, preventing it from doing much other than struggle. It seemed like they had this in the bag to Alban..until they didn't.

The banshee was howling and screaming in pain. Perhaps it was unable to attack physically, but the poor imps did not consider a mental attack. The banshee tilted back on its strong pole leg, claws flailing in the air while its shrieks rang in the imp's ears. The claws directly pointed at Teta, ready to impale him as the howls gave them a reprieve from their onslaught. That was when Alban stepped in, aiding in the battle.

A scorching red fist smacked the claw away, while vines came out to restrain it. As Alban partly bound the banshee, he retrieved his spear from his inventory. Holding onto the claw with his right hand and legs wrapped around it, he sent the javelin speeding towards the banshee's upper body; its target the abdomen.

A sickening crunch rang out as the javelin easily pierced through the banshee's stomach, while Alban tightened his hands and broke the claw he was using as a support. While falling, he quickly righted his position and aimed a fireball directly at the mouth of the banshee's lower body, ending it once and for all. Surprisingly, the banshee didn't fade, and the imps were soon out of their stupor. They danced around and laughed, until Teta stared intensely at Alban.

"You god? Bloody god?"

"Um...no? Do you even know what a god is?" Alban wondered if the screams caused them brain damage. That would be...unfortunate, they could hardly speak now! The scarred imp, the lesser spoken of the three stared at him as well.

"Bloodbath. You god of bath. Wild bath."

"Yeah! Yeah! God of bath. Wildman bath god!" The feminine voice rang out in agreement, while Teta was nodding his head in support. As Alban was confused of their claims and about to refute them, the voice of the system rang out in his head.

"User has been acknowledged as a god by the imps. As this is the first title the user has gained, coupled with the records of the user's actions, a title has been made."

<God Of Bath>

When bathing in the blood of a freshly killed enemy, faint chance to gain some of their stats.

'Is that really how this works!?"