First Kill

It was a creature with shriveled black skin and a gaunt frame. It was human, but at the same, it wasn't as if all of its humanity was stripped away.

Few strands of black, greasy hair was all that was left on its scalp. And its eyes, as black as they can be, swirled with excitement as if it finally found prey that it could play with.

"Run! Go!" Batu shouted, running away as fast as possible.

The demon released a ear-piercing scream, crawling from the roof to the ground to give chase. Batu glanced over his shoulders, and his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets.

It was catching up fast.

"Hey, can you use your [Illusion] skill?"

"On it!" Louise quickly waved her wand out to cast the skill.

[Cast Unsuccessful! Monster level is too high!]

"It won't work, Batu!"

"Dammit!" Batu cursed out. It seemed like he needed to find another way to deal with this monster.

As they made their way to the end of the street, the trio suddenly came upon a large barricade built from collapsed debris. A dead end.

"No..." Batu muttered out, dropping the shovel. He rushed towards the barricade, throwing small pieces of rubble to the side. Alas, this was nothing but a fool's errand.

Soon, a large shadow slowly loomed over them as the demon approached; it's grin still as wide as ever.

"I'm tired of all this running!" Chin gripped tightly onto his pickaxe. "I'd say we just fight the damn thing!"

They were cornered now. It was either do or die now; either it was that thing or them.

"I guess we really have no choice," Batu picked up the shovel and turned around, coming face-to-face with nightmare personified.

This time, he wasn't going to run away.

"Hey, Louise," he smirked at her. "I want you to show me what a Vallière can do."

"You don't need to tell me twice," she answered back with a smile of her own. Her brown cape fluttered gracefully behind her.

"Good. When I give ya the go, I want you to blast the shit out of that thing to kingdom come."

The monster let out another scream. Dust spewed into the air as it began to charge at them.

"Let's go, Chin!"

"Right behind ya!"

Batu would need to buy some time for Louise to charge up her spell. Meanwhile, Louise stood behind with her eyes closed as she started her chant.

"Eoru, Sunu, Firu, Yarunsaka, Onu, Sunu..."

As she chanted, a small, glowing white orb formed in front of her, wriggling and pulsing as it grew.

The smiling demon had its eyes set on Batu, swiping its sharp claws in an attempt to end the battle quickly.

"Urgh!" Batu managed to block it by a hair's breadth with his shovel.

However, the demon's strength was just too much for him and the shovel snapped in half. He was quickly thrown to the ground.

The demon went on the approach; to rip and tear down on Batu with wild lust. Batu tried to move away, but most of his escape routes were blocked by it.

"Aren't ya forgettin' about me!" Chin shouted as he appeared behind the demon, impaling his pickaxe into its shoulders.

"Uriu, Ru, Radao," Louise continued to chant. As of now, the glowing orb had grown to the size of her head. She was ready. All she needed now was Batu's command.

Meanwhile, the demon roared out in pain. In rage, it swung its arm out, viscously clawing at Chin.

"ARGH!" Chin was sent flying towards the ground. Three bloody gashes had been left on his chest. He was overwhelmed with an intense burning sensation and let out another agonizing scream.

Soon, the demon stood over Chin, crouching down on all fours as it leaned its head closer to him. Thick coat of saliva splashed onto Chin's face as its mouth unhinged open, exposing razor sharp teeth.

"Chin!" Batu cried out. He had to save him quick. However, he was too far away to reach him on time. He won't be able to make it!

No. He could.

Chin nervously gulped as the demon's teeth came closer to his throat.

"I guess this is it for me, huh," a defeated smile graced his face. Chin did all that he could, despite everything that happened. He just hope that it would be quick and painless.

"Get the hell away from him!" Batu suddenly appeared, tackling the demon into the wall. He had used [Teleport] to instantly close the distance between them. Now, he needed to end this quick.

"Do it, Louise!" Batu shouted at her. "Do it now!"

"B-but, you're in the way..."

"Don't worry about me and take the shot!" he struggled to hold the demon back.

Batu had to use all of his strength just to hold it in place. However, he couldn't keep it at bay for much longer.

"I-I can't," she shook her head. "You'll die if I do."

"Just trust me!"

Gritting her teeth, Louise aimed her wand at them and yelled, "EXPLOSION!"

The pulsing white orb shot forth with incredible speed. Then, in a split second...

BOOM!

The blast rocked the surrounding area like a violent quake. Dust spewed out into the air, shrouding the blast site in a thick, cloudy veil.

Out in the distance, the elven girl who had saved Batu stopped running and looked back towards the sound of a faint explosion.

Her frosty blue eyes narrowed for a moment before she turned back and sprinted towards the castle. She was almost there.

Then, there was silence.

"God damn..." Chin violently coughed. He couldn't see anything at all due to the lingering smoke and dust. That was one heck of an explosion. He truly hoped that Batu was okay.

On the other hand, Louise was afraid, almost on the verge of tears as she desperately looked around for any signs of Batu. However, she couldn't see any traces of him at all.

She didn't want to send out that explosion. Not when he was in front of it. But, she had to follow his command as a servant.

But what kind of servant was she to go through with that order knowing that her master's life was on the line?

"Batu!" Louise called out to him in the thick of smoke and dust.

No response.

"Batu!" she cried out again. Tears threatened to pour from her eyes when silence called out to her.

Suddenly, a blurry figure walking out of the dust cloud.

It was Batu.

"Man, that was a close one," Batu dusted off the grime and dust from his clothes. He was so glad that he had chosen the [Teleport] skill.

When Louise saw Batu, she couldn't keep a smile from forming and ran towards him.

"Hey, Louise."

"YOU IDIOT!" Louise suddenly threw a hard punch at his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Then, she tightly embraced him. "Don't ever try something like that ever again."

"I'n sorry that I made you worried," Batu embraced her back. It felt nice to have someone that worried and cared for him.

Batu felt a hand over his shoulder and looked down to see Chin smiling at him.

"Ya did good, kid," Chin gave him a thumbs up.

"Hehe, thanks."

[You have defeated Level 4 Smile Demon and gained a new level!]

[Your summon, Louise Vallière, gained a new level!]

[+100 points]

[Level 4 Smile Demon dropped: Lesser Healing Potion x1 , Lesser Mana Potion x2, Common Skill Book x1]