Insane

Thin threads of light coalesced around the large blade of the claymore that Edin now wielded in his right hand. Eyes widened in excitement or intrigue at the sight of the Captain's glowing sword, the villagers wondering what magic the Knight was using while the Knight Seedlings couldn't believe their luck. They were about to see a Knight use Aura, an offshoot of mana that warriors were able to use once they reached the Sixth Stage of Node Enhancing, the ability to use Aura was one of the reasons why the gap between the Fifth Stage and the Sixth Stage was so large in the first place. Aura had many applications that were important for warriors, which included increasing the speed of node enhancement, increasing the regeneration rate of the body, boosting the strength of attacks and finally, the ability to use weapon arts.

Currently, Edin was coating his claymore in his Aura, a common use of Aura which simply improved the cutting power of his sword. Many of the Seedlings believed that it was overkill to use Aura against a powerless person this was even after seeing her trick the Captain into launching her towards her father, this belief quickly changed after they saw the faint red energy surrounding the figure of the demon. Edin had been planning to use his Aura, due to his estimation of the girl's strength, to quickly eliminate the demon but seeing the faint red energy that he assumed to be Demonic Mana, he grit his teeth in annoyance. The Demonic Mana appeared after the candidate killed her father, which meant that she had received something that allowed her to manipulate the evil energy for her act of patricide.

This was the third abnormality that Edin had seen during this situation, only the demonised and demons can manipulate Demonic Mana, and even though he referred to the black-haired girl as a demon, she showed none of the usual signs of demonisation. The being that was the cause of all of this was going to cause a big shift in the hierarchy of power, the Knight was sure of it. Clearing his head, the large man decided to stop worrying about the future and focused on what he could do in the present, which as of now was killing the future Devil Apostle before him. Walking towards the demon, Edin concentrated all his senses including his mana sense upon her, not wanting to miss a single one of her moves while the Seedlings moved around attempting to enclose the two combatants in a circle.

Faye realised what the Knights were planning and knew full well that she couldn't allow herself to get entrapped, she may be strong but that wouldn't mean she would place herself in a position that would require her to be constantly wary of her back while battling the large Knight. But what would be the best move in these circumstances? Should she close the distance between the large Knight and try to push him back? Or maybe she could increase the distance between the other knights so they wouldn't be able to entrap her in the first place? Suddenly, an idea popped into Faye's head, an idea for a move that would allow her to prevent the circle from forming while also culling the number of enemies, however, she needed a weapon. At that very moment, the darkness began to whisper to her again as if it was anticipating this very thought to pass through her mind, passing on information that conveniently resolved Faye's need for a weapon.

There were three points from which the knights were moving, the large Knight was moving down the centre on his own whilst the Seedling group had split themselves into two, with each group moving from either side of the large Knight. The two groups were moving in lines with each knight moving behind the other except the group leaders. This choice of movement had a glaring disadvantage, it left everyone open to enemy attacks hence why this was only used when they had to prevent a single enemy from trying to escape. Additionally, with the presence of Captain Edin, the Seedlings doubted that the demon would even be able to get near them.

This is why Ryder was shocked when the demon suddenly appeared before him, lunging towards him with a closed-finger palm thrust, his title as a Knight Seedling however wasn't for show as he quickly moved the daggers he held towards the demon's head. The dagger user was sure that the demon's attack would land first but even if she had strength on the same level as Captain Edin's, the palm thrust would at most wind him which was something he could handle. Confidence could be seen in the young assassin's eyes through the holes of his face-like visor as imagined the reward that would come with being the person who killed a Devil Apostle Candidate. As he tried to focus on directing his daggers to the demon's vital points, from the corner of his eye he noticed a faint red energy blade forming around her palm. His confidence was shattered as shock took its place which was quickly replaced with anguish as the energy blade pierced through his thin armour and dug into his stomach. 

Despite this injury, Ryder didn't stop his attack, now was the perfect chance to kill the demon, she was in point-blank range; it would be embarrassing if he missed such a golden opportunity. Unexpectedly, the demon grasped the assassin's waist using her free arm and threw him towards the spear that was charging straight towards her. The spear user could only look in horror as his weapon punched through his comrade's back and came straight out of his chest leaving Ryder staring at the spear blade that stuck out his chest in confusion, his mind unable to comprehend what had just happened. Faye raced towards the spear user seeking to take advantage of his shock to take him down as well, unfortunately, the knight had already pulled his spear out of Ryder's corpse, his eyes bursting with rage directed towards the demon charging towards him.

The spearman firmly planted his feet on the ground, his knees slightly bent as he pointed his spear towards the charging demon. Although she was fast, the demon moved in a straight line which to the spear user was the equivalent of a stationary enemy, he wouldn't miss. He just had to make sure he hit one of her vital points, and there was no vital point more perfect to target than the heart. Within seconds, the demon entered his range and without hesitation he thrust forward, his spear tip searching for the demon's heart. With great force, the spear tip buried itself into the demon's flesh, but the spearman wasn't pleased at all, he had missed his mark and hit her shoulder instead. The attack should have stopped the demon in its tracks. It should have. So why he was holding his neck, trying to stop blood from spraying out? In his final moments, the spearman could only watch as the demon pulled his spear out of her shoulder, blood began to spurt from her wound as the faint red energy around her began to darken. Part of the energy concentrated around her shoulder, stopping the wound from bleeding any further.

But the spearman's eyes had never left Faye's countenance, he had seen how pleasure had filled her face as she removed the spear, she was enjoying this? There was only a single thought in his mind as he breathed his last.

'She's insane'