A Call From Ley (2)

[Careful!] The demon shouted in my mind, but I did not register it. 

I instinctively moved aside, barely avoiding the arrow as it cut a small wound on my cheek. However, I ignored it and shouted in my mind.

'Ley!? Can you hear me? Where are you!? Ley!'

Unfortunately, no matter how much I shouted, Ley did not reply.

I soon realized that my thoughts could not reach her.

[Now is not the time for this. Focus!] 

I ignored the demon and continued trying to reach out to Ley.

In the meantime, more arrows flew toward me. I somehow managed to avoid them, even though two of them left small cuts on my skin.

'Dammit!' I cursed in my mind and felt my irritation surging. 'This bastard! I will definitively kill him!'

[… Brother, I'm not feeling well… P-Please come to help me…] I heard Ley's voice again.

The voice sounded slightly broken, as though something was interfering with the message, but I was sure it was Ley.

I would never mistake her.

'Something happened to her. I must find her quickly.'

[Calm down. If you don't focus, we will be in trouble. Hurry up and use your mana to expel the mana from the arrows that entered your body. Do you want to be contaminated too?]

The demon's voice helped me to regain my composure. I hurriedly followed his instructions and expelled the mana that entered my body through the cuts.

"Demon, I need to find my sister. Do you have a way?"

[…]

"Fuck! Do you have a way or not!?"

[I do.] The demon sighed. [Judging from the mana fluctuation, it's coming from the north. As long as she continues trying to communicate with you, I can pinpoint her location.]

"The north it is." 

Without hesitating, I kicked the ground and rushed off.

But as though waiting for that moment, two mana arrows flew toward me.

The arrows were deadly accurate, sealing my movements. I was forced to use my spear to block one of them and avoid the other.

However, although the arrows did not hurt me, they fueled my irritation.

"Damn, bastard! Demon, where is he!?"

[To your right.] The demon said with a sigh.

I immediately rushed toward the place the demon indicated.

However, my opponent was crafty. Before I could reach him, he had already moved away while shooting arrows to slow me down.

[Brother… H-Hurry up… I don't know how long I can resist.]

"This piece of shit!"

Anxious and irritated, I tried to ignore the hidden enemy, but every time I tried to leave, he would attack me, forcing me to stop.

That repeated several times, making me feel like I was going crazy.

[Calm down. He is doing it on purpose.]

I know, but how can I calm down when Ley is in danger?

Eventually, I snapped.

"GET LOST!!!"

Roaring, I released a burst of mana infusing all my killing intent in it.

The roar blew away everything nearby. Several small trees were partially unrooted and a tier-one alligator close to me froze in fear.

At the same time, I managed to feel a faint presence stiffening briefly almost two hundred meters away.

'I got you!'

Enraged, I infused my spear with as much mana and lightning as I could and threw it with all my strength.

The spear cut through the air at great speed while leaving behind a trail of lightning and destruction.

The next second–

*BOOM!!!*

A terrifying explosion blew away everything around the place where the spear landed.

Unfortunately, when I arrived, I failed to find the person attacking me.

Instead, I found a small pool of blood on the ground beside the spear.

[It looks like you hit him, but it was not enough to incapacitate him.]

I clicked my tongue while pulling my spear. Then, I left the place and headed toward my sister.

[Are you not going to chase him? He must be nearby.]

"I don't have time for this now. Finding Ley is the most important."

The demon sighed and nodded.

[I understand.]

[… Brother… Where are you…?]

"Don't worry, Ley. I'll be there soon."

…

Meanwhile, an auburn-haired girl was crouching on the ground while holding her head in pain.

"… Brother… Where are you…?" She murmured while holding back her tears. "I want to see you."

All of a sudden, an alligator appeared.

The four-meter-long creature roared with bloodshot eyes while looking at Ley. It then lunged at her with a speed unimaginable for such a large creature.

However, when it seemed that the creature was going to kill the girl, it suddenly froze.

It then started to trash in pain while hitting its head against the ground, as though trying to yank out whatever was stuck on its head.

The creature roared in pain in anguish for several seconds. It looked in Ley's direction asking for clemency and forgiveness, but the pain did not disappear.

Instead, it became stronger and stronger.

Until abruptly, the alligator stopped moving.

With a gaze full of despair, it slowly closed its eyes and its breathing faded away.

Oblivious to this, the girl continued holding her head in pain while calling out to her brother.

Ignoring the dozens of corpses that at some point had surrounded her.