Demonslayers (3)

However, in the end, cold rationality won over the seething rage in the Carapace Demon's mind.

Instead of wasting time trying to get to the four tiny humans, he suddenly rolled on the ground, hoping to use the sand to douse the flames dancing on his carapace.

The whole island shook, almost throwing Isaac off the branch.

'Crap.'

Why did the bastard have to be so smart?

He wasn't even a devil yet.

For a moment, Isaac entertained the idea that the demon was going to succeed in extinguishing the fire before the dwellers of the depths had noticed it.

Though it did not die from the fire in the novel, he hoped because of the amount of oil he added there might be a change.

Sadly he miscalculated.

But he didn't have to worry.

Suddenly, Nephis turned to face the dark surface of the sea.

Her face paled slightly.

Sunny was a second late to react, but almost instantly, he too felt a strange change in the world around them.

It was hard to describe with words.

The rustle of the scarlet leaves suddenly felt quieter, the sound of the waves crashing against the shores of the ashen island louder.

It was as though some invisible pressure descended on the world, making everything feel slightly different.

Then, the air became colder, and a wall of thick fog appeared above the dark waters.

The Carapace Demon had also noticed this change.

He stopped trying to douse the flames and rose from the sand, the oil still burning on his carapace.

Not paying it any attention anymore, the demon turned to the sea, a sense of grim resignation radiating from his posture.

Then, it was replaced by dark resolve and frenzied bloodlust.

The fog slowly moved, crawling onto the island.

Isaac felt shivers run down his spine, realizing that it was flowing against the wind.

The sound of waves was now muffled and changed, almost imperceptibly so.

And there, in the fog, something was moving. He could almost make out a figure.

It was... it was...

Suddenly, Isaac grabbed Cassia's small palm covering his eyes. With his voice trembling with tension and fear with a touch of excitement, he whispered.

"Don't look. No matter what happens, don't open your eyes."

They froze, obediently shutting his eyes.

A cold sense of fright wrapped itself around The cohort's hearts.

They had never heard Isaac's voice sound like this before.

Isaac slowly removed his hand. Blinded, Cassia gripped his hand harder...

At least that was what he thought until the cold fog touched his skin.

Then, in the muffled silence, they heard Isaac's voice again.

Only this time, it was distorted and coming from the wrong direction.

"Don't look... don't look... don't look..."

Sunny gulped, feeling his hair stand on end.

The sound of the mischievous Isaac's distorted voice echoed in the fog, surrounding him from all sides.

Instead of growing quieter, it was becoming louder, overlapping over itself.

"Don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look!"

Then, it grew even louder still and turned into a cacophony of screams, crashing into Sunny like a wave, sounding nothing like what human vocal cords could ever produce.

"DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T!!!"

Sunny stood paralyzed, stunned by the onslaught of inhuman shrieks.

All he could do was try not to fall to his knees. And then, when his resilience was almost broken...

Everything suddenly stopped.

The abrupt silence enveloped the world, making him exhale with relief.

It was over.

A few seconds later, Isaac whispered into his ear.

After hearing the clear sound of Isaac's voice, Sunny was about to do as he told...

Then he stopped.

His voice did not sound terrifying and distorted.

It was just as usual, mischievous and melodic.

It even came from the right direction.

But... something about it was wrong.

'Wh—what...'

He lingered, keeping his eyes closed.

Why was it so calm?

Why didn't he feel the warmth of his breath as Isaac leaned close to whisper into his ear?

And how... how could he lean?

Isaac was tall yes but... Sunny could not explain it with words but the height was wrong.

Sunny froze, afraid to even breathe.

Isaac's clear, familiar voice repeated.

"Open your eyes... open..."

Then, mere centimeters away, it exploded with cold, malevolent authority.

"OPEN YOUR EYES!"

But he didn't.

A second passed, then another, then one more.

Each of them felt like an eternity.

Sunny trembled, practically feeling his body aging.

Finally, the voice returned.

But this time, it felt as though it was further away, withdrawing.

"No matter... no matter..."

Soon, he was able to hear the rustling of leaves and the sound of waves again.

He could also hear Cassie, Neph and Isaac's breathing ruggedly beside him.

It seemed that they were also assaulted by the terrifying mimic.

And also...

Somewhere beneath them, the Carapace Demon roared and hit his scythes against each other.

The loud clamor of steel resounded beneath the great tree, sending an almost palpable wave in all directions.

This wave seemed to expel the unnatural fog, creating an enormous sphere of clean air.

Sunny still kept his eyes shut.

In the next moment, the whole island trembled as the demon clashed with the unknown horror that had been hiding in the fog.

Something shattered with a deafening thunder, and the ground shook again, causing the branches of the great tree to sway.

With his hands trembling, Sunny wanted to outstretched them and grab onto his companions, drawing them close.

But then Sunny was pulled as he felt two other people slightly bump into him.

It was Cassia and Neph, Isaac had pulled all three of them into his embrace.

Sunny felt a weird feeling within his chest.

Yet he did not fight it off.

Because it felt... warm... comfy even.

Within the bear hug, they listened to the sounds of the furious battle and waited.

An eternity later, the fight between the Carapace Demon and the guest from the depths was over.

Silence had returned to the Ashen Barrow once again.