How a Demon Slayer fights

Wrath turned her back to Keita and started giving orders in Orcish to the Orcs that were pouring out of the ruined walls to watch the fight. Her helmet still in her hand. Keita was saw the opportunity but he hesitated. He was dumbstruck by Wrath's demeanor.

'All it will take is a dagger to the back of her head. I won't even have to use Needle.' he thought as his eyes were glued at Wrath's back. He never practiced throwing daggers before but he was confident none the less. So why was he hesitant?

"That was a good decision." he heard Wrath's voice. She turned back to Keita as she continued. "If you tried a surprise attack like last time, my Orcs would have hunted you down to the last man. Single combat is sacred to them. Even if you got away with your disappearing act, they will take all their frustration to the rest of the humans."

Keita was drenched in cold sweat.

'Who is this person?' Keita questioned.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party were still backing away. Every time they stopped, Reika would pull them even further.

"Isn't this enough distance already?" Koba asked.

"We should just leave."Reika responded. She was pale as a sheet and visibly shaking.

The others couldn't feel Wrath's magic power but they could at least understand that she was a monster.

"Just how strong is her magic power?" asked Nao. He was very worried. Not about Keita but for Reika who was terrified by just being close to this Demon.

"At least as strong as Ian. Maybe stronger..." she responded.

"Is Ian strong?" Anne asked Nao. Her voice was calm. She was making sure to hide all of her hate and anger for Demons as best as she could.

"He is a Dragonslayer from our home. At the same level as the Human heroes, the Seven Deadly Sins and the Three Guardians of the Forest." Nao responded.

The Demi-humans gave the tittle Dragonslayer to those who surpassed the dragons. Not only to the ones who have actually slayed one. It meant that they had the ability to slay a dragon, making them the strongest existence in this continent.

The others were speechless. They knew that Demons were stronger than most races in terms of magic power but this wasn't even close to a regular Demons level of strength.

"Is she one of the Seven...?" Lia asked in both astonishment and horror.

"I don't know... I haven't heard any of the Seven invading for more than 200 years." Nao answered.

"We should just leave. That's what we agreed right? If things get too dangerous we will all just leave him behind! This was a fool's errand from the beginning!" Reika cried.

The others were all silent. It was true that this was too much of a hurdle. Keita was going to die and they might be in danger really soon. All they could do now was get a head start.

"They are about to start..." Lia said.

Not long afterwards, Wrath started to use Skills one after the other. Keita also used Shroud and a brilliant light enveloped his blade. Now that both of them used their Skills, everyone could feel the overwhelming difference between the two. Anne and the others turned pale instantly and their hearts filled with despair. No one was moving.

"You guys should go." Nao said decisively.

"What are you talking about? We all must go." the rest started arguing. But Nao did not change his mind. Anne was the only one who was still silent.

"Aren't you scared?" she finally asked.

Nao took a moment to think about his answer. He probably haven't figured out the reason he wanted to stay yet. It took him a moment to really understand his own decision.

"I am. My hand hasn't stopped shaking since I felt that monster's magic. But aren't you guys curious at all? He said he was confident and seeing how he hasn't started screaming and running away - as I would have if I was standing too close to that monster - I would like to believe in his confidence." he said. After a small pause he continued "I want to see it. How a human can kill one of the Seven. You can say my curiosity outweighs my fear, for now"

Reika felt like crying and smiling at the same time.

'What a human way of thinking' she thought with a bit of sorrow in her heart. None the less she made her decision a long time ago. She was going to stay by Nao's side, no matter what.

"How a human wins against one of the strongest Demons..." Anne repeated deep in thought. "That's true. I also want to see it. Or at least believe it." she decided.

Koba and Lia looked at each other. Koba felt responsible for Lia since she was still in recovery.

'If only I was stronger this wouldn't have happened.' he thought. He was in a dilemma. If by some miracle Keita won, he was going to need healing immediately. But if the Orcs or that Demon didn't get enough violence, they were going to be dragged into this. At that time, Lia was going to be in the most danger. He couldn't ask her to stay just so he can fulfill his responsibilities as a Priest and he couldn't ask her to leave alone. The road was dangerous after all, not only from stray Orcs or Goblins but mainly other humans.

"I am also staying." Lia made the decision for him.

'I really need to become a better Cleric...' Koba thought as he looked at Keita's back.

"So am I." he said.

They all have made their minds. All there was left is witness Keita and pray.

Wrath has used a dozen of Skills before she was ready to fight. Keita was patiently waiting. He could identify all the Skills Wrath used just by noticing the movement of the magic power around her body. There were basic strength and defense augment Skills that most classes could use. Two things stood out to him. The first one was a Berserker Skill - Wrath's class - called Blood for Blood. The more blood the Berserker came in contact with - her own or her opponents - the more magic power she gathered. It was a Skill meant for long fight that made Berserkers really tough to deal with in large scale battles. She was expecting this fight to drag on and to get injured. A choice too rational for the Wrath he knew. The other wasn't a Skill but and absence of one. She did not use a Skill on her weapon, meaning it was a magic one. Of course he already knew that Wrath used a magic weapon, as she did in the past but the axe was different than the one he knew from his days as a Demon.

'She is too different. Just what happened in the few days that changed her so much...?' Keita thought. He started questioning half the plans he made to provoke Wrath and take advantage of any opening.

"Ah, that's right." Wrath said. "I still haven't asked your name."

'Asking a human's name?' Keita was astonished. 'Since when did she give a shit about some human name?' when he was a Demon he never asked for such a thing. Most of the heroes like to introduce themselves before they fought him but he could never remember them. That was also true for all the Seven Deadly Sins or maybe all Demons. They never bothered to remember or ask for a mortal's name.

"I am Keita Raigon. Bronze rank Aerch Militia soldier." he introduced himself in the same way the Heroes he fought in the past did. "General Wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins, prepare yourself." He took his stance and prepared to charge.

Wrath simply smiled and shouted with determination:

"Then come!"