A Battle Of Patience

Fiddling with the speaker object in his hands, Duke let out another annoyed sigh as he sensed the hopeless teenager… standing right next to him.

Over the last few minutes, the teenager tried to get close as much as him, and Duke didn't say anything. But he was still on guard, thinking that the girl was a Fiend impersonating the human.

In the end, the girl didn't transform into a hideous and majestic Monster or Fiend.

She was still the same. 

"What's your name?"

The girl kept asking questions though.

Sometimes she answered the question that she had asked, sometimes asking ridiculous questions. She even asked if she was the rescuer she had been waiting for.

"My name is Kielle Forthringer."

Duke didn't bother answering her at all. There wasn't any reason at all. All he had to do was to stay quiet but for another hour, Rielle's mouth just wasn't stopping.

"You know, when I was a child, I liked unicorns. They are mystical creatures aren't they or just complete fables?"

"Can you shut up?"

Rielle's shivered as she looked sideways, her mood dampening. But to her surprise, Duke swiftly moved and carried her before moving to the east corridor, hiding there.

"Shut up for a second," Duke warned with a whisper while bringing Kielle down after seeing her nodding and staying in her place.

After warning her, Duke peeked his head at the corner of the corridor and saw three Fiends in the south direction walking towards the gate. Two Grade 1 like the two he had fought earlier and one Grade 2.

And now, it seems that grade 2 is a long-range Fiend since it was holding a dark, wooden staff. Its two Fiends in front were carrying both weapons that excel in direct combat, a sword and an axe.

The difference earlier is that the Fiends didn't have any weapons. Probably due to them chasing a frail, hopeless girl.

But now, these three Fiends seemed to belong to Monarchs of the Nether Realm as they were all wearing cuirass plate armor and a silver helmet which probably belonged to one of the ones I've written or something unknown.

'Now this is the real deal…' 

Duke shook his head before looking at Kielle.

"Hey, go as far as you can, and don't come back. I have to be here to protect the gate. I can't let them enter since I don't know who holds the lock and key of this thing."

Kielle's face contorted before biting her lips, "I will run away from here as I can and… thank you for watching over me."

"I don't remember doing it though."

Kielle stood up and started running more to the east, seeing her fading away as she shifted to the farthest right. Her running footsteps also disappeared but the ones from the Fiends didn't, as their steps halted for a moment.

Then, moved once again but this time, more careful.

Duke, on the other hand, lightly muttered something under his breath and a small portal appeared with a snake venturing out of it, slithering its lips before following Kielle.

After he was done, he fully focused his senses on the incoming enemies.

"Absolute Mind Technique: Ethereal State."

As he disappeared into the air, a soft sigh left his mouth.

…

"Stop." The Fiend with the dark wooden staff, wearing a light black robe, called out to its members, "For some reason, our last two men have disappeared right in this corridor. Now, I couldn't sense any of them."

"Maybe they returned after receiving an order from the Monarch?"

"No, I couldn't perceive anything that someone entered."

After answering the Fiend wielding a sword, the axe wielder Fiend assumed a defensive stance. The two followed suit, knowing the fact that they heard a sound earlier.

They kept walking and walking, only stopping once they were right in front of the gate.

Clink—!

"Huh, did you hear—"

Bang—!

The smoke hissed in the air as a bullet was shot at the silver helm of the sword wielder Fiend. Once the mist died down, the Fiend's fiery, red eyes looked at the perpetrator with full of malice.

Slash—!

Duke stepped back and watched his failed attack with an indifferent gaze. He looked at his opponents silently before turning around, dissipating in the air as he did.

"Compress!"

The grade 2 Fiend shouted as the two warriors squeezed all together, only one meter left till their armor touched each other.

The Fiend closed its eyes, muttering something under his mouth before a pale transparent barrier was formed around them.

"I'm going to call the Monarch here. Something isn't right. For some reason, this human had infiltrated the gate."

The sorcerer Fiend informed the two warriors calmly, knowing their enemy wasn't just some beginner. And the warriors agreed since it was the smartest option they could have.

'Curse Mark Manipulation: Marked Cursed Calling.'

The sorcerer Fiend was about to close his eyes when she suddenly saw an animal appearing out of a small portal. His eyes squinted, the same as the two warriors staring at what seemed to be a cute, white bunny hopping towards them.

"Deal with it."

The sorcerer then closed his eyes, trusting his group to divert the attention of the bunny away from them by scaring it using the sword or axe.

The bunny, on the other hand, just tilted its head before… speaking in the air as if it was trying to convey a message to someone.

"Give me a one week's dinner after this."

Thud—!

Standing right in front of the barrier that prevents outside forces from getting inside, the bunny angrily squinted its eyes. 

Strings of crack formulated at the ground it was in as the bunny's small body enlarged, up to the point it reached the top of the ceiling,  breaking everything in its way.

The two warriors stared at the bunny with a blank expression, which became much larger than them. The wild animal raised its furry, muscled arms before slamming them down at the barrier.

Bang—!

It kept banging and banging which resulted in the two warriors' ears to bleed, and clutching their hands onto it while  grimacing in pain.

Crack—!

"Guuuhh—! Jhakilo! Your barrier's breaking!" The sword Fiend warrior shouted in worry as he clutched the sword in his hand, readying for the battle.

Bang—!

The cracks around the barrier were even more damaged. Just a few more hits and it will be done. The axe Fiend wielder also appeared worried as he impatiently watched the sorcerer, Jhakilo, who was calling the Monarch in charge of the operation.

By the looks of it, he was also having a hard time for himself.

Crack—!

"Any minute now—!"

Before the sword Fiend wielder could continue, a sudden thought flashed in his mind, seeing the barrier was about to collapse.

'Shit…!'

Snap—!

Finally, the barrier shattered into pieces after one smash from the mad rabbit. He saw the animal once raising his hand again but a voice of assurance was heard on their back which was both perceived by him and the axe wielder Fiend.

  "I've contacted him already." Jhakilo opened his eyes as a wide smile formed on his lips, "Blow this place to pieces."

'Finally!' 

The worried expression of the two was gone, replacing it with overconfidence as both the sword and axe wielder Fiends put their attention to the mad rabbit.

Slash—!

In just a blink of an eye, the mad rabbit was cut into pieces with the nearby surroundings receiving a huge amount of aftershock.

Booooom—!

They weren't worried about the mad rabbit or the disappearing attacker from earlier. What they were worried about was Jhakilo's weakened state while he was delivering a message. And they also concluded the issue that had been bugging them both earlier — the suspicion around their head — was gone.

There was only one fool in this place and people from this world didn't infiltrate it yet. 

Once the place was cleared, creating a crate all around that establishment, stone debris, and collapsing walls and hallways were evident all around the place. In the middle, two war hunger warriors are stationed beside sorcerer Jhakilo once again.

"You can't hide now, you fool!"

Their senses were at the max, determining every air that passed through, everything that happened to fall on the ground, and every noise that was made due to the debris.

They wouldn't have to worry about their fall since they were on the ground floor of the residence they were in.

"Is he gone?" The axe wielder Fiend asked, waiting for confirmation from his superior, the sword wielder Fiend, and his superior's superior, Jhakilo.

And waiting for a minute… there was nothing. After a few more minutes, nothing still.

Even so, they didn't let their guard down. Jhakilo could've made a barrier just like he did earlier but he was too exhausted to use his power that even an ounce of energy was already taxing.

Knowing their superior was on that condition, they were on the highest guard. Another half an hour passed and finally, exhaustion took over Jhakilo as he sat down.

"I understand now. He must've escaped. The mad rabbit is a decoy. His actions earlier were a bit bizarre but since our order was to secure the gate, we'll be here. Klaer, guard the gate and… what's your name?"

"M-my name?" The axe wielder was about to open his mouth as he looked towards Jhakilo, only to halt, seeing a mist manifesting at his back.

Klaer, the sword wielder Fiend was a bit far from them since he walked towards the gate which is a few meters distance. 

It was too far and he wasn't as swift as Klaer.

Clink—!

"Jhak—!"

A shot has been made.

Bang—!

And another bullet was shot.

Bang—!

And another.

Bang—!

The bullet passed through Jhakilo's head like a pig being stabbed with a spear again and again into one specific part.

"…"

Jhakilo, with lifeless black eyes, slumped on the ground.

The two warriors wore a blank expression.

"You mother—"

Once Duke noticed that the bullet in his chamber was gone, he swiftly put it back in his holster before snapping his fingers.

Screech—!

The two warriors rushed towards him, not noticing two large portals manifesting into thin air on their side.

Champ—!

Two colossal, horrendous caterpillars with grey fur lunged outside of those portals, swallowing each one of the warriors.