Chapter 7

"Don't you guys find this suspicious?" Denoz, a black-haired Devil, asked his companions. "We've been harassing the crows for the past week, yet they hadn't done anything about it. They should've figured out that we are using this forest as our base by now."

"The shitty crows have grown soft over the years." At least that's what Sargrar heard a high-class Devil once say. "They had the biggest numbers after the Great War, but this is no longer the case after the Peerage system was created by Satan Beelzebub."

The eyes of all the Devils lit up with greed at the mention of the Peerage system. They were out here in enemy territory due to that. All four of them were low-class Devils born into a branch family of the Forneus clan.

The only way for them to get a Peerage of their own was to rise the ranks and promote high-class Devils.

One way to achieve that was to complete an innumerable number of contracts with humans, which could take them hundreds of years. Another was to prove themselves in Rating Games, but no high-class Devil was willing to invite them into their peerage.

The last way was to perform tasks such as the one they were currently on. Fighting against the enemies of the Devils and gathering accomplishments on the battlefield. Sure, they weren't at war with the Fallen Angels, but they weren't at peace either. The crows were perfect targets for them since they also happened to occupy one part of the Underworld, which was rightfully the Devils'.

The task given to the four of them by the Forneus clan was to harass and provoke the Fallen Angels. That was their primary objective, but they had a secondary purpose as well. It was to capture any unique individuals they could get their hands on.

Fallen Angels were known to recruit Sacred Gear users, but they were explicitly requested to grab a female crow if they had the chance. The heir of the Forneus clan wished to add one of those to his hare... Peerage.

Oh, how much they yearned to have a set of those valuable chess pieces. It's why they risked their lives on this task since they were promised to be promoted to mid-class Devils if they successfully completed it.

"We should prepare for another run. See if we can fina-"

An oval-shaped object dropped on the ground that moment and interrupted Sargrar as it exploded in a blinding light.

"Gah!" Not only were they blinded by the grenade, but they also got slightly damaged by it since they were low-class Devils, though it only burned their skin.

"Wood-Make: Budha's Hands." A big green circle formed beneath the four Devils, which they barely noticed due to their sudden blindness.

"Get in the air!" Denoz yelled out as he heard the young voice. However, only he and Sargar managed to spread their wings and fly up in time. The other two go captured by the wooden arms that erupted from the ground below them.

"Are you fucking with me!!!" The Devils thrashed around, trying to escape from their wooden prison. The hands held them in place, holding them for dear life. Though the Devils couldn't be held down forever. Despite how powerful the wooden arms were, they were bound to break free and escape.

Pssshhew.

The sound of someone activating a light sword was heard on the forest floor and was followed by the pained screams of the captured Devils.

"AHH!"

Silence came after as the captured Devils were no longer part of this world.

"You fucker!!!!" Sargar screamed his lungs out when his vision returned. Both of his companions were dead, and an individual, wearing a black outfit with a white, faceless mask covering his face, stood next to their bodies with a light sword in hand.

"Calm yourself." Denoz pulled Sargar back, stopping him from rushing at their enemy.

"That cock sucker killed them!" Sargar was livid, and his face was twisted in an ugly scowl as he clenched his teeth in anger.

Denoz ignored him, opting to study their foe. Exorcists were the ones that used light swords, but none of those holy pricks would venture into the Underworld. And considering they were right next to Fallen Angel territory, the individual had to be a stray exorcist and not a simple one at that.

'Some kind of wood magic.' Denoz thought as he looked at the wooden arms that had sprouted from the ground. Exorcists weren't known for using magic like that, so this one must be a unique case. Exactly what they needed for their promotion.

"We should capture him and present him to the Young Lord. Although he isn't a female crow, he might be enough to get us promoted." Denoz told his companion calmly. Two of their companions were dead, but this worked in their favor. Only the two of them will get credited for the capture.

"He doesn't need to be in perfect condition, right?" Sargar snarled. "I'm gonna break you, cock sucker!"

Silence was the only response they received. The individual stepped closer to the wooden arms, but he didn't lose sight of the Devils even for a second.

"I'm gonna make you scream!" Sargar again had to be pulled back from rushing blindingly.

"Think about it." Denoz said. "He still hasn't attacked us. Most likely, he doesn't have any ranged spells."

Again, no response came from the individual, and Denoz clicked his tongue. It would've been nice to know if his theory was correct, but the mask kept his expression hidden.

Sargar took his words at face value and conjured his demonic power before he started firing it at their foe. Their enemy jumped behind the wooden arms, which protectively tried shielding him from the Devil's blasts.

"Just you wait, you ugly shit. I'm gonna teach you a lesson you will never forget!" Sargar kept throwing demonic power at him, and Denoz decided to assist him. Though the calmer Devil was more reserved about it and didn't recklessly use his energy.

Their foe kept switching the hands he hid behind, but with their combined barrage, they soon destroyed his constructions. It looked like the individual was at his wit's end as he started running behind trees now, trying his best to avoid their attacks.

Denoz thought there was something wrong with that, but Sargar took it as a sign of defeat. Before the calmer Devil could stop him, Sargar rushed in with his eyes blazing in a furry.

"I gotcha' now, cock sucker!"

"Sargar!" Denoz tried to warn him that he had a bad feeling about it.

"Wood-Make: Thorn Spike!" Their foe slammed his free hand on the ground. A spike as big as a pillar and covered with smaller ones that looked like thorns erupted from below.

Sargar tried to avoid it, but it was already too late. The spike impaled his stomach and shredded his insides. Since Sargar was a Devil, he didn't die despite the grievous injury. Though he was bleeding heavily, and their enemy assisted him with his demise by mercilessly plunging his light sword through the Devil's neck.

Denoz floated above with his bat-like wings flapping in the air. He shook his head in disappointment. Sargar had always been the most reckless one and the one that gave in to his wrath. Still, due to his sacrifice, Denoz now had a better understanding of his enemy's abilities.

"Let us not bore ourselves with this useless fight." Denoz said, trying to project a superior stance. After all, he was a Devil, and even as a low-class one, he was still above a human, even if said human knew how to use magic.

"I have seen what you are capable of already and know you lack any form of a ranged attack. It's in our best interest that we come to a mutually beneficial deal. You surrender and come peacefully with me, and I promise not to hurt you. See? Mutually beneficial."

Denoz received no reply.

"Why must you make this difficult? I can simply harras you from the air until you can no longer hide or run away. There are much more benefits joining the Devil than staying with the Fallen Angels." Denoz continued trying to persuade him, but it didn't seem to be working.

"So be it." Denoz let out a tired sigh and gathered demonic power in his hands. He would have to do it the hard way.

Leisurely, Denoz fired blasts of demonic power at his target, who kept running away. The Devil did keep his guard, however. The human had already proven he was a tricky one with how he took down three Devils.

Denoz was correct to be vigilant as his target took out a light gun to fire at him. His wings flapped, and he dodged out of the way of the bullets with a burst of speed.

"Must you be this way?" Denoz now had to keep a greater distance to make sure none of the light bullets grazed him. Those were quite corrosive to his race, and he wasn't interested in figuring out exactly how painful it felt to be hit by one.

"The result is still the same." Denoz was confident of his victory as long as he stayed vigilant. The only way for the human to attack him was with the gun due to his limited magic. And here, Denoz was mistaken. His prey darted behind a tree, and he heard it.

"Wood-Make: Homing Spears!"

From a magical circle, six spears flew out, rushing at the Devil with impressive speed. Denoz's eyes widened. His wings flapped with more intensity as he swirled around the spears while also trying to avoid the light bullets.

Denoz dodged the spears with his flying skills, and a triumphant expression started forming on his face before he felt a sharp pain from his back. Looking down, he saw a spear sticking through his gut. Five more pierced him shortly after and brought him down to the ground, where he was shot to death with the light bullets.

~~~~~~~~~~~

'I did it!' Josh had just taken down four Devils on his own. Sure, they were low-class ones, but they were still far more powerful than regular humans. And he took them down. Yes, Josh used a sneak attack with a flashbang infused with light energy to surprise them, but he relied on his own skills.

The feeling of success felt invigorating. Josh was a step closer to accomplishing his goal. Shalba was still an existence far out of his league, but he was making his way there.

Josh's success was short-lived as a tendril made out of black water slammed into his chest, sending him tumbling on the forest floor. His chest was caved in, and he had a hard time even breathing.

"Someone finally took the bait." The voice came from a massively muscular Devil that looked like a mixture between a shark and a lizard. His toned body was dark pinkish in color, and he had a plate covering his flattened, angular head, sporting a single fin-like protrusion on its front.

"You're not fit for my peerage, but I could trade you for something good. You're pretty slow and not very durable, so you aren't Rook or Knight material, but your magic ain't bad. You might make a fine Bishop."

The muscular Devil walked over to his prone body. As hurt as he was, Josh still had some fight left in him. His reserves weren't full, but he could still fire a few spells.

A spiked thorn erupted from the ground, slamming into the Devil, who just walked it off. The wood hadn't even pierced his skin and broke into splinters. Josh tried holding him with a wooden arm, but the Devil didn't even falter in his steps, just shrugging it off. Spears, Josh fired point black at him, but again, he found no success with that endeavor.

"Good attempt, but now you have to die." Black water surged, ready to strike him down.