Chapter 6: Memories and the giant boar!

The next morning soon came for Xolvion and the others.

Vlad was the first to wake, something he wasn't used to as he always slept in after the others.

The girls all woke up, stretching and yawning with large smiles on their faces.

"Looks like you slept well," Vlad said laughing as he looked at Kerry and Junip.

Both of them looked at each other and then to Vlad with a smile on their face nodding.

Xolvion was already up and had his back turned to them with a smile plastered across his face as he remembered last night.

This time Holly noticed that both of them were acting strange, glowing as they smiled for no reason.

"Alright then, time to pack up camp and get boar hunting!" Vlad said shrugging his thoughts off.

Everyone agreed and started to pack the camp away, eating some breakfast before they set off to look for the giant boar.

The group travelled along the winding path through the thick forest, looking for any signs of the beast.

The sun was high in the sky and particular hot today, causing everyone in the party to sweat, wishing they could find a river to cool down in.

Xolvion wasn't bothered by the heat though. After all his father was the demon lord of fire, his demon blood having some resistance to the suns rays.

Soon Vlad had decided that they should take a quick rest, taking shade from the suns heat.

"Man it's hot!" Vlad said as he tried to pull his armour away from his skin getting some fresh air.

The girls agreed as they did the same. Junip waved her staff and created a small pool of water from the moisture in the air.

"Here everyone." She then said as she divided it up, splashing everyone over their heads to help cool them down.

Xolvion watched with a keen eye as she used her magic. Magic had always been something out of his reach ever since he was a child, he thought as he started to have a flashback.

210 years ago in the demon kingdom of Valous...

"Fireball!" Fireball! Fireball!" A young Xolvion shouted as he tried to cast the magic spell.

"Why can't I do it?" He asked as he looked at his hands and then to his tutor.

"Give it time young master." The tutor said, trying to encourage him.

"So the hornless brat can't use magic either!" a voice said coming from behind him.

Xolvion looked to see one of his older brothers and sisters walking over to him with a wicked grin.

"Why father allows you to live i will never know." His sister said as she flicked her silver hair out of her face.

She was a pretty woman with long silver hair, and black horns on her head, like all of his siblings. She had red eyes, tanned skin and large breasts with an excellent figure.

Princess Casonzzer, young Xolvion is still learning, with time he will be able to.

"Silence servant!" She suddenly shouted at Xolvion's tutor.

"If I want you to talk, I will tell you." She then said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The tutor bowed and took a step back as he apologized.

"You are a worthless runt. You don't even have any horns yet." Xolvion's brother said as he stepped forwards, kicking Xolvion in his stomach.

He was tall and handsome with short well-groomed silver hair. His horns took more of a curve around the back of his head like a ram. His eyes were blood-red too and his skin whiter than his their sisters.

"If it was up to me, you would be dead already." He then said looking down at Xolvion.

"Come, brother, he's not worth it," Casonzzer said laughing.

"F-fuck you," Xolvion said under his breath as he slowly stood to his feet.

"I will be able to use magic one day! Just you wait and see, Satanious!" Xolvion shouted.

His brother Satanious glared at him as he turned around.

"You dare speak to me like that! You hornless renegade!" He said as his magical aura flared to life.

Xolvion coward back as his brother ignited his fire magic in the palm of his hand before shooting it at Xolvion, blasting him back before he hit the ground.

"The only thing you are good for is target practice." He then said as he walked over to him, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck.

"And if you ever talk back to me like that again, I'll kill you. Do you understand?" He said with a deadly expression.

Xolvion was trying his best not to cry before Satanious released his grip and dropped him to the ground.

He smiled as he turned around raising his leg as he was about to kick him with all of his might when suddenly, a powerful magic fire attack smashed into Satanious, blasting him back, slamming him into a stone wall, gasping as his back hit it hard.

Casonzzer looked shocked before she turned to see who dared attack her brother.

"That is enough you two!" A mighty voice exclaimed.

Casonzzer backed off once she saw who it was, bowing her head ever so slightly.

"L-Lucious... I didn't know you were back from the war front." She said, greeting him.

Xolvion turned to get a look too, seeing Lucious, the eldest of all his siblings and firstborn, air to the throne of Valous.

He was a powerful demon, just like their father. He had long silver hair with large black horns on his head, showing how powerful his magic truly was. His eyes were blood-red and his upper body was covered in black magical tattoos, that could be seen through the V-neck shirt he was wearing.

"I just got back a little while ago." He said as he walked over to the three of them, Xolvion's tutor bowed low in respect as Lucious laid his eyes upon him, smiling.

Satanious was on his hands and knees as he gasped for air, trying to recover from his brother's attack.

"However, I did not expect to find the two of you ganging up on our helpless little brother." He then said, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Casonzzer tried to come up with an excuse, but Lucious didn't want to hear it. Ignoring her as he turned to Xolvion.

"Here." He said as he offered him his hand, helping him to his feet.

"Fear not young Xolvion. One day you will be a great magic-user. I can sense it." He said, smiling at him.

Xolvion smiled back at his oldest brother, nodding his head.

"I promise, I'll do my best Lucious!"

End of flashback...

Xolvion suddenly snapped back to reality as Vlad spoke to him.

"Hello! Earth to Xolvion!" He said laughing as he got no response.

Xolvion smiled at him as he asked a question.

"Sorry, were you talking to me?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

Vlad smiled.

"You really zoned out there buddy, everything ok?" He asked as he crossed his arms.

"I'm fine, I just spaced out for a moment there." He said giving an awkward laugh.

Vlad batted it off as he smiled, taking a swig of water before he poured a little over his head.

"I hope we find this boar soon, I don't know how much longer I can take the heat." He then said as he sat on a tree stump.

Kerry agreed as she slowly took a kneeling position.

"Me too, I'm so sticky!" She then said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"You don't seem to be bothered by the heat at all Xolvion." Holly then said, uncrossing her arms.

Xolvion nodded.

"No, the heat doesn't really bother me." He said.

"How strange, do you have some resistance to heat?" Junip asked, blushing a little as he looked into her eyes.

"I guess so... I've always been like this he said, lying to them.

"Lucky for you then," Holly said as she playfully punched him in the arm.

Xolvion pretended like it hurt a little and they all laughed together as they took their rest.

After a short while, the group decided to continue with their quest, searching for the giant boar as they travelled through the forest.

They came across more slimes that were easily defeated, nothing they couldn't handle.

Vlad had also spotted a couple of horned badgers, they were tough beasts, standing on four legs about 1 meter in length with a sharp horn on it's head.

"Look out, these things can be nasty!" Vlad shouted just before one of them jumped at him.

Vlad stopped it with his sword and batted it away, taking a defensive stance.

"Leave this to me!" Junip said as she cast the spell for her magic and slammed her staff into the ground with two hands.

"Firetrap!" She said as the ground beneath the two monsters suddenly ignited, trapping them in a vortex of fire.

"Alright!" Kerry shouted as the monsters were destroyed.

"That's out mage!" Vlad also said as he put his sword away.

Xolvion smiled as he looked over the body of the monsters.

"I can't wait to put the powers I got from her to use." He thought, growing excited.

Suddenly a loud grunting noise could be heard coming from the trees before a large monster jumped out and roared at them.

"It's the boar!' Vlad said, quickly gripping the handle of his sword.

It was indeed a giant boar, standing on all fours easily 2 meters in height.

Everyone quickly took their ready positions and the boar charged at Vlad, with its razor-sharp spear-like tusks ready to skewer him.

"Look out!" Xolvion shouted as he jumped towards him, knocking Vlad out of the way.

The boar charged past them and smashed into a tree, snapping the trunk in half from the force of its charge before it turned back around and grunted at them.

"Attack!" Kerry shouted as she charged in with both her swords raised, slashing at the left side of the boars tough hide.

Holly jumped into the air flipping as she raised her leg for a powerful axe kick.

"Phoenix kick!" She shouted as her foot ignited in flames.

"Fireball!" Junip shouted as she cast the spell, shooting a large fireball at the monster from the front.

Kerry's swords hit the boars hide but bounced off as its skin was too thick to cut through.

Holly landed her kick, but the boar kicked back and started bucking, shaking her attack off as if nothing had hit it.

Lastly, Junip's fireball hit the boar head-on, engulfing it in the flames of her attack.

"Did we get it?" Holly shouted as she landed back onto the ground, turning to see if their attacks had any effect.

The boar suddenly burst through the flames and charged towards Junip, enraged by her attack.

"Junip look out!" Kerry shouted, not being quick enough to do anything for her.

Junip was a long-range fighter and struggled to react when danger was charging right towards her, panicking as the boar roared.

"Look out!" Vlad shouted as he shoulder barged the boar in the side of its ribs, knocking it off course.

The boar grunted in pain as it stopped, turning to look who had attacked it.

"That's right monster, come and get me!" Vlad shouted as he annoyed it, getting the boar to charge towards him.

"Come on!" He yelled as he turned and ran towards the base of a large tree before he stopped and turned to face it.

The giant boar ran at him with full force as it attempted to skewer him with its tusks.

At the last second, Vlad jumped to the side letting the boar slam into the tree, almost knocking it's self out from the force.

"Take this!" He shouted as he raised his large sword, swinging it down with as much force as he could muster.

His blade hit the boar on the back of its neck with incredible force. However, the boars hide was tough and the blade was only just able to cut through the surface of it."

"No way!" Vlad shouted as he quickly retreated before the boar tried to attack him again.

"This isn't good, it's too strong!" Kerry said as she ran over to Vlad's side.

"No, we can do this!" Vlad shouted.

The giant boar had regained its composure after shaking its head to settle its brain. It eyed Vlad and Kerry, also checking around to see Holly and Junip who were all in a defensive stance.

The boar finally looked at Xolvion, who seemed very at ease as he watched the beast. The boar got a strange scent coming from Xolvion, realising he wasn't human as it grew angry.

Xolvion could tell the monster had realised he wasn't human like the others by the way it suddenly looked at him.

Demons had enslaved and ruled over monsters for thousands and thousands of years. However, some wild monsters would still challenge them as a right to be free.

Xolvion smiled at the boar and got ready.

"Come and get me." He said as he took a slight step back.

The boar roared as it suddenly charged at Xolvion, going in for the kill as it smashed through all of the others.

"Xolvion, look out!" Vlad shouted as he realised it was targeting him.

Xolvion smiled as he allowed the mana in his body to flow, using the manner control skill he had learnt from Junip.

"I don't think so. Fireball!" He said as he extended his hand, blasting a fireball twice the size of Junips at the monster.

The fireball hit the boar head-on, creating a huge shockwave felt by everyone around it.

Vlad and the others were shocked as they watched Xolvion cast such a powerful spell, waiting to see what the outcome would be.

The boar roared and the flames dispersed around it. Xolvion could see that the magic had hurt the monster, but thanks to its tough hide, it had done little damage.

"Your hide sure is thick." He said before the boar ran at him, ripping its tusks through the grown before attacking Xolvion with them.

Kerry watched in amazement as Xolvion flipped into the air, pulling his dagger out as he landed on top of the boar, straddling the beast.

The boar started to buck, trying to throw him off as he grunted, slamming itself into anything it could in an attempt to shake him.

"Take this!" Xolvion shouted as he raised his dagger with both hands before he thrust it as hard as he could into the small gash Vlad had already made.

The dagger went all the way in and Xolvion felt it hit part of the beast's spine. The boar went wild for one last second before it dropped to the ground, breathing heavily.

The others gathered around it as they watched Xolvion slowly stand up next to the beast.

"You did it..." Vlad said amazed at his strength.

"But you're hurt!" Junip said as she saw the large gash in his leg.

Xolvion looked down seeing the blood running down his leg from the wound.

"Looks like it got me." He said with a smile.

"That looks bad, we need to treat it right away or you could lose your leg!" Kerry suddenly said as she rushed over.

"Hey, don't worry." He said waving his hands in protest.

They all looked confused as to what he meant.

"Oh no he's lost too much blood and can't think straight," Holly said also getting worried.

"No, just watch," Xolvion said, deciding it would be better to show them.

Placing his hand over his leg he said the small chant before finishing the words.

"Heal."

Everyone watched in amazement as the wound on his leg healed as if it was never there.

"H-how did you?" Kerry said amazed.

"That can't be," Junip said also amazed.

"What is it?" Vlad said looking at Junip.

"That is divine healing. The rarest and strongest healing magic there is. It can cure anything..." She said as she readjusted her glasses.

"It's that amazing?" Vlad asked seeming impressed.

"You can count the people who can use that magic on only one hand." Junip then said.

"I had no idea you were so gifted, Xolvion." She said nodding her head to him.

"Wow Xolvion, you're amazing!" Vlad said giving him a pat on the back.

"We should skin the beast and take as much of it as we can carry," Xolvion said, changing the subject.

The others soon put their attention on the boar and agreed, knowing it would take some time to gather everything they needed from it.

"Alright everyone let's get to work!" Vlad then said raising his arm into the air enthusiastically.

The group quickly got to work as they skinned and butchered the beast, storing and carrying as much as they could from it.

While no one was looking, Xolvion even licked a small bit of blood off his finger, testing if his skills to absorb power would work on monsters as well.

To his disappointment, nothing happened, but he decided not to dwell on it and finished the job as he rolled the large hide up before tying it off.

"Alright, that's everything we can carry," Vlad said as he loaded his backpack with the last bits.

"Everything worth selling more like," Holly said as she crossed her arms.

"Alright everyone, let's make sure to be careful on our way back to the city," Vlad said as he pulled his backpack on.

"Yeah." Everyone else said as they got ready to make a move.

The group started to travel along the path that they had followed through the forest thus far, this time moving at a quicker pace as they were no longer hunting.

The city was still a full days walk away, and they would have to make camp once more before reaching their goal.

The sun was getting low now and the group was starting to get tired.

"Ok, I think that's enough walking for today," Kerry said as she stopped, dropping her backpack to the ground.

Vlad gave her a small smile as he agreed.

"Alright, we will make camp for the night." He said.

Holly seemed fine to keep going. Her physical endurance being much higher than the others thanks to her training.

Junip however was exhausted and dropped to her knees to rest and catch her breath.

"Here," Xolvion said as he offered her some water.

Junip took it, gulping it down until she was satisfied.

"Thank you." She said, handing him back his water pack.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

Xolvion was still fresh, feeling like he had the energy to spare if needed. But he could see how tired the others were from the heat of the sun, battling the boar and then carrying all this gear.

"Alright, I'll get a fire and some food going, why don't you lot rest for a while until it's ready," Xolvion said.

The others all had a shocked expression on their face, but then quickly nodded their heads.

"Yes please!" They all bounced in excitement.