Chapter 25 Dry forest (part 3)

"Rumbling" "Rumbling"

Looking closer, one of the two monsters fell into the trap. I saw the others shaking their hands, so I took the initiative to move quietly. I climbed a tree near the monsters and then jumped, pointing my sword at it in the shape of a knife.

Blast

I wasn't the only one; Dik also did the same with the second monster. It was then that both monsters screamed at the same time and shook.

Grrroooaaaaaaaaahhhh

Both monsters screamed in pain when our swords pierced their heads.

"Clara, make it quick

Alice screamed as she ran towards the monsters. Clara prepared the same spell as before. "Dissolving hands. Quickly, the ground began to bubble and this time the spell expanded much more than before.

The monsters shook. Unfortunately, one of them escaped Clara's spell and rushed towards Alice.

"Damn," he shouted.

The monster subdued Alice with its claws. She flew and crashed into a nearby tree. I hurried my steps towards the monster, using the movements Oriana taught me. I just disappeared and reappeared right next to the monster, swinging my sword on his back.

I quickly moved at great speed and appeared in front of Alice. It all took about five seconds.

"Get up, it's not time to rest yet."

"Jaja, do you think I'il give up so easily?"

Alicia stood up from the floor and stood next to me. He held two daggers the size of my forearm; his specialty was speed and precision in quick attacks.

Suddenly, he disappeared and reappeared in front of the monster he had cut on his back.

"Grrrooooaaaaaaaaaahhhh

This one just screamed with agony. I looked at Dik, who was fighting one of the monsters while Clara was preparing another spell. I figured Clara's spell would take about two minutes.

I watched the group fight. Victory was near, so I threw myself and softened my sword.

"Spring"

I helped Alicia finish off the monster. This one tried to use his claws to launch a single attack, but Alicia and I were quick enough to evade him. I looked at the big red eye on his body.

"I will use an arrow of darkness."

It was a quick thought, so I took the initiative and created an arrow of darkness, throwing it into the monster's eye. Though he had many eyes on his head, hundreds to be precise, he seemed unaffected. What if I take the biggest eye out?

"Grrrooooaaaaaaaaaahhhh

The arrow went through the monster's entire body; the red eye that was once there was now just a big hole, and finally the monster fell to the ground.

"We made it, now there are only two more."

One of them was with Dik; although he did not seem to need help, he was at a disadvantage. It was then that I looked at the trap: the trapped monster was badly injured and slowly came out of the hole where the stakes were.

"Come on, that's all that's left."

Alicia talked and I followed her. I quickly prepared a ball of darkness and threw it; Alice threw one of her daggers right at the monster's weak point. Both attacks hit.

"Boom!"

A large explosion resonated when the attacks arrived. Eventually, the fire spread and the monster's body remained on the ground, but it was still alive. Give the signal.

"Now, Clara."

Clara prepared the attack and the ground began to bubble. The monster began to sink slowly and half his body melted. Finally, the monster died.

Now there was the last one. I looked at Dik, who was losing, but fortunately the monster was badly hurt.

Alicia hurried and I watched the scene.

With Alice cutting off one of the monster's arms and Dik giving the final blow to the monster's head.

The fight lasted about half an hour, so we were all very exhausted. I looked around: there were fire and three bodies of monsters, two of them burned and one completely smashed in the head.

The others noticed it, grumbling.

"Then we can rest a bit," I said when everyone looked at me.

"You did a great job.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for your plan, we'd be in big trouble."

"I have to admit, I think I like you," Dik finally said in a more relaxed tone.

On second thought, Dik could be trusted; he even risked his life in this fight.

"Thank you all. We were able to survive today, but I hope it's the same with the devil."

There was a moment of silence, we looked at each other, but quickly that silence dissipated and we all smiled. I felt the bruises on my lips.

"I... It was something I'd never done before.

I finally smiled for the first time. That life in the dark, which never smiled and always had blood on its hands, was now different.

It's still night, but it's better not to let your guard down," Alice said. Then I looked at the starry sky; the moon finally came out and seemed to be about midnight.

Then let's rest for a while. Tomorrow we'll start looking for the devil," Alice said as I lay on the floor.

***

— Change of scene.

At the previous church, preparations for demond's sacrifices were ready.

"Sound deaf."

The great doors of the church opened and a woman with white hair and blue eyes entered. He wore a golden armor and wore a two-metre long sword, yellow and white, and his armor also exhibited these colors.

The woman's blue eyes looked at Father Gabriel, who was leaning toward a stone statue.

"I'm already here... Father Gabriel."

"Oh dear, sorry to have lured you here, my dear Elara Valerion."

"Don't worry, as long as it's a demon, I'il be happy to be here."

"Jaja, you're a very brave man, Elara. The grace of God will always be on your side."

The woman finally came in and leaned over to Gabriel's side.

"When will it be?" he asked.

"In an hour," Gabriel replied.

Father Gabriel's church paladin had finally arrived, although Asher's group was just now in the dry forest, they had the advantage but had not yet found the devil.

Therefore, the church group would possibly know where the devil is.

"You can wait here if you want to," Gabriel said.

"All right."

The candlesticks of the church roof and the pillars along the way to the statue decorated a very well decorated church, with long benches and polished marble floor.

The place looked noble in plain sight.

Gabriel got up after being on his knees and finally entered through a door leading to the basement.

"A demon of rank, sir... We'il see how strong it is."

Elara looked up and looked at the statue of a smiling woman, a representation of a specific goddess.

The atmosphere in the place was warm and quiet, with no more noise than Elara's whispers while standing in front of the statue. The light of the moon entered through the large windows, illuminating the place where Elara leaned and reflected a brightness in her golden armor.

***

— Perspective of Asher Frostblade.

After I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the blue sky. It was morning, and when I got up, I found the others drinking a cup of tea.

"You're up, you want some tea?"

I nodded, and Alice gave me a cup. The soft smell of herbs and the sweet aroma emanating from the tea were very comforting and reassuring. I took a little sip and I felt very relaxed.

*I sigh. *

I looked into the forest, looking away. I noticed something different; one part was a green color that didn't seem to be a burnt area as it should normally be.

I tried to evaluate the distance. I could only see a green line from afar, indicating that we were several kilometers away. It would take us a long time to get there, but it seemed to be the only viable place, as looking the other way, everything was completely empty and burned.

"We'il go there."

"That's right, the devil's tracks take us there."

It was true. I closed my eyes and concentrated, observing a thin red line leading to that green area.

Why hadn't I noticed before? Just before the Fongoru monsters attacked us, I had not felt the presence of the demon manna. Something strange was happening.

Something was wrong. Why hadn't you felt the devil's manna just before the Fongoru fight?

Did you...? I stopped. I couldn't come to such a quick and hasty conclusion. My suspicions suggested that the demon had been watching us just as the monsters attacked us.

Then an idea came up.

"It's possible that manna has attracted monsters before."

It was one possibility, but there was also another: that the devil was watching us for a long time without us noticing. However, I couldn't be sure.

"Never mind, it's time for us to move."

"Do you think monsters...?"

"It's nothing important," I interrupted before Alice could finish her question.

Alice stared at me but let the moment pass, grabbed her luggage like the rest of the group, and we started walking.

After a while of walking, the atmosphere began to change gradually. Some plants began to appear and the trees were greener than before. In addition, the vegetation changed and the fresh air felt much better. It didn't even look like a place where a demon should be.

This led me to wonder what demons look like. Although I had seen images of demons in my past life, obviously none of that would be comparable to seeing one in reality. Is it your appearance as I know it, or is it something completely unexpected?

For some reason, I was very anxious but also nervous. It was possible that we could reach this place and not defeat the devil. But he had a hidden letter, and that letter was Encrid.

In case we can't defeat the demon, Encrid could intervene. Since it does not want to be discovered by others, it could simply erase the part of the memory in which it appears.

"It's a little disturbing to think about," I definitely wouldn't like to see Alice and Clara having their memories erased, even if it's just Encrid.

"I hope that... let us defeat the devil without any problem."

I didn't want to see anyone in this group die. Everything had to go perfectly, there couldn't be any mistakes. And if anything goes wrong, then Encrid would show up.

Although it would be a sure bet, that didn't solve the doubt whether Encrid would save just me and not the rest of the group. Despite its undoubtedly high power, it cannot remain in its human form for more than five minutes, which is a problem.

"Clank." "Clank."

Suddenly, steps and chains resonated in the distance. It also felt the vibration of the ground as if it were wheels of some carriage. But how could there be a carriage here?

"Stop! It seems that it is true that the Holy Church plans to bring human sacrifices to the devil."

I looked to the horizon and saw ten people tied with chains and shackles on their feet, dragged by a carriage thrown by horses.

"What the hell...?" I felt a strange sensation. There was someone very powerful inside that carriage.

It's the champion, Alice said.

So it is true that a champion would come."

I gnawed my teeth and pressed my fists. The veins in my forehead began to stand out. My anger focused on people being dragged around like mere slaves.

When they looked at their bodies, they were completely shattered. with visible and almost naked bones, covered only by rags.

"There are seven women and three men, I counted one by one, but there was a girl who was different.

"Long ears and blond hair... An elf," I whispered out loud.

I looked at Alice, who was also an elf. Seeing her expression, it was obvious that something deeply affected her. He had an empty and serious look as he stared at the elf girl being dragged. His fists were so tight that they bled.

She was even angrier than I was. Although my anger was no less, I was angry enough to face anyone.

"Come on," he finally said, and began to walk quickly. I looked at Clara; she was furious too. Then the whole group started walking…