Growburn Village – Demon Race

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It wasn’t human power.

A much stickier and darker energy.

Jade felt fear beyond unpleasantness from that power.

‘W, what is this?’

The hair on his whole body stood on end, and his head sent frantic warnings.

He had never encountered energy of this magnitude in his life.

If he had to compare it to something… it was similar to the Dean of Veil Academy he had seen before.

“This is an incredible Demonic Energy I’m feeling for the first time.”

“Wh, what? Demonic Energy?”

Only then did Annie grasp the situation at Jade’s words, and she began to tremble, biting her nails.

“What do we do? If it’s a powerful Demon, can we win? Shouldn’t we run away now?”

“It’s too late to run away. Lena, do you have a plan…?”

In the rapidly changing situation, Jade naturally looked for Lena.

He thought that the wise Lena might know a way.

However, Lena was also clenching her sword tightly, her face hardened.

“…Prepare yourselves. We’ll have to fight to the death.”

“Then I’ll use magic―”

-Kwaaang!

At that moment, the closed wooden door shattered, and a black figure shot out at tremendous speed.

“Get out of the way!”

-Thud.

“Ugh?!”

The moment Jade was pushed away by Lena―

-Kwaaaang!

Something with horns grazed past his eyes.

-Thump.

“Haa, haa….”

Jade, who had collapsed to the floor, broke out in a cold sweat at the sight before him.

-Thud, thud.

A large hole had been made in one wall of the Dungeon.

‘I almost died just now.’

If he had been hit by that attack, his body would have been torn to pieces.

If it hadn’t been for Lena, he would have lost his life in vain.

“You dodged that? No, did the woman save you? You have pretty good instincts.”

The unidentified being was dusting off their hands in front of the large hole.

Regaining his senses, Jade quickly examined the appearance of the one who had attacked him.

A woman with horns on her head and purple skin.

A pair of wings on her back were spread wide.

With these characteristics, he couldn’t help but know her identity.

“Demon….”

It was Jade’s first encounter with the main enemy he had to face as a Hero.

“You have arrived.”

The Black Wizard immediately prostrated himself on the floor upon seeing the Demon.

The Demon picked up a bone fragment in the chaotic laboratory.

It was the bone of the Ogre that Jade had smashed.

“I heard the sound of battle while inspecting the Dungeons, so I came quickly… I guess I’m a little late.”

“I, I’m sorry. Those guys were too strong!”

“So, everything we prepared is gone?”

“Not everything, but… the losses are significant.”

The Demon seemed slightly angry and swept their hair back with their right hand.

“Ha, this is really annoying. For now, think of a way to salvage the situation. Each of these bases that humans have difficulty noticing is important.”

“Yes! I will never disappoint you.”

“Good.”

At the Demon’s words, the Black Wizard quickly began rummaging through the research logs.

“By the way….”

The Demon, who had been watching the Black Wizard for a moment, turned their head.

“Are you guys going to fight me?”

“….”

Jade was frozen, gripping his sword.

‘What should I do?’

He couldn’t even grasp the Demon’s power, let alone come up with a plan.

He glanced sideways, hoping for some help, but…

Of course, Lena and Annie were in the same state as him.

They were trembling, gripping their respective weapons without saying a word.

The Demon looked at them and sneered at Jade and his companions.

“Hehe, you seem very scared. Why did you bother poking around in a Dungeon like this? Oh, let me give you a brief introduction. I’m Raspha, a Greater demon.”

“Greater… demon.”

Jade was even more despondent at Raspha’s introduction.

According to what he had learned at the Academy, they could not defeat the Demon in front of them with their current strength, even if they were reborn.

Everyone was facing a crisis of death because of his decision to explore the Dungeon.

“Are you guys not going to say anything until the end? How boring.”

Raspha seemed disappointed by Jade’s group’s lack of response and kicked the bone fragments on the floor.

‘If we’re going to do something, we have to do it now.’

There was no time to regret past choices. Even if there was no hope, he couldn’t just die at the hands of the Demon.

Jade rolled his eyes and subtly signaled to Lena and Annie.

-Grip.

Fortunately, they seemed to understand Jade’s signal, and they gripped their respective weapons tightly.

“This Ogre bone is really a waste. It’s valuable.”

-Swish.

The moment Raspha bent down to pick up the bone fragment-

-Tap!

Jade immediately shot out.

At the same time, Annie immediately cast the Flame magic she had prepared, and Lena charged from the opposite side.

Two swords imbued with Aura and a large fireball rushed towards Raspha.

It was a surprise attack attempted with a glimmer of hope, but―

“Kuhk.”

“Ugh.”

Jade and Lena could only groan.

“Oh. So you didn’t give up?”

Kigigigik―

Two swords were caught in both hands surrounded by black Demonic Energy.

Even Raspha took Annie’s magic head-on without blocking it, but didn’t even get a scratch.

“But you should have known your place.”

Raspha moved the hands holding the swords in an instant and struck their stomachs.

-Bang!

“Keuk!”

“Kyaa!”

“No!”

Annie screamed as she watched the two of them fly to her side.

-Thud!

Eventually, Jade and Lena crashed into the wall of the room and fell to the floor.

“Haa, haa….”

Jade barely managed to raise himself up, using his sword as a support.

His stomach felt nauseous, as if his insides had been impacted by the blow, making it difficult to even come to his senses.

‘Can I win?’

It was like hitting a huge wall.

Having faced it directly, he felt the power of a Greater demon, said to reach the realm of 7 Stars, even more keenly. Even with his skill close to 6 Stars, it was not easy to inflict even a single wound.

It would have been difficult even in perfect condition, but everyone was exhausted from the battle with the Black Wizard.

“What are you doing? Get up quickly.”

When Jade raised his head, Lena was reaching out her hand to him.

“We’re going to die if we give up anyway, right? Let’s just fight to the death for now. It would be great if we could catch a Greater demon on this occasion.”

She was right.

He, as the Hero, couldn’t just sit here.

“Good thinking.”

-Grab.

Jade grabbed Lena’s hand and raised himself up.

Meanwhile, Raspha listened to their conversation and made a dumbfounded expression.

“That’s a nice friendship, but… I can’t just let go of the fact that you said you were going to catch me?”

“Don’t let it go then. You won’t know who’s better until you try. Jade, are you ready?”

“No problem. Annie, I need your support!”

“Okay!”

**

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

Jade and Lena launched a pincer attack from both sides, but Raspha easily deflected them all.

“You guys are weaker than I thought?”

Jade ignored Raspha’s continued provocations and gritted his teeth, swinging his sword.

However, he couldn’t break the Demonic Energy contained in their fist even with Aura.

-Crack.

Rather, the Aura was breaking down each time the Aura and Demonic Energy collided.

How solid is that Demonic Energy?

Jade felt more than just surprise; he felt absurdity.

-Pshew!

Suddenly, a spear of fire flew towards Raspha’s face.

They would have just taken it if it had been another part of their body, but Raspha instinctively tilted their head at the magic aimed at their face.

As a result, Raspha’s posture was momentarily disrupted.

Jade did not miss the slight opening that this created.

‘If I can’t break it, I can just deflect it.’

Jade’s sword gently deflected Raspha’s fist.

The sword passed Raspha’s hand, went up their arm, and lightly cut their skin.

-Slice.

“Huh?”

Raspha seemed flustered by the wound on their arm and hurriedly stepped back.

“Annie, just keep doing that!”

Jade was impressed by Annie’s aim.

Annie realized that her attacks were not working and was focusing her attacks only on Raspha’s face.

The intention was to disrupt their vision, even if she couldn’t inflict any damage.

‘If this keeps up, there might be a little hope….’

“I’m fighting like a warrior, but your friend has been annoying me since earlier?”

-Swish.

“?!”

Suddenly, Raspha disappeared from Jade’s sight.

Wh, where did they go? To lose sight of them right in front of me.

Jade looked around to find Raspha,

‘Could it be Annie?’

He found her in front of Annie.

“No. Annie, get out of the way!”

“Huh…?”

Annie was casting magic when she was shocked and tried to dodge, but

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Raspha, who was already right in front of Annie, kicked her hard.

-Thwack!

“Kyaa!”

“Raspha!”

Lena, with an angry face, immediately charged towards Raspha.

-Clang!

“Hehe, are you angry because I hit your friend?”

“Shut up!”

While Lena ran at Raspha to buy time, Jade hurriedly ran to Annie, who had collapsed.

Jade checked on Annie as soon as he arrived next to her.

“Annie! Are you okay?”

“….”

Jade’s heart sank at Annie’s unresponsive state, no matter how much he shook her.

“Could it be?”

Jade hurriedly put his ear to Annie’s face.

-Snore, snore.

Fortunately, Annie was breathing. Annie had only fainted from the great shock.

“Huu….”

Jade let out a sigh of relief after confirming that Annie was safe.

-Thud!

At that moment, Lena flew next to Jade and rolled across the floor.

Even with a joint attack, they were barely holding on, so Lena alone could not withstand Raspha.

“Ugh….”

“Are you okay? I’ll hold them off for now, so move Annie to a safe place.”

After briefly examining Lena, Jade tried to rush at Raspha once again.

-Thump.

“Wait.”

Lena, who had gotten up, grabbed Jade.

“Why? This isn’t the time to―”

“Just calm down for now. We’re being too impatient right now.”

“…Okay. Are you okay?”

Lena shook her head at Jade’s question.

“No. You can see that, right?”

Her right arm was dangling, and blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Lena was in a battered state, just like Jade.

“My mana will be running out soon too. We can’t win like this anyway. The only reason we’re alive is because that guy is playing with us.”

“…That’s true.”

If Raspha had been serious about killing Jade, he would have already been a corpse.

Whether it was for fun, she was swinging her fists mainly for defense rather than attack.

“Just a moment.”

Lena stopped talking and subtly watched Raspha’s mood.

“Haa… Is this really the end? I was looking forward to it since it’s been a while since I’ve fought.”

Raspha was yawning and sitting on a chair with their legs crossed.

“Look at that. If we lose their interest, it’s over. We have to do something while they’re off guard.”

“Is there a way? The difference in skill is too great.”

So far, Jade had tried attacking in various ways with his friends.

However, apart from the wound on Raspha’s arm, he had not been able to inflict any damage.

“In this case, we have to use your right eye.”

“…Is it okay to use that? They’ll realize I’m the Hero if I do.”

Until now, Jade had not been using his right eye, one of the Hero’s Powers.

If he had used his eye, he might have been able to lead the battle a little more favorably.

However, if Raspha saw his blue glowing eyes, they would immediately realize that Jade was the Hero.

‘If that happens, they’ll try to get rid of me or kidnap me right away without holding back.’

He was worried about what would happen if the Black Wizard, who knew that he had used his eye, told the Demon, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to know that it was the Hero’s Power.

“It was good that you didn’t use it until now. If you had used it, they would have killed you or kidnapped you right away.”

“So it was the right decision.”

“Yeah. At this point, the Demon will think they’ve completely grasped our strength. They’ll be a little off guard now. I’ll somehow create an opening, and you’ll use your eye to break the Demonic Energy and cut off their head.”

“Can I do it?”

-Grab.

Lena grabbed both of Jade’s shoulders.

“You’re the Hero, aren’t you? You can do it.”

“Hey, it’s good that you’re strategizing, but how long are you going to keep doing that?”

Raspha, who seemed tired of waiting for Jade and Lena to whisper, got up.

“Okay. Jade, do you understand everything?”

“Yeah.”

Jade and Lena looked at each other and nodded once, then simultaneously rushed towards Raspha.

The two continued their joint attack as before, but Lena’s attack was slightly different.

She was recklessly pouring out attacks without caring about getting hurt.

Whoosh- Pick!

Raspha’s fist brushed past Lena’s arm and face, creating numerous small wounds.

However, Lena started swinging her sword even faster.

-Clang, clang, clang, clang!

“Ha! Look at this?”

Raspha seemed slightly flustered by the relentless attacks and lost their rhythm for a moment.

Jade did not miss the opportunity that Lena had created.

‘Now!’

As he gathered mana in his right eye, his pupils began to glow blue.

Then, Jade began to see the structure of the Demonic Energy in Raspha’s hand.

‘It’s incredibly dense. No wonder Aura couldn’t withstand it.’

It seemed impossible to break, but…

There was no way that everything was without weaknesses.

Jade found a part on Raspha’s left hand where the Demonic Energy was thinly wrapped.

‘There!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jade accurately stabbed his sword at the weak point.

-Stab!

Then, the Demonic Energy surrounding Raspha’s hand collapsed in an instant.

-Crackle!

“How did you!”

Raspha looked at Jade with a very flustered expression and discovered his right eye.

“Yo, Hero…?”

‘This is the last chance.’

Jade quickly changed the path of his sword and swung it towards Raspha’s neck.

-Thwack.

However, Raspha caught Jade’s sword with their other hand, which was wrapped in Demonic Energy.

“Ha, to hide your identity until now. It was a good attempt.”

“Damn it.”

Did I fail again? There are no more chances.

Jade felt despair at the loss of his last resort.

But―

-Slice, slice, slice!

“Kyaa?!”

Raspha suddenly let out a loud scream.

Taking advantage of the fact that their attention was focused on Jade, Lena had torn one of their wings to shreds with her sword.

“You bitch!”

“Hehe, how does it feel to be defeated by a couple of kids? Your wings look very pretty.”

Lena, who had quickly stepped back, ridiculed Raspha’s appearance.

The tattered wings were barely attached to their back.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. This is driving me crazy. You guys don’t know your place because I’m holding back?

Raspha expressed intense anger before their face changed to a blank expression.

“But you shouldn’t have made me angry.”

-Swish.

Raspha disappeared from their sight in an instant.

A fleeting moment passed, and Raspha appeared in front of Lena.

“Be careful!”

“Ugh!”

Lena desperately tried to block Raspha’s rushing attack with her sword, but―

“I’m not going to hold back this time?”

-Clang!

“Huh…?”

Jade doubted his own eyes at the unbelievable sight.

Raspha’s fist shattered Lena’s Aura and sword in one blow.

“No way―”

-Bang!

Lena, who was directly hit by the attack, flew away quickly and bounced several times on the floor.

Thump, thump, thump- Thud.

Then, she eventually fell to the floor and did not move at all.

“Le, Lena….”

Lena was directly hit by a fist of tremendous destructive power.

Lena might be dead.

Jade’s body froze at the shocking thought.

“To think I’d meet a Hero like this. I’m really lucky today.”

Raspha, who had blown Lena away, was now slowly walking towards Jade.

I have to kill that guy and save Lena.

“….”

However, Jade couldn’t move his body due to the encroaching sense of fear.

‘How can I face a Greater demon who can shatter Aura in one blow….’

“Did you lose your mind? Well, it makes things easier for me.”

Raspha’s fist rushed towards the frozen Jade.

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Jade spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

“It’s over. I just need to keep the Hero alive and take him to the Legion Commander. Was your name Lena?”

Raspha lifted Lena, who was battered and collapsed.

“Hey, wake up. You were so confident just a moment ago.”

-Thud!

“Ugh, cough!”

Raspha struck Lena’s stomach hard, and the pain made Lena’s eyes snap open.

“I’ll… kill….”

“What? Anyway, it was impressive that you cut my wings with that skill. But you should have thought about the consequences.”

The Black Wizard, who had been quietly watching the battle, cautiously approached Raspha.

“Raspha, you are truly amazing! What should we do with the Hero?”

“Ah, tie up the Hero and that girl securely. It would be a disaster if they escaped, so do it properly. And I’ll use this woman for a while. I can’t let her die peacefully.”

“We should show hell to a woman like that. I will prepare everything you need.”

‘If this goes on, Lena…’

Jade tried to get up somehow.

“Cough!”

But every time he tried to move, more blood just poured from his mouth.

“Now, how shall I cook you….”

“No….”

In the end, Jade could only watch as Raspha grabbed Lena by the hair and dragged her away.