Growburn Village – Demon Race

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Just witnessing the clash of such immense power made Jade’s body tremble.

‘Calm down. I am the Hero.’

Nevertheless, Jade suppressed his fear of Raspha and calmly observed the situation.

And the conclusion he reached was simple.

‘At this rate, the battle will drag on.’

It was true that Antonio was overwhelming Raspha right now.

But Raspha was by no means an easy opponent.

As Raspha, feeling the gap in power, gave up on attacking and focused solely on defense and evasion, Antonio was unable to land any significant hits.

Even from Jade’s perspective, the absence of his right arm was a major disadvantage.

However, if Jade were to intervene in the battle, he could tip the scales of the delicately balanced fight to one side.

Of course, there was also the possibility that a misguided attack could worsen the situation.

‘Let’s put those worries aside.’

Jade had long since decided not to waste time worrying about things that hadn’t happened yet.

The problem was that, even with the Hero’s Power, the gap between Raspha and Jade was too great.

In normal circumstances, Jade wouldn’t be able to penetrate the Demonic Energy even if he used his right eye.

The battle between Antonio and Raspha continued.

“Are you just going to keep running away like that?”

-Swaaek!

“You old fossil! Do you think I’d just stand there and get hit by your slow attacks?”

Raspha dodged the hammer aimed at her head with a swift movement.

-Passss

But even a glancing blow from Antonio’s hammer thinned the Demonic Energy surrounding her.

That’s it.

That sight momentarily caught Jade’s eye.

If Raspha’s Demonic Energy was weakened by Divine Power, then Jade had a chance.

“Moving around like a fly.”

Antonio infused Divine Power into his foot and slammed it down, causing a burst of pure white light to erupt around him.

-Kwang!

“Tch. Doing all sorts of tricks.”

Raspha leaped into the air to avoid it.

‘Now… I can do it.’

As soon as he saw Raspha leaping into the air, Jade charged straight towards her.

But Raspha seemed to have noticed Jade’s attack immediately.

“Did you think I wouldn’t be able to respond just because I’m in the air, you little brat?”

-Shiiik!

Raspha’s right leg spun around and shot towards Jade’s head.

If he were hit directly, his head would be crushed, but Jade continued to advance towards Raspha without wavering.

He trusted Antonio.

And Antonio repaid that trust.

“Where do you think you’re looking?”

“!!”

Antonio’s hammer and Jade’s thrust.

If she dodged or blocked one, she would inevitably be hit by the other.

Raspha’s judgment was swift.

Raspha retracted the leg she had extended towards Jade.

-Tak!

Then, she kicked off the air and narrowly avoided the hammer.

Her judgment was that she could afford to take Jade’s weak attack.

-Swaaek!

The Divine Power contained in the hammer grazed Raspha’s right arm.

-Passss.

The Demonic Energy surrounding Raspha weakened once again.

‘I’ve done this before. I can do it.’

Jet-black Demonic Energy was tangled around Raspha’s arm.

But the points connecting the Demonic Energy were more vulnerable than other areas.

Jade aimed for that tiny gap.

-Chiiing!

Jade’s Aura and Demonic Energy collided, creating an unpleasant sound.

“There’s no way you can break through my Demonic Energy—”

No, I can break through.

‘Because I am the Hero.’

-Puk!

“!!”

The tip of the sword pierced Raspha’s right shoulder, tearing through flesh and bone.

The sword that Jade had thrust out had pierced through the Demonic Energy.

“Kuk! You insignificant trash!”

-Kwang!

Raspha kicked Jade away in anger.

“Ugh!”

Jade dropped his sword and crossed his arms to block the kick, flying backwards.

But the fact remained that Jade’s attack had already inflicted a critical wound on Raspha’s shoulder.

“…You broke through my Demonic Energy with such pathetic skill?”

Raspha bit her lower lip and immediately pulled the sword out of her shoulder.

Blood gushed from the wound, but black energy quickly surrounded the injury, stopping the bleeding.

“That was a splendid combination. You haven’t been the Hero for very long, but you already have this level of skill…”

Antonio was also impressed by Jade’s successful attack.

“Hoo… I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help, Antonio.”

From Jade’s perspective, he was still in disbelief that he had succeeded in such a risky move.

In any case, he now had a complete advantage in the battle.

“I, am I going to die here in a place like this?”

Raspha began to step back little by little.

Her eyes darted around.

Jade noticed what she was thinking from her wavering eyes.

‘Could it be…?’

Raspha was trying to escape.

“If it has come to this…”

Raspha muttered something and threw a punch. A Fist Force made of Demonic Energy flew towards Jade.

-Shiiik!

But the attack followed an erratic path and passed by Jade’s side.

‘What? Did she make a mistake because of the injury to her shoulder?’

There was no way Raspha would make such a ridiculous mistake…

At that moment, someone came to Jade’s mind.

Lena.

“!!”

Jade hurriedly turned around and saw the Fist Force flying towards the fallen Lena.

Raspha was targeting the defenseless Lena.

“No!”

Jade immediately threw himself to block the Demonic Energy.

But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

-Kwang!

The mass of Demonic Energy struck Lena, and dust obscured his vision.

“…This is a lie, right?”

Was he really going to lose Lena so pointlessly?

-Thud.

Jade knelt on the ground, his hands trembling.

As he despaired, he suddenly heard a deep voice.

“Hero, it’s alright.”

-Swissssh.

The smoke from the explosion slowly began to clear.

Instead of Lena’s corpse, there was a large man’s back.

“Antonio?”

Antonio had thrown himself to shield Lena.

“Lena is safe.”

“That’s a relief. Thank you! Thank you so much.”

Jade breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly thanked Antonio.

His relief at Lena’s safety was short-lived, as Jade noticed Antonio’s injuries.

Antonio had been struck directly in the back by the Demonic Energy, and his armor had been pierced.

The exposed skin was stained black.

It felt like a serious injury that required immediate treatment.

“Antonio, you’re injured in the back…”

“You don’t need to worry about me. I can heal this much with Divine Power.”

-Saaaa.

Pure white light enveloped the wound on his back, and Antonio’s skin gradually returned to its original color.

As Jade calmed his mind, which had been startled by the sudden situation, anger towards Raspha surged within him.

To target the defenseless Lena so despicably.

“Raspha… how dare you target Lena?”

“You know I’m a despicable guy, right? I don’t want to say such ugly things, but… I’ll definitely kill you next time.”

-Shushuk!

With those words, Raspha took advantage of the distance and quickly darted towards the door.

“You think I’ll let you!”

Antonio quickly threw his hammer, but—

-Chiiik!

“Thanks for the help!”

Raspha instead blocked the hammer and used the force of the impact to move away even faster.

“Hmph, this is troublesome.”

Even Antonio seemed taken aback by this unexpected move.

Was she really going to get away with doing this to them?

There was no way he could let that happen.

“Don’t run away!”

Jade was about to chase after Raspha.

-Thud.

But Antonio grabbed Jade’s shoulder with his left hand.

“Why are you stopping me!”

“You need to calm down. It will take too long to chase down and capture a Greater demon in this situation.”

“Do you know what that bitch did to us!”

Jade shouted at Antonio, his voice filled with anger.

“I know. That’s why you need to take care of your companions quickly.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Jade’s reason return, and he remembered the existence he had forgotten.

“Lena.”

He had been so consumed by the thought of killing Raspha that he had momentarily forgotten about Lena.

Jade rushed to Lena’s side.

Lena, still in a terrible state, was unconscious and lying on the ground. A whitish fluid was still flowing from beneath her.

“…Cruel bastards.”

Antonio, who was standing behind Jade, also made a groaning sound as he looked at the scene.

-Clang!

Jade broke the Shackles around his neck and desperately shook Lena’s body.

“Lena! Lena! It’s all over now. Please wake up!”

“Jade… But… it’s a little cold…”

-Thud.

Lena, who had briefly opened her eyes, quickly lost consciousness again and collapsed.

“Le, Lena!”

With a sense of foreboding, Jade checked Lena’s condition.

-Snore, snore.

Lena was still breathing.

But her breathing was gradually becoming weaker.

Jade’s hands trembled with the fear that he might lose Lena.

“A, Antonio, what should I do? Lena might die. If that happens, I…”

“Please step aside for a moment.”

Antonio gently pushed aside the distraught Jade and placed his hand on Lena’s chest.

-Saaaa.

Pure white light erupted from Antonio’s hand and then faded away after a moment.

Then, Lena’s weakening breathing gradually began to change to a more regular and stable rhythm.

After confirming this, Antonio picked up a large piece of cloth nearby and covered Lena’s body.

“I’ve done some simple first aid for now. Her body was probably in bad condition due to the Mana Suppression Shackles, and she overexerted herself too much. I can only use simple healing spells, so she needs to go to the Holy Kingdom quickly and receive treatment from a priest.”

“What should I do?”

“Let’s get out of the Dungeon quickly. I’ll take care of the red-haired companion over there, and you can take care of Lena. I installed a Warp Magic Circle in the village before I came here. We can use that.”

Antonio slung his hammer on his back and lifted Annie with one hand, tucking her under his arm.

Seeing this, Jade quickly put Lena on his back.

The feeling of Lena’s chest and stomach against his back conveyed a soft sensation to Jade, but he felt nothing.

Jade’s mind was only filled with worry about Lena’s condition.

‘Please, just hold on a little longer.’

Jade offered a fervent prayer to the Goddess and hurriedly left the Dungeon.

**

The Village Chief discovered Jade returning to the village and greeted him happily.

“Oh, thankfully you’re back. How was the Dungeon—”

But he stopped talking when he saw the group’s disheveled appearance.

“I don’t have time to explain in detail, but the Dungeon has been taken care of. I’m sorry for leaving without a proper greeting. Thank you for your help, even though it was for a short time.”

“Y, you’re welcome.”

Jade left a brief farewell to the Village Chief and urged Antonio.

“Where do we go now?”

“Just follow me.”

Antonio led Jade to a warehouse in the eastern corner of the village.

-Creak.

Antonio opened the door and entered the warehouse, and Jade followed him inside.

As soon as he entered the warehouse, Jade saw a large Magic circle engraved on the floor of the warehouse.

-Whooong.

The Magic circle was made up of complex Rune and emitted a blue light.

“We can use this to go straight to the Holy Kingdom. But this Magic circle is for one-time use, so we can’t come back here. Is it okay to go straight to the Holy Kingdom?”

Jade briefly thought about the luggage he had left in his room…

But he could always get those things again.

What was important now was speed.

“Let’s go right now.”

“Alright. Then stand in the middle of the Magic circle.”

Jade, with Lena on his back, stood in the center of the Magic circle.

After confirming this, Antonio also took Annie and stepped onto the Magic circle.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Antonio slammed a part of the Magic circle with his foot, which was wrapped in Divine Power.

-Thud.

At that moment, the Magic circle shone brilliantly, and the bodies of Jade’s group gradually began to disappear.

-Bang!

Suddenly, a man rushed into the warehouse in a hurry.

“W, wait a minute! Where are you going?!”

‘Carlson?’

Jade was about to say something when he saw Carlson with a bewildered expression,

“Carl—”

-Flash!

At that moment, the Warp took place.

**

“What is this…”

Carlson was dumbfounded as he looked at the empty warehouse.

Just a few minutes ago, Carlson had rushed out of the inn after hearing the news that Jade’s group had returned.

“Do you know where they went?”

“I saw them running to the warehouse in the east of the village? I don’t know exactly why.”

At the villager’s words, Carlson also ran to the warehouse. And as soon as he entered the warehouse, he discovered his guests disappearing, enveloped in blue light.

Carlson, left alone, trudged back to his room at the inn.

-Thud.

Carlson immediately lay down on the bed and lamented.

“To leave without even saying goodbye. I hope Lena is alright…?”

Carlson recalled the image of Lena on Jade’s back.

Something must have happened to her in the Dungeon.

“Wait a minute. What about the payment? Did I get stiffed? This is a bit…”

They should have at least paid me. Carlson ran his hand through his golden hair and discovered something on the desk.

“What’s that?”

It was a small pouch.

Carlson quickly got up and headed to the desk.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in the room before.”

Carlson naturally opened the pouch and checked the contents.

“…?”

Surprisingly, there were dozens of gold coins inside.

This was enough money for him to work his ass off for a year.

“W, why is there so much money…”

Carlson was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

He thought there was a possibility that he had been caught up in something dangerous.

“Paper?”

Then he accidentally discovered a small piece of paper next to the pouch.

Carlson quickly read the words on the paper.

There was only one line written.

-Sex was good♡

“…”

After being stunned for a moment, Carlson began to laugh in vain.

“Ha, ha… What an amusing person.”

The author of the letter was obvious.

“Anyway, it seems Lena is safe.”

Carlson felt like he had a happy dream for a few days.

And it was about sharing physical pleasure to his heart’s content with his ideal woman.

Lena’s beautiful face and soft skin.

The narrow inside that intensely tightened his thing.

The sweet words she whispered, seducing him.

All of this would remain as an unforgettable memory for Carlson for the rest of his life.

“I need to leave quickly too.”

Carlson put the pouch in his bag and began to pack his equipment. He was preparing to return to the city of Veil.

It was time to break free from the sweet dream and go back to his work.