"This is gross!" Jea groaned as she walked across the carnage, pinching her nose.
"This is horrible," the monkey said, feeling like vomiting instead of arguing with Jea. "I never heard of a demon killing animals."
"I know, right?" Aubrey chimed. "This is the first time I've witnessed such a bloodbath."
For the only moment during the expedition, the group found themselves in agreement rather than hurling insults at each other.
"Demons are known to be hostile creatures, attacking humans without reason," Lester explained. "However, it's not impossible for them to slaughter animals when humans are unavailable, we're in a remote area, after all."
Their group pressed on, venturing deeper into the forest. The trees grew denser, their leaves forming a thick canopy overhead, and sunlight barely seeped through the gaps in the foliage.
"We're getting close, keep an eye on your surroundings," the leader alerted the group.
The forest was eerily quiet, as if all the animals had abandoned their habitats. Aubrey and the group could barely hear anything except the faint rustling of leaves in the wind.
To them, the silence felt oddly suspicious.
As they walked cautiously between the towering trees, their footsteps creating a rhythmic crunch on the dried leaves, a sense of unease settled upon them. Unbeknownst to their conscious minds, invisible eyes tracked their every movement, a presence lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
The ghost-silent forest seemed to hold its breath, when suddenly, rustling noises echoed from above.
The group's attention darted upwards, surprised by the sudden ambush.
"Above!" Lester yelled.
Several demons, hidden among the leaves, plunged down. They have the figure of a human child, having no hair, completely naked, and clad with sickly ash-grey skin. They have bulgy heads and big, round eyes. They also have skinny limbs, yet their abdomens are bloated to that of a pregnant woman.
While the demon's appearance doesn't inspire fear, they have a threatening weapon to butcher their prey—a razor-sharp claws.
About ten of those demons sprang upon the first years, their claws poised for a deadly strike.
Reacting with lightning speed, Lester thrust his arm upward, summoning a powerful gust of wind that sliced through the air with a sharp whistle. The sudden burst of wind caught the demons off guard, sending them tumbling backward in a chaotic flurry.
Lester deliberately didn't put enough energy on his wind magic, only intending to thwart their ambush. His attack is aimed to disturb the demons' balance, sending them crashing to the forest floor, head first.
The demons' inflated foreheads thudded heavily against the ground, causing them to flounder in disorientation, momentarily clouding their predatory instincts.
Meanwhile, the sudden ambush left the first years in a state of shock. Their faces were etched with disbelief and fear as their hearts raced.
Petrified and uncertain of how to respond, they stood frozen in fear. However, their hesitation was shattered by a commanding call from their leader, "Get them, now!!!"
The terror gripping their cores was shaken away as they regained their composure. They swiftly withdrew their weapons, eliminating the feeble demons one by one while they were still disoriented from the fall.
Aubrey reaped through the majority of the demons with her scythe, while Jea pierced a hole in a couple of them using her nail-shaped water spell. The other two male members of the group swiftly took down the rest, ensuring all the demons were killed.
"Whew, I didn't expect it to be that easy," Jea sighed in relief, the tension of the battle slowly dissipating as they caught their breath.
The demons' remains disintegrate along the air, leaving their cores on the dirt. Once that was over, the monkey and his new friend collected the cores on the floor, storing it in a bag.
"Could that be the strongest demon here?" the monkey wondered. "They look like babies, no cap."
"True, they're weak," Aubrey said. "My scythe penetrates their filthy skin so easily. Well, I guess that's normal for an E-level gate."
"That's right. Every demon here will be on that level, so as long as you don't lose composure, you'd clear this Gate without hassle," Lester said.
The successful outcome of the first encounter served as a catalyst, igniting a flame of confidence within the first years. It fortified their hearts, giving them strength so that they would not falter when confronted with danger next time.
However, as they discussed how easy the Gate would be, it became evident that the battle was not yet over.
*Rustle*
More of the infant demons emerged from the bushes, grinning like Cheshire cats with their excessively long tongues. Their numbers had tripled since the first wave, and they encircled the group, trapping them in a tightening ring.
"Form a defensive circle! Stay together and watch each other's backs!" Lester yelled, commanding the group in quick notice.
Aubrey, Jea, and the other two boys snapped into action, forming a tight circle as they clutch on their weapons. The demons caved into them, advancing slowly as their grotesquely long tongues licked their lips.
The group held their position, steeling themselves for the impending assault. Aubrey readied her scythe, its blade gleaming ominously with purple light. Jea summoned the only spell she knew—her nail-shaped water projectiles, sharp and deadly. The monkey drew his dagger, suiting his assasination-type blessing. Meanwhile, the broken-hearted guy transformed his arms into stone with a pointy tip, a self-morphing blessing that can turn one's body in any kind of minerals. They patiently waited, anticipating the attack of the demons.
Without warning, the demons lunged. Aubrey was the first to react, stepping forward and sweeping her scythe in an arc, decapitating four demons in a single slash before manoeuvring the scythe back by pulling the chains.
Jea unleashed her spell, obliterating two more demons. However, the relentless swarm continued to overwhelm them, each demon replaced by another as soon as it fell. They just kept coming.
In response, the boys unleashed their full power. The broken-hearted guy went on a rampage, thrashing his hardened arms with furious strength, knocking down multiple demons on his path. "Die, piece of trash!"
Meanwhile, the monkey dashed from one demon to another, his movements a blur as he singled out targets and swiftly dispatched them with precise stabs. "This is fun!" he yelled like a maniac.
The numbers of the demons fizzled out, the swarm becoming thinner as the group fend them off with synchronous motion.
"Remember, they're weak!" Lester reminded them as he single-handedly severed the demons that charged at him. "We can handle this."
*Dash*
Another demon bolts out from the bush, an older version of the infants. It zoomed through the battlefield, charging directly at Jea while she was distracted casting her spell.
The demon wields a rusty longsword, three infants skewed on its blade. This new variant of demon is the older version of the infants, sharing the same unsettling features but have the height of an average human. Its ballooning abdomen stood out, emphasized by its elongated, skinny limbs.
But despite its sluggish and malnourished features, it's quick and possess way more darker energy than the little ones.
Before Jea could react, the demon reached her rear, raising his longsword to add her into his collection of skewed victims.
The demon seized a handful of Jea's long hair, yanking her close and preventing any chance of escape.
Jea's eyes widened in terror as the demon's blade neared her back, her life flashing before her in a heartbeat. A piercing scream tore from her throat, a desperate plea for help echoing through the battlefield.
*Slash*
Something fell down.
It was the demon's head. Aubrey stood tall behind the headless demon, her scythe poised and dripping with the demon's dark blood after its swift beheading.
The demon's head rolled to the ground, its lifeless eyes staring blankly ahead. The torso then followed suit, collapsing to the floor with a heavy thud.
Aubrey rushed and wrapped Jea in her embrace, "Thank God you're okay," Aubrey said worriedly.
Jea hugged her back, "You saved me! Thank you, Aubrey."
The rest of the group cleaned the remaining infants, eliminating all of the demons in the battlefield. The area became clear, leaving no trace of demons but their cores. All infants were dispersed on the air upon their deaths, except for the demon that Aubrey just decapitated.
With the danger passed, the group rushed over to Jea, concern painted on their faces.
"Are you guys okay?" Lester's voice was filled with worry.
Jea nodded, her adrenaline gradually calming down. "Yes, Aubrey had my back."
Aubrey stepped back slightly, her grip still firm on Jea's forearm. She scanned Jea from head to toe. "Are you really not hurt? What about your beautiful hair, is it damaged?"
A genuine smile spread across Jea's lips, touched by Aubrey's concern. "Really, I'm good. Just a little shaken."
Relieved, Aubrey let go of Jea's arm. The group then gathered around, grateful that they had emerged from the battle relatively unscathed.
"That was a piece of cake!" the monkey boasted.
"Don't get too cocky just yet," Aubrey cautioned. "The Gate is still open, and there could be a bunch more demons prowling around."
As the group celebrated their victory, unbeknownst to them, Victor watched from behind a tree. His eyes narrowed as he meticulously jotted down notes on his grading sheet, evaluating the students' initial performance with keen interest.
Amidst the jubilation, the boys dutifully gathered the demon cores scattered on the ground. But as they worked, a sudden movement caught their attention. The decapitated demon behind Jea twitched, its severed headless body stirring unnaturally.
A collective gasp escaped the group as they turned to see the demon's hand latching onto Jea's ankle, sending a jolt of fear through her. Before anyone could react, the demon reached for its nearby sword, its malicious intent evident in the way it grasped the hilt.
With a swift motion, the demon swung its sword towards Jea's legs.
In the blink of an eye, Victor materialized in front of Jea with lightning speed. His left arm swept around her head, drawing her close to his chest. The terror that gripped Jea was instantly replaced by comfort as the scent of Victor's perfume stimulated her nostrils; it had her eyes rolling back as her body tingled.
Victor smoothly positioned his right foot behind Jea. With a decisive motion, he crushed the demon's arm that restrained her ankle, freeing her from its grasp. As he stood close to her, their proximity made Jea's breath hitch.
*Clank*
Suddenly, a luminous spike protruded from the ground beneath the demon. It towers up beyond the trees, impaling the demon to death before crumbling into pieces that dispersed along the blow of wind.
"Demons vanish on their demise," Victor stated, his cold voice carrying an air of nonchalance, tickling Jea's ears. "Careful next time."