If the man was truly enlightened, the chance they would have of capturing the immortal demon would grow exponentially.
They might actually have a chance of capturing me.
Oren chuckled softly, evading another malicious strike from the Auburn Huntress.
With every second, her movements seemed to slow with exhaustion.
But she was not slow enough to give Oren an advantage, and even if there was a slight difference, he was still fighting four adversaries.
At the moment, though, the fourth was missing. The leader was heavily injured, and the Huntress was running out of stamina quickly.
Now, it was mostly left to the silent man.
He thrust his arm forward, growling when the attack missed its mark.
Each evasion the silent warrior could not track, each attack he himself could not evade, was a chance at his inevitable demise.
He knew it, and yet he trembled at the thought.
What seemed to worry him even more, though, was the fact that the Auburn Huntress and their leader were injured and fatigued.
The eldest was out of sight.
Would he lose? If he did, would they die too? Would the immortal demon sacrifice their bodies to bring forth the life of Erols?
Glancing behind Oren further into the woods, the silent warrior gritted his teeth.
"Damned immortal demon!"
Dodging behind a tree and appearing on the other side, Oren smiled darkly.
"You are too serious. You came here to kill, me to enslave me and trap me."
Oren pondered for a moment, blocking the silent warriors furious punches.
Shortly after he added.
"You are the ones who declared this meaningless battle against me. If you are going to lose and know it, at least lose gracefully."
Then again, Oren could not speak lightly. His figure was battered and broken.
Blood stained his robes, and his face was scarred by his past, subtly wrinkled with age.
He looked old despite keeping the body and face that came with youth.
Despite being immortal, Oren, due to certain circumstances, was unable to become enlightened.
Shaking his head, Oren jumped forward decisively.
The emerald dagger in his palm shone as the sun reflected off the polished edge.
In the hazardous fight, everyone fighting Oren, including himself, fought with ferocious clarity.
One that could only be unlocked at the verge of death.
This was not because Oren was almighty or overwhelmingly strong, although he was undeniably fierce and cunning in his wisdom.
It was not that, either.
It seemed to be because they did not want to die. That was common sense at the least, but it was also because they knew Oren could not die.
In this battle of attrition, they would be warding off an enraged immortal demon whilst trying to subdue him and survive.
Though he was mere mundane man, his skill was that of a trained enlightened, but his strength and speed lacked tremendously.
Since these adversaries were most likely trained since birth, he was not surprised that he was on the losing end.
But then again.
He was not trying to kill them. If he was, this battle would be going differently.
Oren needed at least one as a hostage so that he could wander the fourth mountain unhindered.
But to do that, Oren would have to lure them away.
He spared a glance at the forest around him, picking where he would be pushed back.
Allowing himself to be cut, he jumped back, then fought the harrowing battle whilst shifting in a u-turn.
Only minutes had passed, and he had already led them back to the grass patch where no trees stood, giving himself more space than before.
Was this their plan?
They had allowed him to lure them back, but was this just a trap?
Though he stood on the defensive, regret stirred within him whenever he struck back. He wore nothing but a fierce front, yet killing without reason felt hollow.
He blocked the silent warriors violent swing, predicting his next attack.
But instead of striking, he jumped back, deep in thought.
I am not the damned demon the rumours claimed me to be.
If he were, then why was he second guessing himself?
Blood leaked from his arm as one of the girl's many blades pierced him.
Oren shook it off instantly and shoulder barged her, pushing her back, then stepped back.
Regaining some space.
Oren had made a deal with the four adversaries, and they were not wise enough to just let him walk freely.
In his mind, he gave them a chance. And they threw it down the great mountains, disregarding the deal of a demon.
Still, he could not blame them.
He would never make a deal with an immortal, let alone an immortal who was also called a demon.
The Auburn Huntress leaped forward, smiling for some unknown reason. It was as though she was hopeful.
She wanted to win.
If that was what was tasked of her, and if she wanted it enough, she would try at the very least.
And so would the others.
Holding her dagger in a reverse grip, she attacked viciously again and again, and when she missed, she carried on relentlessly.
The immortal demon's evasion was not enough to stop her determination and endurance.
Finding no way to get around his domineering stance, she started realise how unethical it was.
No one liked pain, and yet it was uncanny and brutal stance.
One where he could outskill anyone at the cost of pain. Almost fully open to lure them in, then his maws would snap shut and attack anyone who dared getting too close.
So instead of closing the distance between them, for once.
She genuinely chuckled, for what Auburn Huntress did next made even Oren wince.
The Auburn Huntress aimed her dagger in one motion and threw it perfectly in the next.
It impaled the centre of Oren's palm, the sharp point, protruded out the other side, making Oren's fist wreak of rot and metal.
He sacrificed a few seconds, ripping it out of his flesh and chucking it onto the ground.
He could not let his body heal with it inside his hand, it make using his hand impossible.
He looked up at the Huntress, but before he could defend, the young woman went on the offensive, closing the distance between them instantly.
Oren's smile faltered as he stepped forward, allowing the newly revealed longsword of the leader to plunge into his chest.
"Keeping it there, are you!"
The leader smiled manically.
Since he was now blind, he did not know where his sword had landed, and who he had injured.
In the short moments Oren had allowed the longsword to plunge into his chest.
But before it could sink deep enough, where it would be painful to remove, he gripped the long blade and held it firmly in place, blood running down his fingers.
But only when he heard Oren's words and felt a sudden jolt at his arm did he freeze.
In the next swift movements, Oren twisted his torso, forcing the blade to scrape against bone, then wrenched it sideways.
With his leg, he swept the girl's legs from beneath her, sending her crashing violently to the ground.
At the same time, he gripped the tallest man's arm and dragged him forward, plunging the longsword into the joint between his lower shoulder and chest with brutal precision.
Only then did Oren release his grip from the longsword and speak, stepping backwards.
"Ah, this is pitiful. Look at you, look at your comrades.... Look what you have done to your so called group."
Oren grinned as he stared at Leader's fearful expression.
"Oh... but you cant see anymore, can you. So i will do the pleasure of telling you what you have done.... You injured your own friend. That is what you did."
Oren rose his voice, purposely making the leader feel guilty, and the Huntress feel weak and pitiful for not protecting the silent warrior.
"What kind of leader wounds their soldiers?"
Snapping out of the trance, the leader gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
"I am sorry, Uriah. I did not mean to."
"It... it is fine, and even if it wasnt, it is not your fault."
Uriah's body twitched violently as he gritted his teeth and looked at the life threatening wound.
"I do not think I will heal from this wound. But do not worry about me. Worry about him, the immortal demon."
Listening with a dark expression, Oren wiped his face slowly.
But before he could speak, he heard the leader's words as he patted Uriah's shoulder.
"Rest well now."
Glancing at Oren, he spoke, the sudden smile on his face surprising him.
"What you said was quite right, demon. Me, leader. No, no. I am nothing but the lowest of the low."
"The real leader though."
The woman's soft chuckle finished his sentence.
Oren did not need to hear the words to understand he was outdone.
The real leader was the oldest man, the enlightened.
Oren heard a faint squeak.
It was from none of the adversaries. It was faint, inhuman, like an animal, a creature.
Stepping back, Oren saw the enlightened man step out from behind the tree.
He chuckled quietly, but his expression was indifferent.
Before Oren could react, the man was beside the wounded Uriah.
The real leader's expression darkened ominously.
"I am sorry... Uriah, the preparations took longer than expected. It is finished, if I am right this fog erol will make it so he cannot escape."
You all are far too inexperienced.
Sparing his comrades a dim smile, he added, his voice dripping with coldness as he glanced at Uriah once more.
"I will deal with him now."
He stared at Oren and gritted his teeth.
"Immortal demon. You think that i will just let you do this, trample over my comrades. Blind my soldier and leave the other on death's door."
Oren squinted in confusion, then spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"That is what you had let me do is it not. Is that not what you were doing...? Hiding away in fear, being a coward whilst your people fought the immortal demon.
When you know that you are the only one here who has a chance of restraining me."
Oren let out a deep bitter sigh as he added.
"Are you just that selfish?"
That was what the real leader had done, ran away, and then returned when Oren was exhausted.
It was probably his plan all along, Oren thought.
Then, the eldest stepped forward with a wistful expression.
"I may be selfish." He shook his head, then laughed.
"No you are quite right, demon. I am selfish, I am coward, but in the end, none of it matters. I will grant you your end."
He smiled, staring into Orens golden eyes.
"And If you cannot grant you your end, then i will do this at the very least."
Oren's smile froze on his face.
"What do you mean by... this?"
The enlightened leader raised the palm sized creature.
Its body was clear like glass, but it also looked somewhat inflated with some sort of grey mist.
It slowly grew from the size of a finger to the size of a kid's palm. Then unexpectedly it grew to the size of an adult's clenched fist.
It looked like it could pop at any moment.
Oren's eyes darkened.
It was an erol.
But what was its ability? What would it do and how?
Oren had only ever met a few enlightened, despite his research and profound expertise on erols, he had never seen someone use one.
If he did, then he no longer remembered.
He watched as the erol's tiny body grew, then convulsed.
Making Oren jump back, he heard a pop from the creature.
The verdant grass and flowers danced as the tree leaves became weak, easily falling with the breeze.
What came after its end was a seemingly endless fog, filling the air, filling the space between the trees, and expanding further to where he could not see.
A grey fog that he could not look through.
And whilst the fog stopped Oren, it had not stopped the adversaries of Everdream. He heard each and every footstep as he walked back quietly.
When the fog finally reached him, he could not see anything, and a bad premonition suddenly clouded his mind.
Just... what exactly is happening?
An unease he had not felt in years filled his body.
Listening to his instincts, he turned around and ran into the misty forest.
I cannot be blinded by the fog. I cannot remain here.
If I do, I will easily be trapped.
He shivered.
What if the enlightened man can see through this mist?
Turning to the right, just barely dodging a tree, he descended rapidly into the forest.
He did not make it far before he heard the true leader's shout.
"The immortal demon is fleeing, he is over there, turn right by 45 degrees and shoot him!"
Then the Auburn Huntress added.
"Everyone run after the demon! Do it now!"
Oren's senses stood on end, making even the swaying grass overwhelm him.
...Then silence.
A serene silence that did not belong with the nightmarish grey fog.
Even when Oren jumped between trees, scraping his arm by bark and wood, he could not escape the illustrious grey mist.
Is that it?
An opening...
Or is my mind playing games?
Accelerating, he looked straight and saw a faint emptiness that showed the forest.
Yes, it is!
After seeing it, each stride of his became a leap, and then a lunge of hope.
But just before he reached it, Oren heard the last of the shouts from an unfamiliar voice.
"Take this gift, immortal demon."
In the next moment, Oren swayed to the right and let out a pained groan.
A tremor ran down his body as he fell forward, a river of blood escaping from his mouth.
That was because a crimson arrow, made darker with his blood, had pierced Oren's throat completely.
Only then did Oren realise.
That there were five adversaries all along.