Screeeech!
The flying demon descended.
Its hollow beak opened.
Swoosh!
It was upon Vincent.
Boom!
Vincent tilted his body.
He dodged. In the last moment.
He jumped back, creating distance.
The domn slammed into the ground.
The long beak pierced the tiles, stuck.
But Vincent couldn't use the opportunity to counterattack.
The demon effortlessly freed itself.
It stood on its two legs.
The body featherless.
The wings closed.
But its height equaled Vincent's.
Uaaghh!
The undead around glared at the demon.
They sensed it.
A scent not belonging to their kind.
Fresh flesh.
They move to attack. But too slow.
Swoosh!
The wings spread open. The demon flew in the sky.
'Damn!'
Vincent stormed, running; he moved swiftly among the ruins.
The demon calmly flapped its wings in the sky, its gaze locked on Vincent.
It waited for an opening to strike. PAtient.
Vincent's body burned. His breath short. Vision blurred.
He was approaching his limit.
His body moved by pure will and adrenaline.
Death loomed over him.
Vincent didn't know the stats of the flying demon.
He didn't use Probe. He only had 40 mana left.
He saved it in case an opportunity came—an opportunity to form a contract.
And what if he knew the stats of the demon?
He couldn't stop and fight it.
Even if it had weaker stats.
It just needed to stall till the demon hound arrived.
Swoosh!
Vincent disappeared behind a mountain of rubble.
The demon started descending.
'No!'
Vincent's eyes trembled.
He came out from the other side of the rubble.
His eyes met with the demon's.
The pointy, hollow beak right before his eyes.
'I'll die?'
A thought flashed in his mind.
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, his body twisted.
Primal instincts kicked in.
He jumped back.
BOOM!
The demon crushed into the ground again.
A dust cloud rose.
"Aghhh..."
Vincent groaned.
He held his left shoulder.
Violet blood seeped through the gaps of his fingers.
He couldn't dodge entirely.
The demon tore a piece of his shoulder.
Swoosh!
The demon flew out of the dust cloud.
Vincent twisted his body again.
Splassshh!
The demon claimed another piece of his left arm.
A chunk of flesh below his elbow.
Violet painted his arm. Blood dripped.
The demon feasted on the flesh.
"Bastard,"
But strangely, a smile crept up Vincent's face.
Screech!
The demon screamed.
Splat! Splat!
The flesh it took from Vincent came flying from its beak.
Vincent's smile vanished.
His hopes, his plan, everything crumbled.
He intended to turn the demon into a zombie.
But he never expected the demon to spit out his flesh.
'Could it sense the danger from the flesh?'
Vincent's teeth gnashed. An assumption crept into his mind.
'But ordinary demon hounds couldn't sense the danger.'
A thought flashed in his mind—a dreadful thought.
Only one possibility remained.
'It means...this is not a lowest-grade demon but a low-grade demon like that demon hound,'
The situation became even direr.
If this flying demon had the same perception as that demon hound and the ability to fly...
'Do the heavens...want me dead?'
His eyes trembled.
He saw no way out.
Uuaaghh!
The sound of zombies rang from the distance.
The commotion attracted the undead from the nearby streets.
It elevated the grave situation for Vincent.
Swoosh!
Vincen stormed, running.
He didn't give him another opportunity to attack him.
Bom!
The demon flapped its wings.
He catapulted forward, aiming at his back.
Swosh!
Vincent avoided the side.
He swung his bloody arm.
Purple droplets flew in the air.
Screech
The demon screamed.
It flapped its wings and rose in the air. It avoided the violet blood.
'Good,'
Vincent nodded.
He found a solution to keep it at bay.
He continued running while the demon rose in the sky, observing him.
The demon tried attacking him, but each time he used his blood to repel it.
It didn't take long; Vincent reached the zombies.
He jumped among them.
At last, he was safe.
The demon wouldn't dare attack him among the zombies.
His lips curled up.
'I didn't expect the commotion to gather so many zombies.'
Vincet looked around.
Hope reignited.
He saw at least forty zombies.
But his heartbeat only intensified.
'But can the zombies stop the demon hound?'
Doubt crept into his mind.
'It has stats four times theirs,'
'They can overpower it with numbers. But, will I be safe? They are just mindless creatures; they won't protect me.'
Vincent glanced at the demon in the sky.
'One mistake will cost me my life.'
Rip!
He tore a piece of his clothes, wrapping his wounds.
Swoosh!
Vincent didn't hesitate anymore.
He ran among the zombies while the demon flew in the sky, closely following him.
Vincent didn't want to meet that demon hound again, at least not yet.
He had only one chance now—only one way to survive.
Since he couldn't escape the demon, he could only gather an army of zombies large enough so the demon hound wouldn't dare attack.
Soon, he reached the end of the group of zombies.
Swoosh!
He left the group.
The flying demon attacked.
BOM!
Vincent barely dodged.
The demon tore his clothes.
The zombies rushed at it.
But the demon rose in the air, rendering them helpless. But it rose quickly into the air, rendering them helpless.
They moved around restlessly for a while, but the scent soon disappeared.
They lost their target.
Vincent sighed in relief and continued moving.
He repeated the pattern several times.
When he leaves the group, the demons attack. And the zombies gather around him again.
He used this method to move the group of zombies.
As he moved, he got used to the demon's attack pattern and speed.
The commotion attracted more zombies.
The army grew.
More than a hundred undead.
But Vincent's expression only grew darker.
"Huff...Hufff!"
He panted heavily.
His entire body burned.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
Clothes drenched in sweat.
"I... I...can't continue anymore,"
Thud!
He collapsed on his knee. Trembling in exhaustion.
'The demon is still in the sky...'
He glanced up.
'And it shows no signs of giving up,'
Vincent was aware of his perilous situation.
He might be safe for the moment, but what if the demon continued pursuing him?
He needed to eat and drink water.
His mouth had already cracked. Throat dried.
He hadn't stopped the bleeding of his arm.
And at the moment, he faced a huge problem.
"I-I...have to continue,"
Vincent tried standing up.
"If I don't..."
The zombie group grew large. Too large.
If he doesn't constantly move and bait the demon to attack, the zombies will lose their target.
The group will disband.
He had to move, or he'd lose even the little safety he acquired.
ROOOAR!
The air tore.
"NO!"
Vincent's heart skipped a beat. His eyes trembled.
His face paled.
The demon hound caught up to him.
'I wanted to gather a larger army before I faced it.'
Fear shrouded his heart.
Uaaaghh!
The zombies turned toward the roar.
"No..."
A realization dawned upon Vincent.
"Damn!"
He cursed out loud, gnashing his teeth.
The roar attracted the zombies. They started moving.
Fortunately, they moved slowly.
But still, for Vincent's exhausted body, it was torture.
He couldn't get a second of rest.
He had to move. Or he'll get left behind.
...
The minutes passed.
Vincent's pain increased.
He dragged his tired body.
His feet scraped the ground—body swaying.
He looked no different than the zombies.
But mental pressure also piled up.
With each step, doubt assaulted his mind.
Could he face the demon hound and the flying demon? Could he survive?
[Notice]
[You've overexerted your body]
[You receive: (0.3 Stamina); (0.1 Agility)]
Vincent's eyes widened. Surprise.
"T-This...,"
But it didn't last much.
At the moment, he couldn't care about it.
It didn't matter.
All premises of the future had only one condition.
If he couldn't survive.
If he couldn't, everything is meaningless.
He could only brace himself for the incoming battle.
And pray.