Chapter 16
Scar looked at the white-haired girl plainly, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever. Then he shook his head and sneered.
"Tch. You're really full of yourself, aren't you, young lady? With that amateur combat skill, you won't even last long enough to see your brother make it to the gate."
Karren didn't reply.
She launched at him.
Her fist shot forward. Scar twisted easily, slipping out of the path of her punch without effort. But in the same instant,
Karren's left leg came down like a hammer, perfectly timed with her attack. It smashed into Scar's head, stunning him for a brief moment.
That moment was all she needed.
Karren attacked fully, her bladed whip snapping forward.
Scar tried to evade, but the whip's trajectory was deceptive, twisting and bending at unnatural angles. Within moments, Scar felt his face warm. If he still had a hand to check it, he would have seen crimson flowing down his right cheek.
Scar looked at Karren again.
Something had changed in his eyes.
Was it surprise? Awe? Anger?
Karren couldn't tell. But she knew one thing for sure.
He would stop doubting her now.
Scar stared at her in silence for a moment. Then he spoke in an eerily calm, unfazed tone.
"I might have underestimated you, little girl."
His black eyes locked onto hers. His long black hair rippled faintly.
"But even with your strength, you will fall sooner or later. You are still too weak."
The moment those words left his mouth, the building beneath them rippled.
Then it exploded.
The structure shattered and transformed into countless razor-sharp fragments of pure metal, launching toward Karren from every direction. She was momentarily dazed, her body slow to react.
Her eyes widened.
---
Meanwhile, at the center of the city, the battle between Sorial and the devil had reached a temporary equilibrium.
And at this stage, the fight was boiling over.
Buildings collapsed from the aftereffects. The air itself warped and tangled as the two continued their clash. The atmosphere groaned, heavy and distorted.
Olivia attacked alongside Sorial, her guqin ringing out as she covered his back. The artifact was powerful, something that had served her for many years. But now, facing the devil, it no longer felt sufficient.
Sorial fought with every ounce of skill he had tempered over countless years. Techniques so insane they had nearly torn him apart the first time he practiced them flowed together seamlessly.
Wind arts merged into one another, amplifying each strike until his attacks became devastating, terrifying to witness.
Yet even with all that skill. All that power. All those years.
The devil remained unscathed.
Sorial was fast.
But the devil was faster.
Sorial's tactics were sharp, nearly inescapable. But before the devil's peak cunning, they amounted to nothing. His movements followed simple patterns, yet every strike landed with the ferocity of a seasoned hunter.
There was no wasted effort. No wasted movement. Every blow was lethal.
And the most disturbing part of all was his expression.
The devil was calm.
His face serene. A subtle smile rested on his lips.
Confident.
No, overconfident.
That smile told Sorial something he could not stomach.
It was as if the devil were saying he could end everything the moment he grew tired of playing.
And Sorial knew it.
What would happen if he started to fight with full intensity?
Was this battle even winnable?
The thought sent a chill through Olivia's spine, her heart racing faster with every passing second.
---
Meanwhile, far from the center of the city, two figures rushed forward at an astonishing speed. For kids their size, it was terrifying. Faster than a trained adult athlete. Faster than fear had time to catch them.
If this were any other day, they would be bickering, mocking each other endlessly.
But not now.
Now, there was no time for that.
Their mother and father were holding back the supposed devil. A being whose appearance didn't match the descriptions at all. Yet his might far exceeded every warning ever given.
And that wasn't all.
Their sister was holding off an armless man, someone said to be far more dreadful than anything they had ever faced.
It didn't matter.
They were too weak to help. Too weak to influence the battle in any meaningful way. If they stepped in, they would become nothing more than collateral.
So they had one mission.
Reach the city gate. Get out of the city.
What came after that, they had no idea.
But first, the gate.
They were close now. Just a few more turns.
They took the last corner.
Both boys froze.
They swallowed at the same time, their gazes locked onto the sight before them.
Several demons stood meters away, scattered as if guarding the city gate itself. Some looked almost human, only small details twisted or wrong. Others were so grotesque and disgusting they didn't deserve to be called human at all.
The demons stared at the boys for a moment.
Then, as if sharing the same thought, they grinned.
Tongues dragged slowly across lips. Eyes filled with joyful glee.
Gazel swallowed hard as the weight of reality crashed down on him.
They weren't strong like their father. They didn't possess the overwhelming power their mother and sister had displayed today. They had none of that.
Which meant one thing.
They couldn't fight this.
If they tried, they would die.
Running didn't seem much better. The demons would catch them. And what followed would be far worse than death.
And even running felt impossible.
The demons were already moving forward, step by step. Each footfall carried menace. Confidence. Hunger. The way they drooled made it clear.
They weren't looking at two children.
They were looking at a freshly prepared meal.
Before they could get any closer, Jarren stepped forward.
His steps were calm. Unhurried.
He placed himself directly between Gazel, Trent, and the approaching horde.
Moonlight washed over him, his blue eyes glowing faintly as he looked up at them.
"You demons really never learn."
His voice was steady. Calm. As if stating an undeniable fact.
Gazel's heart slammed against his ribs.
What is he doing?
Jarren continued, his tone unchanged.
"In this world, before absolute power, numbers like yours are meaningless."
He stretched out his hand and pointed at one of the demons.
The demon screamed.
It scrambled backward, terror exploding across its face, tripping over itself in its desperation to escape.
The others hesitated.
They had seen what the father, the mother, and the sister could do.
And now, for the first time, doubt crept into their eyes.
Because some of them started to believe this little devil might have a trick of his own.
---
To be continued.