章 78: PATHETIC
"Ngh... You kids... think only about how you're going to survive! Do whatever it takes to stay alive! I'm sorry... for dragging you all into our war... The more time I spent with you all... the more I came to regret relying on you to solve our problems... so please, live to make it home... Don't worry about us... From the start... this was our fight to fight!"
Contrary to his instructions Felis had awaited the three at the transportation circle back in Oscar's lair. Which ended up not being an entirely bad thing as this gave her time to explain the abilities of the monsters she's seen in this scuffle. Apart from some monsters, Ivan had seen already in the dungeon or the battle of Ur there were only a few that stood out. A giant turtle thing that absorbed spells, horse-men hybrids that could turn their mana into kinetic force, Chimeras that could go invisible and even bestow invisibility to those that were in contact with it, and finally black cats with tentacles.
These were the only things that stood out to him. At least aside from the young woman with fiery red hair and pointed ears. Ivan would have assumed her to be an elf if not for her swarthy red skin. This was the demon Felis had told him about, and according to her the strength this demon had wasn't much. Apart from a sword that could be manipulated as sand and a spell that petrified anything it touched, her only real advantage was these monsters with powerful abilities.
It was when Ivan arrived on the scene that he was met with a rather peculiar sight, Captain Meld laid bravely on the ground bruised and beaten but with a smile all the same. His hands held up a pendant as he sneered at the demon woman that sat atop her mount without an ounce of worry. The class that surrounded him didn't seem to be in a great position either, even the chosen 'hero' Kouki lay on the ground helplessly. But right now that wasn't of Ivan's concern, what did concern him however was the amount of light radiating from the pendant as he laughed aloud.
Just when Ivan thought he was about to witness some heroic sacrifice the light that had amassed faded and flew from Meld's hands before entering the turtle's shell. At that moment, he wished he had a camera with him just to document their faces.
Captain Meld could only sit in a daze as a dagger made of sand went hurtling towards his direction. Unable to dodge, he closed his eyes to accept the fate he felt he deserved for forcing his will upon these children.
However, that fate never came no matter how long he kept his eyes closed—
DING!
Sparks flew in the air as the sand dagger collided with something metallic, distorting its original path before burying itself into the nearby ground.
"Oya~ Well, if this ain't the most pathetic sight I've seen in a while! God's chosen 'hero' was reduced to a mat as he lay on the floor while his mentor was nearly killed. And you seriously challenged my position to not put my faith into you all? Tsk, tsk, tsk, one demon was all it took to bring you to this state. As a member of the human race, I'm quite ashamed~"
Those words came from afar as everyone still conscious turned to meet the figure, instead greeted by four. The three more lithe figures surrounded the speaker with white masks adorning their faces, their mantles each a different color. As for the speaker himself, he seemed to have a helmet equipped to resemble a dragon, the other parts of his outfit matching the pitch black that didn't show even a bit of light. He had his hand raised forward, his right hand to his waist. But even without even being able to see his face they could all hear the arrogant tone he took with them.
The class' concern for the mysterious guest turned to displeasure as each word stabbed their already wounded egos.
"Hoooooh~ And who might you be? Actually, forget I asked that. You're not one of the targets, so you can go ahead and die. Rethink acting as a hero in your next life!" The demon lady's words came to an end as with the snap of her fingers the two black cats darted at him with startling speed.
"Aiya, I came down here to meet a demon for the first time and this is the kind of greeting I get? And here I was hoping we could get a chance to get to know each other, maybe exchange international secrets over a cup of coffee~...Well, no matter I suppose!"
The words of this mysterious figure managed to tick the demon lady off, her instructions became more aggressive as she ordered the cats to capture him alive and make an example of him to the class. A fair technique that would likely be successful in gaining their servitude.
However, there was only one slight stimulation to that plan. That being the scenario where Ivan was never caught. And unfortunately for the demon lady that's precisely what the situation came to be.
Ivan grinned under his mask watching the two black cats approach him. He was planning on dealing with them first because of their long-reaching tentacles with great speed so this was just a blessing in disguise. He lifted both of his fists again before a distinct thumping noise emanated from the bracers. The cats that had been on the defensive came to a complete stop seeing the seven projectiles flying their way. At first, they split up to avoid them, only that being a failure as no matter what route they took the needles always found them. Even sharp turns did nothing to stop their approach.
In their confusion Ivan stepped forward, standing directly in the path of a black cat that was too busy looking back at the chasing needle to see the obstacle in front of it. By the time it noticed the shadow looking over it the ground beneath it caved in like quicksand. Any attempts to struggle out only quickened its descent into the ground until nothing but its head was left.
That's when the needle that had been hot on its trail finally caught up to the thing.
STAB! BANG!
The black cat was only able to let out one last meow before getting engulfed in soot and fire. Ivan, who had already walked unhurriedly to the next cat, never turning back once, having complete confidence in its extermination. That left the second cat that had witnessed its colleague's fate.
It let out an angered cry before meeting Ivan head-on. In which case he did nothing to avoid the collision, his hands to his side as he stared at the needle approaching as well.
"GRRRAHHHH!" Its cute appearance hampered the blood-curdling scream. Ivan had blocked the cat beast's claws with his left bracer, leaving it to stun in the air before having its face met with Ivan's left palm. The class could only stare in shock as the creatures that stood no chance again were eviscerated like nothing. The second cat's death was particularly gruesome as its guts and blood exploded everywhere.
But what was odd with that is despite being closest to the explosion of gore Ivan's armor didn't have a single stain of blood. It was an odd observation that caught the attention of the students that weren't preoccupied with the other monsters.
"Ahatods, one of you attack that guest! The rest of you detain the class, I'll deal with the human knight myself." The demon lady felt slight trepidation at how easily the cat monsters were dealt with. This is why she was forcing a situation that'd weaken the guest before she swooped in, a situation that'd make the guest panic as he raced to beat his goes before the people he came to protect died.
The problem with that plan was that he wasn't alone.
"Tio, protect the heroes. Yue, you're in charge of protecting that wounded knight. As for Felis… go crazy!" The three nodded to his words as they all assumed their positions. Tio dragged the bodies of students incapable of moving away from the battlefield while countering any monsters that tried to interrupt her. Yue brought a few health and mana potions to the still confused Meld. And Felis, well the blood all over her face along with the dangerously happy humming probably revealed her situation.
Even the invisible chimeras were targets of the group's attacks as the needles imbued with heat-seeking and tracking showed no mercy. The vibrations in the air were an all too obvious indicator that invisible foes were around them. The demon lady could only watch on stunned as the army she was given was destroyed in a manner of minutes, all her arrogance leaving the window as she glanced towards the floor's exit.
The sand dagger became a shield to protect her backside as she ran away from the scene. Her joy turned to fear as she locked eyes with the beastman that carried blood all around her mouth. It seemed that she had been trapped with nowhere left to run.
"O great golden-eyed drake, slumbering deep beneath the earth, lord of all creation, your curse pierces through even the blackest darkness. Bring forth an everlasting seal of darkness, from which nothing escapes. Fear, despair, anguish, swallow it all and leave an emptiness in your wake. All will fall before your stern visage. Destroy your enemies and return them to the earth — Dark Gaol!"
The long incantation left from the demon lady was followed by a large cloud of thick mist. She smiled victoriously as she waltzed to the exit of the current floor, her eyes becoming saucers as the beastman that she thought would have been frozen by her statue-making mist now stood before her without the slightest hint of damage.
Felis bared her teeth before approaching the demon lady slowly. Tio, who had seen her duty as pretty much complete, launched a major fire attack at the woman. For a moment it seemed as though the raging infernos would reach her, at least before the turtle appeared and sucked up all power behind the spell.
That brought up Ivan's next course of action. The turtle had been harmless throughout this whole fight, sure its existence was dangerous to every mage but Ivan was sure it was just a result of it existing and not a deliberate choice. And that's precisely why he was going to take it home, his left hand pressed against the turtle's shell as a gaping hole appeared in its side. The mana that had been stored came oozing out like a leaky pipe. What Ivan had done was simply mold the turtle shell to not being capable of absorbing mana anymore
Just like that every monster the class nearly died facing vanished in less than ten minutes. They stood in a daze while Ivan and his compatriots surrounded the demon lady from every direction.
"Tch, to think I would get outdone by some unknown brat So, what do you intend to do now? Just so you know I don't intend on giving a fool like you any of our information. Hmph, just go ahead and get it over with!"
The demon lady resigned to her fate as she sat down on the floor. With the dagger made of sand being the only thing left in her arsenal she decided it would be best to accept death as a warrior. She closed her eyes awaiting the fate that would fall upon her, opening up her amulet with the picture of her fiance on it as she prayed to him goodbye.
But after seconds turned to minutes that end never came, her eyes snapped open only to realize that something had now been cuffed to her hands. She felt all the mana in her body drain as she slumped over in an attempt to alleviate her exhaustion.
Another few minutes passed before her body became so numb she was incapable of moving, then, she fell asleep.
"...."
With a potential informant in his hands, Ivan cheerfully celebrated, followed by Felis who just wanted to copy the fun he was having. The class stared at the scene as they listened to the clamoring of Ivan's group.
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Holy shit dudes, I'm so tired right now. My eyes were barely open as I wrote this. So sorry if I was incomprehensible, for some reason I looked at a paragraph that was enough to envision all the letters as a map in a video game.
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