Chapter XIII: And So It Begins (4)

Previously

Wait. Willow was beginning to feel dizzy, the smell of blood and ash was starting to grow heavier by the second. It only told him of the amount of carnage the town was under, force-feeding him a spoonful of the fact that this wasn’t a game anymore. His stomach coiled again as he did his best to ignore the screams of terror that filled his ears.

As they waited, Willow could see signs of Rufus descending into hysteria, mumbling sacrificial thoughts about wanting to join his daughter in heaven. His back was drenched with cold sweat as his legs collected dirt. His body itched. Ached with pain. But he simply waited. He honestly didn’t think he could hold out anymore. Thoughts of thirst and hunger filled his head.

There was a saying; Good things came to those who wait. It seemed to be true as Willow’s patience paid off. 

Heavy wind rushed past the entire town. A pillar of light penetrated the ash-sullen sky in the near distance. The sound of promised victory resounded. Willow knew that Elm had finally come out. 

“We’re moving, Rufus,” Willow said.

“What is that?” Rufus asked. He couldn’t believe his eyes. It seemed as if a god had descended from the amount of power rolling from the pillar of light.  

“Does it matter? All I know is that the demons should be distracted. Hell, they should be flying rabid towards the light,” Willow said before he placed a finger on his lips, telling Rufus to be quiet. As Willow had expected, almost all the demons were heading over to the pillar of light, leaving a trail of shrieks and demonic curses. After a couple moments of waiting, Willow and Rufus peaked out of their little corner, inwardly breathing out in relief when they saw that all the demons had moved from the vicinity. Double-checking just to make sure, Willow got up and said, “Let’s move.”

Rufus nodded and followed suit. “To the north we go.” He brandished his sword as quiet as possible, the both of them moving to reunite with the pack - their eyes trying to ignore the ravished remains of their home and the mutilated bodies of their brethren. Along the way, Rufus started to mumble questions to himself. “Why did the demons have to pillage at this time? Just before the Awakening? Not to mention a village way outside the Kingdom?”

Willow decided to just focus on the job right now, leading the both of them through streets and alleyways that would lead them straight to SafeHouse. Willow didn’t think telling him the reason would benefit at all since it might just lead to Rufus straight up blaming his sister and therefore him as well for his daughter’s loss. It was a delicate night right now - the pillar of light may have attracted the demons but he wasn’t foolish enough to think that it would be completely safe. He was sure at least one or two of them - the ones that didn’t see it - would be left behind. 

Willow’s breath hitched, immediately stopping Rufus and hiding the both of them behind a corner as he quickly shushed Rufus, gesturing him to shut the hell up or the both of them would get killed. Rufus was shocked but one little peak at the corner and his eyes widened in fear. 

Just right there, a demon was feasting on the bloody, mutilated corpse of a human man or woman, the body was far too mangled to tell. Seeing a demon with his own two eyes and not through a screen, Willow could tell he wanted to piss his pants right now. The first thing he realized was how freaking huge it was, despite being a simple air-type demon. 

It stood at around 8ft tall, with skin as pale as chalk and a huge wingspan that was proudly unfurled like a peacock around it’s feasting. It’s hairless, bald face was every bit as demonic as it’s presence, with glowing, hollow eyes, a maw that was all fangs and no lips, a maimed nose and a far too thin body that was streamlined for flying. It was mostly all bones and only had hair and meat on its wings and huge quadriceps. Just listening to the damn thing biting onto and tearing the meat of a human from it’s bones around like a dog playing with it’s chew toy was absolutely sickening. 

Willow tried to remember what he could about this type of demon. Studying it, he saw that it was mostly of the lowest category of air-type demons in the Demon God’s army, due to its bone coloured skin and any lack of intelligence. Since they were of the lowest category, it also fortunately meant that they were also the common thus made it far easier for Willow to remember their weakness as well. Now most demons were weak to the holy-element but these things were even more vulnerable to it, along with silver/steel-crafted weapons. 

Willow had both of them. It was unfortunate that he had to fight the demon instead of re-routing since there were only plain roads where they’d be as visible as day. Quietly, he took a deep breath before coming up with a plan to defeat the demon and move onwards. 

In hushed tones, he turned to Rufus and said, “Hold out your sword.”

Rufus also spoke in quiet tongue. “What?”

“Hold out your sword. That thing,” Willow pointed at the demon. “Is weak to steel-crafted weapons and holy attributes. I have a holy-type emblem skill that can be enchanted onto your sword.”

Rufus’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what the boy was trying to say. “You want me to fight the damn thing?! Hell no!” 

Willow winced. He couldn’t blame the guard for his cowardice as even he himself was going to piss himself from fear. “There’s no choice! All the routes back all lead to the main roads where we might as well be sacrificial sheeps! This is the only route that allows us to meet up with the others in privacy. Besides, you’re the only one who can fight out of the two of us.”

Rufus stayed silent. Willow continued, “Besides you don’t have to worry. It’s focused on eating right now meaning you can just swoop in behind it and strike him in the chest. One strike. That’s all it takes to kill it. Don’t you want to get revenge for your daughter?” 

Willow knew manipulating the man like this was low but he had no choice. He considered himself far too valuable to get killed from something like that. 

Rufus gritting his teeth with hardened resolve. “You’re sure I can kill it in one strike?” 

“One strike,” Willow nodded. With a holy-enchanted, steel sword and a clean strike to the chest from the back? The demon stood no chance. If they actually managed to kill it, the both of their emblems should somewhat evolve as well considering that they were both only still novinces to their emblems. No matter how small, being a little stronger would go a long way in this apocalyptic nightmare.

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