3-36 Cerulus

Erin could no longer see the stats and numbers of Velkan, a clear indication of his loss of humanity. Even his name had been erased and replaced with a moniker that better fitted his current appearance, Two-Faced Demon. Aside from its ominous name, only its level remained, higher than its split state but lower than its whole form.

Going by her previous experience fighting Demons, Erin wasn’t confident that her level advantage would be much of an advantage at all. Their mercurial nature was a huge factor in making them the threat that the world had come to fear.

Erin pinned her sharpened gaze on the two-faced Demon in front of her. Initially, she had an inkling of what she could expect from her opponent but after the drastic transformation it just underwent, Erin didn’t dare to cross anything out of her expectation list. She didn’t rule out the possibility of it growing another pair of arms as they exchanged blows.

The silence and respite came to an end as the two-faced Demon threw itself at Erin by beating its wings. A gust was brought along as it flew. Erin turned away to prevent the sand and dirt from getting into her eyes. Through the sounds and the displacement of the winds, Erin deflected a swipe and dodged under a slash. She swung up in retaliation, but the Demon’s wings pulled him away from harm’s way. Erin chased it down, but smoke of darkness spilt from its agape mouth. The soil and trees dissolved into nothing at the touch of the black clouds. Erin reeled herself away before the smoke could even graze her.

Her Appraisal told her it was not a Demonic magic but Abyss Magic, Withering Breath. As she was engrossed in the terror of such a spell, javelins of darkness shot towards her. She noticed them in time and cut them all down. The Demon moved in right at this moment. With the Mystic Skin of Abyss Magic still laced around it, the Demon thrust its claws at Erin. The Fox-kin summoned Thunder Shell to meet the claws. Sparks of lightning flew and thunderbolts shot back out at the Demon, sending it tumbling head over heels across the ground.

Erin closed the distance and swung her sabre at the Demon which still hadn’t begun recovering its bearings. However, its wings carried it away from Erin’s slash. The Demon regained its bearings and lunged. A barrier of lightning appeared between them as the Demon crashed face-first into the obstacle. Before lightning could be sent back, Erin dispelled the barrier and brought her sabre around a wide arc.

“What the fuck!?” Erin cursed in disbelief.

The Demon caught her blade with its wide mouth. It didn’t stop her swing fully but it slowed her swing down considerably to render her attack wasted. The Demon itself suffered some damage but the wound quickly mend itself back. Erin was about to retreat but the Demon held on to her blade with its jaws.

“Damn,” she muttered and reluctantly let go of her sabre before she could be swung around by the Demon while dangling from its mouth.

The Demon tossed her sabre away and lunged at her once again with reckless abandon. Erin thought of using Thunder Shell again but the Demon covered its front with its wings that glowed a vibrant dark purple. She threw an Aura Shot instead, disconcerting the Demon’s aim, before diving out of the way. The Demon ended up crashing into the ground as a result of Erin’s Aura Shot. Erin took off sprinting into the woods to retrieve her sabre. The Demon got back on its feet immediately and chased after Erin.

Erin leapt to the trees and traversed from there. It was faster and less prone to be hampered by anyone or anything. However, her foe this time had wings. The Demon quickly caught up to her before she could even have her sabre in sight. The Demon swooped in from above the trees. Erin, without glancing back, fired a blind Lightning Bolt that only graze the Demon’s shoulder, leaving only a blackened mark. The Demon rammed through the branches in its way without being slowed for even the slightest. Erin was no match for its flight speed. The Demon swiped but Erin dropped down to the ground to avoid being grabbed. The Demon dove after her.

The Demon unleashed Withering Breath, sending clouds of black smoke rushing towards Erin. At this distance, the smoke caught up to Erin instantly.

Erin stifled a scream when a puff of Withering Breath grazed her left calf.

[Darkness Resistance Lv. 1 - Acquired]

Erin’s face brightened for a brief moment but only to remember she had spent all her points. She made a mental note then to always leave some points lest a similar circumstance happened again.

“Better than nothing at least,” she mused to herself in her heart.

The Demon continued releasing Withering Breath as it gave chase. Erin was already using the full potential of Fleet Foot but the Demon and its spell were still reaching her. Erin cast Lightning Rush in tandem and sped out of the reach of the Demon. It screeched loudly when it lost her out of its reach.

Erin prepared a Lightning Spear spell as she continued to run lightning surging through her. The Demon had also raised its speed. Purplish glowing veins spread across its wings. The Demon was getting close enough to grab Erin but she leapt to trees again and the Demon followed with a loud grunt. She dropped back down to the ground and the Demon followed. She ran straight and the Demon pursued with a growling shriek. Noticing its annoyance, Erin turned around abruptly and conjured up an Arcane Aegis. The Demon swerved around the ethereal shield but Erin was waiting for this movement from it to strike. She threw the Lightning Spear in her hand. The Demon was fast but not fast enough to dodge the Lightning Spear. The spell hit the Demon’s legs, destroying its balance, and it went rolling into a tree.

Knowing the Demon had its head stuck in the tree’s trunk, Erin grinned without offering the Demon a glance and continued her search for her sabre.

The Demon broke out of the tree it crashed into with a howl and a screech that expressed its frustration and anger. It shook itself out of its daze and resumed pursuing its prey but not before picking up a stray log strewn about on the ground.

A sharp glint reflected into Erin’s eyes. Erin found her sabre, stabbed into the ground underneath a large tree.

“How the hell did it land this far?”

Erin beamed with hope at the sight of her sword. She waded her way through with the branches and dead leaves in the way. Since the trees grew too close around here, Erin had stopped running and started walking briskly. There were even a few deep holes in her path that had been hidden from plain sight underneath the barks and dead leaves. Erin’s ears helped her get across safely to her sword.

Before Erin could retrieve her sword, the Demon flew in like an arrow. It looked that way to her since she had slowed down. The Demon’s claws grasped around her arms tightly before she could move in the sea of dead leaves and barks. The Demon growled victoriously and took her into the skies, far above the trees.

Erin shrill in terror and amazement as her world became vast and nothing could stop her from hitting the ground hard should the Demon decide to release its claws.

“Still better than being carried up the way above the clouds!”

Erin thrashed around in the Demon’s grasp but it held on to Erin firmly. It seemed to threaten Erin as it growled and loosened its claws slightly.

“Why the wait? Just kill me and be done with it, Demon. Or did you lose your nerves even when you’re now a Demon?”

Erin didn’t know if her taunt worked but there was a reaction from the Demon as it looked at her with a sidelong glance. It brought her face close and opened its mouth. Erin knew it was about to use Withering Breath.

At that moment, an arrow flew towards them.

“Lyra!”

The Demon noticed it early enough to fly out of the arrow’s way but the arrow curved in its path and followed the Demon. The Demon snarled and battered the arrow out of the air using one of its wings. However, there was some strange greenish liquid laced all over the arrow. The greenish liquid burned a hole through the Demon’s wing in seconds like acid. The Demon screeched in agony and released Erin from its grasp.

“Bollocks!” Erin shouted as she fell through the air. Her limbs flailed freely in the air. She resorted to using all her defensive spells to cushion her fall and she felt her Mana pool drain at an alarming rate. As she prepared for a world of pain, a familiar scent entered her nose just before she reached the trees.

“We won’t make it at this speed! Fly faster, Olivia!”

Erin heard Lyra shouted.

“No,” Siv refuted. “Miss Olivia, just throw me over. I’ll reach her faster that way.”

A shadow sped through the skies towards her. Erin couldn’t see it properly with the strong gust rushing past her eyes. She felt her speed of descent slow dramatically. The shadow loomed over her view.

“My turn, mistress,” Siv said, receiving Erin in her arms.

“I suppose we are even now,” Erin replied with a smile.

They embraced each other tightly as they fell. Erin’s drop path was slanted from Siv’s intervention, so it wouldn’t be deadly but the pain would still be profound. Erin cast Arcane Armor and Arcane Aegis over her and Siv.

Though she had a sturdy defence, the force from breaking through all the inches of branches, logs, and finally the ground, sent pain through their bodies as they came to a stop from their fall.

Erin groaned. “Let’s hope this won't happen again…”

“Agreed, mistress,” Siv grumbled in response as she tried to stand up.

The ground trembled as something large was dropped to the ground somewhere in the forest from the skies.

“You think that would hurt it?” Siv asked.

“Hurt? Yes. Permanent? Doubt it.”

A howl echoed across the forest from their left.

“Where’s Lyra?” Erin asked, looking around.

“She’s on Olivia.”

“Ah— Wait, what? On Oliva? What did you mean by that?”

Siv pointed to the sky.

A large shadow soared through above the trees just then. It was brief but Erin saw the shape perfectly.

“A Dragon?” Erin gasped. She didn’t doubt herself for even a moment as the feeling had the slight oppressive aura she knew from Aedan.

The Dragon flew around the skies for a while before it descended in front of Erin and Siv as gently as it could. Lyra hopped off to the ground from the back of the Dragon.

“Erin, you’re alright!” Lyra exclaimed, running into Erin’s arms.

“That’s Olivia?” Erin asked as Lyra dove into her arms.

“Yes, Lady Erynthea,” the Dragon with blue scales answered. “I am Olivia Harlyx Cerulus, the sixth child of the Water Dragon Tribe, Cerulus.”

Olivia’s appearance palette did resemble the seas to Erin. “How is this possible? Your race tab said you were a human last I appraised.”

“Milady, there are many ways and tools to trick the eyes of Appraisal. It’s best you don’t rely on it too much when you arrive in Sephrodia Valley. People are dreadfully cautious over there as secrets are overflowing in the valley.”

The Demon’s howl robbed their attention and broke Erin’s sense of inquiry towards Olivia.

“Your advice is noted but there’s a more important matter for now,” Erin said.

“Allow me to help, Lady Erynthea.”

“And why would you do that?” Erin asked.

“Because it’s the will of my lord.”

“Your lord commands you to help me?”

“...no, he didn’t,” Olivia admitted. “But it does not matter. As an adherent of the Dragon God, I can know my lord’s will. Your well being is one of my lord’s many wills. I am simply doing my duty as his follower.”

Erin glanced at Olivia, her stats flourishing into her sight. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Olivia’s level was fifty-two and her age was two hundred and thirteen. Though only level fifty-two, her ability values were three-fold of what a level fifty-two was supposed to be if Erin went by her own standards. Olivia had quite a number of Arcane Arts, many of which were level ten. The lowest level she had was her Omni Resistance at level two. In terms of Arcane Arts, Olivia was by far the most impressive Erin had known aside from Aedan, not that she knew what or how many Arcane Arts he had.

“Is this your true strength?” Erin asked.

“It is, milady,” Olivia answered. “I may not be a fighter but I know my worth. Besides, I still have my potions.”

“Where are they?” Erin looked around Olivia but she wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing or gear.

“Right here, Erin,” Lyra said with a bag slung around her shoulder. “She gave it to me before she… turned.”

“Mistress, the Demon’s getting closer,” Siv said.

“Fine, Olivia.” Erin sighed. “You can help but you follow my commands. If you don’t, I’ll complain to your lord, personally.”

Olivia flinched at Erin’s threat and knowledge of her lord. “O-of course, milady.”

“Wait. Mistress, you know who’s her lord?” Siv asked.

“We’ll talk about that after we kill this Demon.”

Siv turned to Lyra, who was grinning.

“You knew too?”

“It wasn’t that hard to figure it out,” Lyra said. “After all, how many Dragons have we come across?”

Siv stared in disbelief at Lyra. “Who?”

Lyra shrugged. “I suppose one can say he’s Erin’s secret adoration.”