Chapter 222 Demon Versus Demons [Pt 1]

Asa didn't know what to say to the cowering Elf in front of her.

She knew it wasn't his fault for not mentioning the urgency of the Supervisors impending arrival sooner. However, she also couldn't attribute such a major oversight to her perfect image of the Hero.

It brought about a dissonance that left her confused.

"I-I honestly thought you knew." Dustinel croaked, trying to justify his position, but also doing his best to convince himself that it was indeed the truth.

If his kidnapper—Asa—didn't know about the Supervisors, then that would make her an incompetent fool. In that case, siding with her team was going to be a fatal error for him. If he could, he would ditch them.

Unfortunately, in his current situation, that option was impossible.

'The Supervisors and Elf Chief will think I escaped. Shit, I can't go back!'

That was why he had no choice but to cling to the little faith he had, that Asa and her group knew their shit. Otherwise, that would mean—

"H-how could I know about it when you didn't say anything?!"

—He was royally and utterly screwed.

At the same moment Dustinel came to this realization, strange energy suddenly swept through the room. And—

"Uh?

"Eh?"

>VWUUUUUUUSSSSHHHHHHH<

—A wormhole emerged within the tent.

"Haaa…" A voice came from within the portal, and a creature emerged from it before it closed up.

It was short, crimson, and had two large horns on its head. It had a pointed tail, and its stubby stature added to its terrifying appearance.

"So this is where you were Dustinel." The crimson demon spoke—its extremely sharp fangs on display.

The Miasma the demon exuded made Asa almost pass out. Its sickening pressure was too much, so much so that she fought to keep her eyes open and her mind intact.

With every step the demon took, she descended further into despondency. Until finally, it was right in front of her and the shivering Elf beside her.

"Might as well take the two…" The demon whispered, stretching its fat hands to retrieve the defenseless Elves.

However—

>WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!<

In a brilliant burst of power, and in three flashes of light, three demons appeared.

"... Uh?"

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!<

An explosion followed their appearance, and the entire area was buried in a sea of flaming destruction. Plumes of smoke and dust ascended to the air, shrouding the vicinity in thick, fog-like smoke.

>VWUUUUUUMMMMM<

A good distance from the blast, on level ground, a purple portal manifested. It spat out five individuals—three demons and two Elves.

"Are you guys alright?" Hogun asked, stretching his hand to help up the flustered Asa.

Fortunately, she hadn't grown deaf or blind from the explosion; as she accepted his warm gesture, nodding swiftly as well.

"A-ah… ah…" Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about poor Dustinel.

He was most likely in a trance-like state. Not only did he lay helplessly on the ground, but his eyes stared emptily into space while his body shivered in fear. It was an undesirable state, but the Elf was still alive, at least.

That was good news.

"Who the hell was that?" Adu yelled at the group, his tone as belligerent as usual.

"It looked like a demon. Felt like one too." Hogun added.

"T-the Supervisors! Dustinel mentioned that they're coming tomorrow, they're early." Asa struggled to speak as she caught her breath.

Her face was drenched in sweat, but she didn't seem to be in terrible shape. The series of events was just too much of a strain on her cognitive and physical processes.

"The Supervisors? I've heard of them. Aren't they—?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" A loud, deep, and terrifying voice suddenly emerged from the pile of dust and smoke the group left behind.

"FOUND YA! FOUND YA! FOUND YA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Even from their distance, they could hear the sound as clear as day. The cackles, belonging to what seemed like a maniac, kept getting louder and louder. Everyone found themselves staring in the direction of the noise as a result.

>WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH<

Suddenly, the smoke pervading the devastated area disappeared. Like a whirlwind, air pressure suctioned everything away in one swift gust of wind. And then—

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!<

The earth shattered, devastating the entire mountain in moments.

Debris flew up and about, and a silhouette seemed to fly from the devastated mountain. It seemed the entire platform only served as a prop for boosting his flight. It soared and soared, finally descending in one swift swoop.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<

This time, the silhouette landed a couple of meters away from Asa and her colleagues—as well as the deadbeat Elf who was practically half-dead at this point.

The ground shook, trembling as the creature made its appearance before its adversaries. Dust swirled about due to its landing, but that too was sent flying by a surge of wind.

"I FOUUUNNNDDDDD YAAAAAA..." Its amused voice sent a violent burst of wind flying in all directions.

The area was instantly rid of all the debris and dust around, leaving only the five opponents on one end, and the ferocious thing on the other.

"Nice move… that explosion." The creature commented.

Looking at the thing, it looked far different from the red and stubby demon that was devastated in the earlier blast. This creature was far, far different.

It stood at least ten meters tall, and its horns extended even longer. Its fat form was yet to change, though. It still had flabby arms, short legs, and an obese stomach. However, its crimson skin was now covered in extremely fluffy red fur.

This beast, a demon that stood over a head taller than the group of five that saw it, was sporting an incredibly vicious smile with its shark-like teeth and salivating mouth.

"I didn't think I'd have to use this, but, let's make this fast."

Hogun, Heshu, and Adu instantly took battle stances, using their bodies to shield the weaker creatures, Asa and her uncle. They had determined expressions on their faces, although in all honesty, they had every right to be terrified.

"My name is Red. And I think I'm going to enjoy this very much!"

*

*

*

As the smallest and youngest among the Supervisors, Red was naturally the most picked-on. This wasn't done simply out of spite or the insensitive nature of his team members. No, it was because of a Skill he possessed.

[Critical Point]

It was a Skill that increased every aspect of Red's combat ability depending on just how much pain he had suffered—whether physical or emotional.

As such, being the most abused member of the Supervisors, Red had an enormous reservoir of power that he used to crush his enemies.

"Hehehehehehe!"