I purchased a thousand points’ worth of healing potions and handed them to Ivy. I knew they wouldn’t be much help—Anna’s condition wasn’t due to physical damage—but it was the least I could offer.
Leaving Ivy to take care of her daughter, I decided to visit the demon realm, hoping Rose could explain how a demon had managed to enter the human world.
With teleportation, I arrived at the demon castle’s courtyard in an instant, but to my shock, l met, a large crowd of demons gathered there, and at the front of them stood Rose.
"Hey, everyone!" I greeted, waving a hand at them with a smile on my face.
The demons simply hummed in response as if they didn’t even want to talk to me.
"I’ve been waiting a long time for you to show up!" Rose snapped upon seeing me. "But instead, you’ve done nothing but cause trouble!"
She planted her hands on her hips, frustration clear in her eyes.
I frowned. "What’s going on? Y’all look way too serious."
Before I could react, Rose stepped forward and slapped me across the face, leaving me stunned.
"It’s because we’re busy cleaning up your mess!" she barked.
I touched my nose, feeling a trickle of blood. "My mess? What do you mean?"
Rose scoffed and turned away to address the assembled demons. They stood in formation, armed to the teeth—some wielding massive axes, others clutching magical staffs, while a few brandished cursed swords and other ominous weapons.
"We’re out of time, my brethren! Move out!" Rose commanded.
Her black shirt suddenly tore as if something was writhing beneath it. Then, with a violent burst, crimson wings that were shaped like those of a bat sprouted from her back. Tgen, she took to the sky, leading the charge. Several demons followed suit, sprouting their own wings, while those who couldn’t fly took off on foot.
What the hell was going on?
"Si, you finally came to atone for your recklessness, huh, human?"
I turned at the familiar voice and found Evelyn, looking as smug as ever. Today, she wasn’t wearing her usual princess dresses. Instead, she was dressed in shorts, a plain top, and gray sneakers, which she was in the middle of tying.
"Evelyn!" I exclaimed. "What the hell is happening?"
She finished tying her laces, stood, and met my gaze.
"It’s war," she said coldly.
Then, without another word, she shot into the sky.
I quickly chanted my flight spell and followed after her.
"You said war? Against who?" I shouted over the rushing wind.
"The Rising Infernals!" she yelled back. "Because of you who helped strengthen them, they’ve now become a bunch of nuisance. We’re trying to clean up the mess you created. For the sake of our world. And yours!"
I groaned, clearly not getting it. "What mess? Everyone keeps saying that, but I don’t even know what I did!"
Evelyn sighed, then looked down. "Oh no... it’s begun."
I followed her gaze. Rose’s army had already engaged in battle against a horde of the undead.
Evelyn dived toward the ground with incredible speed and massive energy surging around her. Then, she landed with a thunderous impact, sending a shockwave that disintegrated a large number of the undead.
I landed beside her calmly and summoned a massive fireball which l hurled at the enemies. But to my utter shock, they rose back to their feet after being hit by my attack.
"Stay back!" One of the demons from Rose’s side shouted at me.
"We don’t need your help, human!"
"Your attacks are useless against the undead!"
"I... I just want to help!" I stammered.
"You’re slowing us down! This battle is happening because of you!" Rose yelled from midair as she slashed most of the undead with her cursed whip from the air.
They weren’t wrong. My attacks did nothing. The undead simply regenerated.
Feeling both useless and confused, I staggered back, stopping by a large tree wherel began watching the battle from the sidelines. Rose’s army fought differently than me. Their weapons and magic were infused with curses, allowing them to permanently destroy the undead.
Though they were initially outnumbered five to one, the tide slowly turned in Rose’s favor. The undead were getting defeated.
Then, suddenly, the sky darkened. A crackling golden lightning storm formed above us.
A massive lightning dragon emerged from the storm.
My breath hitched. My heart pounded.
That technique... it felt familiar.
I shot into the sky to locate the source, and at the rear of the undead army, I spotted a skeleton in royal robes, its hand raised toward the heavens, and when it lowered it down, the lightning dragon descended.
I barely had time to throw up a barrier around myself before impact. But as I took in the caster’s identity, l couldn’t believe it.
That spell. Those robes.
There was no mistaking it.
It was that brat l once had a duel with. Hilary Martinsville, the son of the Duke.
How the hell was he—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the battlefield as his dragon landed on the ground. The sheer force pushed me backward, even midair.
When I looked down, the land was obliterated. There was now a massive crater where Rose’s army once stood.
Painful groans and screams filled the air. Only a handful of demons had managed to evade the blast. Others lay coughing up blood, some on the brink of death.
I landed beside Rose, who was desperately trying to heal the wounded.
"Let me teleport them to the castle!" I urged.
She shot me a fierce glare. "NO! Don’t make this harder than it already is!"
"I’m just trying to help!"
The remaining undead were already moving toward us. A few standing demons fought them off, but they were dwindling fast.
Evelyn landed beside me. "That teleportation spell of yours is the reason we’re in this mess."
I blinked. "What?"
Before she could answer, another undead figure floated before us.
With the dense miasma radiating from him, l didn’t need anyone to tell me he was bad news.
A female demon from Rose’s army yelled. "My Queen! It’s Nathan, the general commander of Squad Two!"
Rose’s eyes widened in shock.
But the undead was nothing like the Nathan l knew.
He raised his hand, and l felt cursed energy building in his palms.
A hit from that could be instant death!
TBC