“Meeeeeeeh.”
“The demonic creature started to move?”
“Meeeeh.”
“Can we kill it Mama?”
Ella pondered for a while before resolutely shaking her head. Although defeating a monster that had a Level B threat was not impossible for the two of them, killing it was another matter. If Ella’s War Ibex form were to be graded, she would be at the initial stages of Class C.
If you add William to the equation, then their combined battle strength could reach up to the peak stage of Class C. Even so, each grade was separated by ten levels. Ella and William were not confident that they would be able to kill a monster who seemed to be in the middle ranks of Class B.
Of course, if William still had his magic powers then it would be a different story. Sadly, he couldn’t use his skills that relied on mana right now.
“Should we go with Plan C?” William asked.
“Meeeeh.”
“Understood. Let’s go Mama.”
“Meeeeh!”
——
Chandler, the brown-haired boy, halted his steps because he felt that something was amiss. He had just entered a clearing when suddenly, all the sounds in the forest disappeared.
He could not hear the cry of beasts or the chirping of the birds. Even the subtle sounds of the insects were gone. Chandler summoned his sword and raised his guard. He was trained as a warrior at an early age and he could tell that something was terribly wrong with his current situation.
The demonic beast that had been observing Chandler walked across the forest floor with silent steps. As one of the Lords of the Forest, the creatures were quite familiar with its aura and scent. Because of this, all of them fled for safety, leaving the clearing devoid of all life.
With a sinister smile, it decided to take the initiative and attack the brown-haired boy. Its movements were very fast, however, Chandler’s heightened senses were able to sense its approach.
“Boulder Crash!” Chandler immediately fired a magic boulder in the direction he felt the threat was originating from.
It was at that moment when the boy’s instincts screamed at him to block an attack from above.
“Earth Dome!” Chandler hurriedly summoned a dome of solid rock to protect him from his assailant.
The demonic beast slapped the dome of Earth where it exploded into chunks of rocks, revealing the boy that was hiding in its center.
Chandler gazed at the demonic beast who had the body of a humanoid, the legs of a horse, and a dog’s head with razor sharp teeth. Its other noticeable feature was the single purple eye on its forehead.
“Peekaboo, I see you,” the demonic beast said with a devilish smile on its feral face. “It’s been a while since I ate the flesh of a young magic swordsman.”
Chandler’s body uncontrollably shuddered because in that brief exchange, he understood that the beast was several levels more powerful than him.
“W-What are you?” Chandler asked as he raised the sword in his hand with trembling hands.
“Me? A connoisseur of human flesh,” the demonic beast replied with an amused expression. “Now, would you volunteer to let me eat you? Or must I… tenderize you first to bring out the flavor of your flesh? Either way is fine with me.”
“M-Monster!” Chandler shrieked as he used the most powerful skill in his arsenal. “Boulder Assault!”
A three-meter boulder appeared over Chandler’s head. The boy then pressed his hand over the boulder and launched it towards the demonic beast who was looking at him with amusement.
The demonic beast jumped to the side to avoid the spell. It was not in a hurry to kill Chandler. Instead, it wanted to play with him until the boy fell into despair. The doglike humanoid had a very sick hobby when dealing with its prey. It would eat its target, one limb at a time, while keeping its victim alive.
That way, it would be able to taste the victim’s fear, and other negative thoughts. For the demonic creature, these negative feelings were like spices that made his meal more delicious. Only when the target had lost all hope would it deliver its Coupe de Grace, and finish its misery.
After using his strongest move, Chandler felt his body became as heavy as lead. The Boulder Assault was a move that he couldn’t use too often because it placed a heavy strain on his body.
The Dome of Earth collapsed as Chandler ran away from the scene. The demonic beast chuckled and decided to enjoy this game of tag with its precious prey. It jumped onto the tree branches while hurling orbs of dark magic at Chandler.
“H-Help!” Chandler screamed. “Anyone! Someone help me!”
Chandler staggered as one of the orbs hit the back of his leg. He then fell down and rolled across the ground due to momentum.
“Is that it?” the demonic creature teased as it landed a few meters away from Chandler. “Let’s continue this game of tag. Since I’m in the mood, I’ll give you two minutes to run away. During that time, I will not move from this location. However, once the time limit is up, I’ll hunt you down.
“Ah, before I forget… which one is your dominant arm? I don’t want to accidentally eat it and make this game of cat and mouse boring.”
“C-Curse you!” Chandler struggled to prop himself from the ground. “I am the son of Earl Edgard of Durin Court! You can’t kill me! My family will hunt you down!”
“Oh my, a noble child,” The demonic beast licks its lips. “It has been a while since I ate a noble. All of you have very delicious taste. It must be due to the noble upbringing. Being able to eat delicious food and enjoy resources to cultivate make your bodies very delectable. I can’t wait to have a taste!”
“Y-You can’t kill me! What do you want? Money?! Women?! I can give it to you! Just let me go!”
“Money? I don’t need your human currency. As for women? Although the flesh of ladies is sublime, it still cannot compare to the nutritious meat from nobles like you. Thanks for your offer, but I’ll humbly decline. By the way, you have one minute and thirty seconds remaining. Better hurry up and run, little boy.”
Chandler’s teeth rattled as he tried to fight back the fear that was slowly taking hold of his body. Although he wanted to run away, his body couldn’t move. It was as if he had been paralyzed by the demonic creature in front of him.
“What’s wrong? You only have one minute left,” the demonic beast kindly reminded him. “If you don’t run now then I’ll be having an early lunch.”
‘Move! Move! Move! Please move!’ Chandler screamed internally as he willed his body to run.
After forcing himself, his legs finally moved. He then ran with all of his might towards the flag fluttering in the distance. According to his estimate, the flag was only a thousand meters away. If he could only make it there then he would be safe!
“Atta boy!” the demonic creature clapped his hand with a smile. “Run as fast as you can!”
The demonic beast stood in place and leisurely counted the time before he started to run after Chandler. It wanted the boy to desperately cling to hope. When the boy thought that he had a chance for survival, that was when the demonic beast would appear and tear one of his limbs off.
That way, the enjoyment of his hunt would last a little bit longer.
Soon, the grace period that he had given Chandler had passed. It even extended it by twenty seconds to ensure that the boy had a good head start before it ran after him.
“Time’s up!” the demonic beast shouted. “Ready or not, here I come!”
The demonic beast was about to continue its game of tag when suddenly it heard the sound of whistling air in the distance.
The creature lightly swayed to the side as a steel arrow passed a few inches away from its neck.
Several more whistling sounds were heard as half a dozen arrows flew in its direction.
The demonic beast moved around as if it was dancing. The arrows harmlessly passed by the side of its body and embedded themselves in the trees that surrounded the clearing.
“Hoh? And who might this little guest be?” The demonic beast asked with a grin. “You arrived at the perfect time, I was feeling a little bored chasing a cowardly little boy.”
The new arrival was wearing a hooded robe, but the demonic beast could tell that it was one of the children who had entered the forest not long ago.
“I do not wish for dominion, but my Mama doesn’t want the innocent to suffer,” the hooded boy said softly. “Lord of the Forest, Psoglav, would you be so kind as to let all the children go unharmed?”
The smile on the demonic beast’s face faded and was replaced by genuine surprise. “You know me, but I don’t know who you are. Isn’t it rude to call out my name without introducing yourself first?”
“My apologies, your excellency.” The hooded boy knocked an arrow on his bow before introducing himself.
“Said West, only my Perfection!” the hooded boy announced. “I am one of the shepherds from Lont, William Von Ainsworth!”
