At that very moment, Sergoth stopped his attacks dead in their tracks, for the first time feeling what fear was. He couldn't identify it, but his body knew. His hands and feet began to tremble, and he struggled to stay on his feet. He slapped his legs a couple of times to regain his composure and stepped away from Reik. He still didn't understand what was happening, but his body was experiencing terrifying fear.
"What are you? You're not human... are you?" asked Sergoth.
Reik, still not moving a single muscle, didn't answer. In reality, he couldn't, as he was unconscious. However, his body rose in that state...
"Hey... this is impossible... but you're not even conscious..." murmured Sergoth, terrified, as he stepped back.
In less than a second, Reik ripped off one of Sergoth's arms without even using the sword, as if it were made of paper. That strength was completely inhuman...
Sergoth screamed in pain as blood poured uncontrollably. He looked at Reik with wide, horrified eyes, and in his mind, he saw him as a colossal figure, an entity impossible to face. Next to him, he was nothing more than a tiny insect...
"I am Sergoth, the Torturer, and this is my valley!" he shouted, forcing his body to move as he prepared to attack.
His body was surrounded by a red aura, and his arm fully regenerated, while his entire body was covered in scarlet scales. This was his final form, a transformation rarely seen in demons, at least not in ones of his rank. His rage and impotence pushed him beyond his limits, turning him into something more than an ordinary demon.
"Little one, you're going to suffer for making me bleed," Sergoth said with a laugh, admiring his own power.
Reik, still unconscious, walked slowly towards Sergoth, who watched him with tremendous arrogance, assuming that now, with his superior power, he would have no trouble finishing off the boy.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll just leave you legless, torture you later, and experiment on you. And of course, your friends too," Sergoth said.
When Reik reached the demon, he raised his hand and, without touching him, unleashed energy, sending him flying and destroying everything in his path. The demon's body was completely shattered; even the highly resistant scales he had just obtained couldn't save him. Reik's power was utterly overwhelming.
Afterward, Reik regained consciousness and saw the entire basement corridor destroyed, with the demon lying dead in the distance.
"What happened?" Reik wondered.
Automatically, Reik collapsed to the ground. His body had sustained many injuries; he was completely exhausted, in pain, and had several broken ribs. It didn't take long for Fain and Kiran to arrive, who, fleeing from the lower demons, had descended into the basement hoping to throw them off their trail. As soon as they arrived, they found Reik lying on the ground.
"Reik! Reik, respond!" Fain said, worried.
"Is he alive?" Kiran asked.
"Yes... but what happened here? Everything is destroyed!"
"Fain... Fain... look over there," Kiran said, pointing to Sergoth.
Fain was completely shocked when he saw the demon. He knew the strength of the lower demons well, so it was easy for him to understand that this one was completely different. Still, he couldn't comprehend what had happened.
"Kiran, use your healing magic and heal Reik, please," Fain said.
"Yes, of course, I'll do everything I can," Kiran said.
While Kiran healed Reik, Fain approached the demon to make sure it was dead.
"Fain, come back here! It's better if we don't split up," exclaimed Kiran.
Fain checked Sergoth's body and confirmed that, indeed, he was no longer alive.
"I'm truly impressed... Was it Reik who killed him?" murmured Fain.
"Do you think so? I don't believe Reik has enough power to defeat a demon like this. Even I, who's weak, can feel how terrifying it is... even being dead," replied Kiran.
"Maybe you're right. Still, I'm sure of one thing: that was the leader of the valley, so now we have a chance... We need to find the slaves. If we free them and fight together, we can win!"
"It's possible... but it will be difficult to find them. They're searching for us everywhere, and if they know we're here, they've probably got them well guarded to keep us from rescuing them," Kiran said.
"For now, we'll wait for Reik to regain consciousness, then we'll decide what to do," Fain said.
Multiple footsteps began to echo from the end of the hallway, right where the demon's body lay.
"They've found us..." Kiran said, swallowing nervously.
"Shh... Don't make a sound," Fain whispered, his body tense and his gaze fixed on the darkness.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" a voice said.
"It can't be... Humans? Are they the slaves? Are they here?" Fain asked, trying to make out something in the darkness.
Fain moved toward the end of the hallway, trying to see if the slaves were there.
"Fain, don't go... I have a bad feeling about this," Kiran warned.
"Here! Please, help us... we're locked up..." begged a weak voice.
Fain approached the source of the sound. He could barely see in the darkness, but he heard several human voices behind a door.
"Are you there?" Fain asked, his heart racing.
"Yes... Please, get us out of here..." several voices replied in unison, full of desperation.
Without hesitation, Fain broke down the door with a single blow. On the other side, he found more than twenty people locked in the basement, weak, almost dying, and completely dehydrated.
In that moment, Fain realized that even though these people might have been great warriors in the past, they could do nothing to fight now. They could barely stand; escaping with them was practically impossible. He understood that the situation was even worse than he had thought and that they were at a terrible disadvantage. Still, he couldn't leave them to their fate. His moral code wouldn't allow it.
"Thank you... We thought no one would ever come to get us out of here. We lost hope a long time ago. My name is Jasper, I was once a general of the kingdom..."
"I'm sorry to meet a general under such terrible circumstances. I'm Fain. Apart from you, is there anyone else here?"
"We are the only survivors. They spared us only to make us work for them and serve as their entertainment... For us, the warriors, it's a shame to have had to survive this way. Many preferred to die, and others... others died being tortured or used in experiments... " Jasper said bitterly.
"We'll get you out of here, no matter the cost. As a warrior, I won't abandon you. I promise you will regain your freedom," Fain said.
"How many demons are left?" Jasper asked.
"I'm not sure... but there are too many," Fain replied.
"I'm sorry we can't help... In this state, we're more of a burden than allies," Jasper said.
"Don't say that. You've survived the unthinkable, and that in itself is an achievement," Fain clenched his fists, determined. "I won't leave you behind."
Jasper looked at his companions, seeing in their faces the exhaustion and suffering from everything they had endured. He took a deep breath and, with a firm voice, declared:
"We've endured too much. I won't stay here for another day. We will leave this place, no matter the cost. If we have to risk our lives to do so, we will."
The slaves exchanged uncertain looks. Despite their doubts, they all knew they couldn't stay there forever. This was not life... it was a sentence, an existence worse than death.
"We're ready!" they exclaimed in unison.
At that exact moment, Reik regained consciousness. Still aching from the battle with the demon, he opened his eyes with difficulty and, when he sat up slightly, he was surprised to see Kiran, Fain, and the slaves gathered around him.
"Kiran... Fain... you've saved the slaves... "Reik murmured weakly.
"Reik, how do you feel? Kiran has healed you as best as he could "Fain asked, approaching him.
"The truth is, I feel much better. My ribs still hurt, but I'll recover.
"I'm glad to hear that. Now that you're awake, we need to decide what to do.
"What's the situation, Fain? Are the others alright? "Reik asked, struggling to sit up.
"We have a lot of demons searching for us. I'm not sure how many, maybe fifty or more... "Fain replied, frowning". As for the others, I have no information. My group left the wall, so I imagine they're safe. Did Tharion and Laira manage to escape in time?
"Yes, they should be fine for now... So, it's just us left here.