The atmosphere in the cathedral was heavy, the return of the hero's party was supposed to be good news. But who would have imagined that besides coming back defeated, most of them would be gravely injured, with brutally mutilated limbs and disfigured faces.
Fortunately, they were all alive, though on the brink of death. The priests ran through the cathedral, using their best healing spells, but nothing worked.
An evil energy prevented the magic from being effective. There were guesses about a mysterious curse, but nothing was proven, since the curse had to be very powerful to resist the purifying power of holy magic.
"How are the wounded?"
Aaron received no answer, the priests were too focused on treatment to respond.
By expanding his vision, Aaron was able to catch a glimpse of the wounded. They were in a horrible state, some unrecognizable, others on their last breaths.
His attention was drawn to a girl in the center. Among them all, she was in the worst condition: her chest had collapsed inward, all four of her limbs were mutilated, and her face bore a large burn.
The priests surrounded her, trying everything to save her. But the task seemed impossible; fragments of her chest had pierced her lungs and heart.
While the other wounded screamed in pain from the crude treatments, even breathing caused the girl enormous pain, visible in the violent spasms of her body. The priests could only delay the poor girl's inevitable end.
Aaron recognized the gravely injured girl, she was Sophie, his ex-wife.
"How is her condition?"
Aaron asked after entering the circle of priests. He knew very well the severity of the wounds, he was only pretending not to.
"We are doing our best… But since our magic doesn't work, I believe she will not last much longer."
It would be a pity if Sophie died before he could take revenge. Aaron decided to save her, not because he cared, but because he wanted to make her future suffering memorable.
"Let me try."
Some priests tried to stop him, but stopped when they realized who he was. Kyle's fame was immense, especially when it came to magic. Perhaps he was the only hope to save her.
With the priests' silent approval, Aaron advanced toward the mutilated body. He stopped in front of her, analyzing while thinking cruelly.
'I will save her, but that doesn't mean I must heal her face and limbs.'
Aaron focused, or so it seemed. He muttered some facade spells and, without anyone noticing, a thread of dark energy came out of his body and penetrated Sophie's wounds, merging with the unknown energy within them.
It turned out it was not ordinary energy, but rather an expression of Aaron's destructive divinity.
Only the true Aaron could heal!
Sophie's wounds then began to regenerate at an alarming speed, it seemed that in just a few minutes she would be completely healed.
The process was suddenly interrupted, and Sophie's life was saved. But she would still have to amputate her right leg and left arm. Her face was also not healed, remaining disfigured.
Aaron laughed inwardly. Outwardly he wiped the sweat from his forehead. A relieved smile appeared on his face as he murmured, exhausted:
"I used all my strength, but Sophie's body was not fully restored… At least she is alive, that's what matters most."
The priests were astonished as they looked at him. Everyone there knew about Sophie's betrayal, and even so, Kyle gave his all to save her.
As their reverence for Kyle rose in their hearts, his presence appeared to them as that of a living saint. On the other hand, Sophie's position as an ungrateful whore grew more solid in their hearts.
Aaron smiled inwardly, knowing exactly the priests' thoughts. He stood up and walked toward another wounded woman, only to stumble and be caught by a nun.
"Do not overexert yourself, Lord Kyle, you have already used all your strength to save Sophie." Sophie's name was spat out with disgust by the nun.
"Not yet… I need to save the rest of my companions…" Aaron murmured with difficulty, as if even speaking those words demanded enormous effort.
A priest came to help the nun carry Aaron.
"You have already helped enough. Leave the rest to us." The priest said in a gentle voice, trying to convince Aaron.
Seeing their insistence, Aaron nodded and murmured embarrassed:
"Alright… but I think I will need help returning to my room. My legs are very weak."
"I will accompany you!" The priest and the nun shouted at the same time. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, in a silent competition, before reaching a consensus.
Each grabbed one of Aaron's arms. The priest took his left arm and the nun his right.
In no time Aaron was taken by the two to his room. Upon arriving at the door, he spoke apologetically:
"Forgive me for being a bother. From here, I think I can go alone."
But the two did not believe him, the nun was the first to speak:
"We must make sure you are well. Only when we see you resting on that bed will our hearts be at peace."
Aaron's eyes narrowed, a dark light flashed in them before disappearing.
"Seriously, I can manage from here."
It was not a request, but a statement. Their eyes went unfocused, and they answered in unison:
"Yes, sir."
Aaron entered his room, the doors closing on their own as he went in. The two – the priest and the nun – turned and left, disappearing into the distance down the corridor.
Aaron sat on his bed. The familiar will to fall asleep filled his mind, but he resisted with force. When he was in Kyle's skin, this could not be done, however now it was possible, since his divine abilities had been released. Although extremely suppressed, so as not to destroy the environment.
"Sorry Alicia, but I have to work."
Alicia became irritated and a thunderclap sounded outside. Aaron apologized once more in his heart and began planning his next step.
'I haven't seen Leonard, I think he went to fetch the Saint. His motivations are obvious to me, to save his companions?'
A laugh escaped his lips. He knew Leonard very well, he was a selfish man, incapable of caring about anyone but himself.
'His companions probably haven't realized that yet. But who cares? They are as rotten as he is, they don't deserve pity.'
"But… Now I'm curious about what they went through."
With that thought, the space before him changed, reflecting images of the events that had taken place days ago.
…
After the defeat of the archdemon, the hero's party headed toward the castle at the center of the demon realm.
But the march did not last long, fatigue was beginning to weigh. Luckily they found a good place to camp, at the edge of a dark forest.
"Leonard… Are you sure about this?"
"We don't know what hides in the dark."
Aurelia and Calista opposed the idea of resting near the veiled darkness of the demonic forest.
The two daughters of the stars had been like this for days now, feeling as if someone was watching. They tried to ignore it, but a day ago this sensation had become suffocating.
Whatever was watching them in the dark, it had no good intentions.
Since then, they had been cautious of everything, fearing anything could become a trap.
The sense of crisis reached its peak the moment they decided to follow along. In their hearts the two knew: something very bad would happen today.
"Don't worry, I already used my magic to scan everything within a radius of kilometers."
Leonard did his best to appease the two with his words. But in his mind he complained.
'Tch! These two… It's been 20 days, and they're still paranoid! I haven't even managed to touch them all this time!'
Similar to the hero, the other women in the party were also dissatisfied with the two's attitude. They complained inwardly, calling them cowards and wondering why they were so afraid of the Demon King.
This arrogance made sense, they had never faced real crises, everything had been resolved easily.
What consolidated this arrogance even more was the fact that since entering the demon realm, everything had flowed smoothly, there had been no obstacles in their progress.
If it continued this way, in a few days they would reach the king's castle.
What they did not know was that there had always been a hand in the dark guiding and helping them.
But Aaron would no longer help, and Hermina had taken over, not to help, but to show that the demon realm was not so simple!
"Everyone, it's getting late, let's gather inside the barrier to rest!"
Under Thalira's orders, the group's mage, everyone gathered inside a circle of blue light. Once everyone had entered the circle, it closed, forming a translucent dome that surrounded and protected them.
The night in the demon realm was so dangerous that even the most arrogant of the group did not dare to be careless. It was not only dangerous, but also frightening.
If during the day the demon realm was already shrouded in darkness, during the night it intensified. No light survived and nothing could be seen, fighting under such conditions became an impossible task.
Thalira's barrier only made them invisible to the creatures of the night, so they could have a peaceful sleep without being disturbed or attacked.
Until today it had worked without problems…
Until today.
During the night, while everyone else was asleep, only Aurelia and Calista remained awake. Not for lack of trying, but because it was impossible; their hearts were out of control and their minds at maximum alert.
The sense of danger was intense at this time. The night was silent, but the slightest sound could make them react violently, only for them to realize it was the hero's snoring.
SCCRRRKKK… SSSHHHRRREEE…
A scratching sound disturbed the silence of the night. Everyone was awakened by the loud noise, and when they opened their eyes, all they saw was a white face staring at them from the other side of the barrier.
The face was just a skull of an animal resembling a deer. Its mask constantly emanated an unsettling and evil aura.
Sensing their gazes, it struck the barrier harder!
KRRAAANG… CLAAANG… krrtshhh…!!
To the group's surprise, its last strike actually penetrated the barrier!
"How is this possible?!"
Thalira exclaimed in shock. She was the one who had raised the barrier, she knew better than anyone its power.
Leonard wanted to say something, but the invading creature did not let him speak or even rationalize the situation.
"We'll talk about this later."
He cast a stern look at Thalira.
A grave mistake in battle, the creature took advantage of his distraction to launch a strike with its claws at him. The intent to tear Leonard apart was clear.
CLANG!!
Luckily, Sophie appeared just in time to block the attack with her sword.
"Pay attention, Leonard!!"
She shouted and lowered her stance, preparing to swing her sword at the creature. But this was a mistake, the creature was much faster than her and launched a second attack.
Realizing she could not defend, Sophie clenched her teeth and braced herself for the impact.
SMACK!!
THUD!!
The creature's blow landed with brutal force. Sophie could not withstand it and was thrown against the ground, falling unconscious from the impact.
"Ghhrrhhahahhh"
The creature let out a laugh, something between a roar and metal being scraped. It did not stop there and advanced on the other party members.
However, the difference was becoming clearer. The creature was not only strong, but possessed a strategic mind, knowing when to retreat and where to strike the group's weaknesses.
On the other hand, there was the hero's party, whose formation had been broken, with members scattered across the battlefield, without any coordination.
The barrier that should have worked as protection now acted as a prison, keeping everyone trapped together with the creature that blocked the only exit.
CLANG!! CLANG!!! CLANG!!!!
The hero resisted the creature's assaults fiercely. But it seemed like a lost battle, most of his companions were incapacitated and he was already beginning to falter.
Meanwhile, the creature showed no sign of fatigue, attacking with the same enthusiasm as in the beginning, displaying its strategic mind by using the night's darkness to hide.
Surprising Leonard by emerging behind Thalira.
"Thalira! Dodge!!"
Thalira did not react in time as she tried to undo the barrier and had her chest pierced by the creature's sharp claws, which then threw her aside. Discarding her like trash.
"Thalira!!"
Rage boiled in Leonard's heart and, as if reacting to that rage, the sword in his hand began to emit a golden light, pushing back the darkness that surrounded them.
He swung the sword at the creature, unleashing a vertical slash that shone with the light of the sun.
It would have been epic if the creature had not dodged.
"Hhhrrhhrrhhrrhh…"
"HhhhehehhHAHhhaahhh!!!"
The creature let out a demonic laugh, mocking Leonard. As if asking, 'Is this your best?'.
"Demon! Don't mock me!!"
Leonard's fury reached its peak after being insulted by the creature. But his heart was frozen, he had consumed all his energy with the last attack.
If before he had a chance to escape, now his chances had fallen to zero.
His death was certain.