Chapter 28: A Final, Desperate Strike
Rhodes ran for his life, the demon in hot pursuit. The good news was that it was only one of them; it seemed to have sent most of its forces to deal with Serie. The bad news was that even against a single demon, Rhodes had no guarantee of victory.
His body was still burning with pain, and every breath tasted of blood. Just being grazed by the aftershock of that explosion had left him in a battered state. He was glad he had pushed Serie out of the way; her defensive barrier might not have been able to withstand such a terrifying attack.
He wanted so desperately to stop, to catch his breath, to rest. But he couldn't. The further he ran, the safer Serie would be. Without the demon's control, neither the horde of magical beasts nor that amalgamated flesh-monster should be a match for her.
"Stop, you nameless creature. You cannot escape," the demon's voice echoed through the darkness, thick with desire. "Your blood smells so sweet!"
The scent of Rhodes's blood drifting through the forest was only making the demon hungrier. The demon's words, however, just struck Rhodes as a bit... creepy. He suddenly remembered that demons were rumored to eat humans. But in the Age of Myth, humans were so rare that most demons would never even encounter one, so the concept of eating humans wasn't widely known. This one's relentless pursuit... it had to be instinct.
In other words, it wanted his body. Literally. Purely out of appetite.
Rhodes grit his teeth. This wasn't funny at all. He was the prey. He forced his legs to move faster, but the terrain up ahead made his heart sink.
A cliff.
A sheer drop, with a river far below. Looking down, it had to be at least thirty or forty meters to the water. From that height, even if it was water, the impact would be like hitting concrete.
"Heh, nowhere left to run, are you?" the demon said, slowly approaching, a smile spreading across its pale, gray face. The closer it got to Rhodes, the more it couldn't suppress the craving from deep within. It was already anticipating what he would taste like. It had eaten many races before, even elves and Sky-Winged. But none had ever provoked such an intense hunger in it.
Rhodes looked down at the river, then back at the demon. He suddenly smiled. "Who said I was running?"
This is it. My back is against the wall. It's win or die.
The demon was taken aback. Before it could react, Rhodes threw up his hand, his mana surging wildly. Dozens of vines shot out from the ground, instantly wrapping around the demon's limbs.
"A pathetic trick!"
Even with its body restrained, the demon could still cast spells. And this one was stronger than an ordinary demon. Not only could it control magical beasts and use magic, but its physical strength was on par with a dwarf's. It strained, and the vines began to snap.
Rhodes, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, sneered. "Of course, that's not all."
This demon was terrifyingly strong. It could use magic, control beasts, and even break his vines with its bare hands. It was a true jack-of-all-trades. He was glad he had drawn it away from the others.
The demon, having broken free, charged straight at Rhodes, clearly intending to capture him alive. Seeing its confidence in its own physical defense, Rhodes fired a continuous stream of light arrows. But it was surprisingly agile, dodging most of them, and for those it couldn't dodge, it simply threw up a magical barrier. A mage that's good at close combat... how underhanded!
Seeing the demon almost upon him, Rhodes had no choice but to pull out his last resort, a spell that not even Serie had seen. He had been planning to show it to her after he had perfected it.
He thrust out his palm, and a strange magic circle materialized on it. The demon's vision suddenly went black. Even the light from the moon and stars seemed to have been sucked into a void, before everything returned to normal. Rhodes was standing a few meters away, a small point of light glowing in his palm.
Come forth, Luminous Rupture
There was no need to name the spell, but Rhodes did it anyway. As a tribute. Even if it was a bit cringe.
The point of light made contact with the demon's body, and the magical energy exploded. The corresponding part of the demon's body was blown to smithereens.
Half of the demon's body was a mangled ruin. It had never suffered such a grievous injury. In that moment, for the first time, it felt the true threat of death.
Across from it, Rhodes, his mana almost completely depleted, staggered back a few steps. Loose stones crumbled under his feet. He looked up at the grievously wounded demon, regretful that he hadn't been able to finish it off, then looked down at the river far below.
"Looks like... this is it for me."
The enraged demon raised its hand to unleash a final attack, intending to kill him. But in its rage, the attack sent him plummeting over the cliff's edge.
Seeing its prey escape, and itself so grievously injured, the demon roared in fury. But a figure was rapidly approaching from behind.
"Where is Rhodes?"
Serie ran up, her body spattered with blood, though most of it was from the magical beasts. She had just finished killing every last one of the monsters that had surrounded her, even the amalgamated flesh-monster. But when she had followed the demon's tracks, she hadn't seen Rhodes.
"An elven secret art? But that means you won't be able to use magic for some time," the demon noted.
"That's not something a dead man should be concerned with. Where is Rhodes?" Serie's golden eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.
"So that's what the creature was called... Rhodes?" The demon's body twitched on the ground. It was stalling, trying to create an opportunity for a counter-attack. But Serie wasn't going to give it one. A wheel of light shot out, severing all four of its limbs, cutting off any chance of it casting another spell.
"Answer me," Serie's voice was like ice. "And I'll give you a quick death."
"Hahaha! He fell. You'll never..."
Serie didn't let him finish. Knowing Rhodes's fate was enough. A pillar of light descended from the heavens, engulfing the demon. Its body twisted and disintegrated. In its final moments, it was assailed by emotions it had never before experienced—pain, fear—but it was too late to comprehend them.
Serie watched impassively as the demon turned to ash. She walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the river, shimmering in the silvery moonlight. Rhodes had once told her that if you had some kind of buffer, you wouldn't be killed by a fall from a great height. And water was one of those buffers.
"Wait for me."
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yo guys trying something new for Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter