Despite trying to keep positive, the sight of the blurry figures swept all positivity away.
In addition to the sudden heavy downpour that came out of nowhere, Demon Lord Kirgil has already got the answer he needed. What awaits him ahead is nothing but trouble if he persists in going to check Caraptaros and the others.
Pivoting his body around, he groaned weakly and looked in the opposite direction.
'No, I can't...' He pondered with a troubled mind.
Sensing that escaping the swamp would be impossible with his current condition, and also with the pouring rain impeding his progress in the opposite direction, he made a decisive decision. He knelt on the ground and used his index fingernails to draw his own blood.
Following that, he quickly dipped his fingernails into the water.
A subtle glow appeared in the water's body as Demon Lord Kirgil carved an ancient rune.
Running out of options, he decided to cast his pride to the side.
It was a circle with an inverted heart shape inside alongside six dots that adorned the sides.
Demon Lord Kirgil's face displayed unmistakable unwillingness and hesitation. He appeared humiliated, forced to resort to carving this ancient rune, yet he understood it was his sole option in order to get out of this foreboding situation.
With gritted teeth, he endured the humiliation and activated the ancient rune.
Swish...
Casting his eyes left and right in crisis, Demon Lord Kirgil waited as the ancient rune glows.
Soon enough, a purplish mist seeped out of the ancient rune.
It was then that the purple mist started to swirl into a single entity. Observing the process is a visual delight. Moments later, the purple mist coalesces into an entity, and before long, a manifestation of a voluptuous woman stands before him with a teasing smile.
A misty Demoness, oozing with great power.
"Demon Lord Kirgil, I was surprised to be summoned by you" Elder Tilrith whispered.
Gazing at Demon Lord Kirgil with slightly surprised eyes, she puts her demonic claws on her cheek in a graceful manner before she continues, pretending to be oblivious to the situation that befell him, "How was your hunt on the outside world? Is it refreshing? It's wonderful to stretch after such a long sleep, don't you think so?"
Upon seeing her, Demon Lord Kirgil feels elated.
Both have their own altercations, but Elder Tilrith has always been tolerant of his behavior.
No matter what he did, she never showed any sign of aggression.
Out of the entire Elders that were awakened thanks to the First Breath, she was the only one who was not forceful in exerting control over the Rastrikan Demons. Surely, she would be willing to help him to get out of this situation.
"Elder Tilrith, I need a favor from you. Summon be back" He said, trying to hide his crisis.
However, this makes it all the more transparent in Elder Tilrith's eyes.
With her outward appearance remaining passive and kind, inwardly she couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Demon Lord Kirgil. He was now bruised and battered to the point of appearing pitiful, a far cry from his previous imposing demeanor.
It was a delightful sight for Elder Tilrith.
'You brought this to yourself, Kirgil. You should've listened and supported me on the throne...'
Done discreetly and without obvious cues that would give her away, Demon Lord Kirgil remained oblivious to the fact that he was asking a favor from the snake itself. She was the one who had requested the Silverstar Pack to eradicate the Rastrikan Demons entirely.
A group of outlaws who don't want to listen to orders is not a needed force.
Elder Tilrith has no use for them.
One might argue that the Rastrikan Demons could be exceptional as shock troops, creating chaos in strategic locations, and drawing attention. However, this would only be possible if they were willing to cooperate, and Elder Tilrith already knew that they were not inclined to do any of that.
Thus, she has no pity for Demon Lord Kirgil. It was his arrogance that led him there.
"My apologies, but I have other things to attend to" Elder Tilrith replied.
Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Kirgil gritted his teeth in frustration, it's not going well.
Before he could respond, Elder Tilrith continued with a sly smile, not allowing him to intervene, "I believe that you, above all others, possess the means to return to the kingdom effortlessly. Just create a portal or use Caraptaros. Is it truly fitting for us to engage in discussions of such mundane inconveniences? We are not ordinary Demons, after all..."
"Wait- you don't understand!" Demon Lord Kirgil exclaimed.
However, he was ignored as Elder Tilrith dissipated and the ancient rune dimmed again.
It took a moment for Demon Lord Kirgil to register what had happened.
Demon Lord Kirgil cursed inside his head viciously as he wasn't given any chance to explain his situation despite already deciding to endure the humiliation of appearing weak, he was now left with no other options.
Moving again, he heads in the opposite direction, hoping to get out of the swamp.
But in the process, his breaths had become very heavy.
Each step was akin to a nail stabbing the sole of his foot as it was completely exhausting, even his eyelids began to fall heavier as his consciousness started slipping away. He needed a huge amount of demonic energy before he could recover.
Crack!
Boom!
Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the entire sky.
For a brief moment, the flash also lights up the entire place and also a figure in the distance.
A pair of reptilian eyes that bore fiery malice adorned the figure.
Upon spotting this figure, Demon Lord Kirgil's eyes widened in recognition—it was one of the same enigmatic figures from earlier, the ones who had vanished into thin air. Overwhelmed by panic, he swiftly pivoted and bolted in the opposite direction, employing any means possible to make his escape.
Another fight would spill his doom, and being revived in Caraptaros is not ideal.
Something awaited him there, he could feel it.
Huff...
Huff...
Huff...
Demon Lord Kirgil continued to flee, his speed greatly hindered by the knee-length water that impeded his movements. With each step, a gory trail of blood was left behind, the result of wounds bleeding profusely from all the forceful movements.
His sense of direction faded, the only way he went was forward.
Crack!
Boom!
Another flash of lightning brightened the sky, and the exact same thing happened to him.
Leaning casually against a tree, there stood another figure, larger than the one he encountered earlier, with eyes emanating a chilling white energy. It was at this moment marked the first time he had ever felt such an overwhelming sense of dread.
No matter where he goes, these figures follow like a haunting specter in his shadow.
It was a completely new feeling for him, the dread. He tried to run away once again.
Amidst this run, he remembered the smirk on Flunra's face as he halted his attack.
Now, he realized that Flunra's hesitation to finish him off wasn't due to mercy or anything, but because something even more sinister lay in wait on the other side. He was now fully immersed in that horror that had somehow intercepted him.
Bam!
Splash!
"Krrggh..." Demon Lord Kirgil groaned in pain.
Out of nowhere, he got bodied from the side and fell to the watery ground.
Glancing to the side he found that it was the figure with white gleaming eyes that caused this, and compared to an actual attack, this was more of a light tap to knock him to the ground without any hint of killing intent.
Demon Lord Kirgil struggled to stand up, but the same thing happened again.
Every time he regained his footing, he was knocked down.
It was almost as if the figure was playing with him, delighted to see him struggle in despair.
Anger was present inside of him but there was simply nothing he could do as he got tossed around like a toddler, unable to retaliate. Moments later, he fell to the ground again before he raised his gaze, exposing his bulging eyes.
'Survive, I need to survive...!' He pondered with determination.
Despite his situation being very bad, the anger becomes a source of motivation for him.
No matter what, if he managed to escape this place and reach the safety of the Demon Kingdom, he already swore in his heart that he would absolutely pay back whoever did this to him a hundredfold without mercy.
A humiliation of this caliber was even worse than what the Dwarves did.
At the very least, the Dwarven race only resorts to tricking them in order to kill a lot of them.
But this one is a direct humiliation, way worse in Demon Lord Kirgil's opinion.
"I heard you lean to bully the weak and take pleasure in their horrors, how about now? Do you like to be the one bullied instead?" A voice taunted him from the side as he struggled to push himself up from the ground.
However, when he regained his footing once again, the water around him started to bubble.
Splash!
Out of nowhere, the water explodes, sending him flying to the sky.
Following that explosion, the figure with reptilian eyes spread his wings and delivered a devastating punch to Demon Lord Kirgil's face, shattering his lower jaw and sending him tumbling through the swamp like a discarded doll.
Almost like a recurring nightmare, the horror didn't stop.
"Rastrikan Demons are conquerors... Rastrikan Demons are the most brutal section of the Demons... Rastrikan Demons are unkillable... We've heard a lot of things about you. But alas, it was nothing special. All are easily slain" the same voice echoed, able to pierce through the loud background sound of the heavy rain.
Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Kirgil prostrates on the ground with widened eyes.
"All are easily slain...?" He mumbled in disbelief.
Though not entirely certain, that single statement strongly implies the likelihood that the others have met their demise—a chilling prospect he dared not dwell upon, for if it were true, it would signify that he was the last one standing.
If that's the case then it would signify the irrevocable end of the Rastrikan Demons.
Just then, the figure landed right before him.
Crouching in front of him, the figure grabbed his head and forced him to stare into its gleaming sharp white eyes. Terrorizing might is what lies behind these animalistic eyes. "But for the sake of clarity and simple delight, I'll show you what a brutal and unkillable conqueror looks like"
Brak!
Demon Lord Kirgil got thrown in a direction and slammed to the ground again.
Groaning in immense pain, he took a full minute to stay still on the watery ground before eventually trying to stand up once again. It was only when he raised his gaze that he saw two other figures right beside him.
It was then, he stumbled back at the sight of these two figures.
Splash!
Squinting his eyes to inspect the two humanoid figures, his eyes slowly widened in shock.
"Demon Lord Kirgil..."
Despite the profound transformations the two had undergone, Demon Lord Kirgil couldn't help but frown as he sensed a hint of familiarity in these two figures. He refused to believe it, blaming it on his eyes playing tricks on him.
However, even then, a voice crept out of his throat, "A- Aructh...? Mazel...?"
Although the two were completely in a different form, a humanoid form, Demon Lord Kirgil could recognize them from the way the two were looking at him. But even then, he still tries to deny who he is seeing with all his heart.
But that denial was short-lived.
In a defeated tone, the two figures then replied, "Yes, Kirgil. It is us..."
Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Kirgil couldn't help but gasped in utter shock and disbelief.
Only a few resemblances of a Demon could be seen on them.
Demon Lord Kirgil dared not guess, but from his point of view, it was evident that Demon Lord Aructh and Mazel were stripped from their lineage and turned into something else entirely, "No... Dear Origin, how is this possible?"
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