Moulin wrapped a shawl around himself while a chilly breeze passed him by. His steps are unhurried as he crosses the garden towards his ntor. Around him, the flowers and leaves swayed as though greeting him.
Wasn't he supposed to return a few hours later? Did he already finish the demonic relic assessnt so fast? Questions filled Moulin's mind as he approached the elf.
"Back so soon?" The youth spoke. Captivating silver eyes gazed curiously towards Na'El.
The elf shook his head. His smile was as elegant as ever, enchanting even the youth in front of him. "I left earlier to check on you... How do you feel?"
"Good. Hadrian is asleep... But where are the others?"
Na'El took a step closer, shaking his head. "Ah, I'm not quite certain. Now, if the young master doesn't mind, may I?"
The elf extended his hand. "I must examine how the flow of your mana is progressing."
Silver eyes glanced briefly at the hand offered to him before quietly staring into the elf's unique eyes. Just as an awkward silence fell around them, Moulin gave a sweet smile. "Of course, ntor..."
The youth reached out a hand, about to take Na'El's. The elf smiled with a deep gaze.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, an ice shard abruptly materialized within the youth's palm and lunged at Na'El's throat. In an instant, the air shifted, and the elf's hand grabbed Moulin's wrist before the blade could cut the soft skin of his neck.
A devilish smile graced the youth's beauteous features. "You must have forgotten... this is my realm."
"...!"
Ice spreads from the contact point where the hand grabbed Moulin's wrist. Frost, brimming with searing purifying mana, burned the skin where it spreads, from fingers to knuckles, unraveling demonic red flesh as it extends outwards. The excruciating pain as the ice breaks down flesh could drive one into madness.
"Argh!" The elf gritted his teeth as the mana quickly shattered his flawless illusion. Those calm eyes vanished, replaced with blood-red pupils, burning with fury and pain. However, his hand refused to let go.
Swish!
A clean slice. Corrupted blood splattered on the once untainted garden tiles.
"Aghhhh!" Screaming, the demon's original form unraveled before their eyes. Red skin, red eyes with black sclera. Its body was nude through the ripped robes, a flesh-like thorns grew from its body.
The youth's silver eyes turned to the tall man standing beside him, wielding a black obsidian sword. Hadrian's golden eyes glead with murderous intent. The suffocating aura around him began to engulf everything.
Moulin glanced at his reddened wrist. His brows furrowed tightly. No signs of corruption. But how could a demon enter this realm? It should be impossible.
And Na'El… where has the real person gone?
Countless worries filled the youth's mind. No matter. The anomalies should alarm Ordan and the others.
They should be here soon.
"Moulin…" Hadrian spoke in a deep voice as he flicked off the sizzling blood from his blade.
"I know…" Moulin scanned the garden for more signs of demonic activity. His mana scoured the entire barrier like mist, seeing through every crack and crevice.
Slender brows furrowed. Sothing thick slipped into the surfaces of the realm's barrier, engulfing every surface. But Moulin couldn't determine what it was. Like a frog trapped in a pot.
"I can't see it…" Moulin spoke. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Just then, a maniacal laugh filled their ears. The pair turned their attention to the red-skinned demon clutching the stump of its wrist. Red skin, bulging limb, dark eyes, and finally a scaled tail swing behind him. He grew taller, limbs lengthening. Moulin couldn't tear his eyes from it.
"You are too late…" His voice, which had copied Na'El's cracked, wheezing in a hoarse tone. The stump in his hand grew thick, wriggling tendrils, stretching in the blink of an eye before wrapping together in one. Swish! Like strands of rope being twisted together. A new hand materialized.
"You can't stop it…"
Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath their feet. The skies blackened like wood burning in a forest fire. Moulin's expression tensed as the surrounding air grew ominous. Mana in their surroundings resisted for a while before surrendering to the darkness. Like a wave of fire razing a field of dandelion fluff, gone in minutes.
Moulin's eyes narrowed. A cold breath escaped from his mouth as a familiar form materialized within his grip. His aura grew brighter, trying to salvage what was left of the pured mana in the realm, using it to condense around his body and Hadrian's.
A demonic grin flashed.
With narrowed eyes, Moulin raised his bow slightly. Boom! A pillar of ice burst from the ground where the demon stood, engulfing his whole body in a second. Red pupils trembled as harrowing pain spread throughout his entire body. He couldn't move.
Whoosh! There was a spark of gold and a sharp black edge, slashed through the ice, slicing through flesh and hooking through bone. Crack! Before the demon knew it, his body was sliced in half from the waist.
Aaahhhh!
Moulin aid his bow as he watched the writhing creature break through his ice, groaning in pain.
"Ahhh… ha… ha ha… hahahaa!"
Hadrian watched as the creature began cackling. With a strong kick, the demon crashed into the stone planters. Rocks and dirt flew everywhere while blood spilled on the ground. Still, the demon's laugh failed to cease. As the dust settled, a disgusted expression filled Moulin's face when the demon regrew his limbs once more. Now, it was crawling on the stump of his growing knees, staring at them.
Moulin swallowed as he stood closer to Hadrian.
"Do you think killing will help you escape?"
The youth ignored him and gazed at the darkened sky. A foreboding feeling plagued him the longer he looked. "The barrier is fully consud…"
A thick layer of… sothing blanketed the surface. It was moving… slithering like a snake. What is it?
"They will be too late..." The demon spoke, wobbling as it stood on its feet. Blood-red pupils quivered excitedly as they fell upon the pair of silver and gold. His voice hoarsely rose. "... Accept your fate... The sooner, the less your people shall die... and my god, the lord deliverer, shall rise from his slumber... cleanse these filthy lands..."
His arms are outstretched towards them as though offering a welcoming embrace. And his smile was grotesquely wide yet... warm. Chills ran down Moulin's spine. His aim trembled slightly.
Then there was a huge slice of light forming behind the demon. Moulin felt the realm tremble in resistance as the slit of a portal widened, revealing a dark red tunnel. It looked too long as he could not see anything further but darkness.
But it was wriggling. The red hue didn't look anything like a cave... it possessed a sowhat glossy sheen... like raw flesh. The youth felt like prey looking into a predator's mouth...
"Hadrian..." Moulin nervously shifted his gaze montarily as he called. "The energy from the portal is-... Hadrian?"
...
The youth stared at the tall figure beside him. Hadrian's aura remained unperturbed and promising.
However, his golden eyes, once bright and fierce, looked dim and... blank.
Moulin's heart thudded. "Hadrian!"
Hadrian blinked, seemingly startled. The demonic grin widened proudly.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind whipped at them. What once was a still portal opening ca lunging at them with rows of razor-sharp teeth bursting from the edges of the round mouth. A huge, long, limbless creature with a dark, scaled body and a tunnel-like mouth surged through the portal and ca rushing towards them!
Moulin's breath hitched. He pulled Hadrian away and shot a glowing arrow a few feet before them, creating an uneven wall of thick ice.
Boom!
The colossal worm smashed through the wall and instantly swerved to where Moulin and Hadrian retreated. Golden light crackled around his dark blade as Hadrian swung his sword against the worm's open maw. A shockwave spreads from the clash of teeth and steel, rippling throughout the realm.
Hadrian's physical strength never failed him, relentlessly pushing against the monster.
On the roof of the realm's house, Moulin hesitantly shifted his attention towards the demon and the portal. Now free and unobstructed, one could see the dark earth, malford stone, and spine-chilling atmosphere through the opening.
"Gohtel..." Moulin realized with wide eyes.
Before his eyes, a sudden invitation from the place they searched hard for months.
"Tempting... is it not?"
Moulin froze. His shock montary as he vigilantly turned, ard and ready, shot towards the red shadow standing on the tower roof behind him. The demon agilely dodged the ice projectiles, expressionlessly breaking its bones. Yet the energy the arrows released still burned its skin excruciatingly.
The youth did not stop. Silver eyes glowed as pillars of ice burst from the roofs, each with a rune vibrating with murderous intent.
"... Uldher was right-"
The demon flinched as the air around him condensed into his flesh, growing searing groups of icicles from his arms, his legs, and his face. Trapped in the ring of pillars, he was left motionless at the rcy of a sudden wave of darkness-devouring magic.
The demon's eyes constricted. This formation... a technique lost in ancient tis.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Fascinating!"
Moulin narrowed his eyes. His body was already trembling from the strain of subduing the powerful demon, yet it still had the life to laugh before him.
"Your lordship... " The demon called. It's flesh already blackening, breaking down like parched earth. Mouth moving hypnotically.
"... Alsander longs to reunite with you."
Moulin froze.
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