“Protect the Princess! Protect the Princess!”

The mercenary and soldiers shouted, taking a protective stance in front of Cecily, Murok, and Agatha.

“This is bad,” Murok mumbled, eyeing Eoi and Asad. He took particular notice of the abominable monster beside them. “We’ve been had. This mountain somehow became a domain, and we’re separated from the rest.”

Sweat erupted on Cecily’s face. At least, they have three B-Class mercs on their side and a couple of soldiers. But that monster who they couldn’t identify worry her to no end.

“What is that thing?”

All were thinking as they eyed the monstrous beast with two faces and six hands.

They never saw anything like it in their whole life.

“Teacher, what is that?” Cecily rasped. She was having difficulty breathing from the monster’s oppressive form.

Murok stroked his beard. “I don’t know. It seemed like a monster and beasts put together.”

“Proceed with caution!”

“Protect the Princess at all cost!”

“Teacher, you provide support from the back while we kill those vermins.” Cecily called the mercenaries and soldiers, “Everyone, I will take on the dark elf, and Agatha will take care of the demon while Murok will provide support. The rest of you, kill that monstrous thing and rally with us as soon as you can!”

The soldiers and mercenaries cried in agreement and brandished their weapons.

“Be careful,” Murok warned before he walked to the back. He flicked a hand, and a mana potion appeared in his hand.

Mana potions were a rare item and weren’t bought in the market. He paid a high price to have an alchemist made it. He could only afford two due to the rarity and hard to come by ingredients.

But this was no time to be stingy.

Murok’s heart bleeds as he gulped the potion to the last drop. From fifty percent, his mana surge to seventy percent. It was already a huge leapt. His goal was to support Cecily. He didn’t care for the rest. Like before, he cast [Heavenly Wind] to boost Cecily’s offense and defense.

At Cecily’s charge, everyone followed.

Asad and Eoi shot to their feet and aimed for Cecily while the monster remained standing on its spot.

Eoi stepped to the very back while shooting his arrows at the approaching Cecily and Agatha. Agatha appeared in front of Assad in a blink and kicked him off track while Cecily kept her eyes on Eoi.

A hundred meters from them, the soldiers and mercenaries attacked the monster.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps were all they heard before a sickening crunching sound skidded them to a halt.

“Agh!”

The soldiers screamed when their comrades were nothing but torn skin and bones. In a straight line where the monster stops, blood and guts trailed its path.

“I-its . . . too fast.”

The expression on the soldier and mercenaries’ faces changed.

“Clemente, support us from the back!” Roger shouted. He was the vice leader of the four B-Class mercenaries. Since Valij was not here, he was the next in command.

Clemente was the healer of the group, and she did what Roger told her. Mumbling incantations within seconds, Roger and Clyde were imbued with white lights.

[Light of Angelus]

The spell boost Roger and Clyde’s stats to four times but only for five minutes.

To contend with the monster’s speed and strength, they needed to fight with everything they’ve got.

On the other side, Cecily’s stats were boosted by [Heavenly Wind], and another spell by Murok [Wind Defense] made Cecily immune to attacks for a period of time. But if she were repeatedly attacked, the barrier would whittle away and break.

This was why Eoi constantly barraged her with his arrows while escaping Cecily’s sword.

“Don’t chase him too far!” Murok warned.

“I know!” Cecily grit her teeth. She was wasting too much time with Eoi. It was already thirty minutes. Her eyes then went to Asad. If Eoi wouldn’t fight her, then she might as well kill the demon first.

Changing her course, Cecily kicked off from the ground and went in Asad’s direction.

Asad was busy with Agatha, and with a powerful attack, Cecily pierced her rapier at Asad.

Clung!

Gawtar deflected Cecily’s rapier, but the force sent him flying.

“Shit!” Asad cursed as he tumbled on the ground.

“I can defeat him, princess,” Agatha slurred.

“Shut up. Let’s kill this demon as soon as possible.”

Eoi landed beside Asad. “Quit playing around.”

Asad spat the blood from his mouth and stood to his feet. “Easy for you to say. Why don’t you transform now and be useful?”

Before Eoi could open his mouth, Asad charged towards Cecily and Agatha.

Eoi sighed. Even they managed to separate Cecily and the others. She still had Murok and Agatha with her. They couldn’t afford to fail now. They had come too far and sacrificed too much. They have to capture the Princess, dead or alive.

“I can’t let this continue.” Eoi’s veins bulged, and his skin warped and twisted before he grew taller and bulkier. Utilizing the power of the demon coursing in his blood, he cast a skill.

[Arrow Javelin]

A single arrow shot from Eoi’s bow and went past Asad and straight into Cecily’s skull. It was so fast that it was impossible to dodge.

“Not Good!” Murok raised his staff, and a significant gust of wind formed in front of Cecily.

[Tornado]

But the arrow didn’t even flinch from the strong winds. It remained straight and true to its target. It shot passed from the winds repelling defenses, and Cecily raised her rapier to defend.

Clung!

The rapier blocked the arrow before it could reach her skull. Cecily thought that she was out from the rocks, but when cracks appeared on her rapier, horror replaced the relief on her face.

With Murok’s orders, Agatha appeared right beside her and snatched the arrow with her bare hands.

“Argh!” Agatha’s fangs stretched from her gums.

The winds and Cecily’s rapier reduced the arrow’s speed and power. With all of Agatha’s might, she crushed the arrow with her hands reinforced with her demonic aura.

Boom!

Both Cecily and Agatha have been knocked away. Agatha lost her arm while Cecily’s half body was burned. But within seconds, Cecily’s appearance was good as new as she somersaulted in mid-air and landed on her feet.

Murok’s [Healing Wind] healed her before the pain sits in.

Agatha’s hand was regenerating as she recovered her momentum mid-air and landed in all fours on the ground. She snarled at Asad and Eoi’s.

Not far from Agatha and Cecily, dread and panicked flickered in Eoi’s eyes. “The dominion . . .” He looked at Asad. “It’s gone.”

“So soon?” Asad was shocked before his face turned solemn.

“I also lost my beast,” Eoi muttered in a grave voice. Since it was a pup, the Vamperic wolf was with him since he was young. The both of them climbed their way up in the hierarchy of power.

Eoi’s fingers curled against his palms. He shouldn’t have summoned it. A hunter without its beast . . .

Eoi closed his eyes tight for a moment. It was like a part of him died.

“. . .”

“. . .”

Asad and Eoi looked at each other before Eoi nodded.

Agatha frowned when Asad and Eoi circled them. Then out of nowhere, a pentagram encompassing Cecily and her appeared.

“W-what––!” Before Cecily could finish her word, twelve arrows shot to the ground, beaming with dark light.

“Lo and behold,” Asad grinned, face twisting in menace, eyes shaking in madness. “My trump card.”

[Gravity Asunder]

“Not good!” Agatha shouted, but it was too late. The pentagram glowed, and with it, a massive force flattened them on the ground that even for a demoness like her, it was impossible to move an inch.

Cecily and Agatha crouched on the dirt. Veins pumped on their forehead as they tried with all their might to move their limbs from the gravities hold.

“We don’t need you alive, Princess. We just need your corpse! Farewell!”

After Eoi finished speaking, a massive arrow-like spear appeared in the sky. Thunder loomed over it, and it looked ominous as its massive sharp end pointed at Cecily and Agatha.

“Received my wrath!” [Arrow of Judgment]

The skill would instantly shatter the souls of those it pierced. It was the perfect skill if they wanted the Princess’s body intact. It was also Eoi’s most destructive skill. But the cost . . . he had to use all his mana –– a life for a life.

“Heh.” Eoi chuckled and cast Asad a look. “See you on the other side.”

The giant arrow crackled with dark energy, slowly shooting down towards Cecily and Agatha. And with his emptied mana, Eoi shattered into particles and became one with the surroundings. His soul was returning in the cosmos to undergo the cycle of reincarnation.