455. Interlude - Cloaks and Daggers Part Two

[Ouroboros - Lvl. 135]

[Ouroboros - Lvl. 93]

[Ouroboros - Lvl. 87]

[Ouroboros - Lvl. 96]

…

Orgaf looked up at the surrounding Demons. They emerged from the white earth with their long, undulating bodies. They were like giant worms— except when they opened their mouth, they revealed rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. The tallest of them all rose up to a hundred feet, and Orgaf knew that it was only half of its full length, the rest hidden underground.

“Wild Demons.”

He whispered. Domenic raised a wand as Lofus grinned savagely. Marwin braced himself, drawing one of his silver blades. Alice raised her arms, the cloak of shadow billowing behind her.

They were high-leveled adventurers. High Diamond and Elites. They weren’t going to stop and gawk at the Demons that were about to attack them— they were always ready for an ambush, after all. The head [Ouroboros] lashed down as Orgaf’s daggers appeared in both his hands. He would’ve struck it down in an instant, but Alice the Shadow Consort moved faster.

The cloak of shadows wreathing her shifted. The darkness momentarily lost its form, coalescing around her right palm. Then a solid object began to form— a curved weapon. A bow made of darkness.

She raised her right arm, aiming for the [Ouroboros]. Without even bringing back her left hand, a dark bolt shot out and struck the Demon in the face. It shrieked in pain, recoiling as its minions charged forward.

Dozens of the smaller Archdemons swarmed the group of adventurers. One of them came crashing down at Lofus, but the Broken Berserker of Bherein just smirked and raised her war axes. In a single swing, she cleaved the giant worm-like Demon in half.

“Come on! Is that all you Demons got?!”

She bellowed as she charged straight into the swarm of Demons.

Orgaf himself was already ahead of her. He slinked back into the shadows, vanishing for a moment before reappearing between a group of five of the worm-like Demons. They spun around, sensing him even as he leapt out without a sound. But they were too slow to do anything else.

In an instant, the five [Ouroboros] collapsed, sliced into dozens of pieces. Orgaf landed lithely over their falling corpses as he flicked the black blood off his blade. These Demons were weak. Low-leveled, compared to the Elites. Even the Diamond Ranked adventurers didn’t struggle against them.

Domenic pointed at a cluster of [Ouroboros] as the ground shimmered. A pair of giant glyphs formed both below and over the Demons. They looked up in confusion as the glyphs crackled with electricity. Then all at once, the glyphs crushed them. The Archsorcerer adjusted his glasses as their blood splattered all over the white floor.

Marwin tore through the oncoming Demons with ease. The Silver Swordsman fought with two swords— no, three blades. He swapped between the weapons swiftly. Even with one hand, he was still a master swordsman. Like a whirlwind of blades. The [Ouroboros] charging him were dealt with ease.

And even the highest-leveled [Ouroboros]— the leader of the group— was no match for any of the Humans. Alice kept it back as a salvo of black bolts launched out of her shadow bow. Blasts that rapidly fired out with no nocking of the arrow.

Finally, the Shadow Consort raised her left hand as a bright darkness coalesced around her palm. An arrow made of shadows took shape, brimming with power. She nocked it into her shadow bow as she pointed at the Level 135 Demon. It hissed at her, and she let the arrow loose.

The shadow arrow propelled forward, faster and faster, somehow only accelerating as it drew closer to the [Ouroboros]. The Demon tried to recede back— to escape. But the shadow arrow curved. It arced down after the giant worm-like creature. And all at once, the shadow arrow impaled the Demon.

The attack ran down the Demon’s long and undulating body, splattering its blood out from the burrow it had tried to escape down into. Alice simply dismissed her shadow bow— the darkness returning back into the cloak that wreathed her body.

Orgaf stepped away from the last of the fallen [Ouroboros]. His daggers vanished from his hands, reappearing in their sheethes on his back. Marwin and Domenic lowered their weapons as Lofus strutted back with her war axe hefted over her shoulder. She clicked her tongue, kicking aside the corpse of an [Ouroboros].

“Pretty weak. I thought I'd have more fun.”

She remarked in an annoyed voice. Domenic adjusted his robes as he cleared his throat.

“I do have to admit, these Demons were rather lackluster. I expected there to be stronger guards protecting the ritual site.”

“These weren’t guards.”

Orgaf answered simply. Domenic blinked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“These are Demons. Wild Demons. They weren’t here to guard the ritual. They were just pulled through by the ritual by pure chance. They attacked us just because they saw us as threats, not to defend anything.”

“I don’t quite understand. Are you saying they weren’t stationed here under the orders of the Demon King?”

The Archsorcerer frowned. This time, Marwin didn’t argue with the man. Rather, the Silver Swordsman echoed these sentiments.

“That makes no sense. This—”

But Orgaf cut them both off.

“Look, I don’t care to explain this to you. These Demons out here are no different from monsters. The real guards will be inside, near the ritual site itself. Don’t let our guards down just yet.”

He stepped forward, entering Cedric Academy. Domenic and Marwin exchanged a confused look. They spoke at the same time.

“But… aren’t all Demons under the Demon King?”

“Orgaf seems to be implying that’s not the case.”

Alice answered simply as she followed after Orgaf. Domenic opened his mouth.

“But that—”

“Who gives a fuck. Let’s just go pummel whatever’s inside this damn academy.”

Lofus walked past them, snorting. Domenic and Marwin stared as the rest of their group continued on. Finally, with a shrug, they both followed.

Orgaf led the way, tracing after the path he had already explored while in the shadows. He was careful not to set off any traps. But there really was nothing left for him. The hallways were empty. The open courtyards between buildings were deserted. There was no sign of life whatsoever

Alice paused before one of the empty classrooms. She peered in through the windows with furrowed brows.

“How odd.”

“What is it, Alice?”

Orgaf craned his neck back slightly. The Shadow Consort narrowed her eyes.

“The students— their belongings have been left behind. They were either quickly evacuated, or…”

She trailed off, letting the implication settle in. Orgaf frowned before shaking his head.

“There’s no use mulling over that.”

He spoke simply as he pressed on. Finally, the group reached the center of the academy. Where the source of the ritual was being held. Despite his very rough understanding of magic, Orgaf could feel the oppressive magic flowing through the air, and he knew it was bad.

He stepped up to a large set of double doors. One which had a sign etched onto its surface.

The Tower of the Wind Lord.

Orgaf furrowed his brows before reaching for the door’s handles. But Lofus stepped past him and kicked the double doors wide open. The [Rogue] blinked as she barged right in without a care in the world.

“Enough wasting time.”

She raised her war axe as she marched right in.

“Whoever’s inside already knows we’re here from our previous fight. There’s no point in being stealthy any longer.”

“Right.”

Orgaf nodded before following after her. Alice, Domenic, and Marwin were a step behind them. The Diamond Ranked adventurers were nervous. They could sense it too— they could feel it in the air. Something was amiss. It wasn’t just the scent of brimstone that was throwing them off. It wasn’t just Orgaf’s [Danger Sense] ringing alarm bells— warning him that this wasn’t a good idea.

Still, they pressed on. Their footfalls echoed as they walked through the empty hallways. Until, finally, they reached a large hall. One that was glinting with a crimson light. A glowing red pillar rose from a spell circle that spanned a dozen feet wide at the center of the auditorium.

It was the ritual they’d been searching for. Or, rather, one of the sub-rituals that was expediting the merger of the planes.

And a single man kneeled before it in a trance. Like he was either in hallowed reverence of this ritual, or watching on in terror as it played out.

“Who is that?”

Domenic blinked. Alice created her shadow bow once again.

“Uncertain. But he is above Level 100. Remain cautious.”

Orgaf frowned and vanished into the shadows again, quickly approaching the man before Lofus could just march up on him. But the man didn’t react. He continued to kneel there, even as the Thief of the Golden Scale re-materialized from the shadows behind him.

“...they promised.”

The man murmured. Orgaf raised a dagger to the back of his neck, and he didn’t respond.

“You. I have heard about you.”

Again, no response. But the Elite Ranked adventurer continued as Lofus reached him.

“You’re Typhest the Wind Lord. Headmaster of Cedric Academy.”

That prompted a reaction from the man. Typhest raised his head, looking up with glazed eyes.

“Head…master?”

Orgaf hesitated. He glanced back to Lofus and spoke warningly.

“This could be a trap.”

“Maybe. But I’ll be ready for anything that comes out.”

The Berserker smirked. Orgaf clicked his tongue and called out to the others.

“Alice, Marwin— secure the area. Domenic, find a way to put a stop to the ritual.”

“Right.”

The three of them replied at once as Lofus walked past Orgaf. The Thief of the Golden Scales stepped aside as she reached Typhest and picked up the man.

“Oi, what’s going on here? Don’t tell me you’re the only one guarding this ritual site. There’s gotta be a trap somewhere, right? Just spring it already. Those Demons can’t be that dumb.”

The Wind Lord’s head lolled back.

“Demons…?”

He blinked a few times. Then his eyes widened. The man jerked forward, grabbing Lofus by the shoulders in a sudden burst of movement that even took Orgaf by surprise. Lofus flinched, but all Typhest did was speak madly.

“I… couldn’t do anything! It’s not my fault! He said they wouldn’t touch them!. He lied to me! It’s not—”

Lofus yanked him off her and dropped him to the ground. He groaned as he fell, before creasing her brows at him.

“Calm down, will you? If you keep squirming about, I’ll just crush you.”

“Wait, Lofus.”

Orgaf stopped her from raising her war axe. He quickly glanced over at Domenic who was standing over the ritual circle with a wand raised.

“How much longer, Domenic?”

“Just give me a minute. Deconstructing this ritual circle is more difficult than I thought.”

Domenic frowned as he waved his wand in the air, manipulating the stands of mana weaving over the crimson pillar. Orgaf shook his head and turned back to Typhest.

“What are you talking about, Typhest? What did you do? Who made you do it?”

The Wind Lord simply curled up into a trembling ball as he hugged himself. He tried to work his mouth, but nothing substantive came out.

“He… he… he lied to me…”

Orgaf pursed his lips. This wasn’t going anywhere. He picked Typhest up and hefted the man over his shoulder.

“We’re bringing him back with us.”

“What? You can’t be serious— he’s our enemy!”

Lofus protested. Orgaf nodded simply.

“And we’ll bring him back with us for further questioning. He’s a witness and he’ll be useful for information about the Demons’ plans.”

“He won’t be useful for shit. Look at him!”

The Berserker pointed at Typhest as he continued to murmur madly to himself. Orgaf sighed.

“Look, Lofus—”

But Orgaf couldn’t finish. He was instantly interrupted by a crack, followed by a whimper. He spun around as his [Danger Sense] heightened, and he saw Alice backing away with her bow raised.

“Marwin!”

The Shadow Consort called out. But the only response was a thud. Orgaf’s daggers instantly appeared in his hands as he saw the bloodied body crumple to the ground. Marwin didn’t move, lying on the ground as a lean red figure stepped over him. A Demon with blood-colored skin. One that looked so Human, yet so monstrous.

Orgaf tensed as Lofus’s eyes widened.

“That’s—”

And the red-skinned Demon smiled.

“Greetings, Orgaf. Thief of the Golden Scale. It is a pleasure to meet you once again.”

Orgaf stared at the Demon. He looked so familiar, yet Orgaf didn’t quite recognize him. It was only when he continued, did the Thief of the Golden Scale finally understand what was going on.

“I am Ira. And this land will be your grave.”

[Hellprince - Lvl. 157]