The fight was going completely sideways. Nobody expected this. The Demon General stood over them, his eyes glowing like hot coals. He looked like an animal about to eat. The S-Rank Hunter was already a mess from the last fight, but he still tried to stand his ground against the massive thing. Next to him, his A-Rank guard drew his weapons without a word. He was loyal, but it didn't matter. They were completely outmatched.
Blue stayed in the shadows at the edge of the woods. He just watched. His mind was clear, running the numbers and looking for a weak spot in the creature's defense. He didn't panic. He just paid attention while the seconds ticked away.
The S-Rank Hunter looked back at them. His face was covered in blood.
"Run," he yelled, his voice cracking. "Get out of here. I'm only a Level 1 S-Rank—I literally just got this rank. You need to move. This demon is way stronger than you think."
Celia stared at him, completely frozen. She looked over at Lyra, whose face had gone totally white. They had fought bad monsters before, things that jumped out of the dark, but nothing like this. This thing was right out of the old stories. A real Demon General, a monster that shouldn't even be in this world.
The Hunter pulled his sword back, the steel lighting up with magic. "You won't survive a second. I'll try to block him and buy you some time, but you have to go right now."
Lyra could barely get the words out. "A real General Class... We have to run. There's nothing else we can do."
Blue looked at the monster, perfectly calm. System, what are demons? he thought.
The System answered in his head immediately, sounding like a machine.
[Demons are a race focused entirely on destroying and killing all life forms. They view all living things as trash, except for dragons. Their base strength is incredibly high, especially anyone at General rank or above.]
Blue processed the text. So they just wanted everything dead. It was simple enough. But the next text window popped up with a real warning.
[Demon Generals are ranked by power from lower to higher tiers. Above them are the Ten Royal Demons, who rule the race. If you ever see a Royal Demon, your only option is to run immediately.]
Blue narrowed his eyes. He didn't need the system to tell him this guy was dangerous. He could feel it in the air. More importantly, his gut told him the demon wasn't here by accident. It was here for him.
Right then, the A-Rank guard let out a shout and charged. He swung his sword in a blur, magic sparking off the blade, trying to give his boss a chance to breathe.
"No, stop! Get back!" the Hunter screamed.
It was a waste of time. The guard was dead the second he stepped forward.
The Demon General didn't even look interested. He just flicked his wrist. It happened so fast the human eye couldn't even track the movement. The guard's head simply came off. His body stood there for one weird second, like a statue, and then collapsed into the dirt as blood spilled across the grass. The whole clearing went dead silent.
Celia and Lyra couldn't move. Their legs wouldn't listen to their brains. They just stared at the body, completely terrified by how easy it was for the monster.
The S-Rank Hunter swung his sword with everything he had left. The blade hit the demon's claws with a loud crack, sparks flying everywhere.
But the demon wasn't even trying. He was just playing with him.
A black hand shot out and slammed into the Hunter's ribs. The bone broke with a loud snap, and the force sent the man flying through the air before he hit the dirt hard. He gasped, spitting up blood that stained the grass.
The demon didn't give him a break. He stepped over the broken man, blocking out the sky. Then he brought his massive foot down right on the Hunter's back.
Another loud pop echoed through the trees as the spine gave way.
The Hunter screamed. It was a terrible, weak sound.
The Demon General tilted his head, looking down at his foot. "You are far weaker than I anticipated, little insect."
He sounded completely bored, like he was stepping on a bug on the sidewalk. The Hunter wanted to say something back, to curse at him, but he couldn't breathe. The weight on his back was too heavy.
Then, the pressure stopped.
The demon took his foot off and stepped back, spitting a breath of foul, sulfur-smelling air onto the ground.
"Not yet," the demon whispered. "I am not done playing with you."
The Hunter lay there in the dirt, completely broken. He realized the truth. We were never going to get out of here alive. We're just toys to this thing.
The Demon General stopped moving.
For ten seconds, nobody did anything. The whole forest was quiet. The Hunter kept his eyes on the monster, just trying to stay conscious. Celia and Lyra watched from the edge, shaking, wondering why the monster had stopped the attack.
Then, the demon just disappeared. One second he was there, and the next, he was gone, leaving nothing but the smell of rotten eggs behind.
Blue noticed the shift instantly. He felt the exact moment the demon's attention moved to something else.
The second the air changed, Blue left. In a split second, he vanished into thin air. His body just dissolved, leaving the clearing behind.
A moment later, Blue was standing outside the kingdom gates. It was peaceful here, a total contrast to the bloody woods. He walked up to the guards and held up his S-Rank Kingdom badge. The guards instantly stood up straight, looking at him with respect and a bit of confusion.
Blue handed Celia and Lyra over to them. The girls were still shaking and pale, but Blue didn't pay attention to them. He turned back toward the forest, his senses locked onto the tree line. He could still feel the demon's energy out there.
The General was pissed. Blue could feel the anger vibrating through the air.
Suddenly, the demon's voice echoed directly inside Blue's head, loud and heavy.
"So... I was right, kid. Someone kept healing that man every time I broke him, keeping him alive. And now you can jump through space, too."
The monster let out a dark laugh that rattled in Blue's mind.
"This just got a lot more interesting. I have a much better target now."
Back in the clearing, the S-Rank Hunter was barely awake. He reached a shaking hand out into the empty air, whispering to himself. "The kid... he was the one healing me? He shielded me?"
A small breeze stirred the grass, and Blue appeared right next to the broken Hunter. He looked down at him, his face completely blank.
"Let us conclude this properly, shall we?" Blue said. His voice was quiet, but it was steady.
The fight wasn't over yet.