ROAR
As his thoughts wandered for a moment, the hobgoblin's roar pierced the silence. Its obsidian cleaver cleaved the wind in a threatening display of dark lights as it glared at his group.
Instead of feeling intimidated by the threatening noises, the demons' muscles tensed and trembled in excitement.
Stunned, he grumbled and stepped back, joining Luna and the djinn.
"Have fun. I'll supervise the battle."
Despite his willingness to fight and improve, his subjects' fierce temper dissuaded him. He would hinder their chaotic dance of destruction with his non-existent fighting skills.
'I'll intervene to protect them if they're about to suffer a blow.'
With no need for a second command, Garduck's fiery hair danced as he charged in like a bull. Bart followed behind, the loud noise of his stomps reverberating and his arms raised to deliver a crushing blow.
Meanwhile, shadows gathered onto Shihan's palm, shaping themselves into sharp needles.
Upon seeing the undeterred invaders, the hobgoblin's roar battered his eardrum. Yet this time, blue energies swirled around his cleaver, making it shine a dangerous, otherworldly light.
CLANG
A metallic collision echoed as it sliced Shihan's projectiles. The ground caved under its green feet as it rocketed to meet the two insolent demons with an enraged roar.
A shiver ran down his spine. Despite the distance, he felt the air chill each time the cleaver's edges shone.
He didn't know what type of energy the hobgoblin used, but it increased its lethality by a wide margin.
"Don't touch the blade! It has freezing properties!"
His legs bent and thighs tensed as he yelled. Then, he released the tension flashing before Bart's confident smirk and open palms, ready to clutch the cleaver.
The collision sent the muscled demon tumbling a few steps, saving him from his overconfidence.
However, he felt it, the bone-chilling sensation assaulting his back as his blood froze.
"M'lord!"
Bart shrieked in panic, his red eyes returning to their usual dark colors as dread took hold of his heart.
He felt his subject's sturdy arms grip him before he could fall. Yet, his mind was elsewhere and unable to hear his worried voice.
'ARGH! Why is this energy so painful?!'
Gritting his teeth to endure, his body convulsed as a world of agony imposed itself as his new reality.
He convulsed, trying to shake off the burning sensation of freezing assaulting his skin as the distant noise of Garduck's and Shihan's battle echoed.
Yet, despite his fading hearing, he caught a scream loud and clear. Shihan had been wounded, too.
Annoyed by her projectiles, the hobgoblin must have targeted her.
'Shit! What is that energy?!'
Despair wrapped around his heart as his vision blurred, yet Luna's mocking forced him to focus.
"Hahaha. What a weak lord. A single contact with raw mana is all it takes to put you down."
Her chuckles assaulted his ears, and a sensation of weightlessness engulfed him as she gripped him by the neck.
"I'll offer you a choice. I can heal you for free."
Her voice trailed off, and her eyes narrowed into fiery slits.
"Or let you agonise, take all this camp's resources for myself but heal Shihan."
'Reveal your true nature! No demon would accept suffering and lose his possession to help someone else.'
She smirked, pleased to expose this hypocritical imp.
However, it froze on her lips the next second as his ragged breath echoed without any sign of hesitation or delay.
"Take everything and save her!"
Even his dimming eyes made her hand tremble. She recognised their sheen: determination and worry.
She shook her head, unwilling to believe him. Yet, her heart trembled in disbelief, and her hand lowered as he lost consciousness.
A sliver of hesitation twisted her lips as they parted.
"Begone, ant!"
Demonic energy flared in a show of horrible green flames. With a movement of her hand, they condescend into a scalding snake, hissing at the creature.
In a breath, it lunged at the hobgoblin overwhelming Garduck with a barrage of strikes. The demon's rusted sword shattered in a rain of glistening sparks under the monster's pressure, leaving him defenseless in the face of looming death when the snake engulfed his enemy.
ROAR
SIZZLE
A soul-chilling roar erupted as disturbing sizzling noises filled the camp. The scent of burning flesh and evaporating fat followed as the creature threw itself to the ground and rolled madly, trying to extinguish Luna's flames in vain.
Garduck's, Bart's, and the djinn's eyes widened, and their legs buckled in unison. Such exquisite control and power over demonic energy could only mean one thing: Luna had the innate potential to become a demon baron, perhaps even an earl.
However, like a proud lion passing by a group of terrorised mice, she walked to Shihan. with a swipe of her hand, her energy licked the mana freezing her arm, neutralising it in a second.
"T-Thank you."
Shihan's voice trembled as she lowered her head. Tears streamed down her face before she continued, her voice barely audible.
"Save the lord, please. He was wounded trying to protect Bart. I'll give you everything I have, even my demonic essence."
Her plea echoed in her ears, causing her to doubt her reality. Demons begging for someone's life? What nonsense did she wake up to this morning?
Yet, her confusion deepened as Bart kneeled before her.
"I'll offer you my head in exchange for his life. We just met, but I'm sure he'll build a never-before-seen territory for demons and uplift our terrible reputation to rival those pompous elves. Who said we are inherently bad? Shihan is right. I thought about it the entire day. Maybe our behavior is rooted in our flawed culture.
I-I want to bet on him."
Luna's mind spun, trying to comprehend the absurdity of the situation. Demons, loyalty, and redemption? Did these fools believe they were humans?
"Shut up, you two!"
She stomped the ground, her voice a thundering command.
Then, surprising them, she passed her hand on Adam's back, ridding him of the mana assaulting his back.
"He challenged me. I can't let him die before we define who won."
She snorted, kicking him awake without mercy before she turned and walked away, her silhouette disappearing into the forest's dense vegetation.
"Ouch. Who hit my ribs so hard?!"
Rubbing his aching left side, he pushed himself off the dusty ground with a groan.
Instantly, he noticed two blinking notifications and two pairs of relieved eyes landing on him.
He narrowed his eyes at the burning hobgoblin and its lifeless eyes.
Not bothering to ask what happened, he checked his notifications. A surge of joy and relief washed over him before confusion replaced them.
[Your subject, Luna, defeated a tier one Lvl11 hobgoblin. You have gained 100 experience points.]
[Congratulations on levelling up. Please check your interface and decide how to distribute your points.]
[Luna's loyalty increased by ten points.]