They run through the forest right behind Brando, who to his credit, has yet to slow down. His swings bisect the shambling skeletons with contemptuous ease as he blazes ahead. Shina watches the undead turn to them as they pass by; some attempt to give chase. Most are easily outpaced, but a handful are actually able to keep up. Those are dealt with quickly and on the move.

“Shina!” Elly shouts as they hurry. ”Do you think we’re going the right way?”

Shina grunts. “I think so! The undead seem to be stronger here than they were when we started.”

“Shinnnaaaa!!!” yells Aiden. Shina looks back at her cousin and sees his finger pointing at the sky. “Look!”

She follows his finger but only sees the night sky with a smattering of twinkling stars.

“What? Aiden, what are you pointing at?” Shina asks, but Aiden keeps staring up

Frowning, Shina looks up at the stars again. Then her eyes widen as several dozen more appear.

“Flame Spitters! On me!”

Her team hears her and follows her command. The group halts their headlong charge and converges on her position.

She reaches into the air, her palm to the sky., “[Flame Bulwark]!” she screams.

Before the first projectile lands, orange and red mana swirls from Shina’s hand up above her. A barrier of fire envelops her and her team in a dome, five meters in diameter.

Not a second later, the first ball of hellfire lands. Meteorites fall from the sky, impacting the barrier as well as everything outside of it. Fireballs rip through the forest, knocking down trees and decimating the undead.

The barrier holds under the onslaught. A fire attack is much less effective against a defense that uses the same element, even if the attack is of a much higher tier.

“What spell is this? I’ve never seen it before!” Aiden asks in surprise.

“Looks like a [Meteor Storm]!” Dorris has to shout to be heard over the blasts.

“It’s not!” Shina tells her while continuing to reinforce the [Flame Bulwark]. “It’s something else. Something different.”

She frowns as she feeds more mana into her barrier than she would like, but the attack has yet to slow down.

“My [Minor Fire Manipulation] can’t control these flames.”

The two [Fire Mages] glance at each other in confusion. Both Aiden and Dorris have studied to become mages specialized in the use of flame; never have they heard of a manipulation skill unable to control its element.

“Shit, you think my resistance won’t work?” Thresh asks.

“Well, we’re going to find out soon enough,” Shina says. “The attack’s finally stopping.”

As the team watches, the attack subsides and Shina lets her arms fall. The barrier flickers and vanishes, revealing a broken and torched wasteland a hundred yards around them.

“Above,” Brando says, pointing his weapon into the air.

They gaze upward, watching a monstrous form, the size of a horse, flaps its wings as it glides downward. The thing lands with a whump and Shina gets a good look at it.

Tall, muscular, with black batlike wings, the monstrous beast rises to its full height. It raises its hands, both of them looking like instruments of slicing and tearing. It smiles, revealing vicious elongated teeth.

“Mortals,” the thing speaks, its armored and spiked tail scratches the ground as it waves, “you trespass upon my master’s domain.”

“Flame Spitters, take formation,” Shina orders. Her team moves quickly and prepares to fight.

The monster licks its lips.

“Hoh? Eager to get started, are we? How boring, but I wi-”

“What are you?” Aiden asks, which gets a glare from Shina.

The beast’s scarlet red eyes look at Aiden. They twinkle with curiosity and ancient power as he assesses the young man.

“Little [Fire Mage], you disappoint me. You should already know the answer to that question.”

At the monster’s feet, flames light and swirl with a level of control a [Pyromancer] would struggle to match. They flicker and sway, as though brought to life. The beast breathes out, flames leaking between its teeth.

“Demon,” Brando states, quickly brandishing his dadao and taking a defensive stance.

A chill runs down Shina’s spine at his word.

The demon chuckles, the flames at its feet dancing with its laughter. “Good, good! I was beginning to fear that my kind was forgotten. Now,” the demon’s gaze shifts to Shina, “you defended against my spell. For that, I, Garashist, will give you an option. Surrender yourself to me, and I will give your little team a quick death.”

“Screw you, [Siege Fireball]!” Aiden yells, raising up both arms and channeling an enormous amount of mana into his spell.

The Demon merely smiles and raises his hand.

Unfortunately for him, Shina’s aura is still in effect, boosting her team’s magic. The demon’s eyes widen in surprise as Aiden’s spell grows.

Aiden’s [Siege Fireball], his strongest spell, upgrades to [Meteor] and speeds towards the demon.

The Demon’s smile disappears, his wings wrap around his body.

“[Hellfire Bastion]” the demon invokes as the strike lands.

The [Infernal Meteor] detonates, blinding Shina and burning her exposed skin. Microseconds later, the deafening concussion blows her hair back and the world shudders around her.

Aiden drops his arms, sweat covering his forehead while he wears a goofy smile.

“How’s that, shithead?” the talented young man says.

“Uninspired.”

Aiden freezes at the words. The smoke drifts away, revealing a smoldering crater. The demon unfurls its damaged wings, covered in burn marks, and leaps from the crater. It lands a meter in front of the shocked group.

The demon winces as it moves its wings. It shakes its head in what feels like a disappointment.

“You spat on my generosity, and for that, you will suffer. [Hellfire Claws], [Hellfire Armor].”

Flames twist around the demon’s body while its claws blaze. Then it crouches, then lunges with a roar.

“Thresh!” Shina yells.

“[Intercepting Charge]!” Thresh leaps to meet Garashist’s attack, tower shield raised to bash the monster..

Garashist snarls and slashes. Thresh’s shield blocks the attack. Sparks fly and the metal is rent by claws, but the enchanted item survives. Unfortunately, the demon is larger and faster, so it swings its other arm, forcing Thresh to step back from the force.

“[Curving Arrow],” Elly uses a skill as she releases her arrow over the demon’s head. The shot curves once it flies above Garashist, then dives directly at him. The demon reacts quickly, grabs Thresh’s shield and lifts the shield and human overhead.

“Thresh!” Shina cries as the arrow strikes his back with a burst of flame. Thresh screams.

“Weaklings; did you expect your tricks to work on me?” Garashist taunts.

“Fuck you, [Shield Bash],” Thresh screams. Seemingly on its own, the shield slips out of Garashist’s hands and slams down on his head. The shield and attached human fall to the ground and roll to the side.

The blow dazes the demon, granting Brando an opportunity. The sloth-kin rushes the demon and shifts his dadao back for a full-strength attack. “[Severing Slash].”

The demon jumps back, but it’s too late. Brando slices, and one of the demon’s arms falls away.

The demon leaps back again. Brando does not follow, he waits as Thresh unsteadily stands up. The [Flame Guard] is unburned, his abilities shielded him from the heat, but the impact jumbled his insides enough that he’s spitting blood.

Brando reaches into his pocket and hands Thresh a potion. Thresh takes the bottle, uncorks it, and downs the contents.

“Not so strong, are you, you ugly fuck.” Aiden taunts, still breathing hard.

“Aiden, shut up. It’s not over yet,” Shina warns him, watching the demon as it continues smiling in spite of its missing arm.

“Indeed, it is not over,” The demon answers. It raises the stump of its arm towards dismembered appendage. “[Hellfire Conversion], [Demonic Agglutination].”

The arm twitches before it is engulfed in fire, then blasts towards the demon’s stump and reattaches itself.

Garashist flexes his arm. His grin widens.

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Jessica is in a panic as she runs towards where the explosions happened. Her mind is filled with visions of death and pain and… anger.

“Look Jess, they seemed like they had it covered. They were cutting through the undead easily,” Quasi explains while keeping up behind her.

She huffs angrily. “It doesn’t matter! They expected us to be with them, and you just went to sleep!”

“It does matter! Sure, the kids were friendly with us, but they never tried to integrate. No shared strategy, no asking questions, nothing! They were all gung-ho to do it themselves. They knew we were both stronger than their entire team, but they didn’t even ask us for help!”

He pauses before adding. “Plus, you snuggled up and went to sleep first, so don’t blame me for joining you.”

Jessica growls angrily. He’s mostly right. She shouldn’t have fallen asleep and they should have promised to protect the other team, but it’s too late now.

Shaking her head, she shifts her mind to the now. Right now, she has a dozen angels surrounding her. They fly ahead, killing all undead in her path as she makes her way to where she saw the meteors fall.

Almost there! Just hang on a little longer.

 

________________________________________________________________

 

Garashist has to admit, these mortals are resilient. Their abilities compliment each other well, and their teamwork is pretty good. Of course, that means nothing if they’re unable to finish him off.

With another swipe of his claws, he feels the [Flame Bulwark] shudder and flex. The [Flame Sorceress] drops to her knees, but she keeps her hands up in the air, channeling the mana necessary to keep protecting her team.

Next to her is the sloth-kin, his left hand now a stump. Beside him is the [Flame Guard]’s unconscious body, his armor broken and bent. Next to the [Flame Guards] is the [Flame Archer], who has been uselessly crying ever since the demon broke her bow.

Garashist sneers. Mortals. Too often do they rely on items instead of improving their own might. Alas, such short-lived beings need to rush ahead with everything they have or before they wither and perish.

Finally, Garashist regards the two immobile [Fire Mages] lying prone on the ground. They’ve both used far too much mana, so much so that they can barely move.

“Give up your feeble defense. Accept your deaths.” He says, striking at the barrier again.

He smiles and raises his arm a final time. His claws finally rip through the hindrance and the [Flame Sorceress]’s arms fall limp to her sides. She can no longer move, such was the strain on her, but she stares unflinchingly into Garashist's eyes, defiant.

Those eyes… That gaze… Garashist feels something he hasn’t for a long time, something he’d almost forgotten.

Lust.

He watches with glee as the look in Shina’s eyes now flashes with horror. She sees the growing member between his legs.

“It has been a while.” He walks forward till he is a foot away from her. “I apologize if I am too rough.” he leans down and extends his hand to grab her body.

But all he feels is a sting as his hand touches a golden barrier.

Garashist frowns and looks up. A beautiful masked woman, with glowing hands extended, walks towards them across the charred ground. Above her float a dozen angels.

He chuckles. “It seems I’ll have to postpone our fun.”

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

Holy crap she just cockblocked him. Like, literally stopped him from sex… well, rape. Pretty sure Shina wouldn’t want that member in her. Unless she does and the whole fighting thing was just some really convoluted foreplay.

“Huh, this would make for a pretty good porno. I’ll have to talk to my mom’s manager when I return to earth.” I mumble.

“Uh, Bone what is that thing?” Jessica asks.

“That, Jess, is an erection. I know, it’s tall and distracting, but it’s used in fornication.”

“Argh, no Bone! Focus!” She points at the monster. “What is that thing!? Its species!”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “Just use your mask. It has an [Analyze] skill built in.”

Actually, I’m curious too.

That would actually be a pretty strong demon if it wasn’t being suppressed. Weird that it was even summoned so early. I thought hell was only until recently sealed off? Damn, I guess I’m going to need to do more research on demons now.

“What should I do?” Jessica asks.

I look at Jessica.

“Well, you can start by ordering your angels to kill the demon. Then, heal those that are injured.”

She nods and I feel the wind pick up as twelve pairs of wings flap and the angels accelerate towards the smiling monstrosity.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Shina is tired. The piercing headache and her heavy eyelids make it difficult to stay awake. Still, she holds on, if only to witness Garashist’s battle against the angels. The sofly glowing angels each thrust their spear towards the demon, who dodges or blocks the thrusts with his claws.

She can't help but smile at the demon’s mounting frustration. She can tell that he is stronger than the angels, but he struggles to withstand the group’s assault. The demon is pushed back, forced to give ground as the angels engage and escape.

Once he is pushed back far enough, the barrier protecting her and her team disappears.

Before Shina can react, a pair of hands touch her shoulders.

“[Greater Heal].”

From the hands, warmth suffuses her body. Her aches and pains are relieved, and even her raging headache lessens. With newfound strength, Shina turns to see Jess aiding the rest of her team. Idly watching over her is Bone, who leans on his cane as though he’s bored.

“Thank you,” she says to Jess, who is laying hands on Thresh, the most wounded of her party. With the same spell, Thresh’s wounds quickly heal and close before her eyes. Never had she seen such fast healing before.

“Help, please.” Shina looks at the source of the request and sees Brando still holding the stump at his wrist, where blood continues to flow.

“You’re fine for now. I need to help these two first.” Jess says, much to Shina’s bewilderment. She watches Jess move to Aiden and Dorris who have lost consciousness after exhausting their mana reserves.

“They’re not injured!” Shina says. “They just passed out from using too much mana. You should help Brando first.”

Jess ignores her, instead, she places her hands on the bodies of Aiden and Dorris.

“Jess, they’re fine! All they need is rest.”

The woman does not answer. Shina listens to her calm voice. “[Mana suppression], [Flesh Shift], [Regeneration].”

“What?” Shina asks, but laughter beside her grabs her attention. Bone hovers over her with his hand extended.

She takes it and he pulls her up to her feet.

“Those two are not fine. They’ve overused their mana too much and put a serious strain on their bodies. Their mana channels are heavily, heavily damaged, Aiden’s especially. Without proper treatment, those two will find their magic difficult to cast, if not outright impossible.”

“Can that be healed?” Shina asks, remembering the warnings during her studies about the extensive use of mana and the potentially dire effects it could have on the body. Nobody had ever said those problems could be healed.

“Possible? Absolutely, though it takes a very specialized assortment of skills and knowledge to do.” Bone raises his hand and lifts a finger. “[Mana Suppression] forcibly restricts mana from traveling through the damaged channels, preventing it from worsening.” He raises another finger. “[Flesh Shift] allows her to move the insides of a person's body. She is using this skill right now to realign the channels into their correct locations.” He raises his third finger. “Finally, [Regeneration] allows the body to recover in a natural way. Normally, a [Greater Heal] would fix a body's damage, but it would not properly fix damaged channels since she doesn't know exactly how a person's channels are supposed to look.”

Shina stares at the masked man, gazing in utter confusion as he holds up three fingers towards her.

Bone lowers his hand to his hips and sighs. “Yeah, why do I even bother?” he asks the sky while shaking his head. He turns his head to look back at the battle.

Shina follows his gaze and her eyes widen in fear. Nine of the twelve angels remain, three having perished while she and Bone were speaking. Thankfully, the demon seems to have fought hard for that much. Stab wounds and cuts litter his body, though blood barely trickles from the injuries.

“They’re going to lose,” she says and raises up her hands. She calls up her mana, but stops as Bone touches her arm. Her mana fuzzles out as though it is suppressed.

“It's fine. Just rest and leave the demon to us.”

Bone lets go of her hand and starts walking. He adjusts his hat and straightens his robe. He whistles as he twirls his cane.

Not a worry in sight.