“M’lady, you absolutely can’t just leave us be!” cried an elderly woman who was on her knees with her head lowered all the way until it was touching the ground.

“It will be for nought if the Demons appeared when you have left! Stay with us, m’lady!” Then it was a man with black soot covering his face and bare torso.

“M’lady stay with us! Don’t leave us!” Then it was a woman with two children.

“Lady Fae, you must stay! There must be more Demons lurking about! They’ll appear the moment you leave!”

“M’lady, you can’t leave us! You have to stay!”

“M’lady, please…”

“M’lady…”

“M’lady…”

The various survivors all pleaded desperately for Erin to stay with them. They clamoured incessantly as if their lives were at stake, which it was. One by one, they dropped to their knees and prayed for Erin to stay.

Erin sighed and looked the survivors firmly in the eye. “I can’t stay. I can’t save everyone. I can’t protect everyone. But I will do my best and I can’t do my best if I just stay here. I’m sorry. There are others out there in immediate danger. I can’t stay.” Erin finished her speech and turned to leave.

“If you leave us, then you’re no different than a murderer!” shouted a battered man whose right leg was injured badly in the midst of the chaos.

“I’m not a saint,” Erin replied coldly to the man. “Not anymore…”

The survivors stared pleadingly at Erin but she turned their gazes away. “You all should better start finding safe places to hide instead of just wallowing in despair here. And do your best to help others too. Who knows, your charity will be rewarded.” And Erin bolted out of their sights after leaving such words.

Erin agreed with them that they were good as dead once she left and a Demoid attacked but they at least had a better chance of survival than the others who were in immediate peril. Such as a family who was hiding in a building nearby as Demoids deliriously tore down the walls just to get to the family. Erin immediately struck one down using a Lightning Spear to draw the Demoid’s attention off the hiding family.

In doing so, Erin didn’t just attract those Demoids tearing through the building but also the other Demoids in the area. They convened on her as if they sensed a more delicious prey than the ones they were hunting, or eating for some of the Demoids’ cases. Half-eaten corpses dangling off a few of the Demoids’ mouths as they appeared from wherever they lurked before and began slowly approaching Erin with fascination and deep craving.

The Demoids closed in on Erin and she gave a quick but thorough glance at her foes, taking note of their levels. She snorted with a grin when she saw their levels. The strongest one was only at level thirty-five amongst the twenty or so Demoids that surrounded her. The current Demoids retained a Demon’s absurd self-perseverance ability but they were just as vulnerable as the next person.

Erin cast Mana Harvest to replenish her Mana just as four Demoids lunged at her. Using Thunder Shell, she repelled the Demoids and sent them crashing into their brethren. Taking advantage of the transient disarray, she unleashed Lightning Barrage on the Demoids. Her attack spell caused a series of explosions which resulted in clouds of smoke hazing the area.

Under the cover of the smoke, Erin went around to slay as much as she could before the smoke cleared. Some Demoids had the good sense and thus avoided Erin’s lethal blade but not for long. As the smoke dissipated, only five Demoids remained. They weren’t surprised to see their kin but rage did fill their spirits and they unleashed their wrath upon Erin.

But the result was the same in spite of their wrath-filled assault. Erin cut them down without any trouble. Not even those with extreme tenacity preserved for long against the might and prowess of Erin. Her countless encounters with Demonic foes had taught her well.

After all of the Demoids in the area were slain, Erin stayed in the area for a while to assess her kills. He caught two Demoids hiding among the dead but she rooted them out with Life Sense and thoroughly dispatched the two Demoids. Life Sense wouldn’t have worked if the two had been full-fledged Demons as the Spirits did not perceive Demons as lifeforms.

After making sure all of the Demoids were truly dead by burning their carcasses with Essence Flare, Erin moved on to the next borough, inching closer to small woods where the Grove was hidden with every advance. Her main goal had been to appraise the state of the Grove and affirm the safety of her companions but after coming across so many poor folks in distress, she couldn’t bear to just turn a blind eye to their plights.

In her haste and advance, Erin arrived at one of the many squares in the city. The squares were always lively and bustling, teeming with the zeal of various individuals. However, the square she arrived upon was the utter opposite of what it usually was. The rampage of the Demoids had plunged everyone into mayhem but the Demoids weren’t the only ones contributing to the destruction and chaos.

Many low-lives such as thugs, thieves, bandits, and cutthroats, were all taking advantage of the madness in satiating their twisted desires or filling their pockets, or both. Erin felt a shiver surging through her bones and nerves at the depraved sight of these unsavoury and abhorrent individuals. Her dread was instantly taken over by her rage.

“Sickening…” Erin grumbled in silent fury. She mentally marked all of the wicked individuals before throwing herself into turmoil.

Using Warp, Erin appeared in front of a group of ruffians who were forcing themselves on a mother-daughter pair. The mother had already been violated in three of her orifices but the daughter came close to having her purity soiled by them just as Erin made her appearance. The ruffians instantly took notice of Erin’s presence and turned their attention to her.

The ruffians shuffled their garments back on their bodies, grabbed their weapons, and lunged at Erin with crazed expressions. Erin scowled in disgust when she saw all of them were pitching tents under as they deliriously gazed at her. With only a sharp flash of silver, the heads of the rapists fell off their necks and their bodies collapsed to the floor a second after.

The mother crawled frantically to her daughter and cradled her into her arms, all the while thanking Erin profusely for her aid.

Erin spared them only a brief glance before moving on to the next victims in need of her aid. It wasn’t just the women or young girls being sexually assaulted. Quite a few young boys and soft men were being assaulted too. Fearing the inefficiency of going up to each victim one by one, Erin shot Lightning Bolts from afar to eliminate the assailants.

The Demoids in the square had their interest piqued by Erin’s display and they cast aside their current victims in favour of Erin. Though mindless, the Demoids all seemed to be taken in by Erin’s presence. Erin herself didn’t know the exact reason for this but she wasn’t troubled as this made it easier for her to save the victims.

Not only her swords, but Erin also ignited her tails with Essence Flare, clad in Arcane Armour, and brandished them against the Demoids. The Demoids fell one after another and with every death, more were attracted to Erin. Soon, Demoids from other boroughs flooded into the square, rushing towards Erin. Thanks to her Arcane Armour and Spatial Sense, she did not incur any injuries in the continuous battle against the Demoids.

Every time Erin slaughtered an entire wave, she used Mana Harvest to replenish her Mana pool. But that wasn’t exactly a perfect solution. Though she never ran low on Mana, her mental health was taking a toll. She cast Spirit Mend on herself but that was only a temporary remedy as she no longer had the aid of the Exalted Spirits.

By the time Erin had eliminated all of the Demoids in the vicinity, she had found herself standing in piles of dust, leftovers of the Demoids’ crumbled carcasses. The carcasses that stayed intact in their apparent deaths, she burned them all with Essence Flare just to be thorough. She peeked at her stats during the respite after the ordeal and found her level to have increased to fifty-two.

[Erynthea: Level 52]

Erin chortled breathlessly and triumphantly at her significant yield and plopped herself down on the ground in the middle of the square. She allowed herself a moment of respite to rest her weary mind. She also took this moment to survey her surroundings. The people she saved were in relatively good health. The damages were done but they would live. Plenty of them was scarred but that was out of Erin’s hands. Unlike before, very few of the people came up to thank Erin as they were all mourning over their loss and their violated state.

Though the Demoids had all been culled in the vicinity, the same couldn’t be said for the ruffians. Plenty of them was still alive and they had been in hiding after seeing individuals of their ilk mercilessly slaughtered by Erin. They decided to wait until Erin moved on or when exhaustion encroached on her such as now.

“I saved all that I could…” Erin told herself after seeing and hearing the people weeping and sobbing.

Erin glanced around once more and found no guards, not even their corpses. When she looked over to the noble district, she saw multiple ropes of smoke trailing to the sky and she could smell the blood wafting from that direction. She surmised the guards must have all been delegated to protect the noble district.

Erin clenched her fists tightly in rage and cursed the nobles for their selfish ambitions. Her fury didn’t last long, however, as her exhaustion dispelled her anger in order for her mind to rest.

Seeing Erin’s slumped shoulders, the unruly men, and a few women, emerged from hidey holes. They crept towards Erin under the covers of the destruction and ruins. But just as they left their hiding spots, arrows from the sky descended upon them. The ruffians erupted into screams and cries as the sudden arrow rain spelt their demise.

Due to the heavy scent of blood and destruction, Erin failed to pick up the scent of the unknown approaching party until they made their move. She sprang to her feet with her spell weapons at the ready. A group of armoured soldiers streamed into the square on foot with a few on horses.

Despite being exhausted, Erin was steadfast in her stance as she faced the unknown part. She knew they were not the city guards as their armour was too fancy. She studied the group of soldiers and she eased up on her stance when she saw the knight riding at the vanguard. She recognised the knight as Sir Clause of House Ritus, a vassal of House Valdrun.

Sir Clause climbed off his horse and marched towards Erin. “Lady Erynthea, it’s so good to see you here,” said the middle-aged knight. “Do you still remember me, Lady Erynthea?”

“Sir Clause, I remember you.”

“I am glad that you do, Lady Erynthea.” He then glanced behind and gestured for his men to act.

The soldiers obliged and scattered across the square.

Erin was in disbelief at first but her doubts were quelled when she saw the soldiers going around aiding and helping the victims by moving them to safer places, giving them treatments for their injuries, or offering them water.

“The High Lady’s orders, Lady Erynthea,” Sir Clause answered Erin’s unspoken question. “I know we were slow in our actions but I hope we weren’t too late.”

“No, you weren’t too late, Sir Clause. Even if you were too late, it’s better late than never.”

“I’m honoured by your words, Lady Erynthea.”

“So am I, Sir Clause, by your actions and your High Lady’s benevolence. Give her my gratitude, if you would so kindly,” Erin said and began to leave.

“You’re leaving, my lady?”

“Yes, I am. Is there a problem, Sir Clause?”

“N-no, my lady. It’s just that your presence alone would be of huge assistance. But I understand you must have someplace else to be. I won’t hold you back, my lady. Farewell and good fortune, Lady Erynthea.”

“You too, Sir Clause,” Erin bade and dashed off without looking back, unaware of a figure watching over her from a nearby rooftop.