Koff! Koff!
Koff! Koff!
My eyes slowly fluttered open but my vision was still a blur. The stinging pain returned and I instinctively clutched my chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
My joints hurt really bad, like they had been pierced with a scorched rod. But I endured and turned myself over to my belly, bumping into an armour.
Creak!
With the metallic scraping sound, the foggy feeling vanished and the cries on injured soldiers filled the air.
"Help! Help me!" Someone screamed as the sound of metal scraping against the ground drowned his cries.
Soon metal bending sounds came, accompanied by blood-curdling screams. I assumed the Black Guard was getting eaten by the Black Devil.
The cries of devil birds rang above us, drowning the sounds of the ballistas and cannons. We were losing but we have not lost!
I stopped moving to avoid attracting attention and a subtle suction force escaped my body, pulling in as many souls as possible. With each soul that flowed into my body, I felt my lost strength returning.
My breathing lightened and the pain lessened with time. A seconds in and my vision had cleared up, revealing a darkness sky illuminated by consecutive explosions from cannons and explosive bolts. Bodies lay on different parts of the battlefield, thrown apart by the impact.
'Do I stay down?' I muttered with a small frown.
Playing dead was the best option but it was risky. If a devil bird or the black devil approached me with the intent to feed on my corpse I was as good as dead. However, if I tried to run now, what are the chances I won't get caught and killed?
I can't outrun these things.
'I'll take my chances and play dead.' I decided decisively.
However as I shut my eyes, I heard a shuffling sound not too far from my location. I checked and it was Klien, standing tall and covered in bruises.
But there was something off about him. His veins pulsated with a crimson light, drumming like a beating heart. Strings of blood flowed up his body and into his wounds, healing them rapidly.
I was stunned!
It never crossed my mind that blood magic could be used this way. But wait, where was he getting the blood from…
I froze and frowned. Lieutenant Thomas laid in a pool of blood, gasping for air as more blood flowed out of his armor. I quickly sat up and glanced around only to realize it wasn't just him.
Klien was regenerating by draining the vitality of these Black Guards through their blood but was killing them in the process. This kid was just as crazy as me!
I instinctively grinned devilishly but quickly covered it up with my palm. This was becoming a bad habit. As expected, I didn't really care about the life of these soldiers.
{Fool, you blew your cover for a good laugh.} Lin's words made my smile vanish faster than it came.
He was right, I was seated and Klien was standing. The black devil had stopped feasting and glanced in our direction, our silly movements finally caught its attention.
I facepalmed!
"Fuck my life."
Rising to my feet and exchanging a brief nod of acknowledgement with Klien I shifted my attention back to the black devil. It resembled a vulture but with a violet skin and a curved beak that looked more like a hook.
This monster towered over us, standing over 7ft with a wingspan stretching nearly ten meters. Unlike the devil birds, the black devil looked more solid and its feathers looked stiff and shiny like a metallic surface.
Its burning violet eyes fell on us and I noticed the intelligence in its gaze.
According to the monstoliogy textbook, black devil was a feral tier monster, like the Nefarian Stalker and the devil bird horde. While the devil birds were not as powerful individually like its counterpart, their numbers make up for their weakness.
While in the academy, we fought against weakened nefarian stalkers but we never managed to defeat one. Now we stand against a proper feral tier monster in perfect condition.
I glanced towards the sky, wondering why the devil birds didn't attempt to go down. I suspected they were scared of the black devil and didn't dare to interfere with its hunt.
From the looks of it Klien planned to fight but I wondered if this was a fight we could win.
Ki~Ki! Ki~Ki!
Ki~Ki! Ki~Ki!
The black devil made strange cries that sounded more like laughter while it approached with slow but steady strides.
Huff!
I exhaled sharply, understanding that the violence was inevitable.
Snap!
With a snap of my fingers, I felt my connection to my grimoire reconnect and it levitated fo my side. From my position I was farther from the monster, so it was bound to reach Klien before it reached me. I glanced at him and could feel his presence swelling but there was no grimoire by his side.
Wait!
My eyes dilated with a mixture of realization and disbelief as I realized I have never seen Klien with a grimoire. He was a peasant with no backing, how could he have a grimoire.
Doesn't that mean, every spell he has ever cast was done by heart?
What kind of photographic memory does this boy have?
"By the oath sealed in scarlet ink,
By the pulse that beats in flesh,
I call the river of life to surge within me.
Let blood be my fire, my steel, my storm—Blood Empowerment!"
Blood Magic: Blood Empowerment!
As Klien chanted more blood flowed into his body through the cuts, causing his muscles to begin bulging while a crimson halo lined his figure.
I pinched my nose in disgust as the stench of blood thickened and Klien's skin slowly began turning a crimson shade. At this point, his bigger frame and muscular body, coupled with his red skin have him an intimidating appearance.
And his presence? Wild.
It felt like I was looking at a human trained and breed by wild beasts.
{If he's taking this seriously. The least you can do is put in the effort!} Lin scolded my lackadaisical attitude to the situation.
'Are you seriously asking me to attempt fighting a feral tier monster without my death magic?' I rolled my eyes.
Only the power of the guardians were effective against these monsters.
{I'm asking you to take advantage of Klien's eagerness to fight to by more time for yourself. The original plan was to hold out, or have you forgotten?}
Only now did I toward the west. While the eruptions of cannons and ballistas could be heard, I couldn't see the massive serpent monster. Lin was right, the plan had always been to buy time.
We don't have to fight to win.
Wind magic: Zephyr Rings!
My wind rings appeared beneath my feet and with a single hand seal my shadow expanded and shadow tendrils danced around me. Thanks to the forest practical class, I know my limit is triple casting, so I can stick to double casting for this battle.
The last thing I want is to pass out in the middle of a fierce exchange.
Klien looked over his shoulders, glancing my way with his wild crimson eyes. He nodded as if to acknowledge my preparation before he began approaching the Black Devil directly and fearlessly.
The least interesting member of the Loth Kingdom chosens, turned out to be one of the most reliable.
At this point, the groaning soldiers had gone quiet to the cold arms of death. While the entire castle black was drowning in explosions and conflict, while the devil birds cried loudly overhead but on the ground, it seemed silent.
This was the kind of silence shared between two opposing sides before a brutal battle commenced.
Bam!
Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
The black devil broke the silence with a high-pitched war cry as it crashed forward. Strangely running on ground with its massive wings thrown open to make it look twice as big.
Dodging attacks from something that massive would be difficult!
"Don't let it get close!" I roared as my eyes turned pitch black and my shadow tendrils swarmed forward.
Thud!
In response to my words, Klien stomped the earth as six 6 meter thick blood tendrils erupted from his back, causing flesh, muscle and blood particles to scatter in all directions.
In his blood empowerment form, his blood was different. It wasn't the usual red, but a dark red with a golden glow to it.
SWOOSH!
Without hesitation, his blood tendrils raced forward alongside my shadow tendrils. We expected the black devil to dodge or at least block but our illusions of fighting back were shattered as the monster acted like our attacks was nothing.
It changed into our attacks, bulldozing through tendrils sent to stop it.
"STAY BACK!" I bellowed as the black cracks began to resurface while I threw my hands forward.
My shadow expanded even wider as more shadow tendrils were sent forth. Similarly, Klien had created two extra blood tendrils while also increasing the size of the other tendrils but even this wasn't enough….
BOOOM!
My hair whipped forward, while I was sent skidding back due to the impact. Even without our joint full scale assault, we still couldn't hold the devil bird back.
It kept charging forward like a starved beast which has been offered food for the first time in months!
My gaze shifted to Klien who was also getting pushed back. His stern expression was proof he understood how dire our situation was. Our eyes met and without saying a word we came to the same conclusion.
We can't afford to take this beast head on!
Brute strength should be our last resort!