CHAPTER 67: DEMONS

Anna stood back to back with White, her heart pounding both from the excitement of the fight and the fear of losing her friends, yet she stood tall on her feet, ready to face the guards who had encircled everyone.

The guards stepped forward and encircled them. A total of eight guards, each one of them was Seeker-ranked. Four of which were Tyro-Seeker, two Refined-Seeker and a single Apex-Seeker. Their ominous presence made one’s heart sink. They stared at White and Anna with eyes filled with animosity, ready to pounce on the duo at a moment’s notice.

Right then, Melanira’s amused voice cut through the hall.

"Haha! You haven’t told them about us demons, have you?" Melanira questioned as her eyes sifted between One and the duo.

Anna and White didn’t listen to her and continued to look at the acolytes in front of them with vigilance.

"We acolytes are blessed by the great Demon Lord himself. His blessing allows us to become stronger when we fulfil our desires." Melanira didn’t mind and continued.

Hearing her words, Anna frowned.

’Getting stronger by fulfilling one’s desire?’ Anna thought as her frown turned deeper.

"I always wanted to be a queen, a queen with her own subjects and look around us!" Melanira said as she opened her arms wide and turned on a full circle, she held a sadistic grin on her face, which soon turned demonic as she gave her command.

"Capture both of them."

The hall turned silent. One’s face turned grim as he turned to look at Anna and White, who had puzzled looks on their faces.

All of the students who were frozen after One’s entrance suddenly turned towards Anna. Their eyes were hollow as they glowed with a light red.

"...Capture...capture...capture..." They spoke together, their voices robotic. Their gaze had no emotion, only emptiness, their faces blank but their intentions clear. Melanira was using them to fulfil her sadistic desires.

"HAHAHA!" Melanira laughed loudly in amusement; her sadistic nature was clear to see.

One had a solemn look on his face. After all, the longer this goes, the stronger Melanira will get.

One took his stance as his eyes glowed grey, a layer of solid grey covered his arms as he dashed towards Melanira, but before he could reach her, the two guards flanked him from both sides, they brandished their weapons and tried to end him right there.

One didn’t stop as his eyes glowed once again and-

[Shockwave]

-A shockwave left his body, stunning both of the guards. He reached Melanira and threw a punch at her. Melanira smiled as she grabbed his wrist using her whip and moved him away from herself.

One retreated for a few steps before coming to a stop.

He looked at Melanira with a raised eyebrow as he thought.

’As I thought, she is using a runic formation to replenish her star essence.

One got ready to attack once again, but the two guards reached him first. One blocked their attacks with ease, but his frown only got deeper. After all, he was here to keep Anna safe.

One continued to block and dodge their attacks as he got ready to take care of them first.

Right then, Melanira’s eyes glowed red, and One’s mind began to turn cloudy.

His eyes shifted to Melanira, who was looking at him with a sadistic grin on her face.

Sensing his gaze on her, Melanira’s grin widened as she pointed towards Anna and White.

One looked at Anna and White, who were encircled by their own classmates as they defended against the acolytes attacking them.

One gritted his teeth and moved forward, his movements turned erratic due to his cloudy mind, but he was still one major rank above the two guards.

The guards grinned widely as they sensed One’s desperation.

"Haha!"

"Hehehe!"

Both of them began to laugh sinisterly as they rejoiced in his misery.

The fight continued as One began to slow down more and more, while the acolytes were getting empowered by the blessing.

One already had multiple cuts on his body as he fought the two of them, and even if he managed to take an upper hand, Melanira would hit him with another mind attack, turning his mind cloudy, once again.

Anna had a grim look on her face as she saw her own friends and classmates, people she knew and cared about, looking at her with those lifeless expressions. Her stomach twisted when she looked at her face; her body was trembling from the thought of even hurting them, but she had to do it, and she knew that. However, she couldn’t do it.

Her breathing turned heavy with each second as her palms began to sweat, the world began to spin, and the echoes of the student’s steps were like the laughter of the devil himself, who was enjoying her misery.

"I-I can’t d-do this..." Anna mumbled to herself, her tone was low and full of dread. After all, how could she attack her own classmates... her own friends?

White sensed her inner turmoil and stepped back as their backs touched.

"You can do this, Miss Anieal," White spoke with an encouraging tone.

Anna, however, didn’t react and continued to mumble to herself.

White didn’t stop either and continued.

"You dream of exploring Azor. You want to prove yourself and rise above every scheme. Then, how are you going to do that without fighting? Stand and fight, Anieal Starborne." White spoke, his tone carrying more disappointment than encouragement.

Anna was shaken when she heard that. The days of her training and her promise to The Guide resurfaced in her mind; her goal to live free to not feel weak again began to burn once again.

’Yes! I can’t give up, not yet. Not until I do something... anything.’

She gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the dagger as her eyes shone with determination once again.

Her eyes glowed golden as threads began to materialise around her; she commanded them to wrap around the students present in the hall. She weaved a net that bound them all to one another, taking away their ability to move, but they would only stop them for a few minutes at most.

Her eyes blazed as she looked at the eight Midnighters of Crimson Moon. She growled at them with a voice so sharp that it was laced with poison itself.

"I will make you pay."

—————

Goals:

100 collections = 2 extra Chapters

50 PS(Power Stone) = 1 extra Chapter

10 Reviews = 1 extra Chapter

—————