∼ When Is A Risk, An Opportunity? ∼

Chapter - 91

Eyes wide at the sight before her, Erain muttered to herself. "You've got to be kiddin'-" Then she suddenly burst into ruckus laughter. "This must be a sign! Almost too good to be true! The gods must be taking pity on me, I-I can't believe it." As those golden eyes swiveled to her, the warlock tilted his head in confusion.

Yet the hulking woman continued to laugh. But as no reaction was elicited from the robed warlock, she paused, inspecting those golden orbs closer. Erain's boisterous mood suddenly evaporated as she finally registered that unmistakable look in his eyes. Puzzlement and unrecognition.

He couldn't even recall her...

Even as that struck her, the gnome got back to his feet, and without as much as a second glance, he once more turned to merely leave her standing there like a fool. As if he couldn't be bothered. The second time he had done that. Her entire body heaved in righteous indignation, all her previous tension screaming for an outlet. Of which had just been presented to her.

"You little-"

However, just as she grabbed the hilt of her massive broadaxe, the warlock glanced back at them moments before he was suddenly engulfed in a roaring cone of fire that lit the entire road ablaze. Not even able to react in time to Thabel who had just incinerated the warlock on the spot, Erain just stood there, trying to spot the gnome's figure that had been utterly consumed by the flames.

Seeing nothing, she just blinked, feeling both disappointment and satisfaction at the outcome. But more so than anything - she fell into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "Ha... ha! All that arrogance! And he dies like that! Bwahaha! I can't-I can't," Her deep and sonorous laughter rumbled in tune with the thunder.

Even Thabel looked shocked, if not a little amused as the glow of magic faded around his outstretched hands. He had regretted having to kill a fellow practitioner, but he'd not hesitate to do it again if it meant his future. Which it, in fact, had.

"He must not even have been level twenty yet. He didn't erect any mage shields." Thabel mused, staring into the roaring wall of fire as the pouring rain sizzled on contact.

Still, Thabel found himself a little bewildered. Sure he had used excessive force right from the get-go, blasting away with his mana. However, he had at least expected some resistance. After all, Sir Gideon had begun to look into this warlock. Yet here he was, getting caught off-guard because of pure arrogance and lack of situational awareness. A disappointment indeed.

As Erain continued to laugh, the rest of the mercenary band shared amused looks as they themselves had felt their pride injured in the confrontation with the warlock back at the guildhall. The flames began only first now to slowly die down. As always, Thabel, the rising inferno, a pyromancer who specialized in wielding the destructive powers of fire, had proven his capabilities by literally incinerating a warlock to cinders. Not even a trace was left of hi-

"-W-what the fuck is that," One of the mercenaries suddenly said, breaking the rest from their mirth as they all turned to stare into the dying flames. Thabel squinted his eyes, the relief he had felt moments ago dying as surely as his flames, not quite believing them as he noted the strange purple streaks flashing in the fire.

Through the flickering flames, two orbs of golden predatory light suddenly shone through above a malicious smile as the fire drew back to reveal a stranger. Unlike the charred and blackened corpse they had expected, red showed. Not that of scalded or seared flesh, but unblemished crimson skin. In the place that the warlock had once stood, was now what could only be called a - demon.

Short of stature, the figure still somehow inspired awe. Long ears, a budding of crowning horns, a mark across its face that drew one's eyes, and those golden glowing orbs that peered maliciously at them. It sent shivers down Thabel's spine. Before anyone could truly react, still reeling from the fact that a damned demon was standing in front of them, another figure came flinging itself over the demon.

A second demon - of course.

It screeched a warcry of hellish proportions, the look in its dark eyes one of mindless bloodlust. The poor sod who was closest to Erain didn't stand a chance as he was pushed to the ground before he could draw his sword - his skull splattering to its sides as the demon's oversized fists literally crushed it between its meaty hands.

"Positions! Kill this fucking thing!" Erain roared the very next moment, axe swinging for the creature as it sliced through the wind with incredible force and muscles bulging as she swung with all her might. A bolt of purple dark energy struck her in the shoulder, however, sending her stumbling. Making her miss her attack entirely.

Still, she shrugged it off, not even caring that the dark energy was still sizzling away as her armor and skin. Unbridled rage was evident in her now very unladylike visage. She was fast - but not fast enough to stop the rampaging demon from already claiming the life of another one of her comrades - its small frame belying the insane strength it wielded as it clubbed and ripped apart the mercenaries with both meaty fists and bear-like claws.

Thabel's eyes were wide, stunned into inaction as he watched the demon tear through his men whilst what he supposed was an imp, fired away with magical hellfire in the back. And he just... stood there. Unable to summon his magic as it felt like the world was coming down on him. Thoughts muddling any response.

What was happening? It's a demon - had it been one all this time? Had the person they had been humiliated by been a familiar, disguising itself as its master? Where was the real warlock? -Just how grossly had he miscalculated..?

He abruptly shook his head and the intrusive thoughts from it. Godsdammit, he wasn't just getting overwhelmed by his thoughts. There was a spell on him! Immediately setting to cleansing whatever curse the demon had cast upon him without realizing it, Thabel bared his teeth, flames igniting above his hands. Drawing a circle in the air with his fiery magic, his eyes narrowed - looking for the perfect opportunity through the den of the chaotic battle unfolding.

As Erain's massive axe cleaved through the air and raked across the ground, barely giving the frenzied demon a chance to recover, she herself was under pressure as balls of fire were continuously flung at her, searing her skin and burning her armor. If not for her insanely high endurance, she'd be long dead - her short brown hair burnt to the roots and a bubbling mass of scalded flesh across her already scarred cheek. She did not relent, however. For if she did, it would be open season for that demon to tear apart the rest of her comrades.

As a warrior, she couldn't deal with the mage whilst engaged with this little menace of a thing. All she could do was keep it occupied while the rest of her band took care of the magic-wielding demon. But even she'd not last much longer - true fear for the first time in a long time starting to grasp at her heart.

"-Now!" A voice suddenly cut over the throng. Thabel's voice. The imp, who had been beset by nearly a dozen mercenaries, deftly dodging about all the while slinging magic spells left and right, was suddenly abandoned. Standing there, utterly alone as they retreated, the demon looked rather nonplussed.

But as the orbs of condensed fire that had been forming above Thabel's head all of a sudden whistled across the battlefield, there was only a split second before a small barrier of dark translucent energy formed to shield the demon's body. The explosions that rocketed the surroundings, deafened all the thunder and patter of rain, causing rockslides down the side of the mountain, and staggering everyone present.

[You have taken 4 points of damage]

However, he had succeeded. All four orbs had hit the demon dead on. Even though Thabel was at a disadvantage, with most demons having a natural resistance to fire - something that was common knowledge - he had specifically used this spell for its explosive nature rather than its fire-attunement. Fire resistance wasn't going to do much against pure kinetic force, after all.

Thabel's legs were wobbly and as he fell to his knees, his mana pool less than twenty percent full. His initial cone of fire had drained a solid ten or fifteen percent. But this one - the culmination of his magical talent so far; [Fiery Combustion], had drained upwards of sixty percent. Whilst he still had around twenty left, so much drain on one's mana pool in a single instance for a spell was beyond what his body was capable of. It essentially neutered his magic for a while as his ruptured mana channels needed time to recover.

Now only the already bloodied fighter demon was left, slowly getting back up after the explosion that had buffeted everyone close. That was how it was supposed to go. However, as the dust settled, Thabel came to realize one crucial thing.

-He hadn't been sent an opportunity from the gods. Rather, he had been sent a punishment.

Small, red, and now royally pissed off, the imp was miraculously still alive. Bloody, with small wounds riddling its short frame - the spell had failed to do any crippling damage. Not to mention kill it outright. Thabel didn't believe his eyes. Not even a gold-rank could survive such a blast head-on, mage-shield or not. How was this demon still alive?

Instead of its previously playful smile, it now adorned an angered snarl. The demon had clearly been taken off-guard with that spell, having underestimated them. Though, not as fatally as Thabel had.

Erain could no longer get back to her feet, her visage one of horribly burns and cuts, creeping tendrils of purple mana creeping up her veins as the corruption had taken root. She could only support herself on her broadaxe, kneeling with a head hung as struggled to keep it up. The rest of the mercenaries were either dead, wounded, or too terrified to keep fighting.

Thabel looked to his side in desperation, hoping for Thomas or Edna to continue the assault and save their band. Maybe they could reignite their morale as they still had two mages. But what he saw only gave his creeping despair permanence in his heart. Thomas was cradling Edna in his lap, weeping. A bolt of corrupting dark mana was eating away at her chest, slowly dying as its host was already dead. Thomas had intended to marry Edna after achieving gold. Something all three of them had been oh-so-close to.

The young ignoble magical prodigy could only watch the imp's next actions as its hands began glowing with the tell-tale conjuration of magic, purple and red intertwining tendrils suddenly shooting out to latch themselves onto the crippled Erain. The hulking woman, who had been eerily silent until now, drawing in long heaving breaths, began abruptly screaming out in pain as she tensed, her back arched in an expression of horrific agony. Helpless and defenseless - she was drained of what little remained. The last vestiges of hope - drained from Thabel too, who could only watch on in utter dread.