At the time that Melakios was still fighting Valafar and his men, Clair and Teiko were dealing with Furcas’ men. They had managed to take care of 8 Lords, 3 Barons, and 1 Count already. Teiko was already getting tired as Clair was starting to protect her more and more.

In reality, Teiko was actually getting an attack ready and needed Clair to watch her back. Once it was ready, she activated it and several Glyphs she had. She had activated her sensory abilities and threw out a smoke Array that would disorient the enemy. Clair flew high to pick off anyone who left the cloud of smoke.

Teiko had also thrown a couple of Blast Glyphs that actually managed to kill 3 more Lords and one more Baron. Clair killed another couple of Lords and another Baron before the Array was found and destroyed by one of the Counts. That left 16 people left. Dealing with these two were too difficult! The Gryphon was already a monster capable of fighting a Count to a draw, but now that she was wearing an armored saddle, she had an exceptional defense! Not to mention the claws added thanks to the armor covering the top of her feet. It protected her talons and paws as well as dealt more damage.

Too cruel!

And the Tengu girl had way too many expensive things! The Demons couldn’t help but cry out how poor they were. They were just simple soldiers! Not even belonging to one of the better Legions. With their morale dropping, some tried to flee to report back to Furcas. But the very next second filled them with more fear! The Gryphon would attack them in the back! Leaving no survivors!

With their morale now hitting rock bottom, it was only a matter of time before they died. But as luck would have it, a loud yell permeated through the valley, distracting the two girls just long enough for the Demons to split up. Teiko and Clair realized their folly and set off after them.

Alkelios may have been a gifted warrior while he was alive, but he had nothing on Demons. So he had worked on the fundamentals whenever he could. A couple reps here, a dozen reps there, he did as many as he could. While at the Tengu’s dojo, he had seen a picture depicting a warrior sending out a flying blade or a fist of flame. When he asked the Tengu how that was possible, they said aura.

While he was there, he had gained some minor insight on aura. But he had an aura, as most Tengu were in tune with the world around them. This was why they called him a Wandering Spirit. Souls were things taken from the dead. Little did Melakios know that he was actually taking them while they were alive, maintaining their powerful aura and consciousness.

Because of this, Alkelios had a new section to his training regimen. Meditation while exercising. He focused his energy through his form while he did things. He noticed his movements becoming more fluid and fast, even realizing his strikes carrying more strength.

With his combat experience, his firm understanding of the basics, his new powerful abilities, and his unwavering resolve to protect his son, he managed to go toe to toe with the undead flesh eater for quite a while. But something was happening.

Amar Sin’s eyes began to bleed as did his pores. It was a gruesome sight that Alkelios did not expect to see. Then, the Edimmu let out a horrifying wail.

Amar Sin was also a strict warrior. He worked his hardest to repay Lilith for her generosity. He would purposely starve himself so he would be more tenacious to win. But in this state, he needed a constant source of sustenance. He couldn’t get to it because of Alkelios, who didn’t have any blood or flesh, was in his way.

Thinking Alkelios was in trouble, Melakios rushed over. This was an unfortunate mistake. He was hurt by Valafar so he was bleeding. Smelling him, Amar Sin’s urges took over as he dived for the human boy. Seeing the danger, the boy quickly jumped out of the way and searched the enemy before him.

A Seed?!

He had a Seed, too! It wasn’t the same, but it was similar! It was extremely oppressive, as it carried a nasty feeling. If Melakios had to say, it must have been a good three times larger than his Seed. Unfortunately, it was full of cracks, as if it was drying out. That was when Alkelios called out.

“Watch out, he eats flesh!”

Suddenly it hit him. Not an idea, but the Edimmu. He was tackled to the ground as some more bones must have broken. Amar Sin was slightly dazed, too, but he stabilized quickly as he started to bite down towards Melakios.

Crunching and chewing sounds could be heard as Melakios crawled out from under the Edimmu. In his hands were the fallen Demons Melakios had just killed. He pulled them all out of storage as he began to gather the remaining souls into a Core for safe keeping.

Melakios wasn’t too worried, as the man before him held no hatred towards him. He was more like an animal than an enemy. He must have been traveling and gotten caught up in this as a result. Something must have triggered his transformation so he couldn’t be blamed immediately.

Melakios asked the others to gather the remaining corpses for the Edimmu while he secured the souls. Unfortunately, Ala lost some soldiers, but that was it. Well, not if you counted Melakios’ wounds. He took some medicine, but it would only help deal with the pain. He would need to head to a doctor for a better healing.

Gathering all the Demons’ souls left him with almost 300 souls! And one of them was a Duke! Maybe now his Seed might grow. Unfortunately, Teiko and Clair could not catch all the assassins, as one of the Lords actually got away.

But all in all, it was a good night.