Rey had but two seconds to take stock of his enemies before the demons attacked. There were two varieties of Nestoriels—the shorter but stockier males, and a bigger female with a swollen belly. He must've counted in total about seven or eight of the nasty things. They reeked so bad that he almost thought of the burning torch as a cologne…almost. It was like someone had taken the nastiest, foulest-smelling insect dung, made it into a perfume, and sold it to these demons. And they sprayed the shit out of it on themselves.

  It was hard to breathe, for their smell was so overbearing. One Nestoriel was manageable, but this many was anything but. He tried breathing through the mouth, and he knew he was getting the worst of their shitty perfume on his tongue. The thought made him want to barf.

  You've been through worse than these wonderful odors of Hell and its inhabitants. He reminded himself.

  The female stayed behind while the males did the dirty work. Most likely to protect her eggs.

  "Hey, are you the daddy of those eggs?" Rey asked the male Nestoriel who attacked him.

  [Nestoriel (Exiled – E+2]

  Rey groaned. "I hope you're not, because you're weak as shit."

  He sidestepped a slash of his clawed hand, only to be smacked in the back by a tail of another. Rey staggered and nearly lost his footing. Before he could steady himself. The first Nestoriel slashed out his back.

  Rey groaned through gritted teeth, anger bubbling up inside him. "Oh, you're going to be like that, huh?"

  He activated Gravitational Repulsion, and both of them flew back from him, smashing into their fellows who were trying to come for the girls. Rey didn't stop for them to orient themselves. He lunged forward, swung his scythe in an arc, and slashed at their bellies. But these were stronger than the rest, it seemed.

  Rey had expected that to be the end of them, but since they were Rank 2, they were stronger than their kids, whom they had already murdered. There was a part of him that delighted in the killing of demon kids, and he knew precisely which part of him was that.

  Calm, Demon Rey. You'll get your fill killing other demon kids later on.

  The demons with open bellies chittered something, which was probably a warning, a threat, or a proclamation of disemboweling Rey. Probably all three, but he didn't care. In this cramped place, there was hardly enough room to move about, so their size played to their disadvantage, while Rey had more maneuverability, which he used to the fullest.

  He rolled to the side as one threw its tail at him. He came up on a knee, slashed with his weapon, and cut off the tail. Dark blood dripped from the cut appendage, making the demon shriek. The other lunged for Rey, and he didn't know which one was this one. If it was the one that had smacked him in the back with the tail, or the one that had slashed out his back. Either way, they both had to die, but how was a different story.

  He peeked over at the girls, and they seemed to be doing fine. They had teamed up together, with Filomena pushing the demons back, which gave Kassandra room to launch her arrows at them. However, even still, their sheer numbers would soon overwhelm them.

  Rey refocused on his own fight. He came for the other demon, spinning his scythe in an arc. The demon was wary of the weapon and stayed back. It still leaked dark blood from its belly, but the thing refused to bow out or simply roll over and die.

  Rey decided to fix that for him. He lifted a hand and activated Gravitational Attraction, making his head kiss the ground as if he had found its one true love and couldn't wait to lick it. The Nestoriel shrieked from the pain and struggled to get up. To push its head off the ground, but gravity was stronger than it, much stronger.

  Rey plunged his scythe into the back of its skull. The thing stopped struggling at once.

  [+1 Magic Power]

  [You killed a Nestoriel (Exiled) – E+2]

  He pulled out his scythe just in time for the other one to come for him. It coiled his other tail around Rey's ankle and yanked him off his feet. He took a hard fall. Thankfully, his head didn't smash into the ground, which was the only thing that saved his life.

  Two more Nestoriels swarmed him, trying to end his life by slicing him into confetti. He activated Repulsion, and they blasted away from him. There was a glowing streak, and one of them fell dead almost right away. It sauntered a bit first and then dropped dead right beside him. Its head fell mere centimeters from Rey's face.

  Rey looked wide-eyed at it, then swivelled his eyes to look at Kassandra.

  "This is where you say thank you," she called.

  "Thanks, Kassi," Rey said. "Though, you could've waited for it to move a little farther back."

  She shrugged. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

  Rey sighed and pushed off the ground, and readied himself to kill these tentacled cockroaches. He didn't want to be fucked by those things. He could only imagine what was happening to Ajay at the moment. That meant he had to push things in overdrive. They were running out of time.

  The demons that he pushed away with his Repulsion wave were coming for him again, or at least one of them was. The other engaged in a sword-to-claw fight with Filomena, who fought like a banshee. If their weapons weren't so shit, the demon wouldn't have arms by now. But as it so happened, its claws were holding.

  The Nestoriel, whose tail Rey had cut, came for its revenge, but all it got was pain.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  It lunged in the air, hoping to drive its claw into Rey's chest, but he sidestepped and, with a swing of his scythe, reaped the thing's arms, both of them. It shrieked and danced a jig, as only a person in pain can. Rey didn't end its suffering so fast.

  After all, he had to make an example out of it.

  He slashed at its chest, leaving bloody slashes, not deep enough to kill, but enough to make it shriek and shrink back from him. Then Rey cut off one of its legs. The demon fell and crawled away. If it were a person, it would've been begging for its life. Maybe it was, and Rey couldn't understand.

  He slashed and cut off so many pieces of the Nestoriel that by the time it finally died, the floor was slick with its blood.

  [+1 Dexterity]

  [You killed a Nestoriel (Exiled) – E+2]

  The other Nestoriels stared at him, not wanting to tussle with him.

  "And that, ladies and gents, is how you butcher a Nestoriel." Rey trained his eyes on the remaining two males. "Who's next?"

  Neither of them moved. They stayed put, and he could swear he saw them shiver. It was the classic henchmen not wanting to go to their deaths, but their boss pushed them forward anyway.

  The pregnant female pushed the two of them forward using her tail. They were a matriarchal society, so whatever a female said, they had to follow, even if she was pushing them towards their deaths.

  Rey checked his Mana, and he still had about half left, which meant he had to use it conservatively. After this, there were still two more females left. This one and the one trying to make Ajay into its bitch.

  I guess I have to do this the old-fashioned way.

  Thankfully, he had earned so many Dexterity points that he might as well be pregnant with them. It was time to use them now. He roared like a madman as he ran for the one on the right. They didn't want any smoke with a madman, so they both shuffled back.

  Rey's lips curled up at the edges. This was precisely why he had butchered the previous Nestoriel. Sometimes fear was enough to defeat one's foes.

  He fell upon the demon, roaring and swinging his scythe. It brought up its claw to intercept the blow, and Rey turned his scythe downwards slightly. The inner edge of his weapon was so sharp that it sheared off Nestoriel's claws in one strike.

  It shrieked, and Rey turned his momentum to its side and slashed out its stomach. Blood, intestines, and a clear liquid burst out of the wound as if Rey had popped a bubble.

  He made a disgusted sound as he jumped clear of the foul-smelling liquids.

  [+1 Dexterity]

  [You killed a Nestoriel (Exiled) – E+2]

  An arrow whistled through the air and struck the other male in the eye, but the demon didn't die. Somehow, it just became angry. It yanked the arrow out of its eye with its tail and snapped it in half.

  A quick look in Kassandra's quiver and she barely had half a dozen arrows remaining. She knew it too, and this meant she would have to shift her focus to melee soon. Seeing as her only other weapon was a dagger, she would need to get real close to do any real damage.

  God, Kassi, I need to get you a short sword or an ultra mega broadsword that can slice the dicks off the demons at a mile radius. That should keep you safe.

  Filomena jumped into the fray as she lunged for the one-eyed cockroach. But the demon was ready for her. It held out its arm, and her blade skidded off its hard carapace. Then it slashed at her side, leaving a bloody gash along her rib cage. The Nestoriel followed it up by smacking her away with its tail. She went rolling on the ground as her sword flew from her hand. She slammed against the hard cave wall and moaned in pain, clutching her ribs.

  Neither Rey nor Kassandra had any time to check on her as the last remaining male cut off their path.

  "Looks like these things have really short memories," Rey stated. "Did you forget what I did to your pals back there?"

  It swiped its claws at Rey, and he swayed out of range. He was too close to swing his scythe, but just right to attack with his dagger. He pulled out his dagger in one swoop and motioned for Kassandra to do the same.

  She jumped back, pulled out her dagger, and batted away its claws with her bow. It was practically blind from the left side. Kassandra used that to her advantage, as did Rey.

  Whenever the thing turned its head to look at Kassi, Rey left a cut on its body. Once, it attempted to attack with its tail, but Rey cut it off. In moments, the thing was bloody and exhausted.

  When it knew there was no winning against the two humans, it tried to run. It's final mistake.

  Rey and Kassandra lunged for it at the same time and drove their daggers into the back of its head.

  [+1 Dexterity]

  [You killed a Nestoriel (Exiled) – E+2]

  He yanked his dagger out. "Now, we just need to kill the pregnant lady."

  But the pregnant lady was nowhere to be seen. The cavern was eerily silent, save for the pattering of lots of feet on the hard ground.

  Rey immediately snapped his head to where Filomena should've been, and she was gone.

  Kassi gasped. "Filomena's gone…"

  "Oh shit!" Rey exclaimed. "Looks like we have to rescue another Princess Peach from a pregnant Bowser."

  "Come on!" Kassandra grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

  Rey grabbed a burning torch, and along they went on their monumentally unromantic chase of a pregnant cockroach. It wasn't even hard to find their trail. After all, someone was bleeding all over the lovely cave floor.

  However, the problem arose when the tunnel split into two. The blood trail leading down one and the other also had the same marks of a Nestoriel's pointy feet. But then those marks were everywhere.

  "That's nice," Rey said, coming to a stop at the mouth of the two tunnels. "How much money do you want to bet that Ajay is down there doing a death pose?" He pointed to the tunnel, which lacked a blood trail.

  Kassi looked at the two tunnels frantically. "This is not good. We'll have to split up and check both tunnels."

  "That's even worse," Rey countered. "You've barely got any arrows left. How are you going to take on that Nestoriel with just six arrows?"

  "Don't worry. I'll manage."

  "Oh, sure you will," Rey replied. "And I'm coming with you to make sure that you do."

  "Rey, I'll be fine," Kassi said, staring so intently in his eyes that he had to look away or he might've had other thoughts. Thoughts that he should not be having at this moment.

  "Kassi, you don't know what you're walking into. Let me—"

  "Neither do you," she shot back. "Just because you can see the future doesn't mean that you get to decide what I get to do. Also, Ajay is in more danger than Filomena. He's been gone for a long time, and if you keep wasting time, he might be done for."

  "He might be gone already. You're still here and so is Filomena, let's—"

  "Rey," Kassandra interjected, speaking in a deadly calm tone. "If you finish that sentence and say what I think you're about to say…I will never talk to you again."

  Thanks, Kassi. That is exactly what I want.

  That would almost guarantee that their relationship never progresses further. All he had to do was open his mouth and say that Ajay was as good as dead, but it was as if his voice had rage-quit the conversation, like a gamer yeeting their controller after losing due to lag. Deep down, he knew he would die if she never talked to him again. So, he stayed silent and sighed.

  She squeezed his hand. "I'll be fine, Rey. It's time we rescue our friends."

  He nodded to her and watched as she ran down the tunnel after Filomena and the female Nestoriel.

  He watched her go until darkness swallowed her completely. Then he turned to the other tunnel. He tightened his grip on the scythe.

  Time to save Mr. Garam Masala.