Chapter 37

  Lara and the trio stood ready. The air reeked of blood.

  Then the shadow came out from the forest, its form now visible—a clear humanoid frame. A demon whose eyes glowed red, no tunic, arms bound by chains, torso filled with scars from weapons of various kinds. Only torn pants covered his groin.

  That ragged demon dragged his left leg forward, limping. His frame was thin and weak, yet the air around him screamed of death.

  The demon slowly approached the carriage.

  Ryan was the first to charge.

  He ran towards the menace with his sword. As he swung his blade at the demon’s neck, the core of the sword gave way. The sword shattered into pieces.

  Ryan’s arms shook from the impact. His eyes widened in shock as he took a huge leap backward.

  The demon slowly turned its unfocused eyes towards Ryan.

  Then, in an instant, it vanished—and reappeared in front of him.

  Before Ryan could react, the ragged demon swung his arms. The chains flew towards Ryan.

  Leo was the only one who could see this with his all-seeing eyes.

  He rushed in front of Ryan and raised his crimson blade. The chains coiled around the sword’s body and grazed him. The moment the cursed chains touched him, the blood mana wrapped around them—born from the ragged demon’s heart—came in contact with Leo and flung him backward.

  He flew back towards the carriage and crashed onto the ground.

  Melody screamed, “No… Leo!”

  She raised her wand and looked at Lara. Even though it was the first time they met, there was a connection binding them—the connection a battle mage shared with another.

  Their eyes met. They shook their heads.

  They both spoke simultaneously:

  “Bind.”

  Mana rose within them, raced through the air, commanded the earth. Chains of solid stone erupted from the land and flew towards the demon, wrapping around his arms.

  Lara chanted, “Restrain.”

  The chains pulled down the demon, forcing him to his knees.

  The demon let out a soul-shaking roar.

  Melody, perspiring, tired, almost faint, spoke, “Ryan… now kill it.”

  Ryan moved forward swiftly, took his sword, and aimed it at the demon’s heart. He lunged forward with the intent to kill.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The sword stopped an inch from the demon’s chest.

  “Stop…” Leo shouted.

  Ryan’s sword halted, its tip already stained with the bound demon’s blood.

  Leo stood up.

  Lara, confused, asked, “Ryan, we can’t hold on for long.”

  Melody spoke, “Miss Lara, Leo asked us to stop, so we stop.”

  “Even if that decision costs you your life.”

  Melody and Ryan did not reply. They only smiled.

  Lara laughed out loud, defeated.

  Leo, unbothered, walked towards the bound ragged demon. He stood beside it and slowly raised his right hand, moving it towards the demon’s chest.

  The demon screamed and struggled. The chains fought hard to hold him down.

  Lara warned, “Leo, careful. This is a walking dead—a cursed being born from the cursed cradles of the land of the Hell Knights. If you are bitten, you too shall join them. This is a monster.”

  “He is crying,” Leo said, looking into the demon’s eyes.

  He placed his hand on the ragged demon’s chest.

  The air shivered.

  Mana shook the surroundings, gathering around Leo and the undead, forming a vortex that pushed everyone away.

  Melody and Ryan barely held their ground. Lara stood still, her eyes wide, unaffected.

  The carriage started moving back. The demonic steeds cried out. The carriage lifted off the ground.

  Lara caught the carriage with her hands, forcing it back down.

  At the eye of the storm, Leo stood unmoving. Mana flowed through its child. He directed the flow towards the heart of the undead demon.

  The mana entered the crystallized heart. Long-dried mana pathways were drenched in a pure river of mana flowing from Leo’s hands, untwisting the twisted pathways.

  Black tears flowed from the demon’s bloodshot eyes. Slowly, the red faded. Pale blue emerged, then a brilliant ocean blue.

  The raging ocean of mana calmed. The blood-red mist dissolved. The endless abyss in the demon’s eyes was replaced by a serenity of ages.

  The chains shattered.

  The view cleared.

  The demon stood up, free, and slowly approached Leo. His torn mouth formed a smile. The wounds on his body healed.

  The demon sat beside Leo, closed his eyes, and slept.

  His body shrank to the size of a child—about eight to ten years old.

  Lara’s mouth dropped open.

  “What just happened?” she asked.

  Melody stepped beside her, placed a hand on Lara’s shoulder, and said, “That’s just regular Leo stuff.”

  Ryan added, “You better get used to it.”

  “Used to what?” Lara asked.

  Melody looked at the scene—the once-undead monster now sleeping peacefully at Leo’s feet—and replied, “Miracles.”

  There was pride and joy in her smile.

  Leo bent down and picked up the sleeping child.

  “Guys,” Leo said, “when the chains touched me, I saw something. Souls wailing. Innocent demons crying, trapped in a dark place, held by chains of blood.”

  Lara’s pupils constricted.

  “The Blood Moon,” she said, then explained the story of the Hell Knights’ domain—the undead, the blood mages, the general history.

  The trio listened without a sound.

  Ryan sighed. “What now?”

  Leo stepped forward. “We go there. Now.”

  Melody joined in, “Yes, Captain.”

  Ryan smirked. “Captain… that’s got a nice ring to it.”

  “Let’s go now,” Leo said.

  Lara looked at the burning fire in the young demon’s soul and thought, You have grown well, brother.

  Aloud, she said, “Let me join you.”

  “The more the merrier, Sister Lara,” Leo replied.

  Ryan cheered, “With the leader with us, we are unstoppable! Hahahahaha—”

  Melody smacked the back of his head. “Quiet down, the child is asleep.”

  “Sorry,” Ryan apologized softly.

  Leo carried the child on his back.

  The four boarded the carriage.

  The coachman spoke, “Next stop—Hell Knights’ domain.”

  Lara sent a magic message through a long-distance crystal ball.

  The carriage moved forward, Leo heading toward the next challenge in his path.

  In the Hell Knights’ domain, within the castle, the Hell Knight’s son sat on his throne. A demon with half his face burned knelt before him.

  “Your Highness,” the demon said, “the prisoner of Cell 90 escaped while on the way to kill him. He fled into the forest toward the Magic Tower’s domain.”

  The prince replied coldly, “As long as that pest is out of my sight, prepare for the proposal before the Blood Moon. Nothing should be amiss. You can’t afford another failure, Reed.