Subjugating Grillish (4)
Grillish had actually been secretly watching Luden all along. His original plan was to launch a surprise attack during the final exams, but the academy had been guarding the area far more strictly than anticipated. As a result, he had been waiting for the perfect moment when no one else was around. But annoyingly enough, the boy only ever moved through crowded places. And not alone, either—he was always with that one blind man.
'He's definitely the one who killed Chris.'
Anyone capable of killing Chris had to possess some level of skill. However, to Grillish, that wasn't anything particularly concerning. After all, he could have dealt with someone like Chris by himself without much trouble.
'No matter how strong he is, the moment I drag him into my unique space, it's over.'
With that thought in mind, Grillish waited patiently for an opening between the two. And then, at that very moment—
'Now.'
The pair naturally began walking toward the empty area behind the park. Seeing his chance, Grillish followed after them. Before long, he stood directly in front of the two.
Without hesitation, Grillish activated his unique space.
'I've won.'
Just as planned, he had pulled both of them into his illusion world. Now they would be trapped in their trauma visions, flailing helplessly. Once their minds broke, he could simply kill them in the resulting gap.
But things didn't go as expected.
Instead of falling into their trauma, the two stood there looking completely fine. On top of that, Luden drew her sword and swung it without warning. Caught completely off guard by the surprise attack, Grillish's eyes widened. He quickly raised his arm and leaped backward.
-Slash!
In that instant, dark red blood poured from his forearm. He had never even imagined he would be attacked like this. Grillish furrowed his brow fiercely. At the same time—
-Whoosh!
He unleashed his demonic energy at full power. Both Luden and Baran's expressions grew serious. The demonic energy radiating from him was no ordinary force.
'Looks like he's completely lost it.'
Well, from his perspective, it wasn't strange for him to react this way. Up until now, Grillish had easily killed his enemies by dragging them into his illusion world. He had probably expected the same outcome this time. But it hadn't worked. Worse, the targets he thought he could kill effortlessly had counterattacked.
It would be impossible for him not to be in the worst mood imaginable.
She nodded and released her mana. A golden wave of power burst forth—energy that served as a natural counter to demons. Grillish narrowed his eyes at the sight.
'I really should have killed her last time.'
The reason the Demon King's army had destroyed the Roden family was because they posed far too great a threat to the demon race. As descendants of the first hero, it was only natural, but knowing it and seeing it in person were two entirely different things.
Grillish snapped his fingers.
-Whoooosh!
A blade forged of demonic energy flew straight toward them. Luden's face showed a hint of surprise at the unexpected technique. But she hadn't been idle either. Hadn't she spent all this time grinding her teeth for revenge?
-Clang!
She swung her sword, deflecting the demonic blade. Grillish's eyes sharpened at the sight. He had never imagined she could repel it.
Grillish couldn't understand the current situation at all. Only a few years had passed. Who could have predicted that she would grow strong enough to deflect his attacks in that short time?
He roared and created multiple spears of demonic energy. But at that exact moment—
-Vwoong!
A small subspace opened up in front of him. The moment Grillish saw the subspace before his eyes, a memory flashed through his mind.
'I need to dodge this.'
He quickly retreated and grabbed one of the spears. At the same time—
-Kaaaaang!
He deflected the arrow that shot out from the subspace. Just as he remembered from Chris's memories, it was an attack from that blind man.
He clicked his tongue and turned his head. At that moment, Luden—who had somehow gotten behind him—swung her sword. Grillish raised his spear to block it. But perhaps because of Luden's mana—
It felt as if his entire body was being purified. The burning pain made Grillish retreat once again. Even though he hadn't been directly hit, the agony was excruciating.
'Hoo, good thing I blocked that earlier surprise attack without using mana.'
If he hadn't, he couldn't even imagine what condition his arm would be in right now. As he let out a small sigh of relief internally—
-Whoooosh!
An arrow flew straight at him from the front. Grillish frowned and deflected it.
-Sizzle!
The power was so intense it felt like his palm was burning. 'Hoo, this isn't working.'
He hadn't wanted to use his trump card in a place like this. The technique consumed far too much of his demonic energy. However, if things continued this way, defeat was inevitable. His abilities, specialized in illusions, were completely ineffective against these two. They were his natural enemies.
I need to hold out until I can complete the spell.
Roughly ten minutes had passed since they began pressuring Grillish. As Luden continued to drive the demon back, she felt a growing sense of unease.
'What is this? It shouldn't be this easy.'
The demon before her was clearly an officer, just like the one named Jack she had fought before. There was no way he could be this weak. Even though he specialized in brainwashing, he had still been quite troublesome back then.
'Something feels off...'
Still, the fact that she had to kill him remained unchanged. She poured out her mana with full force and concentrated it into her sword. Grillish's eyes widened in shock at the sight.
He had never expected Luden to be able to use sword aura. Just how was she growing so rapidly in only a few years?
Luden spoke in a voice as cold as ice. Her sword strike came flying toward him. Grillish barely managed to block her attacks, each deflection sending burning pain through his body.
Just blocking her sword was already overwhelming. And every time he tried to counterattack, that annoying blind archer behind him would interfere.
Changing his target, Grillish summoned countless spears and hurled them at Baran. Archers were usually weak in close combat. This guy shouldn't be any different. If he had been strong in melee, there would have been no reason to snipe Chris from a distance.
'Once I finish him off, the rest will be easy.'
The moment Grillish felt certain of that—
-Whoooosh!
His eyes widened at Baran's movement. The blind man had suddenly vanished from his sight. And then—
Baran had somehow appeared right behind him. He created an arrow and—
-Shwaaaak!
fired it straight at him. 'Damn it.' Caught off guard by the counterattack, Grillish grimaced fiercely. In a split second, he scanned his surroundings, his mind racing.
'Sword strike from the front, arrow from behind.'
If he stayed like this, he would take heavy damage from one of them. 'No choice then.'
He had wanted more time, but it was obvious he would lose if things continued. Rather than dying here, it was better to use the incomplete spell he had prepared. After all, it would be more than enough to defeat these two academy students.
He released his demonic energy and snapped his fingers. A magic circle made of demonic energy appeared before him. Anyone could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary spell. Thick demonic smoke poured out from it.
Luden ignored the smoke and continued swinging her sword. But at that moment—
-Clang!
Contrary to expectation, her strike was easily blocked. 'What is this feeling?'
Every time the demon in front of her had blocked her sword until now, she had felt pain. Yet the being hidden within the smoke blocked her attack as if it were nothing.
Then suddenly—
-Whoosh!
The entity inside the smoke swung its sword at her. The strike was perfectly clean, as if it had been swinging the blade endlessly. Luden quickly raised her sword to block.
-Tingle! Tingle!
Even though she had only blocked it, an immense pain shot through her palms. Just how strong was this thing to produce such power? Luden let out a shallow breath.
In that instant, Baran appeared behind her using high-speed movement. Luden nodded at his question.
Luden's eyes suddenly widened like saucers as she trailed off. She couldn't help but be horrified by the sight before her. Because the moment the smoke cleared—
There stood someone who should never have been there—her older brother, Cain von Roden, with an indifferent expression on his face.