Blood splashed on the ground as Arad’s body fell to the ground, motionless.

Nina’s skin turned deep brown, and her eyes shot red with blood. The veins on her muscles bulged as a deep growl escaped her lungs. BAM! She instantly jumped, disappearing from everyone’s view.

The ground where she stood shattered, destroying the building around in one blast. “Don’t!” Merlin shouted, but she was late. Nina was already hundreds of meters away. “That flea barbarian.” She growled, Ginger, how is he?”

“He’ll be fine,” Ginger said with a smile, looking at Arad’s body, “He only lost his head. But, protect him with a barrier.”

Merlin waved her staff and enclosed Arad in a ten-layered prismatic barrier.

“Alcott cut anything that gets close,” Ginger pointed at Arad, and he pulled his sword, taking a stance. A second shot won’t slip through him.

****

CRACK! Nina smashed into the top of the mountain, screaming as her eyes darted around. The sniper was nowhere to be seen even though the projectile came from this direction.

“HAHAHAHA!” The demon laughed, looking at her from another mountain. “A sniper never reveals their location. It was a curved shot, bald ape,” He turned, a black portal opening for him to return to the abyss.

CREEK! Nina’s eyes turned, glowing red as she spotted him from kilometers away.

He was in the middle of walking through the portal when a blast took him by surprise. His left arm and parts of his chest got ripped apart. BLUH! He puked green mucus, staring with one eye, seeing Nina behind the portal with his missing parts.

lightsΝοvel.cοm SWOSH! He slipped into the portal and closed it, “Damned monster,” He fell on his face, bleeding as the other demons rushed to him.

“We miscalculated. The biggest threat was that barbarian woman. I repeat, kill the barbarian woman first.” He fell unconscious after delivering the message to the hivemind.

Nina stared back, seeing that he escaped even though she ripped his heart alongside his left lung. As a demon, he probably had more than one heart.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! A roar akin to an ear-piercing screech escaped her throat, shaking the mountain and causing a stone avalanche. All the monsters in the mountain quaked, hearing the screams of a raging beast.

Screaming calmed her down a bit, and she sighed, lifting what she ripped from the demon and jumping back to the village before her rage ended.

CRACK! Nina landed in the village, destroying the house she landed on. From the rubble, she walked out, throwing the demon’s heart and flesh at the ground. “He escaped,” She said.

Merlin stared at the bloody mess and giggled, “I’m surprised you even got him.”

“He didn’t curve the shot magic phase it?” Alcott asked.

“He did curve it. He was on that mountain.” She pointed in the direction they came from.

Alcott giggled, “People fear you for a reason. Even being a mountain away didn’t save him.”

“Hoi,” Merlin said with a worried face, “This is a high demon. The big one Arad killed is like ants to this thing,” She glared at Nina.

“And?”

“How in the hell did you even rip him apart like this?” Merlin asked with a high-pitched cry.

Nina stared at her hand, “My nails chipped a bit, and I do feel some pain in my elbow and shoulder. But it wasn’t something I can’t tear apart.”

Ginger tapped Merlin’s shoulder, “Listen, your protective spell will never protect you from a kick from her.”

“What did your clan even feed to you to make you such a monster?” She sighed.

“I don’t know,” Nina replied, her hands on her hips. “Forget about me. How is he doing?” She looked at the prismatic dome Merlin created. She couldn’t see Arad inside as the blinding light protected him.

“He’s recovering,” Merlin replied, looking at the dome.

In fact, Arad wasn’t inside the dome. She pulled him deep into the ground with burial magic. Even Alcott who stood there guarding the dome was a fake. The real one was with Arad underground.

At this level, everyone uses at least one level of protection at all times. Merlin herself has the recovery potions ready in her storage magic in case she got fatally injured, and even Ginger could revive in her coffin if her body was destroyed.

****

Arad fully healed in a few minutes, waking inside a small cavern with Alcott sitting beside him with a tiny fireplace.

“How are you feeling?” Alcott asked.

“I was taken down,” Arad growled, “A heavy headshot,”

“It seems, things are taking a turn for the worst,” Alcott said, stoking the flames. “This mission might be a bit too much for you to handle. You can return to Alina. We will take care of the rest and bring Merida back.” He said, “Even if it was only her corpse.”

Arad stared at him. The possibility that Merida was already dead was high. Considering that someone who can blitz him from a distance existed.

“I’m not going back,” Arad laughed, “It was fortunate that they aimed for my head,” His wings wiggled, and his eyes expanded like a cat ready to pounce.

“You have something in mind?”

“Doma asked if she could pluck my eyes out and cut my brain apart a bit,” Arad couldn’t stop giggling, “I said no, but she did it anyway now that my head had to regrow.”

“Are you sure it’s safe to let her play with your brain?” Alcott sighed with an exhausted face.

“I thought the same, but now that I can see what she made, I have to say,” He smiled, “She’s nasty. I pity those who I lay my eyes upon.” His eyes flashed green.

Alcott looked at his arm, feeling a tingle under his skin. “I see, it’s nasty.” He giggled, “But it won’t work on me, I’m blessed,”

“Figured as much, but I doubt those demons have a blessing like you. Where did you even get that?” Arad nodded.

“It’s a long story. I got it from a Nymph.”