***
The fiend walked into a chamber with a bewildered expression and the frown on its face was deep.
There was a raised platform at the other end of the room and a spectre was levitating before it. With its face facing a pool of blood and flesh, the apparition spoke. [What is it?]
The fiend bowed respectfully and replied, [A prisoner we caught is unwilling to die.]
Upon hearing this, the apparition looked over its shoulder. [What did you say?]
The demon quickly explained the situation about Adam. It emphasised that earthling's cockroach-like ability to jump back from grave wounds.
[Bring him. He'll make the most suitable sacrifice.] The spectre quickly dismissed the fiend with a mission. It also dispatched a couple of demons with it, in case the prisoner acts funny.
Walking into the prison cell, the five demons saw Adam crouching on the floor. There was a shadow of fear looming over those pupils. The sight of the trembling entity amused those brutes.
[Be glad that our priest finds you useful.] With a casual remark, the fiend who tortured him before walked to Adam with a leisurely pace.
The four demons followed suit. As beings of the Stygian Realm, they possessed extraordinary sensitivity to hostility and killing intent. The absence of such emotions in the air made them drop their guard.
The monster walked to Adam and raised him by grabbing his neck. The earthling was trembling like a tender leaf facing a storm. The barbaric grin on the savage's face deepened.
Swish!
The faint shrill voice of something piercing the air entered the demons' ears. Before they could take a scan around, two arrows emerged from the darkness and darted at the pair of demons at the back of the pack.
Puchik!
The sheer force with which the arrow arrived at the fiends was overwhelming. The lack of guard against such an attack made them more vulnerable. Before the pack knew, the targetted monsters were already pinned to the wall on the opposite side. Their bodies twitching in pain with arrows piercing their heads was an intimidating sight to the remaining three.
'Hehe, gotcha.' The shivering insect at once transformed into a brute barbarian. The fiend holding Adam was about to turn around when the metamorphosis occurred. It was confused while its mind screamed 'run, you freaking idiot.'
Adam channelled mana into his foot and threw a kick at its abdomen. The force contained in the swipe churned the unguarded, bewildered demon's innards and it let go of the grip while falling down in agony. The sudden spike in pain was so great that the voice was stuck in its throat.
The fiend was about to lie down when a pair of arms extended at its head. The unyielding grasp caught a grip on its chin and the back of the head.
Oh, shit! The demon could only lament at its misfortune.
Crack!
A lucky soul was liberated of its material shackles.
What the hell is happening?!
The pair of demons in the middle was pale. Behind them were two fellow tribesmen who are now no better than dead. In front of them was a fellow demon killed like a little lamb.
Not to mention, all these happened simultaneously and too quick to even raise a voice against.
The panic was instantly replaced by killing intent. The two monsters growled and dashed ahead to rip the prisoner apart. Upon witnessing the restraints breaking apart like studio props, they caught the gist of the act.
And as they expected, something drifted at them from the darkness. It was a spear.
But this time, they weren't stunned. One of the demon extended its arms and caught the spear as if the being knew where it was. While the other dashed at Adam.
A couple of minutes later, they too were dead. Or to be precise, beheaded.
"Now what?" Adam's voice was low and barely audible.
"I am a stranger to this world as you are. We can only scatter into directions and find our way out." Aaron's reply was simple. But Adam shook his head in disagreement.
"We are behind the enemy lines. Scattering is literally committing suicide." Adam spoke solemnly. "First, let's escape from this room."
Conveying his idea, Adam tiptoed to the door and poked his head out. It was only after confirming the absence of danger that he signalled Aaron and the elf to follow him.
Exciting the prison cell, the trio found themselves standing in a long aisle. There were more similar compartments on either side of the aisle and this perplexed them.
"How many have they caught as prisoners?" Aaron verbalised his concern.
Without delay, they walked into the nearest cell, only to find it empty. The next five cells were also devoid of any living beings. All they met with was a bloated corpse and a pile of bones.
In the sixth chamber, they saw two prisoners. Upon a closer scan, the elf soldier confirmed that they are her squadmates.
Passing over a couple of high-tier healing potions, Adam asked Aaron and the elf to heal them while he goes out to scout. The duo didn't retort and nodded in agreement.
'Time to dance.'
When Adam left the chamber, a grin crept up his face. According to Detect, he already knows the position of the demons in a range of 200 metres.
And just like that, 17 demons lost their lives by the unknown assailant. All they saw was a swift jab from the darkness, piercing their hearts.
***
"I hope Adam survives. He's a good guy." Theo murmured to himself while staring at the sky. The carriage shook its rear as it slowly moved ahead towards Swanhild.
But Tara heard him.
"You're awfully concerned about him." She remarked in a teasing tone.
Theo waved his hand and dismissed her indecent thoughts. "I always wanted to travel around the world when I was young. Soon I came to realise that my wish was a pipedream without realising the dangers unknown."
Tapping on the hammer with his forefinger, Theo spoke in a soothing tone. While Gary and Walter gave their ears to the dwarf, Tara rolled her eyes.
After another couple hours of travelling, the carriage in which they hitched a ride came to a halt in front of a massive gate.
"State your purpose." A knight walked to them with an unsheathed sword and bellowed.
The old man with the horses' reins was about to speak when Gary jumped out of the carriage's back and walked to the knight. He presented his guild card and the knight immediately let them pass.
"Hey, what's with the abnormal amount of guards?" Gary couldn't contain his curiosity as he noticed a thick population of soldiers dispersed on the walls and streets of Swanhild. As a kingdom with no rivals and three allies, the country rarely exercised such large deployment.
"You don't know? About six or eight hours ago, a rift appeared in the vicinity of the Southern Forest. A major portion of soldiers and adventurers have been enlisted and they successfully closed the rift.
But the king was wary of any potential threats and thus assembled the soldiers for patrolling."
A random citizen answered Walter's query as they paced to the Adventurer's Guild. Nodding in understanding, the squad walked to the building and entered it.
Adventurer's Guild was the brainchild of an old unnamed war veteran. The idea bloomed into an organisation and flourished beyond calculation. The association of individuals spread far and wide and into all nations and empires. Soon, the privatised group of mercenaries was extended a partnership from their respective royal palaces, with the only condition that they should assist in war and battle and the reward will be handsome.
With the newfound protection of the kingdom, the organisation grew further. They rose with strength on par with the highly-trained army of militants and mages of the royal force.
The Guild building in the Swanhild was a three-storey structure. The ground floor had a reception for doubt clearance and a notice board on which the missions and quests are displayed for suitable fellows to snatch from.
The first floor acted as an information hoarding centre. It was nothing more than a library where adventurers pay a fixed amount of money to pay a visit to read and acquire necessary information regarding wildlife and their quests. The adventurers can also sell info to the guild for money. But should the guild find the fact faulty, the person would be subjected to criminal charges.
The third floor was a meeting room that no one talks about in public. There are even rumours that the floor contains ghosts and wraiths haunting anyone who steps inside.
Pacing to the reception, the four adventurers were welcomed by a familiar face.
"Wow, what a pleasant surprise!" The receptionist chirped in delight upon witnessing four amicable individuals.