Zevrad took a step forward while pointing the sharp, broken edge of the chair leg at the demonic spider.
"Kkeeeick!"
The demon spider flinched and cowered. It quickly retracted itself and pressed its crawling body flat to the ground. And when its airborne first step finally came down to the floor, it retreated in a flash, with a reaction speed as quickly as a boar that got stung by a scorching skewer.
The sneakily retreating demonic spider looked very confused as if it couldn't quite figure out why it was running away.
"Grglgrglgrgl"
It then gurgled phlegm in its throat as its instincts were screaming out danger warnings. It now accepted the fact that it was getting suppressed by Zevrad's aura.
Thinking how the person in front of the demonic spider's eyes was incomparable to everyone else it encountered. Even its captors. It knew that if it attacked this man, then it would surely die. The demon had already filled its belly to some extent. Also, there were other people it could prey on who had fled earlier. There was no reason for it to brave this danger here.
As soon as the demonic spider made this decision, it rapidly escaped through the hole it came from. Truly, it possessed quick wits and reflexes. However, the broken leg of the chair, now used as a steel bar, was suddenly beaming towards the demon as it had been thrown like a javelin from Zevrad's hand. In his trance, Zevrad's body moved on its own as if he knew from experience that this demonic spider would flee when faced with an overwhelming threat.
*Pierce!*
"Keeuck!"
Blood spilled on the ground.
The demonic spider's large frame tilted unsteadily to the side before slipping on its side with a loud thud. The steel bar had stabbed into the demon's side and screamed in agony.
"What the-?!"
Those who had not fled far were utterly stunned at the impressive display. One throw of the makeshift steel bar had changed the situation to their advantage.
"How was that possible?"
They stood there in the distance and stared at the impressive display at a man who had faced a demon despite being inexperienced in harnessing demonic magic and hunting demons.
The demonic spider threw its head wildly while screaming in pain. It never knew that it would face such an overwhelming threat and only now did it regret its hasty decision to devour and destroy. But Zevrad didn't stop there, he then proceeded to stomp on another chair's leg, making use of another makeshift weapon before rushing towards the demon.
The demon spun its head around like a bolt of lightning, faced him, and opened its jaw wide while emitting a chilling, shrill cry.
"Keeuuuccckkk!"
Zevrad found the sight of the chewed-up flesh stuck in between the monster's teeth rather disgusting and unappealing, so he quickly threw the steel bar down its basketball-hoop-sized throat. The desired result occurred right away; the demon began showing an unusual reaction after swallowing it whole. Resulting in the demon to gag and wither in pain.
It began falling down on the ground once more while all of its limbs began convulsing uncontrollably. Its large eye shook so hard, the light within its eyes flickered as if it was having a seizure. Out of its wide-open mouth, the monster belched out a pool of blood along with the steel bar it had thrown down its throat. Now corroding from its internal substance.
'Sigh, I guess it wasn't enough.'
The wounds the demonic spider suffered had started to heal and its strength started to increase several-fold. This was possible since demonic magic was known to convert life energy to boost the potential and strength in physical and magical prowess.
Zevrad's dream-like trance was weakening and subconsciously knew that the external power he's borrowing will soon fade and that he alone would be unable to defeat this demon.
Despite his efforts, he was only one man.
Even if he could prevail as the victor, the best scenario would still have him suffer mortal wounds that could possibly lead to his unfortunate demise. He contemplated on what could be done in this situation. One was to fight, the other was to flee.
'Was there no alternative?'
Zevrad focused his senses by activating [Spectral Sight] to analyze his surroundings for a possible solution to turn this situation around. Just when his sights focused on the nearby exit, he finally caught sight of his fellow demon hunters that remained. Most of them, if not all, were emitting a yellow aura.
'Yellow? Doesn't that mean [Attention]?'
Zevrad had just gained this new ability and had not put it to the test yet. He thought now is the best time to test how this ability works. It did warn him of the demon's approach earlier with the orange and red colors. He guessed that the yellow color is the third option that he had been seeking.
Zevrad unknowingly stirred their hearts through his actions, perhaps all they needed next was a final push with his words. It was uncharacteristic of him, but in desperate times, everything is open to the greatest change.
"Are you going to stand by and watch? Or will you take up arms and aid me?"
Zevrad, although lonely by nature, attempted to rally those nearby to work together to defeat their common enemy.
"What's the point of coming here? For what reason did you take part and survive the ritual?"
He questioned their resolve, their determination as if to remind them of their purpose. To reignite the spark that had recently been squandered by fear.
"What do you desire? Did you forget how our lands were threatened, invaded, and lost by demonic creatures like this one?"
Zevrad appealed to their shared suffering, their pain, and hearts as he pointed at the demon that was starting to recover from its wounds.
"The demon hunters have proven we can prevail so long as we stand united. We must not show fear now!"
"Kkkkkkiiiiieeeecccckkkkk!!!"
It was then that the demon charged at Zevrad in a seethe of rage. Gone were its instincts to retreat as it was now in a fight and flight mode.
"Stand with me, and we shall defeat this demon together!"
Zevrad could now be seen struggling against the demon as he tried to dodge the series of attacks. Some were successful by a hair's width, others made their mark as it slashed or stabbed him. Leaving a spray of blood with each cut, taking its toll on his movements.
Then, from a seemingly empty space, Kor'vas' figure slowly revealed itself as if she was a ghost.
"Allari and I admit, you're incredible."
There was a pair of steel bars, one in each hand, as she began to attack the demon from its side. The demon, lost in its anger, was unprepared as it failed to notice until the last second that a few people had snuck up on it. They desperately attacked the demon in the same spots that Zevrad had attacked earlier. Making her attacks worsen its wounds that even its rejuvenation couldn't keep up.
Suddenly, Loramus rushed next to Kor'vas as he swung his own weapon in succession with her, making the demon's body spun a few feet off the air as if it was performing a traditional dance. It then crumpled to the ground.
"Kuaaaaak!"
The demon suddenly fell to the floor, its face dazed and frozen as it leaked a mouthful of blood. Zevrad could only stand there and stare at them, still frozen in the middle of trying to process what happened. Apparently, his actions were correct as he continued to blink in a stupefied state, he ended up witnessing something. Something interesting.
"He's right, we can prevail if we work together. We're elves! Our people have done it before and we can surely do it here."
Almost half of the people that had fled started to return seeing how their situation had turned advantageous to them. Indeed, morale would increase when the situation shifted in their favor.
Many of them followed Zevrad's example by improvising with a makeshift weapon to fend off the demon. Whereas others who were skilled in range combat made their way onto the stage, where Kayne had stood, to gain a vantage point to conjure their spells. He recovered his senses and didn't waste the opportunity as he shouted his commands that held a sense of authority.
"Those skilled at ranged attacks, keep your distance and hit it when you see an opportunity. Be careful not to hit your allies! The others will grab a weapon and surround it. Keep it locked in place. Work together and we'll get through this!"
Zevrad positioned himself to be at the front of the demonic spider, acting as a tank by drawing its attention to himself so that his 'allies' could deal the damage to finish it off.
Allari and many others conjured the basic spells that they could perform, with eyes emitting a bright light. Most of their teeth were clenched while some of them had blood dripping from their lips, showing the toll it took on them.
Who could blame them?
They lack control and experience in demonic magic. Yet still, they managed to hit the demonic spider whenever possible.
Belath yelled as he communicated with his two lackeys in the demon's rear and sides of when to aim for the demon's joints in its legs or to dodge incoming attacks.
"Sidestep left and counter with a stab!"
Kor'vas remained hidden and would attack vital areas of the demon, such as the eyes, whenever possible.
Loramus aided Zevrad as he threw another makeshift weapon, as the one he originally held was about to break with another swing.
"Here! We're all counting on you, so don't have us regret this!"
He stood at his side and they would alternate when to block and attack.
Their teamwork had yielded results as the demon was now rolling on the ground, evidently in a lot of pain. And whenever there were sounds of explosions conjured by the ranged attackers, its entire body took on a reddish hue and began swelling up.
"Kkkuuuakk!!"
The once fearful group had now worked with great synchronization, thanks to the spark that ignited the flames. They performed at their utmost potential and it was thanks to one man that the rest were able to stand and fight. The battle went on and many had received injuries, few had lost their lives, yet they continued to fend off against the demonic spider.
Until the demonic spider would find the resolution in doing whatever it could to scramble away as it decided to burn its life energy. Increasing its strength by severalfold. In its final efforts, it turned away from Zevrad and aimed for its previous attempt to flee back to the hole it made.
"It's trying to flee! Stop it!"
Belath noticed the change in its demeanor and cried out as he and his lackeys tried to pin it in place. But their efforts failed as the eagerness dropped their guards down to suddenly be a target of dozens of spiderwebs, tightly binding Belath and several others to the spot.
Kor'vas and Loramus were swept away as they were flung against the wall, puking blood from the impact. Luckily, their injuries were minor compared to the others whose limbs were severed or bodies were pierced as the demon fled in a frenzy.
Zevrad's condition wasn't fairing any better as he had previously been the main focus of the demonic spider's attacks. He knew that they wouldn't get another chance to defeat it if they were to encounter it again but most of his body had lost its strength to even chase after it.
Allari and many of the range attackers had exhausted their energy and could no longer attack, their formation had fallen and most likely no one had the ability to prevent the demonic spider from leaving.
'What can we do?' he thought.
"̶C̷l̵e̴a̸r̴ ̴y̷o̷u̷r̵ ̴m̴i̵n̸d̶.̴"̵
Zevrad's mind went blank as he closed his eyes to reach the peak of his concentration.
"̴F̷e̶e̶l̴ ̵t̶h̷e̶ ̸b̵e̸a̸t̴i̵n̷g̶ ̶i̵n̵ ̷y̸o̶u̸r̶ ̷h̵e̷a̵r̶t̴.̶"̸
The only thing he could hear was the voice he had been hearing on occasion within his mind, moving of its own accord as it guided him. Although distorted, the voice he heard felt familiar and therefore had a calming effect.
Suddenly, his body automatically moved on its own despite his body's injuries. The trance he found himself in was nearly at an end, yet he moved as he had lost his mind. Flickers of demonic flames began to spark until they had engulfed his entire body.
"̶T̸u̴r̴n̷ ̸y̷o̸u̴r̴ ̸a̵r̶m̸.̶"̴
For a brief moment, he focused his all on this one moment.
"̷S̴t̶a̵r̶t̸ ̵a̶t̶ ̴y̵o̵u̸r̴ ̴f̷e̷e̴t̷,̵ ̵t̷h̴e̷n̵ ̷m̷o̶v̸e̴ ̸o̵n̷ ̸t̶o̶ ̶y̸o̸u̸r̵ ̶l̷e̸f̵t̴ ̶a̸r̸m̷.̶"̸
Zevrad began twisting his left arm, starting from the tip of his finger, and let the movement flow all the way to his right arm. His right arm absorbed the rotational force and began moving forward.
"̶N̶o̸w̷,̴ ̴r̷e̸l̷e̵a̶s̸e̴!̸"̸
Zevrad opened his eyes wide!
The flame that surrounded his body now concentrated onto his weapon before his right arm quickly shot forward. The exploding sensation that began in the palm of his hand spread all over his right arm in an instant. His steel bar looked so flexible that it was like a fish out of water, wriggling away from his hand. Never had he thrown a weapon like this in his life.
His physical condition wasn't perfect and, above all, he was still inexperienced. But somehow, Zevrad had managed to do the unthinkable.
Even Kayne, watching behind a monitor, couldn't help but admire his flawless posture.
'Incredible.'
*Whoosh!*
The weapon enveloped with demonic flames crossed the air as the distance between it and its target rapidly approached zero. The demonic spider felt a sudden twitch and chill run down its spine before it realized what was happening. Its eyes were dilated with fear as it unwittingly turned to gaze at Zevrad.
It was then, at this moment, the steel bar had pierced exactly where the target was at.