The sound of Derek's head landing on the ground echoed down the empty hallway.
Lukas swung on Jason in horror. "You promised that…" The man's eyes lit up as Lukas' head joined Derek's on the ground, and he moved onto Vanya in one smooth motion.
His sword swung faster than Jason could see, but going for the demon proved to be a mistake. Vanya caught his sword out of the air as it swung, snapping it with her hands.
The man's eyes bulged in surprise at her resistance. He leaped back, looking from Vanya to his broken sword and back as if wondering what had just happened. Then, the smile returned bigger than ever.
"It seems you are not as weak as I assumed, sir knight. Perhaps we could exchange names…" his words cut off as Vanya struck.
She attacked with her fists, not even bothering to pull her greatsword. Jason had no idea whether that was because it might be unwieldy in a more confined environment or if she just didn't think that she needed it.
Regardless, Jason felt the rush of air as the massive demon closed in on the unnamed man, who barely managed to avoid the onslaught. He dodged to the side and hurled a bolt of lightning at the demon.
It struck her in the chest, but didn't slow her in the slightest. She hurled herself against the man, landing a strike that hurled him back across the room. They were both moving so fast that it was difficult for Jason to figure out what was happening.
He was so focused on the fighting that he failed to notice Nora, who had pulled out a pair of knives from under her cloak. She tossed the daggers as the man landed, but he dodged the first easily and caught the second.
He began to throw it back at the girl, but Vanya was already on top of him. He spun underneath her hammer strike and swung his fist towards where Grace was standing. What was he?
A gust of wind caught the girl in the chest, tossing her against the wall. She crashed to the ground with a thud, and Jason dove to catch her as she fell. Her head was bleeding and she was unconscious, but still breathing.
The stupid girl. Jason knew he couldn't do anything but get in Vanya's way, so he tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and began wrapping Nora's wound. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be too severe, but he couldn't be certain. She had landed hard.
"He's using elemental magic," the sparrow said as Vanya was tossed back by another gust of air.
The man threw lightning bolt after lightning bolt at Vanya as she barreled down on him again. His smug smile was gone, replaced with concentration, and a hint of fear.
"Why aren't you…" but Vanya didn't give him a second to think.
Her next blow connected with the man's chestplate, caving it in and flinging him back again, but unbelievably, Vanya followed him with superhuman speed, grabbing his leg before he had even struck the ground.
She slammed him against the ceiling, then against the wall, and finally flung him back down the hallway where he landed just in front of Jason. The man's armor was dented and bloody, but he was still alive.
He might not be dead yet, but he had no more delusions about defeating this opponent. His eyes which seconds later had been so certain of an easy victory, were now filled with terror and confusion.
He threw another gust of air at Vanya, but she rolled to the side avoiding the brunt of the impact. The man tried escaping, but he was far too slow. Vanya caught up to him instantly and sent her fist into his face for the final blow.
That blow never came. Vanya was flung back as another man appeared in front of the defeated man. This new arrival was at least as tall as Jason was without his disguise, and he wore a too tight suit of red and blue that hid none of his impressive musculature.
His long blond hair, without the slightest hint of a curl fell past his shoulders, behind a chiseled face. He looked like a superhero that had jumped straight out of a comic book.
He had appeared there out of nowhere and had easily repelled Vanya's attack. Jason didn't have time to consider who this newcomer was as Vanya charged the new man with even more fury than before.
In the blink of an eye she had closed the distance, but her new opponent was far quicker than the previous. He ducked her fist and casually brought his arm around to strike her.
Vanya disappeared just before the strike could land, appearing instantly behind him and conserving her momentum as she tackled him. They slammed into the wall and crashed clean through leaving them out of his view. He needed to…
There was a flash of light and Vanya flew back out the hole in the wall, all the way through the opposite wall where she landed in a heap barely within Jason's view. She struggled to her feet as the man stepped out into the hallway. He didn't spare a glance for Jason and the unconscious Nora.
"You aren't human are you?" he said to Vanya, who had pushed herself to her feet. She charged him again, but he dodged and Spartan kicked her back to where she had been. Vanya couldn't actually lose this could she?
There was a flash as the man sent a much larger lightning bolt than any the previous man had summoned straight at Vanya. She took it with a grunt, but stood anyway.
"No, certainly not human." the man said.
"We have to get out of here," the sparrow said. Her voice was weak with fear. "We can not win this fight."
Vanya tenaciously teleported behind the newcomer, but he caught her arm, and tossed her back to where Jason crouched in front of Nora, unable to move. "We have to get out of here!" Jason screamed at Vanya.
The demon didn't hesitate, reaching out to Jason who had already grabbed onto Nora, but nothing happened.
Vanya had taught Jason about spatial magic to a certain extent. He had even experienced it a few times as Vanya wanted them to know what to expect if they had to make a quick exit.
It took very little mana for her to teleport herself, but she could only go to places that she had physically been before, and if she tried to take anyone with her, it used exponentially more mana.
He should have landed somewhere else the second he grabbed her hand. Why were they still here?
He looked up and gasped when he saw Vanya. The man had thrown a spear that had gone straight through her shoulder.
"That ought to hold you down for a little bit," the man said, walking towards the three of them. He kicked Lukas' head to the side as he approached. This was no normal man. There was no way that this could be anyone other than the hero himself.