Eric and Neo were face to face with the enslavers. Surrounded by the hooded figures, they were most wary of the man in pink, playing a calm melody on his lute.
"Mmm, it seems that we have a visitor. I expected to find the cat lady, but what's a normal human doing in this part of the forest?" He pointed at Eric with his hand.
"SHUT UP! I'm going to beat your ass so badly until you tell me where the people you captured from all the tribes are." Neo cracked her knuckles and prepared her claws.
The rest of the members of Underworld had run back to the village for reinforcements. Eric felt a bit at ease since he wouldn't have to protect them. He counted the total number of enemies. They had 12 people dressed in robes and masks, led by the man in pink.
"Mmm… feisty girl, good. The master loves to break the ones with high spirits. I find it beautiful. The sounds and screams of pain that demi humans make are different from humans; they are the perfect blend of human and animal pain. It brings me such joy and inspiration!" He continued to play with his instrument, ignoring the anger of his opponents. The man was very good at playing the flute, but the music he was making had a painful and sad tone.
"To answer your question those people are still trapped in cages waiting for the Master orders, some of them have already died, and others are going to live as simple slaves. That's all I can say to you. It's not much, but you will be joining them soon. In the worst case, you will sadly perish here. Nothing personal, but we can't have people finding out about us." Those words were enough to make the rest of the hooded figures take out their swords and crossbows. The time for talking was over.
"Hey, cat girl. Remember to leave one or two alive so we can interrogate them later."
"You don't have to tell me. Try to not be a nuisance in this fight. I don't have time to cover your ass." Both Eric and Neo could sense that the man in pink was strong.
"Now go, kill him while I play a song for his sad life." He began to play at the same time his subordinates moved to attack.
The hooded men surrounded both and launched their attack. Neo dodged the sword and, in return, hit the stomach of the guy. Her claws pierced the leather armor and drew blood. While another two struck with their swords at Neo, she managed to evade them and kick one of them in the face. While doing a spin, she hit the other in the chest and the bit at his neck.
On the other side Eric was breaking the face of one of the men. His fist cracked the mask and landed on his nose. The arrows missed him by only a few centimeters. He dodged a strike and grabbed the guy by the arm. He raised him and dropped him on another guy who was about to attack him.
All this fighting was happening as the man in pink kept playing and humming at the rhythm of the lute.
The hooded men were not weak by any means, but their opponents were strong too. Neo sent the heads flying with her claws and bit limbs. Eric was cracking bones and using the bodies as a shield. In only a little more than a minute, ten of the slavers lay dead on the ground. Neo and Eric were barely scratched by the swords, with only minor injuries, they looked at the pink man.
Turun... turun... tu… The performance was over. The pink man stood still in place for a moment. He looked at the remains of his subordinates and sighed. "It was a good melody, but it turned out to be for my men. Such a sad fate. If only they were stronger, they could have saved their lives."
"Sully sir, maybe we should retire. They clearly are stronger than we anticipated-" He couldn't finish the sentence as a sword pierced his chest. "AAAGHUUU" He vomited blood before succumbing.
"My my, such a loser attitude. Not only did he reveal my name, but he also tried to talk us back down, as if we were a bunch of weaklings. That's unforgivable. Don't you think having a companion like him is useless?" He asked the remaining subordinate.
"Y-YES SIR. He was useless." You couldn't see his face, but he probably had a panicked expression.
"Exactly. We don't need cowards like him serving the Master. Don't worry though, I will show you a beautiful performance as I kill that man and capture that beast woman." He played the last few notes on his lute and took out his long sword, covered in the blood of his subordinate.
"[Dance]" The magic imbued his body, and in a blink, he was gone...
Neo barely managed to dodge the sword that cut right at her cheek. The sensation of pain as she was backing away from the sword brought her mind to the severity of the situation. She was almost decapitated. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Sully ready to attack again.
Eric managed to reach them in time. He threw a punch at the arm of Sully, but he retreated before Eric could connect.
"I was going to blind the woman since I wanted to take her alive. But you have good reflexes. I might not be able to capture you alive, so sad, I hope the Master will forgive me when I bring the rest of your tribe to him." He had a sadistic smile.
Neo was getting angrier, but she knew that he was trying to provoke her, make her mad so she would make a mistake.
"That spell is making him faster. Be careful." She kept her head cool. She also had a few spirits inside her waiting for a chance to strike.
In an instant, Sully disappeared again. This time, Eric was the target. He saw his left arm being cut, the blood spurting out as he threw a punch with his other arm. It was too slow. Sully dodged with minimal effort and cut him again in the chest.
Neo claws tried to reach the pink man, but she didn't make it in time. With an elegant jump, Sully moved out and cut Neo in the face. It was a dance of blood and pain.
Sully began to attack with extreme speed. Like a musician improvising a new melody, he was cutting left and right at his opponents. A macabre humming was heard in the forest as Eric and Neo got cut in several ways. They tried to counter attack but, their attacks were missing or being blocked by the pink demon.
In the middle of the painful performance, Neo spoke. "I'm going to immobilize him for a moment, then you'll hit him with everything you got." Without waiting for a reply, Neo began to concentrate on the power of the spirits.
In a couple of seconds, the light materialized in the form of a wolf's mouth in her face. Sully stopped his dance for a moment, in awe of the power of the beast woman.
Neo jumped at him at maximum speed. Even with the help of the spirits, Sully was dodging the strikes and kicks. Eric saw them from a distance; it looked almost like they were partners in a dance. Intertwined in this deadly dance, Neo managed to grab his left arm. Immediately after Neo used the white mouth of the wolf to bite at the arm and pinned him down on the ground.
Sully put his hand over his mouth and spoke. "[Scream]" A wave of vibrations hit Neo right in the head. It was a high-pitched scream that shattered the apparition of the wolf and stunned her.
Neo's eardrums almost exploded from the sound. She let go of the arm while trying to regain her senses. The first thing she noticed was the sword cutting through her chest. A fatal wound. No one would be able to respond after the sound attack. The only thing Neo managed to do was force her arms to move and, by some miracle, she managed to grab Sully's hand.
As the cut reached the lower point, Neo grabbed the hand with all her remaining strength. Sully was surprised. Her brain must be still bouncing inside her head after taking the [Scream] at such a close distance. It was a beautiful effort, but still a waste. Sully yanked the arm away in a second, but that second was just enough…
"ONE!" Eric yelled as his fist hit the side of Sully, breaking his ribs. "TWO!" The second impact was aimed at his face, but Sully dodged it in the last moment. Eric only hit the empty air.
Even after having his ribs broken, he was able to dodge and counterattack with his sword. The blade was in front of Eric's face, ready to split him in half. Seeing his death imminent, Eric hit him with his last attack. "THREE!"
He chose to use his last impact with his head to repel the blade. The blood was coming out of his forehead, but he did it. The sword bounced off. Not only that, but the tip broke. Unfortunately, the strength was leaving his body. This was the only chance to attack, but his muscles were recoiling, the price of his special ability.
Sully concentrated all the mana remaining in his body and prepared himself for another [Scream]…
The pain in his leg made him hesitate for a moment. It was Neo, who was laying on the ground but biting his leg. The blood was shining in her teeth. She was barely conscious. It was her last effort.
It was unsightly. They have ruined his performance. Sully was extremely mad at them. It didn't matter if his Master would scold him; this woman must die. He grabbed his sword with both hands and impaled the head of the beast woman.
No, someone save her. Eric threw himself on top of Neo, the sword pierced his chest. "AAAUWWWWWWWWWWGHHHH" He vomited and began to choke on his own blood. His lung was pierced. He would die in a few seconds. A meaningless act of camaraderie before both of them died.
Sully raised his weapon, ready to put an end to this song. "Goodbye, unsightly pair." Before he could strike, a rain of arrows fell on him.
He tried to block them but was too tired. The arrows hit all over his body. The last thing Sully saw was his only subordinate still alive. He was running into the forest, abandoning him. "Mmm... I let a coward get away… Truly a sad performance today."
The pink devil collapsed on the floor, covered in arrows. His lute smashed on the ground beside him.
"Eric! Neo! Quick, give them a healing potion." The members of Underworld managed to bring the others just in time. A dozen of them ran toward their bosses and gave them potions as first aid. Eric's lung and Neo's chest were healed. With heavy breaths, they would survive.
The last member of the enslavers was running away. Seeing the crazy Sully die was too much for him. He needed to retreat and tell his boss about what happened. Something crushed him against the ground. Some bones were broken, and he couldn't lift his back off the floor. He tried to look at his back. An enormous leg of a lion was pinning him down.
The poor man looked around. His companions must be around here. He saw only the remains of the caravan as the rest of his group lay dead after trying to fight the lion. The pressure was too much and he passed out.