(Paul POV)
What the guy said was the truth. There really is a city where the smoke was coming from, although it was barely in sight from the sooth that started covering the ground just a few minutes ago.
I remember hearing from Sylvaril about the city's plan for the monster raid. It was simple: Rudy would destroy many, if not most, of the monsters with a concentrated large Magic attack, and the soldiers would come in and help finish the leftovers.
It wasn't until I heard that North God and Sword God would also participate that I felt somewhat at ease.
But still, whatever attack Rudy used, it sure had devastating effects on nature. I even understand that large-area spells can cause some lasting damage. Well, I know they do.
Just moments later, I came across bits and pieces from monsters—insect ones, specifically. Legs, wings, shells, and heads were broken and scattered all over the ground.
Zenith would have freaked out over this sight. Back in our adventurer days, we once fought a hurdle of those giant centipedes, and she ran behind Ghislaine, who was unfazed by the crawlers.
Anyway, back to the field.
With every step I took, the ground felt more uneven as I came closer to the city when suddenly the sky started darkening. Since it couldn't be natural, it must be the work of a Magician, which also means the threat is far from being defeated.
And just as a thunderbolt struck, my eyes caught a group of people before the city walls. Two people of them especially.
One was a white-haired magic caster, and the other a crimson sword-swinging grey-haired woman, whom I recognized as Ghislaine.
In the vision, I already saw that she should be at Sharia, so the white-haired magic user could be Rudy.
Someone with a greatsword was fighting them, and others stood behind them and got treated. That one must be the target that the guy talked about.
Unsheathing my sword and holding it tightly with both hands, I momentarily stopped before going for a full-force dash and a sword swing.
The sensation I had from the night the assassins attacked us came back, and I could feel mana, or something like it, course onto my sword.
A streak of white fire escaped the trajectory of my sword, just about to hit its target.
But out of the blue, the surface of my skin felt erratic in a bad sense before my target virtually vanished, only to reappear behind me, the edge of her great sword going for my back.
Curving my sword swing, I held the grip behind my head, with the edge blocking her sword strike.
The force behind the strike and the direction I took off allowed me to evade the insidious attack fully.
But the same erratic feeling fell over my body again, and the supposed threat reappeared before me, swinging their greatsword upwards.
My muscles tensed, and I met her sword with mine, swinging it downwards.
The flat side of my sword scraped against her sword's edge, and I was about to cut the throat when the target disappeared again, this time much further away from the walls of the city.
A bad sense went over my entire body, specifically coming from her greatsword. I think she was gathering mana into it.
Turning to her, the blade of her sword started to glow as dust began swirling around her.
"Watch out! It's a big attack!"
I heard someone warning me, a familiar voice (I think?), but it was unprecedented. I already could tell.
My instinct took over and my body started to position itself into a Water God Style stance.
Some sort of energy started coursing from inside me onto my sword, and the Touki applied to it began to fluctuate like a wave.
By the time I finished, the girl swung her sword diagonally, an energy slash escaping the blade and approaching us.
A split second before it came close, I parried it with the flat side of my sword, white fire engulfing the projectile as I redirected. The fire continued to burn away the projectile until nothing was left of it, extinguished in the end.
Silence arose before I let out the air in my lungs, my arms dropping from the strain I put them on.
As easy as it looked from the outside, I could tell that this move costed me a lot of strength to parry that.
But I wasn't the only one. That attack seems to have drained the girl as well.
Seizing the opportunity, I held my sword above my head again before I went into a full-force dash at her.
Of course, she noticed it and teleported further away, but I also saw that coming.
Bringing my hindleg forward, I crashed the sole of my foot on the ground and made an even faster dash toward her.
As my sword went down at a speed I felt was the fastest I had ever done in my entire life, a white line went down on her in a moment of surprise, cutting her chest but not fully splitting her apart.
There must've been no more time for her to teleport, but a sudden force from her greatsword pushed me away quite far.
My feet were off the ground so that I couldn't stop myself.
I thought I would get attacked while I was susceptible like this, but instead, I kept flying off before someone from behind caught me. It was then that I felt the rushing flow in my bloodstream going down.
Coming back to my senses, I invertedly exhaled out.
My body felt on fire, but it wasn't a spasm or fatigue. I got so immersed in it that I went all out throughout the fight.
But now that I cooled off enough to get a better look at the demonic female I just fought.
She is geared in tight black light armor, rough on the surface, that could have been part of her body itself.
Her other features, however, were all oddly colored.
Her skin was a lavender purple, and the white part of her eyes was instead black with bloodred irises, ruffled white hair, and two small curved horns the same color as her skin protruded from the middle of her forehead.
What made me feel somewhat awful was that the girl looked roughly around the age Rudy should be by now. But since she seems to be from the Demon race, she must be older than that, right?
The girl seemed as exhausted as I was. She stood on one knee, using the greatsword as a stand, and held the wound beneath her broken chest piece with the other hand.
There was a purple light coming from the wound I had just given her, but it soon vanished, leaving only her open, non-bleeding wound.
However, the wound sealed itself in mere seconds, and her chest armor was fixed after.
The light that came off wasn't the shimmering green Healing Magic would give off.
"The hell is that thing?" I muttered to myself.
"It's a Demon from the Immortal tribe. Your attacks won't leave any lasting damage."
Hearing the familiar voice again, I turned to see my old party member, Ghislaine.
She looks roughed up, her eyepatch missing, revealing her Demon Eye and stains of blood on her, but no wounds besides her scars visible.
"No doubt about it. It IS you."
Ghislaine's growled at me, making me aware that I was staring at her boobs a bit too long.
But can you blame me? Not only is she still revealing those mountains like always (even in this cold climate), but I have also stayed abstinent for the last three years just for Zenith.
Knocking that thought out of my head, I concentrated myself back to the demonic girl, her anger-filled eyes looking at me.
I went back into a stance, both hands on the hilt. Ghislaine did the same and stood to my left.
Glancing back, I realized that the city's wall was crumbled, and pieces blocked the entrance.
A white-haired person was treating injured people. I couldn't tell if one of them was Rudy, and I certainly didn't have time to check.
Recovered from my attack, the demonic girl stood up, lifting the greatsword with ease and getting ready herself as well.
The air around me still felt cold, but something else was off. I got the same feeling a second before she teleported each time, and the destination point became clear to me. It was as if my skin became my eyes.
"You seem to have become stronger, Paul. Impressive for your type," Ghislaine commented without looking at me.
"All circumstantial. But I hope it's enough to fight beside you," I shot back, nostalgia giving me extra confidence thanks to her.
I lasted this long thanks to that boost the slimy guy gave me. Otherwise, I would have been cut from the first strike.
But with someone strong to back up, I felt... how do I say... Ah! Yes. I was exhilarated!
I don't know where it stemmed from, but the anticipation I felt of experiencing another immersive rush was fueling my resolve to defeat this thing.
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