"Arch Demon...?" I mutter to myself.
"Archdemon?!?" Yukki shouted, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Don't worry; they might be a little tough, but they're easy to beat!" I gave her a reassuring smile.
"Really?" Yukki still looked concerned, her brow furrowed.
"Yes, I've beaten them countless times already, so I know what I'm doing." I offered my hand to comfort her, and she hesitated for a moment before taking it.
"I-I will help you fight the demon!" Yukki declared with newfound determination.
"Oh... sure, just be careful with their mana." I smiled, appreciating her enthusiasm but also worried for her safety.
"Yuna and Yukki! Are you two doing a quest?" A familiar voice called from nearby.
"Oh, Alex! Yeah, we're on a quest right now!" I replied, waving at him.
"Good luck out there! I heard there are some demons lurking around the forest, so be careful when you do your quest!" Alex laughed and patted my back.
"Hmm, you don't need to worry. We will be careful. Then, we'll be right back!" I assured him as we made our way into the forest.
As we stepped into the dimly lit woods, I sensed the thick, dark mana in the air, pulsating ominously. We walked deeper until I finally spotted the source—a massive red boar, its eyes glowing with an eerie light. It seemed like it had been possessed by a demon, rampaging and smashing everything in its path. A smirk formed on my face; I had faced similar foes countless times before.
"Stay here, Yukki. You don't want to get hurt," I instructed, holding up a hand.
"R-Roger!" Yukki said, her voice shaky yet determined.
"Don't worry, it will end quickly." I disappeared into the underbrush, my heart racing with excitement.
"Hey there, boar," I called out, drawing its attention. It glared at me, snorting in challenge, but I stood my ground, unflinching.
"So, I'm just going to kill this thing, and then I will rank up to C rank immediately? Sounds easy enough," I said, pulling out my magic sword and pointing it at the boar.
"Keke, human! Do you think you can beat me, the top 10 demon general, with that wooden sword?!" a voice echoed in my head.
Is this telepathy? I was a bit surprised, but the demon's words didn't faze me. After all, everyone could use telepathy as basic magic in my world.
"That's right! I will defeat you with this wooden sword to show you how weak you are!" I shouted back.
The boar charged at me with a powerful tackle. It was strong, but its speed was laughable. I didn't even need to move aside.
"Are you really a top 10 demon general? Because you're slow as heck. I don't even need to dodge," I said, confidently stopping the boar's charge with just my finger. I'd enchanted my finger with body-strengthening magic, just in case.
"Impossible! How can you stop my tackle with just one finger?! Who are you?" The boar's voice dripped with confusion and anger.
"How boring... I don't even need to use magic." I grabbed its horn and delivered a light punch to its face. The boar was sent crashing backward into a tree, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"What did you do?!" it roared, its voice filled with rage.
"Nothing, I just touched you lightly," I replied nonchalantly, raising my hand toward the boar. "Weakest fire spell, fireball!" A small fireball materialized in my palm, radiating with potential energy.
"Who the hell are you?!?!?!" the boar screamed as I hurled the fireball at it.
The tiny sphere of flames erupted upon impact, engulfing the area in a fiery blaze. The force of the explosion sent shockwaves through the forest, scorching everything in front of me.
I might have overdone it with my mana usage, but I relished the thrill. Just then, I heard rustling behind me.
"Who is that?" I asked, instinctively pointing my wooden sword at the bushes.
"Wait, wait! It's me, Yuna!" Yukki emerged, her eyes wide with shock at the destruction around her.
"Ah, it's Yukki! I've completed my quest. Let's go back, shall we?" I beamed at her.
"No... aren't we going to get scolded for this?" Yukki pointed at the smoldering remnants of the forest.
"No, it's fine. The Guildmaster never told me that I can't destroy a little part of the forest. Tehe!" I chuckled, waving off her concern.
"Well, the Guildmaster is probably going to be surprised about this..." Yukki sighed, her brow furrowing as she surveyed the damage.
"He probably will be. Well then, let's go back to the guild!" I took Yukki's hand and began heading straight to the main gate.
As we approached the guild, we were met by Alex again. "Oh! Yukki and Yuna! You two are back! I'm glad. When I heard your mission was to subjugate the demon, I immediately started to worry. But if you come back in one piece, then I assume you defeated the demon, right? Hahaha!"
"Yes, we did defeat the demon, and we're about to report it to the Guildmaster right now, so we're going. See you later, Alex!" We waved to him and proceeded to the guild.
But as we were about to speak with Aira, three figures stepped into our path, blocking the way. They were clad in dark cloaks, their eyes glinting with menace.
"Hold it right there," one of them sneered, crossing his arms.