Convir's POV:
Crack!
A slight fissure, as though the Devil in front of me were a mirror, formed on her face. Then from that crack, more began to appear, until eventually, the entire thing shattered with tiny swords being sent every which way, leaving nothing but the dirt on the ground, the trees around, and the clouds in the sky.
"Damn it! We were wrong Medisma."
"I can see that. Well, we'd better chase after the real one then. It won't be difficult with the cameras we have hanging around everywhere."
"Well, how are we supposed to use the cameras without the people we had controlling them?"
"... I'll have to get back to you on that."
"Great. We'll just have to search around then, and if we're lucky, we'll find her before we hear her."
"Let's split up this time, once one of us finds her, we'll make as much noise as possible. That way she won't have enough time to do something big."
"Alright, I'll get the East half, and you'll do the West."
She nodded her head at me and, with fire on her heels, and a useless cane in her hand, ran away. I then turned in the opposite direction and infused Genesis Liquid into my legs to try and search faster, though it was probably futile. More likely than not, we'd end up apprehending her once a couple of students were already dead. It gave my brain a headache just thinking about the paperwork and PR that I'd have to do after this.
I was running through the forest, waiting to hear or see something as thoughts ran through my mind, 'What a crafty Devil, she recognized our weakness so quickly and exploited it so decisively. And to think there was such a Fruit that she could use to clone herself... No, more likely than not it was a combo move. It couldn't be a Spell because it didn't change the battlefield enough...'
I sighed audibly as I thought back to how helpless we were back there, 'This'll be quite the setback for us... which does make me wonder: Why did they attack us? A Devil attacking random people wasn't something new, but the boss of the group we were dealing with wasn't stupid. And that's what makes this all confusing to me. A Devil would do anything for strength, so why wouldn't they attack the sect instead of the place where a lot of our strength was congregated? Then there was also the timing aspect; How did they know today was the day of our practical exam? Normally this area would have nothing besides flora and dirt.'
After hitting the end of where students should be, I turned around and went to cover more area, 'Was it a personal attack? Someone might have offended a Devil before, but looking at the leader of the group once again, that was unlikely. What was the benefit of attacking here instead of at the sect where they could make a quick dime and then run? Were they looking for someone specifically? They did seem very fixated on the students. The only person that I could imagine having the influence to pull in a 2nd half Coal Class Devil would be Quis; perhaps something happened in his forgotten past that he can't remember and they caught wind of it.'
I shook my head at my own thought, 'No, that wouldn't make any sense. If I were a Devil and I wanted to hunt Quis, I would stalk him until he was unguarded and then attack, not attack when he would have the most support. So then why would a seemingly smart person do something so dumb? One option was that there was a valuable resource that only was here at a specific time in the year. But the most likely option was that money was involved. After all, it is what keeps the world moving.'
I made another turn, now running back to the end of the given area, 'But how would attacking our Elders and students help them make money?... I see now, we must have a hit placed on us. Someone paid them money to hunt us, and if I had to guess, it was probably channeled through The Underground. Damn Chaotic Organization. They're always causing trouble somehow. And they're the only reason Devils are still popping up. Unfortunately, they have their grip on every Region, otherwise, we might not be having this issue right now... But it's just how it is. I don't have nearly enough strength to get rid of them, so I just have to deal with them. Instead, I should be focusing on who gave the money-'
BOOM!
A loud explosion sounded out near the center of the perimeter, bringing my attention to it, 'That's where Quis is fighting the Salamander is it not? In that case, maybe that was him finishing the thing off... no wait... oh no. This isn't good.'
I immediately turned around and began my sprint to where the explosion came from, 'If this group of Devils were bought out with money to attack us, then what would the person who bought them want? It's so obvious now. They're attempting to weaken us by taking out high-level combatants, and they won't have a drop of blood on their hands afterward because of how secretive The Underground is. And since they knew as much as they already did, it wasn't unreasonable for them to know about Quis and his capabilities. And because he was making such a ruckus fighting, she must've been attracted to him like a moth to a lamp!'
This was horrible. Quis may be strong for both his age and Class, but that was a 2nd half Coal Class Devil! He doesn't stand a chance. If he died, then it would cause this impasse between us and the L'Amour Family to stand tall for who knows how long. So I ran as fast as I could. It took just about a minute and a half because of the great distance, but once I showed up I sighed in relief. He was still alive, and the old man was also backing them up, and most importantly, the Devil we were chasing was only sitting on top of the Salamander's headless body, watching her subordinate fight.
The bushes rattled next to me, begging for my attention, so I averted my eyes and caught Medisma walking up to me, "I see you're relieved."
I took a breath in as I turned to the battlefield in front of me, "Yeah, of course I am. Quis is a great strategic resource for us, and not only that, but I do feel a sort of attachment to the kid. I remember when I went through the same thing as him. You're happy and cheery one second, and then the next, the cruelty of the world crushes you... Luckily he has a good head on his shoulders, so he didn't react like I did."
Medisma put her hand on my shoulder, "I understand. I also enjoyed his company somewhat, but let us not forget that he's a sly fox. We're lucky he has any loyalty at all, so let's make sure we use it to the best of our ability. Now, do you want to hunt a Devil with me?"
I nodded my head with a complicated smile on my face, "Let's do this."
With my confirmation, we both jumped out of the shrubbery and the Devil's head snapped to meet us, "I've been waiting for you, let's finish our earlier bout."
By the time she made her declaration, we were close enough to start fighting. I lunged at her while activating my Magic Art at the same time. Once I activated my Magic Art, my mind numbed and felt more connected to the ground than ever before. If it were my first time using this, then I would be sucked into the feeling, but now I could control it. Out of the ground beneath me, two thick tree roots reached out and flung me into the air. As I flew into the sky, the roots followed me and once I lost all of my momentum, I grabbed onto the rightmost root and ripped it out of the ground.
The other root positioned itself behind me and thrusted me forward. The root in my hand twisted in on itself until it made itself into a primitive two-sided spear. Then, using the other root, I hurled it at the Devil. Just as the root was about to pierce her stomach, she twisted her hand, and in it, a curved dagger appeared. She slid the edge of her blade on the root while twisting her body, causing it to barely miss her.
While she twisted it though, she also found time to swing her dagger and send a sword flying at me. I used the root near me to block, and then catch me in mid-air as I waited for my other root to return to me. Right after she threw the sword at me, she had turned her body and now with a curved dagger in both hands, made an X-shape. Just as she did this, gliding on the ground as though it were ice, Medisma held two flaming poles in her hands and whirled both of them at her. They ended up hitting the two daggers, causing the Devil to fly backward.
From behind her, a third root busted out of the earth and whipped itself backward, and then forward, aiming to strike her. But just as she was about to get nailed, she turned around and her daggers danced through the root. By the time she had landed back on the ground, the entire root was chopped to bits. Unfortunately for her, however, just as she landed, a ball of fire hit her in the back, taking her by surprise.
She flung back to where she was originally, this time with a charred back. I took this opportunity to make two more roots sprout from either side of her. Once they were in the air, taking turns, they whacked themselves into the ground, back up, and back down. My roots weren't inhibited at all, and ran free, making me a little bit suspicious. I scanned to battlefield trying to find the Devil in case she escaped, but as soon as I looked below me, I noticed something. The root I was standing on was being burnt by black flames. By the time I noticed, it was already too late and the root shriveled into a fragile string of wood, causing me to fall.
I fell from about ten meters in the air, so when I hit the ground directly on my stomach, I heard a few cracks spread from my rib cage, and I could definitely feel them as well. Not only did I feel them break, but with every movement I made, I could feel a sharp pain from my insides as the broken pieces of bone lacerated my insides. Eventually, I got up and yelled at Medisma who was closely observing the Devil, "Be careful! She has the Flame of Death!"
I didn't want to, but I had to use the final healing Fruit I had on me before the internal bleeding, which was probably already occurring, got any worse. Plus it would be very difficult to efficiently fight through this pain. Once the healing Fruit took effect, rejuvenation spread throughout my every pore, putting me back into the game.
As soon as I got up, a root sprung from the ground and bounced me into the air, dodging the black flame-covered sword that was just thrown at me. I returned my attention to the Devil, and when I did, I was able to see the tens of other swords being thrown at me with each swing she took. I dodged to the left, and then to the right, then I had to use a root to block, causing it to shrink back into the ground. It went on like this for the next twenty swords she swung at me.
During that time, Medisma was distracting her so that she couldn't try to attack me while I was dodging her attacks. She dual-wielded her two fire-full poles and engaged in a deep dual against the Devil. The sound of collision was apparent, and the flames along with the sparks that flew off during battle only added to the beauty.
The Devil turned slightly, and after noticing that I was back on my feet, she frowned slightly before her body shone a pure light. This white light divided into two, and once the light faded, two of the same Devil were standing there. One went after me and the other went after Medisma. It was the same trick that messed us up before. But, this time, it wouldn't end the same.
I smiled slightly as I raised my fist high into the air. Four tall pillars of wood uprooted the sky, creating a wooden prison of sorts. The Devil was trapped inside of this arrangement. Her blade turned into flame and she attempted to attack the wood, but before she was able to, I formed my fist into a palm and said, "Fortify."
Suddenly, a golden sheen of light covered the pillars of wood, and once her blade made contact with the roots, it simply slid right off. Just as it looked like she was about to make a big move, I closed my palm back into a fist and said, "Oh, my dear roots: Expand."
As soon as I said this, sharp spear-like, branches barged out of the already established trunks, and as they passed through the Devil's body, she shattered into sword gallor. I had already predicted this might happen, so I didn't let it get to me, instead, I looked over to see what Medisma was dealing with, but when I did, I noticed she was looking at me in the same way. I felt something was off the moment I couldn't find the Devil, and the whisper in my ear proved me right, "You missed me."
Plunge!
I looked down at my stomach and saw that two pitch-black daggers were sticking in the inside of both sides of my gut. It was a sudden shock, so there was no pain the be felt, but then she suddenly pulled outward, ripped layers of muscle and flesh along with her. The two new flaps of skin I had dangled to the ground as blood sprayed out of them. And now, the pain was intolerable. It wasn't the same pain you received from being hit with something or being cut, no, it was much deeper than that. It was as if, my very soul had been struck, causing me to fall over in a state of absolute pain and drowsiness.
But before I fully lost consciousness, I caught myself on my back foot. I knew something amazing was about to happen. From behind the unsuspecting Devil, Medisma suddenly appeared, and like a serpent, she struck. Her poles whacked her right in her achilleas, causing her to fall forward on top of me. Like this, I could fall asleep at least knowing that we had a chance to take her out.
My brain slowly faded as the visceral pain rumbled within every part of my body, but just as I was about to lose myself to the void that was passing out, I heard a familiar voice, "Oh Devil, why don't you come over here and give me a try?!! I've been dying to test some new techniques out! You'll work perfectly as a practice dummy!"
'S...Spiravit?'
However, before I could hear anymore, I was already fast asleep.