"Hey," I said, pointing at the central of the hamlet. "Let's go to that tent, and do cover for me," I asked of him before swiftly getting up and dashed there.
Despite not receiving any explanation, Lucius also got up to his feet and followed my steps. Most of their men had been massacred by Lucius previously, but a few still stood firmly on guard at that one tent. There must be either something important or their boss in there.
*But I only want to rescue Louie.*
The guards began to launch their attacks on me, but Lucius immediately parred it away. He single-handedly fought all of the guards to make an opening for me. In a matter of seconds, he already took one of them down.
*I'd hate to fight that guy. Fortunately, he's on my side…* I can't help but be in awe of his strength yet again.
As the guards had been fully occupied, I slashed down the tent to make a flashy entry. I could just normally enter through the entrance but I don't want to. A rotten smell of flesh struck my nose straight away while nasty grey fog was blocking my vision.
"Shit, so filthy!" My hand waved the smell off, although it's not working apparently.
While I was criticising the disgusting hellhole of a place, a croaking voice was heard from within the fog. "You've made it here…,"it said
"I'd appreciate it if I could see the one who's talking to me," I replied in annoyance, starting to get irritated from the stink.
"Come closer...."
"If it's a bit cleaner, I would."
"…."
"Anyway, I believe that you had detained a young boy with golden eyes here?"
My eyes squinted very hard in search for Louie, but to no avail, the fog was too thick for me to see anything through. Not to mention how disgusting it smelt like.
"Yes…he is a good sacrifice for us to revive the demon king era. Once we had enough magic power we wil—"
"Aghhh, stop that! I don't want to go through your evil plan shit," I cut his story short. "Just bring him here and I'd be very grateful for it, demon king-wannabe or whatever you are." Clicking my tongue, I picked my ear rather listlessly.
"…."
"...What?"
"Such an insolent human...."
The croaking voice was fuelled with rage despite being low in amplitude. It was gradually unnerving me that I had to stop picking on my ear. Following his last remark, a shadow began to emerge from behind the fog.
*Uh-oh. Seems that I pissed it off,* I thought.
The figure sauntered close enough for me to see. It was a cloaked individual that's abnormally bulked up as if he took multiple injections of steroids, though they don't have it here. Upon closer look, its skin was blackened. Usually, people with dark attribute will have an unnaturally blackened skin as the darkness slowly consumed them. Of course, it doesn't look as beautiful as tanned skin, more like a burnt one, instead. It's also different from a naturally dark skinned people, this one is rotten and looks like a nasty scalp.
Maybe this guy is the vessel for the so-called demon king they're making. The face was half-covered in hideous mask, leaving only the lower part visible. Surprisingly, he was smiling. A couple of shadow tentacles slithered at my feet as he came even closer.
"Hey, hey— let's not get too touchy here!" I hastily slashed the tentacles, just for it to reconnect again.
"That's futile, though I commend your efforts," he snickered.
The tentacles suddenly tightened, tying my legs together and caused me to lose my balance. It was so firmly coiled around my legs that I couldn't move it at all! Seeing his smug grin, I infused my sword with my mana again and used 'Windslash' to attack him, but the cloaked individual simply slapped it away.
*Shoot, my attacks were merely a fly to him!*
Upon my bewilderment, a whip-like shadow swung my way and hit my side, ripping my shirt and skin. I could feel fresh blood trickling from the wound, accompanied by a stinging pain.
"KEUGHH—" I grunted, clutching onto the open wound.
"HAHAHA, look at how helpless you are!" The croaking voice laughed delightfully. "You shouldn't have been so rude before."
"Son of a b—ch!" I cursed, raising my middle finger at him.
"Don't be too harsh. You'll be a part of me soon…" he snickered before continuing eerily, "…as a sacrifice, that is."
Using my free hand, I accumulated my remaining mana to cast 'Gustblast', clearing the fog and causing the tent to get all tattered up. My mana is currently running low and the effect from the previous fight is getting to me. It is fortunate that I could even stand after getting slammed to the ground like that.
*Aish, I just respawned and had to go through this shit again.*
However, I can rest assured as I have the best card up my sleeve. That is, the one and only in this world;
"LUCIUS!" I summoned.
A dazzling sword passed the corner of my eye at once. It was so bright that it light up the tent. Even the wannabe was intimidated by my great summon.
*Heh, I got this light-attribute legendary Pozemon, you know?* I cheered inwardly. *Go, Pozemon Lucius!*
*Shouldn't you be the one fighting for him?* asked entity.
*Well, the stronger one should lead the fight,* I shrugged.
Just as I was about to ponder on the pros of this reversed-role, the battle began. Dozens of shadow tentacles darted towards Lucius. However, he slashed it all with ease using his light-infused sword.
*Lucky you, huh?* I watched with a tinge of jealousy of his attribute. He cut through that so easily while I look like a foolish Villager 1 trying to cut through a stream of water.
Lucius swiftly raised his sword to the opponent and blasted a fiery geyser at the masked man. It was so strong that I could feel the heat even after enveloping myself in mana protection. The later immediately casted a shadow barrier to block it, standing firm against the attack. As Lucius enhanced his spell, the barrier began to show a subtle crack. Not wishing to be pushed back, the masked man summoned more of the shadow tentacles, attacking Lucius from all directions.
*Woah, what a sight! How I wish I could munch on something while watching this.*
Despite getting immersed with the fight, I couldn't help but notice a rather unpleasant sensation on my lower half. My eyes reluctantly left the battle to take a look, only to be caught off guard by what I saw.
"Eeekk! What the f—k is that?!"
A shadow puddle was right beneath me, pulling my legs in. To be more accurate, it's like a shadow quicksand, slowly swallowing me up while the tentacles acted as its limbs. At the time, I had already been swallowed up to my ankles.
"SHIT, NO!"
I thrashed around to free my legs but the restrain didn't budge even a bit. Rather, it's pulling me in even more! The fact that my legs were tied up together wasn't helping, either. Both in situation and look. It's making me feel like a flapping fish in the mouth of a bigger sea creature! How humiliating!
Racking my brain to find an escape, I turned back at the battle deeper into the tent. Lucius was currently exchanging frightening blows with the masked man. The situation was undoubtedly favouring the former. Maybe the masked man wanted to use me as a boost to his energy.
*Like hell I'll allow that!*
Not wanting to be a real food source, I relentlessly slashed down the tentacles multiple times.
*There must be a limit as to how long it could last!*
*Plot Armour Left: 1*
"No, I don't want to use it," I declined entity's offer. There's only one left, I should use it for a better gain.
After slashing it up tenth of times, the tentacles began to regenerate slower. Perhaps the masked man channelled more of his mana to the battle, leaving this part with a limited amount.
*I could escape!*
My joy was cut short when a deafening scream filled the air. It was an irritating sound, like scratching multiple chalks on a blackboard.
"ARGHHHH!" The croaked voice shrieked in pain.
The masked man had hurled onto the ground, clutching onto his right shoulder. Black blood was gushing out of where his right arm used to be. The severed limb was seen at the far edge of the tent, dissipating into dust.
*It flew quite well,* I gawked.
The battle must've took a toll on his mana. If I'm not mistaken, he could regrow the limb or at least reattach it with the dark attribute, though the later won't be possible due to the distance. The fact that the shadow tentacles were generating slower further proved my guess.
"You've met your end, it seems," I muttered.
Suddenly, the masked man turned his focus on me. Despite not seeing his eyes, the gaze was so sharp that it hitched my breath. It was as if he's a predator looking at a prey. Simultaneously, the tentacles around my legs got exponentially stronger, pulling me in even faster!
"GAH! IT'S UP TO MY KNEES!"
As the masked man got distracted, Lucius immediately took the advantage and stabbed him through the heart. Blinding light shone from the sword as cracks of light began spreading across the rotten skin. As the screech of pain grew even more intense, my legs also got released. Without wasting any time, I rolled out of the puddle and snapped off the tentacles binding me.
"Damn, that was close!" I let out a deep sigh of relief. I had almost forgotten on how to breathe the second time today. Ahhh, breathing really is the best!
Once the masked man quieted down, Lucius pulled out his sword, causing the lifeless body to sprawl on the ground. It was slowly dissipating like the previously severed arm. Lucius seemed to be completely fine, only acquiring some minor scratches.
*How great,* I scoffed, still envious of his abilities.
Just as Lucius was about to say something, I got distracted with another sound.
"Hic…"
A small sniffle was faintly heard in between the mess. At the other side of the tent, I could spot a young boy curled up in a fetal position. He was holding his head in his hand, looking traumatised. One of his eyes was swollen and his fragile body was all battered up. The sight was heart-breaking for anyone, especially for me. The current Louie looked exactly like my little brother every time he got bullied. He'll quietly hid himself until all harm was gone.
Just like those time with my hiding little brother, I said the same thing again.
"….found you."