Protectors
"Gather the dark energy and shoot it in a single ball, Demon Sphere!" Kieran shouted as he shot his hand out.
Kieran aimed his attack at a giant boar creature with outgrown tusks and six eyes on its head. The creature boasted a set of feathered wings, its eyes glowing bright red in the daylight. Its teeth, jagged and tainted red.
Kieran hurled the attack at the boar. He pushed his hand forward and the attack left his hand and traveled through the air. Just a few seconds later, and the blast connected. The dark energy burned through the flesh of the beast, making sure not to damage the body severely and the creature perished soon after.
He then began to walk towards beast and started thinking of a way for him to transport it back to the village. "I'm not sure if demon energy can be used for levitation."
Upon making it right in front of the dead carcass, he heard the sound of another beast crying out in pain not too far away.
"She really doesn't like to waste time. I guess a couple years of experience has made her so used to hunting."
Kieran placed both of his hands together, and the dark red aura began to form. Standing just a couple feet away from the dead beast, he attempted to channel the energy the same way that magic users would channel their magic in order to cast a levitation spell.
Kieran didn't have much experience with using demonic energy, the only skill he had learnt being demon sphere. Hence, he was wondering if the dark aura could also be used to carry heavy objects. As the energy enveloped his hands, he began to move them, trying to direct his energy towards the carcass, though not in a way that would lead to it's destruction.
"I hope this works," Kieran said as the dark aura left his hands. "Don't blast it to bits."
A cloud of dust immediately formed as the blast hit the ground, barely missing the dead body. The demon sphere had failed to hit its target, moreover, it was clear that the energy was still far too unstable for what he was intending to do.
As the dust started to settle down, he looked down at his palm, seeing some reminants of the dark energy still lingering. When the dark essence eventually vanished, a sharp pain shot through his arm going all the way to his right shoulder. He instantly screamed out in pain as his hand shook uncontrollably.
The moment that the pain reached his shoulder, a severe headache also inflicted him.
"What the heck is going on?"
"This is the influence of the demonic energy," Drakthos replied, his voice filled with glee.
After that, Kieran gripped his right arm that was dangling on his side. To his surprise, a group of men had appeared in the forest clearing. Instead of running away, he began to gather the demonic energy in his other hand.
"I hope this doesn't happen again. I want to see what I can really do."
It was a hot and sunny day in Sunhaven, and a couple of men had arrived and readied their magic to challenge him. His right hand had already been damaged by the demonic energy, but he could still use his other hand instead. He had read about the side effects of demonic energy from that book and how to counter them. However, countering the effects was stated to be a very difficult and complex procedure.
He didn't bother waiting for them to rush towards him, he gathered the energy and formed a demon sphere in his hand. As he ran forward, he felt his heart rate increase exponentially with each stride he took. His right arm was still in severe pain, though the adrenaline did help in soothing some of the pains, allowing him to now move the arm albeit with struggle. However,he didn't want to channel the demonic energy with his right hand for fear of what further damage it might get put through. He didn't want to permanently damage his arm. Certain injuries were too severe for even magic to heal.
When he finally made it to the man at the front, he immediately went to swing his hand. Standing just a couple feet away the demon sphere left his hand and struck the man across his chest. He yelled out in pain, the demonic energy burning through his flesh.
He then rushed towards the next man, quickly gathering the energy to form another demon sphere. It was the strategy he quickly devised upon seeing these men approaching him. From the man's hands came out a bright yellow beam of energy that shot out, moving quickly through the air. The attack was fast though Kieran was able to dodge it. The next moment, he stood right in front of the man while he was still launching the attack, and with his hand outstretched, he blasted the demon sphere against the man's chest. There were now only two men left. Meanwhile, one of them had regained his composure and quickly casted a magic spell.
"Let's see you dodge this," the man said as he recited the incantation.
From the ground right below Kieran sprouted out numerous roots that wrapped around his legs and quickly moved all the way to his upper body.
"Vinus Extendus. This should hold you in place." The man then started to chant another spell as a bright yellow ball of energy began to form between his hands.
"This is for the people of Stormridge Outpost who have died because of you all!" The man then proceeded to pour all of his magic power into the attack and shot it out in a single beam, but the energy beam was stronger than the one shot by the first man.
Scared, Kieran frantically tried to free himself of the roots while the man was gathering his magic. Doing all he could to escape, yet the roots didn't even bodge.
"Come on. Why can't I rip this off? Why am I so weak?"
Ten seconds - This was all the time he had to break free before the attack was launched. Not only did he not manage to escape, but the attack had collided with him head-on. He had even tried biting through the roots, wriggling his body, bulging his muscles, thus nothing had worked to help set him free.
Standing straight up, his body was severely damaged by the attack, numerous burn marks formed all over his body. He didn't even look to be conscious at the moment. With this, it seemed like the men had taken out a potential future threat.
Upon turning around, the dead beast could be seen.
"Let's take that carcass back to the village. I'm sure that old woman would pay considerably for this kill."
The mention of him getting a considerable payment was enough to make the other man jump with glee as he immediately went to work. The other man then went ahead to pick up the bodies of both of his accomplices. They were still alive, except for the fact that their bodies were severely damaged and it would take a lot of magic to help heal their wounds.
With no clue as to who the boy was, they decided to take him along with them since they were fascinated by the kind of magic he had displayed. Of course, they were unaware of demonic energy or the existence of demons, but they decided to take him along since they were curious to find out how such a young boy was able to take out two newly ascended adept magic users with ease. The journey back would take a while, but with their stamina, they decided that they would run back to make the trip shorter.
Every individual, especially from the younger generation that dabbled in magic in Stormridge Outpost, possessed impressive physique and physical prowess. This was to make up for their lack of magic talent, and to show the neighbouring village that they were not weak.
When the conflict between both villages initially began, a select group of people with special physical abilities had been discovered amongst the villagers. These people possessed the potential to become superhuman. They began to learn how to draw their bodies's raw power and use it to complement their magic since a strong body was just as important as magic was to a sorcerer. Even so, despite their ingenuity, Sunhaven was still the superior one in terms of magic prowess.
Obviously enough, the conflict had lead to the death of numerous people, and instead of both villages to try and find a way to peacefully settle their differences, they allowed vengeance to cloud their judgement and the conflict raged on. Only the stronger living settlement between the two would be left standing if the conflict progresses.
It was the way things were. Power had given people a deeper desire to seek conflict from one another, unlike before.
The leader of the group was one of those superhumans, along with the other man who hadn't attacked. The both of them played vital roles in helping Stormridge Outpost defend against invaders, and the village had many. Not only from Sunhaven, but from other settlements from far beyond, wanting to loot the village of its resources and leave it's citizens with little to nothing. They were assigned as the protectors of the village. They were pretty much second to the mercenaries who were just below the mage in terms of rank.
"Where do you think you guys are going?" A voice said, and a woman appeared in their path.
Raising both her hands, she started reciting a spell. She gathered her magic power and shot out short beams of energy towards them both. She noticed that they were easily dodging the energy beams, so she quickly pulled out her bow and arrow and started shooting out enchanted arrows.
"Come on! Why are you guys so damn fast?!" She shouted as she tried to land a hit with her arrows. The fear she had been trying to hide ever since seeing that man easily take out Kieran was starting to get to her.
Unfortunately, she quickly ran out of arrows, the last one being held in her grasp as her hand trembled.
She placed the arrow and shot it out.
"Why do I have to deal with such weaklings?"
The next moment, Sidney felt a force push her abdomen, sending her body flying back and crashing into a tree stem. As her body laid there unmoving, the other man gave the leader a look as he licked his lips.
The man looked quite interested in the young beauty, but however, the other man glared at him as he shook his fist, indicating that he didn't have time for such foolishness.
The other man then quickly apologized for his behavior. The desire in his eyes had vanished and with that a hint of fear could be seen.
"Let's pick up the pace!"
The day eventually came to an end. Seven hours later, it was finally getting dark, and Hector was starting to worry about what could be keeping Sidney and Kieran out for this long. Hector couldn't stop thinking that something bad must have happened to them. He had an odd premonition that something terrible had happened. The sound of a wolf howling from the forest only helped to further solidify his fear. Nevertheless, he didn't want anything bad to happen to his daughter and was already getting ready to head out and look for her.
When he left the house, he caught sight of a woman dressed in all black standing not too far away. At the same time, she rushed towards him in a flash. Hector's vision began to fade, and with that, his consciousness.
"Time to get revenge on these evil people."
He was the first of many that would be killed by her hands, and she was already excited to meet her next victim.