"How valiant. But even the rock breaks!"
The demon opened his cloak. Its inner side was absolutely dark—as dark as Zemin's Void Portals, just a hole in reality, from which leaped black and mangy demonic dog, and then immediately two more. At the same time, the other dogs stepped out from behind their master's back.
"Don't let him summon more demons! Open fire!" Jagger shouted.
He shot first, but Angor dodged the bullet with an effortless tilt of his head.
Several more bullets from Adia and her partner flew next, aimed for Angor's body, but the demon danced away from their path as if they were merely slow insects, laughing all the while. Each of his movements was full of uncanny grace.
[Angor
Danger grade: B.
Reaction speed: B.
Movement speed: B.]
[Energy reserve: 118 units.]
The differences in danger grades and Psionic ranks increased more and more at higher ranks. Although Angor was less than a full grade faster than Zemin, the difference was like between Heaven and Earth, and Angor just showed it.
"W-what this monster does here?!" Adia asked. "Aren't demons of that power supposed to stay safe behind the backs of hundreds of minions, somewhere in a nice, safe command bunker?!"
Zemin had the same question. With that level of power, Angor could've been the right hand of some demonic Prince—a foul leader, whose power was comparable to the angelic ruler of a Holy Dominion's sector.
'At least Narcisa is behind somewhere. She's not that good at fighting, so she better stay away,' Zemin thought, feeling cold sweat on his back.
He took aim at the demon too, but was the last to shoot. When he did, his bullets went at the dog demon that was about to lunge at Adia's partner. They sent it to the ground with a head full of holes and made other dog demons nearby pause for a moment.
Angor stopped laughing, and his expression darkened. He opened his cloak, summoning five more dog demons, then pointed at the group of Psionics.
"You keep killing my dogs… So you will have to take their place. Maim them!"
The dog demons obeyed the command, lunging as one. Now they moved with great coordination, attacking from several sides at once.
Zemin shot two more bullets and ran out. Instead of reloading, he put the gun away and took the sword in both hands, slicing every dog that approached him.
"Damned mutts!" Adia shouted, swinging her sword. She holstered her gun, too, and a wave of flame poured from her other hand, setting several dogs aflame. While they were distracted, her partner finished them off.
Jagger was the one least threatened by the dog demons. They couldn't even approach him—each who tried was sent flying into a tree. Two were impaled on branches before the others got more cautious.
Despite this carnage, the man kept trying to shoot Angor—but the demon constantly moved, hovering on the edge of the fight, using Jagger's teammates to block his line of sight.
Zemin watched the demon with a corner of his eye, not liking his inaction at all. And he was right.
"Enough."
The miasma-filled air grew silent and glass-thick. The only sounds left were heavy breathing and the rush of blood in Zemin's ears. Everything else was frozen—just like Zemin's body.
He couldn't move, and neither could his team. Invisible, oppressive force held their bodies in place. Zemin felt it—it was much more than a layer of telekinesis.
Angor had turned all the negative energy that was spilled in the air against them!
'How is that possible?! This negative energy—it's not Angor's, it's just there, but he controls it like his own!'
Angor calmly walked towards the group, and the still alive dog demons gathered behind him again.
Zemin frantically pushed with his Psi-energy against Angor's hold. He could do it—Angor's energy didn't stop Zemin's. But he couldn't counteract it, either!
So instead, he used telekinesis to lift a nearby rock—which wasn't affixed in place—and threw it at Angor's head.
It was only slightly slower than a bullet, but the demon still caught it bare-handed.
"Don't bother. You fell into the trap of the Master of Beasts—there's no escape, humans. Gnaw off your legs, turn on each other—if you amuse me, I will consider making you my pets. How about that, Loann? You could kill other Psionics here easily, and then you will get to live!"
Loann Jagger didn't reply—instead, he tried to set Angor on fire with Psi-energy, but the demon counteracted his efforts.
It wasn't as effortless, though. Zemin felt a twitch of his body—as if the invisible shackles wavered.
'Void System, did I imagine this?'
New information appeared in the air.
[Angor
Control: B.]
Zemin glanced at his comrades. Adia stared ahead with eyes full of shock and fear—her Psi-energy fruitlessly tried to set him free. Her partner—
Angor flicked his wrist and sent Zemin's rock flying at the man's stomach. It hit him with a thud and a squelching sound, making Adia's partner let out a wordless moan of pain.
He was still alive and trapped and couldn't even fall.
Jagger roared through closed lips and his Psi-energy flowed out of him at Angor again. When the demon shook off that attack, the shackles didn't even shake.
Adia's Psi-energy flared and flickered out when Angor dashed towards her. In a blink of an eye, he was grinning fiendishly down at her.
Zemin stopped thinking.
Stopped hesitating and being cautious.
There was always only one way.
He opened a Void Portal, and it swallowed Angor whole.