Luan's parents walked out of their house with stiff expressions, with the woman holding a spear and the man wielding a club. If any of the villagers were present, they would have mistaken them as Luan's parents if not for the crimson hue that reigned in their eyes.
None of them spoke as they walked in tandem to the middle of the village. There, a man dressed in a grey robe stood silently as he gazed into the evening sky. He tapped his metallic cane on the ground before looking at the two arrivals.
"Demonic parasites… to think I had such creatures right under my nose. I'm such a useless man," the man spoke dejectedly.
The demonic parasites being addressed remained silent.
"I have to agree with you, old man," a cheerful female voice said with a melodic laugh. The head nurse walked out with an elegant smile plastered on her rosy lips. She was nothing like the nurse that was known to the villagers.
In place of the elderly head nurse stood a graceful figure with well-lined eyebrows and emerald eyes. She was dressed in an elegant black robe and gloves that reached all the way to her elbows.
The man, seeing this, just sighed. "I have no objection to the talented witch Trissy of the Devani choosing to advance with my village. They are just mortals."
He lifted his cane, and energy came from his body to coalesce into a ball of fire. His cane was raised higher, then four more fireballs appeared in front of him.
"Fire barrage," he muttered as the fireballs rapidly flew towards the demonic parasites and Trissy.
Trissy pointed a finger at the three fireballs coming towards her.
"Curse," she softly muttered. A trail of fine black mist came out of her hand and assaulted the fireballs, causing them to darken. The fireballs, now black in colour, came to a stop in front of Trissy, then flew back towards the man at twice their actual speed.
The demonic parasites, meanwhile, simply formed a barrier of red energy around themselves before coating their weapons in the same energy and dashing towards their opponents.
The male went for the man.
The female went for Trissy.
The man who had to face the brunt of the cursed fireballs and the demonic parasite raised his staff once again and pointed to the cursed fireballs that were almost in his face and sent an even larger fireball that completely encompassed the incoming curse balls, burning them to nothingness.
He brought his staff down, making it collide with the incoming club, released a blue flame at point blank range, leaving no room for the demonic parasite to dodge as his head was completely engulfed in flames.
The man crashed into one of the corpses, causing his body to be covered in the crimson liquid oozing from the corpse. Then, he stood up and pointed his cane to the demonic parasite that was almost upon him, still with a burning head.
The man clicked his tongue as he was sent flying from another physical clash. 'I forgot these parasites don't feel pain when they're parasitizing…'
His thoughts were promptly returned to the battle when a strong impact, stronger than before, flung his cane away and left his palm bleeding. He groaned, but a fire dragon came out and engulfed the parasite, taking it by surprise.
As he picked his staff and prepared to cast another spell, when a loud clang reminiscent of metal striking metal assaulted his ears, causing him to look at his back.
A smile never left Trissy's lips as she blocked every thrust and sweep the demonic parasite's spear threw at her with her whip. Her movements were graceful like a ball dance and she moved her whip with frightening mastery, causing small marks to appear on the body of the demonic parasite.
Normally, this wouldn't affect the parasite itself since it could dwell anywhere within its host's body, but Trissy was a witch, one who specialised in curses. Although the marks weren't doing anything to it yet, the parasite was growing as uneasy as a parasite could be.
Frustrated, it caused more red energy to form around its weapon as it thrust at Trissy's heart with all the force it could muster—which was quite the force, compared to any human.
Trissy was taken by surprise by the sudden burst of power and speed that she failed to parry in time with her whip. A smile appeared on the parasite's feminine face as it felt the tip of the spear connect to Trissy's chest, but turned to shock when a metallic clang rang out.
The floor behind Trissy cracked, but she stood there, unmoved. Her smile was gone, replaced by an expression of disdain. She gripped the hand that held the spear and yanked it, tearing the arm off its socket. Without pausing, she gripped the parasite's head and flooded the whole body with black mist.
When the mist disappeared, all that was left was the bent spear.
The parasite and the man froze when they saw this scene, then a hoarse laughter escaped his mouth. "I'd rather end it myself!"
Veins pulsed rhythmically on the man's body before swelling and exploding into morbid fireworks. This explosion also engulfed the parasite, erasing it from the face of the earth.
Trissy looked at the spot where the man had once been empathetically, then a smile appeared on her face as she felt her power surge higher than ever before.
She took one last look at the gory scene in the village and chuckled in satisfaction. "I miss home," she muttered before disappearing from the spot.
An hour after she left, a bloody figure emerged from the distance and walked to the village square. It was a male that looked no older than fourteen. He had white hair that was now stained by patches of blood and dark skin that was somehow in perfect harmony with his deep blue eyes.
Luan picked up the broken spear and looked up at the moon that was appearing.
"She has a home, huh?"