The next villager the Demon Lord pointed at was Brother Clyde. To his credit, the man struggled. He shouted prayers to the goddess, and it seemed difficult for the demons to keep hold of him, but not impossible.
The magma demon dragged him, kicking and screaming, towards the Demon Lord.
This was wrong. It was becoming impossible to sit back and watch, and James could tell Inara was feeling it, too. They’d seen the second magma demon chase after Desiree, and he’d had to hold her back.
“It’s okay,” he said. “She’s going to be fine.”
The first time he’d said that to her, she’d believed it. She’d softened and relaxed. This time, she glared at him. What was different?
It didn’t matter. If they waited any longer, Brother Clyde was going to be killed. It was obvious from the twisted expression on the Demon Lord’s face that he wasn’t going to let the priest live, not even to go through the portal.
“I’m going in,” Inara growled. “You can either come with me or watch me die.”
Then she shrugged off his hand and took off. “Let him go!” she shouted, immediately calling attention to herself. Her scythe swung loosely in her grip, almost casually as she prepared to join the fight.
James swore and followed. The sword in his hand didn’t feel like nearly enough. Weren’t heroes supposed to get epic weapons? Shouldn’t it be imbued with enough magic to overcome his humble origins? The weapon he held was just an old sword. It was dented in places, and pieces of the leather handle were beginning to flake off.
It was just a sword, and he was just a guy.
Your party has entered combat!
As always, Inara struck the first blow. She’d managed to swipe the Demon Lord’s legs in order to initiate the combat, which gave her time to attack him again during her turn. She darted away until she reached James, then held the Applewood Aegis between her and the Demon Lord.
James glanced between the two demons. The magma demon continued to stand its watch over the villagers as though the fight was not occurring — perhaps it needed a new order before it would change its focus? In which case, maybe they had time before it entered the fray.
Inara’s turn ended, but the James’s counter didn’t start. Confusion and anxiety stirring within him. Was there something to combat that he didn’t understand yet? Was there another demon at play, something invisible?
His mind raced in dozens of wrong directions, and then Desiree came running up, one slightly glowing bucket in her hand. She set it to the ground so roughly that some water sloshed over the side, and she bent with her hands on her knees. The first third of her health was depleted.
“Apple,” she huffed. Her health had dropped by about a third.
James tried to will an apple out of his inventory and into his hand, and to his surprise, it worked. She snatched it from him and ate quickly, filling her health back to full.
At last, his own timer appeared and he was able to move.
“Mana Bolt, Mana Bolt, Mana Bolt!” He pointed at the Demon Lord.
The magical attack was stronger than ever but barely dented the demon’s health. Altogether he maybe knocked off ten percent, with Inara’s strike taking care of another five. It wasn’t nearly enough. If that was how strong he was against their attacks, it followed that he would deal even more damage.
Enemy turn!
The Demon Lord waved at the magma demon. “Take them down,” he said, then leaned back on his heels.
James bared his teeth. The smug bastard didn’t think he needed to join the battle. Maybe that was standard for a Demon Lord — send the fodder in before getting his own hands dirty. That was fine. If anything, the demon was doing them a favor. Even Desiree could handle a magma demon on her own.
The magma demon’s turn finally arrived, and it went straight for Inara. It pounded on her shield once, then jerked back as a rotten apple core shot from the shield straight towards its face. It jerked back, unharmed. No damage, but it wasted valuable time. The demon pounded on the shield once more and it split down the middle, one enormous crack that branched out across the wooden panels. Fire licked at the edges of the shield, and James knew she would never use it again.
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Inara finally moved. Her health shrank under the influence of the magma demon’s fiery aura, but she didn’t flinch. She simply swung her scythe at the creature’s legs, once, twice, and a third time. Without having to run back to safety, she was able to attack multiple times before her turn ended.
Unlike the Demon Lord, this one took damage. Each blow knocked down a little more than a tenth of its health.
Then, it was Desiree’s turn. James tried to make sense of the change. In every other fight, he had gone after Inara. What was different?
Inara dunked the head of her stave into the holy water. It glowed brightly for a moment then faded to a soft luminescence. With her health full again from the apple, she ran towards the magma demon and smacked it in the face with the glowing head of her staff.
Critical hit!
The demon’s health shrank to half of what it was.
Critical hit!
The demon crumpled to the floor.
Defeated Magma Demon lvl 14!
EXP +5000
Your turn!
James startled at the notification. He was awed by Desiree’s attack. The girl had thought to coat her stave in holy water to make it critical against the evil creature. Brilliant!
But just because the magma demon was dead, didn’t mean the fight was over. The Demon Lord watched them with a twisted expression, furious at the loss of his minion. James could see it in his eyes that he wanted them all dead.
That was certainly another new experience. Even on his worst day back home, nobody had ever looked at him like that. If he’d had the time, he would have liked to really think about that. But he didn’t.
Even as he considered it, his turn ticked by with every second. He pointed at the demon.
“Mana Bolt, Mana Bolt, Mana—”
Enemy turn!
Shit! He’d gotten so caught up in the unreality of the situation that he’d missed his third shot. Even if the attacks only did a small amount of damage, every bit was worth something.
The Demon Lord sauntered over as though he had all the time in the world. “I see your class, Hero,” he sneered. There was a surprised murmur from the villagers. “I can see your level, too.” The Demon Lord smirked. “Stream of Darkness.”
A black stream of evil energy shot from the Demon Lord’s palm. It pierced Inara’s shoulder and slammed into James’s sternum, throwing him back.
HP -90
You have been afflicted with Darkness!
Jesus! If Inara hadn’t been between him and the Demon Lord, James would be dead!
Probably. Probably dead. Most likely? Maybe not, right?
He groaned. The Demon Lord wrinkled his nose, clearly peeved that he hadn’t been able to one-shot him.
And then his turn was over, and the Demon Lord’s arrogance bought them some time.
Inara wasted none of it. James was starting to wonder if she’d been in battle before. Surely she must have, right? If he was right about the combat order being based on level, then it stood to reason that she must be a higher level than him. But then, why was Desiree suddenly going second? Either way, Inara was remarkably stoic in the face of a demon. She swung that scythe like she’d been born to battle, and the cut of her shirt made the ripple of her muscles into an art.
She struck the Demon Lord three times, dealing about fifteen percent damage in total. That was forty percent damage total, and if James could do another ten percent on his turn… they’d get him halfway.
He closed his eyes. It wasn’t nearly enough.
Inara’s turn ended, and Desiree sprung into action. She picked up the bucket of water, took three steps toward the Demon Lord, and flung the water over him.
Critical hit!
The water cascaded down him, starting from his head and dripping all down his body. For the first time, James saw genuine fear flash across the Demon Lord’s face!
Then James saw the damage. Twenty-five percent damage from the water alone. That meant—! His mind whirred. Even if he died on the Demon Lord’s next turn, Inara would be able to finish him off. His time in Grimora had been brief, and he hadn’t accomplished any of his quests… but maybe the next life would be kinder to him.
Your turn!
James sat up. “Mana Bolt, Mana Bolt, Mana Bolt!”
He straightened and looked the Demon Lord in the eye as his turn ended. If he was going to die again, he would at least get to face it with dignity this time, rather than cowering behind a car like on Earth. Back in that parking lot, he hadn’t really believed he was in danger. Or rather, he’d believed it but tried to rationalize his way out of it. Why would someone want to kill him?
With the Demon Lord, it was different. There was no denying the demon’s hatred or his power.
Enemy turn!
As James braced himself for the inevitable, however, the demon caught him by surprise. Rather than stay and fight, it turned around and ducked through the portal. One moment he was there, large as life, and the next he was behind that purple, watery curtain. Seconds later, the portal shimmered and closed.
James blinked, unable to believe his eyes.
Demon Lord lvl 18 has run away!
Combat ended, and the party members all turned to look at each other in disbelief. The Demon Lord must have realized what James had, which was that even if he killed the Hero, the other two would be able to kill him on their own. Not wanting to risk his own life, the Demon Lord had fled.
“We did it!” Desiree shouted and punched the air.
The villagers cheered.
James forced a smile. In some ways, it was too little, too late. Mrs. Fitz had been kidnapped, and more than one person had died. They’d saved the rest, sure, but those deaths weighed on his conscience nonetheless.
“It’s too bad we don’t get any experience for scaring him off,” James said as he passed a couple apples to Desiree and Inara. Both had gotten close enough to the magma demon to take damage, and though it seemed clear, he worried there might be a stray demon lurking around a corner.
Desiree smirked. “Maybe for you,” she said. “I unlocked a new skill!”
