Vol 1 Chapter 54 (2/2)
“Are you okay, Leti?” asked Wynn as blood flowed from his forehead and arms.
“Big Brother…blood…blood is…”
“It’s no big deal. More importantly, were you hurt, Leti?”
Tearfully, Leti shook her head.
She tried to hug him, but Wynn gently pushed her away.
He got up and readied his sword as he moved protectively in front of her.
“How brave of you,” sneered the demon.
“Big Brother!” cried Leti.
Leaving her behind, Wynn circled around Veldaroth.
He moved in a zigzag pattern and appeared to be trying to stab Veldaroth’s torso. Suddenly, he crouched and aimed his attack at the demon’s feet.
However, just before his blade struck, Veldaroth leapt into the air.
Wynn sprang after him and twisted his body in preparation to slash at the airborne demon.
“Huh?”
But Veldaroth had escaped his vision.
“Ya move well, but yer too slow!”
“!?”
As Wynn landed, he tried to quickly turn around.
He saw Veldaroth charging at him.
Wynn tried to brace himself in a defensive stance, but Veldaroth drove his right leg into Wynn’s solar plexus before he could do so.
He flew
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He flew through the air in an arc. He bounced once, twice, thrice.
“Big brother!”
“Wynn!”
Despite Leti and Paul’s cries, Wynn didn’t stir.
The pale light faded from the fallen sword beside him.
“Ooh, he pa.s.sed out. Welp, I had fun, so I’ll stop fer today.”
Veldaroth glared at the adventurers.
He held up three fingers and said, “Three days. I’ll give ya that much time. Ye should be able to recover yer mana by then. After that, I’ll kill all of ya, startin’ with that girl, then that avian brat. The great Demon Lord commanded me to slaughter avians whenever I find ‘em. And that girl’s mana is too dangerous to let ‘er live.”
Veldaroth smiled savagely. It almost seemed like his mouth was about to split from how widely he bared his fangs.
“And once I kill those two brats, the rest of ya are next. Ya don’t think ye can run away from a demon like me, do ya? If ya wanna live, get yerselves ready fer me. Won’t that be fun?”
Laughing raucously, Veldaroth effortlessly jumped off the ground.
He disappeared in moments, taking the intense pressure with him.
Not one of the adventurers left behind could move an inch.
“We’re doomed. We can’t beat that… that demon,” Oort sighed as he tied a splint to his broken left arm.
“Neither Eliza’s nor Leti’s magic was able to hurt that monster,” Paul whispered as he cried.
“I didn’t think demons were that strong,” murmured Louis as he stared blankly at the fire.
He had been put out of commission by Veldaroth’s first strike, and he felt more vexed by that fact than he was worried about their chances of beating the demon.
His frustration had grown as he watched Wynn engage the demon.
The boy was currently asleep on Eliza’s lap.
Since she had run out of mana, the places where he had been wounded by pebbles could only be treated with ointment, then bandaged.
Judging by the red
by the red stains on the bandage wrapped around his forehead, his wounds must have been very painful.
Leti had cried herself to sleep while clinging onto Wynn.
The adventurers couldn’t return to Simurgh, or even Laura’s house, because the two children were marked for death when Veldaroth returned in three days.
They had no choice but to wait patiently for Leti to wake up and fly them all back.
The adventurers were also exhausted.
“We can’t beat that demon. We have to ask the Knight Order for help.”
“Will the Knight Order act?” asked Eliza.
Demons didn’t recklessly appear on the front lines on a whim.
The true reasons were unknown, but scholars theorized that it was due to their low numbers. Demons avoided dispersing their forces out of fear of being crushed by deities, spirits, or dragons if they did so.
That was why, despite such an overwhelming difference in individual power, humanity had been able to build and maintain a line of defense.
The Demon Lord’s main forces were complete monsters. This was the knowledge humans had acquired over decades of war.
“But we don’t have a choice. They might not listen to us, but they’ll listen to the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“Either way, we’ll have to wait for Lil’ Leti to wake up,” said Louis, bringing the discussion to a close, and they fell silent.
The only sound was the crackling of the fire. They watched quietly as the sparks slowly drifted into the sky.
AN: This arc is takes place in the past, but it’s tied to the present, and it will have a happy ending.
TL note: Magic power is now Mana. I’m now pretty sure that there won’t be multiple magic power-like energies. Also, we have two more chapters in this arc. I’m so sorry for letting this arc get TLed so slowly. Thanks for sticking with me, and sorry for not being a mean green translating machine, and instead being a lazy elephant!
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