Chapter 1013 Demonized



Their carriage cut through the night as the dirt rolled beneath it. An eerie quietness took over the wilderness around them, as if they had entered a place separated from the rest of the world. This made Joey open the window and look outside, as he also sensed what was in the darkness.

"Enemies?" asked the tall man as he craned his neck outside, a vigilant look on his face. "I cannot pinpoint their numbers, but we might be in trouble."

"They are just watching us at the moment," said Arthur without looking away from the road. "It might be an illusion, but these creatures seem... to be waiting for something. This mission is going to be dangerous."

Joey gave a grin as he turned his head toward the darkness. Beside him, Koby and Nixie stared out of the window with panic, thinking they were under attack. However, despite the darkness, their carriage safely cut toward its destination.

Dark Cave was situated deep in the forest, in the middle of a clearing where no life could grow. The squad stopped their carriage on a nearby hill, where they could scout the situation inside the cave. However, even from this distance, the place was pitch black in their eyes.

Arthur might be the sole exception, since he could see in this darkness. His eyes, ears, and even skin could pick up the tiniest of clues to form a perception of what was before him. Thus, he could see that for now, the Dark Cave had no one outside it.

"We need to get off here," said Arthur as he rose from his seat. Koby stared at him with shock, as if the suggestion made his soul leave his body. "Don't look at me like that. This is our mission."

"Our mission is to scout!" said Koby, pointing a finger at Arthur. "We can do that from here! That is the most logical way to do this!"

"Rest easy. You will be watching the carriage along with the two sisters. Joey and I are going to scout the area and illuminate the Dark Cave with torches so that we can monitor the situation from here. Alright?"

"Who said I want to come over?" asked Joey while looking toward the cave. Arthur turned toward him with a smirk before leading the way into the forest.

"That childish grin of yours."

Joey began to snicker as he followed Arthur. The three stared at the departing two with wide eyes, unable to understand the monsters they have encountered. In the end, the two disappeared into the forest, leaving the three alone.

"...one of them should have remained," said Nixie, before her sister pinched her for saying something so unreasonable. After all, they remained in safety while the two wandered into the forest.

"We should set camp for now," said Fae as she started taking out several items from her bag. "If we dilly-dally, we could be surrounded by monsters with no protective arrays."

The two stared at each other before rushing to take out their equipment as well. In just a few minutes, the carriage and its surroundings were covered by a ring of light, illuminating the area.

***

"...they would get themselves killed," said Joey as he stared back through the forest, seeing that light was coming from the hill they had set camp on. "Who would be idiotic enough to announce their presence in this creepy forest?"

"If the array is stronger than whatever is in this forest, then so be it," said Arthur as he pushed through the bushes and branches. "However... it is not. We need to hurry and illuminate the cave's entrance so that we can get some vision."

"I have some torches, luckily," said Joey as he placed his hands behind his head. "Do you really just want to finish the mission? Are you not excited to meet some demonic creatures?"

"I might be, but my goals do not align with that," said Arthur with a frown. "I just want to get this over with, as soon as possible."

"You seem different than before," said Joey with surprise. "Against the Lieutenant, you just wanted to cause problems. Now, you seem to be in a rush to go home. Is it possible that... you are scared?"

"Your ignorance blinds you from seeing the gravity of the situation," said Arthur as he turned toward the man. Although he was in disguise compared to his original appearance, his eyes carried the experience of a man who had seen everything. "Those monsters in the darkness... they are waiting for us. Do you think we can take them down?"

"Even if we don't take them down, they can't take us down," said Joey with a shrug. "After all, this is the fun thing about the tower! Even if we die, we revive as good as new!"

"That's what the tower wants you to believe," said Arthur with a smirk. "There is nothing without a price. If you don't know the price, then you are the price."

"That makes no sense," said Joey with a frown.

"Would you be able to tell... if a part of you is lost?" asked Arthur as he turned around. "You can only sense things outside of yourself, but if a part of yourself gets stolen from you... you would not notice."

Joey was quiet for the rest of their walk, and the two reached the entrance to the cave. Arthur looked around the clearing, and confirmed that there was no one outside. However, as he gazed into the cave, he could feel an ominous energy blocking his perception.

"Are you sure we shouldn't go inside?"

"If we do go inside, the three behind us would be attacked," said Arthur as he spread his palm toward the soldier, demanding the torches. Joey took them out and handed them over, and Arthur began to ignite them and stab them into the walls.

"These torches will only last us until dawn," said Joey as he looked around. "Would our mission be accomplished if we reported no activities?"

"Our mission is not to guard the cave, but to scout it," said Arthur as he fixed the torches to the walls and turned around. The clearing was well-illuminated now, leaving him satisfied. "We should go back now."

It was at that moment that a scream echoed through the forest. Arthur and Joey froze as they realized it came from their camp, belonging to none other than Koby. Then, they heard a bestial cry from the same direction.

"We need to..." muttered Joey with panic as he turned to bolt toward the camp, but something flashed by before he could finish his sentence. Wind blew from beside him as a figure cut through the forest at the speed of light. As he tried to make sense of what happened, Joey realized that Arthur was gone. "You have to be kidding me..." muttered the man in shock before chasing after him.

Despite running at his top speed, Joey could not even see his shadow. All he could see were broken branches in his trail. The difference in their speeds left the man shaken, as he always considered himself to be stronger than anyone inside the tower.

Once he reached the hill, he saw the situation clearly because of the light coming from the array. A giant creature was standing beside their carriage, a sword in its hand. Its color was purple and it oozed blood as it moved, spreading a stench that made them sick.

"What is

this creature?" muttered Joey with shock as he took a step back. "It looks like a giant goblin, but its color and body frame are..." the man could not finish his sentence before one of the twins explained with a shaking voice.

"This goblin has been... demonized," said Fae while holding her bow tightly, aiming at the monster. However, the man facing that monster was standing without fear. "Get back, Alexie! Its strength is monstrous!"

The goblin released another bestial cry that seemed to shake the entire hill, causing rocks to roll down its steep sides. As the demonic creature slashed with its sword, the strike seemed to split the air apart. However, the man in front of him raised his hand... and stopped the giant sword in its tracks.

Boom!

The ground caved beneath him, but he seemed unbothered as he raised his other hand. It curled into a fist before he retracted it backward, and with a single swing, he punched the giant sword stopped by his other hand.

Cling!

A resounding metallic sound echoed as the sword shattered into countless pieces, while the goblin staggered back. Instead of continuing his attack, Arthur turned toward them with a frown.

"Are you going to just watch?" his voice was filled with expectations and a commanding authority that made Fae release her arrow, striking the goblin in the neck. It let out an enraged cry as Joey rushed toward it as well, jumping high in the air and kicking it in the face.

The goblin was thrown off its feet as it began to roll down the hill toward the forest. Joey was about to chase it, but Arthur held him back, knowing that it was dangerous to go alone.

"Let us reorganize," said Arthur with a smile, forcing Joey to nod. "I doubt this monster attacked us on its own, so it would be dangerous to give chase."