Yuri and Benihime dragged Lilith's lifeless body toward the Fiona army, her blood trailing behind them. As they approached, the soldiers on both sides ceased their fighting and turned their attention to the scene before them.
"Is that... Demon Lord Jira's personal advisor?" A demon shouted, his voice laced with fear as he took a step back from Yuri.
The battlefield was filled with murmurs, as many struggled to believe that their Lord's trusted advisor had been defeated by the enemy.
Ignoring the whispers, Yuri lifted Lilith's body and addressed the demons below. "Listen, you fools of Fiona," She called out in a commanding voice. "I am Yuri, the Witch of Envy and the personal secretary to the Lord of Elves, Sato Inugami. I have slain your leader".
Yuri held Lilith's lifeless body tightly and scanned the soldiers, her gaze piercing through their armor. "I am giving you two options," She declared, her voice ringing across the battlefield. "You can either retreat and never set foot on this land again, or bow your head and pledge your unwavering loyalty to the Lord of Elves".
At first, her words were met with stunned silence. But then, to Yuri's surprise, some of the soldiers began to drop their weapons and step forward with their heads bowed.
"A lord who can overwhelm us this much has my respect," One of the demons spoke out. "I will pledge my loyalty".
Yuri raised an eyebrow, impressed by the demon's bravery. "Very well," she said, her tone firm. "But know this: any betrayal will not be taken lightly. The Lord of Elves does not tolerate disloyalty".
As she watched the demon nod in understanding, Yuri couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
Benihime's apprehensive gaze was fixed on Yuri. "Are you certain that this is what Lord Sato wants?" she inquired.
Yuri paused for a moment before replying, "I hadn't considered it, but we'll deal with that later".
Suddenly, a demon bellowed, "Traitor! You would betray the demon lord! You deserve to die!" The high-ranking demon's voice echoed through the throng of demons who were making their way towards Yuri's side.
Another demon unsheathed his sword, sneering, "We won't retreat! We won't bow to some witch–".
Before the demon could finish his sentence, Diana darted in out of nowhere. She lunged towards the demon, tearing his neck open with her razor-sharp claws, and then gracefully landed in front of Yuri.
"Oops, I couldn't resist," Diana said, savoring the blood on her hands while her wolf tail wagged happily behind her.
The demons' eyes widened in dread as they watched their comrade's body fall to the ground, covered in his own blood. Fear and suspicion filled the air as they looked at Daina, wondering where she had come from.
Suddenly, a voice yelled from the left back flank, "There are more, coming from the back...!" All the demons immediately looked behind them to see Orland, his dark wolves, and more beastmen riding towards them on Deerhugs.
"From behind? Did they camp out in the kingdom?" The demons thought to themselves, realizing they had been caught in a trap.
With no morale to fight, they dropped their weapons one by one and started retreating. Some of them moved toward Yuri and knelt to pledge their loyalty, recognizing the power and might of the Lord of Elves.
As the last of the demons fled, Yuri landed on the ground and looked at the soldiers who had pledged loyalty to the Lord of Elves. "Well done," She said, "You have made a wise decision." Then, she turned to Benihime and said, "Let's go. It's time we find where master is".
With that, the group mounted their Deerhugs and started their journey back to the kingdom of elves. The battle had been won, but the war was far from over.
…..
"Ahhh!"
The air was thick with tension as Sato and Jira stood in the center of an open field, their movements too quick for the naked eye to follow. With each punch they threw, the ground shook beneath them, adding a thunderous soundtrack to the intense battle.
Suddenly, Jira launched a devastating stomp at Sato, causing him to drop down to one knee in pain.
Before Sato could even react, Jira followed up with a ferocious punch straight to his face, sending him hurtling through the air and crashing into a nearby boulder. The impact was so forceful that the boulder cracked under Sato's weight, sending debris flying in all directions.
Sato lay on the jagged rocks, coughing up blood as he struggled to stand. His vision was blurry, and his body ached with every movement. "Aril… is it ready yet?" he managed to choke out, hoping for some sign of hope.
<<Negative… it's not, there's not enough magic to speed up the process>> came the reply, a note of disappointment in the voice.
Sato's heart sank. Without enough magic essence, he was at a disadvantage. He braced himself for Jira's next attack, but it came sooner than he expected. Jira picked him up by the hair, his face contorted in rage as he glared into Sato's lifeless eyes.
"This can't be all you've got," he growled, shaking Sato violently. "Come on, are you mocking me?".
Jira's face twisted in frustration as he glared at Sato's lifeless body. He scoffed and viciously slammed Sato's head against the ground repeatedly without pause. The sickening sound of flesh colliding with the hard earth echoed across the battlefield.
"Pathetic," Jira spat on Sato's face before grabbing him by the leg and hurling him across the field to display to his own people.
As Jira turned, he caught sight of Yuri, Divanchi, and Delta standing at the far end of the way with anxious expressions etched on their faces.
His lips curled into a cruel grin as he advanced towards them, relishing the thought of capturing them and adding them to his collection of prisoners.
"Damn you bastard!" Yuri yelled, ragefully, getting ready to launch herself toward Jira but then Divanchi held her hand.
"What are you doing Divanchi, can you see master is over there?!" Yuri shouted, her anger written on her face.
"Wait,... Look." Divanchi uttered, pointing at Sato's hand to show Yuri that he was gesturing a countdown.