264. Demon Army (I)

“Everyone in a single file line!” Mike was yelling at the top of his lungs, waving over his head. They have all made it to the gate that was slightly hovering above the flower. It took a bit of time to find a way to climb the vines, but they could get up onto the large petal underneath the gate.

At first, they had trouble even finding good leverage. A few ropes were thrown up to tie together to create a tightrope that would help them climb. Other times, they had to slide down and jump to get to the next leaf, making its own obstacle course. But eventually, they were all able to get to the top.

Snow, Mike, and Dairen were the first ones to the front. The bright blue gate was pulsating. Even the powerful heat was felt through the whole group, radiating throughout the air the closer they got.

Snow walked up to the gate, standing in front of it. She tilted her head, squinting. She wondered if she could see through it even though that wasn’t even possible. The most she got was a solid blue.

“Are you ready?” Dairen asked. He walked up beside her.

“No, but I will be the moment I walk through this gate.” Snow replied. It wasn't easy to bring up courage, mainly when whatever was beyond this gate would and could destroy them in a heartbeat. All she could do was face the unknown.

“I am always here to help you,” Dairen said with confidence that brought warmth to Snow’s heart. He reached over and gently wrapped his hand on hers.

“You guys ready?” Mike came up from behind.

Startling them, Snow let go of her hand and nodded. “I’ll go in first.”

“Wait, are you-” Before Mike could even finish speaking his words, Snow disappeared.

Cold energy washed through her body, and eventually, the feeling disappeared. Snow opened her eyes and what greeted her was an endless forest—all around her, large redwood trees that would tower over them like skyscrapers. The ground was littered with plants that Snow had never seen before. From bulbous red flowers to vines that looked like grapes hanging from the branches that were strewn down from above.

“Snow, for Christ's sake. Can’t you wait until I finish what I have said?” Mike stepped out from behind her. “You always do that.”

“Snow.” Dairen walked out. He sighed as well. “You couldn’t wait?”

“You know the women. She doesn’t listen.” Mike grumbled back.

“Tell me about it,” Dairen replied. He straightened himself.

The other Players and Hunters stream out from behind one after another. They spoke out when they saw the forest in front of them, staring in awe at the trees that were giants. Even the trunks around the tree were twenty times the length of one man.

“What's our objective?” One of the Players asked.

“I don’t know. I haven't got a message ye-.”

On cue, the messages appeared on all the Player' screens.

Mike read slowly but out loud. “Defend against the Demon King invasion? You are kidding me, right?”

Dairen replied. “It’s better this way.”

“How big do you think the army will be?”

“Over hundreds of thousands of demons.” Levian came up to them. “We need to win this one. Especially you.” he pointed toward Dairen.

“I know," said Dairen. “At least four out of five demon princes are dead. I assure you that.”

“You have been busy," said Mike.

"It wasn't easy." Dairen nodded. “I’m sure the last one will be here. The call is too strong for it not to be.”

Snow was on alert. The energy in the dungeon was thick and heavy. Whatever was in this dungeon was making her tense and suffocating. Unconsciously, she covered herself with her own magic to quell down the energy that suffocated her. She noticed that she needed to constantly give out a certain amount to keep the pressure at bay, which worried her.

How long before the danger of the magical energy would completely suffocate them? She didn’t know. Mr. Rogers, Falcon, and Mr. Jay stepped out leisurely as if they were taking a walk in the park. When they felt the oppressive energy, their expression drastically changed. Even they, too, coated themselves with magic around their body to protect themselves against the dictatorial power that tried to overwhelm them.

To see that Mr. Rogers, Falcon, and Mr. Jay were considered hidden masters that nobody would dare go up against in their own field. She had heard reports about Mr. Jay’s secret fights. Such files were sealed, and Snow was lucky enough to see a small glimpse of it. The rest were rumors, but now she believed those rumors even more because of what he was.

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The other Players and Hunters quickly did the same. Lessening the power that seems to want to swallow them whole.

Boom!

With a vicious tremble, the ground trembled. A blast of smoke could be seen creeping through the forest.

“What is happening?!” A Player yelled out in confusion.

Everyone went straight into a battle stance, looking around for the trouble that could creep upon them. They didn’t know where the enemy was attacking from or who was attacking who.

“To your left!” Someone yelled.

A swarm of demons rushed out from the side. Everyone moved into action. A rough battle ensued.

Snow threw her Black Box series onto the ground. She pulled out Lady Luck with one fluid motion. It quickly turned into a pair of gloves as her rings resonated with it. She then reached in to take out White Gryphon.

The magic in her sword glistened with light, amplifying her magical power. With a wave of her hand, she stored the Black Box series away.

Snow bolted in to meet the demon on hand. These demons were humanoid in figure with curved horns that jutted out in front and upwards. Their skin was black with crisp lines of fiery volcanic color that showed through red, orange, and yellow. Red eyes with black iris glared back as their muscular structure showed off their physical strength.

Snarling, the demon's crooked teeth showed off its fangs as both Snow, and the demon clashed together. Its sharp claws were strong enough to withstand the sharp blade.

Snow gritted her teeth. Her armored tail whipped out from behind, aiming to grab its left foot. But out of nowhere, the monster's black tail tangled with hers, causing a stalemate between the two.

“You're kidding me.” Snow glared. Her sword clashed rhythmically as she stepped up her speed. Even still, the demon fought back with an even pace, blocking every attack that she had.

The number of swarms of demons was small, but the amount of power these demons had was astronomical. It took two to three people to team up together to put down the demons that came pouring out.

Even Snow fought back and forth against the demons that were bent on killing her. Still, her sword glowed bright, blinding the demon temporarily as she eventually got a good angle and sliced the demon in half.

It was a mess of magic flying around everywhere as the slew of demons was quickly cut down in half. Even though they were challenging, it didn’t take long for them to bring down the demons that tried to take them by surprise.

Eventually, the demons were culled, allowing them a moment to breathe.

Snow cut down one of the few remaining demons. She flicked her sword as the light dimmed around it.

“Did we get them all?” Snow asked. She watched her surroundings to make sure that no more would jump upon them.

“Yes," said Levian. He beheaded the last demon as it fell onto the ground with a thud.

Dairen, Mike, and Levian had come over. While Red was patching up a few people with the other healers.

“Is everyone alright?” Snow asked. She expected the dungeon to be unforgiving but did not expect monsters to suddenly attack them upon entrance. Most of the time, they would have a period of safety before a raid had begun.

“Five injured, but the rest should be okay,” Mike spoke. He put his swords away. “I don’t think this will be the last of them.”

“It won’t be,” Levian replied. “We have only just begun.”

The ground trembled once again. This time, everyone saw smoke coming through the trees.

“We should head toward the smoke. Something must be happening there,” said Snow. She knew that going away from danger was a brilliant idea, but she also knew that the dungeons liked to create scenarios that needed to be completed.

“That sounds like a bad idea.” Mike crossed his hand.

“We have no other choice. Let’s go and check it out. The others will wait here. Dairen and I go and see what’s going on.”

“Wait, what?! Only you two?” Mike was against such a suggestion. “We need more than that.”

“Taking a smaller group will be better for this mission. We won’t notice. Also, Dairen is considered a one-man army. Who else to bring that could keep the enemies at bay if we need to escape?”

Mike opened and closed his mouth. “Fine.” He crossed his arm. “If you guys don’t come back by sunsets, I’m bringing everyone.”

“Understood.” Snow agreed. She wasn’t going to stop Mike any further. “Let’s go.”

Both Dairen and Snow left. They didn't want to bring any attention as they slunk away.

Snow couldn’t remember when she felt so tense about a dungeon. The last S class dungeon was a nightmare in itself, but now a higher class dungeon could spell more disaster, and she was in the midst of it. She walked over the damp grass, reliving the last dungeon raid in her head, which she had to purposely clear away to not bring any more distraction.

Dairen had sent out scouts of boney birds that were the size of a sparrow off into the distance before them.

They walked in silence. Crunching at the sound of the grass and leaves underneath their feet, Snow diligently paid attention to her surroundings, trying to pick up anything.

Snow had reached one of the barren trees that looked half-dead, twisted into ugly knots. She climbed up onto the branches to get a better look at her surroundings.

The trees were thick; she couldn’t quite make out what was in front of her, but the smokes pervaded through the forest. It was as if the closer they got to their destination, the more the trees grew nearby.

She climbed carefully up a few more branches until she could see a better clearing.

At first, it sounded like whispers, but the voices got louder and louder.

“Jasper! Run!” A red-headed soldier was carrying a badly injured soldier on his back.

“I’ll keep them at bay! You need to get Robert out of here!” A soldier with an injured left shoulder shouted. He was standing in front of the group of demons that were coming to slay them all.

“Jasper!” The red-headed soldier called out again.

“Don’t look back, Hol!” A clang of swords and claws reverberated in the forest.

Dairen, who also climbed another tree across from her, nocked an arrow in his bow. He fired, aiming perfectly at the closest demon that tried to decapitate the man’s head.

Jasper pushed on, even though he was shocked to get help, fighting headstrong in the hopes of saving his friends.

Snow summoned up her magical energy, calling upon the sword of light. Dozens of swords of lights flew past her and straight toward the group of demons. Each one impaling one or the other as both Dairen and Jasper rain down a powerful rain of fury.

Jasper runs underneath Snow, with two demons chasing from behind.

With one fluid jump, cushioning herself with magic, Snow landed with her sword into the demon. A squelch was heard as the first demon was impaled through its head.

The second demon turned around a bit too late. Snow’s tail lashed out and smacked the demon in the face, throwing the demon back.

Jasper looked over in surprise when he heard the sound of crashing. He stumbled, tripping over a branch that caught his right foot—both the person he was carrying, and he fell, rolling a few feet away.

Snow didn’t pay attention as her blade wickedly slashed through the demon's neck. It was getting easier dealing with the demon at hand. Even coating it with light magic allowed her to slice through the demon skin faster.

Dairen let loose a couple of more arrows, each one hitting squarely between the demon’s eyes.

Eventually, all the demons on hand fell onto the ground, dead.

Snow walked over toward the struggling Jasper. Jasper glanced up, a bit worried and relieved that someone came over to save them.