Betrayal?

Gasp!

Damien sat up, sweating in his bed.

'sigh...'

This has been happening more often than not. He kept reliving those moments. Over and over again.

The moment the mana forced through him became his. When the sensation of pain turned into that of being satiated. Yet, unlike reality, he lost control and became a monster and killed. He killed without emotions.

'I need a breath of fresh air.

He opened the flap of the tent and sat at the threshold. The night was still young as the stars were in full bloom in the sky. As the starlight fell on him, he felt calmer.

Rustle.

"Young master, you are still awake?"

Sugimaru walked out of the bushes.

"You too?"

"My patrol just finished. I am going to wake captain up."

"Go ahead."

"You did not answer my question."

Even though Damien had purposely skipped over it, the way he asked was...'Something feels off.'

"Your manners need a retouch, do they not?"

Damien was instantly alerted! He reached for the short sword beside him.

Clang!

Sugimaru thrust the spear at his side as Damien parried at the last moment! The shock from the impact was too much for Damien! He had to dissipate it by rolling over.

"Hoho! Your skill is not bad. That Morty has been teaching you quite well. It is not going to be an easy kill, after all!"

"You talk too much!"

Damien raised his voice purposely and instantly regretted his action as multiple pairs of red eyes lit in the absolute darkness of the forest.

'Fuck! Tomorrow morning and we would have been out of this blasted place!'

Sylvie awoke from the commotion, grit his teeth, and cast magic. A big ball of light rose in the air, then it burst, illuminating the surrounding area. Countless wolves growled in the forest, impatiently waiting. Their hearts chilled.

"Run into the plains!"

The men mounted their horses and galloped into the plains after grabbing what they could. Damien was held back by Sugimaru!

Clang! Clang!

Damien fended off Sugimaru's spear. The wolves slowly came forward.

"Sugimaru! Why do you wish to die and kill me too! What have I done to you!"

"Haha, who said I would die!"

The spearman smiled. He smiled amidst the countless red eyes. He laughed at the face of death.

Damien knew that he was knee-deep into trouble.

'This madman!'

He had a trump card but it may not be effective enough.

Sugimaru swung his spear. Damien, instead of parrying, finally went into the offensive. He activated his boxing skill, closing in on the distance in a split second. He swung his sword at Sugimaru.

Creak!

'Red eyes!' The sword did not find its way and smashed into a red barrier.

Boom!

The momentum bounced off as Damien landed on his feet further away.

The energy felt similar.

- Demonic energy detected. Partial halo activated.

A ring made of pure white energy formed on top of his head as it illuminated the surrounding. Sugimaru shrieked and merged into the darkness deeper into the forest. The wolves, as if awoken from an eternal trance, yelped away. Yet, they did not attack Damien and ran back into the deeper depth of the forest.

"Your flesh is mine!"

- Your subordinate Paladin: Spearman is dead.

'This isn't making any sense.'

Damien walked into the dilapidated camp.

'His men must have left without noticing him coming with them. After all, loyalty was still high.'

'No!'

Damien shook his head. He could not trust the system anymore.

The remaining horses had fled. Activating Space Magic, he stowed away the necessities before leaving the camp.

"Che! I need some offensive or defensive magic soon. There are no tomes either!"

So he decided to learn Time Magic for now. He had no choice but to compromise until he met up with Sylvie again.

'I hope the wolves did not give chase in their frenzied state...'

The halo soon dimmed and disappeared.