Chapter 114

He could hear it—the sounds of battle and struggle, making his heart pound with trepidation. Upon arriving, he saw his sister lying in a pool of her own blood and his brother, in his lycan form, struggling to rise from the broken rubble that used to be the fountain. He saw the being responsible for this—the elfish demon wearing a colorful butler outfit—standing between a natural disaster and a man with a divine appearance. Ignoring the other combatants, he focused solely on the elfish demon. Raising his right hand, he pointed his palm at the demon.

"When did the priest get here?" muttered the boy beside him. The words sounded muffled due to the sheer focus and anger he had on the elfish demon. "DIE!!!" he shouted, blasting a beam of pure yellow mana towards the demon. The beam illuminated the battlefield with its blinding light, making its way toward Bilmoth.

Reacting swiftly, Bilmoth used all the spirits at his disposal to conjure a multilayered barrier, combining different affinities. The powerful barrier held the beam for only a moment, just long enough for Bilmoth to jump away. The blast passed him and Orian, slowly thinning out before disappearing altogether. Though the attack did no damage, Even had certainly made his presence known to Bilmoth and the rest of the combatants.

"Jakel?" Mar questioned in a somewhat confused tone as he turned to look at him. He saw Even huffing, sweat dripping down his face, his complexion pale, with one arm around Xain's shoulder for support. Xain himself looked surprised by what Even had just done. *What did he just do?* Xain wondered in shock, while Orian narrowed his eyes at Even. *That was the Mathers family hereditary ability,* he thought, considering the implications.

Though it wasn't visible on its face, the demon was relieved to see Xain alive. *I pray the others are alive,* it thought just as Bilmoth, moving with the speed of the wind, sprinted past it. The demon barely had time to register this before Bilmoth surged past Mar, who was just getting up, his eyes widening as he realized Bilmoth was sprinting towards Even. Bilmoth's eyes were locked on Even, and he thought to himself, *Threat!* 

"Look out!" Mar yelled as Bilmoth closed the distance. Before Even could react, Bilmoth chambered his leg, preparing to unleash a devastating kick aimed to kill him swiftly.

As the kick connected, the sound of bone cracking echoed through the battlefield, but it wasn't Even's bone that broke. Bilmoth clicked his tongue in frustration. Xain stood there, teeth gritted, blocking Bilmoth's kick with his right forearm. He had pushed Even out of the way just in time, much to the surprise of Even himself.

Xain winced but held his ground. The force of the impact sent him skidding back, but he remained upright. Bilmoth, his eyes narrowing, quickly assessed the situation. The unexpected intervention had thwarted his attempt, but he wouldn't be deterred so easily. "Impressive," Bilmoth muttered, "but futile."

"That's rude, I'm trying my best here," Xain quipped with a pain-filled grin, his right arm throbbing with pain. *Yep, that's completely broken,* he thought to himself, trying and failing to flex his right fist. Before Bilmoth could attack again, Mar charged in from behind and swung his mace towards Bilmoth's back. 

Bilmoth twisted out of the way, using the momentum to spin around and kick Mar in the jaw, shattering it. Mar fought through the pain and took a downward swing with his claws, aiming to disembowel Bilmoth. Bilmoth sidestepped, counterattacking with a punch to Mar's chest. He winced in pain from the holes in his hands from grabbing the demon earlier, but Mar still wouldn't go down. The lycan unleashed a flurry of claws and swings towards Bilmoth, who was growing more tired and annoyed by the relentless assault.

Meanwhile, Even looked up at Xain. "Why the hell did you do that!?" he exclaimed.

"A thank you would be nice, you know?" Xain replied, breathing heavily, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Bilmoth, now fully engaged with Mar, ducked under a wild swing and delivered a swift elbow strike to Mar's ribs, cracking them audibly. Mar staggered but retaliated with a backhand swipe, narrowly missing Bilmoth's face. Bilmoth, his patience wearing thin, used a minor wind spirit to propel himself back, gaining some distance. He took a deep breath, preparing for his next move.

"You're persistent," Bilmoth acknowledged, his voice tinged with frustration.

"Bang," Bilmoth heard, quickly summoning a minor earth spirit to conjure a cobblestone wall. It blocked nothing as the demon leapt over it. *A feint!* Bilmoth realized, dodging just in time as the demon's blade-like right arm narrowly missed beheading him, slicing his right cheek instead. 

As the demon landed, Bilmoth used minor wind spirits to blow it away with a strong gust. *Behind,* a minor spirit warned. Bilmoth spun around, raising his right forearm just in time to block a kick from Xain. "Annoying pest," Bilmoth spat, frustration evident.

"Just returning the favor," Xain retorted with a nervous smile and a shrug, barely dodging Bilmoth's retaliatory punch by leaning back. Bilmoth began to channel minor fire spirits when a shout interrupted him.

"Don't forget about me, asshole!" Even yelled, causing the ground beneath Bilmoth to shift. Four spikes of stone erupted, attempting to impale him. Bilmoth jumped, narrowly avoiding the attack, though one spike grazed his right leg.

Bilmoth landed with a hiss of pain, panting as exhaustion crept up on him. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he was once again surrounded, but this time by more adversaries. "Tch, you things are way too persistent," he muttered, huffing from the strain of maintaining his magical defenses. Feeding the minor spirits a constant supply of mana was taking its toll.

"I know I arrived late to this, but why don't you just give up?" Xain asked, gripping his injured arm with his good one.

Bilmoth glared at him. "I would rather die," he spat venomously.

"Don't worry, you will," Even retorted, aiming his palm to unleash another beam.

The tension in the air was palpable as everyone—Xain, Bilmoth, Orian, Mar, Even, and the demon—prepared for the final clash. They all sensed the end of the battle drawing near. Just then, a deafening roar pierced the skies, much closer this time. Everyone looked up to see the dragon descending rapidly towards them, its maw open and eyes blazing with fury.

*Wait, what's that?* Xain wondered, squinting at the sight. He saw a man in the dragon's maw, holding its jaws open with his legs and one arm while clutching a terrified person in his other arm. "This is the best!" Dash yelled, his voice full of excitement as they plummeted towards the battlefield.