Demons

Asher's exhaustion vanished as if it had never existed once the thought of his Grandmother getting harmed appeared in his mind.

He started running towards the camps, without even thinking what he would be doing after getting there. His original plan of escaping through the flooded tunnel was long gone. 

'How have the demons come this far? Did the fortress fall?' Asher wondered.

The fortress was meant to keep the demons in check and prevent them from leaving the dungeon. While there were a few times that the demons had managed to escape the soldiers manning the fortress, it was just a handful of them at most.

And even those were chased down and killed by the soldiers not long after. It was rare to see even a single demon this far and if one did manage to reach the Crude Lands, the guards that were assigned here were enough to kill them.

After all, they were warriors too.

This was one of the reasons why warriors had a great status in the world, they could fight against demons and survive. And depending on their rank, they could even be stronger than demons. Many people wanted to become warriors so that they could one day fight against demons.

Not only would it grant them better status, but also wealth. 

After all, killing demons also meant that one could obtain materials from them. Demons had strong bodies, which could be butchered and used in various ways. 

But all of that came at a great price, as the slightest mistake could get one killed by the same demon they were trying to hunt.

Thus most people never actually went after demons. Even if they became warriors, they would much rather stay in the safety of the settlements and do other jobs that might require their strength. One didn't need to necessarily fight against demons either, as there were other jobs too. 

Whether it be joining the army to defend the kingdom against its enemies, becoming a guard to enforce law and order, or to simply become a mercenary and do whatever job one was asked to do.

~SCREECH~

But as Asher continued to run, he heard another screech coming from a mine nearby. Accompanying the screech was also a strange hammering sound that did not sound like it was made by humans.

~DANG~DANG~DANG~

"What in the…" Asher looked at the mine and saw that similar to the Trench Rot Cave its entrance had also been closed shut from the collapse. 

~Rumble~

The hammering sound was coming from inside the mine and was making the rocks blocking its entrance shake. 

~BOOM~

After a few seconds, the rocks were smashed apart and a creature ran out of it.

~GASP~

Seeing the creature, Asher stopped in his tracks and hid behind one of the boulders. There were plenty of them lying around the area, having been leftover from past mining activities. 

"Is that a demon too?" Asher muttered to himself while peeking. 

The creature that had just smashed its way out from the mine was different from the demons flying in the sky. It was several times bigger than them being the size of a bull, and didn't have wings. Instead, it had four muscular legs that were clad in grey carapace and ended in sharp hooves.

It also had sharp teeth and a boxy head which had a large horn on the top. The horn ended in a sharp tip and from the marks on the rocks, it was clear that this demon had used this very same horn to break out. It had two small eyes embedded within its tough head. It was even hard to spot them from a distance, and Asher would have missed them if not for the light that reflected off its eyes. 

No matter what angle Asher looked at it from, he was clear that this Demon was more dangerous than the ones in the sky. At least the ones in the sky hadn't spotted him due to the distance, but this one would certainly spot him.

If he had continued running, he would have definitely come in the line of sight of the creature and might become targeted.

"How do I get past it?" Asher muttered with anxiety. 

He looked over in the direction of the camp and saw that the flying demons were already there. This increased Asher's anxiety even more and he just hoped that his Grandmother had managed to hide in time.

~SCREECH~

Thankfully for him, the large four legged demon decided to take its leave. Its eyes caught something and it started running towards another camp.

"Finally!" Seeing that the four legged demon was not going towards the camp where Tess was, Asher was relieved.

He began running towards his camp and was about halfway there now. 

~TREMBLE~

But it was now that he sensed the ground shake. With how it was shaking it was as if an army was marching. Asher didn't stop though, instead he just glanced around spotting the cause of the shaking.

"Tidemother guide us! Just how many more are there?!" Asher was shocked by the demons that were coming out from other mines. 

And it wasn't just a single four legged demon like before, instead it was a horde of them rushing out from the mines!

The four legged demons trampled the ground underneath them and ran towards the scent of the humans which were coming from the camps. 

'Wait… if they are coming from the mines, doesn't that mean…' Asher suddenly understood something.

The collapse in the Trench Rot Cave wasn't natural at all. 

"The demons are coming out from the mines!" Asher grasped, realizing just how close to death he might have been there.

If he hadn't managed to escape the collapsing mine, he might have died to the demons if not for the falling debris.

With every demon that came out from the mines, Asher's speed started to rise. All he wished to do right now was to reach his grandmother even if it meant exhausting every bit of energy he had.