Howl in the Night
Ru kept running, putting more and more distance between himself and the moth-winged gray imps, their tiny bodies covered in a layer of viscous tar.
But that wasn't exactly what he wanted to do. Ru desired to defeat the demons, to destroy them if possible, but he had to do it in a completely unmanned area.
When he was sure he had put considerable distance between himself and the scout camp, he stopped.
Finally facing the demons, he motioned for them to approach with a wave of his hand.
The six imps, their wings too small for their bodies, flailed at him, hopping up and down on their tails.
Ru one by one, he began throwing stones at the imps. After this series of successful throws, he re-drew his knife and eagerly ran towards the imps.
Yes, he was happy to see the imps.
"Come on, you fools! Don't run away! You assholes!"
Ru carefully aimed his knife at the wings of two imps. With a quick and precise movement, he made a clean slash on each of their wings. The imps squawked in pain as their ability to fly was instantly compromised.
"Shh! You'll wake people up. Please die quietly," he said, giving one of them a strong kick in the stomach.
After disemboweling three demons, Ru delivered a powerful elbow to the face of another demon. The impact sent the imp tumbling backward, momentarily disoriented. Seizing the opportunity, Ru lunged forward with his knife, aiming for a decisive blow.
He slit the imp's throat and watched with sadistic pleasure as the black blood flowed.
He was startled when he noticed a shadow in the puddle of blood that glistened in the moonlight.
"Who's there?" he called out.
However, amidst the chaos, a low growl pierced through the air, catching Ru's attention. His ears perked up, and he automatically turned to find the source of the sound. The snarl was loud and threatening. Ru's eyes surveyed the surroundings, and he noticed a pair of blazing eyes in the darkness.
Yes, something was coming at him fast. A large, four-legged thing that left a smoky trail where it passed.
"Shit! Where is it?" shouted Ru.
As the girls observed, Ru seemed unsure of what to do or where to go.
He leaped and grabbed the trunk of the tree. As he climbed up, an imp appeared, its eyes shining brightly, its horns pointed, and its body twice the size of the others. It carried a small, gray fire in its hand. He threw it towards Ru.
"Oh, my goddess! Help," Ru cried, and at the last moment, he grabbed a branch and managed to dodge the firebolt by pulling his legs up.
Meanwhile, the hellhound revealed itself at the base of the tree. The gray, smoky aura outlined its invisible form. The hellhound's claws were as large as rakes, and its nails scratched the trunk of the tree.
Ru could not remain indifferent to this situation. The tree that he was clinging to was not only shaking; it was also bleeding from the inside. He became angry: "You vile anti-nature!"
He took out some of the stones, large and small, that were left in his pocket. He then threw them one by one, hoping to distract the hellhound at the base of the tree. Some of the stones hit the hellhound, but unfortunately, they did no damage.
"Oh, no!"
Ru quickly scanned his surroundings for another object to use as a makeshift weapon. He apologized to the tree he had taken refuge in and plucked a dry, thin branch from it. He swung it toward the hellhound, tossed it to the left, and yelled, "Catch, boy!"
But the hound had come from hell and was as big as the biggest dog in the world. As long as what was thrown wasn't a soul, it didn't care...
"Bad dog," he said.
Undeterred, Ru immediately came up with a new plan. He reached out, took off his shoe, and threw it in the opposite direction. Even though the shoe had no soul, it had a smell. The move appeared to work. The dog, unable to resist the instinct to chase, ran after the shoe.
"A dog is a dog," Ru proudly declared.
Imps were surrounding the tree under the leadership of "Big Brother Imp." Big Bro's claw glowed with a gray light. As Ru had experienced, he was preparing his second firebolt.
There was not a single Ru in this universe who would let a tree burn.
As he watched in amusement as the hellhound crushed a demon, he made his decision. He removed his other shoe and hurled it towards Big Bro.
The shoe landed on Big Brother's head, but the hellhound was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell?" Ru asked.
He noticed something rushing through the bushes below.
"What's going on, girls?"
But there was no answer. He only saw the gray firebolt that Big Bro threw.
And he heard a dreadful hum. A voice powerful enough to quiet even the fiercest wind...