Battling the Demon General

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Demon General Cassius stood amidst the battlefield like a dark titan, his towering form radiating raw power that dwarfed the chaos surrounding him. His blood-red skin glistened ominously under the scorching battlefield sun, and his weapon—a massive cleaver glowing with flames—seemed almost alive as it pulsed with destructive energy. His very presence exuded fear, paralyzing lesser warriors.

High above, Yuka activated her Beast Codex Index, scanning Cassius with precision. The data materialized before her eyes:

Race: Greater Demon

Defense: S

Strength: A

Speed: C

Special Skill: Blazing Cleaver

Strength: Fire Element & Slash Type Damage

Weakness: ??? Element & ??? Type Damage

"Guys, I've scanned him! He's insanely tough—defense rating is through the roof! But I can't figure out his weakness yet," Yuka reported through their shared communication crystal. Her voice, though tinged with urgency, was steady.

The battlefield erupted into chaos as Miri took command, her voice cutting through the din like a blade. "Cheery Black! Rally up!" she ordered, her commanding tone steady and unwavering despite the roaring battle around them. Her allies quickly regrouped, awaiting her instructions with a shared determination.

"We're taking on the Demon General, Cassius," Miri declared, her gaze fierce. "Listen carefully—no one else engages him. We can't afford unnecessary casualties. Max, you're with me. Jun, flank him from the side or rear. Yuka, keep your summons in the fight but stay out of danger. Elma, you'll support from the back, healing and reinforcing us with Oculis helping you. Everyone clear?"

Nods of affirmation rippled through the group, and they sprang into action, following the plan to the letter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miri and Max charged forward, with Miri's shield raised high to deflect Cassius' cleaver strikes. Her movements were methodical, each step calculated to draw the Demon General's attention and test his reflexes. Max followed close behind, his greatsword gleaming as he prepared to strike whenever Miri created an opening.

Jun, meanwhile, activated All-Four Rush, his body becoming a blur as he darted around Cassius at breakneck speed. His movements were unpredictable, his strikes precise. He would leap in to slash at Cassius before retreating in an instant, forcing the Demon General to divide his focus.

From a safe distance, Yuka summoned her familiars. Spryt hovered above the battlefield, raining down a barrage of shifting quadra-elemental spells, alternating between the four main elements for maximum effect. Blubby moves at the sides while firing Slime Shots in rapid succession, aiming to slow Cassius down with its adhesive properties. Balboa and Fang launched coordinated strikes, timing their attacks with Miri and Max to keep Cassius under relentless pressure.

Despite their efforts, Cassius proved to be a formidable foe. His massive cleaver swung with terrifying speed, forcing Miri to brace with her shield as sparks flew from the impact. Max managed to land several heavy strikes, but Cassius' thick, armored skin absorbed most of the damage.

"Jun!" Miri called out as she blocked another devastating swing. "Any openings?"

"Not yet," Jun shouted back, his voice strained from his relentless circling. "But I've noticed something—blunt force seems to work better than slashes or stabs! And Wind and Water Elemental attacks deals more damage to him!"

(Weakness: Blunt-Force Type Damage & Water Element and Wind Element)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jun's observation quickly spread through the team. Yuka immediately adjusted her summons, calling forth Scale for its wind-based attacks and reassigning Spryt to focus entirely on water and wind spells. She kept Blubby stationed atop Balboa, ready to shift into its Blitz Form for quick, blunt-force strikes.

"Miri, merge Bastion with your sword!" Jun suggested.

Without hesitation, Miri activated her skill, merging her shield and sword into a hybrid weapon that combined blunt, slashing, and piercing damage. Max, realizing his slashing-focused greatsword would be less effective, reluctantly retreated to assist with the lesser demons swarming nearby.

Elma continued her vital support role, lobbing flasks of water at Cassius while keeping her allies healed with Oculis' Wide Party Heal and her own Healing Potions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With their adjusted tactics, the Cheery Black began to overwhelm Cassius. Balboa delivered a flurry of Stony Punches, each strike reverberating with enough force to crack the ground beneath them. Cassius stumbled under the relentless assault, his guard faltering.

Cassius swung wildly in retaliation, his Blazing Cleaver igniting in a fiery inferno. One devastating strike split Balboa in half, the stone golem crumbling into rubble.

"No! Balboa!" Yuka cried, but Miri shouted, "Focus, we're not done yet!"

Jun seized the opportunity, shouting, "Ah! Now, Miri!"

With great speed, using Balboa's almost crumbling body as a springboard, Miri leapt high into the air. Her blade glowed with intense energy as she descended like a meteor, delivering a Rocket-Powered Downward Slash. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, staggering Cassius and creating a massive opening.

Without missing a beat, Miri activated her weapon skill: Single Slash to Thousand Cuts. Her blade danced through the air in a blur, striking Cassius in rapid succession and leaving countless cuts across his body. The Demon General roared in agony, his once-imposing figure now visibly weakened.

"Now's the chance, Yuka! Take it!" Miri shouted.

Yuka sprinted forward, her hand glowing with the energy of her Contract Skill. Cassius, disoriented and unable to recover, could only watch as Yuka closed the distance. At point-blank range, she unleashed her skill, the magic wrapping around Cassius like chains.

The Demon General's red skin began to shift, turning a deep, icy blue as his defiance and resistance crumbled. His massive form stilled, his eyes glowing faintly with a new obeying light.

The Demon General knelt before Yuka, his once-defiant expression replaced with silent obedience.

"It worked," Yuka whispered, a mix of relief and triumph in her voice. "Cassius is our friend now..."

The battlefield fell quiet for a moment as the realization sank in. The tide had turned, and with Cassius now under Yuka's control, the Cheery Black stood victorious.

From the cliffs, Julius witnessed the scene unfold and amplified his voice once more. "The Demon General Cassius is ours! We have the upper hand! Fight on!"

Miri turned to her team, a proud yet exhausted smile on her face. "Well done, everyone. Let's finish the rest of these demons and win."

With renewed energy, the Cheery Black regrouped and prepared for the next phase of the battle, their spirits bolstered by their hard-fought victory.

But despite their victory, the battlefield remained a grim reminder of their struggles. Their numbers were dwindling, and the true challenge—the demon lord himself—still loomed on the horizon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Tobe and Naoto's end...

Tobe and Naoto sprinted out through the gates, their faces set with grim determination.

"At this pace, we're not going to make it," Naoto panted and muttered, frustration lacing his tone.

"We're going to need your Brainless army to even the odds," Tobe replied back.

Naoto hesitated, his eyes narrowing. "At this speed, it won't matter. We'll be too late."

Tobe's mind churned, searching for a solution. His gaze flicked to Flake, the small snow fairy flitting beside him.

Tobe's expression hardened as an idea struck him. He exchanged a look with Flake, who instantly understood. Without hesitation, Flake flew behind Tobe and merged into his body. A radiant blue light erupted, and a pair of flurry ice wings sprouted from Tobe's back. His hair floated and flowed as if caught in an ethereal breeze, and his eyes glowed like freshly fallen snow, as he takes it to the skies.

"Guess we're flying," Naoto quipped as Tobe grabbed him by the arms and shot into the sky with a cold burst of power.

As they approached the battlefield, Naoto gestured to an area behind the healers. "Drop me there. I'll handle things from here."

Tobe nodded, releasing Naoto before continuing toward the thick of the battle. Naoto landed with a thud, immediately plunging his scythe into the ground as he then placed both of his palms to thr ground. The earth trembled as decayed and skeletal hands and bodies clawed and bursted their way out to the surface.

"Brainless Rising!" Naoto roared. Thousands of undead soldiers emerged, their hollow eyes gleaming with purpose.

"Aim for the Demon Lord's army and nothing else! Rush forward!" The Brainless obeyed, charging into the fray with terrifying precision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Above, Tobe surveyed the chaos. He screamed at the top of his lungs to warn their allies about the Brainless, but the cacophony of battle drowned out his voice. Frustrated, he scanned the field and spotted Elma.

He landed in front of her, his boots crunching against the rocky terrain. "Elma, do you know someone who can amplify an announcement?"

"Oh! Tobe senpai! Actually, Julius has a spell for that. He's up there." Elma pointed towards the cliffsides on their left.

"Thanks!" Tobe launched into the air, streaking toward the cliffside where Julius stood, directing allies with a wide-range communication spell.

"Tobe!" Julius greeted him, but Tobe waved him off.

"No time. I need your spell to warn everyone about something."

Julius nodded and extended the magic circle. Tobe infused it with his voice, shouting with all his might.

"YO! EVERYONE! LISTEN UP!" His voice boomed across the battlefield, putting a calm reassuring smile of Miri's face . "THERE ARE INCOMING BRAINLESS FROM THE REAR. THEY LOOK UNDEAD, BUT DO NOT ATTACK THEM! THEY'RE ON OUR SIDE!"

Satisfied, Tobe turned to Julius. "Thanks. Good luck!"

"You too," Julius replied.

Tobe leapt from the cliffside, conjuring icicles midair and raining them down on the demons below. The shards froze enemies in place, and created a meteor-sized ice boulder that smashed through a cluster of demons, sending shockwaves across the field. Diving into the chaos, Tobe unleashed beams of concentrated frost, freezing rows and lines of enemies in their tracks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spotting Miri and the Cheery Black, Tobe's Familiar Fusion faded, and he landed among them. The group greeted him warmly, albeit with teasing remarks.

"Took you long enough," Max said with a smirk.

"Good to see you too, Jun," Tobe shot back.

"The Brainless?" Jun asked, eyeing the undead reinforcements.

"Naoto," Tobe confirmed. "He's on our side now."

Max nodded approvingly. "That's good. We can use every advantage."

From the distance, Naoto strode forward, his scythe glinting ominously in the dim light. "With the Brainless," he said, "Here's your tide... Shortspark..."

Julius' voice echoed over the battlefield, amplifying the sentiment. "We have the Brainless on our side! Victory is within reach!"

Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted at the rear of the Demon Lord's army. A dazzling burst of multicolored magic lit up the sky like fireworks. Demon Lord Crockus emerged from the blast, his presence radiating sheer power.

Hovering midair, he turned toward the cliffside where some of Riscone Kingdom's forces were stationed. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a massive, multicolored elemental beam. The attack obliterated most of the archers, mages, and sorcerers stationed there, carving a gaping hole into the mountain.

Tobe gritted his teeth, his hands tightening into fists. "So that's the real deal," he muttered.

He crouched slightly, a cocky grin spreading across his face. "AND HE'S THE ONE WE GOTTA TAKE DOWN!"

The group readied their weapons, their determination solidifying as they faced the ultimate battle ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of Chapter Stats of our Young Adventurers:

Tobe Lvl 105 - (Race Abilities: High Jump, Cat-like Instinct, Ricochet) (Spells: Mana String, Explosion Impact, Fall Lighting, Space Space, Aqua Control, Reconstruct, Firas Bolto, Rock Spire Shotgun, Vine Whip, Shock Shoot, Iron Arm Impact, Mana End Nuke) (Spark - Ambition Ignition 25% Current)

Flake Lvl 65 - (Skills: Ice Creation, Icicle Rush, Frost Breath, Ice Ball Shot, Familiar Fusion)

Miri Lvl 108 - (Race Abilities: Halo Flash, False Judgement, Weightless Embodiment) (Skills: Strength Up, Defense Up, Agility Up, Slash, Pierce, Shield Block, Shield Bash, Shield Rush, Bastion Wall Shield, Bastion Weapon Integration, Mana Blade Shoot, Rocket Burst Thrust, Single Slash to Thousand Cuts)

Oculis Lvl 66 - (Skills: Health Drain Tendril, Soft Healing Glow, Wide Party Heal)

Yuka Lvl 90 - (Race Abilities: Creaturea Lamvia, Beast Codex Insight) (Skills: Contract, Summon, Half-Summon, Encouragement. Summons: Blubby Lvl 75, Scale Lvl 75, Balboa Lvl 75, Spryt Lvl 75, Gyutei Lvl 75, Fang Lvl 75)

Jun Lvl 96 - (Race Abilities: Danger Sense, All-Four Rush, Bleeding Bite) (Skills: Disguise, Silent Step, Smoke Bomb Drop, Snatch, Stab, Slice, Hook Pull, Needles, Healing Steal, Decoy, Theft Hook, Escape Plan)