The Demon Revealed

Winifred and Elsie continued flying, soaring above the large forest, heading towards the south.

"Is this the South Forest?" Winifred asked, looking down.

"Yes, it is," Elsie replied.

"South Forest is one of the largest and densest forests in the Ray Kingdom," Elsie added.

"What is the Ray Kingdom?" Winifred asked, recalling the party where they helped a boy named Ray as well.

"Yeah, I know the name Ray, but it's different. The eastern city is part of the Ray Kingdom. There are a total of six cities in the Ray Kingdom. The eastern city is the last border city to the east, which is why it's also called the Eastern City. The boy's name is just a coincidence," Elsie explained, providing details about the Ray Kingdom to Winifred.

"Oh, okay," Winifred responded.

Elsie and Winifred continued flying towards the south. After a while, the green forest they were crossing in the air started to look black, with the trees appearing darker and darker.

"We're here! We're landing," Elsie said.

Winifred and Elsie started descending into the blackened trees. After reaching the ground, Elsie kept looking straight ahead without any movement. Observing Elsie's intense focus, Winifred realized that Elsie was doing something.

"Found it," Elsie said.

Winifred continued to watch Elsie while still holding her hand tightly.

"There he is! I know where Leo is," Elsie said, still looking straight. Winifred understood that Elsie was using magic to survey the surroundings and locate Leo and other monsters.

"He's alive," Elsie said.

Hearing that Leo was alive, a smile appeared on Winifred's face.

Elsie continued gazing straight ahead.

"This will be a good plan," Elsie said, looking at Winifred with a smile.

"Let's go; he's alive," Elsie said.

"That's great," Winifred replied.

"Here's the plan: Leo is being held hostage in a tunnel behind us. There are 79 mini goblins around Leo in the cave, 15 half-goblins to our right, and 10 half-goblins along with that demon in front of us," Elsie explained.

Winifred was shocked to hear that Elsie had figured out everything without moving. "Such power," she thought.

"I'm going to slash them, just like before with the goblin giant. Remember? So, prepare to see blood; this is your lecture, Winifred," Elsie said with a small smile.

Winifred understood that she had to witness this because, in the future, she would need to handle such situations alone. She couldn't avoid seeing blood or fighting monsters.

"So, where should we start, Winifred?" Elsie asked, still looking straight ahead.

"Saving Leo should be our priority, right?" Winifred replied.

"But we also have to kill that demon and the other goblins. There are other hostages too—two elf girls and one human warrior. They're in the same cave with Leo," Elsie said.

"What? There are more hostages?" Winifred replied with shock on her face.

"Yes, there are. So there are a total of four hostages, including Leo, and we have to save them all," Elsie explained.

"So, here's the plan, Winifred. The sun is at its peak, so we have less than half a day. The plan is to first kill all the goblins in the tunnel, release the hostages, and get them to a safe place before the others arrive. Let's do this: Once we kill all the goblins in the tunnel, I will take care of the remaining goblins on our right, then go after the demon. Why wait?" Elsie said confidently, her eyes burning with rage.

Looking at Elsie, Winifred understood that when it came to fighting or killing monsters, Elsie seemed to transform, her eyes radiating a fiery rage.

"Okay! But what if the hostages see us? We're hiding your strength from them, right?" Winifred asked, knowing that if the hostages saw them, they would realize how powerful Elsie was.

"Don't worry; I have a spell for that! So, no need to worry about them," Elsie replied with a smile, her emotions returning to normal.

"Okay," Winifred replied, trusting Elsie.

"We'll fly again at high speed and change direction rapidly if necessary, so grab my hand tightly," Elsie said.

Understanding Elsie's concern, Winifred grabbed Elsie's hand tightly. Knowing that the battle could start at any moment, Winifred took a deep breath.

"Okay," Winifred said.

After grabbing Elsie's hand tightly, Elsie turned around and looked towards the sky in front of her. Suddenly, Elsie and Winifred were in the air, high above where Elsie had been looking.

"What…!" Winifred exclaimed as she realized they were suddenly above the clouds. They had reached here without flying but instead through teleportation.

"Take a deep breath…!" Winifred muttered.

"Did we teleport?" Winifred asked, looking down with wide eyes and shock on her face.

"Yes! There was a chance the monsters could spot us if we flew here, so instead, I teleported us," Elsie said with a smile.

"Oh… okay! Deep breath. Is this advanced magic too?" Winifred asked, calming herself from the shock.

"Not like flying, actually. But make sure not to discuss this magic with anyone, okay?" Elsie said.

Winifred understood that this magic wasn't as advanced as flying but knew she had to keep it a secret.

"Okay, I won't tell anyone," Winifred said.

"Look there," Elsie said, pointing down.

Beneath Winifred and Elsie, the sky was clearer, with no clouds in sight. Near the ground, there was a small rocky mountain made of white rock. At the front of the mountain was a small hole that resembled a door leading into the mountain—it was the cave where the hostages were held. Goblins were nearby, around the mountain cave.

Winifred understood this was the cave where Leo and the other hostages were being kept.

Elsie raised her hand towards the mountain, and suddenly the air current shifted, which Winifred could feel.

"It's done," Elsie said.

"What?" Winifred asked.

"I created an invisible barrier around the mountain. It's like glass—you can see outside, but people outside can only see what we're seeing now. This view will never change, even if we destroy the mountain inside the barrier. From the outside, it will still appear intact because it's an illusion," Elsie explained.

"So, is this illusion magic?" Winifred asked curiously.

"Yes, but not just illusion. I combined two barrier spells with illusion magic," Elsie replied.

Understanding Elsie's brilliance and power, Winifred felt both shocked and happy at the same time.

On the ground below, a demon with two small horns on his head and a long jacket exposing his abs was sitting on a large rock among the half-goblins.

"What is this? The air current has changed. But how?" the demon muttered as he jumped to the ground from the rock.