"Eeeh! Don't touch my babies!!"
Nara burst into the room, eyes sharp.
"Alpha?!" he called out, taking in the scene.
She stood near the corner, guarding a huge sack. But that wasn't the real threat.
The real danger was all around — demons.
Tall, gaunt figures filled the room, their faces twisted and eyeless, with wide mouths brimming with rows of sharp teeth.
Alpha's eyes locked with Nara's, both flashing surprise.
"Uh?! Nara! What the hell are you doing here?!" Alpha's voice was sharp but carried a hint of relief.
"On a mission," Nara said coolly. "What about you? I thought you were traveling."
Alpha hesitated, eyes darting between Nara and the demons.
"If I tell him I was lured by gold... he'd probably bolt." She swallowed the thought.
Behind her, something yellow gleamed inside the sack, and Nara's gaze caught it.
"Good grief, she must've been lured in as Van said," he thought, shaking his head.
Then it hit him.
"If Alpha's here, then it means Ken..." The name sent a chill down his spine. "No, please not Ken, that demon-slaying psycho!"
Alpha let out a weary sigh.
"I was..." Her words cut off as the demons snapped out of their surprise.
A snarl erupted as the demons lunged, claws flashing.
"Eeeek!" Alpha screamed.
But before they reached her —
BOOM!
A wall of fire blasted outward, forcing the demons back.
Nara landed beside her, the entrance sealing shut behind him.
"Looks like the explanation would've to wait," he said.
Alpha's chest heaved. "Oi oi, that was close." She thought to herself.
However, she quickly dashed the thought. With a smirk, she tossed her hair and said. "Don't get cocky. I didn't need your help."
"Tch," Nara growled. "If only you had half as many brains as you do words."
The demons began to multiply, and close in on them.
Nara's gaze sharpened. "This domain... it traps and twists every step. The cube could spin at any moment. And who knows, there might be traps somewhere. I've to be extra careful," he thought.
He clenched his fists, taking a steady stance.
The horde surged like a tidal wave. Then he exhaled, summoning heat in his palms.
Clap!
Flames burst from his hands, licking up his arms.
"Nara!" Alpha shouted, as he halted.
"What?" he replied, turning to her.
"Listen," she said, voice urgent, "there's a summoning circle at the far end — that's where they're coming from."
Nara nodded, eyes narrowing toward a faint glow beyond the demons.
"Destroy it, and you will stop the horde."
Nara nodded, eyes narrowing, and after that, he replied. "Don't expect a thank you," sticking his tongue out.
"Shut up," Alpha shot back.
Nara faced the demons again.
"One more thing. Get your gold off the ground, so I won't make charcoal out of it." Nara said to Alpha.
"Uh?!" Alpha exclaimed, grabbing her babies. "Don't you dare...or I'll make charcoal out of you too."
A fiery aura ignited around Nara's hands.
"Fire Style..." he whispered, his eyes blazing with tenzen.
He focused his energy, and in that instant...
"Crimson Burst!"
Nara surged forward, leaving a trail of flames behind.
He connected with the nearest demon in less than a second, as his fist slammed into the it's jaw, followed by a sickening crack.
The demon's head exploded, as fire engulfed it, burning it into ash.
"Bring it on!" Nara roared.
The demons lunged forward, their mouths agape.
Nara weaved, delivering punches ignited with bursts of fire, as he connected with the demon's torsos, cracking their ribs and incinerating them.
Suddenly, a demon swung a massive fist, headed towards Nara's face, but with a jolt, Nara spun away midair, landing a brutal blow to its face.
He moved like a flash — dodging through the horde with precise, fluid strikes.
He landed a punch square on a demon's chest, sending it stumbling back, as it exploded.
With a leap, he jumped into the air, and his palm ignited, slamming down in a blast of fire that engulfed three demons instantly.
The demons lunged again, but Nara was already behind them — with an elbow smash, he sent one crashing to the ground, skull splintering.
He caught a swipe midair, twisting and breaking the demon's balance with a kick.
But as he battled the demons, many of them attacked from behind, from his blind spot. But luckily, Alpha saw it.
"Behind you!" She yelled.
Nara landed ignited the one in front of him, and without looking back, he stretched his left hand backwards, as his fingers glowed red.
Time seemed to slow, as tenzen flowed from his heart through his arm. The tenzen coalesced into a huge orb in his palm.
"Emission Phase Sorcery... Inferno Burst!"
As the words left his mouth, the orb exploded into a massive burst of flames, engulfing the demons and burning them to crisp.
But Nara wasn't done.
"Hehe," he chuckled, and in that instant, he launched his right hand's fire, using the momentum to create a spinning effect.
"Spinning Fire slash!"
Flames exploded in a circle, forming a blade of fire that tore the demons apart in a devastating slash.
Alpha's mouth fell open. "What?" She exclaimed in surprise.
The room was ablaze, the walls burned.
Nara panted, surveying the destruction.
"I used too much" he muttered, panting heavily.
His eyes caught the summoning circle glowing blue, mostly clear of demons.
Snarls erupted as the last few demons charged.
Nara fired rapid fireballs, blasting them apart.
With a sprint, he charged the summoning circle, fire coiling in his palm.
But then —
"Shit!" Nara's foot landed on a trap.
The ground trembled slightly, as he felt a slight motion beneath the ground.
"I should've known there'd be a trap."
However, as he raised his leg off the trap, nothing happened. No ceiling opening or boulder falling or water gushing out from somewhere.
"Hmm, that's strange," Nara thought to himself, as he walked to the circle. It was black, and had strange markings inscribed into it, and glowed with a faint blue light.
Nara stretched his finger to the circle, assent a jolt of fire into it, and as it connected...
Poof!
The blue light flickered and died, as the circle erased.
However, a sense of dread still crept over Nara. He felt like something was wrong, but he couldn't place his hand on it.
"That battle...that battle was too easy," he thought. "There must be something else."
But it didn't take too long to realize his hunch was right. As he turned back, facing Alpha, he caught her frozen gaze.
"Uh?!" Nara whispered.
Alpha slowly stretched her hand, pointing to something behind Nara. She mouthed, "B-Behind you..."
Quickly, Nara spun, his heart pounding.
And as he turned back, he was met with another circle. A larger, black summoning circle had appeared.
Then suddenly, a creature began to materialize. It had a massive horn, a single glowing eye, and a wide maw.
Everything about it screamed upper-class. Sweat dripped down Nara's face, as he stared at this entity which flowed with dark anti-tenzen aura .
Then suddenly, the demon raised a finger towards Nara. A black thick orb emanated from its finger, coalescing anti-tenzen from its body. Nara knew what this meant - an attack was coming!
With a jolt, Nara ignited his palms, but it was too late.
Twoof!
The orb shot forward with lethal speed, splitting the air, as it connect with Nara.
The impact was destructive. Nara's ribs cracked as the orb slammed into him, as it sent him crashing into the wall with a heavy thud, cracking the surface of the wall.
Alpha rushed to him.
"Nara!" she cried.
He coughed, blood staining his hand.
Pain surged through his side. He felt like he had been hut by a freight train, as he gritted his teeth.
Then he realized.
"The trap was activated ever since we entered this cube. The first summoning circle was just a lure for us to defeat the demons and set the second, by stepping on that floor!"
Then suddenly, the demon stretched its finger again, aimed towards them...
***
TBC