Chương 70: (B2 Chapter 21)

A large, demonic being was standing motionless in the center of the cavern. It looked to be about five meters tall and had a disturbingly humanoid shape. It was wearing a hood that was fluttering ever so slightly, despite there being no wind inside the cavern. Despite the hood, its bright red face with small black horn-like growths all over was clearly visible. In its right hand, it was holding a black scepter topped with a blue crystal, while its left hand was holding onto a large, spiked mace.

It saw us at the same time as our eyes fell on it, and it grinned, showing off its sharp teeth. Without giving us any time to come up with a strategy or a plan of attack, the crystal in its scepter glowed and a blue spell raced its way towards us. Reacting quickly, everyone jumped away and was luckily able to avoid the spell, which struck the ground where we had been standing on and froze it.

A scream of pain sounded from my right, and I looked over wondering if I had been wrong in my assumption of everyone getting away from the attack successfully. However, I was wrong. Sam had managed to jump away from the spell, but landed on a pressure plate and had triggered a bolt trap. His heavy armour kept him from being punctured through, but I could see a few bolts sticking out from his arms and legs where the armour was missing or thinner.

"I got him, you guys focus on the monster!" shouted Marcus, moving towards Sam. I immediately looked back at the demon, who had just launched its second spell. Luckily, it had aimed at me this time, and I activated quick step, which not only allowed me to evade the spell but the improved perception enabled me to see another pressure plate in my path. I made sure not to step on it, and once I had crossed the trap the world snapped back into real-time.

"Everyone! Get behind me, I'll use my ability! Be careful of the traps! Omar, launch a spell of your own against that thing! Alex, you have any ideas?" shouted Lucas, hurriedly making his way in front of Sam and Marcus. I shook my head in response, while keeping my eyes on the demon, which was still standing in place and grinning in a mocking way. Another spell raced towards me, which I was able to easily side-step before I felt mana gathering behind me.

I also quickly made two wind bolts, and as Omar's spell shrieked past me, I launched my own spells in either direction of Omar's, so that any way the demon dodged it would get hit. In a horrifying anticlimax, the demon kept grinning and standing motionlessly as Omar's spell hit a barrier right in front of the demon, while my two spells sailed by harmlessly on either side of the monster. Its grin widened, and it released another spell, this time aiming for Omar, who had to scramble out of the way.

He dove behind Lucas, who used his ability and taunted the monster at the same time. For some reason, perhaps due to the distance between Lucas and the demon, the taunt didn't work, and it launched another spell towards me as I was the only one who wasn't hiding behind Lucas. I dodged the spell again, being careful of where I was stepping. My mind raced as I looked around. The demon's repeated spells were freezing the ground where they touched, affecting footing.

Moreover, there were numerous traps all around the place, and sooner or later someone else was bound to step on one, especially if the frost covering the ground managed to hide the pressure plate from view. I wasn't even sure if there were any other types of traps here. What can we do? Should I start triggering the traps myself while the group stays safe? I got an idea, and immediately put it into action as I avoided yet another spell.

Quick step got me behind Lucas in no time, where I crouched down beside everyone else. Sam had also been healed up by now and had joined Lucas in holding out a shield at the front. As soon as I had settled down, Marcus spoke up, "We should move closer to the thing. We're sitting ducks here."

"That's exactly what I had in mind. You guys start advancing while Hannah should keep an eye out for the traps. She can point them out to Omar who can then trigger them from far away. Once you guys are close enough, Omar should fire off his new spell, hopefully that'll be enough to get rid of its shield," I explained what I had thought of. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"What about you? I didn't hear what you'll be doing?" he questioned.

"I'll be doing what I usually do…"

"So, you'll be injured lying on your ass and I'll have to save you yet again, got it," Marcus interrupted, getting up and relaying the plan to the others without giving me the opportunity to reply. Ass… Everyone was in front of me, and my view of the demon was completely blocked as I was crouching low. Moreover, the group were all facing forward, and I knew it was a prime opportunity to use concealed presence.

I went under the comfort of the skill and after a careful observation of where I was planning to go, I quick stepped to the right. My eyes were focused on the demon's as soon as it was visible. My quick step enhanced perception allowed me to observe the demon's eyes closely, and I was confident that they had stayed glued to the group. They didn't even flicker for a second towards me, so I was reasonably confident that it hadn't seen me. Or it could just be letting me think it hadn't seen me…

I really hoped that wasn't the case. Nevertheless, I started circling around to the back of the large monster, while the group kept its attention focused forward. Lucas and Sam worked together to protect themselves and the others from the spells, while Hannah, helped by Marcus, pointed out traps to Omar and Madelline who set them off with their spells. Meanwhile, I continued making my way towards the demon, being mindful of avoiding all the traps.

The demon had still not moved from its position, which was now working out great for us. It must have thought the same, as it suddenly switched tactics. It hit its next spell close to a trap, not hitting it but covering the ground with frost, making it harder to see. I saw from the side how its grin widened and it started shooting off spells near to the traps, essentially covering them up.

The group was soon forced to stop as most of the way forward was now covered in frost, and I could see them discussing what to do furiously. Realizing that we were running out of time, I hurriedly made my way closer to the demon. It loomed larger with each step, towering over me once I was close to it. I used critical sense and the skill highlighted a surprising detail.

I started moving towards the demon's rear, and I also noticed the area immediately surrounding it was completely devoid of traps, and I think I now knew why it hadn't moved since this fight started. Either it doesn't want to waste the traps by triggering them, or it can also be harmed by them. My money's on the latter option… Once I was right behind the monster, I used critical sense to confirm what I had seen earlier.

The entire back of the demon was lightly highlighted by the skill, whereas the front of the demon showed absolutely no openings through critical sense. It seemed the front of the demon was covered by the barrier we had seen stop Omar's spell earlier, but the monster hadn't bothered to cover its back. I mentally went over my plan, and with tactical insight's approval, I jumped using quick step just as the demon's scepter started glowing again.

My dagger glowed with the activation of piercing strike, as I reached the back side of the hooded head of the demon. I stabbed what I hoped was the back of this thing's neck. The dagger sank into its flesh, and immediately I used both my feet to kick off its back while letting out a wind bolt at the same time. The demon staggered, first by the dagger strike and then once again by the wind bolt that hit the back of its head.

I was still in the air, and I took careful aim before launching another wind bolt, this time aiming for the crystal at the top of the scepter. The bolt sped away as I landed and I rolled up just in time to see the bolt hit the crystal, making it crack right down its center. The demon let out an enraged snarl and spun around, swinging its mace in a wide arc, but I had already activated quick step and moved away. I came to a stop and saw that the grin had finally been wiped from its face.

Instead, it let out another roar of anger and threw its now useless scepter away.

"Not grinning now, are you?" I loudly shouted at it, letting out a huge grin of my own. My terrible taunt worked, and the demon raised its large mace high and started moving towards me. In its rage, it forgot two crucial things: first, I wasn't alone, and second, there were traps all over the place. It had only taken about four large steps towards me before Omar's mana bolt hit it in its head, staggering it and blowing off its hood.

Its bright red bald head covered in small black horns was visible for a second before Madelline followed up as well, hexing it twice and finally getting the opportunity to use her new spell. I released a wind bolt, destroying a pressure plate just a foot away from the demon, and in the next second the demon's foot was sliced deeply by the spike that jutted out from the ground. Had it been on top of the pressure plate, the demon's foot would have been pierced straight through.

However, just injuring it in one foot and possibly affecting its mobility were enough for now. The demon let out a loud, continuous howl of anger and pain. The numerous small black growths all over its head turned from black to dark red, while the rest of the demon turned an even brighter red. The howl then stopped and it turned its now pitch-black eyes towards me, conveying absolute murderous rage. Guess it's time for round two…