In a normal circumstance, Astaroth would have felt less rushed to leave. He knew there was always a military presence in the capital city of Tel'narel.
He had been on the receiving end of it, once, after all. But even if foot soldiers confronted a demon, there was just no way they could stop it.
Even a weak demon was far stronger than simple foot soldiers. And Astaroth just knew the king wouldn't send his strongest troops out until he was in immediate danger.
That was just the type of man the rotten king was.
So he had to make haste and reach the capital, lest he finds only a burnt husk of a city once he arrived. That was why he was using Travelling Roots.
The speed at which he travelled through the roots was incomparable to his running or flying speed. By the time he launched out of a treetop with a sonic boom at the end of his melding time, the city already greeted his sight in the distance.
But he knew he was late.
The tree he had launched from was a burning husk, and from his viewpoint in the sky, a part of the outer city was just the same. Melding with Morpheus, he lost no time, bursting forward with the help of Propel.
He kept his wings folded on himself for a while, using the second burst from Propel, and his initial exit speed, to soar through the skies for a bit. When he felt he had slowed down enough and was descending again, he opened his wings, going into a glide.
Astaroth reached the city in the next few seconds, landing with a cloud of dust, taking a bit of damage and feeling his knees whine. But he had little time to care about his own safety or health.
He was already hearing the screams of terror and pain in a nearby street. From above head, he had seen where the destruction stopped, roughly, and had landed there, hoping the demon would be nearby.
Astaroth had landed in what looked like a market street. Carts were strewn all around him, destroyed and burning.
There was no Ash Elf in sight, and even through his mana senses, he couldn't sense anyone near him. When he eventually caught a mana signature through his sense, he became glum.
His head snapped toward the top of the buildings, where a red demon popped over a rooftop. The demon felt the wave of mana as he passed through it, and its head also turned to meet Astaroth's gaze.
An enormous grin appeared on the creature's face as it screeched and dove toward its prey.
Astaroth's mind flashed on something similar he had once seen, but he forced his attention back to the matter at hand. Scanning the demon, Astaroth frowned.
*Demon Scout*
Level: 50
Grade: Elite
HP: 96,600
MP: 2,310
This was just a scout. Why hadn't the king sent people to fight it?
He had seen no bodies at all, yet. Not even civilians.
He could surmise the demon had probably killed them in their homes, which was why he couldn't see bodies outside. But that only amounted to civilians.
Where were the bodies of the soldiers? He had not crossed a single one yet.
He had no time to think about this, as the demon was almost in his face. Unfortunately for the latter, it had grossly misjudged its new prey.
Catching the demon by its throat, Astaroth looked at it with a murderous gaze.
"You've killed enough innocents."
The demon only cackled, no fear in its eyes, as it slashed at Astaroth with red daggers, made of its own blood.
*-367* *-367*
…
Looking at the damage numbers in his view, Astaroth could feel anger boil the blood in his veins.
'Such a weak foe, and yet, not a single soldier was sent out to fight it. What is this fool of a king doing?'
Astaroth didn't want to waste time fighting the weak enemy. He plunged his hand inside the demon's chest, not even stopping the creature from slashing at him, and grasped its dark and tainted soul.
The demon's face changed when it felt something tugging at its very existence. It screeched in panic, redoubling its efforts at slashing the mortal in front of it.
The demon even resorted to kicking Astaroth, trying desperately to break free from the mortal's grasp. But the hand holding its throat was tight like a clamp, unbudging.
Astaroth looked the demon in the eyes, anger still washing off of him.
"If your soul ever enters the wheels of reincarnation, I hope you repent a million times in your next life."
Finishing his sentence, Astaroth pushed Aether into the soul. The sudden increase in power almost confused the demon, who felt like it could suddenly cut mountains.
But the feeling was fleeting, already overloading.
Screeching in pain and horror, the demon's soul ballooned up before popping. The demon went limp in Astaroth's grasp, before it suddenly started turning to ash.
The wind brought the ash away, scattering it until nothing was left. But Astaroth wasn't done just yet.
Sending a wave of mana around him, Astaroth expanded it as far as the city walls in every direction. He finally sensed mana spots, here and there, from citizens who had a bit of magic potential.
He realized he couldn't feel people if they didn't have mana, and that explained why he couldn't feel anyone around him. The demon had probably been attracted to their mana, too, and killed those people first.
To confirm his thoughts, Astaroth heard some shuffling in the debris to his right.
Turning his head, he saw a child crawl out of a broken doorway, to a house half-destroyed. The little girl seemed terrified, clutching a teddy-bear plush, looking at Astaroth like he was an abomination.
He realized he still had wings on his back, since he was melded to Morpheus. He quickly undid the meld, going back to normal.
"Everything is ok, now, little girl. I'm an Ash Elf, just like you. I killed the big evil demon. You are safe."
The little girl was reticent at first, but she eventually walked to him, looking at Astaroth with tear-filled eyes.
"Mommy is still in the house. She's sleeping and I can't wake her up. Can you help me?"
Astaroth's heart froze. He nodded at the little girl, already guessing her mother wasn't sleeping.
Walking up to the collapsed door, he cleared the way with a bit of telekinesis. When he saw the mother inside, he closed his eyes, turning the girl around.
"Mommy looks like she needs some more rest. Come with me. I will bring you to a garrison, where the guards will keep you safe until she wakes up, okay?"
The little girl reluctantly nodded, looking over her shoulder at her mother.
"Sleep tight, Mommy."
Astaroth was ready to explode in anger. He held back his emotions, only showing the little girl a fake smile, and walking away, holding her hand.
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