The roar we heard was definitely from a god-level demon. I can't be mistaken in that, since I have encountered one before, the Shark Demon that I and Igni fought together.
"Everyone! Run!"
I'm not sure why it woke up, but from the energy waves I could feel approaching, we were definitely its target.
After I shouted, everyone quickly turned tail and ran. Ember nimbly took out the briefcase from before and checked the map quickly, navigating us through the shortest path leading to the spot with the most possibility of leading to the exit.
"Master, there's an enemy ahead of us! We should detour!"
Ember warned, but I just shook my head. We didn't drop speed but instead accelerated.
"No time to detour; just forge ahead!"
I activated [Lifeblood] once more, but this time at the lowest setting. I can't waste too much energy since we need to move as a group. Using the additional speed I gained, I moved ahead of everyone and waved my sword against the demons lurking in the passage ahead of us. They were the same ant-type demons from before, making me think that this place was actually their nest or something.
As I was lost in thought, an ant peeked at the corridor ahead and shot acid at me.
"...!"
I was delayed in dodging, but Ember's shield made it in time, taking the brunt of the attack for me. Her shield didn't melt like when the 9th-stage demons attacked, though, so that means their acid's potency relied on their level.
"Haaap!"
Fang used [Shadow Skip] and appeared behind the Ant Demon before beheading it in one motion. The headless ant fell to the ground, its legs rampaging around as the last bit of its life got drained.
"Go!"
Igni shouted as she stood behind us, where a swarm of weaker ants was approaching. Since it was behind us anyway, Igni roasted them without any remorse. The smoke was filling the passage behind us and was slowly moving on the ceiling, following the slight slope of the cave system.
"This... Ember! The smoke; follow the elevation changes!"
Since we were in an anthill, I think the exit should be located in a higher spot than our current position. Ember seemed to notice it too and quickly scanned the maps, changing the view to show the elevation, and quickly pointed to the right for the next turn.
"That one is located a bit higher, Master!"
"Great, let's go!"
With our chances of reaching the surface bumped up, we ran with a little more hope in our hearts.
Whenever we encountered demons ahead, Fang and I handled them quickly, while Igni and Threya handled the rear, literally doing a scorched earth tactic as we went onward.
The problem, however, was that the distance between us and the god-level demon's presence didn't improve. Rather, as time passed, the distance was shortening. In the few minutes that passed since the start of our run, the distance had been reduced by more than half already!
"D*mn! Is that guy not going through the passages and breaking the anthill or something?!"
There were no tremors, so I guess that guy wasn't rushing to catch up to us. That's a blessing in disguise, since if it were serious, the distance between us would vanish in an instant. Rather, regardless of distance, it could probably attack us as it wanted.
Wait... Attack?
"...! Everyone, get down!"
I roared in my loudest voice and quickly blocked everyone from moving further. As soon as I did, a white flash of light ate up the entire passage ahead of us. The light was so intense that we were temporarily blinded.
The smell of burning matter mixed with the heat that seared our skin. This beam attack was so powerful that it literally disintegrated everything ahead of us! We did not even have to guess where it came from when another roar echoed, louder than the last and almost shattering our eardrums.
*RRRROOOOAAAAAARRRRR!*
The voice was coming from below us, through the hole created vertically through the passage. Although this attack meant that the god-level demon was aware of our location, it was also a blessing for us. Looking up, we could see the red and black clouds, with what seemed like a large hole in the middle. The attack it launched opened up a straight path to the surface!
"Everyone, up!"
I shouted as I turned to them. Without wasting any time, Threya's pug jumped down and transformed into its large form, extending its large body right before the hole and flying in the air. Wait, it could fly?!
"Quick, ride on Peabody!"
Threya urged everyone to board, and we did as told without hesitation. As soon as all of us were secured behind the large beast, he quickly leaped in the air, kicking off the walls and running almost vertically up the walls.
As we were halfway up, however, I felt the convergence of the god-level demon's energy once more. This feeling is more powerful than before, and it was also faster!
"Ember!"
"On it!"
Before I could even ask her to, Ember had already set up a teleportation portal to be right below the pug's feet. The portal moved with us as if it had the pug set as its coordinate anchor.
Soon, a large beam swept over us. Other than the small area protected by Ember's portal, the rest of our surroundings were covered in a white beam of searing light. Threya took the chance and cast a barrier to protect everyone, but even with that, the heat was making us feel like our throats were burning.
A few seconds later, the beam finally stopped and cleared our view. The hole we were running on before was now wider, a testament to the power of the second attack.
Just as we were wondering if another attack would come, a beam of light, a little smaller than the first one, came. However, it wasn't facing upward but rather falling diagonally downward, aiming for the spot where the attacks came from first.
Ember actually used its own attack to fight back!
*KRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!*
A roar, filled with pain and anger, echoed shortly after. Its own attack returning to it was probably not something that that god-level demon expected.
"Nice one!"
Although that angered the demon more than it damaged it, the attack managed to buy us enough time to reach the surface before another blast came.
As soon as we got out, we noticed that the place we were in was really a gigantic "ant hill" spanning a few kilometers wide. Now, however, it looked more like a volcano, with a large hole appearing right down its middle.
Around the anthill, the earth was covered not in rocks or ashes but in flowing magma. It was a familiar scene, like in the God Domain of the Dragon King from before, but this one extended as far as the eyes could see, literally. While in the air, we also noticed demons lurking on the ground. Their levels varied greatly, but just the 9th-stage demons alone numbered in the thousands.
"D*mn! How are we going to survive in here?!"
I cursed as I tried to think of a way to leave this place in one piece. While I was doing that, Threya ordered the pug to land on a relatively flat surface nearby. It was a small mound poking out of the sea of magma. Although it wasn't the best location to rest, it would at least ensure that the demons couldn't approach us through the ground.
The instant we landed, another beam of light flew from the anthill, this time coming in a horizontal direction. Ember was prepared, however, and quickly replicated what she had done before, using a portal to redirect the attack back to it.
Unlike our expectations, there was no scream of pain. The demon was probably prepared this time and managed to block the reflected attack. It was a little disappointing, but blocking the attack successfully should already be an achievement worthy of praise.
A god-level demon is catching up from behind, and swarms of 9th-stage demons are swarming around. It was already hopeless as is, but the despair had yet to rear its ugly head completely.
From the distance, two more presences appeared. Each was about the same level as the one who was chasing us—a god-level! With three of them scattered around us, enclosing us from three directions, there's literally nowhere to run to.
Our faces darkened upon this realization. Even Fatima was sweating bullets, probably thinking of ways to overcome our predicament, similar to what I was doing.
"We have no other choice..."
I sighed, resolving myself to the only possible way we could come out of this alive.
"Everyone, I'll leave the two new ones to you. Just delay them and wait for me."
I said as I turned to the giant hand that peeked over the top of the anthill. Soon, the owner of the hand appeared, showing us the figure of the god-level demon that was attacking us. It had a humanoid, demon-like appearance, literally, with black and red skin, together with bloodshot eyes glowing with anger and violence.
"I... will take that thing on myself!"
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