Chapter 203: Improvise

’Judging by his words, he’s been following us from the beginning,’ Vlad thought inwardly, his grip tightening on his sword. ’Yet I never once sensed his presence. Is he a knight or a mage?’

"So it was you..." Hugo muttered, veins bulging across his forehead. "You’re the one cultivating that monster farm!"

"Hah... I hate it when I have to improvise," Daemoth muttered, facepalming, completely ignoring Hugo’s question.

He stepped forward and suddenly vanished from his spot. The group never left their eyes off him yet they could not even detect his moment when he vanished.

The next moment, his hand rested on Hugo’s shoulder. "Guess this heroic play is about to turn into a tragedy."

Hugo instantly swung his sword at Daemoth, but it struck only empty air, as Daemoth had already reached the center of the cave again.

"H-he is so fast," Vlad gasped. "Was that teleportation?"

"No," Raphael shook his head, sweat trickling down his temple in fear. "I didn’t sense any fluctuation in space."

"Th-that can’t be—"

He hadn’t even finished his sentence when he felt something dangerous closing in from behind.

He clenched his teeth and swung his sword backward in a wide arc, its blade already laced with his Sword Aura.

Tang!!!

His blade was blocked mid-swing between the nails of Daemoth’s thumb and index finger as Daemoth stood behind them.

"How amusing..." Daemoth murmured, his brows rising in intrigue. "A D-Ranked weakling like you sensed me coming."

Vlad’s eyes widened in shock. "How do you know?"

"My eyes can see everything," Daemoth revealed, his grey eyes scanning Vlad. "Your pathetic mana pool, your weak meridians. How did you even learn Sword Aura with such a laughable foundation—"

Before he could finish, Seraphina’s sharp voice cut through the air.

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Inferno Lance!"

A lance of fire shot toward Daemoth in a stabbing motion.

Its head pierced through his chest and burst out from his back.

"Wh-when did you cast the spell?" Daemoth muttered weakly as he fell to his knees, his arms and head going limp.

"Wh-what the hell was this freak?" Hugo gasped, flabbergasted.

"Let’s leave, quickly," Seraphina muttered, nervousness clear on her face. "There could be more of them."

Vlad kept staring at his motionless figure with an unreadable expression.

"Vlad, come on," Raphael called to him, already on the move.

Vlad activated his Sword Aura again and swung the blade straight for Daemoth’s head.

His sword pierced only empty air as Daemoth vanished again, reappearing at the crater.

"H-he’s still alive?" Hugo exclaimed, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The lance was still clearly piercing his chest, yet there was no hint of pain on his face. Was he even human?

"Oh, how did you know?" Daemoth asked Vlad, tilting his head in curiosity.

"There was no blood," Vlad revealed, his eyes narrowing at Daemoth’s chest.

"I suppose I need to work on my performance as well," Daemoth said, shaking his head as if disappointed in himself. He grabbed the lance with his bare hands and crushed it into dying flames with barely any effort.

Seraphina stood with her lips parted at the display of his power. Not even a Four Ring Mage could destroy her spell so easily.

"Good thing no one will know that my performance was seen through by a mere kid."

The moment he finished speaking, he vanished again, his presence disappearing completely from the cave.

"He’s using the shadows to shift his position," Seraphina announced loudly. "He’s most likely an Umbra Mage."

The group immediately moved into formation, covering each other’s backs, their eyes fixed on the dark ground.

Just as Seraphina had predicted, Daemoth emerged from the shadows in front of Hugo, his sharp claws lunging straight for his throat.

He was too fast for Hugo to dodge in time, not to mention the weight of Alisha on his back, which only slowed his movement further.

Daemoth’s nails pierced through his shoulder, and the next moment he was gone again.

"Senior—"

"I’m fine," Hugo muttered, clenching his teeth through the pain. "Stay focused. He’s too fast."

Daemoth kept targeting Hugo, stabbing and slashing different parts of his body. He vanished each time before Hugo could land a swing of his saber. His armor turned dark with the blood he kept losing.

"Damn it," he muttered heavily, frustration evident on his face.

"There’s no use just standing here," Seraphina ordered the group. "We need to counterattack."

She waved her hands, forming a magic circle above her.

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Miniature Sun!"

A concentrated sphere of burning flame erupted from the magic circle, even brighter than the light sphere Alisha had formed.

The miniature sun swallowed the shadows in the cave, forcing Daemoth out into the open just a few meters from Hugo.

Raphael made his move instantly. He teleported behind Daemoth, his thin threads wrapping around his neck.

He crossed his arms sharply to behead him. To his shock, the threads couldn’t even pierce Daemoth’s skin.

A veil of purple mana covered Daemoth’s body, shielding him like armor.

"Hah... you kids are too weak," Daemoth said, shaking his head as if growing bored with the game. "It’s time to end this."

He grabbed the threads around his neck and tore them apart with a light pull.

His other arm was already swinging backward, his claw-like nails aiming for Raphael’s chest.

Raphael managed to teleport away at the last moment, reappearing beside the squad.

"Are you all right?" Hugo asked him.

"My weapon’s been destroyed," Raphael muttered, looking at his bleeding fingers where the torn threads hung loose. "But I’m fine—"

Slice!

"Say that again," Daemoth said with a wide smirk.

Hugo, Vlad, and Seraphina’s heads turned toward Raphael, their faces going pale with horror.

A spear had pierced through Raphael’s back and come out through his abdomen, splattering the blood on the ground.

Daemoth was still standing in his spot, a few meters in front of the group. What had struck Raphael was a skeleton wielding a sword.