Panic settled all around me. I didn't know what to do.
The demon had changed direction.
Were we strong enough to take on a demon yet?
Henry stood a chance and up until three days ago i would not have seen myself standing a chance but i do. I've changed.
Freya? Well she was learning to be a mana user. but still.
Arielle? my heart skipped as i thought about her. I couldn't help it anymore. She occupied my thoughts in more ways than one.
I snapped back to reality and pushed the senile thoughts away. What was i doing?
So henry and i stood the highest chance. Henry stood a higher chance than me, that was no debate.
During the chain of my thoughts, fear enveloped me. Spine breaking fear, the kind that made your teeth grit. I know the guys felt it too because i heard henry ask "What is this feeling?"
I rushed downstairs to tell them about the demon, the fear probably meant it was getting close.
And just then, The demon appeared.
For a moment, everyone froze. Nobody seemed capable of processing what was standing in front of us.
Then Henry and I snapped out of it at almost the exact same time. We sprang forward.
I reached him first, throwing a punch straight at his face, but he simply tilted his head to the side and let my fist pass.
Henry immediately followed.
He thrust his hand forward and the air around the demon erupted. A powerful current of wind wrapped around his body, lifting him from the ground and suspending him several feet in the air.
"Wind prison"
Henry turned toward me. I understood immediately.
I concentrated Qi into my palm, compressing as much as I could till it was dense enough then I released it.
The blast shot toward the demon but he suddenly caught it.
He had actually caught the blast with one hand.
Nobody even seemed to know what they were looking at.
What was happening?
I glanced back at the girls and muttered "Stay back."
The demon's attention shifted toward Henry.
The wind holding him suddenly disappeared.
Henry was lifted off the ground instead, his body suspended in the air.
"Shit!"
He waved his hands
"Qi Pole!"
Qi erupted from the floor.
Several poles of concentrated Qi shot upward around the demon, surrounding him from every direction before the technique tightened around him and blasted him with force.
For a moment, the demon was completely enclosed.
Then he reached out and touched the barrier. It shattered instantly.
The Qi poles broke apart and Henry dropped back to the ground.
I didn't wait.
I planned to blitz toward the demon from behind, throwing a punch at his back but before I could even complete the thought, he was already standing in front of me.
His fist slammed into my face. My entire body jolted with pain. It seared through me, spreading from my face through what felt like my entire nervous system. I was thrown backward and crashed into the ground.
"James!"
I heard Arielle scream in horror.
She was about to start towards me, but I looked at her and shook my head.
She stopped reluctantly. She understood.
I pushed myself back onto my feet, pain and anger mixing together as I wiped the blood from my mouth. A burning sensation had begun spreading through my body, almost as though the pain was frying my entire nervous system.
I ignored it, there was no time not to.
I raised my hand toward the demon.
Telekinesis.
I grabbed him and body stopped in place.
I could feel my energy being drained as I held him there, but I paid it no attention. I pushed harder, keeping him suspended.
Henry didn't let this moment pass.
Multiple blasts of elemental Qi tore towards the demon, dense wind and Qi mixing together as they crashed through the air.
The demon suddenly raised his palm, something had began gathering inside it.
I felt the energy immediately, dark and powerful.
Was that a Qi blast too?
Whatever it was, I knew one thing.
We couldn't tank it.
Henry seemed to realize the same thing. He tried to move, but it was already too late. The energy left the demon's palm already.
I shadow stepped but I was late too.
Immediately i appeared in front of Henry, the blast collided with us.
I took most of the impact, but Henry was still caught in it.
We were thrown backward.
"Fuck!" Henry shouted. "I can't feel my left arm!"
I looked toward the demon.
"What do you want?"
He didn't answer.
I tried to get back up, but the burning sensation inside me had intensified. It felt like something was tearing through my body from the inside.
The demon began walking toward us.
I tried to force myself up anyway.
Then suddenly, something snapped.
The burning stopped and mana poured out of my body. Literally.
Everyone shifted backward in horror.
Even the demon took a step back.
I stared at the energy surrounding my body.
Mana? how? and so much of it?
Traces of black and blue twisted through the energy.
I stared at it in disbelief.