"N-No...," Stuttered the Wind Mage, stumbling back in fear, as the Demon tore Hal's head off and lifted it up as she opened her mouth, pouring his blood down her throat.
She licked her lips as she tossed his head away, before a thud echoed out as she released his corpse from the grasp of her vines, letting it hit the ground before turning her attention towards the rest of us.
"How delightful. You foolish humans strolled in here so confidently, and look at you now, cowering in fear. So, what will you do now? Would you like to die as a group? Or would you prefer that I kill you one by one instead?" The Demon inquired with an ominous smile, a dark gleam in her eyes.
"Can't say I like our odds, but I'm not going to go down without a fight," Remarked Ariella, her fists trembling slightly as she stepped forward, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her face.
"How brave, and yet, so very foolish. Do you see these black vines all around you? They are a special kind of plant from the world I come from, known as Black Brambles.
They grow at a rapid pace, absorbing nutrients and Mana, and killing all other plant life in their vicinity.
Left unchecked, they can turn an entire forest into a wasteland in a matter of weeks. They are extremely difficult to get rid of, they keep growing unless you destroy them entirely.
We Greater Demons each possess a unique special ability, known as a Demonic Art. Mine is called Black Brambles, and it allows me to control these vines...every single one you see is mine to control as I please.
Even if you were strong enough to match me physically, you cannot move freely in this space. Here, I am in complete control," Chuckled the Demon, several of the vines starting to move.
"
I then consumed the rest of the vines on the pillar as fast as I could, before stiffening as the Demon turned her gaze towards me, narrowing her eyes...
"Hm? I must ask you to stop that," She uttered icily, my blood running cold as she spread out her wings and shot towards me with immense speed, adding as she closed in and met my gaze, "What a strange Aura you have..."
I sprang back and raised Devour in front of myself, but she was quick to veer around to my right as she closed in.
I deactivated Devour and spun across as fast as I could, raising my short-sword up defensively as she drove her right arm towards me, a sharp clang ringing out as her claws struck my blade and deepened the cracks upon impact, before snapping it in half, the trajectory of her arm shifting across slightly.
I gritted my teeth in pain as her claws sliced across my left side, inflicting a deep gash across my skin, before my eyes widened in alarm as the thorny whip in her left hand suddenly extended with immense speed, shooting towards the middle of my stomach.
A rapid blur of red suddenly zipped in in my peripheral, Ariella coming into sight as she stepped between the Demon and I, striking the Demon's throat with her left elbow while simultaneously striking the whip with her right fist, deflecting it away, a couple of the thorns grazing my right side.
Ariella met my gaze as the Demon let out a choked gasp and stumbled back while clutching her throat, before Ariella shot towards her and leapt forward, wrapping her arms around the Demon's torso and holding her in place.
"Let go of me, you lowly-...!" Began the Demon furiously, raising her claws, before trailing off as I shot forward and jumped over Ariella, reaching out as fast as I could and grabbing the top of the Demon's head.
"
I let out a sharp gasp as my back slammed onto the wall behind me with a jarring impact, tasting blood in my mouth as my vision blurred, right as the Demon's knee collided against Ariella's gauntlets as she just barely managed to cross her arms in front of herself in time.
She got sent flying back as I collapsed onto the floor, coughing out blood as she skidded against the ground and came to a screeching halt a few meters to my left, letting out a shaky groan as she tried to get back up, wincing in pain as she moved her arms, which were trembling.
"Wh-What...what the hell did you do to me?!" Exclaimed the Demon, collapsing onto her knees as she clutched her torso in agony, my blood running cold as she lifted her head and met my gaze with her left eye, a seething look of rage on her face, as her right eye finished regenerating too.
Shit...
"[Area Heal]!" Chanted Ferna as she rushed over towards me and Ariella, healing our injuries before yelling at the others, "Hurry and get over here, get behind me, I'll-...!"
"You damned humans!" Snarled the Demon, an ominous mass of black energy erupting out of her right hand, before she swung it across with an enraged roar, unleashing a devastating wave of the black energy towards us.
The Protector put up a barrier as the Ice Mage raised a wall of ice behind it as fast as he could, the black energy erupting as it collided against the barrier, shattering it almost instantly, along with the ice wall.
Several cries of pain and alarm rang out as the Mages got blown away, an intense shockwave bursting out as I got pushed back against the wall, crashes ringing out around me as clouds of dust spread out across the space.
I let out a cough before shakily getting back onto my feet with a slight grunt as the shockwave died down, before looking around as the dust began to clear.
Ariella let out a slight groan before getting back up, meeting my gaze with a grimace, before I spotted the others, scattered about the space...none of them are moving, best case scenario is that they're unconscious, but...
The Mages were so close to the blast, and Ferna wasn't that far from it either, looks like the shockwave knocked her back and she hit her head on the wall.
I think she's still alive, but I'm not sure about the other Mages, they're too far to tell.
Ariella and I were further back from the blast, and we were close to the wall, which helped brace us against the force of the shockwave.
A gust of wind then burst out ahead of us as the Demon flapped her wings, blowing the dust away. She stepped forward with a dark look in her eyes, gleaming with a cold, malicious fury, directed at me...