Ariella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, composing herself before she shot towards the Demon, who scoffed and began to swing her whip.
"
Ariella immediately picked up the pace, rushing forward and leaping towards the Demon as she closed in on her, driving her right fist forward right as the Demon broke free of the effect of Command.
"[Flame Strike], [Triple Impact]!" Exclaimed Ariella, slamming her fist onto the middle of the Demon's chest, a sharp crunch ringing out before the Demon got sent hurtling back through the air with a sharp gasp.
Ariella's eyes widened slightly before she quickly tilted her head across to the left as the Demon swung her arm forward, her whip extending out and snapping in towards Ariella's face.
Ariella strained and arched her upper body as she gritted her teeth, one of the thorns grazing the side of her forehead, narrowly evading a direct hit as the Demon crashed onto the wall behind her.
"You again, you did something, didn't you?" The Demon growled at me, a hint of wariness in her eyes.
"Stay back, Kai. You're unarmed, so it's too risky," Remarked Ariella, as the Demon healed her injuries and dusted herself off.
"That's not going to be a problem," I responded, before manifesting a copy of my short-sword using Treasury.
"Oh. Well, okay then," She replied in bemusement, before turning her attention back to the Greater Demon and focusing up.
A brief, tense pause ensued, before we both shot towards the Demon, who flew up before swooping down at Ariella with immense speed while sending her whip zipping out towards me.
I swung my blade across as the whip closed in on me, deflecting it away before ducking as it swung across across at my head.
I leapt away as it began to circle my head, getting out of the way before it could constrict around my neck, right as a startled yell rang out.
The Demon grabbed Ariella's leg with her tail, pulling her off-balance before Ariella crossed her arms defensively as the Demon drove her arm forward.
Ariella winced in pain as the Demon's claws pierced through the gauntlet over her right arm and plunged into her forearm, before she gritted her teeth and stomped on the Demon's foot, eliciting a sharp cry from her.
As the Demon's grasp over Ariella's leg with her tail loosened, Ariella broke free before wrenching the Demon's claws out of her arm and driving her left fist towards the Demon's head.
"[Flame Strike]!" She exclaimed, flames erupting around her fist before she let out a sharp gasp as the Demon drove her knee up, slamming it against Ariella's stomach and knocking the wind out of her before her fist could connect, launching her straight up into the air.
Ariella coughed out blood as she shot up towards ceiling, before gritting her teeth as she began to plummet back down, the Demon starting to step forward before springing back as I flung my blade towards her with a rapid spin.
As my blade whizzed past the front of her face, she turned her gaze this way and shot towards me with immense speed as Ariella landed with a thud.
I leapt back and manifested another copy of my blade as the Demon closed in on me, a sharp clang ringing out as I just barely deflected the swing of her claws with my short-sword, the blade cracking upon impact, before I let out a choked gasp as the Demon's whip snuck up behind me and wrapped around my neck, starting to tighten.
"Time to die," She smirked as the thorns dug into my neck, before stiffening and turning around as Ariella shot towards her and grabbed her tail, tightening her grip before flinging her away with immense force.
The Demon hurtled back through the air, before coming to an abrupt halt by spreading out her wings sharply, canceling out the momentum as I pulled her whip off my neck and tossed it away.
Trickles of blood ran down all around my neck, where the thorns of the whip had been digging into my skin.
"You alright?" Inquired Ariella, as the Demon retracted her whip while hovering in the air above us.
"Yeah, think I'll live...for now, anyway."
"I must admit, I am surprised you've lasted this long, humans. Perhaps I ought to give you a reward...allow me to show you the true power of my weapon," Chuckled the Demon, my eyes widening as her whip suddenly split in two, the two halves floating up on either side of her, before zipping down towards us rapidly.
As Ariella and I raced away in either direction, each half of the whip chased after one of us, steadily closing in on us...the two halves are thinner than it was before it split, but they're a lot faster, I can't outrun this!
In which case...
"
I gritted my teeth and drove my blade down, jamming it in the gap between a couple of the stone slabs on the floor, bringing myself to a abrupt halt before rolling out of the way as the whip shot towards me with immense speed, a loud smack ringing out as it struck the ground.
Ariella was weaving around the space as the other half of the whip chased after her, inflicting a few scratches on her as she did her best to evade it.
I scrambled back onto my feet and tried using Devour again as the one chasing after me shot forward again, but it failed once again, the whip breaking free of Devour and grazing my left bicep as I tilted my body across to evade it as it zipped in towards my chest.
As Ariella sprang back to evade the one she was contending with, she froze as the Demon suddenly swooped down towards her, closing in on her in an instant with a malevolent smirk on her face, a wide grin spreading out across her lips as she slammed her knee onto the middle of Ariella's torso before she could react.
"Oof!" Gasped Ariella, before getting launched back through the air at a breakneck speed, a deafening crash ringing out as she slammed onto the wall behind her, blood pouring out of her mouth as she slumped to the floor, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to stay conscious...