[Name: Brute Fiend
Race: Demon
Stats:
1000 Strength
200 Dexterity
200 Endurance
800 Magic]
Ok… Just by looking at the stats, this is not good…
One thing I noticed though… Its race isn’t a ‘monster’ but a ‘demon’ instead… I’m not sure if this is the stats you can expect from a demon or this one is already considered strong by their standards?
The maids quickly spread themselves out, just in time too as the demon leapt forward and smashed its fist at where we had been just a moment ago.
“Surround it! Maintain your distance! Strike at it with ranged attacks and don’t get close!” One of them instructed, whom I assumed was the leader of this group.
I thought it was Katsuki leading them but I guess I was wrong?
The other maids responded with practised efficiency, all of them either pulling out throwing knives, bows and even crossbows from… Under their skirts…
What the heck… Do they have some dimensional storage under there or something? How did they even store a whole crossbow under there, let alone a bow and a quiver??
All of them started shooting arrows, spells and throwing knives at the demon.
But all of that seemed to only annoy it more than hurt it as it let out a roar to smash both its fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that forced us back.
Ugh… Just from one punch into the ground and it’s enough to force everyone to fly away…
If that’s the strength coming from one thousand points in the strength stats, how much damage can you cause when you have more than three times that?
Unfortunately, neither Mary nor Sebastian was with us for this so we can’t rely on them now.
But well… No reason to go all out right now since everyone’s life is on the line right?
“Come forth!!” I yelled with my hand raised up.
What? A cool pose is definitely necessary, there is no question about it.
My Shadow Summons started to pour out from my shadow, numbering in the hundreds.
With a single thought from me, all of them took out bows and crossbows made with my [Shadow Forge] to start shooting at the demon as well.
It made an annoyed shriek before swinging its arm in an arc, creating a wall of air that blew away our arrows.
The ones who could cast spells were unfazed and continued blasting it from a distance with fire, ice and lightning.
I joined in as well with my own lightning bolts using the [Spark Strike] spell. It wasn’t much but it was honest work.
The good thing was that despite how strong this demon seemed, it did not possess the capability to cast spells and relies on brute force. So as long as we maintain our distance, we should be safe.
Just as I thought of that, the demon raised its hand into the air, creating a blood red ball that had black lightning crackling along its surface.
Eh? Wait a minute… [Screened] clearly showed it had no Magic Skills though?
“Everyone! Disperse!!”
I was still a little transfixed by the red ball over the demon’s hands when I felt someone tackle me to the ground, using their own body to cover me.
Looking up, I quickly realised it was Katsuki before my vision went white and pain assaulted my senses.
I realised the pain came from the lightning the demon was shooting out and if I was already feeling it despite Katsuki covering me, just how bad it must be for her who was taking the full brunt of it?
“Katsuki!!” I cried out, trying to push her off.
The only response I got was her tightening her grip on the floor as she held her ground, not even budging when the black lightning hit her.
“Katsuki!! Stop it!! I can handle it!! You don’t need to shield for me!!”
“Kuhhh… Allowing… Mistress to be hurt… In front of me… Is unacceptable… For a maid…” She gasped.
This self-sacrificing maid!!
I used [Aqua Ball] and reshaped the water into a shield, catching the next blast of lightning in Katsuki’s place.
I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when I heard the water start to rumble.
No way… The heat from the lightning is making it boil to the state of vaporisation?!
Panicking a little, I quickly sent the water ball flying away, which just so happens to be towards the demon.
The ball exploded into superheated steam just as it crashed against it, causing the demon to let out a cry of pain for the first time and stopping its lightning.
I quickly pulled Katsuki away and laid her down on the ground on her stomach, wincing when I saw the damage done to her back.
The lightning had burned away the back of her maid uniform to reveal her bare back, her skin cracked and bloodied with boils from where the lightning had struck.
A simple [Close Wounds] would not be enough for this.
I started digging through my pack, looking for an Intermediate grade healing potion, cursing the nature of the Pack of Folding where everything was stacked on top of one another which prevented me from getting the potion easily.
I was not able to find a potion in time as the demon let out a roar which I recognised was a sign of challenge.
Cursing under my breath, I quickly cast a [Close Wounds] spell on her before tossing the bag aside to face the demon.
All the summons I had called up were obliterated. The other maids, while still alive, were also clearly out of commission after those lightning strikes.
In other words… I’m now facing the demon at least twice as strong as I am alone.
Its fiery red eyes ignited into flames again, its equally red skin seemed to shine with a spark of lightning flashing across its surface while it glared at me.
I reached out my hands and used [Shadow Forge], creating a bow and a quiver of arrows for myself.
With the difference in strength, I doubt it would be a good idea for me to engage the demon in close combat head on like this.
The demon snorted, as though mocking my choice of weapon before it lowered itself into a combat stance.
Ok… So… Since it wasn’t attacking right away…
[Mind Shield], [Body Current], [Lightning Clad], [Shadow Wall], [Shadow Glide], [Light Flash]!
The demon let out a surprised roar when my [Light Flash] blinded it momentarily, the light preventing it from seeing me use my [Body Current] enhanced legs to jump high up into the sky. My ascent was further boosted by [Shadow Glide] while [Shadow Wall] ensured that I would not be easily spotted even if the demon were to look up.
With my [Lightning Clad] channelled into my right hand, I pulled back my bowstrings and allowed the electricity to flow down to coat the arrow. Knowing that this small arrow would not be enough, I made use of [Shadow Forge] to turn the arrow into a ballista bolt with an equally large bow as well.
With everything prepared, I released my grip on the bowstring to allow the arrow to fly straight towards the demon’s head, striking it in between its horns.
The arrow then exploded into bolts of lightning as it coursed through the surface of the demon’s head, stunning it momentarily.
Tossing aside the bow, I held my left hand behind me and casted [Breeze], using the blast of wind to propel me downwards towards the demon.
My right arm was cocked back and I simultaneously casted [Body Current] and [Lightning Clad] on it, ready to deliver my punch on the demon’s head in an attempt to punch it into the ground.
Just as I was about to reach it, the demon suddenly looked up, its fiery eyes boring straight into mine in obvious fury.
I quickly moved my enhanced arm in front of me in a blocking motion while my wings exploded from my back to try and halt my descent.
Unfortunately, I was too slow as the demon’s hands came up to smash against my arm, flinging me away to crash into the cavern wall.
I felt my body scream in pain as I half laid in the crevice my crash had created, my eyes still seeing stars.
Pain was also blossoming from my right arm when I tried to move it and it jolted me awake pretty quickly.
I only had time to cast one [Close Wounds] on myself before my attention was drawn towards the demon that was currently charging with its fist raised at me.
I willed my body to move, once again using [Breeze] to blast myself away from there.
The demon’s fist crashed into the wall, blasting apart debris and stone as my wings flared to carry me away from the dust cloud the punch threw up.
A second [Close Wounds] made the pain subside enough for me to ignore it.
I hovered in the air for a moment as I materialised my bow again, fully intending to shoot another arrow at the demon.
There was a flash of light coming from the cloud of dust and I quickly furled my wings to allow gravity to take hold of me.
As I dropped, a light beam blasted from the cloud, disintegrating the space I had been occupying mere moments ago.
I flared up my wings to stabilise my descent, only to see another flash of light coming from the cloud.
I quickly realised this was not going to stop at a single shot and dived to the side, right before another beam blasted through where I was a split second ago.
I was then forced to keep flying around as lasers fired out from the dust cloud, some of them barely missing me.
Unfortunately, this meant that I had no chance to fight back since all of my concentration was focused on dodging the beams of death.
Just as I was considering how to break this stalemate, I felt a burning pain explode from my wing and I lost control of myself and crashed into the ground.
Looking up, I found a hole in the membrane of my wing, the demon having burned through it.
Ugh… I hope that it doesn’t scar…
There was a rumbling before I turned to see the demon standing before me with its foot raised up, intending to smash it down on me.𝚘𝔳𝑙xt.𝓒𝒪𝔪
Fuck.