Raiden finally appeared at the foot of the misty mountain after clearing out the remaining stray demons…
But what he saw made him raise a quizzical eyebrow..
"Oho~~~ look who made it here first" he couldn't help saying in a teasing voice…
Damien, hearing that arrogant voice , rigidly turned his head, crimson red eyes meeting intense golden ones…
"Humph, all that talk, and you still took that long to get rid of rabble" he couldn't stop himself, the retort came out before he knew it…
His body tensed, phantom pain from all the abuse he'd received resurfacing..
He'd unexpectedly allowed himself to forget who that demon was, letting the teasing tone make him lower his guard..
He tensed up, ready for a swift attack, but all he received,
"Hahahahahahahaha, yea I guess you're right, that one's on me, although I guess I'm better than the ogre, he's still not here", was Raiden's boisterous laughter, free, wild, genuine…
A small smile couldn't help gracing Damien's lips..
Maybe this demon isn't so bad after all..
He couldn't help thinking, only to shake his head violently later on,
Snap out of it, don't let his current easygoing behavior fool you, he's still a demon in human flesh..
He nodded to himself…
A few hours later, as the sun was already on its decline, Leon finally showed up, his presence deeper…
"Well I guess we know who's the true wuss now" Damien, after getting a little bit more comfortable, couldn't help teasing Leon..
Raising an amused eyebrow at the stoic boy's tone, "shut it, you'll always be the wuss" Leon replied, his usual shit-eating grin back..
"What!?? Impossible, you're the last one here, so you're definitely the wuss" Damien countered, hoping logic would win out, unfortunately..
"That so? Then I dare you to pick up a sword" Leon countered, his eyes twinkling with mischief..
"Arrrk~~~" Damien's retort got stuck in his throat…
He realized belatedly what these two bastards were playing at..
They never had any intention of letting him escape the title of wuss..
They had already decided and concluded on branding him with that title, all the competition was just their way of toying with him..
They were bullying him.. AGAIN!!!
"You bastards!!!" He yelled furiously, charging at them..
*********
The three kids stood silently at the base of the mountain, Damien spotting a brand new black eye, one he wasn't allowed to heal if he didn't want another one..
Poor soul got beat up trying to defend his honor…
"But seriously, taking the time to cultivate in the middle of enemy territory?" Raiden asked, flabbergasted at the reason why Leon was late..
Turns out, after he woke up, Leon took out resources from his storage ring and started cultivating, the drain placed on him by his {Pride Arts} was debilitating, and that weakness, he refused to allow Raiden witnesss, he'd never live it down..
So he cultivated, not his aura, there wasn't enough time, so, he cultivated his mana instead, fully showing the advantages dual path practitioners will always have over single path practitioners..
Now he stood comfortably at the 7th level aura apprentice stage and 3rd level mana apprentice stage..
Since he didn't have skills to regenerate his energy supply like the other two, he'd have to stick with buffing spells instead…
"Says the one that has been actively cultivating since we stepped foot here, how the hell did you go from the 1st level to the 7th level in mere hours" Leon was aghast, why was everything so simple for this bastard???
"The universe loves me, you could never relate" was Raiden's reply..
"Ummm, we've got company" Damien's voice silenced the duo about to get into one of their many arguments..
They'd felt them before they even showed up..
That malevolent aura that pressed firmly against them..
Threatening to flatten them..
This wasn't something comparable to the flimsy tier 4s they'd faced..
This felt deeper, more consolidated..
"Those aren't inferior bloodline demons" Leon's voice was grim, noticing the stark difference between these demons and what they'd been facing earlier…
He recognized their resemblance to the demon he killed..
But these ones looked meaner, more powerful, more present…
"Common grade bloodline demons, and it seems they're Peak tier 4, as well, anyone here believes this is a coincidence or an oversight?" Raiden asked, his usual manic smile appearing on his face, eve already craving blood…
"Fuck that psychopath uncle of yours" Damien couldn't help curse out loud..
"Language young man"
"Screw off"…
The three boys readied their stance, prepared for a clash they knew wasn't like anything they're faced before…
************
"General, it seems the intel was incorrect, those are common grade pariahs, I don't think the kids can handle it, permission to intervene" Cassius, finally freed from his bounds after contacting his general, surveyed the looming confrontation from a distance, expression grim..
"Stand down" came Malcom's calm authoritative voice..
It seemed when even the kids had realized that Malcom had been shitting on them with that briefing, this Supervisor refused to believe his general was that much of a psychopath..
Poor guy…
"You're only to intervene in a life or death scenario, but until then, STAND DOWN" Malcom reiterated…
Cassius, hearing his general's order could only comply..
************
{Solar Empowerment}...
{Pride Arts}…..
{Beast Arts}.....
The three kids hesitated no longer, immediately opting to activate their current strongest techniuqes….
Damien already transitioning into his {Beserker} state, Leon's {Absolute Damage} silently activating with a subtle hum…
They weren't taking any chances…
They'd already grown sick of this quest, and now, they were ready to burn everything down, go home, eat some cookies, and retire for the day..
They'd already gotten enough excitement for the day, now they just wanted it to end, and so…
{DOMAIN}…..
A prelude to the end of their first ever mission began...
*********
(6/6)
A/N: And that's it for my promise, once again, thanks to you guys for your support, over 100 ps, I couldn't ever dared dream it…
Now the next challenge for next week, I'm making the challenge one for reviews, if our reviews cross the 10 review mark(it must be constructive and not just spammed words), I'll add a bonus chapter to sundays update…
Keep the power stones coming, and keep hoping we get that contract….
I remain your lovely tree..
Happy new month….
******
Thanks for reading….