Back to the real world.
The battle between the demonic cultists and the adventurers raged on. Caught off guard by the ambush, the adventurers struggled to fend off the attacks from those madmen.
"Kill 'em all!"
"Blood! Paint this world with blood!"
The cultists' shouts made the atmosphere even more grim. The unsuspecting passengers grew increasingly terrified, and many of them froze in place.
On the Great Amber Bridge, the convoy came to a halt right in the middle. Battles raged on both the left and right sides, and even on top of the carriages. Emilia skillfully fired an arrow, striking a cultist squarely between the eyes.
But as one cultist fell, two more appeared, like pests. "Tsk! They're endless!"
Meanwhile, inside the second carriage, Rudy was also fighting alongside a pair of adventurers to protect the passengers, including his escort target, Eric, who was still asleep.
He kicked the cultist out of the carriage and followed them. "Stay together! My sister has already sent a signal to the nearest patrol!"
Rudy was right, shortly after the attack began, Emilia sent up a black smoke signal to ask for help. Rudy then looked down and scanned the other carriages, it seemed many were struggling to fend off the attack.
He looked at the carriage that seemed deserted, containing only sleeping passengers, including Eric. "He'll be fine…"
The clashes of magic and the clanging of metal filled the air. Rudy started to walk toward the rear carriages to help, but he sensed an immense amount of Mana coming from the very front carriage. More precisely, from across the bridge.
Emilia stood beside Rudy. "That much Mana… it must be the leader." Rudy nodded and said firmly, "Are you ready to fight them, Emilia?"
The girl opened a blue potion and drank it quickly. After that, she tossed the bottle aside. "Like usual, Big Brother?"
"Like usual." Rudy smiled at his confident younger sister. They then ran, and it didn't take long for them to reach the frontmost carriage. Whether out of stupidity or indifference, the cultists somehow spared the horses, so the horses weren't injured even though many of them were panicking.
"Oh? finally here again!" a man in a black cloak smiled at them. Even though he was wearing a cloak, the contours of his muscles were still visible. The shadow beneath the burly man rippled and then took the shape of a red snake.
The snake slithered up the burly man's neck. "…Kekeke! Another fight, Ando?" the snake hissed. Not far behind the burly man stood a slim man holding two daggers.
Around the two of them were the corpses of several adventurers and cultists. "I can't summon my contracted demon…" the slim man said. "Something's wrong."
"Human-contracted demon!" Emilia glared upon recognizing the leader of this attack. "Careful, Big Brother! They're Silver-rank!"
Without warning, the burly man lunged forward and swung a punch at Rudy, who immediately raised his shield. A burst of fire erupted where the fist and shield collided.
"A Fire Pugilist!" Rudy muttered. Emilia didn't waste any time. She immediately fired a wind arrow at the burly man, aka Ando, but it was calmly parried by the slim man, aka Owen.
"Let's have some fun, okay?" Owen licked his lip. After locking eyes with Owen for a split second, Emilia suddenly felt dazed and sleepy. "Don't tell me…!?"
Rudy was busy parrying and countering Ando's attacks. He thrust his spear quickly, but Ando managed to dodge. Not only that, Rudy also had to watch his step because the demon bound to Ando occasionally attacked as well.
After several fierce exchanges, Ando and the demonic snake managed to land a hit on Rudy's leg. "Ugh!" Rudy groaned. The burn on Rudy's leg wasn't severe, but it drastically limited his movement.
"Big Brother-"
"Still got time worrying others?"
Emilia dodged Owen's quick slashes. At the same time, she fired three arrows in rapid succession at Owen. The slim man's eyes widened, and he dodged at the last second, but one of the arrows managed to graze his ear.
Owen wiped his bleeding ear. "Not bad, little girl." He once again bombarded Emilia with mind magic. "But can you hold out?"
Emilia winced as she tried to shake off the vile magic from her mind, Owen clicked his tongue as he saw his opponent beginning to get used to his mental attacks. "Damn it. Where is that fucking bird…?" he muttered quietly to himself.
Rudy coated his feet with earth magic and kicked toward Ando's legs, which Ando countered by jumping and punching toward Rudy. The shield-wielding man deftly dragged his shield through the air, letting the punch land before slamming his shield hard into Ando's face.
"Kekeke! Foolish human!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Ando retorted to the demonic snake's taunt while wiping his bleeding nose, taking a few steps back. Owen calmly retreated and stood beside Ando, "We can't let this drag on."
"I know! Where is the goddamn bird!?"
"I'll call it again-ah, here it comes."
A shadow materialized as a giant bird above their heads. Owen and Ando grinned widely, while Emilia and Rudy were stunned by the arrival of yet another demonic entity.
Owen said casually, "About time. Lend me your power again-"
"Let's cancel our contract!"
"Huh?" Owen was dumbfounded by the one-sided command from the giant bird. "A-are you fucking kidding me!?" This was the first time Owen had ever cursed in anger.
"Quick! Hurry! Before he wakes up! That monster will kill me if you don't cancel our contract!" replied the giant bird, aka Somnus, desperately. Ando and Ephis turned their heads, then Ando teased the bird.
"Hey, hey... are you sure? If you one-sidedly want to cancel your contract with a human, then you have to say your real name! What kind of demon would willingly reveal their real name-"
"I, Somnus, master of dreams, memories, and illusions, hereby cancel my contract with Owen! Now it's your turn! Let me return to the Demon World!"
Owen, Ephis, Ando, and even Rudy and Emilia were shocked to hear that. A demon's true name is incredibly valuable. Their very names are tied to their souls, identities, and abilities.
Somnus grew more desperate, "Are you fucking deaf, stupid human!? Quick! Nullify our contract before-"
The roof of one of the carriages exploded, and a wave of rage engulfed the battlefield. "T-too late…" muttered Somnus hopelessly.
Emilia and Rudy stiffened but managed to turn around. They were startled to see Eric, their target escort, hovering above them all. His face was expressionless, yet there was no denying that the oppressive pressure of rage emanated from him.
Even all the adventurers and cultists in the midst of battle halted their fighting, feeling a chill as if an apex predator had suddenly arrived. Not only that, but the passengers and horses were also terrified by the pressure.
"Little chickeeeeeennnn!!!!" Eric suddenly shouted and charged at Somnus, choking the giant bird's throat with psychokinesis, all while also holding onto Owen's neck.
"Wha-" Owen didn't get to finish his sentence before Eric carried him flying at lightning speed toward the sky, causing him to drop his daggers. Owen panicked because he had been on the ground just moments before, and when he blinked, he was already soaring through countless clouds.
He tried to punch the deranged boy but it had no effect, as if there were a shield around the boy's body. Then he tried using mind magic, which also proved ineffective.
"You! Fucking asshole!" Eric knew this slim man was the contractor of Somnus, so he took him into the sky. Meanwhile, Somnus was helpless against the grip attacking its throat.
"Wai-wait!" Eric ignored the demonic bird's words and flew even higher. Owen and Somnus flew extremely high, so high they could see Zeris City and The Great Amber Bridge as tiny dots.
Eric stopped and, with a look of pure rage, dropped Owen. "Enjoy the view while you can, asshole!!!"
"No, no, noooooooo!!!!!" Owen began to freefall, screaming nonstop until his voice faded away.
Somnus was now choked by Eric's hands and said, "You love toying with humans, right? Allow me to entertain you!"
The demonic bird was flooded and bombarded by Eric's psychic blasts. Somnus felt these blasts were incredibly potent and deadly, surpassing anything the deranged boy had done in the Mental World.
At the same time, Somnus unleashed a barrage of illusions and mental attacks, but instead of weakening Eric's chokehold and assaults, it only made him angrier and more violent.
"Dieeeeeee!!!!"
"Kugh...u..gh."
The sound of Eric's psychic attacks echoed through the sky like bombs exploding in the air. Somnus's entire body was in agony, it couldn't do a thing.
Eric began his mad descent, streaking down like a meteor. As he did so, Eric punched Somnus's head repeatedly and mercilessly.
It can sense the emotion behind the punches…a pure, unfiltered rage coming from someone whose brutality knew no bounds.
Black blood began to ooze from both of Somnus's eyes, and the bird sensed its end was near. Eric landed with a loud boom near the other side of the bridge, startling Emilia, Rudy, and the duo Ando and Ephis.
Somnus was dying in a pitiful state, it couldn't even blink or move its body. Ando and Ephis were stunned by the sight, "The fuck…?"
Eric snapped his gaze toward the pair, and Ephis immediately dashed under the bridge and began to blow up the bridge's support pillars. "Sss…! Don't just stand there! Get out of here fast!" Ephis hissed at Ando.
Meanwhile, Emilia and Rudy finally realized why the demon had blown up the bridge. "They want to bring the whole bridge down and escape during the chaos!" Rudy muttered and immediately ran to the far end of the bridge behind him.
"What about the other passengers!?" Emilia shouted, but Rudy ignored her and told his sister to get off the bridge. The adventurers and passengers still inside the carriages began to wake up as the Somnus spell weakened.
They were shocked because when they opened their eyes, the bridge they were on suddenly shook and emitted a loud cracking sound. Emilia, Rudy, and the adventurers who had managed to save themselves watched in horror as the carriages, still filled with passengers and fellow adventurers, plummeted into the deep valley.
"No, help me!"
"Mommy, I'm scared-"
"Oh, Goddess, no...!"
Emilia closed her eyes with a pained expression, but Rudy shook her shoulders. "Wha-what is that..." The shield-bearer watched as the carriages and horses that had fallen into the valley began to float and rise into the air, then the carriages landed roughly on the other side of the bridge, in an open space not far from where Eric, Somnus, Ephis, and Andor were standing.
"Did you kill-" Eric silenced Andor by impaling his throat with Owen's dagger, which had fallen to the ground.
"Gurrghh...!?" The dagger blurred so fast, Andor could only let out a gurgling sound before blood gushed from his wound, and he collapsed. Ephis immediately attacked with a supermassive fire spell. Thick plumes of smoke filled the area, obscuring visibility, but Eric knew where he and the demonic snake were. Eric casually suspended and stopped the flame.
"This'll do." He then strangled Ephis tightly, leaving the demon stunned and helpless. "KKek-! R-release m-me!"
Eric ignored the snake's ramblings and walked toward the dying Somnus, carrying the massive fire and Ephis. He calmed down a little, but his rage still burned inside him fiercely. "Last time we met, I promised to fucking roast you."
He looked down with contempt at the bird lying there. "...and I'm a man of my word." Then Eric hurled the fire at the fallen Somnus. Somnus screamed in agony and thrashing around.
"Noo! No!! S-spare meeee!!!"
Eric stood silent, watching the burning bird.
"Arghhh! It hurts-hurts-hurts!!!!"
Ephis knew that its fire wasn't eternal, yet strangely, it burned continuously without going out.
"I be-beg yo-you!! No-no-Arhgghh!!"
This was the first time Ephis had ever seen a demon beg a human for mercy, but the human choking it now showed no compassion on his face.
The shadow of the burning bird danced across his face. Eric just stood there, without blinking and his face devoid of any emotion.
Then Eric looked up at the sky and said in a low voice, "Here he comes." Ephis slowly moved its body, still choked and utterly shocked, because the one falling from the sky was Owen.
A sickening crunch filled the air. His neck and limbs bent unnaturally, his skull cracked, and blood began to pool around his corpse. The cruel reality hit Ephis like a slap. This boy had single-handedly killed its fellow demon and its human contractor.
Eric turned to face Ephis with a calm, piercing gaze. "Now… only you remain."