NOVEL NEXT Book 10 Chapter 30
Joan hoped Penthe and Chase would return soon, she was learning far more about this place than she wanted to. The rubble seemed to have more than just the giant scorpion in it, all manner of tiny scavengers resided within.
And the smell of the dead monster seemed to be luring them in. She'd ended the light spell after seeing a small reptile crawling into the scorpion's carcass, having no desire to watch anything feast.
But she could still hear them. The slurping was the worst and made her struggle to resist gagging. She wondered if there were more creatures like that scorpion just waiting for them to lower their guard. If there were, they weren't coming into the light of the teleportation circle.
On the upside, it seemed to be ready. Joan was tempted to try and use it herself, but even if she wasn't as tired as she was, she doubted she could direct Qakog and Bauteut well enough to avoid any trouble. Not to mention she would never leave Penthe and Chase behind, even if they could likely do it on their own.
She still hated waiting.
There was a light splashing and then Qakog came into the light, darting towards them. "People are coming. I couldn't make out who they were, but there were three of them."
"They have Dixon?" Bauteut asked.
"I don't think it was them," Qakog said. "One of them was big. Very big. Possibly a troll."
"Oh," Bauteut said. "Should we hide?"
"We're supposed to protect the teleportation circle," Joan said. "I don't think hiding is an option. Maybe they won't cause us any trouble. Still, be ready just in case." She dug her staff into the ground and got to her feet, Bauteut following suit. Qakog already had his rapier out.
It wasn't long before the ground seemed to shake. Whatever was coming towards them was big. Joan could, just barely, make out a hulking frame in the distance, with two smaller figures besides it.
While definitely not large enough to be a troll, she could see why Qakog had suspected a troll. A demon, she had no way of guessing if they had been a human turned demon or natural born like Korgron, but if they had been human they might have been the biggest one she'd ever seen. She swore his arm was larger than her and even if it wasn't possible, she wondered if there might be some troll in his lineage. In his hands he carried a warhammer that was CERTAINLY larger than her.
But then she managed to look up, past his arms and her heart jumped. Whoever he was, he had two horns, once. But they were now cut off to little stubs. Worse, around his throat was a collar etched with arcane runes. She looked away towards the second figure. Much smaller than his companion, he'd had one horn in his forehead once, but now it was just a nub as well. His warhammer was considerably smaller as well. She couldn't really make out their eyes in the dim glow of the teleportation circle, but she could imagine it well enough. She'd seen situations like this before.
Her eyes fell on the third person. He didn't have a collar, or horns. He was wearing multiple layers of clothing so she couldn't tell what he was, his face obscured. "What are you kids doing here?" he asked.
"Waiting," Bauteut said.
"Uh huh. Two humans and a demon? Not a lot of your types around here," the man said. "Especially on a… what is this?"
"Are you their master?" Joan asked, motioning to the two collared demons.
"Hmmm? Yes. I—"
Joan dashed forward, activating her boots to give herself another burst of speed. She couldn't see his face, but she hoped he looked surprised before she slammed her staff into the side of his head, sending him flying back and into a pile of rubble.
The two demons, however, turned on her a moment later. The larger one swung his warhammer down at her. She dug her staff into the ground and held it up, the hammer bouncing off it as if it had hit a solid wall. The other, however, struck from a different angle, forcing her to pull back to avoid the strike. It went wide and the demon stumbled, only for a sudden blast of wind to send him flying away from her and into the darkness.
"K-kill her! Tear her apart!" the obscured man yelled.
Joan let out a shriek and stumbled back as the massive demon rained blows down on her. She moved back, keeping the staff between her and his strikes. Each one made the ground shake just from him, though none of the force seemed to go through the staff at all.
But then one of the blows managed to miss her by inches and smashed the remains of a wall to pieces, making her shriek in alarm before dashing forward, turning to shadow and moving through him.
"JOAN!" Penthe and Chase's voice seemed to echo through the chamber.
"I'm okay!" Joan yelled before bringing the staff back up and managing to barely block a kick from the massive demon. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Qakog fighting the other demon, but she couldn't focus on him.
"YOU WON'T BE WHEN I GET A HOLD OF YOU!" Penthe yelled.
"HURRY!" Joan screamed, ducking back to avoid another swing from the demon. She looked around, trying to catch sight of their master. Unfortunately, with her struggles to parry the strikes of the demon she wasn't given much chance to find him. While the demon's attacks were easy to predict, the sheer size and ferocity of his swings were enough to require her full attention, especially with how unstable the ground was.
If not for the staff, she'd have likely been flung away by now, so she had to give the Nameless One credit. Their gifts were pretty amazing.
Joan heard a splash behind her and barely ducked in time. Well, at least she knew where their master was. The rock he had in his hands fell through his fingers.
And the swing from the demon that missed her, instead hit his master, sending him stumbling back and creating a weird flash of light. The demon froze in place, before letting out an agonized scream, dropping his warhammer to the ground.
Joan had seen that before and she'd be damned if she'd let that happen to someone else. She pushed the staff behind herself and leaped at the demon. She flicked her wrist and a knife appeared within it. It wouldn't last long, but she hopefully wouldn't need it to. She jammed a foot into his side and grabbed his arm with her free hand, pushing herself up and casting a quick incantation. Electricity crackled along the edge of the blade before she plunged it down, slashing through the collar and across the demon's cheek, neck and then the knife plunged into his shoulder. It disappeared a moment later and the collar fell away, revealing dark burn marks across the demon's throat.
The demon's arm lashed out wildly, catching Joan in the stomach and sending her skidding along the dirt and mud until, finally, she slammed into another wall. It rumbled slightly and crumbled, raining dirt and rubble down on her, forcing her to cover her head to avoid any more blows to her head. Luckily, there wasn't much wall left to collapse on her.
Joan shook her head, before starting to sit up. She was slightly dazed, but all things considered she didn't think anything broke. She just needed a moment to catch her breath,
"Stupid girl," the obscured man said, his voice furious. She had to give him some credit, the fact he was on his feet so quickly showed he was a lot tougher than she thought. He stood over her, a large rock held overhead. "Did you—"
Joan flicked her wrist and a knife formed in her hand, which she then stabbed into his leg. He let out a howl of pain, but before he could try and smash the rock over her, a massive warhammer swung over her head and into the man, causing another small flash of light. He skidded along the ground until he hit a small wall of debris, only for the massive demon to follow after him. His screams followed a moment later as the warhammer put an end to his miserable life, there only being two small flashes of light by the end.
"Joan?!" Penthe yelled, running past her towards the demon.
"Wait!" Joan called out, causing Penthe to stop, her poleaxe raised high and glowing with a furious, red light. "I'm over here. He's not an enemy, he's a victim."
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Penthe slowly looked back at her, the poleaxe lowering to the ground. She then turned towards the demon, before back towards her again. "Victim?"
"Well, he was," Joan said sheepishly. "But ummm… a little help? You find Dixon?"
Penthe slowly walked towards her before kneeling down. She grabbed her by the arm and then pulled her, bodily, to her feet. "Yes. We're leaving, now."
"O-ow," Joan said, her arm feeling like it was almost wrenched from its socket. "C-careful!"
The grip loosened and Penthe sighed. "Sorry… come. We're getting you out of here."
"I need my stick," Joan said.
Penthe gave an annoyed grunt, but made sure they passed by the staff while walking back towards the teleportation circle. Bauteut was there, kneeling by Dixon, who appeared to be unconscious.
He looked… good, all things considered. It had been a while since she'd seen him and the last time she'd seen him he'd been threatening her life and then limbs. He looked thinner. He had a beard now. His clothes were a mess, too. But he wasn't dead, she supposed that was better.
The other demon was sitting on the edge of the circle, on his knees. The collar was off, but Qakog was still holding the tip of his rapier to his throat. Chase was standing on the edge of the circle, staring out towards the demon who was still hammering away at his former master.
"We kept the circle safe," Joan said sheepishly.
"I knew this was going to happen," Penthe said, the ire filling her voice. "The moment I heard that they'd left that blasted prison, I knew."
"Huh?" Joan asked. She gave a light squeak when, once she was inside the teleportation circle she was given a light shove towards Bauteut and then let go. She stumbled forward a few steps, before turning around.
"We came back as quickly as we could," Chase said before he finally looked away from the carnage to look at her. "Apparently there were some strange sounds coming from the tunnels and one of their… well… they came to investigate."
"They're de-horned," Qakog said softly. "We can't…"
"I know," Joan said. "I'm not going to blame them for trying to fight us. I've seen those kinds of collars before. But, ummmm… I'm human. And he has a big hammer, so I don't think he's going to listen to me."
Penthe sighed and shook her head. "Always something when you're involved, isn't there Joan?"
"That's what makes it fun," Joan said. "So, why is Dixon unconscious?"
"He, for reasons I can't begin to imagine, didn't seem to trust us," Chase said in a tone that all but said he knew EXACTLY the reasons. "There's always something when Penthe is involved." Even with the helmet Joan could imagine the dirty look Penthe was giving them both.
"Those two demons aren't our concern, we'll leave them here," Penthe said. "They… oh by the stars. Both of you? FINE!"
"I didn't say anything," Joan said.
"Me either," Chase said.
"You both make the same face, I'm not sure who's a worse influence on who. I'm letting Korgron know there's going to be more of us," Penthe said. "This is just going to make it harder. Joan, I'll need you to listen to me and behave, just for at least one day."
"Why do people keep telling me things like that?" Joan asked. "But I can behave, why?"
"We're going to have to go to Korgron," Penthe said. "That means the demon lands. Hopefully not for long, but I want you to stay out of sight and, more importantly, out of trouble."
"I can behave!" Joan said quickly. "Do you think I can—"
"Maybe," Penthe said before turning towards the demons. The larger of them was still hammering away, albeit slower.
"I'll take care of them," Chase said. "You go with Joan, we'll catch up."
"Really?" Penthe asked before glancing towards him.
A pair of pointed horns grew from Chase's head and his flesh turned a light purple. "Of course, I'm good with people. Especially those who need a little care. Just keep her out of trouble, okay?"
Penthe gave a sigh before nodding.
Chase nodded before walking towards the demon Qakog was holding prisoner. He motioned him away, before taking the demon by the arm and pulling him to his feet. He said something to him before the two of them stepped out from the circle, the demon glancing at them for a moment before walking towards his enthusiastically hammering ally.
Joan watched them before looking towards Penthe. "Chase will be okay, won't he?"
"He will," Penthe said. "I'd worry more about us. The Chosen will be there, at least. Just please, behave. So long as you and the Demon Lord can avoid coming to blows, we can maybe avoid things getting worse."
"Ohhhh, Arta?" Joan asked. "Does this mean I'll be able to meet him, too?"
Penthe just gave an exhausted sigh before tugging her into the center of the circle. "How is Dixon?"
"He'll likely wake up soon," Bauteut said.
"Then hopefully we'll get there before he does," Penthe said. "At least then he'll be the Demon Lord's problem. Speaking of. Joan, if you meet him? Call him the Demon Lord. NOT Arta."
"What?" Joan asked. "But he's Arta!"
"Not to him," Penthe said.
"But he is to you," Joan said.
"Just call him the Demon Lord," Penthe said.
"Fine," Joan said, though she couldn't help feeling frustrated by the very idea. "And you?"
"While there? Call me Gil," Penthe said before turning away, going silent.
Qakog sheathed his rapier and walked to her side. "So, does this mean I'll finally be able to hear the whole story of what happened while I was away?"
"Probably," Joan said. "Not much happened though. I mostly just slept, I think. Though… now that I think about it. Nameless One? Are you there?"
She didn't receive an answer.
"I… I think the deal is done," Joan said. "I'm not… extending. At this point. Maybe later?"
If the Nameless One was listening, they didn't respond. She gave a soft sigh and hoped this wouldn't cause her more trouble later. Well, it probably would, but when didn't things?
"Okay, get ready," Penthe said. "Korgron is going to—"
Then the teleportation circle began to shine brightly before Joan had the incredibly uncomfortable feeling of her body being spread out across the world in all directions. While she knew it wasn't physically happening, it didn't make the sensation of her feet being in one place, arms being in another and head being somewhere in between any less disorienting.
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The world returned with a very uncomfortable ringing sensation. There was so much light and so many people, though they were all blurry. She stumbled forward, letting her staff go and struggling to resist the urge to throw up. She was vaguely aware of someone collapsing to the ground besides her and voices, but she couldn't make them out. She just wobbled forward until she ran into… someone. She barely suppressed the urge to throw up on them.
A hand suddenly locked around her throat. "To imagine it would be so easy, all I'd need to do is crush—"
Joan flicked her wrist and her knife appeared in her hand. While everything was still blurry, she could see the arm attached to the hand on her throat and she tried to drive it into the limb, only for them to let go. She kept her momentum going and spun around, kicking out with her foot and driving it into her attacker's chest, sending them careening back. She finished turning, flicking her wrist and forming another knife before lunging at her attacker.
An arm wrapped around her waist a moment later and she was yanked back before a very familiar shield rose up in front of her. She blinked a few times before looking back and up at Searle, who was looking down at her with a concerned look. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked.
Joan shook her head, admittedly not wanting to speak right now. Her stomach still felt like it was under the sea and she was a little scared if she spoke she might throw up. She turned and gazed out, over the shield…
And the Demon Lord slowly came into focus. His hand on his chest, glaring at her. Though she wasn't quite sure if he was glaring because she just kicked him or if it was because Hardwin's sword and Andreas' spear had their tips against his throat.
"A shame, I had hoped at least one of my… problems… would have been easy to dismiss," the Demon Lord said before glancing at the two Chosen. "You can pull off your weapons. You don't truly believe I would have killed her at this juncture, do you?"
"You've done a lot of things I'd not want to believe you were capable of," Hardwin said. "Searle?"
Searle slowly pulled her back and away with the others. Qakog was kneeling down, panting, a hand over his mouth. Bauteut had fully collapsed on the ground besides the unconscious Dixon, with Korgron kneeling between them both. To her surprise, Korgron was actually panting.
"Welcome to my kingdom, oh Hero," the Demon Lord said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Please, make yourself at home until your, hopefully brief, stay ends. Dixon?"
"He's here and he's alive," Korgron said.
"Then my agreement stands," the Demon Lord said before turning away from them and walking towards the door, shoving it open and leaving. Once he was gone Searle lowered his shield, but didn't let her go.
"Are you okay?" Searle asked.
"N-not really," Joan said before just leaning back against him and letting him support her.
Well, it was hardly the most glorious of re-introductions to the Demon Lord, but at least she managed to not throw up on him. She just hoped she could make a habit of that.