Mistaken for a Returnee

Oruul flew down the corridor as fast as his wings would carry him- his white shirt billowing in the wind and his dark pants barely hanging on with the aid of his tail.

He would've never exposed himself like this unless there was a serious emergency… And it didn't get any more serious than this.

He spiraled around a trio of wolves, nearly slamming into the wall in the process.

"My Liege!" His screeching voice filled the narrow corridor, angering the other demons present.

He dove between the legs of an incubus, barely managing to avoid its third leg, before pushing off the floor and launching himself into the air.

"My Liege! I need to speak to you!"

He dug his nails into the soft wood of the ceiling and used them to spider walk between the hands of hungry ogres. Once he was clear of their beefy hands, he transitioned to the wall and started running with all his might- using a combination of his wings and his nails to maintain balance.

"My Liege!" He leapt over an open door a kept running with all his might-

"In here~" A sultry voice stopped the demon in his tracks.

"My Liege?" He asked, looking back towards the open door he'd just crossed.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Thank the hells!" Oruul cried. He sprinted into the room- and had to twist around the demonwolf blocking the door.

"It's not your turn yet, Imp." The demonwolf snarled: The nine-foot-tall wolf looked down on the three-foot tall imp with disdain.

He hated imps. They dumb, dirty, and slow. And now one of them was attempting to push in on his groups time with the boss lady?

Not a chance-

Bang!

A piece of the wolf's brain touched the ceiling, and his large body dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

Oruul carefully tucked his hand cannon back into the sheath at the small of his back and stepped over the corpse.

"Aww~ Why'd you have to go and do that? I wasn't done with that one." The succubus whined- at least, that's what Oruul thought she'd said. It was hard to hear over the sounds of two moaning wolves.

"I apologize for interrupting your dinner, My Liege. But we have a problem."

The dark-haired succubus eased her grip on the two wolves, letting them both fall back onto the bed with satisfied sighs. Their bodies were skinny, too skinny. Almost as if every ounce of fluid had been drained from them.

Oruul hoped they'd enjoyed themselves. It'd be the last time they'd be able to enjoy anything.

"What's happened now?" She stretched one perfect leg off the bed and slowly pushed herself into a standing position. She pulled on the strip of leather keeping her hair in place, freeing it and allowing her wavy ebon locks to cascade down her back and chest.

She reached up and massaged a knot out of her hair-

"Your husband never showed up for Metzlbek."

"... He what?"

"Neyrlon messaged me ten minutes ago. Jatihar never showed up for their weekly game and that's not all: I've been receiving reports of missing people all over the island. Game masters not showing up, dates vanishing. I thought it could've been the usual attrition, but even Vohrel has up and vanished."

"Who?"

"The demonwolf you gifted a hand cannon to for, I think the term you used was, 'going above and beyond the call of booty.' He hasn't missed a shift in over two-hundred years, but now, no one can get a hold of him."

The succubus's eyes widened in shock and her legs fell out from under her. "How many are missing?"

"At last count; one-hundred and seven demons aren't responding to summons."

She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head against the bed. "Lord Irnal is going to kill me."

Oruul rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the floor, "Position to speak freely, ma'am?"

"What is it?"

"I think we should prepare the machine for combat. Something strange is going on, and we may need its power."

Her eyes snapped open and she locked eyes with the small demon. "Are you insane? The machine is the only one of its kind on this side of the portal. If it gets destroyed-"

"With all due respect, ma'am. If someone is wiping out demons and we don't do everything we can to stop them- We might lose the machine anyway."

The two were quiet for a few moments before the succubus sighed and nodded. "Alright, do whatever you need to do to get the machine up and running. I'll find out where my husband was hiding away and start my search from there."

"Understood, ma'am." Oruul bowed low in deference to his master and quickly departed for the garage-

"Arghhhhhhh!" Oruul could hear the succubus raging inside the room, the sound of flesh being torn apart sent shivers down his spine.

His master had filled one of her needs, guess it was time to fill another.

Ten minutes later, Oruul pushed open the door to the garage and marched inside.

The garage was in the building behind the dungeon portal, not for any safety reasons, but simply because it had to be.

Oruul rounded a corner and came face to face with 'The Machine', as they liked to call it.

He was certain it had a different name in ages past- something only the inhabitants of the old world would recognize. But that time was gone, and 'The Machine' was as good a name as any other.

He approached the steel behemoth and ran a single claw down its side.

Twenty-five feet long, twelve feet wide, and a hair over eight feet tall: the Machine was the pride of Baron Irnal's Crimson fleet and had been painted crimson to celebrate the occasion.

Much like the hand cannons and the boom staves, the Machine was part of the equipment they'd scavenged from a now dead world.

It'd taken decades of hard work, research, and more than a few accidental deaths, but they'd finally done it. The machine was only the first of its kind to pass through a portal and remain functional on the other side- with more to follow in the coming years.

It was a prototype that used experimental ritual circles to allow a handful of demons to move over thirty tons of enchanted steel and aluminum alloy as easily as one would guide a horse... The caveat being, it only worked if they kept it within a hundred feet of the portal at all times.

Outside of that radius, it was basically just an immovable wall of metal.

And that's not even taking into account the six-foot-long boom tube mounted onto the face of it, or the twin boom rattlers mounted on the back.

The Machine was a moving fortress that only required a crew of five to operate... And Oruul knew just where he could find the other four.

He looked up to see a group of six worker imps hanging out in the rafters above the garage and smiled.

These were the demons in charge of cleaning and maintaining the machine- which was absolute torture for them. They could see it, touch it, even sit inside it. But they would never be given the chance to pilot it due to their ranks among the demons.

And if this were a normal situation, that'd probably still be true...

"Who wants to help me pilot this thing?"

Every imp raised their claws and shouted excitedly.

"Perfect... But it only seats five. I'll leave it to you to figure out who's coming-" He didn't have the chance to finish speaking before one imp leapt on top of another and ripped its throat out.

And so, the battle for the other four spots began.

Sulika stuck to the side of a building and carefully peeked around the corner at the street ahead of them. Ogre, Imps, Demonwolves, Incubi and Succubi were all out in force now. They patrolled the roads in groups no smaller than four, with some groups numbering a dozen or more.

Any hope she'd had of making it to the rendezvous was practically nonexistent at this point. All she could do was try to mitigate the number of demons they had to fight at once…

She sighed and carefully moved back into their current hideaway: an extremely narrow alleyway between two buildings.

Reaching the alley, she found Max and Derrik blocking the way while Zarud, Ralocan, and Faeyra protected Oladi a bit further in.

They were lucky- time, or perhaps the demons themselves, had brought down a wall at the other end of the alley, blocking off street access. This meant they didn't have to worry about being seen from the other road… But if they were spotted by a demon patrol, it also meant they wouldn't be able to easily escape in that direction either.

"How's it looking?" Max whispered while ushering her into the alley.

"I think stealth is pretty much impossible at this point. The demons appear to be scouring the city for us… Hang on- where's the Raven?"

Derrik pointed up, and Sulika followed his finger to the roof of one of the buildings- where she saw Tahl'Roth's three crimson eyes watching them: the massive bird had found himself a perch atop a steel beam connecting the two buildings.

"That's not creepy at all… Anyways, we need to-" She stopped and looked back at the beam Tahl'Roth was sitting on.

That was it!

The streets were crowded, sure, but the rooftops didn't seem to be. And with the narrow gaps between the buildings, they could easily cross large parts of the city without ever touching the roads.

"How difficult would it be for all of us to get to the roof?"

Max lifted his head and looked up for a moment. "I could get up there fine, and I have some rope I could lower for the rest of you… But I'm not sure I have enough to reach the ground. What're your athletic scores?"

"Erm- hang on. I'll check. The rest of you do the same." She summoned her status screen and looked for a tab at the very bottom.

She didn't like looking at this part of her status screen, because she felt it wasn't accurate to her actual skill. But for getting a general idea of a person's ability, it was fine.

"... Twenty-four."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Forty-four"

"Fifty-Two"

"Thirty-Seven"

"Twenty-Two"

After hearing Faeyra's score, Sulika got a reproachful look from Max- which she ignored. Yes, she knew she'd been slacking on her cardio lately; she didn't need him to tell her that.

Max did a few mental calculations while digging the robe out of his bag. "Alright, Derrik and Zarud will be fine. But Zarud, I'd let Derrik carry the lady Druid up-"

"Not happening."

"Now's really not the time to be stubborn, young man-"

"I said; not. happening." Zarud's eyes were rapidly turning bloodshot red and his mana was roiling.

Max looked at Sulika, who shrugged at his unasked question. There was no stopping a barbarian when they set their mind on something.

Max sighed, but nodded his understanding. He knew it too, probably even better than she did- considering his own volatile temperament.

"Alright, fine. Derrik, you'll come up after me and help pull everyone else up."

"Aye, I can do that."

"Wait, hang on- how're you going to get up there? Last I checked, you didn't have wings like our bird friend." Faeyra said; she estimated the building to be six stories tall, or roughly ninety feet.

The walls were brick, true, but whoever built them knew what they were doing. Each brick was set perfectly, leaving little to no deviation between one brick and the next. So, scaling the wall was definitely out. And as she'd said, Max didn't have wings, so she didn't see how-

Max bit down on the strap of his bag while holding one end of the rope in his right hand. He wrapped the rope around his hand and wrist to the point Sulika was sure it was cutting off the circulation to his fingers, but he didn't seem to care.

Then he started to move-

He leapt off the ground and placed his right foot against one wall- "Hup!" He pushed off with his right, then his left, then his right again. After running several feet, he began to lose speed and had to move on to the next step.

Pushing off the wall to rebuild momentum, he started running up the opposite wall in the same fashion- By repeating this back and forth vertical running style, Max was able to maintain just enough momentum to make it within ten feet of Tahl'Roth's perch-

Then his foot landed on a piece of the wall that was already cracked- his boot knocked a brick loose, causing him to lose his footing.

He fell.

Sulika went for her wand in the hopes she could ready a spell in time- But before she could even think of a spell to use, Max was already moving again.

He spat out the bag's strap and quickly kicked off the wall. He spun his body like a top while the bag fell towards the ground, leaving most of the rope behind with Max- the rope suddenly straightened and Max used the momentum from his spin to launch the bag skyward…

Right into the open beak of Tahl'Roth.

The rope went taught on Max's end and his fall momentarily arrested- but not before he slammed into the same broken wall he'd just fallen off of, causing dust and pieces of broken brick to rain down on the people below him.

They caught what they could, but a few pieces fell through the cracks and loudly smashed against the ground.

Max cursed to himself and quickly scrambled up the rope. Once he was sitting on the beam beside the Raven, he ripped the bag out of the bird's mouth and placed it on the ground between its feet.

"Step on that, won't you?"

"Ves'tara? (Step'on?)"

"Yes, step on it," He placed both of his palms against the bag. "Like this- step on it."

"Ves'tara." Tahl'Roth mimicked both his actions and his words, placing both of its front feet on the bag.

"Don't move." Max hurriedly pulled the rest of the rope from the bag, leaving only the one end inside.

"Nir'sava?(Don'tomave?)"

"Exactly, don't move." He tossed the rope towards the ground and waited for its length to run out… Which it did, about fifteen feet over Sulika's head.

"Fuck." Zarud sighed.

No way Derrik was getting up there first.

"Sulika, up!" Derrik hissed; he pointed to the rope then formed a step with his hands.

"Right." She placed her left foot in his handsome then- had to bite down on a scream as he helped her leap some ten feet into the air.

She reached for the rope… But realized too late that she was a few steps too low. As she passed beneath the rope, she reacted in the only way her instincts would allow.

She kicked out with both legs and arms, grabbing the two buildings with everything she had. Her shoulders throbbed as they hyper extended, her shins ached from the impact, but she managed to stop herself from falling.

But she was still too low to grab the rope.

"Sulika, catch!" Faeyra whispered before tossing her heavy backpack.

The sorceress grunted as the bag hit her square in the chest, almost causing her to fall.

"The hell was that for!?"

Faeyra ignored her and moved over to Derrik- the dwarf seemed to understand her plan faster than Sulika did, because he was already moving his hands into position.

She placed her left foot in his hands and- He helped her soar towards Sulika.

But Faeyra didn't fly as Sulika had.

No, with her elf heritage on full display, Faeyra kicked off the wall as if she'd done it a thousand times before- she flew over Sulika's head and grabbed the rope.

Tahl'Roth made a noise at the sudden weight pulling on his feet, but he was a smart bird and he understood what they were doing now. He pushed down on the bag between his feet and leaned over to properly watch the Nir'velen's (Don't eat's) actions.

Faeyra waited for the rope to stop swinging before she went to work- Knowing this wouldn't work with only the strength of her arms, she braced herself against the two buildings; her back against one wall and her left foot against the other, and stretched her right foot down to Sulika.

"Put the strap around my leg."

Sulika looked down at the bag, then cast a skeptical look at Faeyra's outstretched leg.

"Don't worry, my body may be weak, but my legs are firm in all the right places." She said in a breathy voice.

"Now's not the time to be making innuendos." Sulika swung the bag over and wrapped the waist strap around her leg.

"Don't you dare drop me."

"I'd never let your pretty ass touch the ground."

Sulika tightened her grip on the bag and… Faeyra kept her word. She was dangling from the bag, sure, but she wasn't falling-

"Hurry-"

Sulika pushed off the wall to give herself a boost, then started climbing. She was careful not to put her hands or feet on anything that might upset- or encourage- Faeyra anymore than necessary and started climbing.

Once she was safely on the rope, Faeyra took the end she'd been holding and looped it through the straps of her bag: with the heavy leather bag dangling from the end, the rope was technically only thirteen feet from the ground-

"Zar'vak threl!"

Everyone turned to see a blue-skinned imp jumping up and down at the mouth of the alley, a clawed finger pointing vaguely in their direction.

"Climb!" Sulika hissed and started scrambling towards the top.

"Zar'vak threl! Zar'vak threl!" The imp cheered with sadistic delight as a number of demons heard its piercing voice and started moving towards it.

"Zar'vak threl- ack!" Rosa smashed into the side of the Imp's head, smashing its skull like an overripe melon and silencing its voice forever… But it was too late.

Derrik poked his head around the corner and saw dozens of demons heading straight for them.

"Ral, come!" Derrik yelled and moved his hands into position.

The cleric nodded and sprinted over- he was hurtling through the air only a few seconds later.

Like Faeyra, Ralocan was much more agile than Sulika had been. He easily grabbed the robe, not the bag, and braced himself against the buildings to help the other men reach the rope.

Tahl'Roth heard the demons moving and his stomach started to rumble. He wanted to watch the Nir'velen's show, but an even greater desire was forming- overtaking his curious mind.

He needed to protect his master.

Tahl'Roth leapt from his perch and dove over the side of the building.

With nothing holding it down, the combined weight of Sulika and Faeyra could not hang from the bag alone.

It went over the edge and the girls plummeted towards the ground-

Max felt his shoulder dislocate as he dangled from the beam with one arm, the other preoccupied with holding the bag… then his eyes started glowing in a violet light.

[Savage Monk exclusive skill 'Rage of the Righteous' has been used.]

[Damage resistance: +50% for 100 seconds.]

[Strength: +15 for 100 seconds.]

[Dexterity: +15 for 100 seconds.]

[Constitution: +15 for 100 seconds.]

[Warning! Your body will enter a 'broken' state for 10 minutes after the skill ends.]

[Cooldown initiated: 70 minutes.]

Every muscle in his arms and back contracted to their utmost as rage overtook him- his nails pierced the steel beam, even as blood ran from his fingers.

He didn't notice.

Max grunted from the effort of controlling himself- then they all started to rise.

Max's right arm slowly bent as he pulled himself- and the two dangling from the rope- towards the beam, then straightened again as he lifted himself over the edge. Once his footing was secure, Max grabbed the rope with both hands and started pulling them up.

"Wait, no!" Sulika yelled… but Max ignored her and continued to pull them towards the rooftop.

"Sulika-" Faeyra shouted and pointed towards the mouth of the alley- where she could Imps and incubi ignoring everything happening on the ground in favor of flying towards the roof.

They were surrounded no matter where they were.

"A little help would be appreciated!" Derrik shouted before dodging a wild stab from an imp's barbed tail and smashing the creature into the wall.

Zarud looked down at the unconscious druid in his arms, then back at the dwarf fighting by the mouth of the alley.

"Ral!" Zarud cried- He twisted and tossed Oladi's unconscious body with all his might- She slammed into Ralocan's chest a second before Max yanked him out of place and started hauling him upwards.

If Max noticed the extra weight, he didn't show it. Instead, he single mindedly pulled the four hunters towards the roof with surprising speed.

As Ralocan was being raised up, he noticed Zarud pulling his axes from their sheaths- then the half-orc looked up at him and smiled.

"Take care of my mother."

"What are you-"

Zarud stomped his left foot and activated his class exclusive skill: Savage Rage - Crimson mana caused his muscles to swell and his senses to dull.

His vision zoomed in on the enemies Derrik was barely holding back- The last conscious thought Zarud had before madness overcame his senses, was the telltale chime of a system notification.

[Barbarian exclusive skill 'Savage Rage' has been used.]

[Damage Resistance +75% for 100 seconds]

[Strength: +10 for 100 seconds]

[Dexterity: +5 for 100 seconds]

[Constitution: +10 for 100 seconds]

[Intelligence: -5 for 100 seconds]

[Uses remaining before cooldown initiates: 1]

With a madness induced roar on his breath, Zarud charged the demons with both axes ready to bite into some demon flesh.