Mistaken for a Returnee

Imps coming at him from every direction, Incubi and Succubi preparing to cast spells on the fringes of his vision, and the all important rope in his hands.

He should rip the imps asunder. Tear the limbs from the lascivious demon's and watch them crawl away in agony. He should crush the Ogre's skulls and turn them into nouveau-riche coffee mugs… He took a breath and continued to pull on the rope.

The fury continued to beat against his wall of self-restraint, but Max's resolve stayed firm. No matter what happened, or which guild they were affiliated with, he wouldn't leave another hunter to die again.

Imps flew at him, attempting to capitalize on his distraction… But when the first one swung, he wasn't there anymore.

Max dropped off the side of the steel beam and swung under it: he used his weight, and extra stats, to quickly build momentum and swing around the beam- "Ack!" The imp cried as Max's boot smashed into its side and sent it flying off the beam.

The imp bounced off the roof two times before slamming into an Incubus's spell, disrupting it.

Max heard a fierce yell the instant before the disrupted spell backfired, taking out both demons, and possibly injuring a few others.

He blindly parried an imp's claw, kicked away a second imp's tail, and elbowed a third imp across the face- all without letting go of the rope in his hands.

This was the primary difference between Max and someone like Zarud.

Zarud's rage caused him to fixate on the target in front of him- to the detriment of any other task. Sure, the half-orc's bestial instincts could allow him to fight multiple combatants at the same time. But only if they stood between him and his true target.

Zarud's bestial rage was a raging inferno; spontaneous, fierce, and capable of consuming pretty much anything thrown into it. But his anger was also quick to fade after his target was eliminated.

On the other hand: Max's silent fury was like a blast furnace. It too could consume almost everything thrown into it, but it was focused. Controlled… Except the blast furnace never dies, it only simmers until it's needed again.

Max suffered from anger issues not because he was hot tempered, but because his rage was always there, waiting for the right moment to break the shackles of his rational mind.

And once unleashed… It. would. Burn.

Max's internal body temperature rose in tune with his rage- his dark fur began to steam as the moisture within his hairs evaporated.

Even then, he continued to haul on the rope with everything he had. Just five more pulls and Sulika would reach the top.

He ducked an Imp's claw and snapped its neck with a backfist.

Four more.

He jumped back, barely avoiding a fireball that singed his nose hairs. With his entire body off the beam, Sulika and the others were once again pulled down by gravity- which just pulled Max back into place.

Three more.

A flying Imp sent a trio of rapid-fire attacks to Max's back: Two slashes with its claws, which were avoided with slight movements, and finished with a tail stab that would've pierced through the small Kandisi's body.

Max leaned out of the way and allowed the tail to pass by his side- "Kiiyah!?" the demon yelled as Max performed a knife hand strike that hit just below the barb. His hand sliced through the Imp's tail faster than any blade, separating the dangerous barb from the rest of its tail.

The barb spun in the air for a moment before it began to fall towards the ground- until Max performed a hook kick that sent it flying into the face of its former owner.

The barb pierced the Imp's eye and sent it to its knees, screaming over its lost vision.

Two more.

One more.

Max locked hands with Sulika and- "Hrrg!" With a mighty grunt of effort, slung her over his head.

She landed in a roll that quickly brought her back to her feet- Just in time to dodge a wild swing from an Imp's claws.

Her sword sliced through the air with blinding speed and severed the Imp's arm at the elbow. Then a follow up stab pierced its black heart.

Sulika kicked the imp off of her sword and turned to seek out her next opponent. "Hang on guys, I'm on the way." She had to keep the demons off Max so he could focus on getting the Faeyra, Ralocan, and Oladi onto the roof. Only then could she try to get back down to ground level and help out Derrik and Zarud.

"Enmet: Daze" She whispered while dodging the attacks of two more imps. She felt her mana answer her call and start moving towards her wand- She suddenly leaped over an imp's head and pointed her wand at a Succubus on the other roof.

The dark mist hit the demon square in her oversized chest; momentarily knocking her out and causing her spell to fizzle out.

Sulika eyes quickly scanned the battlefield: There were still four Succubi, three Incubi, and more than twenty imps left to deal with- and that was just on the roof! She didn't want to guess how many were attacking her men on the ground.

She tightened her grip on her sword and started running at the closest Imp.

She slashed, stabbed, or blasted any demon she could reach. If she was attacked, then she parried and countered whatever she could- and dodged whatever she couldn't.

But she quickly noticed a problem was forming around her sword.

Demons were tough, and their bones were even tougher. Every cut she landed against their rough skin dulled her blade, and any stab that hit their bones bent the tip.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Sulika couldn't afford a steel sword, so she'd settled for Iron. And the blade had served her marvelously for years... But it wasn't meant to withstand this kind of punishment.

She twisted her body, slicing off one Imp's wrist on the upswing and cut into a second Imp's shoulder on the downswing.

"Enmet- Ah!" Her arm, and thus her wand, was knocked aside by the first Imp's tail- the barb piercing her slender wrist.

It took everything she had not to drop her wand off the side of the roof.

Sulika quickly brought her sword around and stabbed the imp through the mouth: the Imp's eyes went wide a second before they went dark.

She ripped her sword out of its head, tearing through its cheek rather than cutting it, and brought it around to- A paper thin rapier came out of Sulika's blindspot and struck her sword near the hilt... She watched the iron blade snap from a crack she hadn't realized was there.

The succubus attacked again, performing two quick slashing at Sulika's neck with the elegant looking rapier.

Sulika instinctually yanked the barb out of her wrist and slung the tail at the demon's face.

The rapier easily cut the tail to pieces, sending black blood and viscera into the faces of the two combatants. The Succubus flinched as the blood touched her face, but Sulika was able to ignore it and use that moment to jump back and take stock.

She was bleeding, likely poisoned, and her only method of dealing with close-range demons was lying in about four pieces on the floor.

The Succubus hissed in anger at the blood staining her perfect form and leveled her rapier at Sulika's face. "Vrak'tesh nar'gul vorath! (You'll die slowly for that!)"

The demon took a quick step forward and started raining stabs upon Sulika- The sorceress tried to dodge them all, but the Succubus was too fierce, her attacks too fast and frequent to completely avoid.

Though she managed to avoid taking a fatal hit by always moving backwards, small cuts were appearing all over Sulika's body.

Then Sulika's luck ran out.

Her right heel slid against a dead Imp, and Sulika was too distracted by the demon in front of her to notice. So, when she tried to take another step back, she stumbled and went down.

"Ahh!" Sulika screamed as the rapier pierced her left shoulder and pinned her to the roof.

The Succubus smirked and slightly twisted the blade, causing Sulika's screams to grow in volume.

The demon slowly lowered herself onto Sulika's stomach. She bent down, pressing her naked body against Sulika's bleeding flesh.

"Shaal'vek dra'korr… Nareth vek'zul. (You have such a beautiful voice... Let me hear it again.)" The demon whispered into Sulika's ear- then twisted the blade once again.

Sulika's screams filled the Succubus with more pleasure than a hundred males could.

She looked down on the frightened creature between her legs with lust filled eyes.

Maybe she would keep this one around as a plaything?

Maybe- The demon's world suddenly shifted ninety degrees to the left and she could feel something spilling over her ample chest.

"Laeneth eilora nar vaen'thil enar. (She's not for you to sit on.)" A venomous voice filled the demon's right ear.

The Succubus turned her eyes towards the sky- and saw her end staring back at her.

Faeyra was standing over her with not an emotion to be found in her brilliant red-yellow eyes.

Her left hand was full of the demon's dirty blonde hair, which she'd used to wrench her head to the side.

And in her right hand, she held the handle of a ten-inch-long dagger... That was already plunged to the hilt into the demon's throat.

The Succubus's crimson eyes widened at the woman standing over her. There was something about her that seemed almost... Familiar- Her eyes widened again as Faeyra used the blade plunged into her throat to snap the demon's neck.

Faeyra wrenched the demon away from Sulika and shoved her off the roof: the sound of the demon's body hitting the ground a second later was almost enough to make her smile.

She returned to Sulika's side a moment later, gently lifting her head and moving it onto her lap.

A cursory scan of Sulika's body revealed the numerous small cuts, as well as the two larger wounds on her arm and shoulder.

A rush of white-hot anger flashed through Faeyra's body, and she suddenly wished the succubus was still alive.

She'd killed her too quickly last time.

"Fay?" Sulika whispered: her eyelids felt like cinderblocks, and she was cold... So cold.

Faeyra ran her fingers through Sulika's dark hair and helped her sit up, as Sulika couldn't muster enough strength to sit up on her own.

She placed her lips against Sulika's ear and whispered, "You're not allowed to die on me, Fox Girl. You're mine. Do you understand that? Mine." She growled, her fingers grabbing at Sulika's hair.

"Now, you're going to sit here while I grab a potion from my bag. You are not to go anywhere without me. Do you understand?"

Sulika couldn't really understand what she was saying, but she knew Fay had just asked her a question... Two decades worth of exposure to Faeyra's moods had already programmed a response in Sulika's body. So, even without thinking, she knew what to do when Faeyra asks a question in that tone.

She nodded.

"Good. Now, just- Hang on, okay? I'll be right back." Faeyra carefully lowered Sulika to the roof before hurrying away to grab the potion.

As she walked, she glanced over at the other rooftop where Ralocan and Max were chatting beside a sleeping Oladi.

She reached her bag and quickly fished out the healing potion she'd shown them earlier, as well as an anti-toxin she'd made 'just in case'.

Well, it's a good thing she did.

Imp's tails were capable of injecting an extremely potent toxin that stopped your blood from coagulating. Large wounds, like the kind Sulika sustained, bleed quickly and with the venom preventing her body from healing itself.

Giving her the healing potion now, without dealing with the venom first, would be like pouring water into a bowl with a hole at the bottom.

"How's Sulika doing?"

Faeyra glanced over at Max: even covered in blood as he was, she could tell he was more concerned about them than he was about himself.

"She's hurt- badly. But she'll live. How're Oladi and Ralocan?"

"Oladi's fine, just sleeping. The cleric is going back down to check on the other two."

Faeyra nodded.

"Would you mind helping me for a sec?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I need her to sit up while I give her the potion. I could do it myself, but it'll be faster with two people-"

Boom!

Faeyra and Max turned to see a building at the other end of the city falling. The lower half of it was blown inwards, as if something big had plowed through it. "Let's get this potion into Sulika before whatever that was, happens over here."

"Agreed." Max nodded and moved to help Sulika sit up.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Aldritch was sitting atop a pile of rubble, inside a building that was seconds away from falling- and he. looked. bad.

His right arm was a shattered and broken mess, dangling uselessly at his side. However, that wasn't even close to the worst injury on his person. No, his worst injury was obvious to anyone who looked at him - You just had to look for the huge hole in his robe and chest plate to see the gaping wound that was oozing blue blood.

"How're you feeling?" Oakairo asked- but he didn't need to hear the answer. He could feel his surprise through the bond. Could sense the pain he'd experienced for the first time in centuries.

Aldritch grinned.