Rebirth Of The Bastard Spirit Summoner

"D-demon?!" Kaeri paled, her confidence wavering.

She had heard of them a few times in the past when she was still in the elven continent.

Demons were some of the worst types of wild spirits you could encounter. They were devious, deadly, and highly intelligent.

The witch allowed her to muse over her words before she continued. "To remove the slave mark, you must venture into your inner mind and confront this demon. That is where the danger lies."

Kaeri gulped, impatiently drumming her fingers on the table as her mind raced. The witch watched her the entire time, waiting for an answer.

"Let's do it!"

Although she was trembling at the thought of having to fight something above her level, she had come here with a deep conviction.

She had said she didn't care if she died in the process, she could not back down now.

"Are you sure, kid? This is your last chance to end this. Once you are inside, there are only two ways out, you either kill the demon, or you die."

Kaeri forced herself to remain stoic, doing everything she could to hide the fear that was growing in her heart.

"Let's do it!" she screamed, this time more to herself, knowing that any longer and she would back out.

"Very well…"

Click!

Immediately, the witch snapped her fingers and everything changed.

The cabin disappeared, vanishing into nothing. The countless bookshelves and rows of potion bottles were replaced by painted walls with artistic patterns.

She was sitting on a large queen sized bed in a room that she remembered perfectly well.

It was her home.

But there was something different. First of all, the world was eerily silent, save for her breathing and the sound of her heart, Kaeri could hear nothing else.

She got down from the bed and went into the empty hallway, her footsteps echoing through the space.

Kaeri could feel everything from the gentle wind to the marble floor underneath her feet, yet everything felt unreal, it was almost like she was in a dream.

At the end of the hall, a shadow suddenly flashed past, crossing to the other side.

'The demon?!'

Step. Step.

Kaeri ran after it, her footsteps pounding on the floor. She turned around the corner only to see another shadow flash past the end of the hall again.

She continued, her breathing elevated as she gave chase, a spell already weaving into existence.

'Was the hall always this long?'

Immediately, she went past another bend, and something slammed into her leg, causing her to trip and roll to the floor, landing hard.

Kaeri jumped back immediately as a black claw slashed at the floor, leaving deep claw marks where she once stood.

Then she got to her feet and lifted her hands at it, finally getting a good view of the demon.

It was like a veil of shadows, its form constantly twisting and changing, only the parts outside its dark cloak remained the constant— black limbs that ended with nasty claws, long curved horns, and a mask of bones covering its face, leaving only a pair of soulless eyes.

It was like a nightmare brought to life.

But despite its imposing appearance, Kaeri could tell that it was nowhere near the demons she had heard of.

This demon was far weaker in comparison, it was still far stronger than her, but not to the point of killing her with a single blow.

She had a chance.

"Cursed embers, rise from your desolate place, bring about carnage with your resurrection…"

The demon did not react, it simply watched her as she cast her spell, its head cocked slightly to the side.

Then it laughed, its voice like metal grinding against stone.

"Advanced cast, Chaos Flare!"

Vwoosh!

Bubbling red fire tore through Kaeri's hands, shooting out like a devastating torrent of fire.

At the same time, the demon lunged at her, its body a blur of shadows as it cut through the distance with ease.

But Kaeri had predicted its speed, that was why she had used this spell, it was a trap set specifically for this situation.

'Chaos Flare will always hit its target!'

When the demon reached her, its claws so close that they had already pricked her skin, the fire had already turned and was now at its back.

Boom!

Its eyes widened as the fire crashed into its back, creating a large explosion that blew part of the hall to smithereens.

Kaeri lifted her hands to block off the spell, using her mana to redirect the wave of fire that poured on her. But the demon… it wasn't so lucky.

Its body simmered with black smoke, its bone mask was cracked, and it lay at the other end of the hall, unmoving.

Then, like an animated corpse, the demon suddenly sprung up. Its head was twisted at the wrong angle, and its limbs were broken, and yet it suddenly began to crawl at her, moving like a centipede.

Kaeri could not help it, she screamed and unleashed another burst of fire. "S-Stay away from me!"

But the demon dodged, it jumped to the wall and walked on it as though gravity did not exist, climbing up to the roof before jumping down at her.

Kaeri sprinted back a few steps, then lifted her hands.

"Scatter all those who you deem unworthy, obliterate them who march forward with folly, Fire Brigade!"

Multiple balls of fire tore out of her fingers, charging at the demon, but its body suddenly darkened, a dark mist surrounding its form.

The fire bounced against its skin, shattering on the dark aura and leaving the demon unscathed.

It appeared next to Kaeri…

Slash!

Its claws dug into her shoulder, ripping through her shirt and digging deep into her flesh. She was tossed to the side by the resulting force, only managing to hurry to her feet before she was impaled.

Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing intensified as she hurried to evade the monster.

She jumped, she ducked, she fled… all to stay as far away from those claws as possible, and yet she was getting overwhelmed.

She was a mage, not a swordsman, her stamina was bound to fail her.

"Fire pillars!"

The demon cackled as the fire crashed into it, not even managing to leave a dent on its body.

And then it slammed into her, knocking her to the floor. Kaeri's head banged against the ground at an awkward angle, and blood began to flow from her head.

She tasted blood, her vision blurred with tears as she watched the demon that now stood atop her, its body a mangled mess of dark blood and gore.

'Damn it!' she cried, hot tears streaming down her eyes.

This was her last chance at freedom, and yet she had failed.

In a last-ditch attempt to save herself, she muttered what was currently the most self destructive spell in her arsenal.

As her lips moved, saying more than two words a second, the demon had its fun with her.

She groaned in pain as it dug its claws into her stomach, twisting its fingers in the wound, and screamed when it slashed her chest, bathing her in blood.

Yet she continued, she continued chanting through the pain, through the frustration, even as her body trembled in agony, even when her mind became hazy from the blood loss… she kept chanting.

Until the spell reached its climax.

"Great Fire cast… EXPLOSION!!"

The world suddenly became incredibly heated, the fire so hot that Kaeri felt her skin simmer and burn.

The demon screamed, trying to get away, but Kaeri wrapped her hands around it, intensifying the heat—

Until all that was left of her was ash, and the demon was a mangled mess of burned flesh and bones on the verge of death.

If she was just a little stronger, if she had managed to apply a bit more fire, then she would have won.

But she couldn't, because once again… Kaeri had died.