Chapter 53: Demonic Artifact (3)

Chapter 53: Demonic Artifact (3) The forest carried an ominous feeling. Lindy didn’t look even slightly scared. For her, this was a routine mission, the kind she had done countless times before. Damian was calm too. Unlike the other new recruits with no real experience, he had some. This wasn’t his first time hunting demons in a forest. "If we don’t find the demon now, should we kill the other ones we run into?" Damian asked. Lindy nodded. "Of course. Those demons could kill someone later, so it’s best to deal with them now." She had to get close to every demon anyway to check if it was the one they were after. Why not kill them in the process? That would erase future problems. "I see," Damian said. But Lindy noticed he had something else on his mind. "Say it," she told him. "How confident are you about winning against this demon? Like, really?" he asked. Damian didn’t actually know how strong Lindy was. She had seen S-rank demons up close. And if the demon they were looking for turned out to be S-rank, they could be in serious trouble. Sure, Lindy looked calm. But what if she was faking it just so he wouldn’t panic? The thought gnawed at him. "I can deal with an S-rank demon—depending on its abilities, obviously," Lindy said. "But I think this one is an A-rank." "Why do you think that?" "If it were S-rank, it would have found the necklace by now." "Makes sense. Do you think it’ll be able to sense the necklace or not?" Damian was the one carrying the case that held the necklace. They hadn’t left it in the mansion. "It can’t sense it while it’s inside the case," Lindy explained. "We have the case with us because I didn’t feel like leaving it behind. What if someone in the mansion decided to open it? Then everyone would die." The best way to look at it was simple: no one was trustworthy. After the plane sabotage, Lindy wasn’t willing to take risks. She didn’t know the mansion’s staff, the cleaners, or the guards—so why gamble? Besides, she had Damian. He was the perfect one to carry the case while she focused on the hunt. Having the case with her during fights would have been a problem. But with Damian carrying it, everything worked out perfectly. As they moved through the forest, Lindy stopped a few times to use her wind skills to track demons. It was getting late, so they couldn’t go too far in. The first demon they found was climbing a tree. It looked like a rodent, but with seven legs and massive claws. It was huge—about two meters long. Once they got close, Lindy recognized it as just a C-rank demon, not the one they were after. Still, she killed it. Channeling mana through her body, she formed a razor of wind that sliced clean through the rodent demon, cutting it in half instantly. No need to climb the tree. No effort at all. Part of the demon’s body fell to the ground. Lindy didn’t waste time—she kept moving forward. Damian, on the other hand, quickly absorbed the fallen piece while she wasn’t looking. Risky—she could have seen it—but he couldn’t just let a C-rank demon go to waste. [+8 Agility] [+3 Strength] All demons gave him free attributes. No skill this time, which was a shame, but the stats were still worth it. Eventually, they found a few more demons. None were the one they were searching for. Lindy killed them all. Out of the four demons, Damian managed to absorb just one more. The risk of Lindy catching him was too high with the others. "We have to head back," Lindy said. "I don’t like exploring the forest at night." Night brought more demons, and visibility dropped. Lindy’s vision was sharper than most humans’, but demons had the clear advantage in the dark. Damian didn’t mind returning. They could continue the hunt tomorrow. So they went back to the mansion. The young man—the family heir—was waiting in the dining room. He looked worried. "Is he worried about our safety," Damian thought, "or just about us walking off with his necklace?" "So, how was the search?" the man asked Lindy. "We found some demons, but not the one we’re after. The search continues tomorrow morning," she said. The man nodded, then offered to show them their rooms. The mansion was huge, with plenty of spare rooms for guests. Each of them got one for themselves. This time, Lindy kept the case with the necklace. Between her and Damian, she was the stronger one, and she wasn’t taking chances. Inside his room, Damian finally relaxed. The luxury of the place eased his mind—for a little while. Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t stop thinking. How safe would it be once he and Lindy returned to the academy? The thought gnawed at him as he drifted into sleep. The next morning, Lindy woke him early. Not that she needed to—he was already used to academy hours, and when she knocked, he was already awake. They ate breakfast together. "We have to find this demon today," Lindy said. "We can’t afford to waste time." Without their private jet, getting back to the academy would take longer. Despite everything that had happened, they needed to keep on schedule. If not, Lindy risked getting a written warning by the headmaster—or worse, losing her job. After finishing breakfast, they left the mansion and went straight into the forest. Lindy used her wind skills again to give them a direction to follow. Damian carried the case while Lindy searched for the demon. It was going to be a long, exhausting day—Damian was sure of it. They had to find the demon that day. Lindy moved faster than before, wasting no time. Whenever she spotted a demon that wasn’t their target, she killed it instantly and kept going. One, two, three, four... By the time afternoon came, they had already killed at least twenty demons. Damian managed to absorb a few, but not many—Lindy was too close most of the time. Both of them were getting anxious. Time was slipping away, and they still hadn’t found the demon who created the necklace. Finally, Lindy decided to try something. Her last resort. "We’ll open the case and let the necklace’s energy leak," she said. Damian had already thought about that before. He just didn’t understand why she hadn’t done it sooner. "Why didn’t we do this before?" he asked. "I thought about it yesterday but didn’t ask you." "It’ll draw all the demons to us, not just the one we’re looking for," Lindy explained. "Prepare to fight for your life." Demons from all over the area would come straight for them. It would be like an army charging to tear them apart. That was the reason Lindy hadn’t done this before. It was risky—even for her. For Damian, a new recruit, it was far worse. She could protect herself, sure, but Damian? That was another story. "We have to do this if we want to get back in time," Lindy said. "But don’t tell anyone I did it. Putting a new recruit in this kind of danger could cost me my job." Damian nodded. "Don’t worry, I won’t say a word." "Thank you. Now, open the case." Damian did as she told him. Both of them wore bracelets to protect against the necklace’s energy, so opening the case wasn’t dangerous. The moment he did, black mist poured out, spreading in every direction. It acted like a beacon, calling every demon in the region straight to them. Demons stirred. The hunt was coming. Lindy grabbed the necklace for herself. "I’ll keep it with me so most of them come for me, not you. But be ready to fight." She would try her best to protect Damian, but she couldn’t cover him all the time. What she didn’t know was that Damian wasn’t nearly as weak as she thought. In fact, he was eager to see how strong he had become after all the stat boosts he’d absorbed. He could feel it—his body was far stronger than before. Five minutes later, the first wave of demons arrived. Most charged Lindy, but a handful broke toward Damian. He clenched his fists and fought with everything he had. A mutant frog leapt onto his back, its poisonous tongue whipping toward his face. Damian reacted instantly, ducking low and slamming his fist into the demon. The blow didn’t just hurt—it exploded the creature on impact. Lindy was busy carving down her own enemies, but she caught a glimpse of Damian’s strike. Her eyes widened. "How did he do that?" she thought. "Isn’t he just a new recruit?" Damian didn’t stop. That single punch lit a fire inside him. He wanted more. He wanted to test the full extent of his power. Instead of staying on the defensive, he charged straight into a pack of demons, a grin spreading across his face. "Let’s fight, you stupid creatures!" he shouted.