Chapter 306 – Vol. 5 –

Everyone at the camp prepared themselves for the unexpected fight. Metsumi, Opah, and Luvine hid in the farthest tent from the forest, archers and mages positioned themselves near them to attack the coming forces from a distance, and Keiko, along with the other soldiers, held her weapon out as she tried to calm her nerves. 

After Keiko’s training sessions at Amber, she’d managed to increase her level up to this point: 

Level 36

MP: 150/150

EXP: 10/360

—

STR: 25

DEX: 60

CON: 25

INT: 10

WIS: 15

L: 5

As much as she knew she was stronger than she had been in the past, she simply didn’t feel that way, though. Her lack of practice over the months, thanks to that untimely pregnancy, had made even holding her sword feel just a tad bit awkward. It had gotten better recently, of course, given how much she trained with Yumi and Ash, but she felt like she still had a long way to go. 

Above them, Lust demons circled the camp, and the general raised his hand at the archers and mages. 

And, with that gesture, a flurry of arrows and flaming spheres were launched at them. Most of the demons managed to avoid the attacks easily, but a few were caught. One had an arrow pierce through its skull and came crashing down. Another had one of those orbs of fire collide with its chest and exploded right out of the sky. Still, Keiko tried to focus on the treeline ahead, knowing that those demons could arrive at any moment. 

“What level did Ash say they were?” Yumi asked, beside her. 

“Around level 20,” Keiko replied. 

“Remember,” Satsuhiro said. “From this distance, the portal shouldn’t affect them. It’s okay to be cautious, but don’t be scared. We can win this, easily.” 

The vote of confidence from the older man injected Keiko with a small amount of confidence, but that couldn’t be compared with the unease in her veins. 

“…  Iridos,”  she muttered, turning on her Spirit Eye then, as Yumi did the same. 

Then, the demons appeared. Mostly just Wrath demons at first, many of them charged forth with bloodlust on their faces. A couple of Gluttony demons followed behind them, and then, Keiko thought she saw something much more ominous waiting in the distance. 

However, she couldn’t focus on that, as she had more immediate problems. Like the Wrath demon that ran up to her and tried to claw through her neck. Keiko read its attack easily enough and pulled back before taking a step forward and stabbing it through the chest. 

“Agh!” The demon gurgled out as it fell back, and Keiko didn’t even have time to see how much EXP she’d gotten for that before she was attacked again. 

That was when the battle began in earnest. With arrows, Lust demons, and fire orbs dancing in the air as the other combatants engaged each other below. With her Spirit Eye, however, seeing through the chaos wasn’t too difficult. One demon ran up to her and tried to bite her shoulder, and Keiko rewarded it with an elbow to its nose before spinning in place and slashing it across its stomach, watching its entrails slip out onto the grass. Another demon approached from her right and lifted its arm, as though to make some sort of an attack aimed at the back of Keiko’s head, but before it could even attempt it, Keiko had sliced both arms off and kicked it away. 

Across the battlefield, the others were having similar success. Yumi and her naginata looked like an elegant wind of death, moving through one enemy after another with grace. Kasumi was working to create terrifying illusions that made enemies pause for just long enough for the other soldiers to come in and finish them. Sinneah and her fists easily broke through the demon’s skulls, and Satsuhiro looked like he hadn’t lost a step in regard to his magical talents. 

All in all, it seemed like they had things under control. 

But, as the fight went on, another demon came closer. One far ahead, that Keiko saw walking out from between a pair of tall trees, that looked a lot bigger than any of the others. 

… I might not have seen many of them,  Keiko thought,  but I’d like to think I know a Nightmare when I see one, and that’s no ordinary demon. 

The creature was thin and lanky, not nearly as bulky as the Nightmare Keiko had seen at Sapphire, or the one Ash and Kaori fought at Onyx. It had a blindfold over its eyes and a slim body that was encased in black-violet armor. 

Keiko looked around and saw most of the others engaged in a fight already, save for Yumi, who noticed the same enemy. Yumi took a couple of steps toward Keiko, then, as the creature revealed two swords it had been carrying on its back. 

Two curved swords, specifically, just like the one Keiko was holding. 

“Ominous-looking thing,” Yumi muttered. 

“These demon’s levels shouldn’t be too high. Still, that thing gives me the creeps,” Keiko replied. 

“I will hold it off, for now,” Yumi told her. “See if you can help the others, and give them space to come here. Just in case this ends up being stronger than I think it is.” 

“Right.” 

As she received that instruction, Keiko looked around. With multiple smaller fights occurring within the larger battle, it was hard to pick out where she should start, but she decided to go with whoever was closest. With that in mind, as a man was picked up by a Lust demon threatening to carry him someplace else and do gods-know-what to him, Keiko leaped up and decapitated it with a horizontal slash in mid-air. As she landed, she found a pair of demons ravaging the corpse of a young female soldier, and quickly moved up to stab them both in the back of the head in quick succession. 

As she continued searching for people to assist, she found the same three Zayama warriors that her grandmother had told her to help. She hadn’t noticed it, but the three of them had positioned fairly close to her. Either that or they’d ended up here by sheer coincidence. Still, putting aside her problems with her family for a moment, Keiko narrowed her eyes and raced toward them, to clear the enemies they were fighting. 

One, two, three quick slashes, and the Zayama warriors were given space to breathe. 

“T-Thank you, siya!” One of them bowed, before quickly moving onto the next fight. 

Keiko hadn’t heard that honorific in so long, that it made her pause for a couple of long seconds. Shaking her head, she tried to refocus, looking around once more to see who needed aid. 

And, in doing so, her eyes fell on Yumi. 

She was still fighting the Nightmare from earlier, which was surprising given how high her level was. By all accounts, she felt that this creature should have been dead already. Instead, Yumi was holding her naginata out in front of her, as the Nightmare kept its swords by its side, seemingly with both of them at a standstill. 

… I should go and push the odds,  Keiko thought.  No point in letting it have a fair fight. But, why hasn’t Yumi won already? 

Pushing that question aside, she began moving toward it. Yumi twirled her naginata, going for a slash at its chest. However, what Keiko saw with her Spirit Eye made her take a sharp breath. The creature caught her blade with its swords, forming an “X” shape as it pushed the weapon up, and, faster than Keiko could see, it slashed through Yumi’s waist. 

At the last second, Yumi had made an attempt to dodge, but still, she’d been struck. She fell back, dropping her weapon as she held the area that had been cut. 

No!  Keiko sprinted as quickly as she could. 

The creature, in two fluid motions, raised its swords up and held them in a reverse grip, looking to stab the downed warrior. 

I can’t get there in time. 

Planting a foot into the ground, she did know she was in range for this move, however, and her instincts told her to do it. 

“Zansae!” Keiko called out as she slashed in a circle, and an arc of flowers threatened to cut the Nightmare in half. 

However, the Nightmare reacted. Pulling its hands away, it flipped back twice before landing in as elegant a position as Keiko had ever seen, before dropping its hands by its side again. Even though it had a blindfold on, Keiko could feel its stare on her. 

“Healer!” Keiko called out. 

One of the Zayama warriors, of the three she’d saved earlier, responded quickly. Again, they’d been nearby, which now Keiko was sure was no stroke of luck. 

“Here, siya!” The woman replied. “I know some healing magic!” 

“Take care of her,” Keiko replied, pointing down at Yumi. “Quickly!” 

“Right!” 

Then, the Nightmare dropped both of its swords, and Keiko’s eyes bulged out of their sockets as her Spirit Eye told her what would happen next. Faster than she could blink, it pulled out a pair of knives from its back and launched them at the Zayama girl Keiko had just spoken to. 

In a move so quick it made her arms feel strained, however, Keiko deflected both knives in the air, and the girl was allowed to drag Yumi away. 

“I don’t think so,” Keiko hissed, glaring hard at her enemy. 

However, confident was not how she felt right now. 

Yumi’s Dex is a 100,  she thought.  If she couldn’t beat this thing, what chance do I have? 

Still, as the Nightmare casually picked its swords back up, Keiko dug her feet into the ground, intent on facing this creature head-on.