Raia swings her flaming longsword downward. Tallulah ducks to the left, her eyes gleaming with delight, and raises her hand. The demon summons a wooden sword from thin air and slashes it sideways.
Raia spins around and deflects the demon's attack with her sword. Purple embers fly through the air in a flurry. Their weapons quiver as they push each other, tightening their grip, both attempting to gain the upper hand.
Despite being made of wood, the Blood Demon's weapon is unyielding.
Tallulah smiles. "So quick and lively! You're such an interesting one." Her eyes then narrowed to slits, as if she was trying to figure out something. "How can you move like that after just waking up from Chaos' Nightmare?"
Chaos's Nightmare? Raia ponders, her brow furrowed. So there's another Blood Demon, and he's the one responsible for that horrible nightmare.
Raia raises her guard. She casts a sidelong glance at her comrade, but they are still in a deep slumber.
"Come forth, Raphael," Raia whispers, unleashing the real power of her Blessing. An electrifying sensation runs through her body as an amount of mana circulating within her transmits into her weapon.
The purple fire dancing around her sword devours the blade, and the flame acts as the blade itself.
The flame blade passes through Tallulah's wooden sword. The demon loses her momentum and stumbles forward. She performs a backbend kickover before she ends up colliding with the burning weapon.
"Wow! That was close," Tallulah exclaims as her feet touch down. "Your weapon just turned into a fire. Interesting. But you're not fast enough." Her mouth crinkles up one corner. She leaps backward, her body forming an arc in the air, and then she throws her weapon. The wooden sword whirls toward Raia at breakneck speed.
Raia screams as it slams into her shoulder.
Tallulah's eyes sparkle. She raises her hand and, as if it were a boomerang, welcomes the spinning wooden sword back into her open palm.
"Not so quick, are you?" Tallulah remarks. She yawns, boredom overtaking her features.
Raia grits her teeth, clutching her bleeding shoulder as she glares at the Blood Demon, who is spinning the wooden sword in her fingers. She swings her flame sword in a wide arc, releasing a purple fire bullet at her opponent.
Tallulah jumps to the right to dodge them.
Raia re-grips her sword and deactivates her Blessing's Divine Power. In place of the flame, a long silver blade appears at the top of the violet cross-guard. Since she's against a powerful demon, she won't waste much of her energy and drains herself in the end. She had already learned her lesson from the previous Blood Demon. For the time being, she must rely solely on her swordsmanship and physical abilities to buy time until she figures out how to defeat her enemy and, of course, until her comrades awaken from their nightmares.
Greater in number means a greater chance of winning.
Raia is up against an old and powerful being, one who is undoubtedly stronger and more experienced than she is. So she isn't stupid enough to underestimate the demon and think she can defeat it on her own.
Only fools underestimate their opponents, and it is their arrogance that will lead to their demise.
She charges forward and aims for the demon's solar plexus. Tallulah turns her waist slightly to avoid the attack. But Raia already expects that. She immediately twists her body and delivers a sidekick, catching the demon off guard.
Tallulah yelps as she slams into the pew. When Raia launches herself toward her, she leaps to her feet and performs a backflip, landing on top of another pew out of Raia's reach.
"And now your weapon looks nothing special. Are you underestimating me, human?" Tallulah says, glaring at her. "How about this, then?" She smirks and thrusts her arm out.
Raia lets out a surprised gasp as she feels a small, sharp pain in her face. At the same time, a red line appears across her cheek.
Tallulah uses her distraction to her advantage. She charges forward, slamming her foot into the disciple's stomach.
Raia collides with the altar, making a crashing sound. With a grunt, she pushes herself off the floor and grips her sword tightly, her fiery eyes glaring at the demon. A thin line of blood trickles down her face.
"You're a different one," Tallulah observes as she twirls her hair with the wooden sword. "For someone chosen by the angels, you lack emotions. You don't even care about your friends. The first thing you did when you woke up was bark at me."
Raia maintains a straight face, her eyes fixed on the demon. Tallulah shrugs as she observes she isn't responding.
"You're a twisted one," Tallulah continues. She examines Raia from head to toe, then her eyes sparkle as if something amusing has occurred to her. "So you're a disciple of the Apostle named Simon. Why did I only realize it now? Is that why Loki is interested in you?"
Ignoring the demon's babble, Raia adjusts her grip on her sword and charges at her. But, just as she's about to close the distance between them, she freezes midlunge. Her heart skips a beat.
What?
When Raia tries to move her sword-wielding hand, she feels a sharp pain on her wrist as if a rope is wrapped around it. No, it's too thin and sharp to be a rope; it's more like a string.
She glance at her raised hand, then at her left hand, and finally at her feet, but she sees nothing. The strings that bind her appear to be invisible. She looks at Talullah. So, besides the wooden sword, the Blood Demon has another weapon?
Of course, the wooden sword isn't special enough to be called a Blood Demon's Curse.
A thin red line appears around Raia's wrists and ankles, followed by a trickle of blood. She clenches her teeth in pain.
Tallulah laughs as she spins and twirls with her arms spread wide. She comes to a halt after a minute and hugs the wooden sword to her chest, closing her eyes.
"Oh, my dear Lamia. I'm so close to achieving our dreams," Tallulah says, caressing her weapon. "We'll save these poor lambs from all the lies and show them the beauty of darkness; I know they can be saved."
Lamia? Raia muses as she observes the demon. She is intrigued by the way the demon embraces and touches her weapon.
Lamia . . . The wooden sword . . . Raia ponders the minor details, gradually connecting the dots.
Tallulah opens her eyes, her lips curled in amusement. She wiggles a finger at Raia with her hand on her hip. "Oh, and did you know that the prominent Apostle isn't just well-known among your kind? He has piqued our interest as well. I agree that he has incredible strength and power. Who knows, he could be the Mighty Saviour."
"What the hell are you talking about, demon?" Raia growls.
Tallulah scowls at the name she called her. "Can't you even be a little nice? My name is Tally! Call me by that name. She sighs and flips her hair. "So you haven't the slightest idea what that is? Of course, I'm referring to someone chosen by your God — the Prophesied Saviour of Mankind."
Raia hasn't a vague idea of what the Blood Demon is talking about. She hasn't heard anything about a Saviour or anything like that— Simon and Cyrus haven't mentioned anything to her. Or do they even know about that? So there is someone chosen by Azarios himself? One who can save their world from the depths of darkness? Raia, for some reason, considers that information to be hazy. Is there such a thing as chosen by God?
She clenches her fists and refuses to be swayed. Only fools will listen to their enemy's talk and allow themselves to be distracted.
Tallulah opens her mouth to speak again, but nothing comes out. Her eyes widen for some reason as she looks behind Raia at something.
"Oh, my," Tallulah says after a few seconds, a wide smile on her face. "I didn't expect this. It's getting more exciting now."
"Raia!"
Raia can't help but feel surprised and relieved when she hears Raiden's familiar voice. She casts a glance behind her.
"Finally," Raia drawls, her face bored, as she sweeps her gaze across her comrades, who are now standing on their feet.
"Raia, are you okay?" Sunshine asks in a fit of worry.
They all summon their Blessings at the same time.
Raia notices Tallulah moving in her peripheral vision and returns her gaze to her.
Tallulah raises her wooden sword, a wicked grin on her face.
Raia clenches her fists and ignites the fire within her. "Raphael!"
A warm sensation rushes through her insides as purple fire bursts from the blade of her weapon and spreads around her body. The invisible strings that had been wrapped around her appear to have melted, as she can now move her limbs freely.
"Raia!" Raiden calls. At the same time, vines sprout from the ground in front of Raia and coil around wooden sword to stop its stroke that went just above Raia's head.
Raia hops backward. As she joins her comrades, the fire surrounding her body dissipates.
"How annoying," Tallulah grimaces, her lips twitching. She slices the vines in one swift motion and then twirls the wooden sword in her fingers. A spark of irritation flickers in her eyes. "I didn't expect you to break out of Chaos's Nightmare so quickly, without even displaying any signs of enervation. I guess I have to alter my plan a bit."
Tallulah twists her body, avoiding Sunshine's shining arrow. "You still have the stamina to fight?" she exclaims in disbelief.
"Of course!" Nathan answers. "You gave us nightmares; now it's time for payback."
"That's not my fault!" Tallulah refutes, leveling a glare on him.
"Now isn't the time for chit-chat," Sunshine says as she draws the string of her longbow and aims it at the Blood Demon. "Let's kill it now."
Tallulah's mouth twitches, as if she is offended by Sunshine's remark. "It? Am I some kind of object to you?"
"Obviously," Nathan responds, pointing his spear at her. "Anyway, thank you for keeping an eye on us while we slept."
Sunshine releases another shining arrow. The demon lifts her sword to deflect the attack. When the arrow collides with her wooden weapon, it disintegrates into small particles of light. The demon's mouth erupts in a burst of roaring laughter.
"What in the world was that? Is that all you can do?" Tallulah sneers.
Sunshine smiles and lowers her longbow. "The fun has just begun."
As soon as she says that, the light particles scattered by her arrow reform into tiny needles.
Tallulah's brows shoot up in surprise. "What?"
The gleaming needles all charge at Tallulah at the same time. She screams and ducks down, crossing her arms in front of her face. The needles pierce every part of her body, enveloping her in holy light.
Nathan bolts forward, his five necklaces jingling and his unbuttoned uniform fluttering. An invisible thread coils around the shaft of his spear as he thrusts it forward. The next thing he knows, he's being thrown into the air and slamming into a pew. A look of disbelief crosses his face.
"Nathan!" Sunshine and Raiden both scream in unison.
Nathan's inside white shirt is ripped, and there's a long cut across his chest.
"Not even a human experiment like you can scratch me," Tallulah declares, grinning as she looks at Nathan. Her body shakes before a cackle escapes her mouth. She stands up and spreads her arms wide. The gleaming needles fall from her body and vanish.
Raia and her team assume a defensive stance, but the Blood Demon continues to laugh. Then her laughter fades, and she meets their gazes.
"Well, that's awesome," Tallulah says. A devilish smile forms on her face. "But I'm not that easy to kill."
Faint lines resembling a spiderweb appear around her body. She doesn't appear to have been harmed by Sunshine's needles, as there isn't a single scratch on her body. She smirks, and the threads around her disappear.
Nathan immediately pulls himself up, takes a throwing stance with the cross-shaped crimson spear, and launches his weapon into the air.
The spear flies like an arrow toward Tallulah. The demon tilts her body without even flinching, and the spear brushes against her, slitting the sleeves of her dress. When Nathan's weapon flies past her, an invisible force ripples through the room, blowing their hair and garments as if a strong gust of wind had swept them away. The spear blade pierces the wall, creating a loud rumbling sound.
Surprisingly, the impact hasn't blown up the place, as if Nathan only used a small amount of power to avoid destroying the old building.
Tallulah giggles.