Chapter 202 - Expectations
Shadows seemed to dance over the walls as the door opened before Scarlett and Allyssa, the air suddenly thickening with subtle tension as what lay beyond was revealed. A dark set of stairs led to a long corridor with a tall ceiling, with a macabre tapestry of demons looming at the top.
As one, dozens of eyes fixed to glare on Scarlett. Some of the demons appeared as little more than grotesque amalgamations of charred flesh and jagged obsidian armor, their eyes glowing like smoldering coal. Others scuttled around like impish little minions, while molten hulks, towering three times Scarlett’s size, stood like grim sentinels. Spectral tormentors of shifting shadows emitted eerie, unsettling flicking noises, creating a menacing assembly that could send shivers down even some of the most seasoned adventurers’ spines.
To most, the varied sizes and capabilities of the demons demanded a flexible and careful approach, signifying a threat that wasn’t to be underestimated.
Scarlett found that they all burned the same beneath her flames, though.
As she mentally tallied their foes, the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] and her other equipment appeared. A cacophony of screams reverberated from the demonic throng, and as the quickest and nimblest of the demons rushed down the stairs, a swarm of Aqua Mines and fire arrows materialized in the air to face them head-on.
The weaker demons stumbled or collapsed under the barrage, trampled by their larger kin. The shadowy demons clinging to the walls and moving like wraiths met barriers of fire that pierced their forms, halting their advance. Allyssa, at Scarlett’s side, fired her crossbow and tossed out a flask that released a layer of grey muck that had proven efficient at slowing these demons before.
It also made excellent kindling.
Scarlett nodded in appreciation as she deftly forced the demons at the front to retreat a few steps with a couple of well-placed fires, corralling them back towards their slower counterparts. Though a few managed to bypass her barricades, demanding some of her attention to deal with them, the majority moved according to her directions. The door opening was too narrow for all of them, and the stairs tapered off towards the bottom, creating a nice bottleneck for Scarlett to use.
Among humans, demons were notorious for their cunning and deceptiveness, but that was only because the cunning demons were the only ones who made it to the Material Realm. The ones Scarlett was facing now could best be described as the expendable trash Anguish kept around to throw into the proverbial meat grinder when necessary.
For once, that was a role Scarlett didn’t mind filling for the Vile.
Once the majority of the demons reached the bottom of the stairs, they were amassed as a tight mob pushing ahead with snarls and growls, slowed by their fallen comrades and Allyssa’s concoction.
Scarlett’s forehead knitted in concentration. Now it was time to change the strategy.