Chapter 123: A brutal fight
The heavy footsteps grew louder. No sprinting. No shouts. Just the smug, deliberate march of monsters who thought they had nothing to fear.
Demons.
Allen tensed, stepping forward until his body shielded the wounded mermaids behind him. Luna had flattened her slime form into a protective dome over two of them, her gelatinous body humming faintly, glowing a soft blue. Fina crouched low beside another, tail rigid with rage, one claw gently brushing sea-slick hair out of the mermaid’s face.
They came in threes, like a bad joke with a horrifying punchline.
The first was massive, nearly seven feet tall with curling ram-like horns and a hammer as thick as a tree trunk strapped across his back. His red eyes glowed like furnace coals, and his grin showed too many teeth. He ducked under the tent flap and immediately sneered at the sight before him.
"Aww, what’s this? A rescue party?" he growled.
Behind him slithered a thinner demon with hooked knives strapped to his hips and a long, twitching tongue that flicked over his lips like a snake testing the air. His gait was oily, as if his joints weren’t made for this world. His eyes danced hungrily between Allen, Fina, and the girls.
Then the third entered. Silent. Armored from head to toe in blackened steel, helm sealed tight. Across his chestplate burned the sigil: a twisted, bifurcated flame.
The Demon Corps.
Allen’s hands balled into fists.
"You the one who’s been screwing with our operation?" the big one asked. "Thought you’d be taller."