Chapter 75

**Merianna**

If I hadn’t erected that barrier when I did, Zerial’s head might just have gone flying.

The reverberating force of the impact against my barrier made my bones ache. The slithering darkness that emerged from the walls of the cavern twitched and jittered in what could almost be seen as excitement.

“My Lady!” Zariel was alarmed and took action quickly. Pulling his ethereal blade out from the ether he immediately went on the attack against the sharp blades that had manifested from the darkness.

They recoiled slightly against his onslaught and Zerial took that moment to gain some distance between us and it. Jernok had also taken out his blades and kept his eyes open for any other surprises that might emerge from the shadows.

“Are you alright, My Lady?” Zerial asked as he kept me close to him with one arm.

“I’m good. Just a little wrung out.” I answered with a groan. After releasing my element like I had, I was suffering the backlash again. Some of my muscles were starting to twitch in painful spasms, which didn’t feel all too good against my clearly fractured arm that I received earlier. My head was also not appreciating the violent lashing received against my barrier. Who knew that a severely aching head could make you nauseous on top of everything else? Go figure.

Now was not the time to feel sorry for myself though. Hezerial clutched me closely to him as he stood ready to face off against the Demon that had appeared. I chanced a glance and felt my nausea intensify at the smell that hit my nose before I even saw its appearance. The stench of rot and decay was much stronger this time around than it was back when I saw them in the forest.

Looking at the Demon right now, I could see why. It was solid. Not a wispy cloudy shape or shadow of what it was, but the actual physical manifestation. Something must have happened between back then and now for the Demon to be able to physically manifest in this realm. I could tell that Hezerial thought the same as he tensed up even more at its appearance.

I believed that seeing this Demon was the worst part of this situation… that was until another Demon came slinking out from behind the one we had in front of us. I heard Jernok curse under his breath as he stood ready with his weapons facing the new threats.

“My Lady.” Zerial murmured next to my ear. “I apologize but I might need to have both my hands available for this fight.”

I nodded in acknowledgement. “I’ll try to find a place to hide, and once I get an opening, I’ll run towards the tunnel you guys came from.” I didn’t like the idea of running away from a fight with my tail between my legs, but this was a special occasion. I knew when to duck so my head didn't get chopped off, and this was a - ducking and rolling furiously away to safety - kind of situation.

“Thank you, My Lady. I will try and finish this quickly.” he gently lowered me to the ground, and I stepped behind his broad back, eyeing the surroundings to make sure that there weren’t any other unwelcome surprises.

Hezerial lunged at the first demon while Counselor Jernok dived for the second one. Me, on the other hand, I dived for the nearest thing that I could hide behind. The cavern unfortunately didn’t have much of anything to hide behind, but I was lucky enough to spy a stalagmite that jutted out from the ground near one of the walls. I was nearly at the desired spot when my legs suddenly seized under me. I bit out a curse and hobbeld as quickly as possible under the pain.

I hated that the backlash was worse in the areas that I channeled my element to the most. It meant that I was going to be immobile for a while, and under these circumstances, it was not something I could just wait out leisurely. Plus, this time was worse since I didn’t exactly take into consideration what my limits were while fighting. I was even struggling to keep my small scythe secured in my spasming fingers.

It was an uncontrollable pain, but at least something I could grit my teeth through. It was a pain that always passed with time. But damn, that time sure seemed to take forever.

Glancing around the jutted stone, I looked over at the battles that were raging around the cavern. Noch and Dermon were dealing blows like they were playing chess, a very, very dangerous-for-the-environment version of chess. Everywhere they moved within the space, a section of said space got decorated with new holes, cracks and grooves that almost made the stone seem like clay. The stalactites on the ceiling also didn’t seem to appreciate the abuse. Zerial and Jernok on the other hand, were also very tightly matched with the two Demons that had arrived. Their battle made me realize exactly why there were always so many casualties whenever a Demon Gate had opened in history.

These demons might have been corporeal, and in physical form, but they were nearly indestructible. Every time Jernok’s blade landed a blow on his opponent, there wasn’t blood, muscle, or sinew that got exposed on its flesh. There wasn’t a cry of pain or any sign of it feeling pain. Only black wisps escaped the injuries momentarily and stopped a few minutes later. Almost like a cut that bled and then clogged up, the injury was still visible, but nothing really came of it. It was like the Demons were merely beings of energy that were condensed and now given form. It was truly bizarre. Zerial’s fight, on the other hand, seemed to have more success. The demon that he was fighting seemed to roar with every strike that Zerial managed to land on it. Its injuries also seemed to leak that black mist a lot more furiously than Jernok’s opponent. I curiously thought if it was maybe because he was an Angelic. Did different types of energies clash and break each other down?

All these thoughts were furiously running through my mind so I could distract myself from the pain wracking my poor body.

As I was assessing my surroundings and calculating when my body would be able to hobble over to the tunnel that led to my escape, my eyes caught sight of something moving in said tunnel I was looking at. The movement in the darkness was eerie at first, until I could make out the silhouette of a person.

Not long after I spotted the figure, I could see who it was! Jasnine was walking quickly through the tunnel in our direction. A wave of relief washed over me at the sight of her.

I waved my arms frantically, though careful not to make a sound or for my waving to be seen by anyone on the opposite side of my hiding spot. With Jasnine there, it meant that the others in their group were also going to be there soon. The more of us there was to fight, the better our chances were to win this.

I turned my attention back to the fights happening behind me, enlarging my scythe again, when I noticed Noch and Dermon’s fight getting closer to my hiding spot. Noch had caught sight of me as he fought and merely nodded my way slightly. He probably knew that I would jump out and take a swipe at Dermon if the opportunity presented itself, no matter how much pain I was in, and was letting me know that it was fine to do that.

I might’ve been hurt, but that was nothing new. I was still itching for the chance to slice that bastard's head clean off his shoulders for what he had done to my and Nelia’s lives.

Jasnine was slowly coming over to my side as I readied myself to pounce on an opening. The moment Dermon’s back was turned to me, and close enough for me not to have to move too far to reach him, I made my move. Diving at his back, I raised my scythe to bring it down on him with all the strength I had left in my body.

A body slammed into mine so forcefully that I went flying across the cavern and into a wall again. I was so surprised by the impact and shock to my already hurt body that I yelled out without meaning to. My ears were ringing again as I struggled to regain my senses as quickly as possible. The first thing I noticed was a weight that was pressing down on my shoulders, keeping me pinned to the wall.

Shaking my head and blinking furiously, I clumsily tried to push the hands off from me, not that it helped much. My vision finally cleared, and I was able to make out the figure that was looming over me. I had thought at first that it might’ve been another demon that appeared, but I was oh so wrong.

“Jasnine?” I breathed in shock.

Her head was bent downward, so I wasn’t able to see her face, but it was Jasnine, without a doubt. It was Jasnine’s grip. It was Jasnine’s smell. I stared blankly at her for a minute, not being able to fully understand what exactly was going on. That was… until she lifted her head to look me in the eye.

All that stared back at me were eyes as black and bottomless as a deep abyss.