At the stables, Cairon takes of his shirt, tossing it to the ground, revealing his exceptionally toned body, as if it's been sculpted by a god. Cairon immediately starts doing some light stretches, "it would be suspicious it we don't start soon". Upon saying that, he cracks his knuckles and takes up Zenkutsu-dachi, "you should let off some attacks too so we can talk in peace". Cairon let's off an attack, quickly punching into and retracting his fist from a stable door, causing a white fire-like torrent to course through the wood from the impact point and destroying the surrounding part of the stable.
Ren observes the effect of the attack, and it understandably puts him on guard, "what magic is that? I heard you use 'bursting flame style', so I assumed you use fire magic...but that's not fire, is it?", it may look like a torrent of flame coursed through the wood, and the wood splinter and turned to ash, but something doesn't feel right. It acted more like lightning than fire. Unless it was an explosion, that speed and destruction shouldn't be possible. And if he truly was using an explosion, his hand should have been blown to pieces. All he's wearing is some bandages on his fists.
Cairon smiles, "good observation...very few can see the difference. I'll talk about it in a bit since it's somewhat relevant, but let me get something out of the way before I forget. See that tall red building in town? This place belongs to the owner of that building. He's a slave trader. Having this place so close to my house has always been a thorn in my side. He often likes to keep some of his 'merchandise' here".
Ren let's off some lightning bolts to his sides, blowing off parts of the stables. While some wood is sent flying, others start to ember, "so you specifically chose this place for that reason...not that I could blame you. But you seem very keen on talking about something, so why don't you continue with the second reason why you suspected I'm from another world before we move into another topic? Leaving me awfully curious here".
Cairon kicks a nearby post, causing it to explode like earlier, "we have to make it seem like we're fighting if we want to talk in piece. I don't mind this place getting destroyed, and I set the horses free earlier, so you don't have to worry about anything. Just not the house and training hall further up the hill". Ren let's off another bold, "I get it already. Don't leave me hanging and start talking already".
They let off small attacks as they talk, just enough to not arouse suspicion. Cairon, "the second reason is your Unique. I can't think of any other way to control lightning to such an extent apart from having 'Electromaster' as your unique". Ren tuts at this remark, they've even figured out its name. How?, "correct again, but how does that equal me being from a different be world?". Cairon, "only one person can have a certain Unique ability at a time, there has never been two at the same time. There has been no exceptions...until now, so I figured something bigger was in play".
Ren is also surprised by this information, "so you know someone else with this ability...no wonder then. When a God told me I was to reincarnate into this world to defeat the Demon King, he told me I could have any power I wanted. The power to have complete control of lightning was something that I thought had a lot of potential growing up". Cairon, "you're definitely not wrong about that...far more than you know", saying the last part under his breath.
Ren, "this God also told me that every person, no matter what the world, could have a power known as a 'Gift'. The Gods themselves have no influence over these powers. My gift is 'Ultra Instincts', and they haven't been wrong yet. They even told me that I needn't prepare for fighting here as I was walking up the stairs. Even I was dubious at that, but here we are, not fighting".
Cairon can't help his eyes from widening a little in shock, a power not even God can control? Such a thing exists? And he was sent here to defeat the Demon King? It seems my answer was already made for me, "I see. That's reassuring to hear, as it will give you a much-needed leg up on the Demon King, because...the other person who has Electromaster is the Demon King himself". Ren can't hide his shock at this either, the same? Is that why Adam was so amused?I need to assume he can do everything I can...what an unexpected turn.
Back at the group of Demons observing Elza, towards the back of the group, one of them is pointing their bat ears towards the stable, listening in on the two of them, if I report this to his Majesty, I'll be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams! I'm so glad I was assigned to observe him, I finally got something worth reporting! The woman starts to take off using her bat-winged arms, but her mouth is suddenly covered from behind as a knife is driven into her back. A small group of Demons move to block her from view as some others start to take her away. Everyone is too focused on Elza to notice one Demon disappearing from the back.
Liza looks at the stables in response to hearing lighting despite being unable to see anything from within the spike fortress, Ren wasn't able to finish it quickly...this could be bad. We can't stay here forever, and Elza can't keep this up long. I may be unstable, but I need to be prepared to fight nevertheless. Liza grips her spear, but her hand is shaking. She tries to force herself to stop, but she can't, this wasn't a problem for me until now. Even if I'm unstable, it's still early in the pregnancy. I can maintain my magic for long periods of time. It's ok...I'm ok. Liza tries to take some deep breaths to calm herself down while chaos ensues around her.
Lorilay notices Liza's nervousness, but is unable to offer any solace given their current predicament, Elza's going to need to rest soon. Even if she's a Dark Elf, she's already long surpassed what one of them should be able to accomplish alone. I made this fortress so that I can quickly open a non-lethal path for one person, but I'll have to open and close it lightning fast. That's faster than anything I've ever attempted before. Will I be able to do it? No Lorilay, you'll do it. No more you can, or maybe, you will!
As Lorilay is steeling her resolve, one of the Demons who went to the storehouse returns. She's holding a leather pouch by its strap. She runs up to Random Demon H, "Histian. I brought the Naga venom". Histian practically rips the pouch out of her hands. He opens it and takes out a small glass vile, examining the contents. Inside, a foul looking dark green liquid sloshes about. Histian brings it up to his snakelike eye to inspect it. Satisfied, he smirks, "this'll do nicely".
Histian grips the vile in his palm, but careful enough not to break it, and takes up a throwing stance. He throws the vile with as much force as he could. His target, Lorilay's makeshift spike fortress. The vile arches in the air, his aim slightly off centre, but on target nevertheless. Histian, as well as other Demons, watch it go, anticipation building in their chests as smirks plaster their faces. Their anticipation is suddenly cut short by something colliding with the vile mid-air.
As the vile was being fetched, Elza was subjected to a non-stop onslaught of attackers. As she cuts them down, she ducks, dips, dives, and dodges everything that comes her way if she doesn't cut them down first. In the midst of the chaos, she finally sees what she's been keeping an eye out for, as I thought. When one has a fortress, you attacks it's supply lines. This battle wouldn't be long enough to cut off food or water, so that only leaves air. I need to stop them!
Elza starts making her way towards Histian, hacking and slashing, but there's to many Demons in the way. There's no possible way to reach them before they try to do something, trying to stay alive is taking all her energy. And as predicted, Histian attempts something long before she can get to him. Seeing something arc through the air towards where Liza and Lorilay are, Elza makes a split-second decision while dodging under an attack.
Elza quickly dashes forward without even bothering to pay attention to the one who attacked her. She then kicks a severed head from one of the Demons she decapitated moments before, thank God Ogres have hard heads! The head, which doesn't pulverise upon impact, zips through the air at breath-taking speed for a head. It collides with the vile, causing its contents to coat the head as it flies through the air.
The head starts melting as soon as it came into contact with the venom. As it starts falling to the ground, green gas can be seen spewing from the melted flesh at an alarming rate. The Demons in the area where the head will fall start sprinting away in fear as its tumbling through the air. Their lives literally depending on it. Some trample over others in their desperate attempts to live. Those who don't make it are subjected to the poison gas that's spread rapidly in an outward wave. Their screams of terror while dying strikes fear into everyone who is witnessing the horror. Those who breath it in cough blood instantly as their lung tissue is rapidly rotted from the inside. For those who didn't breathe it in, their skin starts rotting a bit slower, but it forces them to scream in agony and inhale, creating a vicious cycle. Luckily, the gas quickly disperses as it's not in an enclosed space.
Everyone looks at Elza, who now looks like the incarnation of death itself to them. Those around her start backing up, slowly, in order to not draw her attention. Histian tuts in annoyance, being able to pull that off in this situation, fucking monster. How much trouble do you think we went through to get that? And now that display has got everyone too scared to even approach her anymore...but no matter how strong she is, she has her limit. Histian shouts as soon as the screams of death from those who are poisoned finally subside, "WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING??? SHE'S OBIOUSLY TIRED FROM ALL THE FIGHTING! JUST A BIT MORE AND IT WILL BE THE END OF HER. I PROMISE A LAVISH REWARD TO THE ONE WHO BRINGS HER DOWN, SO GO AND KILL HER ALREADY!".
Lorilay was able to peek at some of the poison gas killing people through one of the small openings she left. Naturally, panic starts to set in, poison gas...if Elza hadn't dealt with whatever happened, we'd be dead right now. Now Elza can't rest in here, as they'd just kill us all with another gas. But there's no way Elza can keep going. We...I need to do something. While the Demons try to work up their courage to attack Elza again, Lorilay screams at the top of lungs in the brief moment of silence, "ELZA!!! WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF!". As soon as she said that, she turns back to the worried, and now confused, Liza, "get close to me!".
Aa Liza clings to Lorilay, Elza can't stop a pang of worry from overtaking her. She glances at the spike stronghold out of the corner of her eye, and as soon as she does, it starts rising into the air. Liza watches the ground shifts around her, but the light quickly disappears as it morphs upward, leaving them in complete darkness. Liza can't even tell that they are sinking into the ground while the spike stronghold is raising into the air. A pillar almost as big as the one Lorilay used to defeat Vall now is suddenly in the middle of the battlefield, perplexing everyone.
While everyone is distracted by this, Elza uses the opportunity to sprint towards town. Before clashing with the Demons, she jumps onto the roof of the house that's on the outermost of the city. She starts running along the rooftops, heading further into the city. Everyone is left stunned, much to Histian's dismay, "WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING??? AFTER HER!!!". His anger seems to have woken them all from their daze, some of them following after Elza through the streets, while others also jump onto the rooftops to pursue, though not with as much ease as Elza did despite her fatigued state.
Histian looks around, clearly looking for something but not finding it, causing his irritation to explode, "WHERE ARE OUR FLYING SCOUTS???". Random Demon H, "most of them were sent on the earlier mission". Histian, "BUT OF THE REMAINING ONES, AT LEAST ONE SHOULD BE HERE! WHERE ARE THEY!". Everyone looks around, looking for them. Some Demons are genuinely confused, while other's feign ignorance. Histian is beyond enraged, "GET A FLYER HERE NOW! WE NEED THEM TO CARRY THE VENOM UP TO THE TOP OF THAT DAMN PILLAR!".
While Elza is trying to maximise her lead by sprinting as fast as she can, she can hear the banging of wood from behind her, some kind of signal. However, she doesn't have the leeway to worry about that. Her breathing is laboured, and her focus is a little hazy as she sprints along the rooftops, the exhaustion starting to weigh heavily on her now with each passing step.
The little girl who got separated from the boy and woman is still running through the town. She's so focused that she doesn't notice a brief purple/red blur pass by above a couple of streets over, heading in the opposite direction. There are no people left now to run through the street, so she's gaining more distance with her small legs. Getting closer to her destination one small stride at a time. She notices some people running towards her not long later, so she takes a side street to avoid them, further adding to her journey.
Despite the complete darkness, Liza can feel and hear Lorilay gasping for air once the ground around them stops moving, "you've used too much magic". After a couple of seconds of Lorilay catching her breath, "I...used all I could...to make the diversion...as real as possible". Liza, "you can tell me after you've caught your breath. I know you've at least bought us enough time for that". Once Lorilay's breathing isn't laboured anymore, she explains, "I rose that makeshift stronghold into the air on a thick but hollow pillar. While they're distracted by that, we're actually safe underground. We can't see, but I created a handful of thin tunnels to connect us to the surface, so we won't suffocate".
Liza, "so while they think we went up into the air...presumably to buy time, Elza no longer needs to protect us, so she can worry about herself". Lorilay, "exactly...but this won't last long. They had poison, so they'll probably get an aviary Demon to attack us with it. However, it will be difficult to see anything inside from how I made it. They'll have no choice but to break it open once the poison clears to confirm if we're dead. They'll eventually find out we escaped underground because I'm an Elf. I have to recover my magic and move us underground as far from here as I can. I didn't completely use up all my magic, so in a few minutes, I should be able to move us a decent distance".
While Liza and Lorilay hide underground, Elza looks behind her as she leaps off of a roof top onto the street below. As soon as she lands, she dashes two streets over and starts sprinting back the direction she just came from. She then jumps through the open window of the fourth house she passes and hides below it once inside. She holds her breath, and about 5 seconds later, she hears multiple footsteps pass by on the rooftops above.
Once they reach the spot where Elza jumped off the roof onto the street, she hears one of them shout, "she jumped down from here so we'd lose sight of her! Her scent is too hard to track with everything being disturbed from the evacuation, so spread out and search the streets from the rooftops. Don't let her get away". Elza then hears the footsteps get further and further away, spreading out like a fan from the point she jumped down at. None of them head back in the direction they came from.
A couple of seconds after the footsteps can no longer be heard, Elza finally breaths again. Her breaths are extremely laboured, her vision hazy from the lack of oxygen, what a blunder. I made a decision forgetting that a lot of the beast races have better senses. A Wolf-kin's nose might not be as good as an actual wolf's, but it's good enough to track someone after an entire day has passed if the weather conditions are right. If the smell in the area wasn't muddled from the evacuation, I'd be dead right now. To make such stupid a decision...I've been out of combat for too long.
Elza forces her body up by using her cleaver sword as a support, "first...I need to get these blood soaked clothes off of me". Using her sword as a big walking stick, she makes her way towards the wash area of the house. She finds a barrel with about a quarter of the water left in it, "lucky". Elza reaches back and undoes the strings on her dress, letting it fall to the ground with a wet squelch. The blood soaked into it making it heavy enough that Elza feels like a literal weight has been lifted once it was off.
Elza reaches for the cleanest looking rag and dips it into the water before using it to wipe all the blood off her bare body, "I thought I'd just have to make do with changing clothes, but getting somewhat clean on the battlefield is always a massive bonus". After some time wiping, she removes her heels, turning them upside down to let the blood drain from the insides onto the floor, "it would have been a good idea to wear open toed heels for the drainage, even if they offer less protection. It's been so long since I was in actual battle that I just went for the ceremonial ones".
Elza sets her heels on the floor after a few shakes before cleaning her feet with the blood-soaked rag. She takes the next cleanest rage and gives her body one more wiping. Now that she's sufficiently clean, she picks up her heels and washes them in the water, "sorry for dirtying your water, but I'll leave my dress here. It maybe soaked in blood, but it should still fetch some decent coin if you sell it".
Having washed away all the blood from her heels, she shakes the to get rid of the excess water before putting them back on, "now for clothes". She picks up her sword, not needing to use it as a walking stick anymore, and makes her way to the bedrooms. She finds two, one two children, and one for adults. She goes through the closet in the adult bedroom. She examines the woman's clothes, "hm...these are too small. Even if I forced them on, the chest area rip open the second I did any sort of strenuous movement. Guess I'm stuck with men's clothing".
Elza picks out a white shirt and a pair of leather pants. Anyone one would say they look good on her, dashing even, if it wasn't for the mismatched purple heels. Elza takes her sword and heads to the corner of the room. She leans her sword against the wall and sits in the chair, "I wish I could've washed the blood from my hair, but that would've taken way too long. I need to get as much rest as possible before they find me". Elza stills her breathing and enters a semi-sleep state. She's awake and alert, but everything other than the monitoring of her surroundings is cut off from her brain, allowing her to rest somewhat in this stressful environment.