Demon Lord's Reincarnation

After thanking his opponent for the battle, Kretos could feel his consciousness fading. He was getting sleepy as he lost too much blood. His injuries this time were far worse than when he fought Darius. He needed to merge with his shadow, or else he would be a sitting duck. 

He tried pushing himself but his consciousness couldn't hold out. He didn't have enough clarity to use the technique.

'Is this it for me?... At least my last battle was a fun one...' Kretos lost consciousness.

...

Upon seeing the death of their lord the Tengus and Harpies were stunned in place. They couldn't comprehend what had just happened. The Overlord of the sky who had ruled the mountains of the North for three centuries has died. 

Now that their lord was dead the other tribes would start trying to conquer their territory. With their current strength, it would be next to impossible to hold onto what they have. As fear gripped the hearts of some of the Tengus and Harpies, most of them started thinking that this was an opportunity that they could become the new lord. 

As they were about to start arguing the group looked at the still breathing Kretos. It was then they all had the same thought. 

'If we don't kill him now, he would kill us all later.' 

The Tengus and Harpies slowly approached Kretos's body, wary that he might suddenly move. As they were getting closer to Kretos's body, Leila appeared before them. 

With her twin daggers at hand, she stood in front of the hundreds of the Tengus and Harpies. She wanted to flee with Kretos, but even in her wolf form in this mountain area the winged demons would easily catch up to her. 

If she wanted to save Kretos her only option was to hold her ground until he wakes up. Even though she just met him a few days ago, she just couldn't watch him die.

The winged demons were a bit wary when they saw Leila appear. They weren't sure if she was a threat or not but seeing as her daggers were similar to Kretos's they thought they might be of the same skill level. So they decided to bombard her with long-range attacks, to test the waters. 

Leila seeing all the Tengus getting ready to attack her from long-range was flustered for a moment, but then she remembered that Kretos withstood an attack of a greater level. He didn't back down despite getting hit a lot at the beginning. 

Remembering that scene granted Leila greater courage. She then copied Kretos's smile the vicious smile he shows as he got excited in battle. But Leila was showing a similar smile for a different reason. She wanted courage, smiling that same smile as Kretos felt like she could do anything, it gave her courage. 

Leila who had weaker mana as a werewolf knew that she couldn't block spells like Kretos by cutting them apart. But she knew that she could redirect the spells with a little bit of mana and control. So she was ready to protect Kretos with all her might. 

When the Tengu and Harpies saw Leila's smile they hesitated even more. That was the same smile Kretos had as he fought their lord Jiro. By now most of the Winged Demons especially the Elite Guard associated that smile with death. 

They wanted to flee, but if they left Kretos alone he might hunt them down later. This was the best chance they had to kill such a powerful demon. The girl facing them was only emitting a little bit of mana, and she looked so much weaker than Kretos. Also, it's not like they needed to defeat the girl, all they needed to do was to have one spell go pass her and kill Kretos. 

The Tengus then spread out and surrounded Leila and Kretos. Once they were in their respective positions they started bombarding Leila and Kretos with their spells and feathers. 

Leila could see each and every one of those attacks as if they were in slow-mo. Compared to Kretos and Jiro's attacks these ones were as slow as a tortoise. She felt confident that she could block all the incoming attacks. With her naturally strong physique and the speed of a werewolf, Leila was able to hit all the incoming attacks and diverted them. Not a single one had hit Kretos, on the other hand, Leila had scratches here and there. 

When the Tengus and the Harpies saw that Leila had scratches they were emboldened. They now understood that her capabilities were a far cry from Kretos's. All they needed to do was wear her down. 

The Harpies now joined in the attack and coordinated with the Tengus. Seeing that the next wave had arrived Leila felt a bit excited, as she could feel like she finally understood the flow of battle. 

Her movements were becoming even more fluid, yet despite being able to move in such a way her body could not keep up. She was feeling muscle pains as she was moving in such a way her body was unable to follow properly. Even though she was no longer hit by any attacks, she felt excruciating pain. Yet despite that, she continued to protect Kretos's unconscious body. 

"Is that all you've got, show me more!" Leila shouted at her enemies copying what she believed Kretos would say. The moment she said those words, she felt like she was Kretos. It was as if she could take on anything or anyone. 

The Tengus were momentarily stunned by her statement, but afterward, they got angry and started increasing their output. 

Leila could feel it, the pulse of the battle, she knew which spells to attack which to dodge, and when to move Kretos's body. It was a feeling like no other and she enjoyed every second of it. 

'This must be what Kretos always felt.' Leila happily blocked the attacks while killing the nearby Harpies. 

...

Kretos who had lost consciousness was slowly waking up. He still felt his body was pretty heavy and his mana circulation was slowly flowing, but the wounds he had were now a bit healed. It was at this moment he could hear the sounds of battle, and he could smell a familiar metallic odor like iron. 

He could feel some kind of liquid near his face, it was most likely blood. He was sure it wasn't his since the amount was a lot. If he bled this much he should be dead already. 

Kretos slowly opened his eyes, it was a bit blurry at first but he could see a bunch of dead Tengus and Harpies. He then heard a voice, it was a happy yet sad voice. 

"So you're finally awake... I guess with this I no longer owe you, for the teaching fees." Kretos looked at where the voice came from, and he saw Leila. Her entire body was full of wounds, her left hand was broken. Seeing how much damage she received it was a surprise to see her still alive much less talk. 

She was kneeling in front of Kretos, her back full of black feathers that were sticking out of her. Some talons from harpies were also stuck at random parts of her body. Seeing this scene Kretos knew what had happened. Leila who was relieved to see Kretos wake up started to fall. 

Kretos quickly sat up and caught the falling werewolf. As she lay down in his arms Kretos could feel her pulse weakening, her body was growing cold. Kretos couldn't understand it but he was feeling something new, something different, as he watched Leila slowly dying in his arms. 

Leila looked at Kretos with a tender smile on her face. She then spoke her tone full of pride and joy. 

"I was able to do it Kretos, I felt the flow of battle. Hehehe, I finally understand why you seek battle so much. That was an amazing feeling, it was as if I was the battle itself." Leila started coughing up blood. Hearing what she said and seeing her fragile yet happy look, Kretos who was numbed to most emotions felt something he couldn't quite grasp. It was a painful feeling more so than any other he felt before. 

"Why?" 

"Huh?"

"Why did you protect me?" Hearing Kretos's question Leila in the midst of her coughing also giggled. 

"I don't know as well... I just felt like I needed to protect you."

"That doesn't make any sense. You should've run away and left me for dead. I would've never fault you for that." 

"Hahaha, I knew it... Even though you say you don't feel anything aside from when you battle, you're still a kind person. Straightforward and gentle, though short it was fun having this little adventure with you. I hope we can... Have another... Fun adventure..." After saying those last words with a happy smile, Leila lost consciousness. Kretos could feel that any moment now Leila would die. 

Kretos knew nothing of healing magic, as demons have great regenerative abilities. He didn't know how to save Leila, but he felt like he needed to do something to save her somehow. Kretos had a sudden thought. He used a spell to freeze Leila's wounds to stop her from bleeding out, he then used a protection spell to make her body unable to die from freezing. Once he was done with his preparations, like what he did with Nimune, Kretos used the spell [Ice Coffin] which encased Leila's body in ice. 

In this state she wasn't dead nor was she alive. You could say Kretos was able to stop her time from flowing. For now, she would just stay here until he or someone else could find a way to save her. Alongside the cold environment and being a place with lots of natural mana that was on top of this mountain, the spell should be able to hold for a few millennia.

Encased in ice Leila looked like a beautiful sleeping maiden from those human fairytales. Kretos touched the ice, still unsure as to what he was feeling spoke to her.

"Until we meet again."