Salvos

472. Wild Primeval Demon's Skills

“Orgaf?”

I blinked at the man. The Elite Ranked adventurer drew back, flicking his daggers in his hands as he faced down the [Archarachne]. The wild Primeval Demon hissed and turned to him. It swiped down with its scythe-like legs as we both leapt out of the way.

“Need a hand, Salvos?”

Orgaf smirked at me, and I rolled my eyes.

“I have plenty of hands.”

I activated [Faux Limbs] as six arms made from blue flame protruded from my back. They created bows and arrows, with the Giant Killer Arrow appearing back in my real hand.

“See?”

Orgaf shook his head as I fired a salvo of projectiles at the [Archarachne]. The assault struck the Demon’s chitin, barely scraping through the hard surface. Orgaf crashed into its back and unleashed an onslaught of attacks. But the wild Primeval Demon shook him off.

It leapt back, and he went flying. The [Archarachne] swung for him mid-air, but I swooped up and caught him. I carried him out of the way as we circled around the giant spider overhead.

“Do you have a Grand Skill? I don’t think we can take it down like this.”

“Not right now. Neither of mine will be ready for another week at the least.”

He turned to me as we dove down, avoiding another flurry of scything strikes from the wild Primeval Demon. Orgaf turned to me.

“And you?”

“I have only one Grand Skill available, but it won’t help here. It’s fine— this [Archarachne] not as strong as the [Hellabomination]. We can beat it without Grand Skills… hopefully.”

I lowered Orgaf to the ground as we flew away from the wild Primeval Demon. It leapt after us, bounding over great distances in mere moments. But a blast of lightning intercepted it. It recoiled as Helena Warshade descended from the sky on her nimbus cloud.

“What did you do, Salvos?”

The Archmage growled at me. I shrugged back at her.

“I killed the Demon controlling the [Archarachne].”

“And now it’s somehow stronger than ever.”

Helena glared down at me. I nodded, before gesturing towards the wild Primeval Demon. It loomed over us— its eight eyes glowing as it breathed a crimson mist. It didn’t unleash another red beam out. The Skill was probably on cooldown. But its gaze was entirely fixed on the three of us.

“But we can distract it now, see?”

I smiled at the Archmage. She stared at me for a moment, blinking. She nodded slowly as she turned back to face the [Archarachne].

“Right.”

She whispered, and the wild Primeval Demon let out a shriek. It jumped high into the air as we braced ourselves. Helena Warshade called out.

“Keep it in the city!”

The [Archarachne] began to fall through the sky like a comet. My eyes flickered as I saw a thin thread emerge from its back. The wild Primeval Demon began to rapidly weave together something behind its back. The threads formed a long shape. It wasn’t creating a web. A web wouldn’t have done anything against us. No— it was forming a massive spear.

My eyes grew wide as I realized what that was. Helena Warshade and Orgaf did too. The latter disappeared back into the shadows while the former zipped away. I simply sent a wave of white flames up at the wild Primeval Demon as it drew closer.

Then I vanished. I teleported out of the way as it slammed its spear down into the middle of Ertos.
“What are these things? Where did they come from?”

Amanda yelled as she backed up next to Saffron. The young noble Vampire unleashed a volley of spells into the mass of black creatures. Spiders. Each of them as long as she was tall. They swarmed over the battlefield. They looked just like monsters. Yet—

“They’re Lesser Demons! Just keep them back and they can’t hurt you!”

Saffron shouted back as she sent a wave of frost forward. Amanda rolled her eyes as she leapt in and out of the black mass like a whip, culling the Demons one after another.

“I know they’re Demons! But why are they killing their own, then?”

Her eyes flickered as she saw the swarming [Aranea] crawl over the corpses of the Legions. A [Greater Legion] stood amongst the wave of spider-Demons, only to be overwhelmed and killed by their numbers.

Amanda shook her head.

“It makes no sense! Demons shouldn’t—”

She started, then paused when she saw a shadow blot out the red sky. Amanda looked up, and her eyes widened. A giant spider hovered in the air— the leader of the [Aranea]. An [Archarachne]. A Primeval Demon. It reached its zenith as it created a spear made of threads, only to come crashing straight down.

“What the fuck—”

She started, only for the Primeval Demon to impact the ground. A terrible shockwave swept over the landscape. An earthquake broke out as Saffron fell back, only to be caught by Amanda. A pillar of dust exploded into the air, dwarfing even the sub-ritual up ahead.
“We need to do something about that Primeval Demon.”

Scarlet pursed her lips as she looked at the dust cloud settle. She watched the giant spider emerge from the rubble without a scratch, ready to wreck even more havoc.

“If Helena Warshade cannot take it down on her own, then we have to help her.”

The Red Rose spun around to face her leader. Mori Gladius stood there, his eyes narrowed. She continued as she gestured towards the fighting in the distance.

“We need to send back the army! If that Demon gets close—”

“No.”

Mori interrupted her. He turned to his men as they exchanged a glance. The Champion of the Human Lands addressed the adventurers, raising his spear towards the city of Ertos.

“We press forward.”

“What?”

Scarlet couldn’t help but stare at him in shock. The army began to move once again, encroaching on the city as they cut through the remnants of the Legions and the swarm of [Aranea].

“But Mori—”

The Red Rose started. But the Champion of the Human Lands shook his head.

“We have a duty to put a stop to this ritual. We cannot pull back simply because our lives are under threat by a dangerous enemy. This is for the greater good.”

Scarlet blinked. She watched as Mori Gladius walked forward, pushing further into the lines of Demons. The adventurer army marched around him, heading for Ertos. And the Red Rose finally saw the way he moved. The way he fought.

He didn’t lead the charge. He wasn’t in the front lines as he normally was, valiantly fighting to protect his men. He wasn’t acting like an adventurer who cared most about saving who cannot save themselves. He almost seemed… cold.

For the first time ever, Scarlet didn’t recognize her leader. The man leading the Remembered Order Company looked like a stranger to her. An unfamiliar face. And she didn’t know why she felt that way.
“Willy, we need to help her.”

Edithe turned to the [Will O’ Wisp], gritting her teeth. The two of them had stayed a bit further back amongst the ranks of adventurers. They aided the [Mages] of the army. Their combined spellcasting offered a great boon for the ranks of spellcasters that held back.

But now, Edithe wanted to break formation. She saw Salvos, Orgaf, and Helena Warshade locked in combat with a Primeval Demon. A wild Demon. One that was attacking everything and anything it could with no qualms of what it destroyed.

“No.”

The Grand Spirit replied simply. Edithe blinked.

“But Salvos is in danger. If you help me, we can bring down that Primeval Demon together. Just like we did in Alyras!”

The redhead protested. Willy didn’t give an immediate reply. He turned as she watched.

“But them.”

The [Will O’ Wisp] flitted towards a trio of baby Wyverns hiding behind the lines of [Mages]. Edithe froze. She nodded stiffly, understanding what Willy meant.

“Right.”

But still, she strode ahead, her face resolved.

“I’m still going. Salvos needs my help. She—”

Edithe started, only to be interrupted by a flash of crimson light. She spun around and looked on in shock as a glyph engulfed the city.

“What…?”
I wiped the sweat off my brows as I stared at the crater created by the [Archarachne]. A giant hole that was teeming with webs that coated the stone ground. I stared down at the wild Primeval Demon as it emerged from the center of the pit.

The [Archarachne] hissed, still quickly glancing around the city. It was scanning the rubble for us. And from its shadows, Orgaf emerged. The Elite [Rogue] wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by hundreds of shadows. Clones. Copies. They assailed the Demon’s underbelly, causing it to reel back in pain.

But as it tried to counterattack, Helena Warshade appeared overhead and sent a concentrated storm of lightning blasts at its back. The [Archarachne] recoiled, attacked from both sides. It tried to leap away— to escape its assailants.

And I was there. I cut it off, swinging down my scythe with a black glow.

“[Radiant Slash]!”

The [Archarachne] shrieked in pain. My Skill tore through its chitin, sending it stumbling back into the attacks of Helena and Orgaf. We continued our assault on the wild Primeval Demon as we flanked it from all sides. It had no way to escape. It didn’t even know who to attack. It unleashed its red beam at us, but it missed, striking only the ground.

I grinned as I floated back, avoiding a swing from the giant spider-Demon’s legs. I whispered to myself.

“I need to deal the finishing blow—”

And was promptly interrupted as the wild Primeval Demon let out a screech. There was a flash of light. A pulse of energy that knocked me back. Orgaf and Helena Warshade were caught in the blast too.

They drew back, relatively unharmed for the ostensible attack. I raised my head, frowning when I saw another glint. I looked down, watching as a glyph expanded from the feet of the [Archarachne]. Then a dome began to form overhead. One that encased the entire city.

I stared in shock as I looked down, hearing the clicking of mandibles from the wild Primeval Demon. Finally, I realized what was happening.

“This is… a Grand Skill?”

And the [Archarachne] rose, its wounds vanishing. The landscape began to morph. I watched as crimson threads connected between either ends of the dome in a haphazard manner, creating a large expansive web.

I looked around the city of Ertos, and that was when I realized we were trapped.

“Huh.”

I had nothing else to say. And right as the words left my mouth, I looked up. [A Hunter’s Sense] warned me. The [Archarachne] had suddenly appeared standing on the threads closest to me— its speed incomprehensible. I blinked as it raised its scythe-like legs.

It swung down before I could even react.