The Laughing Swordsman

A blurry mass of black shot out from Bryce's staff. Shortly after, three other black masses shot out from the other four-horned demons.

They appeared to be faint and illusory but emanated an intimidating presence.

Apollo pushed his thumb against the hilt of his bokken before it snapped out.

One of the black masses split in two, then dissipated into the air.

Layla's hand pulled back. First, the muscles in her shoulder tensed, bringing it forward slowly.

Then, she stretched the muscles in her arm taut, speeding up dramatically.

Finally, her fingers twitched, causing her hand to snap out.

A sudden thunderclap rang out, along with a shockwave of air.

The three black masses either darted to the left or right.

Although Layla's attack was sudden, the preparation for the strike gave enough time for the four-horned demons to shift the trajectory of their attack.

However, Layla's attack encompassed a large enough area that it caught one of the black masses anyway, obliterating it.

One of the remaining black masses shot towards Apollo while the other shot towards Layla.

Apollo's bokken flashed while Layla's claw swung out.

...Unfortunately, they both missed.

The four-horned demons made the black mass elusively evade their attacks. The black masses shot towards their respective target's heads.

The ominous pressure they emitted suddenly increased several times over. This attack was hiding its true nature, suddenly exploding with strength.

Even Apollo and Layla couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

They would not be able to take on this attack and come out unscathed.

An ear-splitting sound of shattered glass resounded throughout the village.

Apollo and Layla's eyes were closed. Then, their eyelids slowly parted in confusion.

Serosh was holding onto the black masses, one in each hand. He had stepped forward and caught their attacks.

The black masses continued to struggle fervently in Serosh's grasp.

His hands were covered in cracks the size of a hair while blood slowly seeped out.

Then, Serosh clenched his fist, directly shattering them.

Two of the four-horned demons coughed up blood before taking a few steps back. It seemed like they faced backlash after they empowered the spell and had it destroyed.

Serosh smiled.

"I've pondered over it. Now, I realize I don't care about the consequences. I shall kill you, Bryce."

Bryce narrowed his eyes.

"Look at your hands, traitor. They are already injured from just a spell. What do you think will happen once we cast more? You will fall soon enough."

Serosh let out an eerie laugh. His strikingly white tongue peeked out as he licked his lips.

"Bryce... it seems you forgot the reason I was able to obtain a fifth horn...

Serosh narrowed his eyes.

"...while you could not."

Serosh pulled out his silver pen. His forefinger pressed on the end, and with a click, the pen revealed itself.

Without warning, Serosh stabbed it right in the middle of his chest, where his heart was.

Bryce, who was stone cold up to now, immediately lost his composure.

...The memories he tried so hard to bury surfaced one after another.

While Byrce stood there in shock, Serosh took the pen out of his chest.

Several black tendrils burst out of his wound. They were covered in amniotic fluid and had squirming veins lined across them.

Like armor, the tendrils wrapped around Serosh until his entire body was covered. He appeared to be a sea anemone that had taken on a humanoid form.

Serosh's hand was covered by black tendrils, some of which flailed around in the air like they were underwater. His silver pen rested in his hand as though he was about to write something.

One of the four-horned demons shook Bryce's shoulder.

"Sir, what do we do?"

Bryce frowned.

"Take to the air, now."

Translucent black wings appeared on the backs of the four-horned demons. With a leap, they soared high up into the air. They already began gathering mana for a new spell.

As for Serosh, he fell to one knee and supported himself with one hand. Wings of white flesh abruptly burst from his back, contrasting greatly with his black tendril body. They lightly resembled the wings of a bat.

Serosh's wings slowly raised high in the air before suddenly slamming down.

Serosh shot upwards, piercing the sky. Intense gusts of wind raged out from his takeoff point.

The clothes and hair of both Apollo and Layla flapped around wildly. They looked at Serosh with curious eyes and somewhat agape mouths.

Apollo turned to Layla.

"Look, he's flying!"

Layla turned to Apollo.

"Yeah! I want to do that too!"

Layla proceeded to wave her arms up and down like a child pretending to be a bird.

"Mm... Why isn't it working!"

Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"Hmm... Let me try!"

With that, the two flapped their arms like they were wings.

...Unfortunately, their feet never left the ground.

While Apollo and Layla were doing that, the battle in the sky commenced.

The air around the four-horned demons whipped wildly, nearly distorting the air around them.

Mana gathered on the top of their staffs before exploding out into a couple of icicles.

A barrage of roughly twenty icicles shot towards Serosh, who was still soaring into the air.

The icicles moved around like they had a mind of their own, attempting to surround Serosh.

However, Serosh navigated the air like a fish in the water. His wings flapped, propelling him towards the four-horned demons. He would duck, dive, and rise so suddenly that he glided right past the icicles.

Apollo stopped flapping his arms around. Instead, he scratched the side of his head.

"...Why are they so weak?"

Layla tilted her head to the side. As a side note, she didn't give up on trying to fly.

"Eh? Who?"

Apollo pointed towards the four-horned demons.

"I remember... they could do much more than that."

He recalled the time he fought against the four-horned demon at the Enberoes kingdom. Compared to these demons, it was a monster.

Serosh closed in on the four-horned demons.

Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on Bryce's face.