The Midnight Leave: What It Means to Be Human

CHAPTER 14

Wrong! I was very wrong!

Axis couldn’t help but have those thoughts, while doing his best to avoid fatal damage from the Demon’s onslaught. It wasted no time attacking Axis, as it considered him its highest priority and greatest threat, charging towards him while swinging its claws relentlessly. Axis wasn’t given a chance to even attempt to fight back; stuck on the defensive, Axis retreated into the nearby forest, making sure to lead the Demon in the opposite direction as Vilda and the recently freed Elf.

“Hot damn, don’t you ever get tired?!”

The Demon only roared in response to Axis’s complaint, as it tore through the forest chasing after him.

“Yeah, I should’ve figured that.”

Axis had succeeded in luring the Demon away to save the two Elves, but he was still in danger. Though he had assured Vilda that he could keep the Demon at bay for a couple of minutes, he was still fatigued from the stunt he pulled against Swinger’s Mutants earlier. He had recovered just enough energy to intimidate Dalton and protect Vilda from the Demon’s first attack, but he was running on fumes and the Demon would surely catch up at the rate he was going.

Alright, Axis thought, I need to think of a way to draw this out. Maybe, I can use the trees as cover…

As Axis evaded another swing from the Demon, he ducked behind a tree. The Demon noticed his attempt to hide, and without delay it batted the tree away, easily breaking apart the bark. However, Axis was nowhere to be seen, at least from the Demon’s perspective. The Demon scanned the area, but there seemed to be no traces left of him.

It was a simple trick: Axis intentionally made it obvious that he hid behind the tree to narrow the Demon’s view towards it, and while the Demon was focused on the tree, Axis discreetly moved to hide elsewhere. All he had to do from there was suppress his presence; hiding in a bush thick enough to obscure him as long as he was crouched, he took shallow breaths through his nose and remained completely still to keep silent.

Huh, looks like it worked. Now, just take your sweet time looking for me, you demonic bastard.

Unfortunately, Axis’s ploy was more temporary than he expected, as he underestimated the Demon’s impatience.

The Demon once again expanded its dark aura, but rather than using it to check its surroundings, it spawned more claws to clear its surroundings by reaching out and obliterating the forest around it. The wood was either blasted into mere splinters by strikes from the claws, or entire trees were uprooted and flung away.

You’ve got to be f*****g kidding me!

Axis barely managed to avoid a tree that was flung his way, but by doing so he revealed himself to the Demon. Then, instead of tossing the trees in random directions, it started aiming them directly at him, not only throwing them, but swinging them like blunt weapons. With the Demon attacking in such a manner, hiding was no longer an option for Axis.

“You do know that you’re ruining the habitat, don’t you?!”

The Demon once again only roared in response as it continued attacking.

“Why do I even bother? Of course, it doesn’t give a shit.”

Axis moved to avoid the trees, feeling exhaustion creeping up on him. He knew he would not be able to last for much longer, but he also knew that not enough time had passed. Unfortunately, all he could do was keep moving for as long as his body allowed to evade the Demon’s attacks. As he narrowly avoided one of the trees hurled towards him, he nearly tripped over a stray branch and lost his footing. At that moment, the Demon began to rush towards Axis on all fours.

The Demon was bound to close the distance before Axis could fully recover, and as he noticed it charging towards him, Axis readied his sword. He was only confident in the idea that he would be able to wound the Demon like before, if only to slow it down for a second so that he could catch his breath. Then, just like before, Axis and the Demon reached striking range of each other, both swinging at the same time.

However, this time, the influence that drove him into action previously was not present.

As they clashed, Axis was immediately overwhelmed and sent flying just to crash into one of the spare trees that the Demon had yet to uproot.

“Son of a b***h…!” Axis cursed as he struggled to recover from the impact. “That actually f*****g hurt!”

As he winced in pain while getting back up to his feet, he thought back to Vilda’s words.

“You might not get killed, but it will take more energy to recover from serious wounds…”

No s**t… I can’t take another hit like that, otherwise the fight’s over for me.

The Demon turned to Axis, slowly creeping up towards him. It was acting as if it had already won, and Axis could imagine a smirk behind the darkness that obscured its face.

So what? Am I supposed to just keep running until it eventually catches me? I know I’m only supposed to buy time, but…

The Demon even went so far as to toss aside the trees that it was going to use as weapons, certain that they were no longer needed. It must have believed that even if there was further resistance, it could just plant its paw on its target’s neck and put an end to it. As it closed the distance, it stood up from four to two just to loom over Axis as imposingly as possible.

Then, Axis’s anger superseded over his reason.

“Oh, f**k it!” As Axis shouted, he once again transformed in spite of his low stamina.

The shock of the sudden transformation pushed the Demon back a few steps, and it even seemed surprised as it gazed upon Axis’s empowered state for its first time. Meanwhile, as his aura surged around his body, Axis glared back at the Demon defiantly.

“If I’m actually meant to fall here, if that’s really a part of the plot, then I’m making damn sure I’m taking your dark a*s with me! Come at me if you dare, you smelly b***h!”

Drawing his sword in spite of labored breaths, he prepared for the Demon’s charge, having no intention of fleeing any longer. However, the Demon also had no intention of advancing, and only stared at Axis with its two red, soulless lights on its face representing its eyes. Enough time passed for Axis to raise his brow; though Axis still stood ready for the Demon to attack at any time, he wouldn’t be able to hold his form for long, and he would only be able to strike once. If that one strike didn’t end the battle, it would have been the Demon’s victory.

However, the Demon did something unexpected; the darkness around its face began to warp, so that the maw of the possessed bear could be revealed through its dark aura under its two “eyes.” As its mouth opened, it spoke in a distorted voice.

“SO, YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM AFTER ALL…”

Axis’s jaw dropped while he accidentally reverted from his transformation.

“You can talk?!”

#

Vilda continued to run with all of her might as she carried her fellow Elf through the forest. She had already exhausted the stamina she had regained after confronting the Mutants, but as long as she could sense the Demon’s aura, she knew they weren’t safe yet. What’s more, as if running in such a state wasn’t difficult enough, frequent movement from the one she carried kept distracting her.

“We’re almost out of danger!” Vilda spoke, believing that the young woman on her back was still unconscious. “Just hold on!”

“Would you let me down already?!” An unexpected response, startling Vilda and nearly causing her to run into a tree. “Watch out, you i***t!”

“Whoa, s**t!”

Vilda twisted her body to narrowly avoid the tree, and the other Elf took that opportunity to separate herself by jumping off Vilda’s back, causing her to fall to the ground.

“Ouch… Was that really necessary?”

Vilda looked up towards the other Elf as she landed gracefully on her feet, as if she weighed no more than a single leaf. She turned back to Vilda, glaring with one blue-colored eye while her other eye was concealed by her blonde bangs. Then, a magic circle suddenly shimmered underneath Vilda, rendering her unable to move as chains of mana reached out from the circle and wrapped around her limbs.

“A Binding Spell?! Oh, come on! Isn’t it obvious that I’m not your enemy?!”

“Silence, Dark Elf.” The Light Elf spoke with sincere animosity. “I’m sure you think you deserve gratitude for saving me from that Demon, but you won’t get any thanks from me.”

“I don’t care about your thanks! I was just doing my job!”

“Your ‘job?’”

“Yes! I was on a mission to rescue everyone here, but because of that Demon, I had to leave someone behind! That’s why we don’t have time for this! Whatever grudges you have, I promise that we can settle them later! Please!”

However, Vilda’s sincere plea caused the other Elf to waver. There was certainly a history between them that needed both understanding and closure, but both Elves also realized how much of a problem that Demon would cause them if not dealt with. In addition, they caught sight of a streak of black lightning, which alarmed Vilda far more than the other.

“Oh no! Time has run out! Listen to me, you don’t even have to help me! Just let me go, and you can head to Sanctum on your own! You should remember where it is!”

“Of course I remember, since I tried my best to avoid that place! Now, I’m expected to find aid there… How disappointing.”

The magic circle disappeared just as suddenly, and Vilda was free to move.

“That was the second time I was restrained today. I am not a fan…”

However, the Light Elf still spoke with a contemptuous tone as she looked down at the Dark Elf.

“That’s no surprise. With how weak you are right now, you won’t be able to help that boy. You couldn’t even break out of a Grade One Spell. You’ll just die along with him.”

Vilda clenched her fist in vexation, as she couldn’t deny the truth. Still…

“Still… I won’t leave him alone.”

Such determination moved the Light Elf, though she would refuse to admit it. Instead, she sighed begrudgingly.

“Fine, then… I’ll do something about the Demon, but not for your sake. I just can’t stand the idea of owing a child my life. Besides, that thing deserves payback for trying to eat me earlier.”