After Pandora drained Hraghshu's HP, his body turned to stone. It then cracked and burst apart, turning into dust that fell on the floor. Even the resurrection spell won't bring him back to life anymore.
"NO…!!" Both Algerad and Xelvorath exclaimed at the same time.
But things had happened too fast. The first mind assault from Pandora caused their reactions to slow. By the time they could think properly again, Hraghshu was gone already.
'Holy! I thought a steed couldn't cause any damage?' Jack asked Peniel in his mind.
'Um, I thought so too… Perhaps Hraghshu was simply close to death, or the energy from Luna allowed Pandora to cause damage, or Pandora's emotion drove her to exceed her boundary… I don't know! I am surprised as well!'
Algerad watched in disbelief the pile of dust that used to be his liege. He then brandished his giant flaming axe. "You…! What have you done? You will pay for this!!"
"Wait!" Xelvorath stopped Algerad from rushing forward.
Algerad stopped and looked at his partner.
"The situation is not advantageous. We should retreat and gather more force before we take revenge," Xelvorath said.
Xelvorath had a cooler head. Additionally, he had fought against Arlcard and he knew he couldn't win. The opponent numbers had also increased. Clashing blindly would just work against them.
Algerad was also aware of the situation after the warning. He was upset because he knew for sure they would be punished by Mammon for this failure in protecting the hell baron. But if they stayed, they could die. He had only clashed with the outworlder for a short instant, but he could estimate the outworlder was also close to a mythical-grade combatant. Combined with the other rare elites, they were completely outmanned.
"None of you leave…!!" Jack exclaimed. He used Shooting Dash to approach the two high demons while casting Lightning Strike.
Therras used Oppressive Wave. Arlcard summoned multiple smaller dark lord's swords.
Xelvorath cast a spell that conjured a large fiery pentagram symbol that served as a shield. This pentagram shield absorbed Jack's lightning strike and Therras' oppressive wave. Algerad spun his flaming axe and destroyed Arlcard's dark swords.
Algerad and Xelvorath turned around once they defended that first round of assaults. Arlcard was already casting his Perpetual Sword of Death while Jack cast his Perpetual Lightning Judgement. The two demon's wings flapped and they shot at high speed toward the windows.
Jack's lightning and Arlcard's swords battered their bodies as they flew away. Both had prepared their defenses while they fled. Algerad's skin turned hard and grey like metal, while a mana shield protected Xelvorath. The two endured the lightning and sword energies before crashing out from the windows.
The two then flew at high speed away from there.
Arlcard was about to give chase when Jack shouted, "Stop!"
"I thought you don't want them to leave?" Arlcard asked.
"I'm just bluffing. I would have cast Time Domain if I want to keep them here," Jack said. "Problem is, my beast form and Therras' sovereign form are ending."
As his words ended, he transformed back into his human form. Therras also turned back into its quadrupedal form not long after.
"We can win, but it won't be done in a short time. If they delay us by playing defense, Mammon might arrive before we kill them. We will be finished then. I made the bluff to scare them away so they didn't think of delaying us. What we need to do is escape this place now!"
Jack sent a mental message to duke Alfredo and the others who were down there. He then used his king badge to unsummon all his royal agents back to the upworld. He then unsummoned Therras and Arlcard as well. Arlcard didn't protest. Although he thought it was a pity they didn't kill those mythical demons for the exp points, he also thought Jack's reasoning was valid.
Jack turned to the two satyrs, who were still in grief. "We need to leave, now!" Jack told them.
The two understood. They walked silently to the broken windows where the high demons had flown out from. Both of them took out a strange tool that turned into a large hang glider. They then took to the air with these hang gliders. The gliders rode the air with incredible speed. Yvok was right, those tools were not slower than Pandora's speed. Luckily those two satyrs brought an extra pair for the journey home.
Jack then came to Pandora who was still standing silently. The power orb filled with her sister's essence was floating beside her.
Jack looked at the pile of dust near the nightmare's feet. Some items were there. They were loots dropped from killing Hraghshu. Jack picked them up without checking them.
"Ma'am…?" Jack said to Pandora. "I'm sorry, ma'am… I failed you. I'm unable to save your sister…"
Pandora didn't respond.
"Ma'am… We need to leave now. If you are not in the mood to carry me, I will unsummon you and I will leave on foot."
Pandora turned to face the broken windows and grunted.
"She said, climb up," Peniel translated.
"Thank you, ma'am," Jack said and jumped to the nightmare's back
He had to sit slightly more forward than usual due to the new fiery wings on Pandora's back. He wondered if this meant that she could now fly?
His question was soon answered.
Pandora jumped out the window and stayed afloat in the air. Her fiery wings flapped and she soared higher into the air. The power orb followed after her, matching her speed.
Jack had the urge to shout out excitedly but he remembered Pandora was still grieving, so he restrained himself. He so very much wanted to show this upgraded nightmare to Paytowin though. Now, his steed could also fly like Paytowin's Pegasus.
A sudden change in a distant sky made him turn. Pandora also stopped and looked over. Jack saw the cloud in the distant sky turned turbulent. Some ominous green fog seemed to be devouring those dark skies in the distance. He also felt unspeakable dread as he watched the incident.
"F*ck!! Run! We have to run, now…!!!" Jack exclaimed. Anything that could emit pressure from such a large distance was not something he could go up against at his level.
Pandora could also feel the power from that ominous green fog. She flapped her wings and then shot forward with incredible speed. Jack felt as if he was riding a fighter jet that went from zero velocity to full speed in less than a second. He was sure that if no magic glue held his ass on Pandora, he would have been left behind where he was.
Not long after they left, the sky above the manor turned fully green. Out of the green fog, a gigantic being descended. His size rivaled the dragons. On his head were six large horns. Two live wolf-heads were on his shoulders, they snarled and looked at everything with eyes full of greed. Two pairs of enormous bat wings covered his back.
The demon's green eyes locked on the manor. His sight pierced through the roof of the mansion and saw the pile of dust that used to be his son.
"RAARRGGHHH…!!!"
He roared and swung his massive fist down. The air compressed and the entire mansion collapsed and turned flat with the ground in a matter of seconds.
He turned in the direction where Pandora hovered a few minutes ago. He sensed the nightmare's unusual aura, but he couldn't trace where this nightmare had gone to. Its scent disappeared midway.
'Doesn't matter,' he thought. Whomever these people who murdered his son, as long as they were in the underworld, he would find them.
