The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 148 - Stained Snow (Patreon)

Piper leaped over the side of the wagon and chased after Ophelia heading toward the closest hulking harroth demon. She reached the snowbank lining the road and plunged into the deep snow. Her movement slowed to a snail’s pace as the deep snow bogged her down.

“Stop!” she shouted after her friend. 

“I can chase them off and give the sleigh time to turn around,” Ophelia called back, a serious expression on her face. “And I’m the only one with an angel sword. They don’t stand a chance against me.”

“Those aren’t just any demons,” she cried out. “Those are harroths! There’s no way you’re going to win against them!”

“Just watch me.”

Piper scowled and muttered under her breath, “I’m going to kill you if we survive this battle.”

As she waded through the snow, she snapped out her arm and Gorebark appeared in her grip. The bow’s appearance was immediately followed by her magical quiver on her belt. She automatically cloaked the weapons in illusions, not that anyone could see her from the sleigh.

Gorebark twisted in her grip. “What are we blowing up…” the bow trailed off as a monstrous demon reared up in front of them. “Welp, you’re dead.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Ophelia skidded to a stop a few paces in front of Piper, and she thrust her arm into a tear in reality. A moment later, her hand emerged holding a blade that shone with the light of a midday sun.

At the sight of the angel sword, the harroths shambled back a step. Their mouths opened and closed before they turned and disappeared into the forest.

“You'd better run!” Ophelia cried out as she pursued the demons.

“Please wait!” Piper shouted at the top of her lungs. Behind them, she could hear screams and the clash of weapons from the direction of the sleighs, though the thick pine trees made it impossible to see what was going on. “They’re leading us away from the others!”

“You’re giving them way too much credit,” Ophelia called back. “They’re scared of my amazing sword.”

“Sarnyxia,” Piper called out, scanning the surrounding area. She knew her summons was lurking nearby.

The shadeling materialized from stealth at her side, a concerned look on her face. “You must leave this place immediately.”

“Not without my friends.”

“I sense many more demons on their way,” the demoness said. “And they are far beyond your power.”

“Crap,” Piper muttered. “Crap, crap, crap.”

With a grimace, she cast [Pit Chains] and barbed chains erupted from the ground to ensnare Ophelia. She was done messing around with her friend. The others were fighting while they were wasting their time pursuing a trio of demons deeper into the woods.

Ophelia screamed in pain as the barbs dug into her skin. She twisted around, rage burning in her eyes. She screamed at Piper, “What are you doing?”

“I’m saving your life,” Piper responded, racing up to her side.

She canceled the spell and grabbed Ophelia in an iron grip. “I don’t care what you think, but that demon would kill you with a single hit.”

Ophelia raised her chin defiantly. “Not with my class and sword.”

“Yes, with your class and sword!” Piper cried out, her frustration building. “It’s level 189. Do you know what that means? That thing is probably more powerful than a level 3000 human.”

Some of the rage cooled in Ophelia’s expression. “It’s really that strong?”

“Yes!”

“Can you beat it?”

Gorebark chuckled in response. “Not on your life. She’d probably end up as a pink smear on the ground fighting that thing.”

Ophelia turned to Sarnyxia, who nodded her agreement with the bow. “I still say I could beat it.”

During their conversation, the demons hadn’t reappeared from the dense pine forest, but they could return at any moment. Whether they were toying with them—like a cat with a mouse—or if they were legitimately fearful of the angel sword was impossible to know. What Piper knew was that they had to get back to the sleighs to help the others.

Piper turned to her friend. “Are you going to run off like a maniac again, or are you going to come back to the wagons?”

“I wasn’t running off like a maniac.” Ophelia rubbed the scrapes on her arm caused by the chains. “I was driving the demons off from the sleighs so they could turn around. And you know, you could have just made a wall or something to stop me. Do you have any idea how much those chains hurt?”

“I couldn’t waste the mana,” Piper said grimly. “My new spell uses way too much of the stuff.”

“Whatever,” Ophelia said. “I’ll show you what my sword can do if the demons come back.”

“Can’t you hear that?” Piper thrust her arm in the direction of the noise of battle. “They’re already back! Right now, the other demons are attacking the sleighs, and we’re not there to protect them.”

Ophelia stared down at her boots. “How was I supposed to know that would happen?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Piper muttered. “We just have to get back there to help.”

Sarnyxia shook her head, her silver hair waving in the wind. “That is a terrible idea. The only way to survive this situation is to flee.”

Piper pressed her lips together. “Do you really think we have no chance?”

“Perhaps against a single or even a pair of harroth demons you may prevail.” The demoness shrugged. “Against five or more, along with whatever is approaching? There is no hope of victory.”

“Crap. Double crap.” Piper took a deep breath and nocked an arrow. “I have to at least try to save everyone that I can.”

“This is an extremely bad idea.”

“I have no choice! Those are my friends!”

“Then go in with the full force of everything you have,” Sarnyxia said flatly. “Use everything at your disposal. If you attempt to hide your identity, it will lead to your death.”

Piper stood there, the seconds ticking away, as she tried to decide what to do. If she went in with everything she had, not only would she risk revealing herself to her friends but also risk drawing the nuns down on her once more. Then again, Astaroth had said she needed to leave, but she’d been hesitant to give up the life she’d built here.

“Fine,” Piper said. “I’ll use everything I have.”

“Um… hello?” Ophelia said. “I have an angel sword. I bet I'll take them all out by myself.”

“I don’t want to hear another word out of you,” Piper snapped, a hard edge to her words. “When we arrive at the sleighs, I want you to stay hidden in the forest. Because you forced me to chase you, I had to leave the others unprotected.”

“I’m sure they’re all fine,” Ophelia said, but there was a note of uncertainty in her words.

“We need to move fast.”

Piper broke into a sprint, going over a list of spells to cast in her mind. They moved quickly through the trail broken by the harroth, the sounds of battle up ahead slowly dying away. At her side, her friend’s angel sword glowed more brightly by the moment, dispelling the gloom from the forest. It made Piper’s skin prickle in a most unpleasant way.

Gorebark chuckled again. “You’re so going to die. But at least we’re going out in a blaze of glory. You have to respect that.”

“This isn’t helpful.”

“When have I ever been helpful?”

Piper used [Subjugator] and called upon Gretch. The diminutive imp sprang into existence behind her and, after glancing around, fell in behind them. She then used the spell again, and the massive demonic turtle appeared to their rear.

The dreadhulk let out a bellow that shook the forest and sent flakes of snow drifting down from the branches. The creature stomped forward, knocking trees aside as if they were kindling, the sounds of breaking wood filling the air.

As she moved, she cast [Shifting Veil] on Sarnyxia and Gretch to make them appear human. Next, she used her illusion spell to change the appearance of the dreadhulk to a wyvern.

They burst out of the trees to find three harroths ravaging their sleigh. Somehow, the other sleighs had managed to turn around, and they were dashing away from another trio of demons. On the far side of the road, a group of imps led away a line of chained slaves.

Piper’s heart skipped a beat as she spotted Zenos lying against the sleigh’s runner, desperately trying to hold in his guts. His face looked terribly pale, and his eyes bulged with panic. Her gaze traveled over to another body in the snow, which she recognized as Lysander. The man wasn’t moving and there was far too much blood staining the white ground crimson.

“No,” Ophelia whispered before screaming with rage. “No!” She charged forward and raised her sword, which blazed with blinding light.

Piper scowled at her friend running off like a lunatic and ordered her demons forward. The trees lining the road shattered as the dreadhulk, cloaked in the illusion of a wyvern, smashed its way free of the forest. The appearance of a massive draconic creature seemed to startle the harroths, and they froze in the act of tearing apart the sleigh.

Sarnyxia darted forward and ducked under a harroth’s ponderous swing. She spun around with explosive speed and delivered a powerful kick to its abdomen. Where her strikes had burst flesh golems like overripe melons, this one barely staggered the demon.

A second harroth shook itself from its stupor and raised its four limbs ending in talons. It charged toward Piper.

 Before the demon had gone half a dozen paces, the dreadhulk stampeded forward to intercept it. The massive demonic turtle spun around almost impossibly fast and smashed its bony tail into the harroth; the demon’s eyes opened with shock as it was launched high into the air and sailed above the treetops. A moment later, it disappeared into the canopy.

Piper danced back as the other harroth knocked Sarnyxia aside and advanced on her. She drew an arrow and loosed it at the creature. The projectile slammed into the creature's left eye, but it barely seemed to faze it. Her next arrow missed its mark and buried itself in the harroth’s cheekbone.

A third arrow would trigger [Demonic Mark], so she switched her target to the demon facing off against Ophelia. She rapidly drew and loosed an arrow; it sailed forward and hit the demon’s neck with a solid thump. The harroth didn’t even flinch from the impact.

Cursing, she continued to retreat as Gretch leapt onto the other harroth’s back. Her imp stabbed the demon’s neck in a frenzy, dark blood spraying out from his dagger. The harroth spun around, desperately trying to dislodge its attacker. The imp clung on with one hand, continuing to plunge his weapon into the much larger demon.

Turning her attention back to Ophelia, she aimed at a scythed limb swinging toward her friend. With a silent prayer to no one in particular, she released the bowstring; her arrow winged its way forward and hammered the creature’s limb, making it miss Ophelia by a hair’s breadth.

Ding! Your skill, Archery has reached Level 44.

As the harroth was distracted by the arrow lodged in its arm, Ophelia swung her sword around in a long arc. The blade cleaved through the demon’s chest, leaving a gaping wound in its wake. Almost immediately, rot began to spread through its flesh. The skin turned black and then began to crumble like dried clay.

But even with the horrific wound, the harroth wasn’t out of the fight. It swung all four limbs at Ophelia, who brought her sword up to deflect the attack. Through some miracle—or most likely a spell—the attack deflected harmlessly off her blade.

Ophelia weathered a series of brutal blows before delivering a devastating strike that sent the harroth tumbling backward, head over heels. It landed in a crumpled mass and didn’t stir.

Her attention was drawn back to Sarnyxia, who had moved to engage the last harroth remaining on its feet. Somehow, the hulking demon had managed to dislodge Gretch, and the tiny imp wearing the illusion of a human lay dazed next to Zenos.

“Piper!” Ophelia called out as she backpedaled away from the injured harroth who had somehow regained its feet. “My spell is done, and I can’t cast it again. Help me!”

With another look at her beleaguered summons, she ordered the demonic turtle to help Sarnyxia. She gave it explicit instructions to avoid stepping on her injured groupmates or any slaves that might be hiding amongst the wreckage of the sleigh, though she didn’t hold out much optimism that any of them had evaded capture.

Piper dismissed her bow and charged forward to attack the harroth making a beeline for Ophelia. As she ran, she cast [Void Silence] and the spell blanketed the road, snuffing out any spellcasting other than her own or her minions. She doubted a harroth demon would have many spells, but she needed any edge she could get.

She then cast [Misery Crown], a spell that would slowly drain away the demon’s physical stats until it was weaker than a newborn kitten. The same spell had made Ares’ son, a powerful warrior, almost too weak to lift his sword back in Kalmyros. Hopefully, it would be just as effective on a harroth demon.

Finally, she cast [Pit Chains] and infernal chains erupted from the ground to ensnare the demon. The harroth staggered to a stop as the chains stretched taut. It struggled against its bonds, roaring with rage as they continued to tighten around its limbs.

The demon snarled at Piper. Then, to her complete shock, it began to speak. The creature’s words were halting and guttural, but there was no mistaking them. “Who… are you?”

“Who am I?” Piper replied with confusion.

“Yes,” the harroth said, as it stared at Ophelia’s celestial sword. “How… you possess spells? Spells only queen had?”

Sarnyxia’s cry of pain interrupted her conversation, and she spun around to witness the other harroth hurling the shadeling against a tree. Before she could react, it charged over to Zenos and placed the tip of its talon against the bottom of his chin. The noise mage grunted in pain as a trickle of blood dripped down the talon.

The demonic turtle loomed over the harroth, its fake draconic mouth gaping open, clearly unsure of what to do. For now, Piper told it to await her orders. It was too risky ordering it to attack with Zenos right next to the demon; she didn’t want the noise mage spending millennia being digested in its gut.

The harroth threatening Zenos turned to gaze at her. “Yes… what are you? Show us. Or human dies.”

Piper took a deep breath and exchanged a look with Ophelia. Her friend shook her head almost imperceptibly and lifted her celestial blade. But if they attacked, there was a good chance that Zenos would die before she could reach the harroth.

She gave a sorrowful look at Zenos and then canceled her [False Face] spell to reveal her true demonic self. As her illusion fell away, she was greeted by a gasp of dismay and shocked hisses from the demons.

Straightening up to her full height, which didn’t even come up to the harroth’s waist, she tried to sound as regal as possible. “I am Piper, daughter of Elaraxa, and heir to the Infernal Realm. And you owe me your fealty.”