Chapter 11
Ijoined the group in clearing the instance.
While it was S-rank and level sixty-two, that level of challenge mattered very little to Almeria and me.
We cleaved through much of the instance by ourselves, only pausing at the boss and assuring the disciples that we would step in if the fight took a turn for the worse.
Oftentimes, the learning curve for a boss was the hardest part.
"Thank you, Bran." The leader of this group bowed low to me, dipping her head.
"We would have lost Como if you hadn't stepped in there at the end.
It was a truly valuable learning experience to be able to fight with someone as strong as you watching our back.
" She lifted her gaze, a slight sparkle in it.
Almeria slipped up to my side and pecked me on the cheek, as if claiming her territory.
"No matter, it was my responsibility. I promised Eve that I would come back with all of you," I told her.
And that meant that the next move was so critical.
I glanced out over the group. "No one can go back in until everyone here has left," I instructed.
"We will all go out together, as we've planned, and come back in as quickly as we can.
I'll be acting as a shield, so let Almeria and me step out first to draw the attacks, and then all of you can come out a few seconds later.
Do not dally, and as soon as you're all out, please feel free to rush back in. "
They were all bobbing their heads in understanding. I met a few eyes and felt confident enough that they would follow the next part of the plan. We would need to be swift and work together if we were to make this a reality.
I hit the hovering menu to eject myself from the instance, immediately sweeping out with my blade, catching one of the demons in the side.
As I hit, a mace cracked me in the ribs. The spikes punched a dozen holes into my side before a heavy fist knocked me in the side of the head, hard enough for stars to spin in my vision. Several more heavy blows landed, and I felt presences appear behind me.
"Back into the instance!" I shouted, "before they can stop you!"
At this point, I was confident that the demons wouldn't go in. If they’d waited outside all this time, they were following orders. Demons hated orders, which meant there was someone powerful enforcing them that they didn’t dare go counter to.
I pulled back as the mace swung back around and ducked my head to use my shoulder to take the blow. It was partially infuriating to not fight back with my full strength. But I could not tip my hand yet if I wanted to try to draw them inside.
"You won't get away that easily!" the demons shouted, and I felt multiple hands grab me, attempting to grapple me. As they rushed by, the First Garden disciples had wide eyes at my state.
“Back in!” Almeria shouted, only for her blade to sever an arm that was trying to hold me down by the hips.
I grabbed her hand with mine and kicked off the ground, throwing myself with my full strength into the portal, dragging two of the demons with me as I fell into the instance.
The First Garden disciples turned and began stabbing at them, though they were tough.
The demons rolled off and fanned out their wing-like fins as they prepared to fight, only for Almeria to stop holding back and simply sever one of their legs at the knee.
Then her hand transformed into a scaled claw and sent the other staggering back.
I was on them a second later, one hand on each of their faces as I drove them to the ground and crushed their skulls with an application of retributive force.
The First Garden disciples gasped at how easily I had killed those demons and took a few cautious steps back. “Are you even human?” one blurted out.
I stood up, wiping off the black blood, their bodies beginning to dissolve only moments later. "The reality is, I could handle that group on my own," I said to the disciples.
They had seen me fight in the instance, but crushing those two demons had certainly been several leagues above where they had placed me in their minds.
"The problem is, I can't fight all of them without their group splitting and running away." Only then did my plan dawn on several of the First Garden disciples.
"You mean you could completely handle them?" he asked.
"And likely protect you all, as long as you stay behind me.
They aren't a problem. However, I am but one person; they could scatter in too many directions for me to chase down.
Our goal at present is to trap and kill all of them at least several times over, before the demons become wise to our strategy. " I shared the plan.
Suddenly, the mood inside the instance shifted from fear to elation. Many of them began bobbing their heads.
"All right, you've got our support, Bran," the leader said, sticking out her hand, and I shook it.
"I thought I already had it, but I'm glad to confirm it." I grinned, and she blushed.
I found that there were two ways to win over a sect.
One was to get the leadership to endorse you, and it was effective enough.
However, a far more effective way was to earn the hearts of the disciples, because if the disciples all leaned one way, the leaders simply couldn't afford to go against it.
Seeing the fire in their eyes, the excitement told me I was well on my way to the latter.
"Is it true you have an entire sect of women worshiping your body?" One of the women raised her hand as though we were in a classroom before blurting out the question, though everyone seemed quickly interested in my answer.
I chuckled and scratched the back of my head.
"I wouldn't quite phrase it like that, but I know a few people who might.
The reality is I've garnered enough strength that there's actually a class called the Devotee of Bran that people get if they worship me, and it's a stable foundational class, so I've let it continue.
And yes, at this point, I have a religious following.
However, I wouldn't say they're there to worship my body.
That's someone's fetish escaping them," I said, looking back at the lady who had asked the question as her face turned beet red.
***
Merlin watched as the lead manta demon fluttered his fins in frustration, his men pacing outside the portal, ready to strike the second anyone left the instance. It was going to be a while, not that Merlin was going to leave her shadows to warn them of that.
“If only those damn bugs didn't run off. Otherwise, we could have just thrown them in and blamed them later,” the lead manta snarled.
"What's the problem, boss?" one of them asked.
A hit from the leader sent the questioning demon to the ground.
"It is unwise of us to step inside the instance without our master's permission." He gritted his teeth and glared into the distance. "One of you is going to have to find someone who will enter for us." His eyes gazed down at the one he'd smacked, and he grinned.
"No, no, no," the demon said, shaking his head and crawling backward, only for the boss to grab him by the throat and lift him high into the air.
"Know that your loss is a gain for the whole." The lead demon grinned. “You're going to go to that fucking infested hive, and then you're going to tell them that the Demon Lord has graced them with an opportunity to enter this instance."
The rest of the demons backed away from the messenger as if he were a dead man walking.
"Will speaking in the Demon Lord's name cause us any issues?" the idiot on the ground asked.
Even Merlin was disappointed at this particular minion's incompetence, so it came as no surprise when the leader simply punted him away.
"You will do as you're told or die trying." The lead demon hefted his mace in threat.
The potential for pain was all the demon needed to scramble out of the way in a rush to escape.
As soon as he was gone, the larger demon shook his head and glanced back at the others. "I expect him to be a lesson in the consequences of failure."
"What's going to happen to him?" one of the remaining demons asked.
"He's going to do as I asked," the larger demon said, "and in doing so, he will serve his purpose.
That's all any of us can ask of our lives.
The hive will rip him apart in their frustration with us.
But hopefully that will be after he delivers his message.
Now, go scout the area, before one of your ugly mugs upsets me enough that I decide to rearrange it. "
They scrambled away, leaving the large demon to himself.
Merlin let out a small groan of frustration.
Splitting his forces up and casting them far and wide was going to make her task of keeping an eye on them more difficult than she would have liked.
It wasn't that she couldn't; it was just going to take significantly more effort to ensure they were all coming back.
She took the talisman Bran had given her and pressed it to her forehead so she could watch the jungle better.
Nyx had been quiet next to her but shifted at this development. "Do we hunt down the demons?"
"No." Merlin shook her head. "They seem very unwilling to enter the instance or report back, which means we might get a few waves of demons from this single group.
If that's the case, it works wonderfully for Bran.
However, it's best in the end if they all simply go missing.
That way, no one knows exactly what happened here.
The more they cannot answer, the more likely Bran can lure more batches of demons into these traps. "
Nyx bobbed her head, and the two of them remained quiet for a long moment before Nyx turned to ask, "When are you going to sleep with Bran?"
Merlin flinched, noting how cute Nyx was smiling despite how devious her question was.
"Soon," Merlin answered, though even to her the statement sounded more like a question.
"You should do it sooner rather than later," Nyx said, with a giant smile, one of bliss.
"He's that good?" Merlin asked.
"Oh, the sex is fantastic," Nyx answered. "But I personally think you would enjoy the connection more than anything."
Merlin blinked and stared back at her. "Really?"
"Yes, I think that's what you'd really crave. His big body is incredible when it wraps around you in a big warm cuddle." Nyx hugged herself as if that would convey the level of comfort that Bran provided.