The demon did not scream, possibly due to some kind of blockade of his pain sensation. In order to avoid any further attacks, Emil wildly swung his right tentacle at Renya while rolling away to safety. Renya tried to give chase, but was forced to leap back to avoid the long appendage’s furious thrashing.
“What… is the meaning of this…” panted Emil. He stared at the ceiling as dark-red blood spilled from his dismembered left shoulder. The lights that he supposedly snuffed out remained as bright as ever, illuminating their surroundings. The sight of the still-visible room had given him the slightest of pauses, but that brief opening allowed Renya to deliver an absolutely devastating strike.
“I figured you’d look for a chance to put them out again,” said Renya as he glanced at the tentacle on the ground. It was wriggling like a severed lizard tail. He kicked the appendage into the air, where it was battered by a rather excessive number of quickcast Firebolts and turned into crisp demon bacon. Then, he turned to look at Emil, who was pushing himself up with his right tentacle, and said, “So I threw my own up there over yours. Real handy technique, this quickcast thing.”
The smile had vanished from Emil’s face. His eyes were wide with shock. Renya wasn’t sure why the demon looked so astonished, but before he had a chance to ponder, Emil spoke.
“Who are you? No… What are you?”
“I’m a regular person, thank you very much. Well, technically, a Wanderer. Renya Kunugi, average everyday adventurer. Pleased to make your acquaintance, short-lived though it’ll probably be.”
After returning the favor with his witty retort, Renya rushed forward with his blade brandished. This time, Emil was forced to go on the defensive. Though the demon did not seem to feel the pain of losing his left arm, his breaths were definitely coming in shorter, harder gasps.
“Unbelievable. Tell me now. How is it that I, a demon, am running out of breath first?”
“Don’t ask me. You’re the researcher here. Go do some researching.”
The ever-dulling movements of Emil’s remaining tentacle failed to guard against Renya’s attacks. After chopping off the tentacle’s tip, Renya began to weave his slashes through the disabled appendage. Gash after gash appeared on the demon’s body. Eventually, his right arm went flying as well, entirely separated from his shoulder.
An exhausted Emil toppled backwards and landed on his rear. Renya raised his blade, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. Just as he began his downward swing, the demon spoke again.
“Let me cut you a deal,” he said. His expression was serious; his tone, devoid of his usual flippancy.
Renya let the demon speak. Then, he resumed his downward swing. He was not interested in a deal. Rather, he thought he wasn’t, but the demon’s next words forced him to reconsider.
“Those three friends of yours… You do realize that at this rate, a few of them are heading straight for the morgue?”
“What?” Renya’s katana paused mid-swing.
“Say what you want about demons, but I’ll remind you that I’m a researcher, and my research concerns the study of life. I’m versed in the practice of medicine as well. I’m well aware of the graveness of their injuries. After all, I caused them.”
Renya did not speak, but his gaze commanded the demon to keep talking. The armless Emil sat up, crossed his legs, and lifted his head to look up at Renya.
“The girl with the sword… the one who seemed a bit dense, she’ll be fine. The problem is the other two, that dour-looking mage and the lewd missus with those great honking—”
“You might want to rephrase that,” cautioned Renya. In the back of his mind, though, he wondered why the demon was so dead-on with his depictions. Was it that obvious? At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity toward Rona, who was described by even a demon to be “lewd.”
“I apologize if you took offense. The point stands, though. The mage and the missus are in bad shape. If you don’t get them to a doctor soon, you might as well get them a pair of coffins. Even if they survive, they’ll be heavily crippled for life.”
“So? What are you trying to say?”
“What I’m trying to say… is that there’s a doctor right here.”
The lack of arms limited his ability to gesture, but the context of his words seemed to suggest that he was referring to himself. Renya scoffed at the demon.
“All right. Let’s pretend you are a doctor for now. What do you intend on doing, then, with those zero arms of yours?”
“Wait a while and they’ll regrow. Let me go, and I’ll treat those two.”
Being obtuse in the ways of this world, Renya had no idea whether there would be any consequences in letting the demon go. It was quite possible that the act would be similar to knowingly allowing a criminal to escape in his previous world. Ethics aside, however, the fact that his two severely-injured friends would receive medical attention made it an undeniably appealing proposal.
“I can’t trust you.”
Appealing though the proposal was, he couldn’t blindly trust Emil when they had literally been at each other’s throats mere moments before. He thrust his blade at the seated demon as he spoke, hiding the rising tide of doubt inside.
Emil’s words were convincing. Even a complete medical amateur like him could tell that Azu and Rona were likely in critical condition. The former took the full impact of a hit head-on, and the latter was completely unprepared when she was slammed into a wall. He was worried about Shion as well, but seeing that she had managed to put up some sort of defense, he could believe that her life wasn’t in danger. He could put Azu and Rona, both of whom were in dangerous condition, onto the wagon and make a mad dash for the city. It would take him a day. In the end, though, would they be saved? He wasn’t sure. And he had no way to be.