The earth shook as the doom demon landed in front of us. It stood well over seven feet tall, and had tough, pitch-black skin.
Everything’s going to be fine, I told myself, feeling a bit hysterical. It’ll all be okay. I even considered that something like this happening might be a possibility.
When I’d initially decided to take the shortcut through the Wyvern’s Promenade, I’d briefly acknowledged the terrifying fact that if the player was destined to be attacked by gargoyles during their journey to Rixia, or a doom demon during their travels to Umina, then something else might attack us if we headed to a different destination.
The appearance of the monster standing before me was confirmation of all my fears.
I guess that means no matter what city you go to, you can’t avoid this event, I thought in despair.
Perhaps if we’d gone yet another direction, to another different town or city, we’d have discovered that there was a certain location that wasn’t tied to this monster attack event. But at this point? I just couldn’t summon the energy to care.
I turned to Radd, carefully depositing Recilia into his arms. “Take care of her for me,” I told him, voice serious.
As the kid stared at me, frozen, I pulled the Rewind Powder out of my Inventory and sprinkled it over myself, then swallowed down the Mystical Brackish Water. Warmth spread through my body; I could feel power surging through my limbs.
Hopefully now I’ll stand a fighting chance against this thing, I thought, bracing myself against what was to come.
“Get out of here,” I told the kids, eyes on the doom demon in front of me. “I need you to run to the town and call for help.”
Fortunately, the doom demon had landed in a location which didn’t block off the path toward the town. As long as one person kept it occupied, everyone else would be able to flee safely.
“W-Wait!” Radd cried out from behind me.
“I’ll keep it busy,” I told him, trying to keep my voice calm. “Don’t worry.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I couldn’t help but cringe at myself a little. Left without the proper words to reassure the kids, I’d ended up just spouting the exact same lines Rex said in the game.
Now’s definitely not the time to get all embarrassed though, I thought grimly, glaring at the monster slowly drifting toward us. I’ve got to focus.
Prana was the first of the rookie adventurers to act, darting off toward the town even as the others were still debating over what to do. “I’ll head to town!” she shouted as she sprinted away. “I’ll come back with help, I promise!”
Smart decision, I thought.
Prana was the best of the four kids to take on a mission that required speed, since she was the fastest of the group. That being said...if this event went according to the game’s original storyline—which I could remember with jarring clarity—no matter how fast Prana was, she’d never make it back in time to save me. I would die the moment reinforcements arrived, pierced through by a powerful light that the doom demon thrust into my chest. It wouldn’t matter how long I drew the confrontation with the doom demon out, the game would adapt to fit the original plotline—meaning that I’d be dead long before I could receive any aid.
It was a possibility, I supposed, that the world of Braves and Blades would function differently now that I was inside of it, but I couldn’t rely on something so indefinite to keep me alive.
I was knocked out of these grim thoughts by a shuffling sound to my rear, followed up by the appearance of Radd and Mana as they settled in on either side of me.
“I’ll f-fight too, old man!” Radd shouted, his face lined with determination.
“M-Me too!” Mana yelled. “At the very least, I can heal you if you get hurt!”
I didn’t even deign to give them a look. “Get out of here!” I snapped. “You two can’t handle a monster of this level!”
“B-But!”
“Five minutes!” I snarled as I drew my sword. “Just get back and wait for five minutes, okay?”
At this point, the doom demon was only a few yards away. I clicked my tongue—I didn’t have time to explain my plan to these kids.
Thankfully, they scrambled away, and I braced myself just as the demon’s red eyes glowed crimson and it sprang into action. It drew back the spear in its right hand, then thrust its left hand forward in a motion I’d seen thousands of times before.
That’s Stinger, one of the basic Arts you can use with a spear! I realized, leaping to the right the moment I registered what sort of attack the monster was using. Mere moments later, a gust of wind whistled past my ear.
Shit, that thing’s fast! I thought, gritting my teeth. If I hadn’t known what attack was coming ahead of time, I’d have gotten hit for sure.
“Taaaaaake this!” I shouted, darting forward. I pushed through my fear as best I could, swinging my sword at the demon’s exposed right arm with all my might.
To my dismay, my sword just bounced off, useless.
Fuck, I cursed internally. There’s too big a difference in our stats!
The doom demon was level 60, while I was only level 50. On top of that, Rex’s level was way too high for his middling stats—his abilities were closer to that of a level 30 adventurer than a level 50. Rex’s equipment was in a similar state.
If I think about this situation rationally, there’s no way I can win, I realized. I acted on my one chance for a clean counterattack, but wasn’t even able to put a scratch on that thing.
As my mind raced, the doom demon regained the ability to control its arm, its Art completing once it had fully extended into its thrust. It used this new freedom to swing its spear in a wide vertical arc, its blade slicing through the air right toward me.
My balance was still off because of my failed sword strike, but...that didn’t mean I was out of options.
I don’t care how outmatched I am, there’s no way I’m giving up here! I swore, my eyes narrowing in determination. That spear sweep isn’t an Art, and there’s not much power in it either, since the monster’s completely extended its arm.
I poured mana into the shield clenched in my left hand, thinking, Even if that doom demon’s stats are way above mine, the mechanics for this system should cover the deficit.
Then, with seconds to spare, I jerked my shield forward, parrying the doom demon’s strike.
Channeling mana into a weapon in your off-hand triggers a parry rather than an Art! I recited silently, a grim smile on my face.