Return of the Demon Sovereign (Book 1) [Version Discontinued]

83. Assassins

Days passed and Erebus was feeling the strain on his body.  Blood soaked one side of his body, and dripped down his arms.  His wounds all seemed to reopen under the stress of hard riding. Skadi had tried stopping a number of times but would be scolded by Erebus.  The closer his men were to Aboros' lair, the more uneasy he felt.  He needed to meet with them as soon as possible. 

Skadi could only apprehensively keep on moving while trying to ignore the blood from her master's body as it continue to flow down and leave a trail behind them. However, after days of nonstop running, she finally felt better when they had determined that they were less than an hour away from Leo if she continued at full speed. 

However, when there was some small hope, there is always trouble that followed.  Erebus was watching the road ahead of them carefully, and saw what looked like a crack in the ground. 

"Skadi!  Wait!"

But it was too late.  Skadi was moving too fast and passed the crack.  The moment she did, a large red formation flashed in front of them.  It immediately turned into a net that wrapped around Skadi.  It flashed a bright light and forced Skadi to lose her corporeal form and held her Aether form down.  Because of the instantaneous change, Erebus was flung forward.  He quickly covered himself with mana and curled into a ball to protect himself from the landing. 

He hit the ground with a loud bang, creating a crater, but his momentum didn't stop and felt himself rolling out of control.  He stabbed his daggers into the ground to stop himself, but the force was great and he had to create a deep fissure into the earth before he finally slowed to a stop.  The dust settled but Erebus already had set up his Shadow Domain.  He cursed when he sensed the amount of attackers.  About fifty Devils stalked up to him in blood red cloaks.

He stood up and took of his cloak, let it float off.  "I was wondering when you would start looking for me, considering I impersonated the Devil assassins a couple of times." 

He looked at Skadi struggling in the Rune net.  "Could have been a little bit more subtle though."

The horde of assassins in appeared around him in a loose formation.  One stood taller than the rest.  "You have become a nuisance, Reaper." 

Erebus turned to the one who talked and chuckled. He moved back to Skadi and examined the rune.  He tapped on his belt.  [The moment I break this, get Leo.]

He knew this rune and understood that it would take about thirty minutes for Skadi to regain her corporeal form.  By that time, it would be too late to escape the Devils.  He also felt a deep apprehension luring the assassins towards his group.  They needed to raid the lair and he could not afford to lose anyone.  Having Leo join him to cut the root of the problem was the best option.

Skadi anxiously pawed at the ground but stopped when Erebus gave her a dark look.  He needed Leo to come and help him as fast as possible because he didn't think he could survive these assassins.  Skadi was the only one who could move at the needed speeds.

He circulated his mana and gripped the runes.  The Devils yelled out and rushed towards him.  Erebus twisted his hands and tore open the rune net.  Skadi didn't hesitate and disappeared towards Leo.

The assassins stopped their rush and started to laugh.  The one who spoke before sneered.  "Were you hoping that a horse would help?"

"I didn't want her in the way.  Protecting someone is cumbersome."  Erebus said lazily.

The Devils pulled out their weapons and circled him.  Most used swords or daggers like himself.  But he saw some with ranged weapons and couple with spears.