Kyle gasped for air as the demon watched him struggle. His gaze remained firm. He wasn’t going to budge.The young man struggled against the vines helplessly. He could barely breathe, his lungs were burning already. His vision began to darken as he felt his body grow heavy. No, he thought as his thoughts seemed to slow. He couldn’t lose consciousness now – he needed to be awake for when Caille arrived!“I can’t!” he somehow managed to wheeze with the last bit of air left in his lungs.The Demon’s expression immediately changed. His fingers twitched, and the vines squeezing Kyle’s throat loosened enough to let him breathe.Blood rushed to Kyle’s face, some colour returned to his cheeks. His lungs hurt, they burnt with each breath he took. He wheezed and forced himself to take slow breaths as the world spun around him.“You can’t.” The Demon stated with a slightly surprised expre

Kyle’s heart skipped a beat. “What? No!” He shouted as Luke took a few more steps back. He wanted to follow the Paladin, but the vines were still holding him in place.“How could we be tricked so easily…?” Luke muttered, stepping further back. “I need to let Igna know – she…”“Luke!” Kyle shouted desperately. He didn’t have the strength left to summon anyone, and the only one he could summon that could help him out was the Demon of the Nightbloom. And he didn’t think he could keep that being under control right now. “I wasn’t lying! I-“ He coughed. His throat was sore, everything hurt.“Please just listen.” He said with a hoarse voice. He didn’t have the strength left to shout. “Please.” He pleaded as the Paladin pressed his hand against his forehead, still shaking his head in disbelief.“I can’t believe this.&r

Caille’s intense gaze was making this about thrice as hard as it should have been. She listened intently to his every word, and never stopped glaring at him. Kyle didn’t look at her as he spoke – he looked at his hands, forcing himself to focus, and make sure his speech was cohesive, and understandable, not an incomprehensible mess. “So… yeah. Sorry I didn’t tell you before – I didn’t want anyone to worry about me too much and hanging out with you guys was so fun that I thought if I told you, I’d lose that.” He breathed a sigh, then raised his eyes to look at the Eldritch Witch. There was no shock on her expression, not did she seem angry. She just thoughtfully nodded. “Hmm…” She muttered. “Uh, Caille?” Luke piped up. “Did you hear him?” “I did.” She said, clearly somewhat lost in thought. Kyle and Luke exchanged confused glances. “Then why aren’t you reacting?!” Luke exclaimed finally. “Don’t you realise what he just told you?” <

The sound of the arrows, bouncing off of the large, spherical golden barrier surrounding the group was a small relief.“We are screwed.” Caille hissed. “I don’t even have half of my mana.”“Show yourselves!” Igna’s booming voice surprised both groups. She was back on her feet, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. “Or are you so cowardly that you can’t even show your faces?!”Kyle gulped as silence reigned for a good minute before the sound of armoured footsteps sounded. Then, an awfully familiar person entered their view from the woods.“Jeffrey!” Igna hissed, her fists clenched. “Couldn’t handle your defeat?”Luke stepped up, standing at the forefront, and Caille retreated towards Kyle. She shot him an awfully worried glance before turning her attention back towards the rich knight and Igna.“That defeat doesn’t matter.” T

Jeffrey’s shouts echoed in his mind. They were causing a headache. Kyle clenched his fists and forced himself to get up as the knight continued shouting. As he staggered towards the Demon, Droigheann shot a quick glance at Kyle. His helmet wasn’t on, and his expression showed a mix of disgust against Jeffrey, and curiosity as Kyle reached for his hand.Kyle took the blade in the Demon’s hand and approached Jeffrey.“I almost killed you one, I will-“ The young knight continued to shout. Kyle’s expression twisted. He pulled his hand back, then struck the Knight’s chest before he could react.Jeffrey’s eyes widened with shock. He looked down at his own chest, only to see the dark blade sticking out of it. Kyle pulled the blade out, and as the knight’s body disintegrated to be respawned at Arceum, he handed the blade over to Droigheann. “I think…” He muttered as the wind howled through the wood