Scarlet

After walking down the hall for a bit, ignoring the branch of the hall that has a massive hole in the floor, I eventually turn the corner and find myself staring at a large knight located far down the hall. And the first thing I do is turn back around and head back for the stairs.

No thank you.

|Demon Knight – Subspecies: None – Level 81|

Passing by the hole branch again, I continue making my way down the hall, vaguely taking note of some new sounds I hear coming from outside of the building.

I grimace as I hear the sound of stuff freezing over.

Yeah, she’s here.

As if on cue, I hear a loud bang echo from the first floor, followed by the sounds of stuff frosting over as Cynthia Sylvester – otherwise known by practically everyone as Frost, a Class IV combat focused Guardian – no doubt enters the building.

Yeah, this’ll be a pain.

Maybe I can hide myself on the next floor somewhere?

I continue walking down the hall with a sigh, only to suddenly freeze in place as I feel something watching me. A predator too, judging by the shivers that are running down the back of my neck.

“Run. Now.”

I don’t have to be told twice and immediately break off into a sprint back in the way I came, away from the source of the gaze. But the gaze stays firmly locked onto my back no matter how far through the floor I get.

“Shit, shit, shit…” I mutter before quickly shooting a glance behind me, only to not find anything. “What the fuck is chasing me?!”

Tar doesn’t respond right away, and right as I’m about to turn towards where I’m running again, I notice a very faint shimmering in the shadows of the relatively dark halls. As if something was cloaking itself in the dark.

Shit.

|Demon Wraith – Subspecies: None – Level 152|

“Run as fast as you can.”

And I do just that. Straight down the hall, past several turns, and directly into the branch of the floor where the hole in the floor is.

Without a hint of hesitation or even glancing behind me, I jump into the hole down to the twenty-fifth floor. Then I immediately begin running as fast as I can towards the stairs, only feeling my wolf ear twitch slightly when I hear the sound of some sort of feet lightly hitting the ground back at the hole.

Why the hell is there a wraith down here?! And why did it pick me to become its prey?!?

“It likely saw you as the weakest link amongst all of the Guardians in the building, since you’re the lowest level aside from that kid, and you’re alone,” Tar answers right away, a hint of fear showing in his usually robotic voice. “I’m also absolutely sure that the only reason you’re not already dead is because of both a wraith’s tendency to play with its prey, and your ears.”

I can’t help but feel a wave of anger bubble up inside me at the thought of something considering me prey. To the point that I turn my head around and randomly use blood boil and life drain, hoping to catch it. And surprisingly, I do. Even if it does practically nothing. To the point that I don’t think it’s even noticing.

Despite that, I continue using the skills as I run, deciding that if I can’t fight it myself, I’ll just have to bring it to someone who can. Which means going to the stairs and catching Frost before she passes. Assuming she’s not just rushing here right now anyways.

I continue running through the hallway for several seconds, hope beginning to rise in the pit of my chest that I might just survive this. Only for that hope to be quashed when I feel a major shiver run down my spine again, following which a wave of shadows explodes through the hall and I see something flash by me before a demon appears just two meters in front of me, blocking the hallway to the stairs.

My eyes narrow as I take in the appearance of the wraith. It is completely black from head to toe and is wearing some sort of cloak. One with ripped up edges that somehow seem to fade from existence. It has glowing red eyes that I didn’t notice before when looking at its cloaked form, and two arms made entirely of blades. Ones that I can easily see chopping me in half.

If I remember correctly, wraiths are some of the more intelligent wild demons – demons without any sapience. They are kind of like cats in that they enjoy hunting and playing with their food. They will prowl from the darkness for a while, just stalking the prey before eventually going in for a flashy kill.

They’re also the third most powerful wild demon species of the Class II demons, only weaker than the berserkers and the defenders.

“Its instincts will help you stall it,” Tar says, for once actually giving me advice in a real battle, “keep its eyes occupied and make sure it does not grow bored!”

I frown at that, briefly wondering if I’m fighting a demon or a cat for a moment before shaking my head and jumping towards the demon, seemingly startling it for a second.

“Good. Keep it off its toes.”

The wraith tilts its head, the ethereal hood hanging over it moving along with it before it suddenly vanishes and I feel a flash of pain from my side, making me almost lose strength in my legs. Then I find the wraith reappearing where it was just at with blood – my blood – dripping down its blade.

My eyes widen with fear, but the fear is quickly drowned out by rage. Where this rage is coming from, I don’t know. But the very idea that a lowly demon such as a wraith of all things is toying with me is-

I blink in surprise.

Huh.

“Good job in keeping your instincts under control but keep the wraith entertained!!! Now!” I hear Tar’s voice shouting in my head, snapping me into taking a sudden step forward to catch its attention.

We’re going to be talking about those instincts later.

“Understood. Now move!”

And I do just that.