RotDG Chapter 63: Mawdrith

It was a mawdrith. A greater demon. A monster made of flesh and bones. Even though it resembled the shape of a giant wolf, its body was utterly deformed, chunks of its skin melting off and dripping onto the ground.

From what I knew about mawdrith’s, they could range anywhere from being a Gold Rank threat to a Platinum Rank threat. And judging by the size of this one, it was definitely the latter.

It growled as it stood protectively over Wyll. Although, the sound it made was more akin to a chittering— like the chaotic chirping of a thousand birds in the far distance, echoing softly all around the alley. Its gaze darted between both myself and Myrla who were blocking the only exit, before it craned its head back to look at Sonia who was cornered and backed against a wall. 

The mawdrith looked ready to lash out. However, it was evidently waiting for its master to give it a command.

But how is someone like him able to summon a greater demon? I thought for a moment as I eyed Wyll. After all, he was only a Gold Rank [Mage]. And judging from his brief battle with Sonia, he wasn’t even a high-leveled one at that. 

Unfortunately for me, my question wasn’t going to be answered anytime soon as the man placed a hand on the side of the mawdrith, speaking callously.

“The fact that I was forced to summon you, Burz, is quite inconvenient,” Wyll said, evidently addressing his summon. “I will need to take my leave before the guards arrive. So do me a favor, kill these children and leave no evidence behind. Not even those two incompetent idiots.”

The mawdrith’s eyes flickered towards the two incapacitated thugs then back towards us as Myrla tensed. But I grabbed her by the hand, quickly casting both [Lesser Domain Of Light] and [Aura Armor Of Light] at the same time.

“Myrla, stick close to me,” I said as my aura of light began to spread out.

“Wha—” the young girl started in confusion.

But the mawdrith moved. It lashed out, swiping out its claws at us. With [Quick Dash], I managed to drag Myrla with me to narrowly avoid the initial strike by running past the Wyll and leaving the exit open. The two of us stumbled right next to Sonia who was just backed up against the wall, frozen in fear.

She had barely said a word— even though we had come to save her, she hadn’t even voiced either her surprise or thanks. Not that it mattered at the moment. 

“Listen to me,” I said, drawing both her and Myrla’s attention. “Don’t say another word. But when I say run, I want you to follow me. Got it?”

As I spoke, my [Lesser Domain Of Light] finished its expansion, covering dozens of feet around us, spanning half of the alleyway. Meanwhile, the mawdrith spun around to face us as Wyll stepped out of the side street.

“By the way, Burz?” he said, briefly drawing the greater demon’s attention. His gaze focused on Sonia who was tightly clutching her Bag of Holding to her side. “Don’t forget to retrieve that bag for me when you’re done killing them.”

The mawdrith just nodded as he left the alley. Then it turned its gaze towards the three of us, and Myrla spoke urgently next to me.

“Eli, we need to leave, now!” she exclaimed.

“Just trust me, and don’t say a word,” I said as I held a hand out, stopping her from running off on her own.

Myrla hesitated, but she did as I told as the mawdrith just took pawing step forward. It growled, eyeing us with its beady eyes as it drew closer and closer, before it finally leapt forward. With a snarl, it slashed out with its claws as I tensed— 

And it smashed through a mirror reflection of the three of us, before crashing into the back wall of the alley.

The brickstone collapsed onto the greater demon as I turned to Myrla and Sonia.

“Run!” I shouted as I conjured up a [Greater Holy Fireball].

The three of us rapidly made our way out of the alleyway as the mawdrith picked itself up, shaking off the rubble covering its back. But I sent the sphere of silver flames back down the alleyway right as we exited, and the fireball exploded out behind us.

However, I knew that wasn’t enough to stop the greater demon. As did Myrla and Sonia.

“What do we do now?” Myrla asked in a panic as we continued sprinting down the complex network of alleyways.

“Fighting that thing in these side streets would be a death sentence,” I said, shaking my head. “We’ll have to lead out to an open area— then we stand a chance of bringing it down!”

Even then, I knew it would be difficult to win this battle. At least, not without one of us getting badly hurt. That was why our best course of action right now wasn’t even to fight it, but to buy some time. After all, I only needed a few more minutes before I could summon Vorth again.

Then he would dispose of the mawdrith with ease.

However, when Myrla heard my plan, she just stared at me with wide eyes. “But what about all the passersby? They’ll get hurt!” 

“That’s—” I opened my mouth.

But Sonia spoke over me, addressing us for the first time since we saved her. “It’s either us or them. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not choosing them.”

Her figure flashed with a blue light, and she sped up, hastened by the same speed spell from earlier. She headed straight for the exit of the side street. I could already see the busy main street beyond. And behind me, the mawdrith exploded out of the alleyway it had been in, before bounding down straight after Myrla and I.

“Sonia’s right,” I said, before trying to reassure the young girl whose pace was faltering out of hesitation. “But we’re that greater demon’s target, so as long as we keep its attention on us, nobody else will have to get hurt.”

There was evidently still some apprehension on her face. But as the mawdrith drew closer, its heavy footsteps booming louder and louder as it tore through the side street, she eventually nodded.

“Right.”

And with that, she picked up her pace, before the two of us sprinted out of the alleyway. As soon as we did, we began shouting at the passing bystanders to get moving.

“Everyone! Get out of here! There’s a greater demon on the loose!” I shouted at the crowd as I began to conjure a [Greater Holy Fireball].

It was less crowded than before, since most people were already back at their homes to retire for the night. 

Where did Sonia go? the thought briefly crossed my mind as I looked over the busy street. But she was nowhere to be seen either, having left us behind because of our hesitation. I quickly dismissed the thought. Doesn’t matter— 

Because there were still dozens— at least a hundred— folks walking down the main street at this very moment, and their lives were all in danger if they didn’t move. They all turned to me with confused looks on their faces.

Myrla continued, gesturing wildly for them to get moving. “Call the guards! Please, you all have to leave right now!”

For a moment, they just stared at us quizzically, and I was certain that they were just going to laugh us off. But then a susurration washed over them as they pointed at us. 

“Is this a prank?”

“Maybe, but—”

“Wait, those uniforms they’re wearing…”

“They’re students of the Holy Academy!”

“That means they have to be telling the t—”

They began to back away as the realization that we were telling the truth settled in. However, they were still too slow, because a moment later, the mawdrith exploded from the same alleyway we came from, letting out a terrible screech.

The staring passersby screamed in terror, many of them turning tails and fleeing as quickly as they could, while others stumbled back and tripped over each other, falling to the ground. The greater demon swept its gaze over the scattering crowd, only for a blast of silver flames to engulf it again.

The flames washed over its body, doing no damage to any of the surroundings. However, it barely hurt the mawdrith, simply drawing its attention towards me standing at the other side of the street.

It snarled as it sprinted straight at me. But it simply tore through another one of my mirror-like reflections I conjured up with my [Lesser Domain Of Light], before crashing into a food stand. Even more screams echoed from around the main street as the crowd continued to scatter.

And the greater demon picked itself up, shaking its head. It spun around, scanning its surroundings for me, ignoring the other running figures in the distance. But it was met with dozens of copies of myself surrounding it, all of them similarly conjuring a [Greater Holy Fireball]. It took a confused step back, only to be struck from the side by a glinting broadsword.

“[Oathbound Strike]!” Myrla exclaimed as her attack landed, causing the greater demon to recoil.

It snapped its gaze towards her as she leapt back, but before it could react, I sent my [Greater Holy Fireball] at it. The blast distracted it once again, all the while washing over Myrla and causing her no harm.

[Holy Fire] is seriously such a convenient Skill, I thought as I created another [Greater Holy Fireball].

And as the flames blocking the greater demon’s vision faded away, Myrla vanished behind the sea of mirror-like reflections I now conjured up of her. The mawdrith’s eyes darted around in confusion, seeing the dozens of figures of the both of us surrounding it, unable to react for a long moment— which we both took full advantage of. 

Without Sonia with us, it was just Myrla and I, so we had to do our best to fend off the greater demon for as long as possible, so that I could eventually summon Vorth and end the battle. The both of us tag-teamed the mawdrith for a full minute, before it finally snapped. It spun around, its tail bone-like growing in size and whipping out, destroying all the mirror-like reflections at once.

I managed to use [Quick Dash] to move out of the way, but Myrla was too slow. 

“Myrla!” I called out as she was sent flying back from the attack, crashing into a nearby building.

But I couldn’t even check up on her as the mawdrith intercepted me. It swiped out with its claws as I failed to roll out of the way in time. The attack ripped through my [Aura Armor Of Light] and drew blood, causing me to stumble. I gritted my teeth as I felt the searing pain cling onto my back, before I started to heal myself whilst simultaneously boosting myself with my [Boon Of Vitality].

As I backed away from the mawdrith, I tried to conjure up another [Greater Holy Fireball]. But it moved, ready to pounce at me—

And a flash of lightning struck the greater demon from behind, causing it to stumble back. I blinked as I watched the lightning crackle, before fading away as a figure leapt back, landing right next to me.

I paused as I recognized the black-haired girl now standing to my side.

“Sonia? You came back?” I stared at her in surprise as she flourished a gilded rapier, flickering with electricity.

“I didn’t go anywhere— I was just getting help,” she said as she shook her head.

I narrowed my eyes when I heard that, and she turned her head towards the sky. But my attention was drawn to the mawdrith as it regained its bearings and growled. It leapt forward at us as I tensed.

And a spear came crashing down from the sky like a bolt of golden lightning. It tore straight through the greater demon’s back, impaling it and pinning it to the ground as it screeched in pain. 

Then a figure clad in an ornate armor slowly descended from the sky, landing right next to the squirming mawdrith as it tried and failed to snap its jaw at him. 

“That’s…” My eyes went wide.

It was a young man— perhaps in his mid twenties at the oldest. He had crimson red hair, and a charming smile plastered on his face. But that was not what I paid attention to. Instead, I saw the symbol that was carved into the chestplate of his armor.

A symbol that was all-too-familiar to me. A symbol that was proof that he was— 

“An Inquisitor,” I whispered.

And the red-haired man just snapped a finger, before a golden pillar of light shot up from the spear, engulfing the mawdrith in an instant, completely ripping its body apart.

Until there was no trace of the greater demon left.

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