小嫂子的味道

Req and Zero were blocking the way on the front but since the demons were so much in numbers they were flanking from the sides invading the space behind them. There were not many who had noticed this route since demon beasts—or lower demons as described by Zero—lacked intelligence.

However, more than a dozen had reached behind and two were after Zero's parents. They were standing before the protecting ice conical he'd created and were smacking their bodies against it in order to break the ice.

The ice he'd created was especially thick and rigid, but cracks were starting to appear on it as the demon beasts hit it with their heavy bodies. Although it was due to the very fact that the ice was thick that it hadn't been broken.

Zero was about to run off in that direction and crush the cores of those demons as soon as he saw the scene when a cluster of demons surrounded him yet again. His fury crossed all limits, right now he wanted to be there at all costs.

Though the beasts weren't going to let him do it just like that. He had to fight his way out, there was no other option. Thus he raised his sword against and engaged in combat.

However he didn't ignore his parents—he couldn't afford to—and for the moment while he was away, he used his magic and hundreds of sharp spikes appeared on the outer side of the protective conical.

The beasts again smacked their bodies against it, and this time the spikes drilled inside their bodies.

But it was not enough, they will eventually get over this too. Zero looked at Req in hope of finding help but she was in no such state where she could come to his aid.

Even though she was closer to his parents than him, she was fending off against over more than a thousand demon beasts at once. She didn't have enough space or time to leave her grounds.

Zero was desperate to save his parents, just the thought of them dying here scared him beyond death. He wanted to get there, but he couldn't. Thus he was putting his body on overdrive, he was forcing himself to do more than what he was capable of.

His muscles were burning and he could feel the heat, he could sense the cracking of his bones and slip of his joints, the sensation of his brain being crushed under all the pressure, that feeling was not strange to him.

He could feel his blood rushing through his veins, going all around his body and then flowing out of his eyes. He could feel his heart throbbing, his mind working faster than it'd ever done to find a way out of this mess.

Finally when there was no other option available to him—even if there was, he couldn't see it in his current state—he discharged an explosion using elemental magic and put himself as its epicenter.

The explosion was powerful, and the flames were so hot that they burned away entire bodies of the demons that were close and their cores fell to the ground. However, in the process of all this, he got damaged as well.

More than half of his skin was burned and he had lost all feeling in his left arm. He wasn't immune to the flames he produced, that's why he was avoiding doing this until all other options were exhausted.

Though this had bought him some space and without wasting any more time he dashed straight toward where his parents were. However, he was far from them, while fighting the demons he'd moved away without realizing it.

He ran as fast as he could, as fast as his body would allow him before breaking down, but deep down he knew that he won't reach in time. The beasts near his parents had almost broken the ice conical despite the fact that those spikes had shredded their skin.

It was only a moment before the ice broke completely.

And right now it was the only thing Zero didn't want to happen. While running he raised his hands and hurled two icicles aimed toward the cores of the demons, but even that took longer than expected.

For some reason the speed of those icicles was lower than it should be, he didn't know why.

The icicles flew in the air, going between every other demon in the distance before Zero ran with all the speed he could gather.

The beasts near Zero's parents hit the ice with their bodies and at last, it broke. A crack spread throughout the conical and then it shattered down like broken glass. Zero's heart pounded intensely.

The two beasts reached out for his parents, Ron stood before his wife and prepared himself to bear the attack. However, what happened was something none of them had expected.

From the sky landed a girl with a sword glowing in golden, and her shadow fell upon the heads of Aigne and Ron. She passed right in between the two beasts and with a swing, severed their heads. She landed on the other side and after that, the icicles released by Zero's met their mark and destroyed the core of those demons.

The girl stood up and flung her blonde hair to the side. Zero's eyes widened upon seeing her and he came to a halt, Ainge and Ron were surprised too. After all, she was their daughter: Anya.

"I think I made it just in time," she said, taking a breath.

"Don't you think you should thank me for that?" another girl's voice said from behind.

Soon a wagon that was traveling at great speed stopped and nearly stumbled, though at last, it came to a stop and tossed a lot of dust into the air before hitting Anya. From the driver's seat jumped out a girl, named Alada.

This pushed Zero further into a state of shock, but for once he was a little relaxed.