Sworded Affair

Emma spent the half-second of transition clearing her hand accessories, before calling Epitaph back to sword form. Just in time, as her summon appeared and all hell broke loose.

[10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

Objective updated: Eliminate 14/25 Lesser Demons]

Antipode made quite the grand entrance, appearing above one of the warlocks and squashing him flat; whatever protections he had on hand wholly insufficient against several hundred pounds of ice landing on him. The fireballs that accompanied him also played their part, burning through any Deadwood Demons unfortunate enough to be near them. The single Elderwood Demon to be hit reeled, backpedalling with surprising speed to get himself clear, his left hand burning merrily all the while.

Demonstrating improved intelligence compared to its lesser brethren, the Elderwood tore off his injured arm off at the shoulder, casting it away before the flames could spread to the rest of him. Not the best result, but at least it confirmed that their protection against bullets didn\'t extend any further than that. The response from the survivors, meanwhile, was decidedly mixed.

The Elderwood Demons opted to ignore Antipode entirely; charging instead towards trucks and the heavy machine guns cutting a swathe through the lesser demons. The convoy was leading them on a careful chase, staying too close to be hit by boulders but far enough to avoid being grabbed; they looked to be doing well enough that Emma was comfortable leaving them to it.

[10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

Objective updated: Eliminate 17/25 Lesser Demons]

The majority of the lesser demons did the opposite, swarming the nearest enemy and attempting to drag Antipode down by sheer weight of numbers by clambering all over the elemental even as they froze to death, a few even hurling themselves into his flame orbs in a futile attempt to redirect them. Only those closest to Emma noticed her at all, attempting to strike her with clumsy swipes of their branching limbs.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

[10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

10 EXP gained.

Objective updated: Eliminate 20/25 Lesser Demons]

Emma didn\'t even bother dodging; the minimal damage inflicted upon her fully healed with each swipe of her blade in return. They might have posed a threat to Emma prior to entering Scholomance, but as she was now, she barely had to try. To be clear, the result would have been similar no matter how many of the lesser demons were present; they were only sideshows to the main event that would decide the course of this battle.

[Goetian Enforcer - Level 10 Warlock]

Five warlocks remained, spread loosely enough amongst the demons that Antipode hadn\'t been able to catch any beyond the first. Two of them stood at the back of the mob with arms raised, staring at the sky as they chanted; red lines tracing their veins and pulsing in time with their heartbeat, identical to those protecting the Elderwood Demons. As for the remaining three...

Emma activated Ephemera as the first warlock opened fire with his M4, running towards the gunman as bursts of semi-automatic fire passed harmlessly through her.

[-300 Anima.]

Until the second warlock placed a hand on the shooter, his eyes bleeding. Suddenly, both warlocks looked rather transparent, and shots began to land. On a hunch, Emma deactivated Ephemera, and the bullets started bouncing harmlessly off of her; now unable to harm solid matter due to their own intangibility. That surprise bought her enough time to close the distance, a single swing of Epitaph taking the gunman\'s head.

No experience again, Emma frowned, having gotten nothing from either Warlock thus far.

That trend held even as she surged forward, Null and Void interrupting her remaining opponent before he could unleash an unknown spell and allowing Emma to impale him through the heart. This time, Emma consciously attempted to draw out her victim\'s soul, to bind him as she had several prior bosses. She knew it wouldn\'t work every time, but even so the complete lack of reaction put her on edge. Likewise, the third warlock had completely ignored the death of his comrades; his carbine pointed to the floor as he stared intently at Emma while whispering softly into a handset.

Is that an iPhone? Emma stared, even pausing in her advance as she double checked that the familiar rectangular object was what it appeared to be. How is it still getting a signal?

"...My apologies."

The warlock spoke aloud, putting his phone away.

"Your demonstration is outside the parameters of my investigation, beyond the aspects common to all System users. We won\'t trouble you any longer."

[-100 Anima]

If his words caught Emma off guard, the explosion that followed was even worse; the shock wave knocking her back a few steps as all three remaining warlocks exploded in clouds of gore.

"What the hell?"

Emma stared at the mess for a few moments longer, before shaking her head and checking her notifications.

[50 EXP gained.

Objective: Eliminate 25 Lesser Demons complete!]

Antipode had finished off the last of the lesser demons, but that still left the five big ones chasing the convoy. They were all injured to varying degrees now; no longer immune to gunfire with the departure of the warlocks buffing them, but their sheer toughness meant there was still work to be done.

---

"Another dead end," Matriarch Amdusias sighed, putting her phone down. "A necromancer class of some sort, swords and arrows and summons; nothing to indicate a familiarity with Curse Magic."

"The dharma detectors didn\'t go off either," Her daughter added, looking rather put out. "Emma Knight has no tangible link to Marius Kimaris."

"It was a long shot anyway," The Matriarch consoled her. "One we wouldn\'t have even attempted if not for her resistance to divination. Still, that\'s another name struck off the list. There aren\'t that many System users in England, we\'ll find the culprit eventually."