~~~

The demon had hoped to get out of the territory without too much trouble, but that didn’t seem to be on plan today. As he darted towards the ground from his broken wing, he took his right hand and shot dark energy below him right before landing, to soften the impact. In an instant, four elven guards appeared around him.

“Four against one? Now, that’s not nice,” the demon said, observing the situation and doing his best to not wince from the pain of his demolished wing.

“Hand him over and turn yourself in, demon,” one of the guards shouted in a deep, stern voice.

Could he have done what they said? Yes. But would he let someone of his status be pushed around and locked in a prison obediently? Absolutely not. Especially with the demeaning stares of the elves that would surround him.

As if he considered it at all, he shrugged and mockingly responded, “ehhh, I’m not too sure about that,” and swiftly brought up the unconscious guard to shield him. It was a cheap move, but without being able to retract his damaged wing, he needed as much protection as he could afford.

Immediately following with his other hand, he shot dark energy at all four of them and assessed their abilities from how they defended. Alright. Those two use water and light. Have to avoid puddles. Maintain distance. The other two did shit. He wished he got better information, but something was better than nothing.

Instantaneously, two of the guards jumped behind him and bombarded him with large bullets of light energy and arrows of water, careful not to hit the unconscious guard. The demon countered the flying attacks with his dark energy while moving to maintain his back out of harm’s way.

Knowing the odds were against him with the water and light users, he tried to divert their attention and swung a field of dark energy at the two others. The water elementalist used the rain water to quickly make a barrier for them, and in that time, the light elementalist shot at the demon once more. This time, with more success. One perfectly aimed light pellet nulled the dark magic that covered the mouth of the unconscious guard. Another light orb burned the arm that held the guard.

In frustration, the demon let go of his hostage. Speed was more important now. He started jumping backwards farther and farther away, blocking and attacking with dark energy. One of the guards who had done nothing but dodge so far rushed to the fallen guard and took him to a safer space. Immediately, he put one hand over his companion’s mouth and one hand over the chest, covering it with a light blue light. Healing magic.

“Fuck,” the demon gasped, panting heavily. Too much magic was used, and his wing still ached. For a short moment, he stood to catch his breath, continuing to shoot out blasts of dark energy. But he stood for too long. The last guard made his move.

The ground under him rumbled and suddenly clumps of mud surrounded the demon’s leg, immobilizing him. Fucking earth elementalist. He quickly shot dark energy at his feet to blast off what surrounded it and leaped back. Except, in desperate exhaustion, he failed to land steadily and fell forward on his palms. Without a second to waste, the earth user covered his arms and knees with stiff mud and the light user surrounded the demon’s hands with light energy, nulling as much dark energy as she could.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The demon’s mind ran hectic trying to think of a solution, and for a fleeting moment, the elf’s face came to mind again. And by the next moment, a force of rushing water knocked him unconscious.

When the demon came to, he felt a hard coldness along the right side of his body. He tried to balance himself with his arm, only to find out they were restrained behind him. Checking if his magic could break the restriction also proved unsuccessful when no magic came out. Eventually, he hoisted himself upright with momentum and looked around. The small room he was in was completely surrounded in an iridescent hue.

“Don’t even try using magic. You’re in an anti-magic chamber,” the light user from earlier spoke behind moving iridescent railings in front of him. Her voice was thick, yet graceful.

“Figured,” grumbled the demon.

“What were you doing trespassing in elven territory, and how did you pass the barrier?” interrogated the guard in powerful essence.

“And why should I tell you?”

The guard let out an exasperated sigh and looked up before staring back down at the demon. “Demon. You’ve broken a serious territorial law by entering without permission. And to top it off, almost killed one of our guards.”

“He just passed out. He was fine,” the demon rolled his eyes with no concern.

The guard seethed and continued through her teeth, “so if you choose not to answer me, I have the right to cut your throat.”

The demon smirked. “Cut my throat? I don’t think you know who I am.”

The guard tilted her head up and looked down, her left eyebrow slightly higher than the other, smirking back. “I think I do. And I don’t think you’re aware of what happened in your absence.”

The demon tensed and glowered. “What do you-”

Suddenly, the guard’s breath caught in her throat and she fell, lifelessly. A bed of air surrounded the floor, letting her fall safely into what felt like clouds.

Who now stood in place of the guard was a familiar elf with stunning green eyes.