Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Cassis stared furiously at where Jeremy had escaped to while the rest had to deal with the horde of monsters he had unleashed. Unfortunately, just standing there in frustration was a luxury he could not afford as a poisonous stinger came rushing at him. Luckily, he managed to dodge just in time. Perhaps it had only been in his imagination, but Cassis was almost certain he could hear Jeremy’s impish snickering from overhead.

He searched around furiously, but the sound of his cuffs clicking as they tightened only further hampered his movements. The cuffs also emitted stinging sensations which traveled away from the affected areas to course through Cassis’ entire body. It seemed losing his calm demeanor had caused the magical cuffs to automatically activate level one restraint.

Damn it! What are these people thinking, raising demons inside their own mansion?!

Not only did Cassis find the ordeal bizarre to start with, but the monsters were so numerous that the surrounding air was soon saturated with their venomous fumes.

“Eeek!”

Cassis instinctively turned toward the sound of a shrill cry in the distance. A maid had fallen to the ground after being pierced by one of the demon monsters.

“Please... Please help m—!”

Cassis took a step toward her, but before he could get any closer, a dark blob overtook her.

Skreee!

Without allowing him a moment to process the gruesome scene, yet another demon monster was already upon Cassis and flailing its legs at him.

“Argh!”

Cassis only barely managed to deflect the attack by utilizing the chain still connected to his arm. There was only so much he could do against the demon monsters without a proper weapon. And with his restraints activated, his entire body felt weighed down.

As he looked up groggily, Cassis winced as the monster’s metallic torso reflected the sun’s light into his eyes with a sinister flash. He drew on all his strength to shake off the monster before making his way toward the fallen maid just as a venomous stinger drilled into her hand.

* * *

“Lady Roxana, your clothes will get dirty.”

Skreee!

The moment Emily’s hand made contact with the demon monster, it fell onto its side while writhing and shrieking in agony.

“I can take care of these, My Lady. Please stay back.”

Roxana stared at Emily’s outstretched hand. Emily had removed her right glove which revealed the symbol etched on the back of her hand had become upsettingly stark.

“Emily!” Roxana called out. “Stop using your power this instant.”

Roxana was quick to intervene since Emily’s use of her special power came at the cost of her own life force, which the young lady could not accept. But without a word of protest, Emily ceased her magical attacks. Having lost her glove in the chaos, she removed one of the laces in her hair and wrapped it around her exposed hand.

“Why not use one of these instead, Emily?”

Grizelda had been using one of the metallic fence posts as a weapon. Emily did not respond to the older Agrece daughter as she was preoccupied with watching as Roxana stomped over the mess of strewn dishes before planting her foot down on an overturned tea table.

Snap!

Roxana wrenched one of the ornately carved legs off of the table. Since it was also made of metal, she was certain it would serve perfectly as a weapon.

Aaaah!

Those who could battle remained, while the rest had run away from the glass chamber.

“Grizelda!”

Roxana called out to her older half-sister while slightly lifting up her skirt. Upon catching the older Agrece’s attention, she proceeded to roundhouse kick a chair in the direction of an approaching demon monster. The projectile landed right between the creature’s ugly eyes.

Skreee!

The beast released an awful shriek upon impact.

“You can handle things here, right? I’d like to go take a look outside.”

Clack.

Roxana set her heeled foot—which had been hidden beneath the white curtain of her dress—elegantly back down on the floor.

“Sure, go on. My guess is this was all Jeremy’s idea of a prank. Prank or not, I’d hate for your toy to end up damaged in the chaos.”

Considering all the events that had led up to the attack, it was no wonder Grizelda was of the mind that Jeremy was responsible for the demon farm’s gate opening. Roxana made her way towards the glass chamber’s exit, leaving her half-sister who was smiling in amusement behind. Emily, of course, followed at her lady’s side like a shadow.

* * *

Aaaah!

The demon monsters were in an uncontrollable frenzy after tasting fresh blood.

“Aaaah!”

Yet another guard fell to the ground after getting stung. By now, the demon monsters were all over the place.

“Hellllp meee!”

One of the guards who had been battling a demon monster alone pled for help, but it was hopeless.

Swoosh!

The carantul’s shiny, metallic leg flew toward him at lightning speed.

Shnk!

In that same instant, someone suddenly jumped on top of the demon monster’s head

and stabbed it with a sharp weapon.

Skreee!

The monster fell with a thud causing a cloud of dust to rise into the air where it collapsed. The person standing above the felled monster was none other than Roxana’s toy who the guards had been chasing after. Aside from some minor scrapes on his face and arms, Cassis appeared to have suffered little to no damage. The side of his shirt had been torn, but there were no visible injuries. Under normal circumstances, the first order of business would have been to recapture the prisoner, but the current situation was anything but normal.

Cassis pulled his weapon out of the monster’s quivering head, then shook its putrid slime off his hand. The weapon was a spear Cassis had taken from one of the fallen guards.

“Th-Thank you.”

The guard had automatically offered Cassis his gratitude, which caused the Blue Heir to frown.

What the hell am I doing helping the Agrece’s people?

Coming to the rescue of a person in peril had been a purely instinctual act. Now regretting the time he had wasted, Cassis turned around in order to resume his escape. However, just then he heard an all too familiar voice from above.

“Sheesh, you little cockroach. So you’re still kicking, huh? Ya know, I can’t help wondering if those cuffs of yours are defective or something. I mean, how can you still be in one piece after facing all those demons?”

Upon spotting Jeremy, Cassis roared out in anger.

“Jeremy Agrece!”

The young Agrece had climbed back down to the lower branches after having disappeared high into the treetop earlier. It was evident by the expression on his face that he was oblivious to the death glare Cassis was shooting him.

“You know what? I’m actually glad you’re not hurt. I may have lost my cool for a moment there, but frankly speaking, if you had died, I would’ve been in a world of trouble.”

The mayhem-maker was actually expressing relief at seeing that he hadn’t caused any significant damage to the Blue Heir.

Cassis ground his teeth in anger.

“You’re spewing utter nonsense, you know that?! All while hiding up in the limbs of that tree like a coward!”

Swoosh!

Without warning, Cassis hurled his spear at Jeremy. The projectile had caught the younger boy off guard and caused him to swing as if he might fall.

“Aaah!”

To his surprise, the shrill scream had come from an entirely different direction. A nearby carantul was about to sink its stinger into another guard, but to the screaming guard’s fortune, the demon monster was the one to lose its life.

Slam!

The black blob collided with the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“What’s all this commotion about?”

The voice was that of a sleepy predator that had been roused from its slumber. As the dust settled from the demon monster’s collapse, a tall, young man appeared. Judging from the sorry state of the spear he was holding, it was evident that he had probably picked it up at random just as Cassis had done. A mixture of the carantul’s toxic slime and bile dripped off the tip of the spear. Black hair, crimson eyes, about twenty years of age, and a striking resemblance to Lante Agrece. Of course, it was apparent this individual was much younger than Lante, and gave off a completely different aura that distinguished him from the head Agrece. His presence alone seemed to alter the atmosphere surrounding all of them.

Now here is a character to be wary of.

Cassis instinctively bent down to retrieve another spear, but doing so came at a heavy price as the magical cuffs activated once again.

“Were you out walking this dog or something, Jeremy? But isn’t all this a bit much for a simple walk?”

The rather elegant-looking fellow’s mention of the word “dog“ suggested to Cassis that he must be related to Jeremy.

“Have my siblings found new hobbies while I’ve been away?”

Barely finding his balance, Jeremy gruffly muttered under his breath, “Freaking Deon! Just seeing his face makes me sick!”

That was when Cassis realized the young man before him was the same Deon Agrece the guards had mentioned when they first came to take him from his room.

“So were you the one who opened the door to the monster hutch, Jeremy?”