Aiming to be the perfect butler for my lady

"Huh?" In the middle of the night, Alatia suddenly woke up from her slumber and found her breathing a little out of order.

The sheet rustled as she lifted her back off the bed and looked at her trembling hand.

...this anxious feeling. Alatia was nervous for some reason.

Her back was drenched with sweat and her head glistened with it. Her whole person seemed to be shaken up because of this strange sensation she was experiencing.

Subconsciously her hand trailed toward her lower belly where the Slave Mark was engraved.

The thought of Kyle flashed across her mind as some words left her lips,

"Whatever you are up to...please be safe..."

Little did she think, that contrary to her warning which she gave before coming here, Kyle was betting his life for the sake of his future.

*****

[Hazemerg]

[12.31 AM]

Kyle stood on the rooftop while facing the giant demonized Gnome.

They both stood in silence for a moment—seemingly assessing each other with just their gaze.

Kyle has previously dispatched the twelve minions of the Demon without incurring any damage during the confrontation. His advantage lay in close combat and thanks to the simple-minded nature of the Imps he was able to provoke them into drawing close for the battle.

However, now, Kyle was feeling a little anxious.

From his knowledge, this Gnome should have been firing off his Cursed attack all around the place and behaving like a lunatic—the natural sign of a demonized creature.

However, this Gnome seemed to be free of those shortcomings and was behaving a lot more composed than what Kyle expected.

Indeed a valid reason to be concerned.

Regardless, the moment the demon raised its left arm and summoned another dark-crimson Cursed Orb, Kyle also conjured a one-circle spell—Dual Strike.

The two balls of flames propelled across the buildings and headed toward the Demon—who had released the Cursed Orb as well.

However, under Kyle's irritated gaze, the Cursed Orbs absorbed the flame balls and continued their march in Kyle's direction; without receiving any jerk in the path.

Kyle switched to plan B and teleported his way out of the trajectory.

The Cursed Orb obliterated the building and consumed everything within a certain proximity before disappearing.

Kyle noted the effect as he appeared just right behind the Gnome and tried implanting his hand on the Demon's back—intending to teleport it further away from the populace.

"Gaaaah!!" However, the moment his palm touched the skin of the Demon, he experienced the scorching heat that the Gnome was unintentionally producing—thanks to its immense magic reserve.

Kyle held his burned hand before warping away.

His hand up to his wrist was burnt bright red and smoke leaked out of it.

"GUEHEHEHEHEHE!" The ominous laughter that could send a shiver of dread down its enemy's spine resonated across the town as the Gnome held its belly and laughed in mirth upon seeing its opponent in pain.

Kyle gritted his teeth but soon composed himself.

Sweat dropped continuously down his face as he rejected the thought of consuming a potion just for a burn. He was already at the loss of two potions. Any further use needs serious contemplation.

'Okay, this guy is strong...need to be-'

Kyle's train of thought was broken as he saw another Curse Orb heading in his direction at a far greater pace than before.

He barely had the time to move so he rather chose to warp away and the place where he appeared was behind the Gnome.

"Alpha: Plasma Field!" Conjuring another Two-Circle spell, he inflamed the surface around the Gnome—making the Demon jump on its spot because of the raised temperature.

However, this much was not enough. Kyle used his Cursed Doll Alpha to cast Line Burn and shot it from three directions—aiming the Demon's eyes and one; at the back of the neck.

From his knowledge, the back of the neck is the most vulnerable part of a Gnome monster and the eyes of any creature remain one of their most crucial yet delicate organs.

The Gnome was flailing around because of the burning floor—however, it was Kyle's misunderstanding that the Demon ever snatched its eyes from the surroundings.

The moment Linear Burn advanced, the Gnome stopped jumping around and raised both of its chubby and short arms—which began glowing for some reason.

"What the....?!" Under Kyle's horrified gaze, his released attack stopped midair—just inches away from their target.

The Gnome brought the three Flame Balls in front of its face before a very low blow released from its maw extinguished the fire.

Not only that, Kyle realized by the way the Gnome was comfortably holding its ground that the Demon never was troubled because of the plasma floor. It was just making fun of Kyle!

'...I have to move fast...' Kyle didn't know what kind of hidden skill the Gnome just used but this definitely was bad news.

As such, he didn't take any chance and warped away and chanted a spell at the same time.

Kyle kept on teleporting as he saw the Gnome's eyes moving in the same direction where he appeared—making Kyle too wary to remain in one spot.

Once the chanting of the new spell was done, Kyle again teleported away and appeared several meters above the Gnome's head.

For the first time, Kyle was utilizing this spell. Reason? The sheer destructive power of this spell.

"Alpha: Blaze Torrent!"

The three spell circle released a huge amount of flame—flowing in the manner of water waves and advancing toward the Demon.

The diameter of this attack was three times the actual size of the Demon and the pace of the flow was far greater than what a huge creature could dodge even if it has a self-enhancement technique.

**BOOOOOOOOOOM**

A resounding howl echoed from the flame wave, reminiscent of the cries of a vast battlefield. The scorching heat radiating from Kyle's power threatened to consume a quarter of the town with ease if unleashed upon it. The searing surface hissed ominously, a chilling sound that filled the air as Kyle hovered motionless, propelled by the reverse force generated by the Flame Torrent.

Just seven seconds later after the spell was released, Kyle pulled away and heaved a long sigh.

The surface around the area has melted and deformed. This spell was not something students are allowed to learn until the third year even those who have a high affinity with elemental magic.

However, Kyle was not in the correct state to praise himself.

Reason?

"GUEHEHEHEHE."

The Gnome did not receive a single burn from the attack.

Kyle's half-lidded eyes parted wide as he free-fell toward the Demon.

He was about to warp away when suddenly his body got stuck in mid-air and something took hold of his whole person, restraining him from moving around.

"Guh...agh.." Kyle groaned—his body was getting locked in place and his muscles were being strained. The hold of whatever it was, was quite strong and especially against someone who couldn't use body-enhancing magic.

'T-Telekinesis?'

It was absurd to think that the Demon was hiding such a skill until now. Kyle never heard of any of these skills other than those Curse Orbs when he was watching the flashback of Charlotte.

Now that he thinks about it, Hazemerg's guards were so weak that the Demon didn't have to use any other skill.

"Aaaagh!!"

Kyle howled in pain as the Demon began twisting his body while grinning at Kyle.

Kyle teleported away and stood on another rooftop. His body was no longer in the Demon's possession...but it didn't last long before Kyle again felt his body getting restrained under an invisible force.

His bones of arms snapped and his body convulsed. This sheer pain was unlike anything he had faced before. This painful and restricting sensation...Kyle was feeling helpless.

Warping away again, he summoned Alpha and released a huge fireball toward the Demon.

In response, the Gnome simply controlled the flame advancing in its direction and kept on tracking Kyle and holding him.

"Agh...fuck...." Kyle warped far away before, with shaky hands he was about to take out a vial of recovery potion—when suddenly the whole pouch of potions along with the one he was holding—broke down and all the liquid just drenched his clothes and spread on the floor.

With a horrified expression, Kyle looked far away from the spot he previously was.

This can't be....the Demon has somehow marked Kyle and is now tracking him without having his visuals.

"KUEEHEHEHEHEHEHEH~"

The evil laughter of the Demon again resounded as Kyle found his body weakening and mind turning blank because of the numbing pain.

He had used a lot of energy in the last assault and since he didn't have any potion, his fatigue was accumulating and reaching the limit.

Amidst his self-assession, Kyle's body was shot through the sky as he advanced toward the Demon.

Kyle was like a broken kite who had lost control on his body.

The Demon pulled Kyle toward itself before bashing its joined fist directly on Kyle's head—sending him hurtling to the ground

"KHUKKK!" Kyle's nose bled as he felt his cranium cracking a little by that hit.

Despite his body being a lot stronger than an average human, he still was a non-awakened.

The Demon didn't spare a moment to rest before it again controlled Kyle's body with Telekinesis and lifted him.

Their deformed state of Kyle was punched and sent flying in an arc breaking several buildings in the path.

The demon kept on playing with Kyle's body. Bashing, throwing, crushing, and manipulating all, the way.

Kyle's body turned into a broken mess. All the attempts to fight against the Demon were futile. He has severely underestimated a C-rank demon. And now he was paying the price.

Kyle had so low on energy that escaping the town using his Teleportation was nothing but a wishful dream now.

He was just...lost.

"Gruu?" The Gnome looked at Kyle with a tilt of its head. It seems the Demon got bored with the human who no longer was fighting back.,

The Demon flicked Kyle's body while holding him by his head, but, Kyle didn't respond.

A frustrated frown marred the Gnome's animated face before it placed Kyle on one of the rooftops.

It seems the Demon was done playing now, and along with Kyle it was about to destroy the whole town.

Summoning the biggest Cursed Orb which was the size of a boulder, the Demon aimed at Kyle

Kyle feebly stood on his broken legs with his face, and body completely drenced in his own blood.

The Gnome decided that this was it and finally released the Orb in Kyle's direction—intending to finish off this town with the attack.

However, little did the Demon expect that Kyle would suddenly extend his hands and stop the Orb with sheer will and the last bit of strength he had and the very next instance Kyle, along with the Orb disappeared....

.....only for the Gnome feel something hitting the back of its neck

"GUEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!" The Gnome cried in pain and shock.

The Cursed Orb, which was supposed to kill the human and annihilate the town had hit the chanter and now, the Orb was absorbing the Demon Energy and creating a gaping hole in its back.

The Demon tried using Telekinesis to get rid of it and even rubbed its back foolishly against the building but to no avail.

"GHEEEEUUUUHHHEEEEE!!"

The Orb kept on absorbing and absorbing...until all of a sudden the Orb disappeared and took away the existence of the Gnome with it.

Kyle slowly fell to the ground with a smirk dancing on his lips, as some words passed across his mind,

'...such an anticlimatc end...'

******

A/N:- Damn, this was the longest chapter I have ever wrote. I didn't want to make two chapters out of this battle because it would have lessen the intensity. And given how less creative I get while writing action scenes, I wanted to take as few chapters as I can.

Well, I hope it didn't bore you. Thanks for reading.