Chapter 9: Grand magic
In the human's camp, there were various men gathered. Knights, soldiers, slaves and magicians were working underneath the hot sun. The various types of men all had their own roles, guarding, numbers, labors and force. The man binding and holding these men was the newly appointed Baron of the Haroldus kingdom, Baron Ted Tell.
They lit a fire so great that not even they can put it out. Their purpose was of course to smoke out a Suckus but it wasn't all so good. Even after a week of sustaining the fire, no one has reported that they spotted a Suckus.
And since a long span of time has passed and not a single result has come out, Baron Tell, the person who initiated this troublesome task, was close to reaching the limits of his patience.
He called for a meeting to confirm the reports all over again. The people that did so probably don't know how many times they had done this now.
"Sir…It is still the same as before."
"No sightings…"
"We have monitored the fire all day long but there really is nothing."
As his subordinates reported once more to him, the face of Ted Tell has flushed the color of red from his anger. He couldn't take the report as a reality. He was blinded by his lust.
He was about to burst out in rage once more but before he could raise his voice, a man has come out of the forest shouting something. He was running and that led to his shortness of breath. After going in the tent, he let the air flow in and out of his lungs.
After he got his breath back, his voice reverberated in the camp. He shouted.
"They are out! The Suckus has been sighted!"
Baron Tell jumped out in joy and ordered his men to get to work.
"Get ready at once! Capture them at all cost!"
His subordinates breathe a sigh of relief at the possibility of this hunting coming to an end and they immediately got to work. They prepared for this event a hundred times. They already knew what to do and they were waiting for it and now, they will bare their fangs.
Amidst that entire ruckus, a man who was hidden muttered under his breath. As he was in the shadows, none of the people present could hear it.
"Finally, we found him."
He said…
****
From the west, a number of humans have come popping out of the forest. The woman who spotted them has already retreated to the back.
The humans numbered 300. That was a scale only appropriate for a forest of this level but if it were any other forest, they would probably be annihilated.
With a majority of the Suckus, to be precise 60, concentrating their attention to put out the fire, only 20 are guarding them. One couldn't underestimate those 20 women as they are the elites of the village.
After seeing the humans, Lyra put Desire down and cautioned him.
"Go help the others put out the fire. If the situation calls for it, I'll at least help you run."
Desire didn't answer. He only nodded his head and turned his back, to go help at the front.
Lyra watched Desire's small back with a faint smile.
"Capture them!"
Without noticing it, a human with a fat body has come out and ordered the other humans. Liya didn't help out with the fire precisely because of this situation. The fire, more or less, could be put out after a great deal of effort but the humans will persistently pester them while doing so.
In order to deal with that, Liya will put the humans out of the way first. She shouted to the ones in the semi circle.
"Create the Wall!"
"Y-yes!"
Liya chanted for her magic and soon the others followed her. The humans were charging straight at them with magicians planning to intercept their magic. The humans only had to wait for the Suckus to fall. With a fire behind their backs, humans in front, they will be defeated in no time.
Appearing out of nowhere, a wall of water erupted out from the ground. It was the magic of Liya and the others. The wall of water completely blocked the way and thus it needed to be destroyed.
A leader-esque was thinking if the Suckus was buying time to put out the fire before fighting them but he shook his head at that thought.
'They can't put out that fire.'
He reached that conclusion after looking at the fire and water that seems to engulf the sky. He shouted out to his comrades.
"Divide the wall of water! Use earth magic!"
The magicians raised their hands and let their mana flow to cast their magic.
"Hands!"
"Mud worm!"
"Greater wall!"
One after another, magic shot out of the magician's hands to form hands out of soil. Even a worm like mud came out of them to demolish the wall of water in front of them.
The wall of water was easily destroyed by the magic but after some time, it regained its former appearance and it stood tall in front of the magicians.
The leader-esque magician clicked his tongue. He showed his irritation at the proficiency of their enemies' magic.
He shouted out loud.
"Again! Barrage that wall of water to dust!"
While the humans were desperately trying to breach the wall, the Suckus were preparing a grand magic. With Liya at the center, they prepared for a magic that will let them kill the humans in a single go. The wall was just a means to buy some time while they are preparing. They wanted to end this battle in a single shot.
"To our ancestors who have birthed us…grant us your power and may we prosper."
Liya murmured silently with her eyes closed. The others were just to help her with the preparations, mana and chanting, as long as they could synchronize with the one using it they could help out in various ways.
Liya was a pillar of the village and as she was the most powerful of them all, she was relied on most of the time. And so, while she was in the midst of preparations, she thought.
'This…is not so bad'
…she thought about how it was so reassuring to have allies who could help her.
In the previous fire, the fire was great but it was still small so only Liya moved to put out that out. And now, she was being backed up by the members of her village. While it was only little, they helped remove a portion of the strain on her mana and body.
Liya put a faint smile on her face as she opened her eyes. Around her were the precious members of her village…no, family. She looked at them and when her eyes looked in front, she saw her daughter.
Her daughter that grew up without her knowing it had eyes that held strong will. Liya liked those eyes and then she nodded at her daughter's direction. As if waiting for Liya, one of the women shouted out. That woman had tears flowing out of her eyes.
"Preparations complete!"
Liya looked around she saw the once chanting women had a sad look on their faces. To those crying women, she shouted.
"Grand magic: The rising of Suckus!"
She clapped her hands and soon her form or rather body changed. Her body that was once transparent now seemed like as if it was complete. There was a tail protruding out of lower back and a horn of a goat could be seen atop her head. The curves of her body that seemed to be innocent were now full of sexual allure.
It's the form originating from the ancestor that made it possible for a succubus to have a child with a Dryad, the form of a succubus!
Liya could feel the strength coming from her transformation and soon she could feel her life force dropping at an extreme rate.
'I have to end it fast…'
Any Suckus could use the grand magic but the price of using it was one's life. The overflowing power coming from Liya was but a fleeting moment.
She looked at the wall of water that has done its role. She held out her hand and stopped it from flowing. Just that was enough… Overwhelming is the only word that could describe her right now.
And soon, she walked out to meet the invading humans.
****
Desire was using his magic, the one that he just failed in learning, to help out with the fire. The water that was flowing out of him was as sharp as ever and it cut the trees regardless of being in fire or not. The reason for the indiscriminate cutting was that they were trying to isolate the huge fire in just one area.
If they succeeded, they would have an easier time of putting it out.
Desire looked at the fallen tree in front of him before moving in front of another. He thought to himself.
'Why doesn't my mana run out…?'
He wanted to find out about it but he immediately put it in the corner of his mind.
'I can only be grateful.'
That's right. He could only be grateful at the fact that his mana wasn't running out. As a result, he was helping well than any other women expected.
He held out his hand in front and used his magic and then, a familiar feeling tugged at him.
No…The feeling was tugging at him. This was the same feeling that he felt before he went back to the village.
'W-what's happening…?'
He thought about it. After all, that's the only thing he could do.