Chapter 521: Gaia’s Rings [Part 2] "Faerie Fire!" Fran shouted as she hurled a purple fireball at the Shade Reaper King. In the past, she had only been able to cast fireballs that were about as large as basketballs. After months of secret training, her fireball was now six times bigger. Shades were weak to Fire and Holy elemental attacks. The Shade Reaper King was no exception. The purple fireball sent the monster crashing into a tree, making the Fairy’s eyes widen in shock. "I-I’m this strong?!" Fran gasped as she looked at her hands, which were still faintly shining from the aftermath of her attack. "Don’t lower your guard, Fran!" Medina warned. "It will take more than that to defeat that monster!" The elf’s arm, as well as her other injuries, had been healed by Fran’s boosted Healing Magic. However, she still felt a bit exhausted from fighting against the Shade Reaper King as it drained the life force of its opponents. This made her all the more wary and cautious. Suddenly, Alex moved closer to the monster and aimed two throwing knives that shone with a golden light at it. "Shining Shooter!" The throwing knives were ordinary knives without any special properties. However, Alex had imbued them with the elemental power that was being released by the ring, making them effective against the Shadow Creature. To his surprise, the Shadow Reaper King screeched in anger after the two flying daggers pierced its body, dealing elemental damage. With a howl of pure rage, the Shadow Creature lunged at Alex, its scythe poised to strike. But a fireball slammed into the side of its body and blasted it away from the teenage boy. "The only one that can bully Alex is me!" Fran shouted. "Die, you stupid monster!" Alex pretended that he didn’t hear what the little Fairy had said and threw more knives at the fallen monster. If even a petty thief like him could injure the Shadow Reaper King with normal knives by borrowing the rings’ power, then he knew they had little to fear. Clearly, Gaia’s Rings were extremely effective against Shadow Creatures. Knowing that this was a good opportunity to finish it off, Fran unleashed consecutive Faerie Fires as she flew closer to Alex. Powerful explosions reverberated inside the forest as Alex and Fran tag-teamed to deal with the monster, who had nearly wiped out their entire party. "Die!" Alex threw one last dagger, imbuing it with the power within Gaia’s ring at the monster. The flying dagger shone brightly like a miniature sun as it collided with the Shade Reaper King, who had decided to unleash a desperate attack against the children. Unfortunately, it wasn’t strong enough to endure Alex’s attack and was finally defeated. The body of the monster dispersed into black mist, disappearing completely. The only thing that remained was a black crown, which was proof of both its life and death. As if waiting for that moment, the thick mists that covered the forests slowly dispersed. It was like waking up from a dream. It was only then that Alex and Fran realized that they had been able to see their opponent perfectly even though they had been surrounded by mists earlier. The rings on their hands lost their luster, as if they had completed their duty. Now that Alex and Fran knew for certain that they had indeed won against such a powerful enemy, they finally allowed themselves to feel relieved and happy. "It’s finally over..." Fran landed on Alex’s head. "I thought I was really going to die this time." "Me too," Alex admitted. "That was a close one." But before they could celebrate, they saw the two members of the Hero Party collapse on the ground. At first, Alex thought that they were only injured, but when he came to check their condition, he realized that both of them were no longer breathing. "T-They’re dead..." Fran shuddered after confirming that she could no longer feel any life force from the two ladies, who had fought against the Shade Reaper King earlier. Medina crouched down and used her hands to close their eyes, which were staring blankly at the sky. She then placed the two deceased inside her storage ring, unable to bear the thought of leaving them lying on the cold ground for even a moment longer. Before Alex could even ask what they should be doing next, they heard the sound of fighting nearby. They then remembered that Ron, Carlo, and Sean were still fighting against the Demons in order to give them time to escape. "Let’s save them!" Fran proposed. "We can do it! Alex and I are strong now!" Alex turned to the elf. "Medina, let’s go save the others. They need our help." Medina hesitated for only the briefest of moments before nodding. "Let’s go," Medina replied before running towards the sound of fighting. Alex and Fran followed closely behind her. Very soon, they arrived at the scene of an intense battle. Sean had lost his left arm, but he still wielded his sword with his right. Ron was kneeling on the ground, looking seriously injured, while Carlo was using his body to shield his friend from harm. There were over twenty demons that were trying to kill the three of them, but they weren’t pushovers who would simply die due to being outnumbered. Even when seriously injured, Ron continued to use his sword energy to unleash Crescent Blades at their enemies, keeping them at bay. Carlo was clobbering any demons that came within his strike range while protecting Ron from danger. Sean was the only one who was moving about the battlefield. He fought against the enemies as if he was burning up all of his lifeforce for one final battle. He might have stanched his bleeding with some sort of spell. However, that didn’t mean he could brush off losing his arm. Their situation was dire. If no one came to help them, their deaths were set in stone. Fortunately, help arrived when they needed it the most. Three arrows pierced the chest of one of the demons, making it cry out in pain before collapsing on the ground. "Shining Shooter!" "Faerie Fire!" Alex and Fran also joined the battle, giving the men some much needed breathing time. But when everyone thought that they now had a chance of winning, more Demons arrived, encircling all of them. "Kill them!" one of the Demon Commanders shouted. "Don’t let the Hero escape! He must die today no matter what!" Sean sneered at the Demon Commander as he channeled his aura to his foot. With a speed that surpassed all expectations, the Hero lunged at the commander and cut off his head in one fell swoop. The Hero didn’t stop there. He continued his one-sided slaughter, forcing the Demons to ignore the others and focus on him. Alex could tell that Sean was pouring everything in this battle. Whether they won or not, Sean’s fate was already sealed. Carlo understood what the Hero was doing, so he picked Ron up from the ground and ran away towards Medina, Alex, and Fran. "Let’s go!" Carlo shouted. "Go now!" Medina nodded and used Wind Walk to speed up their movements, allowing them to flee faster. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 The elf picked Alex up in a princess carry. Fran, on the other hand, grabbed hold of Alex’s hair so that she wouldn’t be left behind in their escape. "None of you will escape this place." It was not only Alex’s group who had heard this voice. Everyone—the adventurers, demons, and monsters fighting in the forest—had heard it. The Demon Lord, Vanaac, had made his appearance. With his power, he had created a dome of darkness that covered the entirety of the forest. No one, not even him, would be able to leave it unless he personally lifted the seal. Now that he had managed to trap the Hero inside the forest, he intended to kill Sean once and for all before invading the human kingdoms. He believed that as long as the Hero of humanity fell, the human kingdoms would no longer have any Champions to fight against him. This would then allow him to finally fulfill the long cherished wish of the Demon Race, which was to take over the fertile lands of the Central Plains of the Continent so that their race could thrive and prosper. "Sean, you will die here today!" Vanaac declared. "So will you, Vanaac!" Sean laughed. "Thank you for coming. Now I don’t need to travel all the way to the Demon Realm just to search for your sorry ass!" "Impudent fool!" Vanaac roared. "Die!" "You’re the one who’s going to die!" Fervently hoping that he could take his fated enemy with him to the afterlife, Sean channeled all of his strength into one desperate strike.