Igris looked at him, then said with a confused expression:
— What's up with these demons? They look like they dress as if they lived in Saudi Arabia.
He observed them closely before asking:
— Are they tourists?
Jean replied in a serious tone:
— Those are sand demons. They come from a desert territory in the demonic continents. Over there, there's a lot of sand, and it's extremely hot—hotter than in the Egyptian province. The temperature can reach up to 55°C. That's why they cover themselves like that.
Igris took on a serious tone, then said:
— From what you told me, these demons don't seem very smart.
Jean looked at him, intrigued, and asked:
— Why do you say that?
— Well, if it gets hotter than 55°C there, wouldn't it be smarter not to cover your whole body? — Igris said with a smile.
— Yep... not a bad deduction, Jean replied with a smile.
Note: These two are just as dumb as each other… They cover up completely because of the sun.
Suddenly, a blinding light emerged from the ground. The tanks, warriors, and remaining healers appeared in that light. Igris and Jean immediately climbed down the building, followed by the assassins and mages arriving from the rooftops.
One of the assassins, upon seeing Igris and Jean already on the scene, looked shocked:
— Wh… What?! How are they already here? Rakesh never brings trainees in his teleportation… Which means…
He remembered the two shadows that had rushed past them earlier at high speed, and exclaimed internally:
— That means the white blur and that electric thing that flew by… were them!
Erica looked at the boys, then stepped forward and said:
— Guys… you shocked me in front of the guild building! That speed!
Igris smiled and replied:
— Nah, we just ran as fast as we cou—
He didn't even have time to finish his sentence when a demon suddenly appeared behind them, armed with a crescent-shaped sword. The blade was already just inches from Erica's throat.
Rakesh sensed it and tried to turn around to stop him, but everything happened in a split second.
With a fast and precise motion, Igris sliced off the demon's hand using his kunai at an unreal speed. The demon's hand, along with his sword, dropped to the ground.
Erica stood frozen in fear. The people around didn't even understand what had just happened. Everyone stared at Igris, stunned, wondering silently:
"How did he sense that?"
"Even I, a rank D, didn't notice a thing..."
Igris looked at the demon's hand on the ground, then turned to Jean with a cold tone:
— You felt it too, didn't you… Takahashi?
Jean sheathed his katana, gave a slight smile, and replied:
— Yeah, I saw it clearly.
At that moment, the demon was suddenly split in two. Jean had cleanly sliced him.
Everyone was shocked as they saw the demon collapse, his body cut cleanly in half.
Igris, still with that same cold gaze, looked at Rakesh and said:
— Too slow.
Rakesh stared at him intensely before thinking:
"These kids aren't normal… and the dark one doesn't seem to like me much..."
He looked away and turned to the demon leader before saying:
— And you, big guy, why did you destroy the main gate of the CNTD?
The demon turned around and answered:
— I never answer the questions of a stupid human. You should know that.
— You know it's not very nice to attack people who haven't done anything. Didn't the Gorgon you call a mother teach you that? — Rakesh said with a slight smile.
The demon growled and replied:
— Grr… you're starting to piss me off. I'm going to kill you fast. Once your soul's gone, you won't be talking anymore. But before I kill you, I'll give you the honor of knowing my—
He drew a saber and said:
— I am the lieutenant of the Sand Kingdom's army, Radaku Zares, and I've come to wipe you all out… one by one.
All the Slayers took a combat stance.
Rakesh looked around, thinking:
"There are 13 soldiers plus him, that makes 14. We've got 2 tanks, 3 mages, 2 healers, 2 assassins, plus the 3 trainees and myself — that's 13. So we're evenly matched. I'll take care of Radaku, he's the strongest. His mana is abnormally high for a type C demon… but oh well, we have to fight."
Radaku sniffed and said:
— Hm… I smell a demon. But it's an unusual scent.
He looked at Igris and said:
— Ah, it's him. If he's a demon, why does he smell like a human?
He didn't have time to finish his sentence when a blue beam of light struck him head-on. He blocked it with one hand.
It was Rakesh who had launched the attack.
Rakesh smiled and said:
— Kill all those demons.
Then Radaku shouted to his soldiers:
— ATTACK!
And thus, the battle began.