Extra's Guide to Surviving a Dark Fantasy World-Chapter 52: Ambush

We quickly got rid of the pack and continued moving, dodging Jakara’s packs by constantly shifting through streets and narrow alleys. All of this was only possible due to Duskwraith and Stormraven constantly surveying through the area.

It was also, only thanks to them that I began noticing an odd pattern. The Jakara packs, why did they seemed so organised all of a sudden.

Ever since we had defeated the first pack, the movement of Jakara packs seemed to have slightly shifted, becoming more and more organized. No longer were they lazing around or fighting and killing each other. Instead, it seemed as if every single Jakara in the outer district had been mobilized, running through the city and searching for us.

My suspicions were eventually confirmed when I saw a pack of Jakara meet and then mixed in with a different pack before proceeding to move forward and peacefully split instead of tearing each other into pieces.

But how? Even if one considered Jakara’s vengeful nature and added a bit of intelligence and comradery into that, how could they have known that it wasn’t some other Jakara pack that had slaughtered this one? Better yet, how the hell had those on the other side of the city known that one of their packs had been killed?

There was clearly something weird going on in this place. It was as if we had disturbed their peace or something, not to mention it was becoming more and more difficult to reach the middle district undetected.

In the end, what should have been a relatively shorter journey took us several hours to enter the middle district. We walked through the gate and moved past the wall, with duskwraith and Stormraven following behind.

That’s when it happened. As if they had been waiting to ambush us the entire time, more than fifty Jakaras walked out from under the shadows, snarling and growling through their wide jaws.

Not good.

As if we were in sync, the three of us immediately turn around to escape, only to see another group rushing towards us from outer district.

Yet it was something else that made a chill run through my spine. Behind the pack stood a towering creature of atleast eleven feet tall, its crimson eyes glowing like embers while his charred skin cracking to reveal fiery veins beneath. A set of large horns adorned the top of his head while his every step seemed to be filled with hate and malice.

"Demon." I blurted out, looking at the approaching figure.

Demons were one of the few intelligent species that existed in the expanse besides humans. They were also one of the species humans knew the least about.

One thing everyone did know, however, was that they were trouble. Throughout human history, there have been several humans and cults who have claimed to worship demons and make pacts with them.

All of those people had also been widely recognized as the biggest fiends in human history, from large-time mass murderers to small-time serial killers.

The two packs of Jakaras soon reached the gate, completely surrounding the three of us.

Things finally made sense—why the Jakara pack had been so eerily coordinated all this time.

They were being controlled by that thing. Unknowingly, we had walked straight inside a demon’s nest. Damn it, it must have sensed us the moment we killed the first pack.

"Look there." My mind was still racing to come up with an escape plan when Aria spoke, pointing in the opposite direction from the demon towards a building in the distance.

Perhaps the tallest building in the entire Sarhina, seemingly made of red and white marble, stood in the center of the city, its top penetrating through the center of the floating river in the sky.

That building was what we had been looking for a port that could take us out of this hell hole.

I took a single look towards Aria. Was she thinking what I think she was thinking?

"I say we should do it," Tess spoke while staring down at the approaching demon. "I highly doubt we can defeat this many Jakaras at the same time as that demon. Our best bet is to retreat towards that port and escape out of here."

"As for that thing." She pointed towards the demon. "I’ll deal with it. That thing isn’t much stronger than I am."

Aria and I nodded in agreement; at the same time, I called duskwraith and stormraven back. I was going to need those spells if I wanted to stay alive.

There were no words exchanged between us and the demon. We didn’t even know if we spoke the same language, and even if we did, I doubt the demon was going to let us leave scot-free after we had encroached over his territory, still just in case-

"Any chance you can just let us go?" I shouted while pointing at the port. "We only have to go there."

The demon chuckled, Let you go?" The demon’s fiery eyes burned brighter. "Why would I waste the chance to crush your pathetic hope first?"

The demon spoke with a shrill voice, and Aria and I immediately got into position, standing back to back with our swords ready. At the same time, Tess took to the air and began firing arrows at the demon.

It was as if some kind of dam had been burst open. The pack of beasts lunged at us with their jaws wide open. I immediately activated Static Timefall, feeling the world slowing down around me as my movements sped up.

My sword cut through the first Jakara’s chest, and I barely registered the movement before it dropped to the ground.

At the same time, Aria froze another one in place, turning its figure into a frozen statue before shattering it with a clean strike, the same time I sliced through another.

Up in the air, Tess continued to shoot her arrows, one after another, her eyes locked on the demon as she expertly kept her distance. The beast roared, flames licking its body, and charged toward her.