Chapter Fifty-Nine: Defeat Him Until He Yields

As Faerun and his companions ventured deeper, the number of summoned creatures they encountered grew steadily. At last, Eruka and her sisters experienced firsthand just how unreliable these familiars truly were.

Since the attack at the entrance of the mine, the assaults had become more frequent, but the familiars’ actions were nothing like a coordinated defense against intruders. From a human perspective, if one discovered invaders, one would immediately make preparations, using the terrain and other advantages to repel them. Yet these creatures acted completely differently—just as Faerun had described—they lacked all sense of discipline or organization. They behaved as though they were a crowd who had just heard about a half-price sale on potato chips, rushing in for the excitement rather than any strategic purpose. Stealth, ambush, tactics—none of these crossed their minds. When they spotted Faerun’s group, their response was simply to hurl a fireball first and ask questions later.

Ironically, this chaotic approach caused Eruka and her sisters no small amount of trouble.

“Hahahaha—!”

With that peculiar laughter, several pumpkin imps shot out from a side corridor. Waving their lanterns, they conjured fireballs that hovered in the air, streaking toward Eruka and her companions in rapid succession.

“Careful, quick, dodge!”

To the pumpkin imps, this was no more threatening than children hurling snowballs in a playful snowball fight. But Eruka and her sisters dared not let their guard down. The fireballs might seem weak, but a single hit could reduce them to ash. Shouting a warning, Eruka rolled backward into the safety of a nearby corner. Chris and Kurona immediately scattered, ducking to the other side. Chris reached into her coat, pulled out a flash grenade, and hurled it forward. With a resonant hum, blinding white light flooded the mine corridor. The familiars shrieked in panic at the sudden assault, and Eruka seized the moment, rolling onto the ground, gripping her laser rifle, and firing a quick salvo ahead. The pumpkin imps, caught in the barrage, screamed and fled, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Whew…”

Watching the imps retreat, Eruka wiped the sweat from her brow and stood up, her expression conflicted as she gazed into the depths of the mine, sighing helplessly.

“Ah… We’re leagues apart…”

“Sister… Don’t give up…”

Kurona whispered timid encouragement at her side, and Eruka managed a rueful smile, pausing to check her laser rifle.

“To be honest, this is my first time fighting familiars… It’s really frustrating.”

Her complaint was understandable—they were fighting for their lives, while their opponents treated it as nothing more than a game. In fact, Eruka’s barrage had done little actual harm; the familiars’ retreat was more akin to children scattering when sprayed with water during a snowball fight, laughing as they ran off.

For Eruka and her sisters, risking their lives in this adventure, such behavior was simply unacceptable.

“Ah… If only I could teach them a lesson like the Commander does…”

She muttered, turning to look ahead where the battle continued in full force.

Compared to the scattered skirmishes faced by the sisters, Faerun and Derin were under greater pressure. It seemed the familiars preferred lively exchanges over one-sided slaughter. Thus, Faerun and Derin became the targets of their “enthusiastic” attention.

Pumpkin imps sprang from every direction, conjuring fireballs and pelting Faerun with relentless glee, determined not to stop until he was defeated.

Yet Faerun was anything but flustered. He moved through the barrage with the calm grace of a man strolling through a garden, his scalpel flashing bright arcs in the darkness, weaving a silvery shield around him and neatly slicing every incoming fireball in two. Then, with a flick of his wrist, several scalpels flew from between his fingers like arrows, piercing the pumpkin imps. Each of Faerun’s movements sent an imp shrieking as it was pinned to the wall, dissolving into sparkling dust.

Derin, meanwhile, seemed even more at ease. She hadn’t assumed human form, but darted about as a black cat, bounding nimbly between fireballs. With a soft cry, she extended her paw, summoning icy shards that shot toward the imps. The pumpkin imps, apparently terrified of the cold, scattered whenever they saw the frosty projectiles, never daring to approach Derin too closely. Sometimes, as the black cat ran forward, the imps shrieked and fled as if unruly children had encountered a stern teacher.

Thanks to the familiars, Faerun’s group didn’t have to waste time searching for the correct path through the labyrinthine mine. All they had to do was follow the direction from which the familiars emerged—provided they survived this tumultuous “playfight.”

“Boom!”

Blue fireballs exploded once more, waves of flame surging toward Faerun. The heat was enough to melt stone, but Faerun simply rotated his wrist, slicing through the fiery surge with his scalpel. The flames split as if cleaved by an invisible blade. Faerun then flung his scalpel forward, sending it spinning through a gap and striking the enormous pumpkin head of an imp hiding behind the wall of fire. With a scream, the imp exploded and vanished.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!”

With shrill laughter, the remaining imps finally seemed to realize they were no match for these intruders and chose to retreat. Lanterns held aloft, they cried out in a mixture of amusement and dismay, then turned and darted deeper into the mine. Seeing this, Eruka breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her laser rifle, and scanned the surroundings. When she confirmed that the familiars had all vanished, she led Chris and Kurona to Faerun’s side.

“Commander, is it over?”

“No.”

Faerun’s smiling reply dashed Eruka’s hopeful question.

“But… Didn’t we drive them all away?”

“We did, but…”

“But?”

“Tell me, do you think a bunch of unruly children would simply run home and cry after being bullied?”

“Well…”

Eruka and her sisters paused, then realization dawned on their faces.

“Are you saying…”

“That’s right.”

Faerun gazed into the darkness ahead, his hands tightening around the cold, sharp scalpel.

“The king of the children is coming.”

“Screeeech—!!”

As if to prove his words, a massive shadow emerged from the gloom. Flames burst forth, forming a wall that encircled the group, trapping them within.