With the demon distracted, she quickly dashed into the kitchen and grabbed a packet of white substance. She tore off the top of the packet with her teeth and quickly poured the white substance along the length of the kitchen, forming a white border which cut off the portion of the space she was in from the rest of the thrashed house.

 

Raven threw the packet down onto the kitchen counter once the border was completed, not caring if her rough actions had caused the balance of its contents to spill onto the countertop. She then quickly retrieved a box of long matches from one of the drawers and turned to face the demon, a lighted match in her hand. One quick whistle and her sword, which was flying around with Leeteuk hanging on for dear life, began making its way towards her.

 

"OL BOGIRA VAORESA ELASA ERM A ELO DE ASCHA A ALONUSAHI CALZ VIME A CASARMA ZOL A MAELPEREJI BOLAPE TA A NAPEA DAS BARINU ELASA! As long as this wall of fire holds, you may not enter!"

 

Once both her sword and Leeteuk passed over the white line, Raven shouted out the protection incarnation and threw the lighted matchstick at the white powder on the floor. A wall of fire sprung upwards instantly. Behind the safety of the firewall, Raven helped a shaken Leeteuk to his feet. On the other side of the fire, the Labal screeched in pain as the blue flames jumped at it when it got too close.

 

“Hide as you must, Realms Walker! My powers are too strong for you to handle! This fire would not last long! As soon as this goes out, I will swallow you whole!”

 

“Dream on! If you were truly powerful, such a basic barrier would not be able to stop you! You are merely a lowly tier three bottom feeder who has caught a lucky break,”

 

Throwing petrified glances back and forth at Raven, the Labal and the hovering sword, a shaken Leeteuk had backed up all the way to the counter. He watched as Raven reached underneath the kitchen sink and pulled out an old looking leather bundle the size of an A4 paper.

 

Ignoring the loud screams of the Labal as it tried repeatedly to pass through the blue flames, Raven walked up to the counter where Leeteuk was at and laid the bundle down on the black marble countertop. She then pulled on the straw string tying the bundle together, revealing several silver daggers with curved, wooden handles.

 

"What's that?"

 

"These? These babies are enchanted daggers. 100% Pure. Silver,"

 

Raven managed a sly smile at Leeteuk before taking the daggers and laying them out side by side. Pushing the piece of leather aside, she reached up and tugged at the door of the white cabinet above her head, revealing the many bottles and jars which were stored within. She then proceeded to look through the contents on her tiptoes, humming casually in the process.

 

She’s humming? Isn’t she scared the least bit? That thing said the fire wasn’t going to last long…

 

“Urm…”

 

Without acknowledging the sound which Leeteuk had made, Raven grabbed a small glass bottle containing a purple liquid. Popping the cork off with a single flick of her thumb, she doused the daggers with its contents and set the empty bottle back down on the counter. Raven then closed her eyes and stretched her hands out, hovering over the silver blades. The metal blades seemed to be vibrating slightly even though she was not touching them by any means. Leeteuk rubbed his eyes fervently, firmly believing that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

 

“What’s that you just poured onto the daggers?”

 

“That’s the tears of a lilac fairy. They amplify the powers of any blood magic,”

 

"What do you mean, blood magic?”

 

Ignoring Leeteuk’s question, Raven raised her left palm over the daggers before her. In response, the daggers began vibrating and a pale purple light began to engulf each of the blades. She then pulled out a switchblade from her back pocket and flicked out the metal knife.

 

“Through blood, I invoke the goddess Hygeia. Through these, her power will flow,”

 

Raven chanted as she raised her hand, the switchblade glinting in the light. However before she could bring her knife down, Leeteuk rushed up to her and held back her raised hand.

 

“What are you doing? You aren’t thinking of self-harming, are you?’

 

“What the...Let go!”

 

“Not if you're going to hurt yourself!”

 

“Let go of me! Before that demon breaks through! What are you still doing here anyway? Why didn’t you leave when I told you to?!”

 

“I couldn’t find the door!”

 

“You couldn’t what?!”

 

“I can’t look for the door and run from that thing at the same time!”

 

“You could have just gone for the only brown wooden door in the house, you idiot! All the other doors are white!”

 

“This is your house! How am I to know what colours are the doors in your house?!”

 

“You cou- Forget it! Just get out of the house now! I can’t fight this thing and protect you at the same time! Let go of my hand!”

 

“In case you haven’t notice, there’s a demon standing in between us and the rest of the freaking house! How do you suppose I’m going to get past that without being eaten?”

 

“For starters, you could let go of my hands so I can do my thing with these daggers! I’m not going to die from a small cut of my palm when I’m already bleeding all over!”

 

“Then you can just use the blood that is flowing from your other wounds! Why give yourself a new one?!”

 

“Cause I need fresh blood to invoke a goddess! Do you want to add an enraged goddess to our current problem?”

 

“Then use mine instead!”

 

“Why would I want to do that that?”

 

“Because… Because I am a gentleman and I cannot stand by and watch a lady harm herself!”

 

Dumbfounded, Raven stared open-mouthed at the man before her who had puffed his chest out at his last statement, looking all self-righteous about it. The fact that Raven was physically stronger, seeing how Leeteuk was using both of his hands and all of his strength to hold back Raven’s single arm, didn’t seemed to occur to him.

 

“Alright, you asked for it. Don’t blame me if you break a bone or two from this…”

 

“Break bones from wha- Oof!”

 

His breath was knocked out from him when Raven flipped him over her shoulders, back throwing him onto the tiled kitchen floor. As he laid there in shock at Raven’s surprising strength, she took the chance to swiftly draw the blade across her palm, dripping crimson blood onto the silver daggers.

 

However, the blood did not just slid off the metal blade of the daggers like liquid would normally do. Instead, it seeped into them, as though being absorbed by the metal. After all the blood were absorbed, the glow of the daggers turned red. Raven grabbed a nearby table rag and tied it casually over the wound on her palm, tightening the knot with her teeth.

 

“What did you do that for?! You could have really hurt me!”

 

“I’ve warned you, you didn’t listen. Anyway, man up! You didn't even break a bone!”

 

“I don’t have to break a bone to feel pain you know?”

 

“What? A grown man like you can’t take a little pain? Be quicker on your feet and get up!”

 

Holding out her unwounded hand to Leeteuk, Raven pulled him back onto his feet. As soon as he was up, she tugged gently at his arm and moved him behind her, placing him in her shadows.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Stand back. This is going to hurt the demon so bad that it will go berserk,”

 

“Why would you want to make it go berserk? We can hardly hold it back at this point!”

 

“Because it will also weaken him! If this was any other day, I would have kicked its slimy back to where it came from. But today? Today’s not a good day,”

 

“There’s a good day for fighting demons?”

 

“There i- It doesn’t matter! You won’t understand anyway. What’s up with you and all your questions?! Just grab that bag of white powder off the counter, stay behind me and don’t get into my way, understand?”

 

“Ye-Yes, mam!”

 

Turning her attention onto the demon with Leeteuk holding on dearly to the bag of white powder as per her instructions, Raven was not surprised to see that the fire barrier which she had put up was beginning to dwindle. Instructing Leeteuk to stay where he was and throw the white powder at the demon if it came too close, she grabbed her sword and dashed into the fire barrier, using her left hand to shield her eyes from the heat.

 

You stupid demon, I’ll show you the true prowess of a huntress!

 

Raven leapt through the fire with a yell, sword raised high above her head. A quick swing of her sword drew blood as it cut deep into the shoulders of the Labal, causing it to scream in agony as the silver burnt its slimy flesh along the opening it made. She took the opportunity and jumped up towards its head, using its stomach as footing. Raven then reached into her pockets and pulled out three more vials of holy water. She smashed the top of the vials away using her sword and threw them, bottle and all, into the Labal’s opened mouth. She then kicked hard at the Label’s throat, making it swallow the vials she had thrown into its mouth. The Labal fell to its knees just as Raven bounded away from the spot, clutching hard at its own neck as it felt the liquid burnt its way into the walls of its oral captivity and down its throat.

 

That should have done some damage… Damn it… My leg hurts… My arm hurts… Every breath hurts… I can’t fight a prolonged battle in this state… Need to end it soon…

 

Panting, Raven was running out of strength and her vision was blurring. Fighting the Labal and the blood loss from her multiple wounds were beginning to take a toll on her. The life of a demonologist is a difficult one. Putting aside the fact that the strength of demons was ten times that of a normal human, if they were killed by a demon, their souls would be condemned to hell for all eternity.

 

A sudden jolt of pain that pierced her right thigh brought her head back into the game. Looking down at the site of the pain, Raven was shocked to see a piece of wood shard pierced into her. She looked up just in time to see the demon launched another piece in her direction. She barely rolled out of the way as the second piece grazed her bare shoulders, opening up yet another flesh wound.

 

However, just as the demon prepared to launch another attack, Raven made a move. Flicking her right wrist in quick successions, she sent the three enchanted daggers in its direction. They hit its left shoulder, abdomen and right thigh respectively. Letting loose another roar in pain, the Labal fell onto its back, thrashing around wildly in pain. Opposite him, Raven too collapsed onto her knees in exhaustion.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“I’m still alive. Just stay where you are… I just… I just need a breather…”

 

“Your leg… You’re losing a lot of blood!”

 

Looking at the blood pooling at her right knee. Raven knew Leeteuk was right. If she doesn’t stop the blood soon, she might pass out from shock before she got rid of the Labal. She forced herself to stand up, using her sword as support to get on her feet. The Labal has also managed to get back onto its feet.

 

Enraged, it turned its attention onto Leeteuk, who had been watching in amazement at the unearthly fight unfolding before him. It roared angrily, its voice raspy from the holy water burning its throat, and swung its clawed hand at a nearby painting, sending the heavy object flying in Leeteuk’s direction. The painting crashed hard into Leeteuk, knocking him off his feet and causing the bag of white powder he was holding to drop, its contents spilling onto the carpeted floor.

 

“Hey! Pick on someone your size! Where’s the honour in attacking someone who can’t fight you?!”

 

Shouting at the Labal, Raven was pissed off that the demon had chosen to go after a target that couldn’t possibly fight him. Sprawled on his back against the ground, Leeteuk was in pain as he held on to his shoulders.

 

“Haha! You think honour matters to a demon? I’ll kill him just to spite you!”

 

“Killing him won’t spite me! I don’t even know him!”

 

“Oh? Then I’ll just kill him for gratification then!”

 

Panicked, Raven jumped up with her sword raised, planning to strike the Labal before it attacked Leeteuk again. However, her injuries restricted her agility and she was unable to dodge the demon’s spiked tail when it came in her way. It strike her full on and sent her crashing on top of Leeteuk. The Labal then jumped in front of them, pinning Raven down with its clawed hands.

 

This is bad… I can’t move… And I can’t reach the holy water that’s in my back pocket… Is he all right? With both me and the demon on top of him, he’s gotta have difficulty breathing.

 

“Hey! You still alive down there?”

 

“I… I can’t… I can’t breathe…”

 

“Can you reach onto my left back pocket? There’s some vials inside…”

 

“I… I can’t… You’re pinning me down…”

 

“Please, you have to try… Or we’re both screwed… Just grab them and throw them at him…”

 

Leeteuk struggled to move his hands. The combined weight of Raven and the demon was making it hard for him to breathe. Raven’s instructions were said aloud, resulting in the demon trying to thwart his efforts instead. However, Raven was also holding onto its arms with all her might. After a minute or so, he managed to squeeze his right hand in between them to reach into Raven’s back pocket, vaguely thinking to himself that in any other circumstances, this would be molestation. Closing his fingers around the vials she mentioned, he pulled them out in one hard pull and immediately threw them at the Labal.

 

The vials shattered on impact, sending a shower of water droplets over the three of them. The Labal screamed in agony and sprung away from Raven and Leeteuk immediately, trying to get away from the shower of holy water. However, in its attempts to get away, its knees grinded down on the wooden shard that had pierced Raven’s thigh, sending it all the way through, grazing by Leeteuk’s right calf. The thrashed room instantly filled with screams all at once, with the Labal screaming from the holy water burning its eyes and both humans in pain from the injuries caused by the wood shard.

 

“H-Hey you! Did it pierce through you too?”

 

“I do-I don’t know! Su-Sure feels like it! Ugh… What is that?”

 

“You stay still… I’ll try moving away from you…”

 

Gritting her teeth, Raven bore the pain and rolled over to her left, using all her strength to lift her right leg which had been impaled by the shard. She was relieved to find that the wood shard had only caused a flesh wound on Leeteuk, not impaling the two of them instead.

 

“I-I-It’s sticking inside you!”

 

“Yup… UGH! I noticed...”

 

Horrified, Leeteuk forgot his pain for a few seconds as he stared at the piece of wood sticking out from Raven’s right leg. He realised that he had been fortunate as if it had been a couple more millimetres, he would be conjoined to Raven. He watched in horror as Raven got onto her feet with much difficulty and placed both her hands on the balance of the shard which was protruding from the front.

 

“Wh-What are you doing?”

 

“I’m… I’m pulling it out,”

 

“What? NO! You’re gonna bleed to death!”

 

“I’m bleeding out anyway. You should get back. I’m going to try something that I am going to regret later,”

 

“What are you planning to do again this time? Please don’t hurt yourself any further!”

 

The memory of Raven cutting her palm flashed through Leeteuk mind. Her uncaring attitude she adopted towards self-harm was more startling to Leeteuk than the surreal situation he was in. However, his words fell on deaf ears as Raven ambled towards the Label with determination, dragging her injured leg behind her. Once she felt there was sufficient distance between her and Leeteuk, she stopped and reached down towards the wooden shard again, pulling it out in one stride, crimson blood dripping off the part of the shard stained red from being embedded in her thigh.

 

And now… I have to enlist his help… Damn it. If only I didn’t have to fight through all those goblins last night… Asking for his help with a demon of this calibre… It’s going to be a bitter pill to swallow…

 

Kneeling down onto the floor. Raven dipped her fingers into the pool of blood collecting at her foot and started drawing on the ground with it. She first drew a big “S”, followed by an infinity sign over the “S”, dipping her finger into the blood when it began to run dry. She finished off with what looked like a swirly oval at either side of the “S”.

 

Her vision was blurring more as the seconds passed, coupled with a light feeling in her head. Raven knew that she was almost at her limits. Her determination to take the demon down even if it cost her life was all that was holding her consciousness together at this point. Grabbing her sword which had been hovering by her side, she swept it through the crimson pool, coating the tip of her blade with her own blood. Then, she raised her sword up shakily, teetering on her feet for a couple of seconds before regaining her balance, her pale face staring ahead. Pointing the tip in the air, she began to draw the same symbol in mid-air.

 

On the other side of the room, the demon was watching Raven’s movements intently. Leeteuk sneaked a glance at Raven, and was astonished to see her pale face contorted with the effort in trying to stay conscious. His astonishment only doubled when he noticed the blood was floating off Raven’s sword as she continued drawing in the air, creating the physical form of whatever her tip was tracing.

 

The powder! The girl said it will keep the demon away right? Come on Leeteuk, if she faints, it’s up to you to save her!

 

Suddenly remembering Raven’s words that the white powder he was holding previously will help to keep the demon away, Leeteuk made use of its distraction and began crawling towards the bag of white powder which fallen onto the ground a small distance away. The demon’s full attention was now on Raven, thus Leeteuk managed to reach the bag without incident.

 

Just as Leeteuk reached it, Raven completed the symbol and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The Labal made use of the chance and began making its way towards her. Gasping painfully, Raven was in a terrible shape. Blood was flowing out from the various wounds on her battered body, her consciousness was also beginning to drift. She could hardly even find the strength to breathe.

 

“Come on! I got you!”

 

Leeteuk voice suddenly rang out from above. Straining to open her eyes, she was surprised to find his face just above hers and his arms underneath hers, pulling her away from the approaching demon. Alarmed, she started resisting Leeteuk, twisting her body from side to side feebly to try to loosen his grip.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“L-Let go… Go of me…”

 

“Do you have a death wish? You are barely alive at this point!”

 

“I ca-can’t just leave…”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I ca-can’t let this demon run amok… It will wreak havoc on the mortal realm…”

 

“You are in no condition to fight him!”

 

“I have to! It’s my duty… I will send him back to hell! Even it costs my life!”

 

“Bu-“

 

“There’s no buts! I am Raven the Great Huntress, Raven the Realms Walker… I refuse to die by its hands!”

 

Pushing herself up with her remaining strength, Raven stood up and faced the demon with determination with Leeteuk standing dumbfounded behind her. She raised her hand and whistled, her trusty sword flying into her opened palms. As soon as she grabbed the pommel of her sword, Raven swung it and sliced through the hovering blood symbol she has made in the air moments ago.

 

Leeteuk watched in awe as the symbol dissipated, leaving a cloud of gold glittery sparks in its wake. As he watched on, the sparks gradually fell to the ground, drawn towards the symbol on the ground. The symbol began to glow as more of the sparks fell upon it, eventually glowing to the point that Leeteuk had to squint his eyes in order to see in the glare.

 

A loud scream drew his attention away from a beam of light which had suddenly shot straight up from the symbol. To his horror, he found the form of Raven’s body flopping helplessly in the Labal’s right hand. The Labal had grabbed Raven by the neck and was glaring at her with an evil menace in its beady eyes, she was clawing feebly at its hands which were squeezing the air out of her lungs, choking violently from the shortage of oxygen.

 

Leeteuk immediately sprung towards the demon and flung the entirety of the pouch containing the white powder at the demon. As the powder cloud engulfed the Labal, it began to choke and released its grip on Raven to shield its face from the white powder. Making use of its distraction, Leeteuk rushed ahead and helped Raven to her feet.

 

“I told you to run away! It almost got you again!”

 

“And I’ve told you that I have a duty to fulfil! But thanks. You have saved me back there…”

 

“Now can we run? You must have realised that in you are in no condition to do anything to it!”

 

“No… You go, I’ll stay! With his help I can banish this fiend! Any moment now…”

 

“With whose help?”

 

“Wit-“

 

Raven’s statement was cut short as her eyes widened in surprise. Before Leeteuk could ask, he felt a piercing pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he then understood the look of surprise on Raven’s face. While the pair had taken their attention of the demon, it had somehow managed to get a hold of Raven’s sword.

 

The same sword was now embedded in his abdomen after impaling Raven. The Labal must have gone crazed from rage as the holding of the silver sword would have been causing it the same amount of pain as the duo suffered from being penetrated. It roared as it pulled the sword out in one swift move, its black slimy flesh sizzling against the pommel of the sword. Raven suffered the greater injury as her sword had penetrated her abdomen and went out through her back, impaling her completely before stabbing into Leeteuk. At this point, her body was so wrecked with pain that she didn’t even feel the pain of the blade exiting her body. Leeteuk on the other hand was in complete pain. Although the blade has only penetrated him by 2 or 3 inches, the pain was so great that he was beginning to find it hard to focus.

 

Falling to the ground together with Leeteuk below and Raven on top, the pair laid motionless. For the next few seconds, only the demon’s violent gags could be heard in the room. Then Raven moved to lift herself off Leeteuk’s body. She painfully sat upright, holding her right hand to the stab wound in the centre of her abdomen. She then looked down at the deathly pale face of Leeteuk and shook him gently.

 

“Are you all ri-right? Don’t wo- Don’t worry… Breathe… It’s just… Just a flesh wound… Ugh! You… You are not goi-going to die from this,”

 

“…”

 

“Hey… Answer me… Are you still breathing?”

 

“Y-Yeah…”

 

“Good… Keep breathing… Don’t die on me okay? I don’t want a human death on my hands… Just hold on for a while… Everything will be fine once he co..”

 

Raven’s soothing words were beginning to fade together with his consciousness. He blinked hard, trying to refocus his eyes, but every blink only served to turn his eyelids heavier. Blurring vision, faded sounds, he was mere seconds from passing out completely. Conjuring his greatest might to concentrate, Leeteuk could tell that Raven was talking to him, even shaking him gently to get his attention. However, her voice seemed to be coming from a great distance away and he couldn’t hear her clearly.

 

Is this is? Am I going to die? I didn’t plan to die today…

 

He tried turning his head to look around but everything around him was hazy. He could make out the shape of Raven, who was crouched over him, and the shape of the demon inching slowly towards Raven. He tried to warn her, but he couldn’t find the strength to utter a sound, let alone raise his hands. All of a sudden, there was a burst of light and a third shadow appeared in the room.

 

Did someone just appear out of thin air? Who is it? Another demon? Turn around girl! You have to turn around and look!

 

The third shadow had appeared behind the large mass which he had assumed to be the Labal. Which is to say that the third figure was also heading in Raven’s direction. Even in his current condition, the kindness in Leeteuk’s heart managed to overcome his physical limitations. The anxiety he felt increased his adrenaline rush and he managed to gather enough strength to warn Raven.

 

“B-Behind you…”

 

Then, Leeteuk out.