Swishhhhhh...!
Ingrid narrowly dodged the Creeper Demon’s axe as it came spinning toward her at full force, veering aside at the very last instant.
The weapon passed so close that she could hear the blade whistling through the air.
To regain speed, Ingrid made a wide turn through the air and lined herself up for another head-on charge at the Creeper Demon.
Seeing her come at him again, the Demon plunged his hands into the pockets of his now-tattered coat, pulled out several shuriken carved from bone, and hurled them straight at her.
Ingrid veered aside once again to avoid them, but one of the shuriken pierced her right wing.
The wound immediately began to regenerate, but the hit was enough to slow her down and throw her off balance in midair.
The Creeper Demon seized the opportunity at once.
He drew a long knife and swooped toward her at full speed.
The moment he reached her, he thrust the blade toward her neck.
Ingrid caught it between her claws, stopping it just inches from her throat.
A sharp metallic screech rang through the air as the Demon’s knife scraped against her claws.
All of a sudden, an explosion shook the entire forest with devastating force.
In a fraction of a second, acres of woodland were flattened as trees, chunks of earth, and debris were swept away by the shockwave.
The violent blast of air slammed into Ingrid and the Creeper Demon as they fought in midair, abruptly breaking up their clash and hurling them in opposite directions.
A thick cloud of dust and smoke engulfed the area immediately afterward.
As the chaos began to clear, all that remained where Lars and the Headless Demon had been standing moments earlier was an enormous crater.
It looked as though a small meteorite had just struck the spot.
A thin trail of white mist drifted through the dark curtain of dust and smoke.
It floated just beyond the edge of the crater, then began to thicken until it took on a human shape.
To survive that devastating suicide attack, Lars had been forced to turn into mist.
Even so, he hadn’t escaped unscathed.
Not even ashes remained of his clothes.
His body was so badly burned that raw muscle showed beneath the charred skin and, in some places, even bone was exposed.
Blood poured freely from the countless wounds covering his body.
Lars clenched his teeth in a slight grimace of pain.
"Looks like that Demon’s attacks could hurt even incorporeal beings. I must’ve underestimated him..."
Lars lowered his gaze to his battered body. His wounds had already begun to regenerate, but at an incredibly slow rate.
At this pace, it would take hours for them to heal completely.
...I need blood.
"Big bro! Big bro! Big broooo!"
Camila’s desperate cries grew louder and more frantic, accompanied by rapidly approaching footsteps.
When Lars finally saw her emerge from the curtain of smoke, he couldn’t suppress a faint sigh of relief.
As much as it pained him to admit it, he was glad to see her completely unharmed.
Her hair was merely disheveled, and her clothes were dirty with dirt and dust.
Fortunately, the wind had carried her far enough away to put her outside the blast radius.
When Camila got close enough to see the state he was in, she burst into tears all over again without the slightest restraint.
"B-Big bro... are you hurt?"
"Oh, really? How perceptive."
Camila spun around and crossed her arms, offended.
"S-Stop making fun of me. I’m just worried about you..."
Then she turned back to him. Her eyes, still brimming with tears, settled on the deep burns covering part of Lars’s body.
"...T-They’ll heal, right, big bro...?"
"If this were all it took to kill me, I wouldn’t have lived this long. I just need to hunt down another six or seven humans."
"Sigh... sigh... I’m so glad to hear you say that. But don’t even think about going hunting, got it? I’ll get you the humans you need!"
Lars gave her an icy look.
"You think I can’t do it myself?"
"No! But I know your tastes! I know you prefer the blood of beautiful women, and, well... you’re completely naked! No fucking way am I letting some slut fantasize about you before you kill her!"
"I doubt a girl who’s about to be killed would be thinking about that."
"I would if the guy killing me was hot and completely naked."
Camila hurriedly wiped away her tears.
"Anyway, wait here for me, okay? I’m going to help Mommy Ingrid, and I’ll be right back."
Lars looked up at the sky.
"There’s no need."
Still in her winged vampiric form, Ingrid sank her claws into the Creeper Demon’s leathery hide.
Her fingers punched through its chest with the wet snap of tearing flesh.
With a savage yank, she tore its heart free.
A violent gush of dark blood erupted from the gaping wound, splattering across her face, breasts, and arms.
Ingrid didn’t even flinch.
She clenched the still-dripping heart between her long, bony fingers and crushed it in her fist, letting blood and chunks of flesh ooze between her claws.
The Demon’s corpse plummeted heavily to the ground, while Ingrid landed gracefully where she had carefully left her clothes.
Or at least, where they should have been.
The explosion had blown them away.
She let out a long, irritated huff.
"Ugh... and they cost me so much..."
Then she ran her tongue over her lip with a mischievous smile.
"...Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to convince my beloved Master to go shopping with me again."