Sorry for the long wait, big d bandit is back again. This chapter will be action mostly, but as you all now I am not an experienced writer and action scenes are probably some of the hardest to write out there. Thus, I can only hope I made a decent job at it. Anyways, let me know what you think, was it boring? Too clunky? Or just ok?

Reviews;

Read the first couple chapters Bicorn, I am sure you can figure out why :^)

Yay for Demiurge indeed. When I introduce everything and the circumstances of the story, which has not fully developed although I have already written 39k words, things will be clearer. I just hope I can wrap everything and write it all up until August. If I get a good enough response to this story until then, I will use its plot to write an Overlord Volume 12. If not, I have other regular and crossover ideas for this fandom and others.

Regardless, chapter 14 folks!

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She ran into a desolate street while Gallahad followed couple feet behind, carrying Grendell bridal style in order to keep an eye on his hand and also to be able to keep up with Joann. To his surprise, Grendell was much heavier than he had anticipated and half an hour of running down the streets of Lochliel with him in his arms had taken its toll. They moved deftly through the sparsely crowded streets.

Joann stopped upon reaching a large rusted grill blocking their path. The rusty metal bars were too close to each other for humans of any shape and size to pass through and were as thick as a child's wrist. The air coming from the other side carried stench of waste and mold.

'He is in the sewers.'

Joann grabbed Humility* from her pocket inventory, the sword on her waist was only a décor. With a quick "Z" motion, Humility bit its way through the grill; opening a path large enough for a grown man to walk through without bending. The trio made their way onward.

After an additional ten minutes of running, they made their way out of the main sewer system and continue onward through a system of corridors made of stone and covered in thick mold. The stench and moisture of the sewers lingered, but there was no running water in sight. There they started to encounter randomly put traps. Some bear traps and compact arrow launchers were hidden into the thick mold. Although Joann wasn't good at detection of inanimate constructs, none of the traps were a serious threat to the trio.

Soon enough, they came to a large room. Four men stood ready in a scattered formation, obviously aware of their rushed approach. Berethur was thrown to the side of the room, still tightly tied to a chair. It was obvious that he was put to the side hurriedly since the chair had fallen to its side, the sorcerer was looking at the scenery sideways.

Agustin was in the front with his steel mask on with Nero to the right, wearing a vest with dozen or so kukris hanging from it. To the left was Mo beaming, in one hand an open book and a mace in the other.

Mura was silent and crouched to their sharp left, hiding behind couple rotting barrels. He was wielding double scimitars and a portable arbalest on his left wrist.

In front of Retribution was Joann, a blond beauty in tight green trousers and a plain white shirt, looking towards the men with a piercing gaze. Behind was Gallahad, or George as Retribution knew; Huffing and puffing as he carried Grendell bridal style, an obese bald man looking at Berethur with a strange glint in his eyes. Gallahad put down Grendell and unwrapped his axe from the cloth cover. Both sides stood still as they sized one another.

Augustin had thought lots of cruel humor to greet their guests but this was a more grotesque encounter than he had imagined. So a brief silence ensued instead. Surprisingly the first to move was the fat man, who bolted towards the captured sorcerer at an unusual speed.

Augustin moved forward to hold the other two in place while Nero threw two kukris towards Grendell. Mura also took action, silently launching a bolt to Grendell and moving to flank Gallahad. Directly in front of Grendell, however was Mo who charged at him with joyous laughter, swinging his mace down towards the bald head. Retribution moved efficiently, the fat man who broke formation was focused with projectiles and would be taken down with a [Blessed] mace strike from Mo, while Augustin and Nero were to directly engage Gallahad and Joann. Mura at the mean time would descend on to them from behind, landing [Crippling blows] and finishing the job.

However, things did not go as planned. First indication that Retribution may have underestimated their prey was when the women in light clothing summond thick, magnificent plate armor from thin air. Then the woman, who turned out to be some sort of knight and caster? multiplied. Two [Wind Clones] charged Nero and Augustin.

Second was when George unwrapped the largest axe Mura had ever seen and met him casually like he had been standing right in front them all along, not sneaking for a flank.

Third was when Mo landed his mace on the fatty's head with all his might, only for it to bounce off like it was made of plastic. Grendell swung his arm sweeping Mo like a rag doll, throwing him towards the stone wall.

Although Grendell ran straight for it, first to reach Berethur was Joann, who popped into existence next to him. She immediately knelt and undid the restraints helping Berethur to get back up. Closer to the entrance, Mura was retreating from a Gallahad who seemed to be faster than him swinging an axe thirty times heavier than his scimitars. In the middle, Nero was going head to head with the clone using a combination of kicks and fists with an occasional kukri throw. Augustin on the other hand was decisively winning, using both his sword and spells along with his passive, moments away from scattering the clone.

Mura circled around and retreated to the side of his comrades while Berethur put himself closer towards the door whom Grendell followed and Joann came to the side of Gallahad facing the three Retribution members. As both sides regrouped, all of their attention momentarily went to Mo, who slowly rose next to the wall which he was slammed to. Though the air around him was eerie now, and for some reason, all stared at him rather than continuing with the fight. Everyone except Berethur and Grendell were seasoned fighters and their instincts yelled them that Mo somehow was the biggest threat.

The priest limped towards Grendell and Berethur, instead of his team mates. His broken arm hung limply to his side while his other arm supported his shattered ribs. As he walked forward blue flames bursted from his eyes, torching his entire head in flames moments after. Instead of scorching or melting, the flames petrified skin and flesh as they spread to engulf his entire body. The limping body crumbled but never stop moving, shedding skin and flesh as the robes were replaced by a dark suit and the head turned into the likeness of a deathly pale man. Now moving with perfectly measured steps, Edward stopped couple feet before Grendell and Berethur.

Lawyer snorted, "Do you have any idea how long I have spent looking for this ugly monkey and you human?".

Edward's face and tone failed to convey any frustration as always. Anticipating this, he had chosen to sigh in order to emphasize his supposed frustration, but to his mildest disappointment it had come out like a snort.

'Hm, I do feel my interrogations would be more fruitful if I can make them more personal through conveying some emotion. Nevertheless, that is not my forte.'

Everyone in the room was frozen for different reasons. Gallahad was frozen in fear, but he could also feel his rage boiling, likely to dwarf his fear. Joann was thinking as hard as she can to get her crew out alive. Augustin was intrigued while Mura and Nero were baffled. Berethur looked at the person who had been the invisible hound that was released on their scent weeks ago, whom he felt its breath on his neck throughout his time on the road. Grendell just looked.

"You two will be coming with me alive, rest of you will conveniently die in this unsightly room." Edward was not a demon who left loose ends. Regardless of Demiurge-sama's orders, his responsibility given by the arch-demon now held personal importance. This affair had stayed unresolved for far too long for Edward's satisfaction. It would end here and now.

Edward looked around to the others. Staying a note longer on Joann and Gallahad's faces. The demon could see through the illusion and was mildly surprised upon noticing them. Orc should have known better than getting in his way again, no mercy this time. The knight on the other hand, was supposed to be dead. She must have used some sort of ability to tank [Judgement]'s damage.

Others in the room did not worth any particular attention. Though he particularly disliked one of the men's ugly mask. To his distaste the man addressed him.

"So who might you be sorcerer, coming to places uninvited, to business you have nothing to do with?"

He looked at the man, his vision piercing through the mask and seeing the rotting face of Augustin. Edward turned his expressionless face to the side to spare his eyes from this failure of a façade. 'Foolish of me to expect anything better within the human sewage system.'

"Such asymmetry, such ugliness, human why don't you take it off?"

Augustin scowled at the sorcerer, stepping closer while tapping his blade to the floor. "Take what off?"

"Your face." Edward motioned towards to the closest stone wall. One of the large stone slabs came loose from its place and launched itself, aimed to tear off Augustin's head. If Augustin hadn't casted a barrier it certainly would have done the job.

Edward looked at the man disapprovingly, "Persistent as any other pestilence." More stone slabs ripped themselves from the wall, ready to be launched. Both Retribution and the rescuers had instinctively encircled the newly arisen threat. Edward twisted his lips bitterly to their efforts and blinked out of existence. He reappeared next to Berethur putting a hand to his shoulder.

"Move aside, would be awfully hard not to kill you along with the other inse-"

A large fist muffled his words as the lawyer was sent towards the other side of the room. The punch did no apparent damage, Edward slowed himself down before hitting the wall but had to use his hand to halt his body. For a second Edward looked at his hand which was buried into the disgusting green mold. Even when retracted, the disgusting green stuff lingered in his long white fingers.

"Oh, this won't do at all." 'One person is plenty enough to bring Demiurge-sama, the ape will be dying here too.'

Grendell had put himself between Berethur and Edward, he had that crazed glint in his eyes while his fist was ready for another punch. Then whole hell break loose, Edward moved towards the center trying put distance away between him and Berethur. Grendell chased after him while Joann and Gallahad charged to the powerful demon. Couple seconds into the battle, Retribution had plainly realized that this battle was far beyond their level. Although realization came a little late.

It did not dawn upon them when Joann copied herself a dozen fold and charged. Each clone was as strong as them but they all got destroyed in Hellfire, fucking Hellfire when they got closer to the Lawyer. They were too baffled to run then. When George was sent a foot deep into a solid stone wall, making a large chunk of the ceiling to collapse, they still jumped around sending bolts, kukri and spells. Nero and Mura understood they need to get the fuck out only after a stray lightning bolt deflected by Joann's sword hit their strongest member Agustin and reduced him to a dark spot on the floor. The remaining members made a run for it.

In the meantime, Edward was surprised with the amount of fight the other four was putting up. The knight seemed to be an air nymph, proving to be very elusive. She was proficient in close combat and had good gear, putting Edward in a distinct disadvantage. Same could be said for the orc too, but he simply did not have the equipment to deal noticeable amount of damage to him. The sorcerer proved to be extremely annoying as he had noticed Edward's distaste for dirt and was using magic to fling the mold towards him. It was quiet an ingenious move, although he posed virtually no threat, he still made Edward dodge or block the attacks. Lastly, the ape was outrageously strong and resilient. Their four pronged attacks made it really hard for the demon to handle them while sparing the sorcerer in this confined space. An air blast from a spell like [Objection] could surely kill his target.

So Edward continued to use the stone slabs and single target spells to handle the opposition. First one to go down was Joann, when Edward finally landed a [Hellfire] burning the knight in hell flame and then using kinesis to smash her body into the ceiling. Joann feet dangled down while rest of his body drilled into solid stone and earth.

Floating stone slabs bombarded Gallahad, with Joann gone the attack was more focused and the orc did not have time to dodge. Couple slabs got smashed midair by his axe but many more got through. First Gallahad was thrown against the wall from the impact, but the hail of stone did not cede until his body was entirely buried under the rubble.

Edward was thrown forward by a strong hit to the back of his head. He continued to trench through the stone floor for a couple feet before levitating himself back to an upright position. Demon's cruel eyes were the only indication how much suffering it wanted to inflict on this stupid beast.

[Curse: Weight of Guilt]

Gravity strengthened its pull on the beast. Grendell ran towards Edward but slowed down mid-way. His charge reduced to a jog, then a walk. Soon after Grendell began to sink into the ground due to his weight rapidly increasing. Now at a snail's pace, the beast was using his legs and arm to "swim' through solid ground.

Edward opened his hand, creating spheres of condensed gravitational energy in his palms.

[Maximize Magic: Gravity Maelstrom]

[Gravity Maelstrom]

[Gravity Maelstrom]

Grendell slumped over, he was half sunk into the ground and heavily wounded. Edward had hit him with high tier spells with the intention to kill. Beast's whole body was limp, in sharp contrast with its unyielding eyes focused on Edward. Large patches of skin and flesh had torn off with each hit, letting Grendells blood out into a puddle around him. Meantime, Joann had managed to dislodge herself from the ceiling and dropped on the floor. Though she was heavily wounded, the knight forced herself back to her feet.

'Can't let him die…'

With a final charge, Joann leapt towards the demon. Or so was what Edward thought. Instead, the knight charged Grendell, lifted the curse using the highest dispel spell she knew. As Grendell got back his bearings, Joann caught his eyes then pushed Humility into his hand handle first.

'My toy'

The beast used the flat of the divine sword to smack Joann across the room. Joann stayed down this time after a gauche landing. Berethur ran to her side but to his terror, the knight seemed awfully still.

Grendell leapt out, rising the sword high with the intention to beat life out of this annoying little man. The beast completely disregarded the pain caused by large chunks of missing flesh. Muscles bulged as the sword came down on the Lawyer.

Edward had to retreat back to avoid the damage. The sword was a divine item and with Grendell's strength, it had enough damage to cause him some concern. Grendell pushed the advantage but Edward simply retreated, kiting the beast while dozing him in [Hellfire], telekinetic strikes and [Mind Blast].

In the end, Grendell did not have the strength to continue on and fell on his knees. Edward stood in front of the beast looking down at his opponent.

"Quite a unique type of ape you are; some memorabilia would be nice."

He summoned a brief case from which he took out a large scythe as tall as him with a blade as long as his arm. He swung the scythe with deadly precision, taking the head clean off Grendell's shoulder. The head rolled for a couple feet while the body simply fell sideways to the ground.

'Are we really going to die in this literal shithole?!' Berethur was feeling numb and nauseous at the same time. 'No, he said something about bringing me to someone.' His stomach twisted, would the latter be any better than the former? In the end, they had failed. He had failed. The hound had caught up and now he would be brought before someone to be judged for who knows what. Thing would have been very different if he had simply fled to another town, but he had gone ahead and asked for the old hag's advice. 'Bad move.'

Edward moved towards the sorcerer who had knelt next to Joann. 'Mission completed, finally.' They had a long journey ahead of them, it would have been excellent if he knew the spell [Gate] but the most advanced displacement spell in Edward's arsenal was [Greater Teleportation].

"Ahem."

Edward turned around, did one of the pathetic humans came back? How foolish of them… But what he got was not what he had expected.

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*Name of Joann's sword. A divine item mentioned before Joann's first encounter with Edward.