Rey snapped his head back, and the demons were running full tilt at them, as if they were going to run right through them. He pounded on the door with everything he had. His hand felt like it was going to break. He had a thought that he should let Sergei pound on it. He immediately discarded that idea. It would just waste time, as the door wouldn't break so easily.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  He looked up and he had an idea. Without thinking about it, he put an arm around Kassandra's waist and pulled her close. She flinched and tried to move away, but he didn't let her.

  "Hold on tight," he said. The fact that her face was close to his wasn't lost on him.

  "Huh?"

  He slammed the butt of his scythe on the ground, and they shot up at full speed. She cried out and put her arms around his neck, and he wouldn't lie there; there were some involuntary movements in some parts of his body.

  He looked down. Seriously, buddy, even in this situation.

  He stopped Repulsion when he was at the roof level and used Attraction instead. They were pulled to the roof and landed lightly on the flat stone roof. Kassandra had been screaming all this while hugging him so tightly that it was almost suffocating, but by god, did it feel good.

  "Kassi, you're okay," Rey said, patting her back. "Let go."

  She calmed down when she realized she wasn't in any danger. "Oh, sorry." Then she glared at him. "Do not do that again...without telling me first."

  "You got it." Rey winked. "Okay, we don't have much time. Get to the watchtower and signal that sadistic blondie to get down to the balcony and open the door."

  "On it." She ran off towards the watchtower, which was a thin, round tower that jutted out of the roof and was several storeys high.

  Rey jumped down to the ground and controlled his descent with Repulsion. He was so happy that he hadn't used his Mana when he came out with Kassandra to dispatch the demons earlier, for he needed all the Mana he could get his hands on.

  "What did—" Jerry started.

  "No time," Rey interjected. "I'm going to take you and Sergei up to the balcony. It's probably locked, so break down the door if Tia doesn't get to it fast enough. Jerry, start working on creating a new door right away. Sergei, I'm going to throw people up to you, make sure you hold out your hand over the balcony. My star-crossed lovers, I'll be throwing you two up last. Cover us as best as you can."

  They both nodded and immediately turned to face the demons and started blasting. They were such powerhouses, it was such a shame that a Luthrol of all things took them down. The worst part was that two Luthrols were coming towards them right now.

  Rey had no time to waste. He gripped Sergei's and Jerry's hands and used Repulsion, and they shot up. It wasn't like jumping; it was more like Rey had flipped the magnet under his feet, causing it to repel the ground instead of being attracted to it. They reached the balcony, and he used Gravitational Attraction, pulling them forward. He deposited the men on the balcony. The balcony was so small that with just the two of them, it was crowded.

  Without another word, he jumped off. Behind him, a loud gong-like sound reverberated through the air. Then a crash, as the door must've flown off its hinges, and crashed against the walls.

  Sergei peered over the balcony's stone railing and gave a thumbs-up. Rey nodded to him, looked at Maria, and flicked his fingers up. He had used Attraction between Maria and Sergei's hand. In essence, he had made the pull of Sergei's hand for Maria to be stronger than the ground, which in turn caused her to shoot up or fall towards Sergei's hand. It was a fascinating concept that if he sat down to work out the physics of it, he would go mad. Einstein would have come in his pants trying to figure out Rey's powers, or maybe Newton would. Maybe they would have come in each other's pants trying to see who would figure this out first. He chuckled at that mental image.

  Sergei caught Maria effortlessly, as if she weighed as light as a feather. A moment later, he held out his arms again. Without any warning to Filomena, he flung her next. He had to hand it to the woman; she didn't scream or shout; she kept blasting away, trying her best to ensure everyone went deaf from ear-splitting thunder.

  Ajay was last, and Rey grabbed his arm and used Repulsion on the ground, for he was pretty much out of Mana by this point. They flew away, just as a demon crashed through their bone barricade. The idiot got impaled on the bones but took one for the team, crushed the bone, making an opening for the rest.

  Rey landed on the balcony railing with Ajay and breathed out in relief.

  "A second late and we would've been demon dinner, my spicy friend." Rey slapped Ajay's back and may have overdone it as he tumbled over the railing.

  Filomena cried out, but thankfully, Sergei caught him and deposited him back on the overcrowded balcony. She scowled at Rey, and he feared she was about to push him off the balcony, too.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  "Hehe, sorry," Rey said.

  Down below, their barricade was dust, and several demons lay with bones sticking out of them. Several others were running past them to try to find a way into the castle. Even the demons knew the only safe place left around for miles was the castle.

  "Jerry, how's the door coming along?" Rey asked quickly.

  "Almost done."

  "Okay, you'd better hurry and go reinforce the main door and windows," Rey said. "Looks like we're in for a siege after all."

  They all looked at him with questioning eyes, but he held up a hand. Jerry picked up the pace and finished putting the door back in place. Then he disappeared down the stairs, but Rey waited on the balcony, not looking down but up. Kassandra hadn't shown herself, and that was making him a little worried.

  Tia better not have done something to her, or I'll go back to my demon ways.

  A couple of tense and nerve-wracking minutes later, Kassandra's head peered down. Relief flooded Rey's body.

  Before she could say anything, he shouted. "Jump. I'll catch you."

  She nodded. "Okay." And jumped.

  Rey used a slight depreciating wave of Repulsion to slow her descent, so she wasn't falling, but more like floating like a feather. For some reason, which was totally out of his control, she fell into his arms. It wasn't like he had planned it that way.

  "Wow, that was an experience," she said with a smile. After a pause, she added. "You can let me down now."

  "Ah, yes." It was then that he realized he had been grinning like an idiot. He quickly stopped and put his game face back on. "So?"

  "Tia was there. I informed her about what is happening. She is heading back down to check on Bahar, but seeing as you broke the door down, we can do that too."

  She walked inside, but Rey lingered for a moment, scanning the treeline, which was still pouring out more demons. The clearing was choked with them. Fighting and clobbering over each other, trying to get away from something that hadn't shown itself yet, nor had its minion.

  Rey walked inside the balcony and shut the door, which Jerry had put back in place. Not only did he repair the dent, but he also strengthened the door by reinforcing it with a thick sheet of steel on the inside. Rey hoped he had done the same on the main door. Together with Kassandra, he ran down the stairs to find everyone crowded around an unconscious figure.

  "What happened?" Rey asked. It wasn't until he saw who the unconscious figure was that his heart started pounding. "Please tell me, she isn't dead."

  "She's still breathing," Filomena said, who was cradling the head of their doctor in her lap. "She's breathing, but something or someone hit her in the back of the head."

  Rey's eyes widened. He didn't waste his time asking who. The others were doing that enough already.

  "Do you know anything?" Kassandra asked Tia.

  "Don't look at me," she snapped. "I was up in the watchtower, watching you all flail about and have second thoughts about killing those demons. Why did you stop anyway? You could've easily taken care of them like we did when they attacked after Gloria died."

  "This was different," Rey said.

  "How come?" She asked. "Is it because you're leaving, so it's not your problem anymore?"

  "Can't you see Jerry fortifying the door?" Rey barked. "No one is leaving anymore. Unokir has come."

  That shut the blonde up real good. Even Jerry paused for a moment, but then restarted his work at double speed. He had put a thick layer of steel everywhere except for the little slit in the main door, which was good, because Rey had a feeling he was going to need that. He was doing the same to the windows, which weren't large enough anyway, but the demons could easily break them down with enough attacks and then give Unokir or Phil a safe path into the castle.

  Rey wasn't too worried about the upper-storey windows, as hardly any demons could fly around here, but that didn't mean they couldn't crawl up the walls. Again, not too many demons would be able to accomplish such a feat, but it was possible.

  All of that wasn't even in the top five worries of Rey. His greatest fear at the moment was who had attacked the doctor. The wound didn't look bad enough to kill her, but still, blood seeped from between Filomena's fingers. Not a lot, but enough to make everyone nervous.

  "Someone tried to kill our body mechanic, which could only mean that we have an enemy in here," Rey said.

  Please don't let it be Phil. Please don't let it be Phil. He prayed.

  "Do you think Phil has returned?" Kassandra asked, as if reading his thoughts.

  "But how would he gain entry into the castle?" Filomena asked. "All the doors were closed, and I'm sure he cannot fly unless he picked the same Element as Rey."

  Those last few words reverberated through Rey, chilling him to the bone. If Phil had somehow figured out that there was a Gravity Element, then they were done for. He could rip the doors off the hinges, well in advance of his master getting here.

  Then all the hollering and the shrieking stopped abruptly. It was as if all the demons just stopped to take a nap or simply died. The silence was deafening. Rey exchanged glances with everyone, but his eyes rested on Kassandra.

  Then came a knock on the door, making many flinch.

  No one moved.

  Another knock.

  "Come on, guys, I know you all made it inside," came Phill's jovial voice.

  No one moved, but they all knew what this meant. That Rey had been right. Unokir was indeed here.

  Rey moved for the door, and Kassandra gripped his arm and slowly shook her head.

  "I'll be fine," he said, patting her hand. "Besides, Unokir or any demon at the E-Tier cannot break in unless we open the door for them."

  "Then why are you having me seal off all the doors and windows?" Jerry asked.

  "So that none of us can open the door and invite our death inside."

  Rey moved for the door, opened the small slit, and saw Phil.

  [Demon (Exiled) – E+3]

  He had gone through more changes than just ranking up. He had grown a coarse, greyish-black fur around his neck, which traveled down his shirt. Even his fangs had grown longer and sharper. The demons had made way for him as if he were the commander or the commander's dog.

  "I see, you're going for the Wolverine vibe," Rey said. "Just need a yellow costume and some adamantium claws and you're practically Hugh Jackman."

  "Funny," Phil said, without the least bit of laughter. "I have someone who wants to meet you."

  Then Phil stepped aside for his master, and one of Rey's most hated foes stepped into view—one of the only demons that Rey never beat. One of the only demons he didn't know how to beat stepped up to the door and smiled.

  "Hello, Rey."