Witch Monastery-Chapter 329: Demon Rampage

As soon as Charles finished speaking, the entire group instantly began prepping their spells. Everyone knew just how nasty these proto-demons could be—most control spells barely worked on them at all. Needless to say, every face was taut with tension.

Willo and her daughter, especially, felt their hearts leap into their throats. The horrors of that night were still fresh in their minds, making both women deeply anxious.

They stood ready with Entangle, prepared to unleash it the second those proto-demons arrived.

All of a sudden, the sewers echoed with a strange slap—like the webbed feet of frogs smacking against the sticky, slimy ground. It was the proto-demons, charging forward in their bizarre way.

The sound came faster and faster—like a relentless summer storm pounding on metal window bars, sharp and unending.

At least ten proto-demons were rushing toward them!

That thought flashed through Charles’s mind just before a blur shot past the far corner. The thing’s body was gangly, limbs stretched thin like a twisted monkey, and it moved with lightning speed—pouncing straight at them!

"Hee—!"

The creature let out a gleeful, childlike giggle as it focused on Charles, then crouched and sprang right at his face!

But before it got close, thick roots erupted from every direction, instantly cramming the sewer tunnel so tight that only a few narrow gaps remained—just enough for air to squeeze through.

Wrath of Nature!

Adele’s fifth-level spell—she’d once used it to trap Montport and buy Charles time to unleash everything he had.

Now, she was using the same move again—not to bind, but to limit the proto-demons’ options for attack!

With her previous experience, Adele knew these creatures couldn’t be stopped by mere restraint. Only higher-circle spells could really slow them down!

And true to form, the proto-demons were even dumber than "normal" demons. Seeing only a crack left to squeeze through, one immediately took the bait—scrabbling at the roots, trying to worm its body through.

Even with their crazy flexibility, it still took time for them to squirm through such tiny openings.

Right as its head poked into the gap, Charles summoned Montport’s twin-bladed polearm, strode over, and whispered, "Purify," before swinging down hard!

Buzz—

Milky-white radiant energy flared, and the creature screamed—a shrill, grating wail. It clawed desperately forward, apparently unaware of fear. But in moments, the radiant light engulfed its entire body, and the thing disintegrated, completely purified.

Charles didn’t bother to check his new Purification Points. Beyond the wall of roots, more proto-demons were on the way.

Theresa was already casting, bathing the entire tunnel with light. Hattie threw up even more magical barriers, sealing almost every gap—leaving just one weak spot on purpose, so Charles could safely slice through them, one by one.

Sephera stamped her foot, bristling with frustration. She’d thought this mission would be about roughing up slum thugs—her time to shine! Who’d have guessed all they’d find were the undead and demons, both completely immune to her poisons. She was grinding her teeth, totally powerless.

Andny, meanwhile, was perfectly chill, sending her worms to hide in the cracks in the walls, waiting for the battle to end.

Whatever the girls’ moods, the fight raged on. Charles kept purifying demon after demon, but as more appeared and couldn’t find a way through, they started chewing and clawing at Adele’s root barrier in frustration.

Feeling the roots shudder, Adele’s anxiety spiked, and her face went a little pale. She shot a pleading look at Charles, who, to her surprise, seemed calm as ever. "Hattie, open one more gap. I can handle them all!"

His Thirsting Blade and the polearm’s wild speed meant even if two cracks poured out demons, he was confident he could purify every last one!

Hattie obliged, yanking away one magical tentacle, opening up an extra slit. The proto-demons instantly forgot the roots—now scrambling over each other to pour through the new gap. Adele felt the pressure slide right off her shoulders.

Charles, meanwhile, focused on recalling every "Power Attack" combo he’d ever practiced, his movements getting smoother and faster. The twin-bladed polearm whirled like a windmill, cutting through the proto-demons so quickly that they vanished in clouds of black mist, one after another.

His technique hit an all-time high—live combat with magic backing him up was way more efficient than the training room ever was. He stood his ground, single-handedly holding the line—literally a one-man demon-slaying army.

Behind him, Adele watched in awe. On that horrible night, she’d been too injured—too consumed by her own healing—to notice how Charles had massacred the demons. Now, seeing it up close, she simply could not believe her eyes.

He really does look kind of... amazing...

A seed that was planted the night she’d been wounded by the demons now began to quickly sprout.

But Charles had no idea what Adele was thinking—he was too deep in the flow of battle. As the onslaught slowed and the last few demons struggled through, he turned to Adele and called, "Adele, drop the root wall—we can finish the rest off!"

"Huh? Oh!" Snapped out of her daydreaming, Adele quickly ended her spell. The giant roots faded away, revealing the tunnel. Sure enough, only a couple battered proto-demons remained, still gnashing their fangs.

Charles moved in at once. With two quick sweeps of the polearm, he took down the last of them, and peace returned to the sewers.

He was breathing hard—wearing the mask made each breath short, and after so much exertion he was hot and out of air, sweat beading on his brow.

But with the stench of the sewers hanging around, there was no way he was risking taking the mask off.

Adele, gathering her courage, created a green leaf from magic—using it as a handkerchief to dab the sweat from Charles’s forehead and cool him down.

Charles stared at her in surprise, seeing how awkward and nervous she looked as she stammered, "Good work, Priest Charles, for destroying so many demons just now."

That made things even more awkward, and Charles nearly laughed. "Uh... it wasn’t too bad, not too hard, really..."

He caught Hattie trying to suppress a giggle, and Theresa aimed an encouraging smile his way.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he was about to tell Adele not to overthink it, but just then, she quickly put the leaf away and muttered, "I just figured you looked exhausted. We’re still counting on you for the beholder, so... don’t get the wrong idea."

Well, now I can’t help getting the wrong idea.

Charles snarked internally, but didn’t say anything else. He thanked Adele and turned his attention deeper into the tunnels, brow furrowed in concern. "This is getting out of hand—Xanathar’s just summoning proto-demons non-stop."

"Whatever madness he’s fallen into, whatever endgame he’s chasing, we have to stop him before it’s too late!"

He felt the urgency building. If the proto-demons spread any further into Liberl Port’s sewers, who knew what chaos would follow.

The ones he purified weren’t a problem, but the ones dying elsewhere would rot into demon-soil, polluting the whole underground.

These sewers were already a tangled, lawless warren—no way City Hall could ever scrub them clean. If demon-soil spread out of control, the result would be more demon trees, blood pools, abyssal chickens and worms everywhere—predators and prey constantly evolving into bigger, nastier demons...

The image made Charles’s scalp tingle. Sure, every purified demon meant more Purification Points, but if these things multiplied out of control, his hard-won progress would be at risk!

No time to waste—they had to hit Xanathar and his criminal syndicate before the situation spiraled beyond hope!

Steel in his heart, Charles signaled his teammates to move out—everyone picking up the pace, dashing deeper into the sewers, hurtling toward the beholder’s final lair.

~~~

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