Happy to help them out, I nodded my head. "Tev, you will stay here with Qwill. We will return when at least 2 of the children get to 25. I don't know how long it will take." I said. He nodded his head. "Thank you for helping me. I'll never forget this kindness, Lord David." That was great to hear. Going back a third time, I noticed that the red onis we were facing were getting bigger and stronger. I knew enough videogame logic to know a boss or mini-boss would come soon if we kept to this area. For better or worse, this was the last time that we would stand toe to toe with them for the day. I was not going to risk my children. Using my own kusarigama., I was able to do bonus damage to them. It came in handy. I wanted to take them out quickly. By wrapping my chain around them, I could make them fall prone for Anicia to finish off. She was the most behind. By the time Zayne was done, he was a real bloody mess. They really did a number on him. Anicia shot up to 21. I gave her 4 free kills and she battled 3 on her own. Aaren was at 23 kills. I moved over to Zayne so I could heal.
It helped him a little bit. He was still very low on health. I was debating whether or not to send him back alone. That was a new wave came. This was twice as big as the other waves. Luckily, half of it was the cannon fodder. We would have to dash for them and then retreat. "Focus on the small ones. I'll keep the bigger ones at bay. Tell me when you get to 25." I said to my children. We ran at squad of the small fry. We hacked and slashed at them. I made sure not to take any finishing blows. Anicia got 3 kills out of the 6 oni. Zayne got 1. Aaren got 2. That put him at 25. I looked towards the bank of the river. It looked clear. "Aaren. Zayne. We'll cover you. Retreat to the river bank. Tev and Qwill are waiting for you." They nodded and we retreated together to a point. Anicia and I stayed in aggro range. Some of the chased after us. My daughter had 24 kills. She only needed 1 more. Of the 3 red oni in our attack range, I hacked 2 to bits. The last one was in a full on life or death struggle with her. He was pushing a dagger towards her chest. Anicia was weakly trying to stop him.
Just in the knick of time I noticed. 1 second later and he was yanked off of her by the neck. The red oni was clearly stronger. Anicia pounced and began stabbing him with her kunai repeatedly. She did not stop even when he was dead. Anicia kept going until her stamina ran out. It really was time to go. Everything was quiet. I picked her up to her feet. "Time to go." I said. It was a short, but somber walk. My 3 brave children had exterminated dozens of demons. 2 dozen demons was 24. Together, they had gotten rid of 76. Tev and Qwill also did a number on them, Over 100 of them died. I looked at the river. The hermit was not there. I rolled my eyes. "We can't use the boat to get back. It's fine. We know you can cross by yourselves. Zayne did the best so he will wield me back across. Aaren is taller, so it will be easier to keep Qwill out of the water. That leaves Anicia with Tev." I said. Letting my son wield me was so nice. I was able to see his status because I was linked with him. He was not a holy blade. He was considered a Saint. It was a warrior class and it was very uncommon.
