The demon was going rampage, trying to stand up and catch the aircrafts which looked like annoying bugs.

"Let's try to aim the other knee so he can't move again! Now, fly down," Dryad said.

Alexey obeyed and Haze followed behind his aircraft. With Dryad's guidance, both aircrafts circled around the demon, trying to keep out of its reach while also getting a good angle to hit the back of its other knee.

"Stay close and stay on the move. We don't want to give it time to retaliate," Dryad said in a low voice. "The same as before. Turn right when I say it's at 3 o'clock from you. Okay?"

Alexey nodded, "Copy that."

Dryad hold her breath, calculating the right time to give command.
"1.... 2.... 3 o'clock! Turn to the right!"

Alexey executed her command, turning just as she said. The aircraft banks sharply to the right, giving him a clear range at the demon's knees. Meanwhile Haze kept following behind.

"Now the demon is at your 12 o'clock. Imagine. We're facing the back of its knees," Dryad informed. "Hold... we're almost there," she said, her heart raced with anticipation.
"Steady.. We're in the range. Hold... Fire!!"

Alexey pushed the button, firing a missile directly at the back area of the demon's knees. The missile hit its target with a deafening explosion.

"We got it!" Dryad exclaimed over the radio. "Haze, your turn! Fire!"

As Alexey steered his aircraft fastly to the side to give Haze a clear shot, Haze quickly launched the missile, causing the demon to stumble and fall to the ground again.

"It's down! Quick avoid!" Dryad shouted.

Both men immediately dove the aircraft to the side, narrowly avoiding the falling demon. They dodge out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding a collision!

"Close call!" Dryad said, her voice laced with adrenaline.

Now, the demon lost much of its power and his invisibility became less effective, allowing Alexey and Haze to see it clearly.

"God!! So that is the demon?!" Alexey gasped and his face contorted in disgust as he observed the demon with widened eyes. The dark.. black blood poured from the damage of its heads.

"It is!" Dryad said, looking grimly at the monster. "This is what we are dealing with now."

As soon as Alexey saw that, he quickly took control of the aircraft and went up to gain altitude, giving them a certain distance away.

"Now how could we kill it with our missiles left?"Haze asked through the radio.

"At least we immobilized it now so..." before Dryad could finish her words, the demon unexpectedly jumped! Though it was blinded, by using its senses alone, the demon catched Haze's aircraft!
After that, the demon landed on the ruins with a loud thud.

"Argh!! Damn!" Haze screamed, panic suddenly overwhelming his nerves. In that very instant, this situation felt like someone had grabbed him by the neck, preventing him from moving at all! Eurydice, who was sitting behind him all the time became more shocked as ever. She was trying to be quiet and holding back her fear all the time but now she couldn't help it. Her chest tightened with fear so that she could not even speak.

"Haze!!" Alexey shouted. His heart dropped when he heard through the radio, the sound of disturbing static and sound of metals slowly crashing.

As the demon squeezed Haze's aircraft, the metal body slowly started to bend and crack.

"Noo!!" Dryad shouted, panic starting to seethe in her veins. Her mind filled with terror! They knew exactly what this would mean!

Haze's aircraft began to twist, and a little spark of fire burst out from the control as if it was about to explode!

With a shock expression, a single tear fell from Haze's eyes without he realized. His heart beat wildly but he came to a conclusion to accept the fate. He talked to Alexey through the radio,

"Alexey...We are.. brother forever.."
He said with a shaky voice full of emotions. He was sure that it was the last words he could say in his last moment.

Alexey's eyes glistened "Don't talk like that!! Dammit!!" he yelled desperately. Alexey flashed a sharp gaze to Dervin who was there with them, hiding in the corner.

"Do something!! Do something, demon!!" Alexey shouted at the top of his lungs.

"What can I do?! I am just a powerless cat demon!" Dervin hissed. "Especially in human world."

"Haze will die!! Do something!"

Dervin's eyes widened as he realized that there's some dust falling from his fur. He looked down to his own body. He would slowly turned into nothing because one of his human friends were dying.

"Aargh.. shit!! The magic contract is really works! What should I do, what should I... OH! That's right!! I know!!" Dervin cried as an idea struck his mind. He disappeared with a puff of the black smoke.

But in no time, Haze's aircraft sank into the giant demon's hand and exploded!

"NO!!"
Alexey's heart stopped beating in shock when the pieces of metal flew everywhere. But before he could say anything more, the giant demon's tail whipped through the air, hitting the back of the aircraft with a force that knocked it off course. The aircraft veered wildly to the side, almost losing control.

"Oh, shit!" Alexey exclaimed, his grip on the controls tightening. "We're losing altitude!"

The tail of the airship was burned. Alexey struggled to regain control, his eyes darting around the cockpit. He could feel the aircraft descending rapidly, the ground getting closer and closer.

Dryad glanced at Alexey with a feared expression. They both knew the gravity of the situation.

"We're done for...," Dryad said between her ragged breath and tears.

"Not yet!! I'm trying to stabilize us!" he said with a hundred percent of optimism. His voice strained, "We just need to land somewhere safely! Trust me!"

But of course the time was not enough to search for a clear area to land.

The aircraft was now on a collision course with the ground, heading straight towards a patch of trees. It's a matter of seconds before they hit.

"Brace yourselves!" Alexey's voice tensed.

As Dryad closed her eyes and braced herself for the crash, Alexey's grip on the controls tightened even more, trying desperately to slow the aircraft down. With a loud crash and screech, the aircraft swept the soil and trees, creating some spark of fires before it stopped completely.

Some time later after everything calmed down a bit, Alexey let out a tired sigh as the aircraft landed with a jarring impact. His head collided with the control panel, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his skull. He winced and blinked rapidly, trying to clear his blurry vision.

"Ugh..." he growled, feeling the pain seared and it got even worse with the image of that explosion coming to his mind.
His heart sank as he realized that Haze's aircraft had been destroyed.

"No... Haze..." he muttered, his voice low.

He rested his forehead against the control panel, his shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to compose himself. It was overwhelming, and he felt a wave of grief washed over him.

"Damn it..." he whispered, his voice cracking.
"Aargh!" Alexey suddenly slammed his fist against the broken control panel, letting out a frustrated scream. He was filled with anger and guilt, knowing that he could have done more to help Haze.
"Damn it!!" he cried with anger and self-blame.

Dryad winced at his curse. She just sat there, holding the seat with trembling hands. She was crying and clearly shocked. Her head was bleeding from the collision, not sure if she realized it or not.

"I.. I am sorry... It was all my fault..." Dryad sobbed.

Alexey slowly lifted his face and turned his head to Dryad. His expression softened as he saw her crying. He felt a pang of guilt and sympathy for her, knowing that she must be hurting just as much as he is.

"Dryad..." he said between his ragged breaths. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

His heart ached as he saw her like that. He unbuckled his seat belt, then stood up while taking off his vest. He folded the fabric before kneeling down beside her. Then gently pressed her head to stem the bleeding. She winced as he did that.

"No, don't apologize. It was an accident."
He tried to comfort her, and himself too. "But there's still a hope. Dervin must do something to help, right? Let's pray for the best..." Alexey said with a slight trembling voice.

"I forced you both to fight against that demon... I'm sorry... I never wanted an end like this..." Dryad said between her crying.
She was unable to speak properly, and just let her emotions take over. "You didn't deserve any of this..."

"You didn't force us. We made the decision to help you. It's not your fault."
He closed eyes and took a very deep breath, exhaling it with a heavy sigh. He couldn't blame Dryad because he also fully aware that they had no choice. With its powerful magic, that demon could cause a natural disaster. If they didn't stop it, not only the town, but this land would be in a grave situation.

"There is nothing else we can do...," Dryad whispered bitterly.

Alexey opened his eyes again and stared at Dryad before continuing,
"We are still alive. True? Means that we have a chance to survive, use it at last! We still can do something," he said firmly.

Alexey was always surrounded by hardship and dangers his entire life. So, even though his eyes reflected great sadness, despite this, he accepted any situation as if it was a natural thing. This was because everything he had seen and experienced was so much more than anything a normal person ever imagined. He accepted them all without hesitation, although they were not always a happy story.

"And I believe that Dervin had saved Haze and Eurys, somehow. Come on, Dryad. Can you stand? First things first, we have to get out of this junk," Alexey said again. He gently unbuckled her seatbelt and took her wrist while standing. "Come on. Chin's up!"
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