The Imps emerged, being led by a blue-skinned Lesser Oni. The Lesser Oni was simply a few centimeters smaller than the Blue Oni we once fought before. But his aura wasn't less threatening. He still had some red patches of skin around his body, showing that he was still in his process of metamorphosis into a Blue Oni from a red-skinned Imp.
It usually takes them a few days, but no more than a week to fully evolve and grow. Unlike humans who grow over time with each year. Imps and most demons are born and quickly grow. In just a week they grow into the size that we often see them as, and become young adults. After a month of training, they become mildly experienced and already go into the wild to hunt.
Therefore, the only way to "grow up" more is for them to devour souls and the flesh of the living beings of this world they're invading, they consume it until their demon cores gain enough essence to begin evolution. In such evolution, they receive a rapid growth spur until reaching a tall Oni-type Demon. But this varies a lot.
Imps are one of the most common weak demon types, but there are many others as well spread through the scorching lands of Hell and its eight layers. Usually those start even stronger, so I am rather thankful that Imps are the only thing we have seen for the majority of the time.
If stronger Demon Tribes were to emerge in here… I don't know if I would even be able to do anything at all. The Shadow Benders, the Blood Parasites, the Winged Gargoyles, the Resentful Gorgons… all of them are powerful Demon Tribes that start similarly to Imps, but can develop to even more monstrous and lethal forms.
Some even come with innate abilities unique to them, sch as Gorgons having the power to petrify with their gaze, or Shadow Benders being naturally adept at manipulating shadows and merging with them, they can wipe out entire villages in a single night by mixing into the darkness of the night… all of these demons are lethal even on their infancy.
Imps are pushovers compared to them… and that's for the best.
"Huh, so this was the smell of- Huh?!" The Oni spoke with the Imps, as he felt shocked to find us ready to fight. He quickly analyzed us as he spoke on his demon dialect, everybody didn't understood him except me.
"Y-You bastards! You killed the hunting team?!" Roared the Lesser Oni, as he commanded the Imps to quickly fight us. I suppose he didn't put much thought into it. "Kill these damn children!!!"
The Imps laughed maliciously, holding swords and spears they had roughly made from materials found in the forest and move forward. One of the Imps immediately jumped like a frog into the air and then fell directly towards Erika, who they underestimated based in her looks.
Erika swiftly intercepted the falling blade held by the Imp with her own sword, as she gritted her teeth and looked into the demon's eyes directly.
"Gryhih?!" Asked the Imp in surprise to see a little girl holding her own against a demon like him.
Erika suddenly caught the Imp with her kicking legs while spinning using her [Dance] Skill. Infusing her body with her Aether and Mana, she reinforced her legs to hit even harder than before and crushed the skull of the Imp on her third kick, throwing the unmoving body through the ground!
The body fell over the floor, as the Lesser Oni and the other Imps stared at it for a few seconds. They immediately realized they couldn't underestimate a little girl no matter how she looked.
"Now go and fight!" I roared. I immediately decided to use the [Command] Skill I had acquired to enhance all their Stats by +10%. The moment I said those words, a magical aura suddenly encompassed Chris, Eric, and Erika at the same time, enhancing their capabilities greatly! I had never thought it would work so quickly and wondrously as it did, but the three immediately felt stronger.
They didn't had any time to point it out though.
A trio of Imps rushed towards Eric, but Chris moved in front of him to defend him. He infused his staff with flames and unleashed a spiral of fire that caught one of the Imps within the flames. After that, he hit another with his staff in the head, knocking the Imp out in that second. Chris felt surprised he knocked out an Imp with a single strike.
This was most likely Command enhancing his strength, plus the meal made through Cooking, which has enhanced his capabilities amazingly. He didn't had time to overthink it though, as the third Imp closed in and slashed his back with their sword drenched in their blood, only to be saved by the chest plate he was wearing.
"My chest plate broke with a single slash?! Damn it! Fireball!!!" Chris roared, as a giant fireball hit the Imp behind him directly in the face.
The Imp fell down but suddenly crawled back like a cockroach, grabbing Chris legs and stabbing one of his legs with a knife. The pain was severe and made Chris agonizingly cry, but his Fire Fox acted before him, engulfing the Imp in holy flames!
"U-Uggh…" Chris fell to his knees while Erika and her dolls fought in the frontlines. I quickly decided to assist him, looking into his wound and cleaning it with Clean, extracting the demonic energy lingering inside and then closing it with a lesser Healing Spell which was enhanced through the First Aid Skill, which had already reached Level 2, making even my low-tier healing spells rather good.
"Better?" I asked. Chris eyes shone brightly as he saw me healing him, he nodded confidently.
"Thank you!" He said, as he joined with Erika in the fight, throwing fireballs at the Imps to keep them at bay. I saw the Blue Oni wandering around. What is he planning?