Chapter 674: True Demonlord [5]


    In seconds, multiple transmissions suddenly cut. Fog arose onto the battlefield of which consisted of bodies, a singr road to the north aligned by broken buildings. Rangers hoisted atop the broken vestiges fired to no avail, threat wasn’t on the ground either, from above, came multiple crows and fogs of ck. Tension skyrocketed, and none could stand before the army.


    Therein, theing of fog meant certain death, those able of body, brave vanguard a few minutes ago, cowered on themselves. Knees shook, face paled and an entourage of trauma-inducing nature.


    “RETREAT!” cried Meza, “-barrier casters, create a secondary line, we’ll guide the fight westward.”


    “No can do,” fired an earnest fighter, “-I’m at my limit, most of the casters are dead or injured. The assault was well-coordinated, they took out a lifeline and are readied to pincer.”


    “He’s right,” said a solemn voice, “-I’m out of ammo. Cut the losses and wait till the fight ends, this is our only hope.”


    “Jonl, you serious right now?”


    “Yeah, the more people die, the stronger they get. Aptha; how’s the triage?”


    .....


    “Bad,” she replied, “-very bad. We’re out of supplies, my abilities are strained by the mortal wounds.”


    “Damn it,” he peered out the advance scout position, “-any vigntes abled to move, head westward.” Two options presented themselves, either help the fallen or help the abled. Meza choose the former, deep inside, the thought process was biased, the truth in the vigntes to pull through swayed the oue. He wished wholeheartedly for their sess.


    “Boys, boys,” spoke the fighters, “-time to be used as bait,” they nervouslyughed. Lustful res locked onto them, “-stall for time people. The heroes are on their way, we fight till the bitter end. HEROES ARE PEOPLE WHO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR OTHERS!”


    “HELL YEAH!” thest battle cry. Down in their hearts, despite the adrenaline, the sad reality of worthlessness and weakness veered its ugly face.


    The horde,promised of skeletons and turned Sultrians, split for east and west. The monsters of the air swooped and killed the rangers, Meza’s map blinked red each time a fighter died. Sweat and fear stered on his face, the makeshift medic camp cried in horror.


    “Theye...” said a guard, “-we’re doomed.”


    “What?” quick to check on he who spoke, *sh,* blood dowsed the floor and walls red, ‘-no,’ her heart dropped, ‘- don’t tell me...’ the body fell, her eyes wandered outside onto theing fog, ‘-they’re here...’


    “éir, infiltrate the channel.”


    “As wished.”


    Between the bait and hardworking camp, the prior death-filled street cleared, “-Hello, is this working?”


    “Who is it?” returned Meza.


    “Listen well. Rangers and survivors make their way to the camp. Healers focus on those who can still fight, have the spellcasters in somewhat fightable shape, cast barriers. Two factors are needed to win this battle, first, the rescue of the fighters, second, we destroy the enemy.”


    “Destroy the enemy?” inquired Jonl.


    “Watch and learn, fellowrade of Hidros. This is how a true adventurer fights.” A nonchnt presencended, the horde momentarily halted and red. Meza, far away, snuck a glimpse as did Jonl.


    ‘The bait’s not doing their job,’ he scanned, ‘-well, here I go,’ he leaned, picked up a long sword, and a few pebbles. Two steps forth, the pebbles flew past the monsters and nicked the fearful vigntes. The fresh scent of blood drew the attention of all, those headed for the camp turned and growled. ‘ording to n,’ he stood in the middle, the horde itched to pounce, ‘-they’re being controlled by others, must be the fog. This is most likely a premature attack, I’d hope, who am I to guess what monsters are thinking.’ Firm into the fighting stance, ‘-let’s go old-school,’ each step resounded, the speed wasn’t impressive nor did it speak of power, instead, each time the soles made contact, a ckish mist remained on the floor. *GRRR,* ‘-finally, here theye.’ Every beast in the vicinity went for him, ‘-dark mana, I knew they’d be enticed.’


    Faster monster leaped with rudimentary weapons, scratches, and bites; a fighting style not viewed as favorable. ‘Barbaric,’ he stood firm without a single gesture, *-Spatial-Arts: Killzone,* a semitransparent drop of nothingness made contact and conjured a sphere, the radius stretched millimeters beyond the sword’s reach. ws first and headter, it crossed the barrier and death. A slow and rhythmic sh set the pace, hesitance shook themon consciousness, ‘e on, leader, show your face.’ *click, click, click,* chanted an otherworldly creature.


    The aura changed, the vacant nces filled in ire and lust, the horde leaped. On the outside, nothing differed, however, the Killzone allowed time to move per his will, thus, the more jumped, the faster he got. The seemingly weak and gentle strokes hastened, the posture firmed, one by one, the monsters fell.


    “Meza, someone’s on the battlefield, what should we do?”


    “Didn’t he give orders earlier? Focus on the camp.”


    A silver of hope showed itself amidst the carnage, the bait crawled to the camp, projectile weapons drew onto the stray enemies. The focus on a single man gave leeway to strategies. ‘Where’s the AHA?’ gritted Meza.


    A shock of condensed energy halted the ughter, ‘-heree new orders.’ The puppets halted and faced the camp, they split, the stronger headed for the sole-support line.


    ‘Good strategy,’ he smirked, *Go forth, Vengeance, y all those who dare stand in our way!* a swipe to the camp spawned a vicious tempest of mes, the streets carved behind the immense pressure, stray wanderers on the way charred instantly. A figure stood behind a mountain of mes.


    Meanwhile, inwards of the town, emergency messages hit every response unit. The blocked path didn’t allow for backup to arrive. Never mind the heroes who were stuck in an attack to the east, pressure arose from the toppled building. ‘What are the heroes doing?’ slightly glowing light-grey hair hovered onto the scene, the eyes lit vividly to match the purity of white, the hair swayed harshly at the increase of power, ‘-simple,’ the bottleneck cleared in seconds.


    “Mydy!” cried a few stray construction workers, “-thank you for the assistance.”


    “No worries, how’s the status of the invasion?”


    “Last report states casualties in the hundreds of deaths.”


    “I go away on a trip and this is the result.” *Woosh.*


    Ambnce sirens fought their way to the incident area.


    “Who was that?” inquired a bystander.


    “A very strong person,” replied the worker, “-her exploits are heard all over the continent. She’s the sole reason the monsters haven’t been able to break through Whuotan.”


    Debris and empty streets told a different story, thedynded amid a concluded battle. An unhinged sword, bloodied at the handle, stood on high above a mountain of bodies. ‘Is the battle over?’


    “Alright, take him to the back, he should be fine,” the camp somewhat smoothed.


    “I have great news,” said Meza, “-ambnces are on their way. They’ll take those who aren’t afflicted by the curse.”


    “What of them,” the mask lowered.


    “We don’t have the means to heal them as of yet.”


    “I see,” he exhaled, ‘-by the lowered tone, they’ll be left to die.’


    “What should I do about him?” inquired Aptha.


    “The injuries aren’t bad; a healing potion should do the trick.”


    “Alright.”


    “EMERGENCY!” cried a squad, “-we found a survivor, the pulse is barely present.”


    ‘Yeah, he’s not long for the world, the injuries are grave.’


    “PLEASE!” begged ady, “-save my fiancé.”


    ‘Lovers...’ a brief scan, “-take him to the second room.” From battle to now first-aid, treatment of the fallen was a priority. A strong personage entered the camp, the sight of relief blew the wilds, ‘-I thought the situation to be worse...’ the few steps arrived at the segregation of wounded. Those able to move helped in administering potions to the heavily wounded. The abundance of supplies was brought by a single man.


    “How’s the outside?” inquired Meza.


    “The wave’s backed off, I don’t see them returning.”


    “Meza,” the conversation broke, “-might you exin what has happened here?”


    “Highness,” they bowed, “-we were saved by a stranger.”


    “Excuse me?”


    “Allow me to exin,” a nce to the hall showed the man in question,”-let’s move to a more secluded area.” To which, Jonl excused himself in favor of aiding the patients.


    A roofless apartment gave a decent view, “-Not much of a change,” shemented as the camp was little more than a stone’s throw away, “-tell me what happened?” A passing breeze enhanced her features.


    “We were saved by a stranger, he’s yet to tell us his name. Yet, I feel much power inside. Where the mostpetent of our vigntes fell by the tenacity of the monsters, he single-handedly took on a horde of at least two hundred. Believe me, when I say, the way he fought felt careless and tiresome, it felt more of a hassle to him, like, what a waste of time, kind of feel.”


    “And, should I be impressed?”


    “No, not at all. I’m just giving my report. After an anti-climactic conclusion, he took to the medical camp, dawned a medical mask, and began to fight.”


    In before their eyes, time sped, ambnces arrived in full. The injured were taken for further treatment, those afflicted by the curse were transported in a less visually pleasing truck, destination, Q-zone. An otherwise lost battle held firm on a single strand of hope. The evening arrived, members of the AHA and fresh vigntes mounted a stern defense. Another wall was built by the useless debris.


    ‘I’m done,’ fatigue gave to a harsh screech, ‘-unusable chair,’ the breathing rxed. ‘Treating people is harder than killing them, who would have thought. She’s something else,’ he narrowed outside, ‘-I recognize her from somewhere, but where? The abilities are far stronger than I ever imagined.’


    “Master, are thee well?”


    “Yeah, I’m fine. What of the quest?”


    “No deal, the government’s funding most of thepanies. We either wait for a deal or start a new one.”


    “A new one,” he leaned into the chair, “-sounds rough, I don’t want to be involved.”


    “Master, you’re very entertaining. We could use the route of puppetry and gain what is wished.”


    “Or, look for a foreignpany. Let’s sit on it for a while, there’s no way the monsters are being evicted so easily.”


    “Why?”


    “They’re strong. Every time a Sultrian is turned, the collective consciousness assimtes the battle experience and abilities. Have to hand it to the ruler of the underworld, he knows how to gain experience no matter the situation.”


    Footsteps interrupted the conversation, “-what’s your name?” said a shadowy figure.


    “And who are you?” he red.


    “None of your business. Tell me the name right away.”


    “Oh please,” he stood, “-a pretty face without the personality to match, how convenient. I’m sure you’re very amicable,” the height difference garnered a frown.


    “I haven’te to make friends,” a stern step forth, “-who in the hell are you?”


    He smirked, “-much attitude from one who has to tiptoe to make her voice heard, I apologize, thy words don’t reach. Maybee back when thee hath grown.”


    “Insolent bastard!” her hair levitated, the room trembled, stray rocks circled menacingly, “-take back thy words.”


    “No can do.”


    “I warned you,” the expression dulled, “-die.”


    .....


    *Woosh,* “-was I supposed to be scared?” he sidestepped, “-the rocks are far too slow to do any damage,” the projectiles kept on the pressure, “-I’d like to stay and chat,” at the entrance, “-sadly, I don’t personally enjoy thepany of smug brats. I hope we never meet again.”


    ‘-Little,’ the rocks halted, ‘-he’s gone...’


    “Highness, is everything ok?” panted Meza, “-I heard themotion.”


    “Yeah, everything is fine,” the girted teeth and clenched palms said otherwise.


    ‘Hades’ firm on the invasion. The same strategy employed by Scifer. The brief visit opened my eyes, the AHA is ipetent. The heroes are ck and unnervingly annoying. Vigntes do the work, and they take the credit. The media has heavily twisted the story. Not that it matters, I’ve gotten a fragment of the curse.’