As the trial commenced, deep underground in the sewers, Rodney, the Master of the Thieves Guild, was finalizing his preparations for the ritual. The ritual circle was complete, the empty column pedestals which were placed at each point of the hexagram now filled with objects and artifacts, each containing significant power. The objects placed on the columns in a clockwise order were: an Elvish book of the goddess, a preserved heart of a demon, a power necklace crafted by a Dwarven artificer, a cursed curved sword from the land of the Drows, a human Archwizard's skull, and finally, a Thunder Dragon's eye preserved in a jar. With all artifacts in place, each column was accompanied by a person.
Rodney, removing his armor, stepped into the center of the ritual circle, his upper body exposed, covered in rune markings. Thalia approached to deliver the unholy crown. She knelt and presented the crown to Rodney. The crown was made of obsidian, adorned with three red gems. There were two sockets where gems should have been placed, both now empty. Rodney was displeased to see the crown incomplete. "If not for your incompetence, I would have had the full might of the crown," he said, looking at Thalia as she bowed her head presenting the crown. Thalia remained silent, aware that her blunder had caused her father great discomfort. "Never mind, I will claim it soon enough. This power is enough to conquer Merthol," Rodney proclaimed, his confidence growing. "Let us start," he said, donning the crown, signaling for the ritual to begin. Thalia retreated and watched the ritual unfold from a balcony.
The people on each of the column pedestal began to chant in an ancient language in unison. Each chant made the ritual circle and Rodney's runes glow. He felt an overwhelming power flowing through him. "Yes, this is it," he thought, focusing on the power entering him. Thalia, watching from the balcony, was proud of this moment for her father. She envisioned her father finally achieving his dream of world domination, and she would be by his side through it all.
As the chants grew louder, so did the crimson light. Rodney, now surging with power, writhed in pain, his body slowly changing. Thalia gripped the balcony rail, growing worried about her father's state. She knew this was normal for the ritual, but she felt a sense of unease. Her gaze drifted around the circle when she suddenly noticed one of the ritual human sacrifices. It was hooded and masked, unlike the others who were only masked. She had personally handpicked the people for the ritual, so she knew what each of them should look like. But upon closer inspection, these people seemed different. Thalia felt her heart sink as she immediately called out, "Father!" when suddenly the ground violenty shook. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. When she looked at the ritual again, she was surprised to see that the people she had placed there were replaced with different individuals, one of them a demon. Without hesitation, Thalia lunged to kill the demon but was violently repelled by a greater force. She stumbled a few feet away from the ritual. As she recovered from the daze, she discovered a barrier erected around the ritual circle. It was now impossible to stop it. Despite this, Thalia tried to attack the barrier repeatedly, only to be repelled. The demon inside gave a sinister smile as it observed Thalia's futile attempts. The ground shook violently again, and then suddenly, a huge red pillar of light shot up from Rodney's feet, piercing the ceiling.
Back in the throne room, Aria was engulfed in a red pillar of light that shot up from beneath her feet, piercing the roof of the castle and reaching into the sky. The massive red pillar of light darkened the sky and was visible from every corner of the world.
Aria cried out in agony, feeling as though she was being torn apart from the inside. Zephyr, staring at her, was fascinated. "Yes, perfect. Everything went perfectly," he mumbled to himself. The demons that Zephyr had summoned were attacking anyone they saw. The King was protected by the King's Five Royal Guards. They tried to clear a path for the King to escape, but the demons were relentless.
Zephyr's plan was going perfectly when suddenly a burst of light shone across the room. The demons dispersed as continuous bursts of light exploded from random places. Confused by what was happening, Zephyr went to investigate when suddenly an arrow bolt flew straight towards him. He waved his hand and the bolt stopped mid-air, just inches from his face. Then he noticed a vial laced onto the bolt. Before he could react, the vial exploded and a burst of light hit him. He was thrown a few paces away from where he stood. When he tried to get up, he was surprised to see that he had been injured by the attack. His barrier hadn't protected him from the burst of light. A voice echoed across the room. "Aria!" An old man wearing a blue robe, with belts full of vials and potions strapped across his body, appeared. His arm was fitted with a contraption that resembled a small crossbow. He kept shooting from various places, slowly getting closer to Aria's position. Zephyr, not allowing this blunder to stand, flew straight towards the man and confronted him. The old man stopped shooting as he gazed at Zephyr. "I know what you are, demon!" the old man shouted. Zephyr, amused, replied, "I thought I told you to sit this one out, Eredin." The old man was Aria's Master, who had come to save her.
Before Eredin could save Aria, he knew he had to defeat Zephyr. Realizing this, he went on the offensive. With precision and finesse, he reloaded his crossbow and shot directly at Zephyr. However, Zephyr waved his hand and deflected the arrow away, anticipating the attack. Eredin took a few steps back to reload, while Zephyr stepped forward to counterattack. But as Zephyr moved, he noticed smoke bombs exploding below him, hindering his sight. Without hesitation, Eredin shot a barrage of arrows filled with vials of bursting light. The arrows hit Zephyr multiple times, followed by bright explosions that knocked him away. While reloading, Eredin explained, "Mages are almost impervious to physical damage due to your iron armor spell." As the smoke cleared, he saw Zephyr crawling on the ground. "Light-based attacks are not physical attacks and can bypass most armor and spells, making them perfect for demons," Eredin added, preparing for another attack.
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Suddenly, a demon attacked Eredin from behind. He quickly turned around and shot the demon, but it was a grave mistake. Zephyr retaliated by shooting a condensed ray of fire that impaled Eredin in the chest. Eredin rolled away to gain a safe distance from Zephyr, but Zephyr continued to cast spells, repeatedly hitting Eredin. Seeking cover, Eredin found a column to hide behind and drank a healing potion. His wounds began to heal, but it wasn't enough. Zephyr opened more portals, allowing more demons to come through. Eredin realized he couldn't take any more chances.
Meanwhile, the King's Five, who were desperately protecting the King, were overwhelmed by the number of demons. One of the guards fell from the demons' relentless attacks. The King, feeling a sense of despair, tried to hold on to one of the remaining guards.
Outside, the citizens were running for their lives, while the soldiers tried to hold off the endless waves of demons. The capital was on the verge of being overrun. Even the adventurers in the guild were struggling to fend off the overwhelming number of demons.
Eredin felt his strength waning. The toll of living for so long had caught up to him. He breathed heavily, realizing it had been a long time since he had engaged in battle. But he couldn't give up. He couldn't abandon Aria after coming this far. Reaching into his back pocket, he took out a bottle containing three green pills. He swallowed all of them, knowing they would give him a temporary boost. He threw the empty bottle aside and prepared to attack once again.
Meanwhile, Elias Markus found his way to the Throne room. The sight of too many demons surprised him. He didn't know what was going on, but he saw Aria absorbed in a pillar of light, seemingly in pain. He called out, "Aria!" and defended himself from the demons attacking him as he made his way towards her. He also noticed two men fighting each other, and the King being protected by the King's Five. With no time to think, Elias knew he had to help Aria, who was clearly in a bind. With each slash he made, he felled a demon, taking a step closer to her. Despite being slashed by the attacking demons, Elias remained determined to reach her.
Eredin shot down a couple of demons with his arrows as he made his way to Zephyr. However, the demons launched a sneak attack from behind, but Eredin noticed them and threw a vial behind him. The demons writhed in pain as they were burned by the blue flame of the goddess' tears. Although the tears were highly effective against demons in large numbers, they were also volatile due to the fire they left behind. But Eredin didn't have time to be picky. As the fire slowly engulfed the area, Eredin finally found Zephyr again.
"It is too late. We have won," Zephyr declared, waving his staff abruptly and unleashing a wave of pure magic that sliced the woman before. Eredin managed to dodge, but he was a little late. The attack took his entire left arm. Zephyr laughed terrifyingly. Despite the pain, Eredin hurled an object directly towards Zephyr's mouth, making him swallow it. With a cold sensation, Zephyr collapsed, closing the demon portals that he had opened. With his remaining strength, Eredin drank another potion to stop the bleeding from his wounds. He walked slowly towards Aria, but he saw someone already there trying to help her. Eredin attempted to assist Elias by clearing out the demons that were going after him.
Finally, with Eredin's help, Elias reached Aria and slashed the chains that bound her. However, he was clawed at the back by one of the demons. Suppressing the pain, he pulled Aria out from the pillar of light. As he did so, his armor slowly melted, but he ignored the burning sensation. He cried out in pain, but his determination to save Aria never wavered. With all his strength, he pulled her towards him, while Aria cried out in pain. Suddenly, a ball of pure light left her body, and Aria screamed as this happened. Her ginger colored hair slowly lost its color, turning white as snow. Elias was surprised by this sight, but he knew it was killing her. Gripping a rail with one hand, he used all his strength to pull Aria out, even if it meant burning his arm in the process. Finally, he succeeded in pulling her out, and the pillar of light was sucked back into the ground along with the ball of light.
Aria was now in the arms of Elias, while Eredin finished off the last demon inside the throne room. Exhausted, he went to Elias and fell to his knees. He took a healing potion from his bag and gave it to him, saying, "Drink this, my boy, and thank you." He smiled at Elias, then looked at Aria and said, "Aria, my girl, I'm so sorry." Eredin apologized to her, feeling that he had failed her terribly. "I shouldn't have sent you to be a part of the Hero's Party." Tears streamed down his face.
The King and the remaining Royal guards witnessed what had transpired. Eredin, the Master Apothecary, had saved their lives. The King, accompanied by his guards, slowly approached Eredin to speak, but suddenly they stopped. An insurmountable fear engulfed their entire beings. The entire capital felt it. It was a terrifying feeling that brought all the people to their knees—a feeling of great despair and hopelessness.