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Butterfly Dream Scripture
Chapter 50 - Out of the Fire and into the Frying Pan

Chapter 50 - Out of the Fire and into the Frying Pan

John's stomach churned.

More demons?! He was already exhausted by the first wave, could he stand to fight again? Not alone.

John snapped to get the attention of an attendant. "Go to the Weird compound, gather every disciple," the attendant opened his mouth, paused, looked at Gaius behind him, and acquiesced. John grit his teeth.

"Go assess the situation, I will organize reinforcements." Gaius acted like their tense conversation hadn't happened moments ago. Or, he was accepting John's submissive gambit.

Either way, he left for the gates.

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The Outer Sect was still engulfed in a messy crowd. The mortals were slowly being shepherded into a corner, disciples stood in groups like old gossips, either talking about the mortals or about the demons. Elders moved with impatience, threading through the masses on qi empowered techniques.

'This isn't over, everyone is just getting in the way right now.' John thought with dread.

They had barely managed to stop a complete massacre just an hour ago, many had died but not all. If things were ramping back up already, John was due for an extremely bad day. He decided to stop hesitating and pushed hard for the gates, pushing and shouting his way through as necessary. It was only when a handful of disciples and elders burst back through the sect entrance with frantic faces that John started sprinting. John could taste the panic wafting through the air.

"What's going on?" John shouted over their voices even as he broke through the gate and into the outside world. The taint of demons hung thick in the air like a sweltering humidity. A few injured elders and a handful of similarly hurt Inner disciples were making a stand against a tide of demons. It was as if every animal in the forest had demonized and attacked in the same moment. Many of them were still undergoing transformation in order to better assault the Rainy Cloud sect members. Fur stiffened into quill-like armor, horns twisted into spears, teeth lengthened into improbably sharp maws.

Just then, a dozen birds careened into the sect barrier with elongated needle beaks, splattering into a pile of messy black gristle and tufts of greasy feathers. As if time slowed down, John peered with his now uncannily discerning eyes and saw tiny cracks in the qi structure of the barrier.

"They're trying to break the barrier!" He shouted out almost involuntarily.

A foolish disciple in the defense turned to look at John in shock and was rewarded with a horn lance through his back, while the beast continued his charge.

John noted in a split second, as he dashed toward the enemy, that a few panicked disciples and an elder had made it through to the other side with him. They had probably spoken something, but John was too distracted by the horrifying display to notice.

"Go! Go! Get as much help as you can!"

John dived under the horn of the... some kind of goat, the corpse of his fellow disciple still pierced and flailing, shredding the underside of the goat with claws. It collapsed mere feet from the gate. John clawed at the ground, pulling himself forward and up to try and save the crumbling formation of defenders. He landed in the middle of the group and stomped out the lives of two small demons, slashing with elongated claws in one hand and weaving a large carapace-like shield on the other.

The loose line of defenders was saved from crumbling but John got no thanks. It was clear everyone was focused on staying alive. Disciples took a defensive or delaying approach, their qi was not strong enough to interact with Weird qi so easily, but they could make it easier for the Elders to finish them off. The Elders themselves had a much easier time, but they were still out of their depth. John had no such restriction. He cut through the mob like a sharp knife through tofu and the rush of qi into his dantian was without end.

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Disaster and opportunity are just two sides of the same coin, for the sect this assault was a disaster. An ill omen for the development of the world and a clear threat to the safety of everyone inside the barrier. For John and and other Weird cultivator, a tide of demons was nothing but a buffet of endless qi, better than any number of pills or natural treasures.

John hacked away at the tide, extending to defend other disciples or taking pressure off Elders when he could. None of these demons advanced beyond the early stages of Foundation establishment, unlike the earlier fight. Each individual demon was no threat, there was simply too many of them. Even with John's help they were slowly being pushed back. If the situation didn't improve, they might literally be fighting with their backs to a wall. They could not afford it. If the gate was overrun, the Sect would have no leverage against the army of infected woodland creatures.

'Gaius' reinforcements better come quick', John thought quietly. Otherwise this disaster would expand into a tribulation.

John was forced to take a step back as a larger demon charged him, some kind of large deer. At the same time, a wave of birds dived once again, targeting the defensive line instead of the gate as they had been, and John cursed. He pushed back hard, trying to open up enough space but it was already too late. One elder and several disciples were impaled by the dagger beaks. The shift in tactics revealed a dark intelligence behind the attack. The disciples slumped over--the bird had hit their hearts of lungs each. The elder was dead too, but still standing for a few moments more. He gathered all of his qi into one last assault and a blast like a tidal wave slammed into the mob of enemies. Many were directly crushed into meatpaste, nearly a hundred more were knocked over even as the Elder collapsed.

"Back five steps! Reform the line!" John yelled out and leaped forward at the same time, springs of qi and empowered legs sent him soaring through the air into the pile of collapsed demons. The Elder had opened up enough space for John to sortie out, and he wouldn't let go of the advantage. Dozens of silken spikes struck out each moment, piercing necks, stabbing into hearts, any weak point in the defenses exposed by the wave. Each hand became a dreadfully clawed instrument, slashing and tearing as much as possible. The others could only look on in awe, not fully heeding John's command. It cost several disciples their lives as they were ravaged by flanking animals.

The space was closing fast and John made his retreat, taking a few scrapes on the way. One very determined fox-demon bit into his calf and hung on. John strangled the life out of it. If John's heart still had beating chambers, his heart would be pounding. He still felt the increased blood pressure as the organ whirred blood through his system. This really was an eclectic mix of animals. Small mammals, birds, herbivores of all kinds. The first fight was the more fearsome, like a band of soldiers, or perhaps bandits. This was like a massive but less trained militia.

John thought the first attack was against the mortals, but it was clear that the sect was the real target now. Waves of birds still assaulted the barrier in parabolic dive attacks. John wished they could stop them but he just wasn't as effective at range and the defenders had their hands full. The mortals were simply a bloody appetizer.

Several more disciples perished, and the defense was down to John, the several remaining elders, and a couple of still-living disciples. They had retreated to mere yards from the gate when a hundred reinforcements flooded out, armed and armored with artifacts. Dozens of Inner disciples made up the core of the group, and they were supported by a grouping of Core disciples and various Elders to keep things from deteriorating.

John was so high strung, it took him minutes out of the fight to relax even a fraction. The huge rush of qi meant he could keep fighting for a long time, but mentally he was completely exhausted. The huge assault quickly whittled down the demonic attack to a few isolated groups, and even those were surely doomed. It seemed like the attack was nearly dealt with, but just then a wave of demonized animals thundered out of the forest and into the clearing. The Rainy Cloud members formed another defensive formation, taking ground while they had it. One hundred members could deal with this... but there was an ever-flowing trickle of demons joining the assault. Luckily several Elders were able to intercept the attacking birds, but John wasn't too hopeful.

There was a driving force behind these attacks, and no simple defense would be able to stop it. For now, John allowed himself to return to the Sect proper. There was much to be done, and John couldn't fight here forever. It was time to marshal the other Weird cultivators.

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Outside of the Sect grounds, in the forests surrounding the mountain peaks, where the constant rain was reduced to a sunny sprinkling. John's bastion of a fortress was nearly complete. A microcosm of the sect, with various halls and barracks newly constructed, though poorly decorated. Deep inside the secret chambers was a cavern with a wellspring of qi and water. At the bottom of that well was a submerged statue of a young man sitting in the lotus position.

The statue opened it's eyes.