Hoshi kept crawling back in dread of the horrifying monster stomping with bloodlust towards him. The rubbing of his wooden sword against the ground reminded him that he had something to defend himself with. He swiftly pulled the sword out and pointed it at the demon who still had its claws raised in killing intent. Hoshi stopped crawling and got up as he realised the demon had frozen in place. It was still breathing but struggled to move and attack. Despite his bewildered mind, he took advantage of this situation and fled towards the nearby stone pavement. Once he was out of the vicinity, the demon was released from that state and launched a devastating swing in the air only to begin stomping the ground furiously in rage.

"(What the hell happened just now? Why did it just froze when it had me cornered? I have to go home right now, my father may have the answers I am looking for.)"

Hoshi took a different route by sticking with the nearby stone pavement as it made him feel more secure even though it was much longer.

10 minutes later, Hoshi arrived at the settlement and was greeted by its disturbing condition. The fierce stampede of these new creatures destroyed many of the houses while igniting others on fire by toppling over the various lanterns attached on their walls. People here were mostly defenseless as many of the soldiers were ordered to protect the fortress while the few that were nearby tried to fight back in a desperate attempt to let the unarmed evacuate with haste.

These invading Monsters took pleasure in violently killing and devouring everyone. The loud and traumatising screams of the victims accompanied the increasing humidity of the air with murky blood.

The ground was now proliferating with gore and severed body parts of the soldiers who were totally overwhelmed by this unforseen attack along with the normal populace.

Hoshi forced his palms on his mouth to prevent him from vomiting immediately but failed to hold on.

"(What is this!? Why is this happening? It doesn't matter if I close my eyes or ears, the smell is just enough to make me insane!)" Hoshi fell on his knees.

"What are you doing? Keep running!" An unstable voice shook Hoshi as he stood up and continued running.

"I have to get to father no matter what!" screamed Hoshi.

There were many demons in front of him but they completely ignored him as he ran past all the brutality. His stomach began rumbling as his blood filled with adrenaline at the sight of innocent people being ripped apart savagely with organs and limbs flying everywhere. The streets were stained by fresh blood and the air was polluted with splattering and screeching sounds. Hoshi closed his eyes and blocked his ears with his hands to continue forward. Tears escaped his eyes as he shivered in immense fear.

"No! Please don't!"

"Help! Someone help!"

"I don't want to die!"

These few phrases were loud enough to penetrate through Hoshi's hands even after he blocked his ears.

A few minutes later, He arrived at his house and surprisingly it wasn't yet set on fire. Upon approaching the front entrance, Hoshi halted and stepped back as he heard more growls of a demon from inside.

"What now!? Father! Where are you!?" Hoshi began panicking and couldn't hold his screams.

"Who is that? Stop screaming!" A dark and heavy echoed voice came from inside followed by heavy footsteps travelling towards the front entrance.

Hoshi quickly blocked his mouth and moved back one step at a time. "(That monster can speak? Father, where are you?)"

The demon charged at the front door and destroyed it completely to exit the house. Hoshi stood there, paralysed at the glance of a new monster. This one had its thoracic cage and anterior muscles of upper arm completely visible along with its skull, horns and vertebral column protruding out of its body. A radiant, shiny purple glow emerged from its eyes fixed in the sockets.

"You! You are Ander! I found you! Xander wants you alive! Surrender peacefully to live a little longer!" the demon menacingly spoke with slight pauses.

"I am not... " Hoshi was too terrified to speak properly.

"Stay away from him you damned monster!" Ander rushed and kicked the demon in its skull, shattering it with the impact. His body was covered by red aura while his eyes glowed the same radiant colour.

"Damn it! That hurts!" the demon growled.

"Father, whats going on!?" Hoshi was astonished as he rushed towards his father.

"No time to explain. Hurry, come with me," Ander ordered.

"Where? They're everywhere!" Hoshi bursted.

"To the fortress, we have prepared our way to counter this menace!" Ander stated.

"Really? What is it?" Hoshi questioned.

"We are..." Ander was interrupted by the demon, tackling him with its sharp horns.

He quickly reacted and dodged the attack while enhancing the red aura around him. The demon diverted back on target and this time charged at maximum speed. Ander held his right hand before his back and focused his aura towards a red orb on it. He then quickly flexed his arm to launch a massive ball of fire at the demon. This startled it as it lost balance and fell into Hoshi's house, demolishing it.

"Now let's move!" Ander squeezed Hoshi's hand and pulled him to begin running back towards the fortress.

"Our house... It's gone... all those memories. The time we spent together all faded away just like that." Hoshi's expression froze as he started weeping.

"Snap out of it! Our survival is all that matters! We can always rebuild! Now keep up!" Ander emphasized.

"Alright. Sorry." Hoshi returned from shock and began sprinting behind his father.

The absolute scene of chaos had not stopped as the screams and begging still polluted the air.

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"What will happen to all these people? Why aren't we stopping to save them?" Hoshi queried.

"We can't, we must stick to the plan," Ander solemnly replied.

"You are strong enough to take them on! Please! We have to do something!" Hoshi blurted.

"I am not! As much it hurts to admit it, I am not as strong as I used to be. Back there, I used the full extent of my power and barely defeated that demon. We have no choice but to move forward to the long strenuous road leading to the end!" Ander stated, with a worried look on his face.

Avoiding and swiftly running past the burnt houses, slaughtered Exilirians, severed soldiers and flesh eating demons allowed both disturbed father and son to arrive at the front entrance of the fortress. The large wooden bridge was raised in order to keep the enemy from entering while a fleet of soldiers were striving to defeat the hordes of demons charging at them. The upper platforms and guards used catapults, canons and arrows to take down a few of the monsters but many more just kept coming.

"Follow me, for just a day like this, we had created a secret entrance," Ander announced as he and Hoshi turned left to a small descended pathway through the canyon leading to a small bridge concealed in the dark.

He concentrated his aura around the far extents of his body to use it to illuminate the pathway. This array of light revealed a long line of Exilirians standing and waiting for a response at the metal gate located at the distal end of the bridge.

"Stand back," Ander ordered.

"What are you doing?" Hoshi asked.

"I am going to open that door." Ander took the same stance as when he fought the demon and prepared yet another orb of red flames on his right hand.

Hoshi stood clear of the overflowing aura that was launched by his father towards the top of the gate. This transferred the red aura in it which forced it to open. After this, the soldiers guided the astonished people towards a staircase through the gate.

"(I understand, focusing most of the soldiers and weaponry at the main gate was a diversion to a hidden pathway that only my father can open. It's possible he knew exactly what was going to happen)" Hoshi pondered.

"Let's go, Hoshi. We don't have much time," Ander stressed.

Once everyone entered the staircase, the gate closed shut automatically and the hinge dissolved to make it unusable the next time. Climbing the staircase led to the courtyard of the fortress where rows of soldiers received Hoshi and his father.

Commander Dekin was also present there as he conversed with them, "The portal is ready, but we couldn't match the exact coordinates as you asked. We were one red box short."

"It doesn't matter. We must put our trust in him as Haroshuma placed his in me," Ander replied.

"Portal? Red box? What is going..." Hoshi's rapidly emerging questions were interjected by an immense earthquake shaking the ground quite vigorously.

A few moments later, a black portal opened and many demons walked out right at the soldier's noses.

"What the hell!? This wasn't supposed to happen!? Everyone prepare for battle!" Ander faltered as he clenched his fists and began yelling.

"Sir! We have to leave now!" Dekin loudly addressed.

Ander nodded as he squeezed his son's hand once again and began running with the commander towards the rear of the fortress. The soldiers and the monstrous creatures engaged in a one sided battle. The remainder escorted the terrified people towards a vault on the far left. Once a beautiful and colourful courtyard was now transformed into a blood stained battlefield littered with dead soldiers. It was clear, this was the greatest threat they ever faced.

Dekin, Ander and Hoshi reached their destination which was a stone wall with red boxes placed in succession to create a weird sigil. Before anyone could move towards the wall, another black portal opened and more demons emerged from it.



"Shit. We are on our own!" Dekin panicked.

"You open the portal. I will hold them off." Ander released Hoshi and handed him over to the commander.

"Right. Come Hoshi."

"But father? You can't fight them all alone," shuddered Hoshi.

"I am sorry my son. I wish I could tell you more but I am certain the people there will help you seek all the answers you require. Remember, find the key unlocking your power first then seek the fourth hier. I am glad I was blessed with this life with you, go and become more than just a part of me." Ander shed a few tears before running towards the demons while exerting himself to the maximum and using every last bit of aura left in his old body.

He used a succession of both close and long ranged attacks to catch the attention of all the demons present there. He was clearly exhausted but continued to fight gallantly, he took a few slices on his chest and upper arms with drops of blood escaping through the wounds.

Hoshi stood there in silence, not knowing what to say after all that just happened. Dekin kept yelling at him but because of zero trust and familiarity he couldn't motivate him to move an inch.

Suddenly, another hand tapped Hoshi's shoulder followed by a calm familiar voice that caught his attention. "Hey kid, don't let your father's efforts die in vain." Hoshi turned back and saw Arien once again who pulled him back to the world.

"We have to go Hoshi! You are our only hope now!" Dekin yelled.

Hoshi nodded as the trio approached the wall and the commander yelled a couple phrases that activated the red boxes. "Be sealed Xernia! Until the final clash reaches its conclusion!"

This caused the boxes to glow and an orange portal activate right in front of the wall.

"Alright Hoshi, this is it. Step right through," Dekin spoke as he stepped back.

"What's on the other side? Will any of you join me?" Hoshi inquired.

"We can n-"

"Don't worry kid, we will be right behind you," Arien interjected Dekin.

"And my father?"

"He will...." A few demons caught Arien's eye as they charged at him.

"Oh no. This means my father has been," Hoshi unsettled.

"Dekin right? Throw Hoshi inside! We are out of time!"

"You can't be suggesting you will fight them!" Dekin perplexed.

"Of course! I will not let these fiends hurt my only friend!" Arien stood confidently in front of Hoshi.

"You can't! I can't lose you too!" Hoshi yelled and made a run for his friend but Dekin caught him and forced him towards the portal.

"It's alright. Nothing can beat me." Hoshi caught a glimpse of Arien's smile as Dekin pushed him through the portal while he struggled.

The demons reached his friend but Arien didn't move a muscle away to defend him. This cost his defender his both arms as they were slashed off by a demon's sharp claws. The shocking sight of his beloved friend collapsing like this broke Hoshi's mind as his feet left the ground and Dekin finally threw him through the portal.

There was nothing but mirrors around Hoshi and only the last glimpse of Dekin being impaled by another demon's claws got fixed in his vexed mind. Blood from the ventral wound of the commander spewed on his face as the momento of a cold genocide of his people. A few seconds later, Hoshi was thrown from the exit of the portal into a dark forest with light blue grass and ocean coloured trees with sharp branches and long trunks. The portal closed immediately after it shined a very bright yellow light, leaving absolute darkness as it was night-time in that area.

Hoshi swayed his body to land on his feet and the first thing he did was wipe his face to check if the blood was real. He then fell to his knees and smashed his both hands into the ground. The place of collision cracked ever so slightly and his hands started bleeding because of the immense force he applied.

"Damn it! Damn it! Father! Arien! Dekin! Our home! All gone! All because I was too weak! Why!? Why didn't you let me die with you!? Father!" Hoshi fumed as his jaws clenched and eyebrows lowered forming copious amounts of wrinkles between his eyes.

A faint red aura began appearing around his body and his eyes began glowing red. He again lifted his hands and slammed them on the ground once more, this time creating a decent amount of cracks and crevices portraying his enhancement in strength.

"Damn those demons! How dare they just show up and take away everything from me!?" Hoshi's expression was filled with hatred and bloodlust for his new enemies.

After a few moments, Hoshi's body began to tire out and soon he dropped on the ground, with nothing but streams of tears running through the definitions of his face.

"I am going to sleep now, promise me we will train again tomorrow, father."

End of chapter two.