The blaring sound of the horn, so mighty it caused the ground to tremble, came to a sudden halt, puzzling Arlosse.
What was that sound?
Why was the abomination beside him along with the other demons getting so excited because of it?
What was the shroud of crimson the Hollow Demonling was seeing, brimming around each and every one of them and why was he untarnished by this energy?
Arlosse didn’t know what to think. Even the mount he and the caterpillar-mantis were riding was coated in this curious energy, and, though he might have been mistaken, the Demonling thought he felt the galloping beast’s muscles toughen up.
Eager and curious, Arlosse sought the source of the blaring noise that had prompted everything. With quite some difficulty, he turned and surveyed the battlefield. It took him a few moments, but soon, he spotted it. It indeed was a horn, as far as he could see – a gigantic horn whose details he could confirm.
The horn was far, far away, roughly four kilometers south; its location was raised beyond the mostly level field where the battle was taking place.
Arlosse was astounded by the fact that the sound from that thing reached all the way here with so much of its power intact. As though to demonstrate to him once again how powerful it was, the blaring of the horn began once again, this time seeming a little louder and fiercer, so much so that Arlosse, continually weakened by poison, almost lost balance as the vibration ran through the flesh of his ride.
The crimson layer around the individual demons grew and some of them began to cackle maniacally, a sort of madness livid in their eyes (for those that had them, that is). But then, when the sound from the horn stopped a second time, Arlosse’s eyes widened.
He too was covered by the shroud of crimson energy now!
It seemed to work its way into his vessels and accelerate his heart rates to a degree that would have been fatal in his past life. Arlosse’s acute sensory prowess allowed him to feel his flesh sparking to life, a considerable degree of strength – quite like a jolt of adrenaline, neither supernatural nor excessively explosive – surging through his entire being!
All of a sudden, the pain in his back was masked by a fierce heat building up in his entire body, and an intense urge to smash something. It was rather overwhelming.
‘What in the world…?’ Arlosse wondered in shock.
[You are under the effect of Boorish Frenzy]
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
[Your wounds, ailments, and mortal limits will not weigh you down for the next six hours]
The Incarnate gaped at the sudden explanation by the Host Guide.
Boorish Frenzy?
Not weighed down for… six hours?
“RETREAT TO THE CLERICS! RETREAT TO THE CLERICS!”
The Hollow Demonling heard a bunch of humans calling to others and rushing away from the charge of demons of various kinds, suddenly emboldened by the horn’s call. As the Host Guide had described, the demons, stripped of pain, exhaustion, and all kinds of weakening effects, seemed stronger and more reckless. They dived toward the human enemies without formation or keen thought. Well, most of them.
They swarmed human warriors and tore them limb from limb; they spent a needlessly long time flaying and chewing on their opponents. Some of the unsightlier demons performed some rather… atrocious actions, relishing in the innovative savagery that suddenly came upon them.
‘They’ve gone insane!’ Arlosse thought, and then he heard the third groan of the horn, and the Boorish Frenzy effect seemed to worsen. He felt it for himself. He felt the impact of the poison within him lessen even further, his body quite literally trembling with urges the Incarnate could hardly control, but he reined them in. His fellow demon, the caterpillar-mantis, wasn’t quite equipped with the ability to restrain himself, however.
“YEEEEEHEEEE!” the abomination screamed as it steered their mount to a bunch of retreating humans and had it stomp on them until they were paste before charging towards more living ones.
The caterpillar-mantis then threw out a claw towards a group of charging enemies and mysteriously, they were all dragged towards it. With another claw, the abomination swiped them cleanly in half and urged the mount further on.
Arlosse attempted to speak to the demon, but he didn’t listen. He only made loud, ecstatic noises.
“Damn it!” the Demonling cursed. He had been wondering what to do before catching sight of a rather chilling scene before him.
They were headed toward a familiar human warrior that Arlosse had thought to never draw close to. It was a certain man wielding a golden lance which he whipped at shocking speed to slay the empowered, swarming demons with the same ease as that which he had been slaying them before.
At once, Arlosse dived from the mount. He wasn’t up for this. He did, however, feel that he truly owed the caterpillar-mantis his life and that letting him charge to his death would leave him with a lot of unwanted guilt.
Thus, Arlosse flung the Valiant Subject’s Ward while using Sundering Bunt, and the shield soared to slice through the legs of the caterpillar-mantis’ mount. Rider and beast fell to the ground in a shower of dust.
Arlosse would have waited to see what followed, but a storm of blue flame shuttling upward a distance away stole his attention.
The Incarnate had turned just in time to watch as a humanoid demon – also shrouded by the crimson energy – in green armor drove his sword into the chest of the human who conjured this flame!
Indeed, the towering flame bellowed from a familiar redhead. He bled from the mouth and soon, he also bled profusely from the stump of his neck when a slender demon sliced off his head from behind.
As surprised as Arlosse was that this freakish human had been done in so easily, he wondered about another thing.
“These demons don’t seem to be crazed and mad like the others. Well, I’m not either. Why?” he said to himself.
The pouring of blood and cries of agony attempted to incite Arlosse into raging across the battlefield like before, now that he wasn’t paralyzed. However, he resisted. He had questions. He was unnervingly ignorant about what was going on here. Thus, he simply watched.
He saw hundreds of human warriors racing towards thick, golden beams of light that appeared one after another across the battlefield. Men and women in long robes of green and gold were the sources of these beams; they stood surrounded by competent-looking warriors, holding in their hands tall staves which issued out the sacred light in a vast radius.
Human soldiers wrestled their way into the protective fields of light and curiously, their pursuers – mostly ugly and many-legged – didn’t follow. They snarled and chased those who had yet to find refuge in the light.
“I see. I imagine this isn’t the first time that horn has sounded. The humans are prepared for what it brings. Though... What exactly is that light?”
It was strange how the demons avoided it. Perhaps, quite like in his previous life, demons represented some sort of evil force that could be warded off with good.
Looking at the abominations among demons feasting on human flesh in a frenzy, Arlosse couldn’t help but think that indeed, he might have been incarnated into innately evil flesh.