Qing's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him, and it was all he could do not to turn and flee back into the chokepoint. The Fields of Fallen Grace stretched out, the vast expanse of desolation now teeming with demonic life. Thousands upon thousands of demons walked towards them, a writhing mass of twisted forms and grotesque shapes.

The foot soldiers stood as tall as Jenny, their bodies a horrific fusion of flesh and weaponry. Some sported multiple arms, others extra legs, creating a nightmarish army of misshapen warriors. Blades, maces, and even what looked like organic cannons protruded from misshapen shoulders.

Towering above the foot soldiers were monstrous siege beasts. These living fortresses of bone and flesh lumbered across the battlefield, each step shaking the ground. Qing's stomach turned as he observed the patchwork of sinew and bone that formed their grotesque bodies, reminding him of the Butchers.

In the middle of the army walked Magdalus the Redeemed.

Jenny was right. That is a 'big bitch'. She must be sixteen feet tall!

Her black armour was adorned with demonic bone, ad broken wings jutted from her back. Seems she'd taken a ride down to hell with the devil. Power and malevolence radiated from her.

The sheer scale of the army made Qing's breath catch in his throat. This was unlike anything they had faced in Shadowgrove or the Gilded Hold.

If his plan failed, they'd be overrun in moments.

Magdalus halted, allowing her army to pass her by. Then the demon general lifted her glaive, and shrieked.

The horde charged.

Schooling his features into an impassive mask, Qing waved his companions back and stepped forward alone, his heart pounding in his chest.

This better work.

The demonic army rushed across the black feather-covered plain, their footsteps creating a thunderous cacophony. Thousands of twisted forms surged towards them. A sea of nightmarish creatures bringing doom. The ground trembled and the air filled with their bestial roars and screeches.

Qing pretended to yawn, making a show of examining his nails. He casually polished them against a piece of cloth on his chestplate. Behind him, he could hear his companions shifting uncomfortably.

"Any time now," Ruqiya's voice came, tinged with barely concealed panic.

"Quiet!" Ghida hissed at her mother, though the princess's own voice wavered slightly. "Trust him."

Qing continued his act of nonchalance, even as the demons drew ever closer, their grotesque forms becoming more distinct with each passing second. He could see the gleam of their weapons, the hunger in their eyes, and the saliva dripping from their fangs. Still, he maintained his pose, waiting for the right moment to enact his plan.

Qing activated the Flight of the Blood Claws, feeling gravity's grip loosen around him. With a powerful leap, he soared into the air, the wind whipping past his face as he ascended high, glancing down at the charging horde like an attack helicopter.

From his vantage point, he could see the full scale of the demonic army, a writhing mass of twisted flesh and metal.

Qing's heart raced, but he kept focus.

Time to bring them a bit of good old uncle Sam.

Qing drew upon his new warborne ability, feeling the energy rush through his chest as his heart sped up like a drum solo, and he activated "Unstoppable Fury".

For a limited duration, your abilities have no mana cost or cooldown, allowing for rapid spell casting.

Energy rushed through him, as if he was hooked up to a god's power station through cables on his nipples and toes, power unbridled rushing through him.

He screamed.

And cast Supernova.

Unleash a massive area-of-effect explosion that ignores physical armour, dealing devastating arcane damage to all enemies caught in the blast.

An orb of pure arcane energy, the size of a football, hurtled from his hand. It struck the ground and exploded with cataclysmic force.

A blinding flash of arcane energy blasted outward, the radius easily eighty feet, tearing through the demonic ranks as if they were made of paper.

The explosion's roar was deafening, drowning out the screams of the demons, as limbs and organs flew through the air, accompanied by a grotesque rain of viscera.

But before the spell had finished, the next orb landed, blasting another massive hold in the demon army.

With no mana cost and no cooldown, Qing flung the spells as fast as he could, carpet bombing the army

Qing rained destruction upon the demonic horde, each Supernova blast tearing massive holes in their ranks. The Fields of Fallen Grace became a hellscape of its own, littered with the twisted remains of demons. The air filled with acrid smoke and the stench of burning flesh.

As he cast spell after spell, Qing felt a surge of exhilaration mixed with horror. The sheer scale of devastation he was capable of both thrilled and terrified him. He'd never wielded such raw power before, and part of him revelled in it.

Demons shrieked soundlessly as their bodies were torn limb from limb, flesh melting from their bones, and entire creatures being reduced to ash. The larger siege beasts toppled like felled trees, tops burning.

But even as he unleashed arcane destruction, Qing knew it wouldn't be enough. The demon army seemed endless. He slaughtered hundreds, but there were thousands.

And Magdalus the Redeemed moved towards him, glaring.

He was sorely tempted to cast a spell at her, see what impact it would have, but refrained from doing so, sticking to the plan.

Then, it happened.

Qing felt a surge of power coursing through him as the familiar notification appeared in his vision.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Level Up!

Congratulations on reaching level thirty-one. Open character screen to distribute new stat points.

An invisible force yanked him upwards and the golden globe of light encased him.

Just in time.

Magdalus the Redeemed raised her hands and cast a spell, incanting loudly. Burning chains rose from the ground, surging towards him. But to his relief, the chains simply slid off the level up sphere.

Magdalus, her face contorted with rage, spat a green ball of energy at him. Once again, the attack proved futile against the golden barrier.

Seizing the moment, Qing cast one final Supernova. As the spell left his hands, he felt the power of his level-up amplifying its effects. The orb of arcane energy plummeted towards the demon army, exploding with thrice the magnitude of his previous attacks. The blast radius expanded to an unprecedented size, obliterating a vast swathe of the demonic horde.

Then Unstoppable Fury faded away and he dropped.

He mentally calculated, noting the spell had lasted a mere five seconds, yet the power surging through him had made it feel like an eternity.

As he slammed onto the ash-covered earth, he forced himself to be calm, rising to look around, feigning a bored expression at the scorched ground, littered with twitching, half-vaporised corpses.

An acrid, metallic tang of blood and ash filled the air, as the ground crackled with residual energy that made his skin tingle. Demons close enough to the blast to be wounded but not killed were staggering around, their flesh bubbling and melting from the intense heat.

The remnants of the demonic horde stumbled about in confusion, their ranks decimated and disorganised. He had bought his moment.

Now he had to capitalise on it.

Qing watched as the monstrous army backed away from him, their movements hesitant and disorganised.

If they attack now, I'm fucked.

He could only cast one Supernova now, and it'd go on cooldown for who knows how long. And Unstoppable Fury's cooldown loomed large in his mind. A full day?

Forcing a casual demeanour, Qing waved lazily at Magdalus before blinking across the battlefield, appearing right next to her, deliberately avoiding eye contact and instead surveying the devastated battlefield.

"Killing the Alchemancer was nearly a challenge," Qing said offhandedly. Magdalus' glaive froze mid-swing, mere inches from his head.

"What?" she hissed, her voice like a south Californian gold-digger. An affected raspy that grated on Qing's nerves.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Qing said, turning to look at her. "I didn't like the energy drain, so I popped over, killed the bastard, and switched off the demon hatchery. Bit of a mess, really."

Magdalus took a step back, her composure slipping. Qing sensed her uncertainty and pressed his advantage.

"This is all quite boring," he sighed. "I'm from the United States, you see. Blowing shit up is kind of our thing. Figured invading another realm's hell would be a challenge, but…" He shrugged. "I was wrong. But, Magdalus, I think I know a way for us to make this interesting. We let our armies fight it out. Call it a… proxy war. If your lot kills all my followers, I'll leave Hell. If we kill all your followers, well, you know what'll happen then." Qing turned to meet her gaze, channeling his inner American psycho, and doing his best not to shit his pants.

But if you step in..." He paused for effect. "Well, I'll have to put you down."

Magdalus hesitated. Then she closed her eyes, as if searching for something.

Keep calm and carry on, Qing. Don't flinch. If she calls your bluff, you can't blink away in time anyway.

After a tense moment, she nodded. "Agreed."

"Good," he said aloud, keeping his voice steady. "Send them to attack when ready. I'll watch for a bit, then go sightseeing. Oh. You wouldn't happen to have any oil, would you?"

Before Magdalus could reply, Qing waved a hand. "Never mind. If you do, I'll find it."

Then he blinked away, hopping across the blasted battlefield, back to his companions, his heart racing as if he'd been racing a grizzly.

As he materialised before them, Knut was the first to speak, his voice a mixture of admiration and shock. "By the gods, Qing! That was... I've never seen anything like it. You just decimated an entire army single-handedly!"

Ruqiya, her regal composure shaken, added, "I must admit, I had my doubts. But that display of power... it was truly something to behold. We should soon resume our talks about your courtship of Ghida."

Ghida rushed to Qing's side, waving a hand her mother. "Are you alright?" She grabbed his face and kissed him. "That was incredible, but also terrifying. I thought she would would strike you down."

Morgana shook as she crossed her arms, forcing a look of neutrality. "Impressive magic show. But what exactly did you say to that demon bitch? She looked ready to tear you apart, then suddenly backed off."

"My bluff worked," he said, his voice low. "I told Magdalus I'd already killed the Alchemancer and shut down the demon hatchery. Then I proposed a proxy war between our forces, claiming I'd only intervene if she did."

He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. "I have done what I can. Now it is up to you to buy me as much time as you can. Retreat to the chokepoint and fight there. They'll only be able to send a few demons at you at a time. It'll be a slow and grinding battle. As long as you hold out, it'll buy me time to complete the quest, revive Cedric, and open the portal for reinforcements."

"How long do you expect us fifty to hold out against their thousands?" Ruqiya asked.

"We will hold out as long as we need to, darling," Knut said, pulling the queen tightly to him and pecking her on the cheek.

With a roar, the demon army once again charged forth, and the group retreated to the relative safety of the chokepoint.

Jenny placed herself front and centre, flanked by two soldiers with shields and spears. Another three soldiers stood behind, spears held up above them. Morgana brought out her repeating crossbow and started loosing bolts into the oncoming horde.

Ruqiya just stared at Qing. "Why didn't you just kill all of them? You certainly seemed capable."

Qing shook his head, leaning against the rocky wall. "That was all my power, expended all at once. I can't do it again for... likely a day at least, if not more. And that was just the grunts. Look how many remain. If Magdalus attacks, I won't be able to defeat her. This was the best plan I could come up with on short notice."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Pretending to have overwhelming force, then seeming to give Magdalus an alternative way of winning... it was a gamble, but it bought us time. Now we need to make the most of it."

Qing pulled Ghida close, giving her a hug.

"It's dangerous to go alone," she said and handed Qing a portal scroll. "Take this."

"Where did you…"

"There was on in my father's treasury," she said. "Last one, so make it count."

Qing nodded.

"Fight well, friends," he said, raising his voice to be heard by all. "I will be back." Then he blinked past the Jenny and the fighters, and walked straight at the demon army. Like a red sea for a bearded dude, the monsters parted, letting him through before they closed behind to surge against his friends with bloodthirsty howls.

Qing stood in their midst, his insides tearing at having to leave them behind to battle an army while he… not fled, but left.

Besides, I don't even know where the hell I'm going. The Howling Expanse is west. Hope it's not there. What if its on the other side of the barrier? But how to find out?

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he stuck his arm out. A three armed, two headed demon smacked into it, collapsing to the ground. Qing grabbed it by the throat and hauled it up.

"Rule breaker!" one head spat.

"Mercy!" the other said.

Qing's fist smacked into the first, and it lolled to the side, knocked out.

"Ouch!" the other said. "That hurt!"

"Where is Inferno's Purgatory?" Qing asked.

The arm sticking out from their neck came up and over, and pointed due east.

"Thanks," Qing said, throwing the demon behind him to be trampled by the army, before sprinting away.

* * *

Qing raced eastward across the Fields of Fallen Grace, his mind spinning with thoughts of his companions left behind to face the demon horde. The black feathers crunched beneath his feet as he pushed himself to maintain a gruelling pace in between blinking. After what felt like hours, he spotted a mountain looming in the distance.

As he drew closer, Qing noticed a massive opening in the mountainside. It was a gateway of colossal proportions, wide enough for four elephants to walk through side by side and tall enough to accommodate even a British giraffes.

Waves of intense heat poured from the opening, as if he were standing before an enormous oven. He wiped the sweat from his brow and grimaced.

"Definitely the right place," he said, steeling his nerves for what lay ahead.

Qing sprinted in and cast blink. In a series of rapid teleportations, he traversed through the tunnel, a journey that would have taken an hour on foot, completed in a few minutes.

Suddenly, the tunnel opened before him, revealing a hellish landscape that took his breath away. A sea of lava stretched as far as the eye could see, its molten surface bubbling and churning in a mesmerising dance of destruction.

As Qing stood at the edge, transfixed by the terrifying beauty of the scene, something caught his attention. Objects were falling into the lava at regular intervals. He leaned forward, squinting to make out what they were.

Suddenly, a body flashed by, shrieking, nearly colliding with his face.