After we concluded the meeting the army had to complete its preparations. It was a lot simpler for me, all I had to do was wear my armour. Lucy opted for an early transformation. The fly spell worked just fine in her fox form.
Lilith wore a very form fitting plate armour that left her head exposed. Maybe it was because of the horns. She did have some runes on them. Maybe they served as a magical helmet? Her weapon of choice seemed to be a black spear covered in crimson runes. All of her equipment was made from adamantium. Erin was accompanying Lilith, she wore maid armour that looked surprisingly similar to Lily’s.
When the army was ready I used Storm’s Embrace, as did Lucy. Lily used a fly spell and Shani just seemed to float naturally.
Crimson wings erupted from Lilith’s back. They almost looked like blood with burning edges. I had no idea if that was her ability, or built into the armour.
“That is so cool! I want blood wings!” Shani admired the sight.
“You don’t need wings. You are a storm elemental.” I pointed out.
“But they look cool! What if I had electrified blood wings? There must be a way…” She muttered.
While Shani contemplated her newest fantasies we started our assault. Flight was a difficult thing to defend against. Walls were meaningless. Hitting a flying person with an arrow was not easy either, unless they flew rather close. So we simply ignored their defences and flew straight to the palace.
What awaited us was not what I had expected. Two rather big demons were hammering the shield. They were at least three metres tall, had two legs, a rather round belly, no head and two tentacles for arms. Their belly was covered in eyes.
“What are those?” Lucy asked, as we approached.
“Eye demons. They are not that bright but can be rather tough.” Lilith explained.
Besides their demons, we saw a lot of soldiers in plate armour. It was hard to tell who was inside but I assumed they were modified humans of some sort. There were also a number of mages present. I could not see any undead, yet.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“They are still using demons, despite Ashmedai’s cult? I wonder how many down there are cultists.” I mused.
“It’s possible that they used their runes on some cultists and are now using them to summon demons.” Lilith said. “They seem to use anything they can get their hands on.”
We were floating above the palace and the Inquisition had noticed us. I could see some people down there pointing at us. So far no attacks came our way and the demons kept pounding the shield.
Inside the shield we could see the palace, undamaged. No defenders were in sight. They might all be inside the building.
A group of five mages gathered and started flying towards us. They all wore robes with hoods. I had no idea why they bothered to cover their faces.
“Ah, guests! Are you here to witness our mistress’ victory?” A robed man inquired.
“And who exactly is your mistress? High Inquisitor Carolin?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Oh no, she is nothing more than a humble servant. You should have seen her face when she woke up with runes. Zealots make such wonderful slaves, don’t you think?”
Lilith snorted. “A true master does not need your runes to create loyal followers. Your mistress must be rather weak.”
“Ah, the succubi queen. Surprising that you found your way out of your bed. Don’t worry, my mistress has plans for you.”
I expected more rage from Lilith. Instead I saw a smile. Erin tried to defend her queen but Lilith put up her hand. “I think the world has forgotten who I am. It’s time for a reminder.”
And she unleashed her aura. It felt fiery, it felt wild and it turned the sky red. Then we heard screams. I looked down and some of the soldiers had collapsed. Blood poured out of their armour and streaked towards Lilith.
“She has blood powers? WHY DID NOT ANYONE TELL ME?!? THIS IS SO AWESOME!” Shani cheered.
Meanwhile I looked at Lily. “Do you have blood powers too? I thought you succubi were more into fire.”
Lily shook her head. “I do not possess such abilities. But I am no demon lord. She has earned that title.”
“You are young, my dear. You might grow into them.” Lilith said. “Succubi are not known for their powers in battle. Mostly, because the world forgot.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How much have you helped the world forget?”
Being underestimated was a great way to surprise your enemies. I would expect an immortal being to meddle in their history and create false tales about themselves.
The enemy mages did not panic, nor did they seem overly concerned about some of their troops being bled. Maybe because most of them seemed to resist the magic.
“An impressive power. It’s good that undead do not need blood.” The enemy mage said.
And the fallen soldiers rose again.
“You know, those mages don’t seem that impressive. Is that really the force who took the city and kept the Emperor contained?” Lucy wondered.
“No, they are probably just stalling.” I replied. Which was ok, since we were stalling too. We hoped they would pull all their forces together to defeat us. That would allow the army to evacuate civilians. But maybe it was time to get a bit more serious.
I unleashed my aura. Interestingly, it did not clash with Lilith’s. Maybe because we considered each other allies. I could feel my aura brush on hers. The red sky darkened. Lucy’s aura joined mine and empowered it. Soon we had our usual storm above. Rain, wind, thunder and lightning. But some red light shone through the clouds.
“No blood rain?” Shani’s bunny ears drooped.
“Let’s kill them until someone important appears.” I suggested. Shani perked up again.