Come late afternoon, the demons assaulted again. The humanoids had worked quickly, digging pits and setting traps. The demons communicate incredibly well. They know about me, and what happened to their last assault. And my time here is running out.
Towering large demons enter the clearing first. Behind them, small demons and commanders. Above the trees, winged demons took flight. They were holding these in reserve.
Pitfalls opened up beneath the legs of the large demons, knocking them over. The snares were entirely ineffective. It only slowed their approach, giving them humanoids time to form up and take position. The battle has begun.
The humanoids advance boldly. I fan my pack out, advancing with them, that the demons can’t avoid engaging us. The demons on the ground advance slowly, hampered by the pits, but they don’t break formation. An incredible display of discipline and coordination.
As the demons are traversing the pits, the humanoids are advancing. We advance with them, spread out to deny the enemy a clear target. The humanoids’ casters get to work. They fire alternating volleys of light and darkness. The light is so bright that the demons appeared to be white silhouettes. The darkness is a cadet version of their darkness spheres from before. It darkens a larger area, but only to the level of twilight.
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The demons’ pace slows; dealing with both traps and harassment at once isn’t easy. The archers begin firing on them. The large demons are unfazed, but the small demons have become less mobile. They have to hide behind the tougher large demons.
Taking the cue, my pack leaps forward, and the demons are visibly alarmed. The commander looks to the sky behind him, and turns back, unimpressed. He shouts orders, and his group prepares to clash. As we’re about to veer away, all light is smothered out, and I become the darkness. My nearest wolf joins me, and we rip this group apart. The darkness sweeps over their line, but no new demons are caught by it.
The darkness fades away and we emerge. Demons are widely spread out, and the commanders are looking to the flying demons. They have clearly come up with a countermeasure to our darkness play.
“They have adapted. We will adapt, too.” The presence sounds assured.
Mana gently dissipates in the air, and thick fog envelops us. Twilight descends upon the fog.
The commanders, severed from their lookouts, call out orders, and the demons retreat. The pitfalls they expertly crossed on the way in become a much greater menace. Large demons topple and flatten small demons. Their orderliness has completely broken down. The humanoids’ archers open fire. Despite shooting blindly, their arrows are finding their mark.
My time has just about run out.
“Take my blessing, visitor. Only with your help did we prevail. We will overcome this curse yet.” As the presence’s last word reaches me, twilight fades to black, and I return to the place between worlds.