The bell tower looms over us. It is truly colossal, much more so than anything I have ever seen while exploring, perhaps only trumped by my tower. Through my goggles of revealing, I can see the bell does indeed contain a noble soul. I am a bit too far to read its thoughts, however.
"Don't stray too far from the thumper; although its radius is massive and its effects resist passive restructuring, I'm not sure how long it will take the god to force the vis back into its desired shape. My flux will shield you all from its mind-control attacks, but should it force the vis back, attacks from any sorcerers have a chance to get through the flux. Stay on alert; have your weapons ready."
The nervous crimson cultists draw their swords, spears, wands, and whatever other devices they prefer to fight with. My praetorian guard ready their spears and shields. Leviticus shouts commands, his strategic mind quickly organizing each cultist to the best possible position.
The media of the bell tower's soul spikes. "I think it's seen us. Get ready." As we ride towards the tower, the only sound I can hear is the wind and the rare bird chirping. I could easily run towards it faster than it can react with the boots of the traveler and fly over the gate with the thaumostatic harness, but I think this will be a good exercise for the crimson cultists.
And then they come. In numbers that must reach the tens of thousands, entire cities worth of soldiers charge at us from the horizon. Leland rides ahead of everyone, his horse panting, and aims the Victus Conductor at the army. He pulls the trigger, and a crackling bolt of lightning shoots out of the nozzle. Instantly, an insane number of the soldiers fall dead. I'm glad I adjusted the power output before we got here. The bolt doesn't connect with all of them, however, and a great many angry warriors flank us from behind and our sides. Blood red mist shoots out here, a magic bolt cast there, screams of pain and adrenaline ring everywhere.
Our horses are forced to a trot due to the necessity of towing the Thumper, but we still make it to the castle's walls in good time. My flux, which I have concentrated around the brains of the crimson cultists, deflects multiple psychic attacks from The Belfry. I socket a spell focus into my gauntlet and place my hand against the wall. "Portable Hole." A large opening appears on the wall. Several sorcerers are on the other side of the wall waiting for us, presumably knowing our location because of The Belfry. As they prepare to cast their spells, I activate the Thumper. It makes a loud noise and a shockwave staggers everyone a bit. Their spells fizzle out and I throw my spear at them, killing them all as it moves to penetrate each one's head.
As we ride into the castle, The Belfry is clearly getting desperate, as it now sends its citizens after us. We defend ourselves as necessary. Looks like now's a good time. I push a button on my harness and fly upwards towards the bell, which is ringing furiously. I punch the bell so hard it completely shatters. The noble soul within spirals outwards and dissipates into the veil.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
All the soldiers on the battlefield fall over and slowly get up, confused.
----------------------------------------
The citizens thank us profusely for freeing them from The Belfry's influence. Now that the kingdom is functioning once again, we decide to rest there for the night.
"So, Leland, are there any other gods in this land?"
Leland looks at me cautiously. "Are you going to kill them, too?" He asks.
"That depends on whether or not I have to."
"Well, there's Yana-"
"Yes, I heard your father mention her."
"Right. She's the goddess of light, held in high regard by all of Krag."
"And does she do any of that... 'summoning' magic?"
"Quite a bit. She's responsible for summoning many of the heroes of Krag from other worlds. They help us fight off the demons from the witches of the South."
"Demons? Elaborate."
"The witches use their ritual magic to summon demons from Hell. We're not really sure how they do it. They don't age, either, and it seems like every time we kill a witch, another just takes its place."
"Enough about the witches, boy." Fear twinkles in Leland's eye. "Forgive me. Tell me more about the demons." The crimson cultists that still linger around me (most went to explore the city) seem to shift uneasily.
"Right, well, they're... weird. They come in all shapes and sizes. A few months ago, they kidnapped a bunch of people in the middle of the night. Someone managed to get back to Krag and described one as a flaming half-goat half-man. It's honestly terrifying."
I swing my head and lock eyes with Leviticus. I send Leland away along with the remaining crimson cultists and we walk into a secluded area.
"I can't fucking believe I never thought of this possibility!" I shout angrily and stomp the ground. Leviticus does not move, used to my warped outbursts.
"I never considered it, either," he says. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, however. It's possible these 'demons' aren't even from Hell."
"Right you are, Leviticus. We must investigate this before we make any conclusions. Demons never appeared before I had died, so why would they now? It is more likely that they are some esoteric lifeform. However, I can't help but shake the feeling that this will end up being terrible."
----------------------------------------
Perspective: Unknown
Date: Unknown, around 1100 B.C.
We had been wandering the accursed desert for almost 40 years. Moses and the massive sphere of flame had been guiding us since before I was born. I am 18 now, and I like to think myself a scholar. I am the most well-versed in the scriptures of our people, and I know much about demonology. Of course, everyone knows a few laws, but I know all 613 of them. One day, Moses has us stop on our way to Sinai coming from Elim. We are hungry, for we have run out of food. God, in his mercy, said through Moses that he would rain down bread from Heaven for us to eat. It comes down to us for seven days in a row. The bread tastes wonderful, and we call it "manna". As I eat one day, however, I realize the bread has a peculiar property about it. What in God's name... the bread is healing us. All of the wounds on my feet from traveling the desert are... gone!
I marvel at this. This manna... could we possibly harness this power?
My father walks over to me as I sit in the sand. "Get up, Merlin, we're moving again."