Screech!
Monsters as far as the eye can see charge in and clash head on with the soldiers and adventurers.
Blood paints the ground as beasts trample over each other in their thirst for death.
“Randall, like we discussed, you play crowd control. Sera you are on interference, stay behind Randall with Alice. And finally Agera, I will have some golems lead the enemies, we will cut them down together!”
I shout out commands as the wave approaches.
I jam my spear into a black furred lion with dozens of sharp tails, ripping the wooden weapon upwards and tearing through flesh.
I don’t exactly have control over these monsters, so the fighting I am doing right now is genuine.
One mistake and I could get badly injured.
Though my dear healing fairy will fix me right up afterwards.
Sera is throwing out waves of mental mana to disorient the monsters as best she can.
The attacks are not very effective on the Class 2s and 3s, but it is enough that I am sure The System is giving her quite a bit of experience points for the effort.
A flash of silver streaks past my head as Agera slams silver threads into a beast that had been trying to sneak up behind me.
Not that it really could have, considering I can see everything around me and all.
The ground is shaking just from the giant battle going on, but at the rate we are going this will all be over in a few hours.
I can see red dots rapidly vanishing off my map as the others on the battlefield work together to tear through the monsters.
Some of the blue dots vanish as well.
I suppose that was inevitable in a battle like this.
I’m sorry, but your sacrifice is a necessary one.
I send a prayer out to those who died, and all those who will be caught in the crossfire of my personal war.
I will not stop though.
And I never will, not until I accomplish my goals.
[Do it.]
A mass of mana suddenly flows out from the center of the battlefield.
The adventurers and soldiers slow down, faltering under the influence.
Screams ring out.
More blue dots vanish.
The hordes I am using to attack the cities are each being led by a Class 3 demon with Mind Magic.
These demons are possessing the most powerful monster and manipulating the rest of the beasts to charge forward endlessly as they crash out of the forest.
“Lua! What was that?!”
Sera shrieks as the magic washes over her.
Thanks to the mind magic charm she is mostly protected, but the charm was more designed to protect from mind reading, not mental attacks.
I can see her heaving and dizzy from even just the small amount that got through.
“Whatever it is, it’s disrupting the battlefield a lot. We need to head over and take it out!”
The rest of the team nods their heads at my assessment as we start to shift our position towards the source of the magic.
Stepping over bodies of both man and monster we eventually catch sight of the beast.
A moon rabbit.
A towering mass of white fur stained in blood.
The same creature I faced off against myself in the forest not three months prior.
The Class 3 equivalent of course.
Still can’t have my demons possess Class 4 creatures sadly.
Though, because of all the stupid power-ups the universe has given me I can at least be certain that they are all far stronger than their peak Class 3 mana would suggest.
I still have not had a chance to test if my Heroes protection affects the demons.
This should be interesting.
A group of maybe a dozen surrounds the beast as the battle comes into view.
The demon is easily tossing them around as it uses its Mind Magic to hinder their attacks.
A man in soldier's armor screams out, clutching the sides of his head before collapsing into a heap.
Damn, Mind Magic is scary.
Several golems charge in to help surround the demon.
I need to stall a bit longer for everything to work out properly…
----------------------------------------
A tall woman wearing a detailed silver and gold light armor sits at the head of the table as the King of the country leans over her shoulder.
“Oracle, any new visions?”
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“No, the same as usual. We finish off the stampede with minimal loss of life.”
She keeps getting the same vision, but that creeping feeling just won’t go away.
Everything should be fine, so why am I feeling so much dread?
Her emotions clearly show on her face, prompting the king to push harder.
“But, that is not all, is it?”
“I am not sure, the future is cloudy and dark. Something isn’t right.”
The Oracle closes her eyes again to reach out into the future, the black void still obstructing her vision.
She pours more and more mana into the skill in an attempt to clear up the blockade.
Clouds of darkness begin to fade, and the images lose their blur.
Finally, she breaks through.
The clouds clear, and she sees red.
Visions of the hall she is in right now, a guard grins and raises his hand.
Shit!
The Oracle’s eyes snap open.
“Guards! Stop that-!”
It’s too late, the man’s hand is already in the air.
A violent explosion rings out and the hall is engulfed in fire.
Waves of heat flood the building as several nobles are burnt to ash.
“It’s a demon!”
The Oracle shouts out to warn the soldiers of the threat.
A commander panics and screams.
“How?! That is one of my soldiers, I spoke to him mere moments ago!”
The Oracle’s mind races as she continues to peer into the immediate future.
The man must be possessed.
She wants to save him, but it is too late.
If he is left to rampage then more will die.
The demon throws out another attack, shredding ten more nobles and soldiers with blades of compressed flame.
“Henry! Ice spear now!”
The captain of the royal guard shouts to his subordinate and they react immediately.
A spear of glistening ice shimmers in the flames that ravage the hall.
The projectile tears through the possessed guard’s stomach.
blood sprays and flesh explodes outwards as the force from the Class 4 attack shreds the demon’s body.
The vessel falls limply to the ground.
Everyone loses a bit of tension at the sight before The Oracle’s prophetic voice rings out.
“It’s not over!”
The Oracle pulls two jet black daggers from the sheaths on her hips.
The adamantine blades crackle with silver and gold light as she imbues them with her magic.
A new vision assaults her.
“Shield now!”
The guards in the room follow her orders and throw up multiple barrier type spells just in time to protect everyone from a new explosion that fills the room.
Shards of stained glass rain down as several support pillars erupt.
From the haze of ash and blood a green metallic form steps out.
Black smoke wisps off the humanoid mass of mithril, glowing crimson eyes glare out from beneath the wyvern shaped skull resting in place of the monster's head.
Several guards go weak in the knees at the sight before they collapse.
Even the Oracle wants to scream about the unfairness of an enemy made entirely of mithril.
However, as someone who has reached Class 5, she would never lose heart or her confidence in her victory.
The Oracle stands up and charges at the demon.
She slices down with her twin blades.
The demon’s arm falls to the ground as it leaps back just before The Oracle suddenly jumps to the side.
A thin stream of fire cuts across the room, barely missing the silver haired dualist.
Two royal guards are not so lucky.
Their bodies split in half, smoke rising from the cauterized seam.
Fires start to rage outside the building and even more pillars collapse as the roof caves in.
Chaos reigns in the city outside.
The damn attack cut through the whole building!
The Oracle charges in again alongside a shield of ice that forms around her, the Class 4 guard’s magic providing enough protection to let her get in close.
She dodges around more attacks before they can even be fired.
Just as her two shining blades are inches from the demon’s neck, ready to slice it to pieces, she jumps back again.
This time with fear in her eyes.
“Shields!”
More barriers of all different elements form around The Oracle and the remaining survivors in the room.
However, it is not enough.
A burst of flame far more powerful than the earlier attacks erupts from the demon’s chest.
“Fuck!”
Several more guards are dead, and the hall is now nothing but rubble.
The demon had been setting a trap the entire time.
Inside of its body, it had been casting explosion spells over and over to build up enough pressure to shatter the mithril it was made of.
Damn thing blew itself up!
The shields fade and her visions stop.
The demon is gone.
She doubts it is dead though.
More screams erupt from the city all around.
“Cough, cough. What the hell was that?”
The king stands up from the rubble, his silver cloak covered in ash and soot.
“That… was a demon. I have no idea how it was possessing a body entirely made of mithril, but the strength is exactly what I remember.”
The Oracle had faced a demon once before with her party back in her adventuring days.
They lost several people that day as well. Strong people.
She thought she was prepared, but she had foolishly expected the enemy to be the same as the one she had faced before.
But no. The enemy had been improving itself too.
Why wouldn’t it?
They have a Demon Lord now.
Copses of her nation's people, her dear subjects lay strewn about at her feet.
Those bastards!
As The Oracle lets her anger take over, one of the remaining guard’s face goes from pale to pure white.
“Lady Oracle, Your Majesty! We have reports from the capital!”
“Speak!”
“Mithril monsters suddenly appeared all over and many high ranking government officials are dead.”
“FUCK!”
A pile of bricks goes flying as The Oracle slams her foot into the rubble in a rage.
“How… Why…?”
Why did I not see any of this?
The Oracle sank to the ground as the soldier continued the report on the damage.
“It seems this same situation is playing out in every major city across the continent…”
And the news just keeps getting worse.