Blinding light filled my vision followed by a wave of heat. The sound only came several seconds later. It was not the deep rumble of thunder but rather a sharp high pitch crack as if shattered glass. Just standing near Dragon’s Nest as the massive cannon fired felt as if I was being cooked alive. I could not even imagine what it was like for the Demonkin army on the ground. Even Svend and his nearly invulnerable body would likely be torn to shreds if he had been hit by this blast.
It took several seconds before my vision cleared. As I blinked away the spots seared into my eyes, I immediately looked down at the Demonkin army below. Or more correctly, I looked down at where the Demonkin army had been. Everything that had been down on the ground was now gone. All that remained was a glassed crater shimmering dully through the red haze. Even the air itself looked as if it had been fragmented as purple cracks remained after the blast, covering the entire area in an almost dreamlike image.
Nearby, I heard Mare click her tongue in disappointment. “Tch, The Demons got away. They should thank their maker I’m still not back to a hundred percent, otherwise, even a teleporter would not be able to run. Maybe if I try again…”
Hearing her words, I dashed to Mare and placed my hands on her shoulders. Shaking her madly, I shouted. “Have you lost your mind! Why would you fire a weapon that fractures space when we are fending off a Demon invasion?”
Mare blinked a few times in surprise before glancing down at the purple cracks still lingering in the air. “It is only a tiny crack. It should only speed up Envy’s arrival by a week… probably.”
“I am… going to strangle you!” I growled furiously.
Mare’s hands clasped onto my arms and a geometric pattern began to glow under her skin. Bolstered by her Divine Body, Mare easily pulled my arms aside. “Relax. It’s a good trade. If we were hounded by all those Demonkin our entire march to the capital, we would have wasted more than a week. Now, we beat whatever remains into a retreat and the Demons will not risk another large-scale attack.”
I paused as I saw the reason in Mare’s words. However, it did nothing to cool my anger. “If you ever do something like this again without consulting me first, I’ll… I’ll get my teacher to instruct Donte on controlling Preateritum remnants.”
The smile disappeared from Mare’s face as her eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Want to bet?”
Mare bit her lip as she looked down at the destruction below. “Fine, I promise not to use the cannon impulsively. Are you happy now?”
I nodded. Even though I doubted the sincerity of any words that came out of Mare’s mouth, I knew she would not risk losing her freedom to Donte. The cannon was an incredible weapon. I could still barely believe Dragon’s Nest had such a thing hidden beneath the layer of rock. The crater left in the ground had wiped out more than half of the Demonkin army. The only reason so many even survived was because the canon had a limited area of effect. I had no doubt that only the most powerful of beings could survive a direct hit from it. Even Envy would have to worry about a blast like that. Maybe only the Leviathan would be able to shrug off the cannon without concern. However, a weapon like this needed to be saved for the right time. Because of my connection to the depths of the realm, I could feel the damage caused by that single shot. Even if I revived a dozen people, it would not cause as much long-term damage as firing that cannon once. Until Envy and the Leviathan arrived, we could not risk using it very often.
Still, Mare’s impulsive action did create an opportunity. The Demonkin army I had worried would be a major threat was now scattered.
Releasing Mare, I spread my domain. Through it, my presence was magnified to every side of the battlefield. My voice echoed through the blood mist. “Attack now! Do not let a single Demonkin escape.”
The domain warriors that had been stunned by the power of the cannon’s strike were shaken from their daze and the soldiers on the ground were filled with awe-inspired determination. This was my blue flames working to the maximum. Everything I had learned from Marilyn was put into use now. The power everyone just witnessed worked as the focal point, spreading my influence far more easily than it ever could normally. The remaining Demonkin that heard my voice began to shake in fear as their most primal instincts took over. Whatever command the Demons still held over their army was completely shattered as chaos broke out in mass. Demonkin scattered in every direction. Many of the larger creatures trampled their smaller kin in an animalistic panic.
General Arthur did not miss this opportunity. With the soldiers’ morale boosted to the extreme, he personally led the charge into the disorganized horde. The glowing silver armor maintained by my dad’s glyph showed its might for the very first time. Normally, soldiers had to act together in large squads to take down even the weakest of Demonkin but now, every single soldier found that they could take a dozen deadly blows and remain unharmed. Their weapons even sliced through the tough hides of the creatures more easily. There was still an overwhelming difference in the physical strength between humans and the Demonkin but so long as they worked together, our soldiers could easily cut down a beast that would have once torn through the army with ease. Only the fully mature Demonkin and the Alphas truly posed a threat to them now.
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I waved to the others around me. “Time to move. Follow our original plan. Attack from the rear and push as many Demonkin as we can into the army. Avoid any drawn-out battles with Alphas. We don’t have long before the mist becomes too thick to see through.”
The others nodded as they began to move. Sebastion’s light struck first as it tore through the mist and it rained down on the Demonkin below. Before long, the smell of burning flesh began to overwhelm the stench of the blood mist.
I rushed down to the ground and spread green flames over the area Sebastion bombarded. The twitching corpses of dozens of Demonkin rose from the ground as bright green light filled their eyes. Without hesitation, the undead began to attack their former companions. Teeth and claws ripped into flesh. Many of my undead were ripped apart but for every one that fell, two more corpses had joined the undead legion.
Nearby, other domain warriors created similar carnage. Svend crushed anything in front of him with his halberd while Cyra turned the battlefield into a burning hellscape. Sigmund, Dom, Vissna, and every other domain warrior present created a wave of carnage that would have been impossible normally. Under normal circumstances, there was no way any of us could act against normal Demonkin without restraint. We always had to be wary of using too much energy in case the Alphas or Demons attacked. However, the Demons had teleported away when the cannon fired and almost all of the Alphas present had been caught in the blast. Now, only a few remained and they were all fleeing into the depths of the mist, more concerned with preserving their own lives than protecting the Demonkin army.
I smiled in delight as my undead spread like a plague through the Demonkin army. At my current strength, I could easily control several hundred undead now. I may not have been able to vaporize entire swaths of land as Sebastion could but my impact on the battlefield was no less than his. These undead could respond and react instantly to my mental commands, allowing them to block off a direct escape route back into the mist. Even if one of them died, I could simply use another of the myriad of corpses on the battlefield to take its place. Through this and the efforts of the other domain warriors, I was able to force tens of thousands of rampaging Demonkin back in the only direction left they could flee, directly into the waiting swords of General Arthur’s soldiers.
To my surprise, none of the Demons moved to stop our slaughter. Even if they were not willing to act themselves until they knew more about the cannon that decimated their army, they could still have forced the few remaining Alphas to impede our actions. Yet, every single remaining Alpha retreated into the mist without looking back.
The inaction of the Demons worried me but not enough to influence my actions. Green flames continued to swirl around me as an army of undead Demonkin created an impassable wall on the battlefield. Tens of thousands of Demonkin were slain by our forces over the next few minutes, however, with every moment that passed, it became harder and harder to see what was happening on the battlefield.
The storm above had begun to affect the blood mist. It did not take long before the curtain was so thick that even seeing a few dozen steps ahead was impossible.
It was at this time that General Arthur’s voice, enhanced by a glyph, thundered through the haze. “All forces, fall back to defensive formation. Do not get separated from your squad.”
I sighed in resignation. Several thousand Demonkin still remained but I knew there was little we could do now. While my undead Demonkin could continue fighting without being overly affected, they were the only ones able to act in the mist without hindrance. So long as that teleporter Demon existed, it was too dangerous to move through the blood mist alone when he could ambush us at any moment.
I quickly rendezvoused with Vissna. Between the cold she constantly released and her massive size, everyone agreed that she would be the easiest to find no matter how thick the mist became. After taking a quick headcount to make sure that everyone arrived safely, we flew back to the army.
General Arthur eyed the thickening blood mist with a frown as everyone gathered at his location. “We have dealt a massive blow to the Demon army, our first real victory on the battlefield since this war began. However, ye can’t drop your guard. I will assign each of you overlappin’ sections of the army. Use your domain to keep watch over the area best ye can. So long as this storm is ragin’ we must remain vigilant.”
As General Arthur finished speaking, another voice echoed out of the mist. “That is a good plan. It is not enough to stop us of course but a good plan all the same.”
My hair stood on end as I spun towards the source of the voice. A figure stepped out of the mist behind us. He was a vile-looking man with rows of razor-sharp teeth that resembled a shark. Everything about the man, from his slightly hunched shoulders to his slow measured steps screamed predator. However, my gaze was instantly drawn to his glowing red eyes.
“You dare show your face in front of us Demon?” Svend shouted as he swung his halberd towards the man.
Before the halberd could even touch the man, he vanished. A chill traveled down my back as I felt the whispery breath of the demon on my ear. “There is nowhere I dare not go and nothing I dare not do.”
Flames ignited in an inferno around me as I spun to face the Demon but by the time I moved, he was already gone. A peal of laughter could be heard echoing through the mist. The Demons voice sounded as if it was coming from every direction all at once.
“I admit, I am not the strongest of my compatriots. Among the other Demons I might even be considered weak but within the sea of mist, not a single one of you is able to harm me.”
Vissna growled as the temperature in the region began to plummet to dangerous levels. Everyone was on their guard waiting for the Demon to reappear.
The voice of the Demon echoed out again, this time more distant than before. “However, what happens next is entirely up to you, Aurielle.”
“Speak, what do you want?” I said as I peered through the mist in a vain attempt to find the source of the voice.
The voice reappeared uncomfortably close. The Demon spoke in whispers but I could still not find where it was coming from. “Simple really. I want to make a deal with you.”