Rodderick ran through the empty streets of Dorhem. He could hear the cries of all the citizens barricaded inside their homes. They must be terrified, he was too.
His heart never beat so fast in his life, he could hear his heart pumping blood even when running at full speed.
As he approached the walls, he could see the demons swarming over the top, fighting fiercely with the soldiers of the city.
Many looked humanoid, but that’s where the resembles with human beings ended. Some were much taller than humans, some took traits after animals, scaly skins, razor sharp teeth, long powerful claws, others had their forms warped in incomprehensible ways.
He was scared, but he kept running without hesitation. This was the reason why he wanted to learn magic, this time, he would be able to stand for himself.
Finally, he found Adrian in front of the gates. Barth, the old royal guard was lying on the ground looking up at the scene in front of him.
Rodderick’s heart sank, the night he met Adrian, they talked about a lot of things. One was about his loyal bodyguard Barth. That night, he had learn that royal guards were specifically selected to protect the royal family, they were among the strongest fighters of the human kingdom, only the Swords ranked higher in power.
To see such a figure laying down on the ground, covered in blood, it made Rodderick understand what he was about to jump into.
“Adriaaaaaan!”, he yelled at the top of his lungs, his mind was already made up.
Adrian, who recognized the voice behind him without looking smiled. He then jumped into action, as if his friend’s voice marked the beginning of the fight.
“Athena, get me some time!”. He jumped backwards and took the staff resting on his back in his hands.
He buried the staff on the ground and the earth below Barth started moving with a will on its own, carrying the old soldier away from the fight.
“P-Prince Adrian!”, Barth yelled in agony. It was his duty to protect the prince, but no matter how much he tried, his legs would not obey him and stand up.
The harpy without any words, waved her wing towards the enemy, the generated waves of wind spun rapidly in circles, combining into a powerful tornado directed towards the gates.
Both demons reacted at the same time, jumping to the sides to avoid the incoming storm. Mytha charged from the right, Abeon from the left, as the tornado passed through the middle, attempting to devour them, but the strength of the pulling wind was not enough to take them.
Athena flew to the skies, from above, she waved her wings once again, this time feathers shot from her long wings, charged with magical energy, flying rapidly towards both demons.
“Shit!”, Abeon, seeing the feathers coming his way, stopped his sprint and kicked the ground, raising a wall of earth to protect himself form the barrage.
“Mytha! Get the prince!”, he yelled from behind the wall, unable to move.
Mytha, on the other hand, punched each feather coming her way without slowing down. Her tail swinging behind her giving her the balance she needed to resist the pulling force of the tornado while utilizing the weight of her body to repel the attacks.
She was not a magician like Abeon, but her martial prowess was unmatched by anyone in his army.
She charged towards the prince with fierce determination in her eyes. Adrian, caught off guard by her sudden advancement, stumbled backwards in an attempt to gain some distance, but it was too late. The demon was upon him.
Just as she was about to strike, a wall of earth rose up between her and Adrian, narrowly saving the prince from her grasp. Mytha snarled in frustration, turning her attention to the source of the obstruction.
She saw a young child with ragged breath and hands extended towards her. It was Rodderick, who had just arrived on the scene and had swiftly cast a spell to protect Adrian.
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He had never casted such a big spell, he simply took the idea from Abeon who rose his own earth wall and acted with urgency. A wave of pride and excitement washed over him as he witnessed the result of his training with a smile, amazed at the result that not even him was expecting.
Adrian, with a newfound sense of safety, took advantage of the opportunity to finish his own spell.
“Kind winds that arrived at this town to protect the weak, rise and gather under my will. Take the form of the guardian who keeps evil at bay, be my power, my sword and my shield!”
A thick fog enveloped the area, obscuring his form from view. But the fog was not just any ordinary mist; it began to take the shape of many tall spectral warriors, each clad in golden armor and with long red hair, the very image of Adrian's sister, Maria Aeron wielding a long golden sword.
Mytha's eyes widened in surprise as the warriors rushed towards her. She suspected it to be an Illusion. Abeon familiars had caught the prince casting such spells in the inn. With a smirk, she punched one of the warriors, making a hole in it as the fog that composed it gave way to her fist.
She smiled triumphantly as her fist ran the warrior through unimpeded, however, the mist formed Maria, swung her sword, cutting Mytha's chest, as blood violently sprout from the wound. Mytha's expression turned from triumph to one of agony as she stumbled back.
“W-What?!”, she screamed with a pained voice.
“What’s wrong lizard? You thought just because you can’t harm them they had no way to do the same to you?”, Adrian smiled maliciously, he fantasized with this moment for a long time, ever since he had learn of his sister’s death.
“You had your way with my sister, now I’ll have my way with you.”, he pointed towards the demon in front of him. From what he had seen so far, she had no way to defend herself from wind magic. If it was so, there was nothing she could do against his spell.
Abeon, seeing his companion in trouble, acted quickly. He pulled the earth under Mytha, the platform slid through the street, moving her closer towards him. "Hold on, Mytha", he shouted. "The little prince has more bite than I expected."
Rising both his hands, Abeon violently waved his arms on the air.
The walls in the nearby houses were sent flying as the people inside screamed in horror. However, the screams soon quieted down until there was only eerie silence left.
Rodderick’s heart sunk, had those people been caught in the battle? Why would the demon kill them like this?
Suddenly, the people from the houses walked out, they were alive, but their eyes were dead and empty. They rushed towards the children, as if controlled by an unseen force.
“What?! Stay away! It’s not safe!”, Rodderick yelled.
“It’s useless Rick, they are brainwashed!”
Rodderick, surprised by the sudden turn of events, put his hands on the ground. “Earth, give way to space, make these people trip on their steps!”, with a quick chant, he created holes in the ground, trapping the advancing citizens in them.
As this was happening, the demons fighting in the walls had achieved victory. Looking for new prey, they started running inside the city.
Athena, who was flying high in the sky, created another tornado inside the incoming group of demons, ripping them apart and blasting them away with waves of her wings.
Powerful demons like Abeon and Mytha could avoid her barrage of attacks, but common yoma like them were defenseless towards her merciless attacks.
Mytha, using the opening Abeon created, rushed towards Adrian once again, her movements now precise and calculated. She now knew how the warriors worked and avoided all their attacks. They were slow and imprecise, unlike those of the real Maria Aeron. “What a joke”, she spout out words filled with anger for being fooled earlier.
Adrian was surprised by her skill, as she closed in on him. This demon was an incredible powerful close ranged fighter, if she closed in on him again he would certainly lose. In a moment of panic, he thought of flying to the skies to avoid her, this way, he would be out of harms way and could simply wait for his spell to deaf her, however Rodderick was still behind him, preventing him from leaving. He froze, unsure of what to do.
“Just try, you dumb kid!”, It was too late, Mytha who was now right in front of him was about to punch Adrian. He closed his eyes in fear of the incoming pain.
WHAP.
But the fist never connected. Surprised Adrian opened his eyes to see Mytha being sent away by a long water whip.
The demon landed safely on her legs staring at the new enemy in front of her, a slender young man with long hair tied up in a ponytail.
“Sorry im late kids, boss said I’m on lizard duty, so you can leave that one to me.”, Endo said, walking towards the young mages with a pair of ice daggers on his hands.