Jude flashed through the wide streets of the Core City using his Blink Skill. The Core City has yet to be fully overrun, so there was only a limited amount of demons here. Using Blink, he was able to bypass the majority of them quickly. However, he found that the demon wolves were able to keep up.

“Aaaroooo,” the pack leader howled. It was a size bigger than the other wolves, and they were already the size of a small horse.

But the real problem was that their howls and barks were attracting the attention of the other nearby demons.

This took the form of two humanoid demons. They jumped out in front of Jude and unleashed their evil magic which created a wave of dark energy. Deathly moans came from this energy as it screeched across the ground heading for Jude.

Gleeful smiles appeared on the demons faces. This night, many had fallen by their hands, and they suspected that Jude would as well. However, Jude did not have time for this, who knew when the king’s ‘change’ would take place and for some reason, the ‘change’ scared Jude more than the demons before him.

Instead of confronting the demons head-on, Jude used Blink to jump up into the air, then Blink again to pass the two foolish demons. The dark energy waves then crashed into the demon wolves that had been chasing Jude, but to his disappointment, the attack didn’t affect them at all.

The wolves continued to rush after Jude and paid no attention to the two blocking demons as they got crushed under their feet.

“So demon magic doesn’t affect other demons? Or did these wolves somehow break through level 30?” Jude asked himself. “It doesn’t matter; somehow I’ll be overrun by demons eventually.”

Jude looked up ahead and saw a sharp turn in the road. It was a massive ornate building complex with stain glass windows, scrolling archways, and gargoyles. A magnificent building made out of marble interwoven with fine lines or granite. Jude had no idea, besides magic, how they combined the two, but it somehow looked every appeasing aesthetically.

Jude brushed aside these thoughts as he came near the tight corner created by these buildings.

“Formless Ice,” Jude cast his spell that had Foundations also integrated into it. He didn’t have the same amount of time as he did in the tournament, so these Foundations were incredibly simple compared to the ones he used before. But all he needed was enough time to pull away from these wolves.

The whole area quickly turned white as a layer of ice formed across the ground and even up the walls. Strange designs and runes could be vaguely seen under the ice as ghostly spikes began to sprout out slowly.

If he had more time, he could have done something better, but he could only do this much while being chased.

Jude quickly made the turn and Blinked away, the wolves followed swiftly behind.

The wolves had a hard time dealing with the slick ice and quickly started sliding. The first few slipped right through the ghostly pikes with no problem, but once more of them came in, they began to solidify. Some spikes solidified and impaled the wolves while others hardened directly into their body’s.

It didn’t take long for the ice white alley to be turned blood red.

Jude checked his notifications.

Demon Wolf Trapped

Experience gain: Demon Wolf Dead

Experience gain: Demon Wolf Dead

Demon Wolf Trapped

Experience gain: Demon Wolf Dead

Demon Wolf Trapped

Experience gain: Demon Wolf Dead

Demon Wolf Trapped

Experience gain: Demon Wolf Dead

Level up! Spell Analyst reached Level 31

Experience gain: Demon Wolf Dead

Demon Wolf Alpha Resisted

“Resisted?! How-“ Looking behind him, Jude could see the alpha close at his heels. “Gah! Blink!”

The pain was starting to flare in his body as he had used Blink far more than he ever had before in a single day. Now he was using it continuously, and it was beginning to drain his HP with each use.

Jude then activated a Script stored inside of his staff. If the ice magic wasn’t going to do it, then it would have to be fire!

***

Jorgan, along with everyone else, lay prostrate before the king as the blinding golden light began to spread everywhere. Jorgan’s heart beat fast as had never before felt this excited. Finally, the king had returned. And not only had he returned, but he was here to bring a new age to humanity. Now they had nothing to fear; they would defeat this new enemy and make them pay.

He had seen it, with his own two eyes. The screen that the king had brought up had shown them many locations, one of which was Jorgan’s very own home. As an aristocrat, it was a cultural norm that he lived with his parents. He was very close to his dad as they were both wizards, and his mother was his confidant. He shared all his wealth and knowledge with his little sister, and she in return loved him too. But what he saw on that screen could not be adequately described with words. The only thing that came to mind was blood. And blood was the only thing that stayed. He would dye himself in the blood of his enemies.

The golden light had washed across all of the people, and they started to change. Power filled Jorgan, an incredible power that felt both cool and warm. He and the others couldn’t help but to sit up and start laughing. Some held their hands up while others clutched their chests, but one thing held true for all of them. They were at peace. The anger and the pain of their loss was still there, but now there was a calm because they knew vengeance was at hand. They now had a new power was beyond anything that they had known.

But the change didn’t stop there. It wasn’t just a feeling inside, but physical as well.

Jorgan looked down at his skin and saw that it too started to glow. Then the clothes on his back burst open as a pair of wings grew out, beautiful angel wings. The feathers were soft and pure white.

The process of them growing didn’t hurt at all. Instead, it made all the people burst out with renewed joyful shouts and laughter.

This change is marvelous! Jorgan thought. Why did Jude have to reject it?

But Jorgan didn’t hate Jude for rejecting this ‘change.' Rather he thought to help Jude understand the great blessing that it was to have ‘changed.’

“Everyone, listen to your king,” the king’s words brought everyone back from their thoughts, “These beasts below have killed our people and burned our homes. But those who have died can’t be brought back. To rebuild this city, we will need workers so when you go out, kill if you must, but capture as many of them as possible. They will pay for their crimes with an everlasting servitude to us.”

Jorgan’s desire for revenge burned hard, but the king's word made sense and his heart calmed down. The need for revenge was still there, but it was now under the control of the king. And Jorgan would now always obey the king.

No matter what.

Because he was compelled to.

***

Yarik viewed the whole process from the side, hidden in the interior of the of the coliseum. But what he saw was completely different than what Jorgan experienced. There was no golden light, and there was no laughter or joy.

Darkness spread out of the King like smoke that could not rise. It spread itself across the ground like water in slow motion.

The mage lights above that lit the whole stadium dimed as the power of darkness overwhelmed their ability to produce light. The darkness seemed to fill every corner now, but for some reason, he was still able to see exactly what was going on.

The scene made Yarik’s skin crawl. Dread filled his heart as he was now aware that the king might actually be worse than what was invading the city.

Jude was right, Yarik thought, I’m glad I didn’t join in the ‘change.’

But then the real ‘change’ happened. The people started letting out horrifying screams, yet no matter how much pain they seemed to be in, their faces were lit with smiles. Some even laughed as tears of blood flowed from their eyes. Their skin was the first to change; it seemed to die as it turned an ugly grey. There were some differences in the ‘change’ after this as some gained scales, horns, hooves or even wicked claws.

Yariks heart sunk once again as he realized exactly what they were changing into. They were becoming the very enemy they sought the ‘change’ for. But that meant that the king… Why would the king attack his own people?

Unless it was to cause this very change. He wanted them to willingly accept this change. Yarik wasn’t exactly sure why or what the king's plan was. But one thing he did know, he had to escape. But before he could, the last part of the ‘change’ occurred.

In an explosion of blood, leathery wings burst out of the backs of all those who were changing. At this, the change was complete and the vitality of those who changed quickly rose. It was like they had never experienced the pain of the change in the first place.

Yarik quickly backed up as quietly as he could. His fate would be sealed if he was caught now. But before he could make his getaway, two pairs of eyes opened up behind him, and a clawed hand came down upon his shoulder.

“Don’t leave so quickly,” the gruff voice sounded in Yarik’s ear. “I’m sure the king will want to meet with you.”

***

On the outskirts of Geonar’s east side, Guudnash stood on a small grassy hill with his command tent behind him. Other demons were heading in and out of the command tent like ants scurring over an ant hill. Many of his more elite troops, the former bandits, he kept here.

Guudnash wasn’t one to make a mistake he saw another do. Back in Longdale, the previous Demon Lord Lerhadar had placed himself on the front lines. In Guudnash’s opinion, this is what got him killed. That was why he setup a command tent so far away and even invested one of his precious Domination Points into creating a new type of demon called the Observer. Each Observer was the size of a rat but looked like a torn out eyeball. It flew through the air with two sets of bat-like wings.

Using a bit of magic, he could infinitely summon them, although they only lived for about an hour. The real limit, however, was his own consciousness. Each Observer that existed was like an extra eyeball connected to his own head. The more eyeballs he summoned, the more intense it got, leading to a massive headache. Because of this, he only had a few spread out around the city, and for most of the time, their eyes were closed so that he wouldn’t go insane.

Though, being insane was a moot point by now.

At this moment, Guudnash looked out over the burning city. The conquest was nearly over, and a sense of joy and pride swept through him. This was his accomplishment!

Then he felt the Observers slowly disconnect with him one by one.

“It’s already that time is it?” Guudnash said to himself. He wasn’t surprised by the despawning of the Observers. “Should I summon some more? No, the fight is almost over. No need to give myself an unnecessary headache.”

Then he checked his notification:

City Conquest: Geonar

1,605,432/2,000,000

He wasn’t sure what was the better view. Watching the city burn or watching the conquest counter tick up.

He had already obtained two more Domination Points for the conquest so far, and he could only imagine how much more he would get once the city fully fell under his control.

The future was more exciting now than it had ever been in his entire life. First Geonar would fall, then all of Riwa. Once the kingdom was his, then he would hunt Jude down like a dog!

At this, a slight bit of sorrow entered Guudnash’s heart. He remembered Abaud, how he had trained him and raised him like he was his own son. But that damnable Jude ruined everything! First, it was to foil their plans in Longdale and being sent off to be executed. After they escaped and became demons, Jude came back and wrecked things again. He killed Abaud.

Guudnash let out a sigh and calmed himself down. There was a process to everything, and as long as he followed his plan, Jude would one day die. He just had to have a little patience and complete the task at hand.

Guudnash checked the conquest ticker once again. But this time, instead of joy, his heart nearly stopped.

The ticker… was going backwards!

***

It was a bloody fight, but Jude defeated the alpha wolf. The only benefit of these demons was that they were just over level 30, making them the perfect opportunity to gain EXP. In a land that had no mobs between 30-50, it was actually an experience worth its weight in gold. However, to Jude, it would never be worth the lives that had been lost this day. Thinking of these lives, he remembered Ellie who was waiting for Jude outside the city. He could only hope that she was safe. He had to get to her as soon as possible.

But first, he would have to get out of the city alive.

In the distance, Jude saw the Core City Wall. The greatest fortification the city had to offer. The wall was four stories high and incredibly as thick, he could only imagine how many ballista’s and catapults were up there, not to mention the number of soldiers. It made him wonder, just how did the demons get past it?

As Jude was thinking how he would get over the wall, he heard a great shout from many people. It was the sound of a war charge. He looked back, and a cold sweat formed anew on his back.

The coliseum still hung in the air, but now he could see figures flying out of it like a swarm of bats.

“So that’s the king’s ‘change?’” Jude asked. “It’s worse than I expected.”

This king was on a whole different level than Guudnash or Abaud had been. If he was a demon, then the world was in for a dire future. And what could he be but a demon? And how did he become a demon?

Then Jude remembered. Guudnash.

“I should have found Guudnash and dealt with him first,” Jude lamented. “Now the problem is much worse than when it was just him as a demon.”

But he couldn’t do anything about it now. First, he had to escape.

He didn’t have time to formulate a plan to get over the wall or even spy it out. Those winged demons would catch up with him faster than he would like. Plus, he wasn’t sure how they would interact with the other demons. Would they join together or fight? After all, the Guudnash’s demons had killed their families.

Jude threw caution to the wind and used Blink to appear on top of the wall.