Earlier that day, this village was a normal village with normal villagers living in it. Life was tough but the folks managed to go through seasons after seasons with by honest hard-work and helping each other. And yet, everything changed tonight.

“Stop! Don’t hurt us!” A man pleaded.

“Please… I have children…” Cried a tearful woman.

“Sob…sob… brother, are we going to die?” Said a trembling girl in the embrace of her brother.

“Sacrifice.”

A man spoke devoid of emotion, unconcerned of the pleading villagers.

The other cultist killed them by slitting their throat, making sure as much blood came out as possible. The magic circle created by the cultist leader, Shadow, glowed. The glow was the light of a flame, orange and red. With the sacrifice, Shadow created a summoning portal to call residents of hell to the mortal plane.

Imps. Humanoid in shape, small stature like children, small deformed wings on their back, round bald head with horns, pink-skinned like raw flesh.

Hellhounds. Vicious dogs made of part flesh part flame, ravenously starving for any kind of meat, their breath smelled of sulfur and smoke.

About a dozen Imps and half a dozen Hellhounds came out from the fiery portal from the ground before it lost its glow and closed. The beings summoned from hell, despite their relatively small form compared to humans standards, each could kill a dozen humans because even the weakest of them had the strength of level 0.

Compared to the Ghoul, they are a bit weaker but not because their species were only so. The gate toll wasn’t good enough to bring stronger devils. Devil summoning also had another weakness, they’ll return to hell after a certain period of time.

“What low-quality sacrifices, their lives could only call these many weak devils… then again wishing something exceptional from these trashes is a fool’s dream.” Shadow murmured.

“Half of you spread out to all directions, rampage to your heart’s content. The other half stays with me.” Shadow ordered the Imps and Hellhounds, they responded with shrieks and growls but they obeyed the summoner’s command.

The black-masked Shadow looked to the scattering fiery critters.

“Lord Shadow, report from the perimeter. The church’s forces have arrived and they have engaged them. With the Imps and Hellhounds, we had clear number superiority.” A cultist came and delivered his report.

“Mm, we’ve successfully drawn out the birds from their nest. We can retreat after sufficiently stalling them. I’ll join the frontline.”

Shadow didn’t get the chance because an emergency message reached him telepathically.

“Lord Shadow, there’s an anomaly combatant! Our defenses have been forcefully broken through.”

“I can see that,” Shadow replied unperturbed.

A person made a beeline to him, intending to charge him in the process. The person was very eye-catching because they shined with light in the night.

“Arte — Darkness Wall.”

Shadow conjured a wall of darkness to protect himself. The light element user charged to it head-on. A classic spear versus shield situation, in this case, the shield barely held on and the spear’s momentum was halted.

Shadow dismissed his shield, the newcomer wasn’t glowing anymore so his vision wasn’t impeded.

The messenger cultists witnessed the clash of power beyond his level and it terrified him to his core.

“…Fuck me... You mutts, come with me!”

He gave an order to the summoned devils as he ran like his life depends on it. His objective was to get the hell away from their conflict, the Imps and Hellhounds followed but aggressively. Even leashed to the will of the summoner, devils were not tame creatures. The cultist knew if he didn’t let these devils sink their teeth into something soon, it will be his fate to be their dinner.

“I've heard news that devil worshippers are killing innocents…” The blonde woman gnashed her teeth to hold her anger after looking at the corpses of the villagers around her.

“A Silver Legionnaire, I heard one of your kind is in town. I’ve always wanted to fight one of you. Is your ilk as strong as the rumors claim to be?” Shadow was smiling behind his mask.

“May the Goddess have mercy on your soul, because I will not!” Ciel’s sword shined, filled with Victa.

“May the Devil fancy what’s left of your soul, because I will flay it beyond recognition.” Shadow took out a book, the pages turned by itself. Slowly, his own shadow became darker until it was as black as ink.

“Holy Light!”

“Shadow Bolt!”

Their attack collided against each other, sending a shockwave to all around them. The cultist was already twenty meters from them but still tumbled to the ground because of the shock. A level 0 like him had no place on the battlefield of level 2. He hurriedly picked himself up from the ground, and bring the summoned devils to the place where the church and the cult fought.

***

“Lady Scarlett I presume? The tales of your deeds precede you. Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Ativan, a humble servant of the Goddess.”

The level 2 spoke softly and amiably, he was between the level 1s; three on his left and three on his right in an arrowhead formation. Ativan was quite old, his balding head and white hairs were a testament to that. However he was tall in stature and despite the years he had endured, his back was as straight as a steel tower.

“How very kind of you, head priest Ativan. We’re here to procure the Faith Water, would you be so kind as to deliver that to us?” Scarlett replied with the same politeness.

“Ah, the Faith Water. Around this time of the year, at the summer solstice, the Faith Water are sufficiently accumulated. The water is special because it is the Goddess’ grace; she gave us her gift for those who served her faithfully. I’m afraid I cannot give it to you, Lady Scarlett.”

“No need to feel bad, head priest. We’ll simply take it from your corpse.” Scarlett blared with Victa, Soris and Azure also did the same.

“Young woman, I do not wish to fight… I never have. How about this then, relinquish your fealty to the Greater Devil and embrace the light of the Goddess then I will give you my share of Faith Water right here and right now.”

“Head priest!?”

“You mustn’t!”

“These heretics are unworthy!”

Cries of protest came from the others but Ativan silenced it by raising his right hand. He waited for Scarlett’s answer.

“I refuse,” she firmly said.

“And so, fight we must… Violence is never the answer. I hope I can make you understand. Take it from an old man that has seen too much pain in the world.” Ativan visibly saddened as he spoke.

“There is a saying about eggs and omelette about that. I’m sure someone with the wisdom of age such as yourself has heard of it.”

“Yes indeed, please humble me with one last question… Why now?”

“Pardon?” Scarlett slightly tilted her head.

“I’ve been the head priest of Luxore town’ church for over a decade. At the end of summer, collectors from the Holy City of Sephoria would come to collect the water to the HQ, with at least a squad of Silver Legion accompanying them as an escort. By that point, few people that desire the water could succeed, so the logic should be acquiring the water before the summer’s end. We know that so every church’s security and vigilance around this time is at an all-time high, surely you realized this?”

Ativan took a step forward and bent his upper body forward slightly.

“So why this year the Cult of Dumuzin mobilized in such force to acquire the Faith Water?”

Some of the other six also felt the same as the head priest. Why now? What changed?

Because we need it. For the ritual this winter. Scarlett answered in her mind but kept her silence to Ativan’s question.

“You've bolstered your security. We take care of that by baiting you out. You people will always come if some blood is spilled, all too easy.”

Scarlett carefully constructed her words.

“You’re vigilant for an attack on your monastery. We overcome that by distraction frontal assault. Even if you know it’s a distraction, you must allocate men there or the monastery will burn along with the pitiful lost lambs you picked up here and there.”

Her voice was as serene as a still pond on a windless day.

“You anticipated infiltration to your inner sanctum and set up both trap and ambush here. We… overcome that with pure power. Prepare to meet your goddess, old priest.”

Even then her voice didn’t rise a pitch, it remained as cold as ice.

From Scarlett’s left and right, two figures rose from the floor. They both wore armor that covered their whole body. They held their long sword with both hands, the sword’s tip was pointing straight up. All of their being and equipment were bathed in blood.

“Arte — Blood Knights.” Scarlett took out her weapon, a wooden wand.

The knights had the strength of a level 1 each.

“Impressive… Of course, the numerical advantage still lies with us. I’m sorry it has come to this. Fellow brothers, we do what we must. Arte — Man of Steel.”

Ativan walked forward while invoking his Arte, shiny gloss of metal could be seen on his skin. He chose Scarlett as his opponent because they both were the only level 2 in the room.

The rest of the six split up. Two for the blood knights, two for Soris, two for Azure.

Jor was watching the show inside the nave from behind the barrier of light. He had successfully escaped before the barrier was in place.