A wave of energy squashed the Players onto the ground.

Mike was caught up in it as his body froze in fear. There were many monsters that he had fought, but never something this powerful before. All the past powerful monsters had him shaking, but to the point where he couldn’t move and his mind going blank made him realize how he wanted to run away.

He couldn’t help but think that he was way over his head.

The pressure of King Daemon continues to outpower the city, allowing the monsters to quickly push forward towards the sacred trees. It was as if King Daemon’s power was suffocating the holy light, pushing and containing it even further.

Nobody could move to assist for a while. The blast was mind-numbing.

King Daemon raised his hand, shooting a powerful blast of magic into the first sacred trees he was near.

Light and darkness met together, creating a blinding effect.

At first, it was a stalemate between the two opposing forces.

Then King Daemon amplified his power, causing the sacred tree’s barrier to shake violently. The darkness pushed harder than before, completely overtaking the sacred tree in one go.

Boom!

A horrifying shatter of the Sacred Tree’s barrier happened before them. A blast of energy completely swallowed the sacred tree, bursting it into black flames.

The light energy around the tree completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but a scorching mark on the ground.

A surge of monsters pushed through the gaping hole left by King Daemon.

“Quickly! Fire!” One of the commanders of the city yelled in panic. To see the destruction of a Sacred Tree brought fear into the people’s hearts.

For thousands of years, the sacred trees kept them safe from monsters, but to one day disappear in front of their eyes shook their very belief that they were invincible and secure.

Now, it was no more.

Hundreds of soldiers quickly ran toward the big opening. Then, the wave of monsters streamed through the large gap.

Thousands upon thousands of arrows flew through the air, landing on the monsters that broke through.

Mr. Jay flew into the middle of the swarm. His fist blazing with fire as he came down with a powerful blow of fire that left a crater in the ground. Thousands of monsters died in that one blow, but just as quickly as Mr. Jay decimated the monsters, twice the numbers swarmed in to replace them. He had to escape swiftly to not get run over.

Mike was stupefied at how easily King Daemon pushed the three strongest around as if they were a toy. He knew at the rate that everything was going, it would become a big problem. Killing the Demon King was the number one priority, but the number of monsters swarming in on the side was overwhelming.

Things weren’t going as expected.

Another blast of dark energy was sent out towards the second nearest sacred tree creating a buffer against the monsters. But, unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the sacred tree to be obliterated, leaving another gaping hole.

Mike shook out of his stupor. He couldn’t keep staying in this frozen state. Taking up his courage, he punched his own face.

Blood dripped down on the side of his lips.

“Wake up.” Mike hissed under his breath. “The others are counting on you!”

With a bolt, Mike ran.

“Quickly, I need some of you guys to follow me!” Mike shouted. Heart pounding, he knew that this was going to be a long night. There was too much at stake, and the intensity of the monsters was amplifying.

There was no time.

Mike's sword crackled with electricity. For a long time, he prayed. Prayed for any god to listen to his plight, especially the one that favors him.

An answer to his prayer ascended in the form of a cloud, rolling through the dark night. A clash of thunder roared with life as thunder and lightning rumbled with intensity.

Suddenly, from the clouds, a strike of lightning shot downwards onto Mike, hitting him. A charge of sudden power amplified Mike’s body. He jumped off the side of the wall with his sword above his head.

Upon landing, a wave of electricity shot outward like a bolt of chain lightning. Every monster that was in his vicinity was fried on the spot. The chain lightning didn’t stop with just a handful. The more the monsters were clustered together, the easier the lightning could jump onto the next.

Mike didn’t stop. He kept swinging. Every swing of his blade, another shot of electric burst of

lightning was shot through his blade.

At times, he would move quickly, from one location to the next, taking out hoards of monsters alongside him. Other times, a burst of electric lightning from the clouds would descend upon Mike, followed by thunder.

It was an electrifying show as lightning and magic danced on the battlefield. He wasn’t the only one on the field, holding back the monsters that came through in swarms.

Audrey and his close guildsmen were assisting anywhere they could, especially around Mike, who had a constant barrage of monsters that came in swarms.

The constant grinding against the monsters and the appearance of stronger demons helped accelerate everyone’s growth throughout the night. Especially Mike and Audrey, who were sweeping up the field as best as they could.

Mr. Jay and Mr. Rogers were busily attempting to fight against the Demon King. Their fist, kicks, and the magical blast of energy were shooting outwards like a storm of angry hornets, trying to overpower him as quickly as possible.

Falcon was always behind, assisting whenever his machines and weapons could, taking out the small fries that got too close to their fight.

“Move!” Falcon yelled.

Both Mr. Jay and Mr. Rogers split ways.

A blast of energy shot out from a canon that he created as it was sent directly at the Demon King.

King Daemon raised up his hand. Magical sigils formed in seconds under his body and around him.

The blast of energy shot forward, smashing into King Daemon’s shield. Anyone other demons that were in the way were eradicated in seconds. More and more magical sigils kept forming as he was getting pushed back.

Falcon held on tight. He, too, was being pushed back by the force that his machine was sending out. He fumbled around, reaching for a button. It didn’t take long for him to press a button.

Mechanical whirl was heard as more parts of the machine spat out power and even braced themselves.

King Daemon didn’t budge; his power amplified to combat Falcon’s attack. He was pushed back.

“I need more power!” Falcon shouted.

Mr. Jay inhaled deeply. The change of the color of his chest glowed blue. Then, he spat out a torrent of bluish-white flames that completely covered King Daemon.

The shattering sound of the magical barrier was heard.

“We got him!” Falcon hooted in pleasure.

“It’s not over yet.” Mr. Jay replied back. His eyes glistened red while his blood sword pulsated with life.

“Don’t jinx it!” Falcon hissed, wiggling his beard.

Just when he was about to say more, the energy beam sent by Falcon was dispelled.

“Again, you guys are like annoying gnats.” King Daemon said with a grunt. A drop of blood appeared on his head. “When would you learn that this isn’t enough?”

With the wave of his hand, he broke the machine that Falcon had created. But, unfortunately, it blew up in front of him, sending Falcon away.

King Daemon reached up to wipe away the blood. But, when he felt the wet blood on his head, his demeanor seemed to change.

“So, that blast actually had harmed me.” King Daemon's voice went quiet. “Well then, let’s turn it up a notch.”

A wave of dark energy slowly seeps out of his body. The humanoid figure that he usually wore was slowly changing. Thick claws, long tails that were armored, and spikes jutted out from its back. Long obsidian-colored hair grew down to his knees as the number of horns had become a small crown.

“I feel better now.” Daemon flexed his hand. A ball of dark energy shot forward with a simple wave, taking out another sacred tree in the process.

“Another one down for the count.” King Daemon chuckled.

There were a total of eleven sacred trees surrounding the city. Now there were only nine left.

The whole city felt the destruction of the sacred tree. The powerful swell of energy began to dim as the darkness became more powerful.