Einar and I hovered over the town I meant to make my home someday. Black pylons of smoke arose from every other house or building. The lament of the townsfolk was sparse. Some cries were shrill and ear-splitting, but those that were quiet tore the nerve endings of empathy. Scores of corpses were scattered about the town after the cataclysmic battle; it seemed we were too late. Wizards, knights, healers, and warriors all lost their lives. Many adventurers fought their last battle today, not against monsters, but against demons.

Einar and I landed in the midst of Perseverance, where the survivors gathered around the townhall for supplies and support. The air was melancholic and stifling. These people that lived in happiness and prosperity were now dead inside. My sleeve dried the rivers on my face.

I was just about to check Tina’s household, but someone yelled my name from afar so I halted my takeoff. Solina was off to the side of a brick building, sitting leaned against the wall. I rushed over to her. “Lina, are you o—” My eyes fell on her completely crushed ankle and a stab wound running through one of her forearms. She lost a lot of blood judging by the amount I saw littered on the ground. “Shh, just take it easy, alright?” I cast Sopor on her then healed her up with Greater Heal.

I woke her up afterwards. Her head hung down when she thanked me and tears fell from her chin. I held her hand and hugged her. “What happened, Lina?”

Her teeth grinded against each other. “Demons. I, don’t know what their goal was. They came and destroyed the town, they killed people, and they took people too.” She grabbed my arm with the strength of a toddler. “They took my father, Deidre! He’s all I have.”

“It’s okay. We’ll get him back, alright?” I hugged her even tighter. “Everything’s going to be okay.” I hoped they hadn’t killed the people they took, but that was all I could do for now. My real concern were the people of Perseverance. They needed food, shelter, and protection. “But I need you now, Lina. Can you help me?”

She fixated her teary eyes on me, wiped her cheeks and reclaimed whatever traces of determination she still had. I asked her to go around and tell anyone who was injured and could walk to get to the townhall for medical attention and food, both of which I helped provide alongside some other apprentice healers in Perseverance. They chose important families and individuals to use their healing spells on instead of exhausting themselves on the masses.

Throughout the evening, I focused on healing the populace – or whatever remained of it – of Perseverance. Many knights and wizards were skeptical about trusting me, a necromancer, to heal them, but they hadn’t much of a choice at the moment. Disheartened and dejected looks of morose were all some of them could afford. Others lashed out in anger at everyone and everything around them. A tense air was asphyxiating hope with each passing second.

Only the words of their guild leaders and certain nobles somewhat got them out of the rut, at least temporarily. Late at night, I was finally done with my self-appointed duties and made my way to the inn that my team slept at, but that entire building was no more. Most of it was destroyed by an explosion of sorts and the rest of it was nothing but burned.

Tina’s manor was still somewhat intact, but there was massive damage to certain parts of it. There were about a dozen soldiers stationed outside, so I snuck in with my stealth spells. Unlike outside, inside was a wreck. Tina’s mother, Edurne appeared from inside a room and made her way across the foyer, so I came out of Camouflage. “Hey, is everyone alright here? Where’s Tina?”

“D-Deidre!” She grabbed my hand, slumped to her knees, and begged for my help. “Tina, she’s, badly hurt. We don’t know if she’ll make it to the next day at this point. Is there anything you can do? Please!”

I cast Pacify on her. “Take me to her.”

Her eyes widened and she immediately dragged me inside the room she just came from. A couple healers, Tina’s father, and a doctor was there to monitor her. One of her legs was missing, and by the looks of it, it was brutally ripped from her. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the sheer acrimony of such a heinous act. Honestly, I was surprised she hadn’t bled out; the healers at least diverted the most serious issues. However, she was riddled with wounds, injuries, and lacerations. Edurne was patched up a lot, but most of her injuries were small enough for the healers and a couple servants with first-aid training to handle.

As with all really bad injuries, I began with Sopor to put them in an anesthetic state. Expert spell Regrowth should’ve been sufficient, but I went a step further to be sure and used the master spell, Chronoheal instead. She was as good as new in a matter of seconds. “Let her rest. She exhausted her mana.” Even if Chronoheal restored mana and stamina, I just wanted everyone to give her some space. Once they were halfway out, I released Sopor and let her sleep naturally.

Her parents thanked me to no end; a wave of relief washed about their minds and set their hearts at ease. They could breathe now. However, I was a different story. Choler pried apart reason and rationale from my mind; my fists shook. “Did the demons say anything?”

Edurne shook her head. She held my hand to comfort me, and I wanted to be comforted, but I couldn’t accept it. Of all the people they chose to attack, they chose the wrong person.

I cast Circle of Divinity to heal anyone who resided in the house or their yard. “Please excuse me.” Before I could fling myself into a mad rage, there were things that had to be done, information that I had to get.

Some of the demon corpses were taken to the barracks, and of them, I’d see the Hellfire and Doomhorn demons. I searched for every demon corpse I could find, but there were none from the Darkviper or Bloodmoon clans.

Lilith’s office was empty, so I left it and went to the upper floors of the eerie tower. Her guards tried to stop me from entering her bedroom but, I had no time for such trivialities. Binding of Bones kept them still. Just as I was about to push the doors open, they opened on their own.

Lilith sat comfortably in a chair on her balcony, overlooking the dark miasma-filled land of the Darkviper clan. “Lich God, how might I be of service?”

“Where do the Doomhorn and Hellfire keep their prisoners?” I asked.