501. The Battle Begins

Zack had nearly shit his pants when he saw those Primeval Demons emerging from the grand ritual. He had seen monsters far larger than them, yes. There were Diamond Ranked threats that could span a hundred feet long— some even hundreds of feet tall. But when he had seen them, he was only a Gold Ranked adventurer. So the same fear that gripped him when he saw those threats back then returned now.

After all, he had only just become a Diamond Ranked adventurer now. He had fought off those hordes of Demons in Lunaris, somehow killing multiple Demons around his level or above his level. Because of that he had advanced to Level 100 with Helen and Jakko— his team had been ecstatic about what they had accomplished. They almost felt like they were starting to catch up to Salvos.

And then they watched her ascension. They witnessed firsthand her apotheosis. It had been jaw-dropping— mind-boggling. For a moment, Zack had thought what he saw was fake. Nothing but an illusion.

Then he remembered this was Salvos, and he accepted it for what it was.

Ever since he first met her, she had always defied all expectations he had of her, then exceeded it twofold. Whether it was in the Silkfall’s Crevice Dungeon, or when he heard of what she had accomplished in the Plaguelands. Even like right now, she was flying straight for the army of Demons.

It was utterly insane. By her standards, it was insane. By any standards, it was downright suicidal— pure lunacy that would have gotten anyone killed. But Salvos wasn’t just anyone.

The army of Demons spotted her too. Hundreds of Archdemons and Greater Demons pointed at her, unleashing a volley of spells her way. Burning projectiles and freezing streaks of frost tore through the sky. The salvo exploded on the silver-haired girl, a brilliant blast that filled the sky, and Helen’s eyes widened.

“Salvos!”

The [Archer] screamed. But Jaakko shook his head. The Cyclops raised a hand and pointed.

“Look, she’s still alive.”

Both Helen and Zack blinked. They looked on as Salvos emerged from the blast unscathed. She flew straight through the cloud of smoke, heading on with no fear. An iridescent aura of flames wisped around her, a savage grin plastered across her face. She raised a hand, and a burning black sphere coalesced in her hands.

“How…?”

Zack asked, uncomprehending. She shouldn’t have escaped those attacks without even a scratch— how did she do that? But the [Mage] shook his head, knowing he shouldn’t be asking this question anymore at this point. It was obvious— she was Salvos. Someone who was truly special. Unique, even throughout history. A Lesser God. He stared at her with reverence for a moment, before Helen’s words snapped him out of his stupor.

“They can’t hurt her, but that doesn’t mean we should be standing around here doing nothing.”

Helen started forward, even as Salvos barged headfirst into another flurry of attacks. Zack stared at the [Archer], and Jaakko nodded.

“We have come this far. There is no turning back now. Let us go, join her in battle.”

“W-wait—”

Zack protested. He glanced around, gesturing at the frozen army, refusing to move.

“There’s just three of us! We can’t possibly… possibly…”

His voice trailed off. Zack paused as he saw the coalition of the Three Honorable Companies moving. The sea of adventurers shifted. Not everyone started forward all at once as Helen and Jaakko did. But entire teams and companies were rallying under Salvos’ charge.

“Well… that is something…”

Zack watched this. Then he heard a voice bellow in the distance. Laux Lionfist himself, one of the triumvirate leaders of the Forsaken Company, charged forward as he raised a fist.

“Fosaken Company! To me! We will put an end to this war today!”

And from there, it was nothing but a cascade of battle cries as the coalition army assembled to aid the silver-haired girl.

All throughout the Human army, figures moved. Their leaders gave some awe-inspiring speech— either that, or they simply uttered a wary cry and followed after me. Helena Warshade took to the skies, sending explosive spells back towards the Archdemons taking the skies.

Daniel Song swung out with the Sword of Alexander. A [Heroic Champion’s Slash] that cut through the sky, streaking straight for the lumbering [Hellabomination]. The wild Primeval Demon reeled for a moment, and a salvo of projectiles— arrows and spells— came from the Human army a moment later, joining the attack of the highest-leveled creature on the battlefield.

Orgaf disappeared into the shadows, giving chase after me. Clayton Skyshredder flew up, pointing at the pair of [Archarachnes] as they opened their mouths, and a crimson energy coalesced between their mandibles as they aimed at the Human army.

“[Dispel Magic].”

In an instant, the crimson beams vanished. The two wild Primeval Demons glanced at each other, clearly confused. More magicks and various kinds of projectiles struck out— enough to make them recoil. It took a moment, but the entire coalition army had broken free from whatever fear or terror gripped them earlier. They were still disorganized, not fully recovered and ready just yet. But they were rallying after me. And that was what mattered.

I still soared ahead, not slowing, even as I heard Edithe’s voice calling for me to come back. I saw everything thanks to [Manifestation of the Old Gods]. I saw the way Mori Gladius moved with the Remembered Order Company, Scarlet the Red Rose at his side. I saw the way Kaitlin Darkhlem raised her blade, and the Swordsguard Forces sallied forth. I saw all this, but I didn’t pay too much attention beyond that.

Instead, I focused on what was ahead of me. Not the barrage of spells blasting around me. None of that came close to harming me. After all, I was invulnerable in my current state. I had activated two Grand Skills and created six clones all at once. I was radiating Divine Essence, my Stats increased, able to match enemies far higher-leveled than me. My clones zipped down, splitting up as they drew the attention of the army of Demons and the horde of wild Demons below.

They were protected by an aura of invincibility as well, so they couldn’t be hurt. They conjured weapons with [The Holy Flames], unleashing a barrage of attacks back down into the earth. And as they did that, I raised the burning black sphere to the sky.

I smiled as [The Call of Armageddon] took over. The dark ball of fire rose up into the glowing crimson sky. When it reached its nadir, hovering over where the clouds should be but weren’t, it expanded. It blanked over the dome overhead, creating the artificial sense of an overcast day, before raining down streaks of black fire.

These dark flames crashed down like comets, targeting the Demons surrounding Inor. They never once even fell close to the charging Human army. And that was because I had directed my Skill towards the Demons. Perhaps if a Human drew too close to another Demon, the black flames would wipe them both out.

But [The Call of Armageddon] wouldn’t last that long. It was only a distraction.

I watched as the dark hails of fire rained down on the [Hellabomination], along with a barrage of spells from Human army. I eyed it as it screeched, trying to shake off all the attacks it was bombarded with. It was the highest-leveled creature here. Everyone was trying to take it down. And so was I.

I zipped down, producing my Divine Nebular Scythe, ready to unleash a flurry of strikes at it. But a blurring figure intercepted me. A giant maw nearly caught me out of the air, snapping at where I was as I deftly swooped out of the way.

The [Chthonic Agaros] hovered where I’d been flying. It had closed its jaws on where I had been to tear me apart. I stared at it with a frown, and its figure blurred again. It was fast. This was some sort of Skill, but it was next to me a moment later. It swung down with a claw, scraping at my iridescent aura of invincibility.

It knocked me back as I growled.

“Get out of my way!”

I screamed, blasting it with [The Holy Flames]. The fire burned a translucent gray— its form flickering and fading out of existence as it shot out in a cone. It was almost like the fire itself was corrupted. But it was also… different.

The flames rocked the giant Primeval Demon of a [Savage Agarat] back, and I gritted my teeth. I was going to have to deal with it first. I readied a [Divine Radiant Slash] as the [Chthonic Agaros] hissed at me, but a shadow shot up.

A figure flew straight at it, shooting up from the earth like a reverse comet. Orgaf the Thief of the Golden Scales crashed into the underbelly of the beast. He dug deep into the wild Primeval Demon with his daggers and nodded at me.

“Go, Salvos!”

He yelled as he created a dozen shadow clones, attacking the [Chthonic Agaros] from all sides. I stared for a moment, then I grinned.

“Thanks, Orgaf!”

I swooped past him, charging for the [Hellabomination]. It flared its wings out, its burning eyes angrily facing the Human army. Its four arms were raised, blocking the volley of magical attacks as it took a step forward. And I descended before it with a burning scythe.

“[Divine Radiant Slash].”

I swung down as my blade wisped with a black fire at first, but radiated a glow of all the colors in a rainbow. Then the glow was overcome by a red aura— not a fiery aura, but one that was an essence of pure power.

“And— [Draconic Fury]!”

It was a combination of both Skills. [Draconic Fury] was a very volatile ability that could enhance an attack, or be a powerful force on its own. But with [Divine Radiant Slash], it became something more.

The [Hellabonination] screeched, knocked back into the earth as my Divine Nebular Scythe seared into its bone-like flesh. There was a moment where it simply recoiled on the ground in pain, and my weapon dug further into its skin, drawing its black blood. Then the ground ripped open a second later as the wild Primeval Demon convulsed. It was as if the earth had been shredded by a Dragon’s claw.

I flew back, baring my teeth at the [Hellabomination] as it bled from multiple scratch marks across its body. Black flames continued crashing into it from above, keeping it prone. Finally, I pointed at the hulking Demon where it lay.

“[Sacred Hellfire].”

And a golden flame erupted out, eating away at the wild Primeval Demon’s flesh. It writhed there, screaming a horrible shriek. I nearly recoiled from the blaring sound— mostly because of [Manifestation of the Old Gods] enhancing all my senses. But like how I had learned to tune out my sight when I didn’t need it, I could tune out sound too.

I shook my head and called my clones. Three of them broke off from darting around the [Archarachnes] and sweeping over the hordes of wild Demon to join my side. I nodded at them as they zipped straight down, their flames wisping wildly, ready to detonate.

The [Hellabomination] thrashed on the ground, trying to snuff out the golden flames eating away at its skin. But the fire only grew each time it was put out. I grinned as my clones drew closer, then suddenly all of us paused.

The smile slipped off my face. For whatever reason, something felt amiss. My spine tingled, and my skin crawled with the prickling feeling of crawling ants. A pit opened in my stomach as my clones hesitated. At first, I thought this was [Intimidation] or some other similar effect.

Then I realized it was something else. I realized it was [Angelic Premonition], blaring a terrible warning in my head.

My clones immediately tried to fly back, but they were too slow. The [Hellabomination] suddenly stopped writhing in pain, and the golden flames washed over its body, peeling off like it was shedding skin.

“What?”

The wild Primeval Demon was overcome with a blue glow as it jolted up, swinging fast at my clones. My eyes grew wide as it unleashed fast— almost instantaneous attacks— that knocked all three of my clones out of the sky. I tried to parse what just happened, but it was behind me in an instant.

It screeched as it clapped its hands around me, and I braced myself. There was a flash. A pulse of energy my wisping iridescent aura flickered. The crushing blow was barely repelled by the aura of invulnerability around me. I gritted my teeth and swung forward with my Divine Nebular Scythe at its clawed hands.

“[Barrage of Cinders]!”

But before the flames could even coalesce, the [Hellabomination] moved. It darted around me, easily dodging the flurry of blows. Even though it was a hulking beast— the largest creature by far— it moved so nimbly. I narrowed my eyes and pointed.

“Burn!”

A plume of rainbow-colored flames shot out, but the wild Primeval Demon easily circled around me. It evaded everything I could throw at it— even projectiles that seemed to be on target. Not even the raining black flames could strike it. The [Hellabomination] was always just out of reach from my attack.

I frowned as a clone picked herself up and shot into the air, charging straight for it.

“If you’re not going to stand still…”

My flames dissipated. I lowered my hand. I watched as the [Hellabomination] came to a halt before me, still beating its bone-like wings at its back.

“Then I will make you stand still!”

[Intimidation] echoed out with my voice. It was concentrated solely on the wild Primeval Demon. It froze as I flew back, nodding at my clone.

“Take it out!”

She smirked, clutching at her chest. Her body deformed right as she was about to reach the unmoving [Hellabomination]. But the blue aura around the wild Primeval Demon flickered.

And it moved.

Even while it was still frozen in shock from my [Intimidation]. Even when my clone was right about to grab it and explode herself while activating [Divine Demon’s Mark]. The [Hellabomination] was taken by its fiery blue aura, deftly being swooped out of the way.

I blinked, and my clone stared as the wild Primeval Demon landed on the ground, finally regaining movement of its body. A gold and silver light glinted before me as the realization finally settled in.

“Huh. So is that the [Hellabomination]’s Grand S—”

I started, and my clone exploded right next to me.