364. Ripples

The trio made their way through the forest. The falling leaves brusquely brushed by Edithe’s face as she rushed past the sturdy trees into a clearing. A cold wind sent pinpricks down her spine, and the redhead came to a sudden stop.

Daniel paused, glancing back at her. Amanda was a step slower, but she eventually came to a halt too.

“The fuck are you guys doing?”

“I don’t know, Edithe just…”

The young man from Earth bit his lower lip when he saw Edithe’s pained expression. Her brows arched darkly on her forehead, casting a shadow over her face. She raised her head as she spoke.

“Daniel, are you fine with this?”

“Fine with…?”

“This. What we’re doing right now.”

Edithe gestured at the both of them. She breathed in deeply— the scent of burned wood and ash. Almost coarse to take in.

“Leaving Salvos alone. Going back, scared, unable to even help as she charges to fight the Primeval Demon.”

Daniel stood there in silence. Edithe barely even saw him as she gritted her teeth. His silhouette was barely visible. Still, she expected him to argue— to speak the same logic Edithe spoke to Salvos. After all, that logic made sense. Edithe wouldn’t have been against the idea if her logic hadn’t made sense. So, surely, Daniel would’ve argued against her now.

But when he opened his mouth, he agreed with her.

“You’re… right.”

The redhead blinked.

“You agree with me?”

“I do.”

He nodded, holding her gaze. Edithe stared at him.

“But it’s stupid risky. We’re literally 20 levels below Salvos in level. And that Primeval Demon is 30 levels above her. If we follow after her—”

“We may die.”

Daniel finished the thought for her. She lowered her head as his words settled in. Both of them were silent for a moment. And a voice interrupted them.

“Great. We are all in agreement that it’s fucking stupid to charge at the Primeval Demon responsible for killing literally millions of people.”

Amanda clapped her hands together, giving them both an annoyed smile.

“Can we get the fuck out of here now?”

Edithe and Daniel exchanged a glance. They had a silent conversation. The very same thoughts crossed their minds. When they spoke, they spoke as one.

“No.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

Amanda gaped, and Edithe stepped forward.

“I didn’t ask Salvos to bring me here just so I can run away at the first sign of danger. I want to become stronger. I want to protect my loved ones. To avenge those who have fallen.”

The redhead raised a tight fist. She glanced back when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Daniel stood next to her, a determined look on his face.

“I’m the same. I promised I wouldn’t run anymore. That I wouldn’t be a coward. But with every step forward I take, I take another half-step back. It’s frustrating, being afraid. Even though I promised I’d get better. Even though… I’m a [Hero].”

“Wait—”

Edithe turned to Amanda in alarm, but the former assassin just snorted.

“I know.”

“Oh.”

Crisis averted. The red-haired woman sighed in relief, but Amanda crossed her arms. The former assassin glared at both Daniel and Edithe.

“You’re both insane. You’re both over Level 100. You’re higher-leveled than literally most of the world, and you’re here talking about being too weak. Just because there are a couple of idiots higher-leveled than you doesn’t mean shit. I’m strong. You’re strong. We aren’t weak. Stop being a bunch of morons.”

Edithe met Amanda’s gaze. It was clear the former assassin didn’t want to help. There was no fault in that. In fact, her arguments were entirely fair. But—

And the ground shook. A terrible tremor ran through the earth. A flash of light drew the trio’s attention to the southwest. Towards the Motharis Mountain Range. There was a weak glow coming from beyond the tallest mountains. Like a thin pillar of light was shimmering— faintly lighting up the sky. It was barely visible from where they stood, but the magic it emanated was clear.

Edithe visibly recoiled as the oppressive aura struck her. It was like she’d been whipped by a burning flail or splashed with a highly corrosive acid. This magic was on a scale she’d never felt before. Not from how far away it was.

It had to be the kind of grand magic that took the power of thousands of high-leveled [Mages]. The ones which could only be carried out by world powers working in tandem. Or a ritual that took life and turned it to magic.

“That’s…”

Amanda’s eyes were bulging out of their sockets. Even Daniel, who had no forte for magic, could feel it. Edithe shook her head, starting past the former assassin.

“And that’s exactly why we’ll help.”

Edithe spoke simply. Daniel joined her. They both stood there, facing the thin pillar of light. The [Hero] addressed Amanda without looking her way.

“Amanda. Go find Helena Warshade. Bring her here.”

The former assassin blinked, and he continued.

“You’re the fastest one out of all of us. Edithe and I will only slow you down. Plus—”

He couldn’t finish. Amanda scoffed, vanishing with a [Savage Step].

“Don’t need to tell me twice.”

With that, just Daniel and Edithe were left. They nodded at each other. The redhead turned back to the red beam of light.

“Salvos said she’d train us, didn’t she? But here she is, going off on her own. I can’t believe it.”

Daniel shrugged.

“She broke a promise with us just to keep a promise to that Primeval Demon. Kind of racist, if you ask me. Was it because we’re Humans?”

Edithe grinned his way.

“Well, we’re her companions, aren’t we? Let’s help her remember that.”

And they were off. They both charged straight for the heart of the Motharis Mountain Range. Whatever that magic was— they knew that was where Salvos would be.

Helena Warshade looked up from her meeting with Lofus of Bherein. The Elites had been discussing the missive they received from Clayton Skyshredder. About the reports of odd movements within the Inoria Empire.

The Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy narrowed her eyes.

“That is…”

Her head inclined towards the south, and Lofus raised a brow.

“Something wrong, Helena?”

“I am not sure…”

She couldn’t place her finger on what it was, but she sensed an odd magic. The vague direction of where it came from. And she knew it was powerful. Very powerful. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what it meant.

“We’re finally here.”

Zack sighed in relief as he sprawled down on the floor of his tent.

“We actually made it to the Helbir Plains.”

“We’ve been here for the past day, Zack. Stop being so dramatic.”

Helen rolled her eyes. The remnants of the Remembered Order Company’s coalition were gathered here. Even though they were a fraction of their original size, they were still headed for the meeting at Alyras. Zack rolled and faced the female [Archer].

“Look, just because you can’t appreciate—”

And he paused. Helen raised a brow.

“Zack, is something wrong?”

“I’m… not sure.”

He got to his feet, looking to his left then right. He faced Jaakko as the Cyclops entered the tent.

“Did you see anything out there, Jaakko?”

“I did not.”

“Oh.”

Zack furrowed his brows. Helen gave him a worried look.

“What’s going on Zack?”

He hesitated. Then he shrugged.

“Probably just my imagination.”

The pulse of magic rippled across the Human lands. High-leveled [Mages] could sense it. They knew something was amiss. But most weren’t aware of what it entailed. Only a few were keen enough to discern the nature of the magic.

Clayton Skyshredder stood atop his tower. It loomed even over the clouds. He could see over great distances from this height. And with a simple spell that enhanced his eyesight, he could even spot the red beam from here.

“The Demons in the Inoria Empire are finally making their moves, and now this happens.”

He sighed. Centina piped up, approaching him from behind.

“You said it was… a summoning ritual?”

“Not like any I’ve seen before. This is different. Its magic is uncontrolled. There are no foci to it. No medium to concentrate its magic.

“Me no sense anything. Clayton sure Clayton sense something?”

Another voice piped up. The [Korkodis] cocked her head, clearly confused. Clayton Skyshredder nodded.

“Indeed.”

“Should we do something then?”

Centina pursed her lips, worried. Clayton Skyshredder’s eyes flickered. He saw the danger. He knew it could be cataclysmic. Yet, he closed his eyes.

“There it is!”

I called out, spotting the Brilsum Ruins in the distance. Three of my clones had made it here even before me. The familiar former Dungeon spread out at the center of the canyon— a city that lay destroyed from thousands of years ago.

It should’ve been nothing more than rubble and debris. Yet, it stood against time itself, still empowered by the fading magic left within the city. By the Dungeon that was formed of its ruins. It would’ve remained standing for another thousand years, perhaps. Maybe longer.

But now it was all collapsing. The ground shook as an intense tremor tore across the earth. A magical aura ripped its way up and around the city, spiraling up into a single point in the sky. It carried parts of the city up with it. Even the remains of the antimagic banclite walls crumbled under the intensity of this spell, swooped up and swallowed into nothing.

“Woah.”

I stared for a moment, and a figure emerged from my shadow. Orgaf drew his dagger, speaking over me.

“We need to act fast. That magic… it’s not just a summoning ritual. It’s—”

“Tearing a hole.”

He paused as he was cut off. Willy repeated himself, facing the sky as it shone red. I exchanged a worried look with Orgaf.

“Is that bad?”

Willy flitted around, in thought. He spoke longer than he normally did.

“Depends. If have enough magic? Permanent. If not? Temporary hole. Will fix easy. Not issue.”

“Really? That’s good.”

“No. Still problem.”

“What problems are there?

I raised an inquisitive brow. And another pulse ran through the beam of light. A strong gust of wind brushed over Willy. His flames whipped wildly, but he didn't budge. He cast his gaze to ground zero of this ritual.

“That.”

I saw it, even before turning. Through the eyes of my clones, I caught sight of the figures running throughout the Brilsum Ruins. Creatures I’d seen plenty of before. Very familiar in their size and shape.

Wild Demons.

There were hundreds of them. Most of them were weak. Low-leveled and easy to deal with. I didn’t think of them as a problem. But mixed among them were Archdemons and the like. [Hellhounds] and [Hellwolves] mixed, [Gadarenes] and [Arachne]. They charged their way through the desolate landscape, snarling and killing each other with each step.

“Huh.”

I grinned and a flash engulfed the first line of Demons. I was bombarded with notifications as I turned to Willy and Orgaf.

“Don’t worry, my clones can take care of them. We just have to find Belzu and put an end to this as soon as possible.”

My three clones incinerated the horde of wild Demons without an issue. I leapt into the fray, followed by Orgaf and Willy. We avoided the fighting, charging straight through as a fourth clone arrived and joined the battle.

A Level 95 [Hellwolf] tried to intercept me, but I cut it down with ease using a Divine Nebular Scythe I’d prepare on the way here. A group of wild [Djinni] barred my path. The giant Demons lumbering figures were difficult to navigate around, so I just tore them apart with [Barrage of Cinders].

These Demons were just fodder. A fifth clone arrived and lit up the entire battlefield with her magic, burning them all away as quickly as they came. I reached the crumbling palace soon enough, and a pair of golden eyes shone in the darkness.

A terrible maw snapped for me as I leapt back. A large creature— one with the wings of a falcon and the body of an alligator crawled forward. It faced me, hissing as it beat its wings.

[Savage Agarat - Lvl 130]

“Get out of—”

I started, but it came to a halt. The Archdemon collapsed, its head already gone from its body. Orgaf smirked, standing on top of its corpse.

“[Killing Blow]. A Level 100 [Rogue]’s Skill, yet one of my favorites, even now.”

He flicked his blade, and I smiled.

“Glad to have you here, Orgaf.”

“More.”

Willy’s sharp voice cut through my chatter. He sent a blast of yellow flames into the hall, burning and melting away a group of [Savage Agarats]. They rushed out after him, and he charged at them.

“Go!”

He urged Orgaf and I forward. The both of us nodded at each other and ran. I managed to keep up with the Elite [Rogue], despite our level disparity. We cut through the other weak wild Demons roaming through the corridors. I recognized this place. I remembered fighting [Cultists] here with Daniel. Now, I was fighting with Orgaf instead.

We reached the throne room— where I had first nearly encountered Belzu. A great ritual circle had been carved in the center. This was where Belzu had been summoned. And it was the center of where this ritual he was carrying out was located.

“Belzu!”

I yelled as I came to a halt. I raised my scythe, ready for any illusions. Orgaf tapped his ring, and a shimmering light came over him. Neither of us were going to fall for any illusions this time.

Belzu floated before a portal. His gaze was fixed only on the pillar of red light as it struck the sky. His voice echoed around us. Wispy and soft to the ears.

“I’ve been expecting you.”

He turned, slowly descending to the ground. I expected a curse. I braced myself, activating [Protection of the Sentinel] for both Orgaf and I. But Belzu did nothing. He just spoke.

“Orgaf, Thief of the Golden Scales. Another one on my list. Not as high up as Mori Gladius had been, of course. A lesser threat. But still— a threat.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying here, Demon, but give it up. It’s all over.”

Orgaf snapped as he took a step forward. My eyes narrowed. I saw the shadows around the room moving. He was doing something, even as we held a dialogue with the Primeval Demon. Belzu shook his head.

“What I’m doing is simple. It’s the same as what your [Summoners] do at your temples. Tell me, what is there to stop?”

“What is there to stop?”

The Elite laughed.

“More of your wretched kind from stepping a foot into our lands. Why don’t you do us all a favor since you have your portal ready. Go back to where you came from, Demon.”

Orgaf spat, and a shadow shot out for Belzu. The Primeval Demon’s figure vanished, and he appeared floating where he had been before. Not even facing us. I narrowed my eyes, and Belzu craned his neck.

“Oh?”

He faced Orgaf, his mandibles opening wide in a smile. He spoke slowly, and I felt a prickle run down my spine.

“That is… ironic, considering your partner—”

“Enough.”

I shouted over him. I sent a blast of rainbow-colored flames at the Primeval Demon. But when the flames vanished, he was still flying there, unaffected. His voice echoed from all around us and I cursed.

“What are you talking about?”

Orgaf frowned as Belzu’s laugh echoed.

“Did you not know?”

“Shut up!”

I dashed forward, slicing for Belzu. He was cut in half, only to split into a hundred tinier Primeval Demons. They all faced me, sneering.

“Salvos is—”

“I got you!”

I grabbed for a figure through the illusions, trying to use [Demon’s Mark]. But the Skill refused to activate. Belzu emerged behind Orgaf, and the Elite leapt back.

“You—”

“A Demon.”

Belzu spoke simply. Orgaf paused. He stared at the Primeval Demon, halting his movements.

“What?”

The Primeval Demon just smiled, repeating himself as I slowly descended to the ground.

“You are fighting alongside a Demon.”