466. Shadows Unveiled

It took a week. But they had finally arrived.

Even with all the combined movement Skills of all the leadership Titles in the army, it took a while to reach their destination. Still, a week was quite literally ten times faster than Daniel expected it would take for them to arrive.

He looked up, casting his gaze towards the crimson sky. He felt an odd sense of oppressive heat bearing down on him. Even though the sun was setting, it was hot. There was an intensity that came from straight above. From the red dome— tainted with the color of blood from a grand ritual that sacrificed millions of lives.

“This is the Inoria Empire?”

Daniel asked as he turned to his companions. Well, they weren’t his companions— not in the same way Salvos would describe a companion. Rather, they were his… escorts? Bodyguards, even.

There were many things he could call them. But they were known as the Hand of the Den of Souls. [Crusaders] who were often sent out to do the dirty work for the Council of Cremont. While they ultimately only adhered to the Den of Souls, most of their duties related to matters that impacted all of the three religious sects in the Human lands.

One of the [Crusaders] nodded back at Daniel. Her name was Kacey. She was Level 121. Meaning— she was lower-leveled than him. As were the other two [Crusaders] flanking her sides. He was a Level 125 [Hero] who wielded the Sword of Alexander. He didn’t quite understand why he needed bodyguards.

Honestly, they felt a lot more like they were there to watch over him rather than to guard him. Without either Thorsten Sigefried or Ulric Magnus here— the [Archbishops] refused to step into the frontlines— there had to be someone there to keep Daniel in check.

And Kacey it was.

“Indeed.”

She replied in a tinny voice. Her metal visor was still down so Daniel couldn’t see the expression on her face, but she always kept the same serious tone.

“According to our approximations, one-tenth of the Inoria Empire has already been turned to a barren wasteland. Tyrian the Brightsbane Archer and his forces have already secured and eradicated one of the sub-ritual sites in the northeast.”

Kacey produced a map of the Inoria Empire. There were thirteen points marked across the country. Half of them intersected into the former Elutra Kingdom’s territories too. It created the clear shape of an upside-down star, with one of the marked points crossed out. She pointed at the two marked points closest to them.

“Laux Lionfist’s troops have split with the Helbir League’s army to disable these sub-ritual sites. They have met a lot of resistance on their way there, mostly from hordes of monster-like Demons, although there have been some retaliation from Inorian soldiers as well.”

“Why would Inoria’s soldiers even fight back against us?”

Daniel raised a perplexed brow.

“Aren’t they at threat of those Demons too? You’d think they’d help us instead of fighting us.”

“According to reports, they are being coerced to repel our ‘invasion’ and ignore the Demon invasion. I believe that is an elaborate way of saying they are being threatened by the Demons to fight back or die.”

Kacey explained simply. She shook her head after a moment, sounding annoyed. The first sign of any emotion from her.

“Honestly, I find their cowardice to be ridiculous. I would rather die than work alongside a Demon.”

Daniel scratched the back of his head, remembering that Salvos was in the coalition army. I wonder what Kacey would do if she finds that out? the idle thought crossed his mind. Of course, he didn’t say any of that.

“...right. And what about the Eastern Kingdoms? Or the Vaun Qieur Empire?”

“Their forces have just arrived within the borders of the Inoria Empire. Like us, they are on their way to their own sub-ritual sites.”

“And which site are we headed to?”

Daniel asked as he leaned over to look at the map. Kacey pointed to a point in the southwest.

“Here.”

And the young man from Earth paused. His eyes grew wide when he saw the marked site. A city laid there— at one of the thirteen points of the upside down star. He stared at it, whispering.

“That’s—”

“Ertos.”

Faith El, the Fallen Queen of Elutra, rubbed her temples as she stared at the map. At the point in the reverse thirteen-pointed star they were headed to. She recognized the topography of it. Of course she would. After all, it was—

“My home city. The Capital city of Elutra. It has been turned to one of the sub-ritual sites…”

She closed her eyes and leant back. A burly man stared at her from behind. Gavyn, the leader of Elutra’s Resistance, gritted his teeth. Faith opened her eyes and met his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Gavyn. I know I promised you that we would save them. But I’ve failed you. I’ve failed them. Our country. Our people… I couldn’t save them.”

The Fallen Queen of Elutra spoke somberly— bitterly. She was upset at the world for not acting soon enough. If they had united back when she first tried to warn them years ago… but no. It just meant she didn’t try hard enough.

Faith wanted Gavyn to slap her. She wanted to be punished for her failures then as a Princess, and now as a Queen. Her lips began to tremble as she continued to speak.

“I made you abandon our city. Our people. It is my fault this happened. I really am a failure of a monarch, aren’t I?”

She knew this wasn’t a talk befitting her. However, the realization of it all bore down on her. The Fallen Queen of Elutra said nothing more, simply luxuriating in her own failures. Then a hand came to rest on her shoulder. Blinking, Faith looked up to see Gavyn standing over her.

He was not alone, either. Zane and Willow— two other members of Elutra’s Resistance— stood next to him. They nodded at her. At the Fallen Queen of Elutra.

“You are not a failure. You are our Queen. You have given us hope when hope was lost. Without you, we wouldn’t even have a chance to fight back.”

“You…”

Faith just stared at them. At her supporters. Even if they had only known her for a few months, they had always given her their undying support. Gavyn spoke reassuringly.

“We’ll liberate the city. We will destroy this grand ritual. And we will save our home.”

The Queen paused. Then her lips curled up. Smiling, she turned around and continued marching forward.

“Right.”

Getting to Ertos wasn’t as easy as it seemed. While it might seem like a simple trek, there were a lot of obstacles along the way. First of all, the earth here had been terraformed into a smooth white rock, which made marching annoyingly difficult. Secondly, there was the oppressive heat from the red sky.

If this was the natural landscape of the Netherworld, Edithe could finally understand why Demons were so strong. Being born into this— having to constantly fight for survival. It was intense.

But these were minor grievances at most. The real problem that drastically slowed their march, grinding it to a halt, was the constant attacks.

“Look out!”

Edithe yelled as she raised her staff, pointing atop a nearby rocky hill. A pack of tall bear-like creatures bounded down towards the army. There were dozens of them— incomparable to the army of a hundred thousand. But still, they came forward without apprehension.

After all, they were Demons. [Hellbeasts]. Each of them were as tall as the tallest Cyclopes. They roared a terrible war cry, only for a rank of them to be instantly blown to bits.

Edithe lowered her staff as a group of adventurers and soldiers charged forward. They clashed with the [Hellbeasts], loosing arrows and magical projectiles from a distance. It was a short battle. The Demons were outnumbered, outleveled, and completely outmatched. Shaking her head, the redhead murmured.

“These wild Demons won’t stop coming…”

She sighed. It was more cumbersome than anything. The army was barely taking any casualties. But having to constantly repel these attacks drained them. Edithe turned to the man accompanying her.

Hadrian looked just as exhausted as she was. The leader of the Valiant Dreamers Company was worn down from the constant fighting, especially when stronger Demons showed up and assailed the army.

Edithe looked at him with a weary face.

“I think we need a break, Hadrian. We can’t keep up this pace forever.”

He pursed his lips. The man glanced back at the adventurers and soldiers streaming away from the dead Demons. They were tired. All of them were. After a week of non-stop travel, no amount of potions or Skills would prevent exhaustion from settling in.

Hadrian shook his head.

“While I wish it would be up for us to decide, we’ll have to speak with the higher-ups. Maybe Helena Warshade would listen. But Mori Gladius has been…”

“Right.”

Edithe understood what he was saying. She noticed it, too. The Champion of the Human Lands was a very different person than she expected him to be. Perhaps it might’ve been due to his supposed amnesia— whatever condition he was going through was apparently brand new.

But he was… well, passionate about repelling this Demon invasion. On one hand, that could be lauded. On the other, it almost felt like he was treating the army as nothing more than slaves.

“We can talk with them together. We really can’t keep going on like this.”

Edithe turned to her leader. He nodded slowly. Still slightly apprehensive, but reassured knowing that she’d be there with him.

“You’re right, Edithe. We should—”

Hadrian started, but paused. His eyes flickered, and Edithe spun around. The two of them looked up towards a nearby hill as a creature shot out into the sky. A winged beast that moved at incredibly high speeds. A Demon. A Subspecies was familiar to Edithe.

“That’s—”

Her eyes grew wide as Hadrian took on a defensive stance. The nearby adventurers and soldiers backed up in fear as the wild Demon roared.

[Savage Agarat - Lvl. 130]

“Everyone get back!”

Edithe yelled as panic broke out. Just the sight of the high-leveled Archdemon alone shattered the ranks and formations of the front of the army. The redhead cursed, raising her staff as the Demon shrieked.

It flew up higher and higher, rising towards the bloodied sky. Edithe was just about to unleash a volley of spells at the wild Demon, when it suddenly jolted to a halt. Its wings stopped beating. Its entire body tensed and convulsed.

Then the [Savage Agarat] fell from the sky. It came crashing down, landing right ahead of the army with a heavy thud. Edithe stared at this scene, perplexed. She couldn’t comprehend what she just saw. She stepped forward, raising her staff warily. Just in case this was some kind of a trick.

“Edithe, be careful…”

Hadrian warned her as he drew his blade, inching ahead of the redhead. She paused, furrowing her brows as she inspected the Demon.

“It’s dead.”

She observed. Then she shook her head.

“It was already injured before it got here. It simply succumbed to its wounds.”

Edithe drew back from the bloodied corpse. The [Savage Agarat] had been wounded from all sides by what seemed to be a flurry of pinpoint strikes. She wondered what could’ve done this. Was it another Demon? A Human? A monster?

She didn’t know. But when she saw the shadows moving right at the corpse’s feet, she backe away in alarm.

“Hadrian—”

Edithe called out, and the man nodded as he raised his blade.

“That’s—”

They both paused as the shadows shrank away, revealing a figure hiding within. No— a pair of figures. Edithe blinked, recognizing one of them immediately.

“You’re— Orgaf?”

She stared at the Thief of the Golden Scales. He had a bleeding woman slung around his shoulders. He was wounded, too. Exhausted and on the brink of collapse. He met Edithe’s gaze and grunted.

“Bring me to Helena Warshade. Now.”