Tides Of Protomis CXIV

Ghemzaan’s Strike

Away from the eyes of both human forces which decided to enter the demon realm, a different battle was taking place. It was no surprise that combat between demons was common, especially with the amount of them who wished to cement their legacy. To be known across all the realms, to that end, on the shores of the empires, another incursion from the demon realms other areas was occurring. Two armies of demons clashed, with one attempting to take control of the shore, and the other keeping them at bay. The rank and file of either force were mostly unremarkable. The same could not be said for the tall, lanky creature, with long claws on his digits, and a wide maw. The one who headed the invasion. Who was at a level above any of those surrounding him. Tens, nay, hundreds of demons charged upon him, but he was nonplussed, simply cutting through them with a swipe of the sharpened talons on his digits. All the while, a smile on his face continued to grow. He hadn’t been able to cut loose in a while, and there was little more satisfying than tearing through a bunch of weakings.

“That fool Bellial was unfit for his throne, struggling against forces like this… But it is of no consequence, I will be the one to conquer this new frontier!” He proclaimed. His maw opened wide, and a wave of ebony flames shot forth from it. Reducing the troops in front of him to a fine dust. As he leaped forth once more, he did not stop there, the successive balls of flame began to tear apart those who were left, and it was beginning to look like he’d achieve his goals, and go on to continue his conquering… But it seemed that his moment of triumph would not last for long… The demon was surprised by the very same flames he created being Collected from around the field, and flowing into a rapidly spinning sphere. And before he had much time to speculate on what this may be, his flames disappeared into the wind.

“What the?! Who’s responsible for this?!” The source of the attack was rapidly entering the area, and his appearance soon became clear to him. A medium, humanoid creature, whose head seemed to be lacking both skin, and muscle. Revealing a bony skull, which featured a bony crest grown from the head. Consisting of three horns facing Left, Right, and Upward respectively. As for the rest of its body, that much was unknown, due to the black veil which obscured it.

“It seems you will need to be taught your place…. Just like the last one who attempted to invade this land.” As the deepened voice rang out, the armor demon sneered.

“Don’t think for a second that you have a chance against the Great Orobas!” Orobas began to inhale, and fired off once more. A shocked expression appeared as he soon found himself surrounded by a ring of his own flame. And no sooner, felt himself being hit from all sides by an unseen force. Even more so as the ring of flames began to close in on him like a vice. The demon within the flames was nowhere near ready to have his life end just yet. As he charged forth, he broke away from the force around him, and attempted to press on. A lateral swing of his claw came first, but his opponent handily weaved around it, before launching his own attack. Yet again, the creature found himself stuck within a hostile space once more… And this time, he could not escape simply by pushing himself out, that much was made clear as he stayed static despite his efforts… But if that were the case, that simply meant he needed a more powerful attack.

“Annihilating Infernal Cannon!” The resulting attack was significantly larger than the others he produced. And that much showed in its effects. In mere moments, 10s of miles of the ground had seemingly been reduced to a darkened slag, undeniably spelling doom for anyone unlucky enough to get in the way… And for Orobas, who saw that the vortex around him was no longer there, he was ready to revel in his victory. That was, until he saw the demon he’d fired at stepping out of the smoke and ash. Undamaged by his attempted attack. And before he knew it, his opponent appeared in front of him in a flash.

“Remember this before you die… The one who killed you, was Ghemzaan…” The rapid spinning around him resumed, and he was obliterated shortly afterward… Observant eyes moved across the field, and he took note of the demons that were escaping back to their own domain, beginning a trek across the water, whether they swam, or flew. Though the thought of attacking them came to him, ultimately, he saw the fleeing creatures beneath him, and turned away, prepared to exit. But as he did so, he took note of an insectoid demon he knew well, one of General Sigma’s servants, standing behind him.

“Ghemzaan…. Lord Sigma has requested your assistance with a.. Troublesome group of humans.”

“The denizens of that other realm?” He questioned.

“The very same…” The arthropod responded. How very interesting, It seemed that he would have another incursion to beat back. And he would do so successfully. After all, he had 3 reasons to make sure his battle was a success, and they all lied within the ivory-walled keep. By now, he’d already memorized his way back, and shot forth without saying another word.

…

It did not take long for Ghemzaan to arrive in the hallowed halls of Sigma’s Keep. Not many were allowed to roam it freely. Sigma wouldn’t even let lower class demons take a step within, and one way or another, he had his ways of knowing they did. As his feet clamored across the floor, he walked toward the large doors that led directly to the general’s chambers. Which swung open almost as soon as he arrived nearby. Unsurprisingly, Sigma was floating within.

“Good… You’re here, I’m sure your well aware of why I summoned you here…”

“The humans, correct?” Ghemzaan questioned.

“Yes. I want them eliminated, and you'll be the one to do it… After all, your skill in eliminating enemies has been proven a multitude of times. And i’m sure you know quite well what the consequences for failure will be…”

“But of course…. If you do not mind, I’ll be going to see them.” There was no objection, or, acknowledgment, really, from Sigma. Who simply went back to floating idly, thinking about… Something. Despite how much the demon tended to do so, nobody had ever managed to figure why, or what he was thinking about. An enigma for sure. Perhaps his extensive past, or his plans for the future. To Ghemzaan, the thoughts the general may of had did not matter, only those who he’d captured. A walk throughout the keep, brought him from the eastern, to the western wing. A walk up the stairs brought him to a room, where three much liked himself lied. Sharing his bony appearance, with their bodies draped in Azure, Crimson, and Ivory veils respectively. All of their attentions moved toward him as he entered.

“Brother, You’ve returned.” The Azure cloaked one was the second oldest of them all, second to Ghemzaan himself. He was known as Ismal. Beside him, was the sister cloaked in Crimson, Kilesia.

“Must you continue to work with this Sigma?” Kilesia questioned, as she looked the man in his eyes. The third, with a veil of Ivory, looked at Kilesia.

“What else can he do, especially with the situation we’re in now?” The third Sibling, Dhutim responded.

“I will continue doing so if i need to, it is your safety’s that I worry about most, after all…” Ghemzaan commented.

Kilesia shook her head at this response, she found what she believed were holes in his logic, and was willing to speak upon it as soon as they came to mind.

“What makes you think that working with him will bring us any sort of safety? Nobody knows what he’s thinking in the least, outside of that other general, Zeta, and it’s not as if he will tell us anything? What if he suddenly decides that we aren’t worth keeping while you’re gone? Not to mention how attempting to tame this realm has gone for most of the other Emperor types.” Ghemzaan said nothing, not exactly having anything to deny what his sister had stated. There were many of their realm’s denizens that attempted to go down that path, and eventually failed. Even Zez’gomun, who by his legend alone, was theorized to be even stronger than Maleggan. By the time he’d died those millenia ago, he’d conquered multiple continents. B

The fact of how these attempts would usually end could be seen in the history of this continent, as well as that of the others, though, studying history was a very rare trait among most of the species. Theirs was one of the only reason such knowledge of the past even existed. The here and now was what mattered to them. In that regard, even though he knew of the history, Ghemzaan was no different.

“Regardless, he and Maleggan are the threat that is front and center… Best believe that I want to get you all out of here, and leave this keep behind, but that much will take time.”

“We know that already, but the question is how much time. As I see it, it looks like we’re going nowhere in any such pursuit.” Dhutim commented. Ghemzaan sighed as he turned on his heel, looking away from the three.

“Believe me, I’m well aware. But patience is a virtue at this point… If we are to repopulate and recover we will need to survive. After all, there are not many Ysld left. And i plan to make that hapen” Ghemzaan responded. With that, the skeletal demon began to exit the room. Maleggan’s empire was not a group he found himself enjoying his position in, but it was one he would keep. With his reunion done, it was time for him to tend to his duties, and eliminate the humans. It did not take long for him to leave the manor, to do that very same thing. In the meanwhile, his siblings sat in silence as they noted his energy rapidly leaving the area.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I don’t trust Sigma, or anyone associated with that army…” Kilesia commented, looking at Ismal, and waiting for a response.

“Believe me, I’m aware. But it’s like our dear brother said, for the time being, we’ll need to wait…” Which only resulted in Dhutim scoffing.

“I don’t see why, If we worked at it, we could kill Sigma’s guards and leave. Then we’re home free.”

“There’s a problem with that… Sigma himself. If Ghemzaan couldn’t beat him, then we most definitely can’t… Don’t try anything foolish.” Dhutim had no response. Their situation wasn’t the best, no doubt. Perhaps the relative dark and gloominess of the room was representative of their state of mind. For the time being, they could only hope that his words eventually rang true.

The targets of his technique continued making their way to the first keep, not knowing of the approaching demon. Would they be able to stop him? That was the question. Even if they hadn’t known it was him speccificly.