Tides Of Protomis CXXXIV

"Rising Storm: Battle at the Gates of Zylsis”

The hellish lands surrounding Zylsis were once more dotted with signs of human activity. In a valley surrounded by peaks of black stone, camps, impromptu earthworks created by the utilization of Holy Arts, as well as the many slayers themselves. Some hauled cargo, and managed the opening and closing of the gates from this realm, back to their own, Something which only made sense with the monumental happenings of the day. Reinforcements being taken in, in Lieu of the upcoming battle in the Capital of Maleggan’s Empire. Many were certainly caitous. Equally due to what they did know about the enemy force they faced, and what they didn’t know.

In the area around a lake of magma, the slayers who were not assigned to such duties, or simply taking part in leisure moved around the area in storms, closed ranged fighters engaged in dances of swipes, dodges, and ripostes, while the longer-ranged slayers fired bursts of holy energy, or projectiles formed of the force from afar, As the various squad leads began to bark out orders, attempting to outmaneuver each other as best they could.

“We have them where we want em’, Begin the encirclement!” A slayer found himself being charged from all directions, and yet, he seemed to be nonplussed by this development, only snapping his fingers, causing the ground in a ring around him to crack, and fall out of place, with the members of his own squad rising from the ground. Catching the leader of the other squad by surprise.

“They were hiding underground?!” A melee began between the two forces, with the commander himself launching toward his opponent.

“It’s called Misdirection, Jiang!” He stated with a smirk. As the troops continued to drill, Volker himself watched from a ridge, overlooking the rolling hills and Magma pools below. Where he had set up the force’s command tent. A spartan affair consisting of a meeting table, chairs, and a rudimentary map of the area. Based upon their scouts, and the information they’d received from the proto-humans on the other side… Or as many on Earth had apparently begun calling them, the “Terran Seven” Though when they were dubbed that was a mystery to Volker, it wasn’t exactly what he was concerned with.

“Our troops have certainly grown stronger, and some new accomplished commanders have made themselves known. They will certainly be a boon to our forces in the future, If we win as we must, and make our way back to earth…” If… That word again… Mazurus and Bui knew of Volker’s questioning nature of their chances of victory, especially when he believed there were unknown factors, having known the man the longest out of all those here. And yet, it wasn’t exactly something they enjoyed seeing.

As Mazurus leaned on a nearby wall, arms crossed, the decision to speak on this was, to him, an easy one.

“You worry too much… It is as you said, our troops have grown stronger. As have we, and you as well. You managed to make use of Holy Drive, that much says something.” Before long, Saka strolled over to the younger man, putting his hand on his shoulder.

“He’s right, you know… If anything, maybe we could all unlock it next. That would surely be convenient.” Sitting down in the tent, a cup of tea in her hand, Ayaka turned toward the man.

“I doubt it… Using that form requires a high degree of control, given What i learned from Sir Delgado… In many ways, it's as if you’re constantly letting out your power, and decreasing the waste.” Volker nodded as he looked over his shoulder.

“I lasted under a minute using that form… It needs refinement before it can be useful, that means I need to make sure I can control my energy better… '' Volker began to think back to his past experiences with members of the council, Lyle in particular, could sometimes be seen doing something like a Holy Drive-Lite… Completely still, and simply focusing upon controlling the power which ran within him. Was that the way to go?

“I’m going off on my own for a bit, I’m gonna try to figure this out. Take care of things here.” With this much said, Volker shot off in the opposite direction, leaving them there.. The members of the group glanced at each other, only nodding, before they began to split off, apparently, to continue their own training. They knew not what awaited them in the enemy capital. And the prospect of being underprepared in the face of the enemy's strongest was not an appealing one.

West of Zylsis -

The group now dubbed the Terran 7 were participating in a not-so uncommon activity. One which caused the area around them to shake, with the pure power the participants in the Impromptu training camp had. Though, to the relief of the weaker demons who happened to be in their presence, it seemed that the training match was coming to a close. Though the craters created, and rubble which now floated in the sky wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar site, given the most common demonic pastime, it came as no surprise that most weren’t eager to be killed by a stray attack. The group’s members, The tides, Jirou, Liang, and Gilga alike, regrouped in a space that lay between their mass of demonic allies. Many of which weren't with them to begin with. Maleggan and his empire had stepped on the toes of a variety of groups, apparently.

But there were two members in particular missing, those being, Miyamoto Junko, and the Vashyr, Hyperion. Instead having chose to surround themselves with a group of demons who had become something akin to a commander in a human army. One, a Vashyr like Hyperion, took the shape of the armor one would expect of the ancient civilizations which once dotted the southern reaches of the Niger, Iron Plates over the vital areas, and cloth over all else. This demon, Strolas, was flanked by one who stood on four legs, and an armored-skinned body covered with spines, Flauros.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“So, this is it… We’re nearly done.” Stolas stated, in his usual low-energy tone. Flauros began to move across the area around them, his tail swinging behind him, as he commonly did, as he responded.

“I wonder how things will go from here… Maleggan certainly wasn’t the first of this realm to declare himself a lord, and try to conquer a continent… Truthfully, he succeeded, he may even go on to the others if he wins this battle.” This gave Junko pause. Though she was more than aware of what most demons did, in no small part due to the information Hyperion gave her when she summoned him through the barrier.

“That… Does raise another question, for me, Hyperion. What do you plan to do after all this is over? I know there'll be a power vacuum, and people who want to do what Maleggan has done, placing themselves as the strongest one on the continent. Not to mention the other continents I've been hearing about.”

“Well… I am certainly no ruler, and I don't wish to be so. But, I personally believe we’re better off as we were before. Sure, fights may happen all the time, But we aren’t exporting that to other worlds. This imposition of “Laws”, that Maleggan, or rather, from what I've been hearing, one of his generals wanted, may be something I disagree with, but it’s something…” Hyperion stated.

“If I may cut in. Perhaps a united front for this continent could work… Of course, we’ll all keep on our own paths, but we’ll jump in to keep the other lords out when needed. I’ve heard stories of Iselia’s new ruler, Bael, who was inspired to do so by Maleggan. Or Rasor, with the one known as Agares at its head.” Stolas offered. Which seemed to give the other two demons pause, with even Flauros stopping his pacing around. Silence between them continued for some time, until the aforementioned demon responded.

“It’s certainly an idea… I don't know how well it will work, We would need to get quite a few to agree.”

“I do…”

The gazes of those involved in the conversation moved to a crowd of demons, with smiles on their faces, given they had the ability to do so, whether it be thumbs up, or nods, it was made clear, there was at least some agreement, from them, at the least… At the very least, if they could get them on board, perhaps that said anything about the rest? Either way, If Hyperion was actually capable of smiling, he would have done so.

“Is that so? Then I'll make sure to hold you all to that once this is over… Junko, I think it's time.” The woman nodded, and began to levitate, before shooting off in the distance. While Hyperion, Flauros, and Stolas, made themselves visible, as Hyperion shouted out.

“Get ready! Today, this conflict ends! And destruction of what this Maleggan has built begins, Our target is our enemies heart, the city of Zylsis! March '' The booming shout was followed by deafening cheers, and the feet of various sizes clanking, or crushing the earth underneath. All the while, standing at the very front of the force which would apparently lay siege, were the Terran 7 themselves.. The formerly unmarked ground was replaced with paved roads. Patches of cracked stone, and earth naturally paved by those who walked upon it. As arctaius observed the change, he began speaking.

“If these signs of activity are anything to go by, we must be close…” Their attention continued to move around, as they found small structures, some of which seemed to be simple villages, a majority of the buildings constructed with what looked to be plant matter, and adobe. The same could be said for the various farmsteads. Which wasn’t exactly a surprise to those who were used to such things being built, the humans. After all, if there was a large number of people who needed to eat, then such a thing wasn’t needed. But many of the demons, including Hyperion, did not exactly understand what they were seeing, completely, at least. Couldn’t they just move up to hunting bigger game? The approach just seemed strange to him.

“So, what’s our plan for the invasion? If you ask me, we should at least try to keep a bit of the city intact, if that’s even possible… This could be the center of that alliance you were planning, perhaps, especially given what you said about building cities not being common.” Kazimir glanced at them as they heard this, giving a nod.

“That could work.. Saves you a lot of effort. Perhap-” Kazimir was cut off by a wave of cutting wind coming toward him, one which he acted quickly in eluding. As this took place, the eyes of all of those there looked to the source of the attack, A goat-like Demon floating above them, flanked by a large number of other creatures. A black-furred lion, who was many times larger than such a creature would normally be, A star-fish like creature, who bore a certain resemblance to a deceased general. The same species, perhaps? And many more.

“Don’t let them get through!” The lion-like demon roared. And with little effort, they began pouring down from the sky above. Something that was responded to in turn, by the terran 7 shooting into the sky, Arctaius began zipping through the sky, shooting off beams of searing hot plasma, and tearing through any unlucky enough to be hit. Gilga looked upon the oncoming lion creature, who’d apparently chosen him as a target, and summoned enkidu in his hand.

“Let’s see if that armor can protect you, Human!”

“Trust me, It won’t need to…” Before the demon could speak once more, he found that the human was already directly beside him, and dragged his holy arm across the length of his body, bisecting it, and causing it to begin breaking down. The creatures who attempted to strike at Strolas had no easier time. As he ducked under an attempted strike from one, launching them away with a right hand punch. Sidestepping a charge from another, and launching him into his allies with a throw, knocking them over like bowling pins.

While both sides' elites apparently began to clash, there was one who was left unoccupied, Flauros. It seemed that for the time being, they would be able to advance undeterred.

“Forward! The walls of Zylsis will be in sight soon!”

The demon began to gallop forward, and the legion behind him followed with a deafening war cry resounding outward… The target of their attack, Zylsis, was currently in a panic. On the summit of the titanic walls, local guard force leaders heard the rumbling of the rapidly approaching army. An avian demon, a scout and messenger alike, perched upon a battlement, letting out a feminine voice as she spoke.

“The enemy troop is measuring in the many thousands… At this point that is about equal to our Garrison… And I don’t believe our fighters will keep them busy for long.” Another demon, a Yssqr, stepped toward the very edge of the wall, looking down from the battlefield, to see a rapidly approaching cloud of dust, one filled with creatures large, and small… His eyes widened at this development.

“This can’t be… How long will it take for the remaining generals to return. Why hasn’t his Majesty made a move yet?!” The Avian demon spread her wings, and began to lift herself from her perch.

“We’ll have to make do with what we have, I’m going out for another scouting run!”

And that she did, beginning to shoot off into the sky. But it seemed that the defenders would have other issues to worry about, as the quicker members of the force in front of them made their quick approach, leaping down from the ground below, or attempting to climb the walls. While others attempted to charge through, and break down the gate. The Yassqr found himself nearly bisected by the swipe of a bardiche from another… His gaze shot toward him, and flame coiled around his hands, as he shot forward to attack the pole-arm wielding creature. Such clashes began to occur all over the walls. A symphony of roars of flame, and rushing waves. Breaking stone, and clanging metal, battle cries, and screams as others died.

The Battle of Zylsis had begun.

To Be Continued

つづく