The Void Monarch - Chapter 34

 

As Ira prepared to leave, he shouted Harper’s name and activated the bloodline resonance. Harper jumped down the stairs and landed with a wild giggle; Apparently, she preferred her hair in a long braid as she kept it the same as she had yesterday.

“You’re a horseman, Ira!”

Harper laughed as she stood up.

“What are you talking about, kiddo?

Ira asked in response to the strange insult.

“I heard the ladies upstairs saying that you’re half man and half horse, so that means you’re a horseman.”

Harper cackled innocently.

“…”

Samantha stayed silent in her moment of realization, but she was still too disturbed to be embarrassed.

“Come on, kiddo. Those women are too irresponsible for you to be around.”

Ira said as he pinched Harper’s cheek. He seemed to have a separate definition of irresponsible as he caused Harper to murder of an innocent old man and then proceeded to use her as a human dart shortly after.

On the way out of the Manor, Ira saw Amy and Aldis preparing to board a different carriage.

“Hey, Ira!”

Amy ran over upon seeing Ira step out of the Manor.

“Amy. How’s the arm working for you?”

Ira smiled as he looked at her metal arm.

“It’s better than I could have imagined, it even has fingerprints. I can finally go back to the Academy. T-Thank you so much.”

She gave a small bow halfway into the conversation she stumbled as she recalled overhearing a specific piece of gossip about Ira from the servants and attendants.

“No problem. Though, I don’t think the Academy is the place for you.”

Ira smiled cryptically as he waved at Aldis.

“What do you mean?”

Amy asked as she caught the change in his expression.

“You’ll find out eventually. Hopefully, sooner than later.”

Ira chuckled as he walked away.

“One should seize power at every opportunity.”

Harper said to Amy, giving her best Ira impression before she chased after him. Amy looked at Harper strangely, she was wondering if she was the same little girl that was with Ira when they went to see her in the infirmary.

………..

A few hours they arrived in the Capital and headed straight for the Union building. As they entered, Samantha guided them to the conference hall on the eleventh floor Harper, and Avery waited outside the room while Samantha and Ira were guided in by a secretary. As they entered sitting at the forefront of the table was Albrecht. Sitting on on the left side of the long table was a man next to another man who wore glasses and on the right a hooded woman, who also wore a mask, who sat by herself.

“Ah, right on time. Please take a seat.”

Albrecht stood up and held his hand out. Ira sat down directly in the middle so that Albrecht could be seen directly in front of him. Samantha sat down on Ira’s right.

“Ira. These are the second and third rated Mercenaries, Rhys and Carter. Next to Carter is his Handler. I’ll take it you all are ready for the conference.”

Albrecht introduced them politely before surveying the room.

“I’ll go with the assumption you all know that the Kingdom is paying one hundred and fifty thousand Gre each, should any of you choose to assist and fifty thousand Gre for each considerable merit. The Diavol are estimated to be around ten thousand strong, while the Eastern Valley Fortress should just be receiving the support of an additional five hundred men, and may total around eight hundred. If you choose to accept, you’ll be tasked with helping defend until additional reinforcements show up. If you decide to leave halfway through you’ll only receive a quarter of the payment.”

Albrecht explained.

“How’s the artillery support and how many of those men reinforcing are mages?”

Carter’s Handler asked.

“There are a lot of catapults and ballistae, it’s just the problem of getting them onto the ramparts. Also, I believe out of five hundred men sent as reinforcements, there are two platoons of Mages for a total of fifty.”

Carter went into contemplation. How much could one person do and if he brought his guildmates how would it turn out?

“I’m not sure just how much one individual would be able to do.”

Carter said his tone indicated he was unwilling to leave it like that but had no choice.

“I understand.”

Albrecht said with a tinge of disappointment as he turned to look at Ira and Rhys. He didn’t wish to see men struggle to survive when they could receive help.

“…”

Rhys shook her head and added to Albrecht’s disappointment. All eyes turned to face Ira, who looked busy thinking something. Samantha took it as him being hesitant and tried to take the reins.

“I don’t think-”

“I’ll do it.”

They both spoke at the same time. Ira turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Ira, as your handler, I don’t think it’s best for you to-”

“I said I’ll do it.”

Ira ignored Samantha and spoke again.

“I don’t want to cause you to reconsider, but do you mind me asking why?”

Carter asked with a surprised expression. Rhys also looked over, but her expression was hidden by her mask.

“Because…”

Ira paused as he smiled brightly.

“I have something I want to test out.”

He spoke as his eyes showed an almost corporeal anticipation that caused those in the room to reevaluate him. He couldn’t hide his desire to see what he could do as “The Keeper Of Third Moon.”

“…Well. I thank you all for attending this conference, Ira…The teleportation array will be open for you to use, please head there as soon as possible.”

Albrecht was taken off guard by Ira’s unhidden desire, the look in his eyes reminded him of the many volatile Mercenaries who were known for their questionable behavior. He decided to push it off as a bad feeling but to keep a closer watch on Ira’s activities.

One by one they all stood to leave the room. Ira and Samantha headed out first followed by Rhys, Carter, and Carter’s Handler.

……….

Avery sat waiting outside the conference room with Harper. Seeing Ira exit with a smile and Samantha following with fearful face, Avery stood up as she already guessed what happened.

“When do we leave?”

She asked without a change in expression.

“Today.”

He responded.

“Where are we going, Horseman.”

Harper giggled without knowing the context of what she perceived to be an insult.

“Harper…Nevermind.”

Ira shook his head with a wry smile. Avery raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ira.

“We’re going sightseeing.”

Ira responded, he decided not to feed into her gimmick, or she’d continue to say it. By now Rhys was passing them and overheard the conversation, she glanced at Ira’s back as she passed, which was noticed by Avery who in turn glanced back at Rhys. Their gazes met for a brief moment, while Rhys transmitted a hint of mystery, Avery gave off nothing but a cold stare.

Carter exited the room and walked toward Ira.

“Uh, Sorry to interrupt. I would just like to apologize for the behavior of Eric a while ago. When he had that outburst and attempted to speak on my behalf, I assure you it wasn’t by my orders. I wish the both of you a happy marriage.”

Carter slightly bowed as he finished speaking. He wasn’t overly prideful about his position and conducted himself as a responsible guild head should.

“Oh…no problem. Thanks for the wishes.”

Ira responded with a bit of uncertainty.

“Take care.”

Carter said his farewells, both he and his Handler failed to notice Ira’s questioning expression. As they walked towards the lift, Ira turned to Avery.

“Do you know what he was going on about?”

“A few months ago, my cousin Eric suggested I marry the leader of his guild instead of you. I’m assuming he was the one mentioned.”

Avery responded.

“Oh.”

Ira chuckled as he looked at Carter’s departing back. Should he run into him outside the boundary of the Capital, he was sure to show him the extent of his “forgiveness” and his “willingness” to accept apologies.

“Well, let’s go get something to eat at the Bluebird first and then we’ll leave. Oh, I can give you the armor that was crafted for you when we get to our house, Avery.”

Ira stretched his arms and walked to the lift. Avery and Harper followed close behind.

“See you later, Sammy.”

He added as he waved his hand to Samantha.

“Yeah, see you later.”

Samantha answered with worry. She needed to find a way to fix her temperament and be strictly professional, Carter’s Handler made it look easy, so she thought of emulating him and Albrecht.

“That should work.”

Samantha said under her breath as she clenched her fist with a newfound determination. She decided she would go to the library and polish up on tactics, geography, and a slew of other subjects. She wanted to think of it as her choice and ignore the ever-looming threat of death that went by the name of Avery Thynne.

………….

After a short meal, Ira, Avery, and Harper all stopped at the house to ready themselves, even though there was currently a crisis developing and people were dying with every minute wasted, Ira didn’t seem to notice or even care. They were at the dining room table, which was filled with weapons, clothes, and armor. Harper needed to change her clothes, as she still was wearing the same black dress from before. Avery examined the pieces of armor and nodded her head, they were just as good as the Saber. Ira ate pastries while sorting his Cerberus Leather Armor set.

“I’ll need to buy a set of training tights to wear under the armor, they make it easy to maneuver in.”

Avery said as she organized the armor.

“Do you need some cash or did-”

Ira didn’t finish as he noticed Avery had a faint grin that he instantly understood. He waved his left hand, and a couple hundred dollars worth of Gre appeared in it.

“Harper, go buy some training tights, three canteens for water, three cloaks, a small one for yourself, and some pastries.”

He hurriedly shoved the money into her hand and sent her off. She nodded her head as she giggled.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She said, not reading the context. She left a series of bright blue afterimages behind her as she arrived at the door within seconds.

“Don’t use your abilities or I’ll get Lauren to train you.”

Ira added on. Harper turned around and stuck her tongue out, but didn’t dare use her abilities anymore.

“Dummy!”

She shouted as she shut the door. Ira turned around to see Avery’s smiling face.

“She’ll be back in a little over fifteen minutes you know.”

He smiled.

“Then you better hurry.”

Avery pushed everything off the table and let it fall onto the floor. For the first time in her life, Avery disobeyed the orders of her mother and grandmother when they urged her to show moderation. Though it seemed easy enough, in theory, she was far more “active” than Ira.

Ira teleported in front of her before lifting her onto the table. She didn’t resist as she wrapped her arms and legs around him and began kissing him. And so the dining room table became used for a quick “meal.”

After exactly 17 minutes Harper arrived back at the house. She was surprised to see everything so messy.

“I got everything, Ira.”

She said as she looked around curiously. Ira sat in a chair with disheveled hair and ruffled clothes, while Avery sat next to him with a neat appearance.

“What happened?”

Harper asked as she looked at Ira’s appearance.

“A fight.”

He and Avery chuckled after looking at each other. He stood up and began picking everything up and laying it on the table again.

“Who won?”

Harper asked as she placed a basket full of items on the table. Ira smiled gloatingly at Avery as he patted Harper on the head.

“I did. Now go change.”

He handed over her signature three-quarter pants, black boots, and an oversized shirt.

“Horseman!”

Harper took the clothes and ran upstairs while laughing to herself.

“Well…looks like she’s not gonna let that go.”

Ira shrugged his shoulders when he turned around Avery was stripped to her underwear.

“I’m definitely sure there won’t be enough time.”

He said. Avery didn’t respond and walked closer, she reached past him and grabbed the black tights with a mocking grin.

“…Yeah, no, we should get ready.”

Ira laughed as he started putting on his armor. Avery’s equipped her armor quickly as it went on smoothly and shrunk to fit her physique. It quickly became a set of form-fitting armor that was both sturdy and light.

“It’s light enough.”

She threw a few punches and kicks as she got a feel for the weight. Ira fixed his Longsword to his waist and threw on the hooded black cloak. Avery also grabbed a black cloak and put it on after equipping her Saber. Then, Harper made her way back downstairs and grabbed her retractable staff and placed it on her belt clip, she grabbed a small black cloak and put it on. Ira waved his left hand over the rest of the supplies and stored them.

“Let’s go.”

Ira stepped outside followed by Avery and Harper. They walked toward the Capital teleportation array, which wasn’t far from the Mercenaries Union. A pair of guards stepped forward and spoke.

“Identification.”

The Guard asked somewhat politely, he heard that a Mercenary was given permission to access the teleportation array and that the person would be arriving soon. Ira waved his hand and produced his Mercenary Union card, along with his status card and the King’s Entry Waiver.

“S-Sorry for the for the trouble please enter.”

The Guard was shocked by the S+ rating and the even higher growth capacity.

After some vetting, by the Mages and Alchemists on site, the array was cleared for use, and once Ira, Harper, and Avery took their places it was started.

“To ensure your personal safety, please keep your eyes closed and try not to move.”

The Mage politely reminded.

“3…2…1…Go!”

He signaled for activation.

A bright blue light enveloped them, as the engravings lit up, and a loud buzzing noise rang out.

……………..

They arrived in Greensborough instantly and were met with a room full of tense expressions.

“I’m glad to see you’re here.”

The Governor of Greensborough personally waited at the teleportation array for Ira to show up, evacuating his people on the cusp of winter was something he desperately wished to prevent. His tone was one of utter sincerity as he and the ones managing the teleportation array watched three cloaked figures appear.

Ira pulled down his hood, exposing his pitch black hair and bright yellow eyes to all before he spoke with a grin.

“Where’s the fortress?”

……………..

Commander Belmond looked into the sky and frowned. Small flurries of snow descended and the second moon was faintly visible, marking the beginning of winter. Truth be told, he didn’t want to die in the winter. It was harsh and relentless, the soil would sometimes freeze so badly that the dead couldn’t immediately be buried. Leaving them out without proper funeral rites could sometimes lead to undead or other malevolent spirits possessing them. So they would have to be burned. He faintly remembered the story of someone carrying the ashes of the wrong person around, or was it someone scattered the wrong ashes? In his fatigue, it all was more or less haze. What was entirely clear was the faces of his family. When he closed his eyes, they were always there. That’s why he had to keep fighting.

“This is bad.”

Command Belmond looked ahead with his spyglass and surveyed the scene out of range of the ballistae.

The Diavol noticed the reinforcements and threw caution to the wind. They began preparing for the final siege, they prepped Hundred of siege towers and giant metal barricades on wheels. The three giants were being readied by Mages, a separate formation of at least 1000 Mages was also prepared. The catapults and ballistae were being pushed forward, as the few people in command looked to be shouting. A Diavol sat on a white horse as he overlooked the entire thing, he suddenly looked up and toward the fortress with a smile. Commander Belmond was shocked as it seemed he could see him from that far.

“Fucking hell!”

He shouted in surprise. If his eyesight was that great, it must’ve meant he was at least rated S-. All of a sudden the Diavol began moving.

“Lieutenant Commander! Ready the Artillery and get someone on those fucking flares! Mages to me!”

Commander Belmond shouted as he drew his sword. He preferred his greatsword, but he lost it when he blew up the Siege Tower.

Around 50 mages climbed up the steps of the fortress and stood behind Commander Belmond.

“If you can’t provide artillery, could you make a barrier?”

Commander Belmond asked.

“It won’t last long enough under the fire of the catapults.”

The head mage said grimly.

“Fuck. Well, get ready to release a coordinated attack on my signal.”

Three flares were shot up into the sky, giving those in the fort better visibility.

“I want Archers evenly spread out behind the barricades. Where’s my fucking artillery!?”

Commander Belmond yelled.

“Here sir!”

A soldier responded.

“I want Catapults loaded with explosives aimed at the enemy Mages and ballistae for the siege towers you understand?”

Commander Belmond asked.

“Yes, Sir!”

The soldier saluted and ran down the wall relaying orders.

“Get oil for the canal, but don’t pour a fucking drop until they get close.”

Commander Belmond shouted at another soldier.

“Sir.”

Another soldier ran down the fortress steps and went under the fort to prepare.

Commander Belmond turned to look at the soldiers who stood within the fortress walls, numbering around 700.

“THESE FUCKERS WANT US TO TAKE IT LYING DOWN. IS THAT WHAT YOU ALL WANT TO DO?!”

He roared.

“””””””NO, SIR!”””””””

The men responded.

“THESE ROACHES WANT TO TAKE THE FOOD FROM YOUR WIVES, MOTHERS, SISTERS, FATHERS, AND BROTHERS. WILL YOU LET THEM?!”

“””””””NO, SIR!”””””””

“I DON’T KNOW ABOUT ALL OF YOU, BUT IF I SHOULD DIE, IT WON’T BE UNTIL I TAKE TEN OF THOSE BASTARDS WITH ME. ARE YOU GONNA DO THE SAME?!”

“””””””YES, SIR!”””””””

Commander Belmond put on his helmet and turned to see the Diavol bearing down on the fortress.

“THEN SHOW THESE RATS WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF!”

He bellowed as he manned a ballista and loaded it.

“”””””””YES, SIR!”””””””

The men yelled in response and began taking their positions.

Hundreds of catapults were fired from the Diavol’s side, and they bombarded the fortress, most crashed into the walls, but a few managed to smash a few men to death.

“Mages target the catapults!”

Commander Belmond shouted as he fired the ballistae at a cyclops carrying stone for the catapult.

Thuunk!

The bolt from the ballista sailed through the air and tore straight into the Cyclops’ eye.

“Fireball!”

“Ice Bolt!”

“Wind Blade!”

The fifty Mages all launched spells simultaneously and returned fire on the Catapults before they could be loaded. At least a dozen catapults were destroyed, and around a hundred Diavol died.

“Get back and tell me when you all are ready for the next one.”

Commander Belmond was happy at sight but knew it wasn’t over.

All of a sudden the Diavol Mages emerged, close to one thousand, they all began chanting. It was far earlier than Commander Belmond expected, the catapults must’ve been to waste the Mage volley and give the Diavol enough time to finish their chants. Too bad he already knew the Mages were coming.

“Fire the Catapults!”

He shouted as he loaded the ballista again.

The Catapults loaded with explosives fired into the Mage formations causing loud explosions to fill the air as the unprepared Mages were ripped apart into a bloody mist, but a majority of the formations deployed multi-layered barriers. The other Mages continued chanting undeterred.

“TAKE COVER!”

Commander Belmond roared as he dived behind a makeshift barricade

A rain of fire blanketed the ramparts, searing the flesh of any and all soldiers who couldn’t find appropriate cover. In that single volley, close to 200 soldiers were instantly burned alive, as the deafening screams and smell of burnt flesh filled the fort. A significant amount of artillery was destroyed, but luckily the explosives were already fired or else it would be a lot worse.

Commander Belmond coughed as he pushed the charred wood off of him. He stood up to see the damage but stumbled on half the corpse of a young soldier he had just encouraged a few minutes earlier. Ashes mixed with the flurries of snow as they slowly fell into the Western Valley Fortress. As he turned around the siege towers were all but in place.

“Commander!”

The Lt. Commander’s uniform was burnt, and he had a cloth bandage wrapped around his hand.

“Yeah?”

Belmond responded as the bridges of the Siege towers were pushed outwards, in less than two minutes they would be on the walls.

“Reinforcements at the rear gate.”

The Lt. Commander said with a wry smile.

“How many?”

Belmond asked as he swung his sword a few times.

“Just three, but one says he’s ranked number within the Mercenaries Union.”

The Lt. Commander laughed dryly.

“Well, let him in. We’ll see if he’s what he says.”

Commander Belmond said hoarsely. In response, the Lieutenant Commander waved his arm, and the rear gate opened slowly, alarming all the Soldiers.

Creeeeeeaaak.

Three people stood in front of it.

A young teenage boy with black hair and yellow eyes, who looked more like a noble regarding attractiveness. A girl who looked to be no younger than 18, but gave off the maturity level of a woman. And finally, a small girl with light blue eyes and black and pale blue hair, along with three small black circles were on her forehead. They all wore black cloaks.

Commander Belmond was an ex-Mercenary himself and knew never to go off of looks alone if one did they usually ended up in an early grave.

“SOLDIERS! DEFEND THE RAMPARTS!”

Commander Belmond roared as he turned to focus on the Siege towers that the Diavol were beginning to pour out of.

……………

“”””””YES, SIR!”””””

Ira watched as hundreds of soldiers ran up the steps and onto the ramparts.

“Whoever kills more Diavol wins. The important ones are double.”

He said as he closed his eyes and channeled his primal awareness.

“Ironheart.”

Avery said, showing her agreement. A faint silver light radiated from her as her skin took on a metallic luster. Harper’s six-armed phantom appeared behind her. She looked up at the moons. The two smaller circles on her head began glowing blue.

Ira opened his eyes and chuckled.

“Ladies first.”

Avery took off with increased speed as she climbed the fortress steps. Harper sprinted forward faster than her normal speed and left blue afterimages, with the Lunar Force Enhancement her powers were strengthened significantly.

Ira walked forward at a slow pace. If he could use the Third Moon, they would definitely need a head start. He stored his black cloak and began walking.

………

Harper climbed up the less active ramparts and equipped her steel baton, a blue dagger attached to a chain of similar color appeared on the end of it. She ran past soldiers engaged with Diavol as she swung the chain.

The blue chain wrapped around the necks of three different Diavol soldiers. She pulled hard, and the dagger dragged across the neck of the first, slitting his throat and finally beheading him. She pulled again even harder and the second and third Diavol soldiers instantly died in the same way. A rain of blood spilled onto Harper’s face.

She began giggling as she watched Ira slowly make his way up the ramparts. She knew she had to hurry, so she used her phase shift and continued running. All the while she spun the chain easily as it shortened and extended on command. She sent her Phantom ahead of her. The phantom wielded its weapons without any mercy, and to make things worse, it’s body could rotate 360 degrees. It swung the Kukris and impaled two Diavol. Without missing a step it’s Halberd cut a Diavol in half while it’s Greatsword and Great Axe did the same.

“AAAAIRGH!”

“EEEEAUGH!”

“HAAARGH!”

Tortured screams resounded in Harmony as the Phantom made its way across the ramparts, stunning the Soldiers and horrifying the Diavol. Harper ran through the crowds and picked off those who had the slightest lapse in attention.

She wrapped the chain around the torso of a Diavol jumping from the siege tower and pulled him down while he was mid-air.

“Come here!”

She cackled as she used the chain to slam him into the ground face first.

“Auegh!”

With a crushed nose and broken teeth, the young Diavol looked up to see a little girl with a blood covered face. Harper put her kept the chain around him as phantom blue gauntlets appeared on her hand. She walked over to the Diavol trying to crawl away. She sat on his back and raised her fist before she began to punch his skull repeatedly. He didn’t even have time to scream as his head was caved in. The surrounding soldiers were speechless at the display of raw brutality.

Suddenly, she felt the connection to her phantom fade. She looked up to see a large Diavol drive a spear through it. She giggled as she stood up and wiped the blood from her face, which only smeared it. She ran forward and swung her chain.

The Diavol raised his spear and used it to catch the chain. As the phantom chain wrapped around the spear, he began pulling. Harper waved her hand, and a trio of phantom knives flew forward two landed on the armor of the Diavol Spear Wielder but didn’t do much. A dozen more Diavol appeared on the wall behind him. He sneered as they all grabbed the chain and pulled Harper toward them. As they yanked her forward she jumped into the air, and the phantom chain disappeared, causing a few of them to stumble.

She twisted the staff while twirling it skillfully before she smashed it into the head of one of the closest Diavol. Instead of landing she planted a foot on his head and jumped away while spinning. Hitting two more Diavol who were standing up.

As she finally began to touch the ground, she suddenly multiplied. The Spear Wielding Diavol was shocked, but then realized it must have been fake until he watched his comrades die. They were quickly slaughtered by the numerous little girls. He began swinging wildly, he burned his lifeforce as he killed everyone one of the little girls who stood over the dead bodies of his comrades.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

He spun his staff as he cut, stabbed, and beat all of the girls to death. He impaled the last one on his spear and lifted her up.

“Hahahahahaha!”

She began cackling wildly to his surprise. All of a sudden he had a massive headache and closed his eyes when he opened them his spear was lodged inside of his own comrade. He looked to his left and right to see all of his fellow Diavol dead, all killed by a spear except for the three Harper murdered. He dropped the spear and fell to his knees as he looked at the bloodstained little girl who was laughing so hard tears appeared on the corner of her eyes.

Phantom arms emerged from the ground and grabbed the limbs of the distraught Diavol. The slowly began twisting his appendages off.

“NOOOOOO!”

He screamed for mercy with teary eyes as he felt the pain of his limbs breaking and being ripped off. Harper conjured a phantom knife and kneeled beside him. She raised the knife and stabbed it into one of his eyes.

“AAAAIIIIUEH!”

His amputated body flailed in resistance, but it did nothing to stop Harper. She began to enjoy the feeling of punishing people, she still could remember the torture she experienced under Glen Marbot and

the beatings the Thynne Females gave her. She wanted to exert the same power over someone else. After removing his nose, eyes, and tongue. The screams stopped. He choked on his own blood after she removed his tongue and had long since been dead. Harper stood up and wiped her bloodied hands on her shirt before bringing out her six armed phantoms. It knelt down as she climbed on its shoulders.

“Let’s go! We can’t let them win!”

She tapped its head. It stood up and began running towards the Diavol gathered in the distance. She conjured her phantom chain and spun it wildly as they moved. There weren’t many soldiers around to witness her sadistic display of brutality, but those who did were horrified and decided to stay as far away from her as possible.

…………………

While Harper was exploring her new found “hobby,” Avery had long since been engaged in battle.

A stone flew onto the ramparts and crushed a group of ten soldiers in front of her cold eyes. She carried on as she ran to the closest Siege tower. The Soldiers were currently entangled with the ever-growing group of Diavol. Avery charged past them and leaped onto the Siege Tower Bridge. A Diavol wasted no time in drawing his sword and swinging at her. She easily dodged it as she tossed her cloak in his face. Before he could remove she already thrust the Saber into his skull. More Diavol climbed the tower, and she didn’t plan on fighting so many in such close proximity. She pushed the dead body onto the steps to slow down the incoming enemies.

Avery’s Saber drew a red line across the support beams of the Siege tower and caused it to slowly fall. She jumped over the bridge and back onto Ramparts. The creaking of the Siege tower paired with the vivid snapping of support beams sent panic into those inside, the Siege tower fell over and crashed into the closest one.

“Get oil on those towers!” Commander Belmond shouted.

Soldiers scrambled over fresh corpses while carrying a large barrel of oil. Commander pulled the cork off and watched as the oil covered the broken siege towers. A mage chanted and ignited the blaze. Those still in the Siege Tower panicked as the flame quickly spread. Some people jumped, and other could only be burned by flames.

“Payback!” Commander Belmond spat over the wall before turning to Avery.

“Nice job-” He stopped speaking halfway since she was already gone. He could see a silver silhouette in the distance slaughtering the Diavol. If an elite soldier didn’t appear soon, they would continue to be killed.

“Where are my fucking Archers?” Commander Belmond asked as the horde of Diavol grew by the minute. Below he could see Cyclopes throwing hooks onto the drawbridge and pulling.

“…Most of them are dead or too injured to fight, Sir.” A soldier responded as he watched the fiery Siege towers fall to the ground.

“Damn it!” Belmond cursed as he turned to see the yellow-eyed boy just arriving on the ramparts.

“Hey! You mind helping?!”

Belmond barked. To the yellow- no his appeared to be red now.

………..

“Hey! You mind helping?!” Commander Belmond barked.

Ira looked at him and shrugged. As he channeled the force of the Third Moon into his body, his senses sharpened unbelievably. Last time he tried to forcibly sharpen his senses it caused a bit of recoil leading to him bleeding, but now it seemed much easier and stronger than before.

“Get down!” Belmond shouted as he and his Soldiers laid down.

A ballista bolt came flying toward them. Ira reached out his hands, and before anyone could warn him to stop playing around, he caught it.

The heavy bolt made a loud sound as its acceleration was instantly stopped the tip of the bolt was only an inch from Ira’s face. He held the bolt and scanned the crowd of invaders. He soon locked onto a pair of Diavol one a white horse next to an older Diavol on a black horse, they were busy talking and didn’t seem to notice what just happened. Ira flipped the bolt and held it like a Javelin, he took a few steps back and then ran forward and threw it, while altering the gravity causing it to accelerate faster than normal eyes could track.

It tore through the air and instantly bore into the Diavol on the black horse, before continuing into the ground and kicking up a large cloud of dust.

…………..

30 seconds earlier.

“Father, the Fortress is already ours, and once we have it, we can begin our campaign deeper in.”

A young Diavol, about the age of 26, sat on a majestic white horse as he conversed with a man who looked similar to him but was older.

“Yes, but war is a terrible thing. You can’t always look for violent solutions to solve problems, are we so far gone we can’t seek cooperation with humans?”

The Older Diavol asked as he caressed his black horse. He was one of the few people who was against taking the fortress, but as his son was a hot-blooded youth, he decided to follow him along and protect him.

“Father, the humans, will never cooperate with us, they don’t even recognize us as a Republic.”

The younger Diavol angrily said.

“Listen, After we take this fortress I will propose a peace treaty to the council, and then we can stop-”

The young Diavol couldn’t even comprehend what happened and as he fell off his horse, dust flew into the air along with a warm liquid that covered his face, when the explosion happened, something fell into his mouth that had the texture of raw meat, and in his haste, he accidentally swallowed it.

The sound of something between a solid and a liquid hit the ground around him. The battlefield descended into silence as they heard the loud sound, even the Cyclopes stopped pulling the bridge was already halfway down, the sound of metal creaking filled the dead air as the bridge began to fall. All eyes turned to the source of the disruption only to see dust clearing.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

The young Diavol crawled backward but his hand squished something, he looked at it only to see a familiar eyeball.

“F…Fa…Father…”

He was still in shock as he remembered the thing he accidentally swallowed. He threw up onto his dust covered armor and continued to do so until there was nothing left for him to throw up. He wiped his mouth and looked up with hate in his eyes. With his advanced eyesight, he could see a boy with yellow eyes smiling at him tauntingly. He stood up and began speaking as he looked for his bow.

“Kill them!” Upon hearing him, the Diavol Soldiers stirred.

“Mages!” He spat out venomously.

“I command all you mages to use the Hydra Formation for the glory of the Republic!” He shouted harshly as he picked up his bow and arrows.

“Sir I don’t think we should-” The Diavol who began talking was interrupted by an arrow that tore into his skull.

“Anyone else? Mages, you will be heavily rewarded as long as you can destroy part of that wall!” The young Diavol added.

The Mages reluctantly assembled together, the Diavol had an experimental formation that all the Mages cast together at once for a truly devastating spell.

The problem was the backlash was too significant, the most minor were chronic headaches when used with 50 Diavol. Next was temporary blindness or hallucinations when used with 100 Diavol. The last was Insanity when used with 300 Diavol. The Mages formed into 6 groups and began chanting. The effects of using it with close to 1000 Mages were unknown, in fact, the backlash was known by individuals with a high ranking in the Republic, to everyone else it was classified. Mages were told to only use it in emergencies, needless to say, this was their first time using it. The young Diavol knew that most of the Mages might die, but he continued on as he was blinded by the thought of revenge.

………….

Ira watched the young Diavol scramble and felt something odd from the Mages that assembled. He walked along the quiet ramparts and until he saw Avery in the distance, he focused on his bloodline and called Harper to him. He felt it would be best if they grouped up while the-

All of a sudden turned to look at the Mages, he could feel the subtle shift in the flow of the air as his instincts called out in alarm.

The Mages began glowing as the formation took shape, the air rippled above their heads and as they finished the chant and a powerful magic was activated. A torrent of energy faster moved faster than anyone, including Ira, could notice.

“What the hell was that?”

Commander Belmond asked as he looked at the Mages that collapsed one by one.

Before anyone could answer, large white orbs bombarded the wall and destroyed Siege Towers and the Ramparts alike. People fell off the wall or were hit by orbs and died. The Five Hundred defending Soldiers had their numbers instantly cut into a less than a fifteenth of that. The wall began crumbling, as even the reinforced stone was no match. Ira looked over to see Avery running towards him.

A white orb exploded near her and sent debris and bodies flying. Ira couldn’t describe what he felt. He just wanted to get to her. He could see her body falling over the side of the wall where the Diavol were. His perception slowed to a crawl as a result of his kinetic vision. Everything moved far slower than before. He channeled the Lunar Force as the Gravity around him began changing. He slammed his hand into the ground to get a grip and after he pressed his legs against the stone, he lunged forth.

A large shock occurred as he leaped forward at an incomprehensible speed. His clothes incinerated instantly along with his flesh due to the friction, but it repaired at a rate faster than it was destroyed. He raised his foot up as it became covered in black mist and slammed it into the fortress wall to slow himself. He slowed down and caught Avery as he wrapped his arms around her and spun as they both plummeted toward the ground below.

Before they hit the ground, he altered the gravity around her while he took the impact. He crashed into the ground as she lightly floated down a few seconds after him.

Ira’s was currently unrecognizable, the flesh covering his whole body was completely melted, his limbs were gone, his bones were shattered, as his organs were failing, but his melted face warped into an ugly smile. Ira couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, and couldn’t smell anything, but he could feel her heart beating. His senses began to return, and his body healed very slowly. He turned to look at Avery who was unconscious, blood completely covered her face. There were multiple wounds inside her abdomen, the debris from the blast of the white orb managed to pierce her armor and cause internal bleeding.

“Look at what they did to you.” Ira raised his broken arm and touched her face.

“Look at what they did to you.” His hands trembled violently.

“Look at what they did to you.” His voice was full of hatred.

“Look…at…what…they…did…to…you…” He spoke through clenched teeth, that began cracking under the immense pressure he put on them. The warm blood from her wounds slowly dripped onto him and only furthered his anger.

Slowly the sky began to darken, but no one noticed. If anyone looked up, they would see a black circle floating 200,000 miles above them. It silently expanded and could only be called foreboding.

…………

The young Diavol was shocked by the pure destructive power of the Hydra Formation, he looked at the lifeless bodies of 1000 Mages and said nothing. His eyes turned to where he saw a body land amidst the debris of the Fortress. He was sure it was the boy who killed his Father earlier.

Before he could send any orders, the Giants and Cyclopes all crouched down to show submissiveness. This caused everyone to feel puzzled until a voice shed some light.

“Gods. Have Mercy.”

“What the hell is that?”

“Look at it!”

The Diavol dropped their weapons and began praying as they looked at the black circle that appeared in the sky. It was 4000 miles wide and continued to expand. A small red dot was easily spotted in the center of the black square. It appeared to also to be growing. The phenomenon was seen all over the continent causing mass panic.

An enormous red moon, bigger than Ulta Minor and Ulta Major combined appeared in the sky surrounded by a black circle. It was even more apparent by the lack of stars around it and the fact it dwarfed the other two moons.

A red hue shined onto the Eastern Valley and only the Eastern Valley. The ground began rumbling so fiercely no one could manage to stand. Even the Giants and Cyclopes weren’t immune as they began to cry out.

…………

Ira laid Avery’s head gently on his folded cloak and began stumbling toward the Diavol. A black mist seemed to crawl out of his pores and surround him like hair. He fell to one knee as the mist completely consumed him. Then it took the shape of a large black heart, which beat with a steady rhythm. Mist poured from it as it grew into an indistinct shape, six limb-like appendages sprouted, and a head shape emerged. Two small red circles formed on the head as the creature stood up. The black mist rapidly spread until the creature took the form of a giant black wolf with large red eyes. The mist finally slowed as the Wolf solidified into a corporeal being standing at around 50 feet. It stood silently as it looked into the distance.