Whatever it was... I had to get away. It felt like the earth shook under my feet. Looking closely, all the shaking was from my feet. What was this scene? What happened at that moment? Who were those men? I have to get away... Walking with Catherine the whole day had tired out my feet already... Even so I had to run.
Something happened, it may still happen. I need to get away, I need to get to safety. My legs felt like chunks of concrete and steel had embedded them to the floor. My heartbeat pounded under my rib cage to the max as I breathlessly ran. Ugh, was my stamina always this horrible? Just a little running made my peripheral vision dim and my mind heavy.
My consciousness drew to a single spot in my path. It was an ominous feeling, like an omen. Dodging to the right, a large chunk of metal shot outwards from that spot. The shape of the metal was akin to a stalagmite, it's range covering roughly 30 metres in length. If I had not dodged that area of the foot path, the pressure itself would turn me into a red mist before I could get impaled by it. Something... Someone was attacking me...
I can't let it get to the orphanage! It isn't uncommon for a level 100 to have skin tougher than metal, my knife may as well have no effect. This world was quite absurd in that way, a maximum level of 1000,no... Even a level 600 could destroy a city with the right skills. Turning a sharp round, there was an alley to traverse through. My vision continues to grow dimmer as I run, but this was something I have to do. I have to run.
My legs start to grow increasingly tired, the aching in my mind felt like there were stakes impaled on the back of my head. Was this where It ends? The sun had gone down, evening had arrived to swallow away the light. Darkness engulfed my surroundings completely, I could only see what was in front of me with the tiny natural lighting I had left. There weren't any lights in the alleyways as people tend to only walk on the main path. Afterall, the alleyway was the home of the poor, or the entrance to the slum. My footsteps rang in my ear, reminding me of my present situation, keeping my consciousness from slipping into the void.
My breath grew louder, echoing through the cracks between the buildings. I could feel the gazes of multiple individuals on my skin, it alarmed me greatly. But I had to calm down for now, or I will die. What can I even do with my level 1 stats? Over time, the gaze of my pursuer vanished and reappeared, you could say that it flickered quite a bit like a candle flame. And like a candle flame, it extinguishes after a while.
Similar to the previous scene, it was another sea of red. This time, I was rather used to it. I couldn't afford to stay here and look at the details, multiple dead men of various attires had appeared right behind me. Whoever was chasing me had died. Someone new always came to replace him, there was a conflict of some sort. Some unknown allies seem to be helping me, but I cannot afford to be careless. Even if they were to save me, my safety may only be temporary. Who knows what they intended to do with an orphan, at the top of my head only a few things came to mind. Sacrificial materials and slavery.
***(20 minutes before)
"You've arrived at the location, right?" (?A)
"Affirmative, the target is withing viewing distance. Maintaining the mission objective is viable." (?B)
"Good, continue to look out for the target. Even if this was only training, you're handling an actual case with national secrets. Make sure to not be found out and keep the target safe." (?A)
"Roger-...?!" (?B) *BANG*
"... Lieutenant , what's the status? " (A)
"A large chunk of ice had consumed the whole capital. Sir, what's the present condition of hq." (lieutenant)
" Perfectly fine, continue your mission. Now. I've sent back up, detecting... 500 magical signals. Priorities the targets safety. " (Major)
" Alri- " *splt-* *crack*
" Tch! The Capital is completely fine. However the target is not in their grasp yet. "(?)
" Kuh! Why did this have to happen, now of all times. Whatever, I'll just have to fulfill my job. We'll encounter them eventually in this line of work. Demons. " (Major)
" Major Keibrook, we've received orders from the higher ups. We've been given level 2 access to wipe out the demons attacking the capital. "(Lieutenant ?)
***( At the scene)
" Demon attack! Our target is encased in ice! Void walker squad guard the target immediately. We have magic equipment that saved us from the ice, but others may not be so lucky. Someone is coming with a anti-magic [skill] to remove the ice all at once. " (Frontline major)
" There are... Orcs... The caretaker has been... " (Void walker lieutenant)
"FOCUS ON THE MISSION!" (Frontline major)
" Activating equipped catalyst. Combat formation Assault. [Shadow step]
[Stealth-tier 3] [Illusion-tier 3]
[Attack enhancement-tier 3]
[Agility enhancement-tier 3]
[Will of shadow] [Nerve overload]
[Spear head constitution]"
(Void walker captain)
Vanishing at once, the surroundings had quietened down. Only the frontline major's breathing could be heard as his subordinates were busy securing the parameters. A demon invasion, even if it was only the first wave of 500,they had been preparing for many decades. Way before even queen Fez's rule over the kingdom. With her rule, their established effort had gone up by 300% in efficiency. The technology had already been there from the previous King, so there was no need to spend an excessive amount of money to redraft everything.
The Orcs attacking had magical items that disguised themselves as bandits. The body guarding squad had equipment so powerful, they didn't realise the Orcs were wearing illusion producing magical items. Needless to say, the Orcs were swiftly beheaded, while the magical device still functioned to deceive Lilith. The specialist finished his preparations a minute later and used anti-magic to remove all the ice at once.
The ice lowered the temperature to the point everything inside had slowed down. Even time. It was a pseudo time stop, only people with magical equipment that produced enough heat were resistant to the attack. Light and heat had stopped moving into Lilith's body before being consumed by it right after the ice was gone.
Unlike most monsters, demons were intelligent beings. There were just like humans except for the 2 small horns on the side of their head. The horns were like goat horns, high level demons were able to remove them and consume them for power. They look like humans, behave like humans and think like humans. They were no different from us, they were just on the other side of this war with the [Demon king]. Truly the most terrifying enemy is... Humanity.