We all watch, ready for anything. Everyone seems to feel the pressure and severity of this situation, which is only readily apparent due to the absolute silence from the hundred thousand plus people behind me. Even the people around me seem to be breathing shakily. Just the sight of such a large, and dangerous being unnerves the strongest soldiers. Kain exhales deeply beside me, murmuring a few words to himself.
"Whatever God may lie above, watching over our battle. Please guide my sword and assure me victory, even if it's after death."
Unsurprisingly, no one even replies to his statement, everyone completely fixated on the behemoth that is Grim. Faster than we had expected, Grim roars up towards us, stopping quite a way out. He flaps his massive wings, but not to stop or attack. It is clearly an intimidation tactic.
And it works.
A gust of air rushes passed all of us, knocking some over and completely blowing others away. I look back, seeing the stronger members of the army trying to catch and hold the weaker members. A torrent of water follows... an aftershock of sorts from the intense rush of wind. Ayvex flies forward slightly and slashes sideways, sending out a line of white energy, equaling the force of the wave and causing the water to fall away from us. Grim exhales deeply, his face almost as large as our army. Smoke roles from his maw as Ayvex remains at the front of us. I can see Grim's face from cracks in her posture, but Ayvex is large enough that he shouldn't see me. His mouth moves, clearly speaking. After several seconds, his forceful and loud words hit us all.
"Pathetic, tiny creatures."
Ayvex quickly replies, flying slightly closer so Grim can hear her better.
"So, why would you come to communicate? I also notice no help with you, or are they hidden behind your scales?"
The conversation has a brief pause, due to the long range between them. Grim replies.
"I carry no army; I bear no external forces on my being. I come to give one chance to survive, one chance for survival."
Ayvex keeps her sword at the ready, obviously not trusting Grim's words, he continues.
"Give me Dante, I know he lives. And as further incentive to your hopelessness, I also know your plan. You cannot ground me, and just the attempt would be throwing your lives away. Ayvex says I wish to kill you all, but what makes her words absolute."
Ayvex starts to speak up, but no one can hear her through Grim's booming voice.
"I wish to make you each stronger than you've ever been, to grant each of you a fraction of my power. Think for just a moment, you had to unite an entire planet, for me? And yet you would believe me to be the bad guy? Who offers you power and longer life? And all I ask, is for you to hand over Dante."
He stops speaking, Ayvex quick on the reply.
"Dante is dead! You crushed him, thus why we went to gather the army. Through your actions, we knew that you would come for everyone else! They will not be swayed by your words!"
Grim laughs, almost entertained.
"Not only do I know your lying, the army behind you also knows this. He made the very weapons most of them are holding. But more than that, he's currently behind you. I'll enlighten you on how I know this. Do you really think that seeing what I see is a one-way glass? No, it flows both ways, whenever you can look at me, I can also look at you. I watched your entire plan; I know everything that you do. But... you are young and ill-trained. Whereas I know everything that you know, proven by your mind matching what I currently see, you know nothing of me. From the creation of that teleporter to your multi-step plan to ground me, I saw it all. Nothing you have done, at all, has slipped passed me. Even your brief nap about an hour ago didn't go unnoticed."
In an instant, the visual of Grim flying over Mathric is forced into my mind. I feel my heart sinking, a deep feeling of drowning hopefulness and confusion. Grim exhales, talking once more. Before his words reach us, I have one thought go through my mind.
Shit! So, he even knows about my conversation with Zero?! What do I do?!
"You only saw what I was imagining. As I said last time we met, you are a pawn of mine, even if by extension. But...I will say I was surprised for a moment when you were brought back to life, I had not seen that as a possibility. Now here I am, no extra army, no other forces on me. I only ask that you side with me, the true alpha force on the planet."
I quickly look back, most soldiers looking around nervously. Before I can speak up, Ayvex raises her voice, basically shouting.
"Fine! So, you know Dante is alive, but without the army we came to believe you have, you are not nearly as big a threat. But our talk is over. No one here will side with you."
In an instant, she thrusts her blade forward, pointing the tip at Grim. With a defeated sigh, Grim flaps his wings and pushes himself further away from us. As he starts to fly higher, both the wind and his words overpower the army once more.
"Then let your deaths pave the way for MY kingdom. Let the great purge, BEGIN!"
As his words hit us, we hear a crackle in the teleporter behind us. We all quickly look back, unsure of what to expect. Grim's words ring in my mind once more, almost as though he's actively taunting me.
"Now here I am, no extra army, no other forces on me."
As it finally dawns on me, it's too late. I lunge towards the portal, weapons drawn. Before I get there, one of the guildmembers who is still focusing on Grim, gets cutdown. As his body falls into two halves, I see the giant man with an axe between the splatter of blood and viscera. I grit my teeth and plunge my sword through the blood, jamming my blade through the giant's head. As I fall with his now lifeless body, I see the army from Mathric in front of me, already starting to spread out.
And with this one simple tactic, our entire plan was reduced to dust.