After I had returned to the humans, it did not take long before we left.
They were all quite surprised about how no one had been able to find us up till now. tough some of the people who were closer to me did have a certain suspicion of what had happened.
I pushed the gates open when we finally reached them. The shrieking of the heavy doors would surely alarm anyone who was close enough to hear it, so we had to move fast. After the screaming of last night, most of the search parties that had not fallen in my traps had already left the area. And I was not willing to find out if they managed to evade my traps again.
I let the humans go first. While the dwarf led the way, I went in the back. there was something about having a demon behind you that was a great motivation for them to go as fast as they could. If it were just the other humans that now hunted them, they would only get captured again or simply die. But now they were more terrified of being an annoyance to me which would not even allow them to find peace even after their deaths.
Apart from this I personally found it a more calming idea to come after the group which allowed me to hold anything that were to come after us back more easily.
Once all of them had gone through the gate I closed it again. Everyone grew silent as the last rays of light were blocked out by the thick doors. Only for the crystals in the long underground path to light up in a bright red.
But none would waste a moment of their time and continued to walk.
The atmosphere was cold and cramped during the hours long walk. Eventually we reached a part of the tunnel where we could see the water. It flowed over and around us like invisible walls were holding it. It was truly a sight to behold.
Eventually the tunnel grew dark again. We were now nearing the island on which the ships with new people would arrive. Tough there had not been such a sip in months. What in a way made sense. Not all demons would care enough to actually seek out the base of the people. A lot of them preferred to only claim new territory in the world that was about to be merged with hell. what ultimately meant that any remaining creature would soon either turn into a toy or food.
When we reached the final gate, I could easily see that it had been heavily damaged. This had probably happened during the first wave of demons. Since the gate in Atlantis itself was priority that one had been repaired already. But they had not found the time to also repair this door.
But this made it only easier for me to break through this one.
With a loud bang the doors flung out of their hinges and landed on the hard ground of the island.
The people who now left the tunnel all looked up with fear and started to murmur. I flew over the small crowd towards the exit to see for myself wat had startled those who had left first.
When I finally exited the tunnel, it immediately became clear to me what it was.
The sky had turned black, and meteors fell down like leaves in autumn. The sun was still visible, but it was not bright like it used to be. Red and black roots crawled over any piece of land that was in sight. And I could see that somewhere for on the horizon there was an actual rain of fire.
I landed close to the shore. This was going to be a huge problem. Not only had the surface become a watered-down version of hell. The few boats that were still here had been destroyed by these environmental changes.
But for some reason I found it weirdly comfortable. It was great to finally feel actual wind again and pick up all the familiar smells and traces of magic from this world. Even if it was twisted by the arrival of other demons.
Leonor who had already seen hell was not as shocked as the rest, but she was obviously still worried. She walked up to me and looked out over the wide sea in front of us.
"You can't freeze it, can you?"
I shook my head. "No, I can't. Maybe later, but that won't be of any use right now."
"Then could you try to lift the island itself to bring us to the mainland?"
I shrugged. "I'm not sure. If I can't hold it and let, go above the sea than you all would be in pretty big trouble."
She looked back at the people who were hopelessly staring into the open. Some cowered away in fear when a few small, winged demons briefly flew by. Even when these demons never came close due to them being able to sense that I was far stronger than them, they still managed to freak out a lot of people.
"Rubedo, these people can't go without food or water as long as you. Ever since we escaped, they had nothing to eat. If we don't get away soon, they will starve. If you can lift a part of the island to carry us over, that is our best chance."
I glanced down at Leonor. "Why do you care about these people? you don't know them."
"Because they're in the same situation as me. they have nothing left back home and now seek your help."
I softly smiled and looked back at the water. "Yea, maybe that is the best mindset."
I did not tell her that in truth I did not care for these people at all. Only those that I considered my friends mattered. I had only let these humans come along since it made Noah and Beatrice feel happy if they thought that they were helping me out.
But if even Leonor wanted them to live, I would consider taking the lives of these humans a bit more seriously.