After arriving in the camp Taylor's group went back to hearing the mysterious language. Once they were counted all of them were put through an orientation. The first part involved their minds being searched for other targets the slavers could strike. Once that painful process was over they were taken to a nearby tent.
In the tent, they were given medical treatment as promised and even fed small rations before being thrown into a cage. Seeing the way they were being handled everyone understood the fate that was in store for them. Not long after they were caged they witnessed more slavers returning from different directions.
There was a total of three groups with a band of demons leading each one and behind them various species in chains. The majority of the species being dragged in with shackles are ghouls, slimes, and the lamia.
As they were being put in the cage everyone began sweating. Seeing several ghouls in their cage reminded them of the horrors faced on the first day. These ghouls weren't feral, but they were unaware of this concept. Having so many strange creatures nearby Antonio's grabbed the pendant around his neck.
"Archangel Michael, surround me with your protection right now. I am open to all the assistance you can bring me through your loving grace. Help me to stand strong in the face of adversity, darkness, negativity, and chaos of the world...."
Hearing Anotonio the other villagers joined him in his efforts. Even though it was in a different language the others in their group understood the sentiment. With nothing else to bring them comfort in a moment of despair, they sat with Antonio.
"How will that help?" Jeremy asked with skepticism.
Welsey put his hand on Jeremy's shoulder while shaking his head. When the demons noticed them huddled up a few of them began to laugh. All the demons in their group were from the new generations, and couldn't understand their rambling. Dagon however understood every word. He walked up to the cage looking Antonio in the eyes with a serious look.
"They don't care,"
--
Standing in a large hall made of gold was the archangel Michael with an angel at his side radiating a powerful light. The angel is clad in shiny white armor with a gold lion on the pauldrons. The angel reached for their helmet removing it to reveal a gorgeous woman with a captivating smile. The beautiful woman at Michael's side is the archangel, Ariel.
Ariel had bouncy blonde hair, a light complexion that radiated a divine glow, bright blue eyes, and a pair of large white wings. In Ariel's left hand was a large kite shield with a golden lion on the front, and a longsword on her hip that was radiating a bright white light.
"I haven't heard that prayer in so long," Michael stated.
"What are you gonna do about it?" Ariel asked.
"All the righteous ascended long ago, and the last human to speak that dialect perished after the first dark age. The only ones who would know it would be one of the fallen or a demon. Which means they are instructing a human to lure us out." Michael replied.
"Even more the reason to head out, and deal with them now," Ariel declared.
"There's been talk of the dragons forming an alliance between each other. They have also been seen flying close to the northern border. If it was the demons who united them we could be walking into a dire situation. If the others could join us we could move without worry." Michael replied.
Having lost so many comrades in the war against the demons Michael has been forced to be a general rather than a protector of the people. Because of this Gabriel and Chamuel were the ones stationed to watch over humanity, but they couldn't leave their territories. If they left their post either, and Lucifer sensed their absence he could easily wipe out their cities.
Jophiel was charged with monitoring the maternity ward to ensure no angels are lost, and with a new life arriving soon she couldn't wander far. Azrael was busy investigating strange phenomena that have been occurring the last few days and was scouring the earth to find the source.
With the paranoia of the dragon alliance and only one archangel at his side, the risk was too great. Losing another archangel would tip the scales, and cause another dark age to erupt. Michael could only stand by, and ponder over who was luring him out.
--
John was entering the grasslands when he heard the sounds of a gun echoing through the area. After following the trail they found Shiva licking her wounds from her battle, and she told them about Taylor's group. Knowing they were getting close they strived to catch up, and when they thought the trail was lost gunfire rang out once more. This time it was steady and didn't let up.
Fearing the worst they dashed forward as fast as possible only to find shell casings littering the area. Ari is an experienced tracker and this allowed them to continue their chase. Once they saw the slavers' forces gathering they decided to wait till they started their next wave of attack. Knowing it would be the ideal time to attempt liberation they snuck close enough to hide within the new barrier.
After two hours of observing they noticed two large forces branching off. One went towards the jungle, and the other towards the deathstalker's village.
"I don't see a better time than this," John stated.
"Let them start the diversion first," Ari replied.
John was waiting in a bush checking his remaining ammo as he waited. He only had one mag left for each weapon, and seeing the demons he was unsure if it would be sufficient. Once the blast launched off into the distance the demons flew off to investigate.
They slowly crept up to opposite ends of the camp, and John peeked in seeing a band of humans standing near the cages. Once John saw Ari in position on the other side he rolled out a can of tear gas. The guards began coughing and looked down to see the gas trailing from the entrance. Before they could shout out about the attack John opened fire mowing down five men before taking cover from arrows.
"Get that bastard!"
"There's too many you need to get out of here!" Miguel shouted.
The slavers went charging towards John as a blast of mana came roaring towards them. It killed a few slavers on impact and the rest went flying from the shockwave. While recovering John continued firing sending their formation into chaos.
Seeing John had help gave his companions some hope, but they knew it wouldn't take long for the others to return. Ari dashed in letting off another barrage as Kishi watched from his post.
'Losing focus with only two men pathetic.' Kishi scoffed.