While Altair and Joker were clashing, Arcana and Sirius had their hands full. They were attacking the hordes of low-ranked demons. Once one horde ended, another would begin. Arcana had around half of her mana left, while Sirius had three quarters. Though all of his shots take some mana, he was playing it safe, by trying to hit more than one demon at a time. It's clearly done him some good.
Arcana has been simply charging in, like a brute, and enduring any hits she took. She would occasionally throw her daggers at them if she couldn't reach them with a leap or jump. Continuing to do this strategy was inefficient. In the end, if they continued working by themselves, then they would run out of mana and be defenceless. Sure, maybe they would be able to kill some of them bare-handed, but not with another horde.
The red-haired girl leapt and sliced off the heads of three low-ranked demons. They didn't bleed–black smoke came out of their wound and they exploded into yellow particles. She landed safely on top of a pile of rubble.
'Fuck! Sirius, let's use our full power!'
Sirius held his ground and shot three azure arrows at the demons. They pierced one but missed the other two. The demons started soaring toward Sirius, only to have their chest pierced by the same arrows that missed. They combusted safely. He continued firing at other demons.
'We can't! Sure, we'd be able to defeat these hordes of demons, but who knows whether it's endless or not?! Besides, we also don't know if there are any other enemies! Wasting our power on these guys will only tire us out even more!'
'B-but...'
Arcana didn't want to say it, but his logic was correct. They have no way of knowing if these hordes will end. They also have no idea whether there was a general commanding the demons, though it did look like that Joker summoned them.
They have to move on with difficulty.
◈◈◈
Meanwhile, in the skies, above Riel, there was a large creature in the air. This creature floated above the clouds and rested in one spot. It was a lesser dragon. Not a Drake, but a Wyvern. Similar to dragons, but they're much more slim and agile. Unlike their elders, they can't breathe fire. This was an Iron Wyvern. Its scales were grey and its eyes, flaxen. Atop of the Iron Wyvern were three people.
Two women and one man. One woman was laying down, another was sitting and the man was standing. The woman laying down had light blue hair and eyes. Her body was that of an average female teenager. She wore a short white robe–it barely reached under her breasts–and casual clothes underneath. On the back of the robe was a "†."
The other woman was shorter. Her hair was green and her eyes were brown. She wore a black cloak and wielded a four-section staff. She had a white cross on the back of her cloak.
The man was handsome; anyone would say that at a single glance. His hair was purple–it looked black from afar but its real colour was purple–and so were his eyes. He wore a father's outfit and, on top of that, was a trench coat.
'So, Reverie, tell me. Why are we out here again?'
The blue-haired woman asked while picking her nose with her pinky. The green-haired girl responded.
'Because Lady Artemis ordered us to oversee how this Devil's Hour would go. Anyways, we have that new rookie, who's currently making a show of himself.'
('Such a cocky youngster.')
A voice reverberated through their heads. The green-haired woman looked down at the Iron Wyvern and asked.
'You think so too, Ether?'
('Indeed, I do.')
The Iron Wyvern was in its "Dragon Form." Once the said individual reaches the evolution of Dragoon, then they can switch between a Dragon Form and a Humanoid Form. Ether is a Dragoon and a powerful one at that.
'I believe this Devil's Hour shall be a failure.'
'You always say those types of things, Lidar.'
The man, Lidar, glared at the blue-haired girl.
'And you are always carefree, Lapis. Besides, have I ever lied in my entire existence at the Divine Orthodox Church?'
Lidar said proudly while putting his glasses on the dip of his nose, using his middle finger. The Iron Wyvern looked up at Lidar.
('Why do you use the whole name of the church? There are abbreviations. You do know that right?')
A smirk peered upon the face of Lidar.
'Of course, I do! But the Divine Orthodox Church deserves to be called by its full name, Divine Orthodox Church! Divine Orthodox Church was made by the previous White King, but was taken over by the great Lady Artemis and named Divine Ortho–'
('I see your point, Lidar. You can calm down now.')
The girl, named Lapis, stood up and did a few stretches. She then began to shadowbox–she also used kicks–and finished up after thirty seconds or so. Sauntering over to the edge of Ether's wing, she looked downwards at Riel. She could clearly see the coliseum on fire; Lapis even sensed magic being used down there. Lapis licked her lips and smiled.
'Well, I'm going down there.'
['Huh?!']
Everyone shouted, simultaneously. They all looked at Lapis quizzically. Even Ether looked at her like that.
'Lady Artemis told us to oversee.'
'Don't worry. I'm only fixing thorns. We wouldn't want any haemorrhaging, would we?'
She dropped off of Ether freely. Lidar ran over to the side and shouted her name in anger. She kept on falling. Sooner or later, she was out of sight and under the clouds.
'That little–'
Reverie put her hand on the shoulder of Lidar.
'Reverie...'
'I haven't seen her smile for ages. Let it be. For me, Lidar. Please.'
His cheeks flushed red.
'W-well, I guess I could cut you some slack.'
'Thanks!'
On the other hand, Lapis continued falling until she stopped herself in midair. Above the coliseum, from around the location of the portals. Her eyes fell upon a certain two individuals, as she ignored the screams and cries of the people. One was a girl with red hair and the other was a boy with blue hair. They both looked incredibly skilled.
'Let's play. As a fellow Oni, I deserve to play.'
Lapis said to herself. She slowly began descending toward the Oni siblings.