The city of Mesomia was their current priority. The commanding officer in charge of their troops had received orders to lay siege to it and reclaim it. Mesomia was a vital city in the effort to restore their lost lands.
Reports had highlighted its weaker defenses and abundance of unprotected resources. The mission seemed straightforward: seize the city, but something about the situation felt off, almost too good to be true.
The plan was clear. They would strike under the cover of night when the town was least active. This would give them the advantage to secure the city before enemy reinforcements could arrive. The resources within Mesomia would be accessed quickly and redistributed before any counterattacks could threaten their gains.
For Ivy, living in the encampment had been an eye-opening experience. As someone of royal blood, she had grown up with privileges that kept her distant from the common folk. Yet, among these soldiers, she had come to see the world through their eyes. The commoners she had been taught to view as inferior were, in truth, beautiful and resilient people. They fought not out of ambition or greed but for their families, for their captured compatriots, and for their homeland.
She had also noticed a troubling divide. Many nobles and royals who volunteered for the war kept themselves isolated, stationed far from the action at the rear. Ivy understood their need to protect heirs and estates, but their detachment from the front lines raised a question—what was the point of volunteering if they wouldn't stand alongside the commoners? This division only deepened the rift between the classes, threatening to undermine the unity the kingdom so desperately needed. If left unchecked, Ivy feared this divide could bring about the kingdom's collapse before the demons ever did.
When Ivy had first joined the front lines, the common soldiers had viewed her with suspicion. To them, she had been an outsider, someone who couldn't possibly understand their struggles. She couldn't blame them; at first, she truly hadn't. But over time, living among them had changed her. They had come to accept her, and her squad now saw her as their leader—not just because of her lineage but because she had earned their trust. These soldiers, many barely past their youth, now felt like family to her.
As night fell, it was time to put the plan into action. The invasion force consisted of 200 soldiers divided into four units, each responsible for a different section of the city. Every unit was further divided into five squads, each tasked with gathering resources and holding their position until reinforcements could arrive.
The numbers felt insufficient for such a mission. Ivy suspected the higher-ups either believed Mesomia was truly defenseless or, more cynically, were using the troops as bait to confirm whether the city was a trap. The lives of 200 soldiers were considered a "minimal casualty" for reclaiming a city, but this cold calculation didn't sit well with her.
Their initial entry into the city was eerily smooth. Encountering little resistance, Ivy's squad proceeded to the city's armories to secure and transport weapons back to their encampment. The streets were desolate, and the silence gnawed at her nerves. Then, in the distance, she spotted a grain house—and standing nearby, someone who looked startlingly like her brother. Could it be him? Had their mother changed her mind and allowed him to join the front lines? Ivy couldn't afford to dwell on the possibility now.
Suddenly, the air shifted. Figures descended from the clouds, riding on flying beasts, their numbers overwhelming the small force. The demons struck with brutal efficiency, cutting through their ranks. Soldiers fell one after another. What had started as a tactical operation quickly became a massacre.
Half of Ivy's squad was injured in the initial assault. Many were barely out of their teenage years, their terror palpable. Ivy's gaze landed on Helix, the youngest member of her squad, cowering in a corner. Determined to save him and the others, she made a decision.
Ignoring the chain of command, Ivy ordered her squad to retreat. She would not allow these young lives to be thrown away for a futile cause. As they withdrew, she stayed behind, sword in hand, cutting down any demon who dared to approach. Though it was her first time taking lives, she felt an eerie calm. Her sole focus was to buy time for her squad's escape, even if it cost her own life.
Then she appeared. A woman descended from the sky, her dark skin illuminated by the dim moonlight, her black hair flowing like a shadow. Her amber eyes glowed with an unsettling brilliance. Ivy's first thought was disbelief—a human, allied with the demons?
"You're as ruthless as me. I like it," the woman said with a twisted smile.
Before Ivy could react, pain unlike anything she had ever known coursed through her body. It felt as though she were being torn apart from the inside. Her vision blurred, the world darkened, and then there was nothing.