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~ Lilac's POV~ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Upon reaching the city, Mason put me on my feet and held my gloved hand in his tightly. I looked around to see a big black coloured gate almost 20 feet high. Large walls were attached to the gate surrounding the city, mostly for security purposes.
I'm guessing this is the entrance to the city gate.
We entered the city gate as we were met with silence, except for a few soldiers wearing full body armour at the gate, who I believe were responsible for opening and closing the city gate. There were multiple streets intersecting at where we were standing. In between the streets were brick-built buildings that were four to seven floors high. However, except for the streetlights, all the shops and houses were closed, and no lights were on. A cold gust of wind flowed through the passages, making it look gloomier than usual.
"What happened here?" I asked Mason.
"After imposing the curfew, all of the house lights were also by law required to be shut down as a precautionary measure. Further, if anyone was spotted outside after curfew, they were to be thrown into prison for the night by the patrolling guards." He replied.
I nodded at his explanation. "But I don't see any guards around us." I looked around just to double check if what I said was correct.
"Yes, because we are the patrolling guards for tonight!" Mason stated raising a brow at me.
Fine, fine. I get it now. Sighing I looked around to spot anything unusual.
"We will go this way!" Blake spoke as Darius nodded at him. Rose waved at me and walked with her mates towards the left side of the city.
"I guess that leaves us with this side." Pointed Orion on the right. We followed his lead.
"Do let me know if your legs hurt Lila. Okay?" Mason whispered.
I smiled and nodded at him. He was so kind and caring. Honestly, life would have been a hell if it weren't for his help this past week, adjusting to this world.
He blushed looking straight ahead of us. Octavius and Orion walked in front of us, while Darius walked behind us.
"I'm going to head on the top and see if I can spot anything." Orion spoke. I watched as he teleported on top of a seven-storey building within the blink of an eye. It was like a piece of cake for him, as usual. I shrugged as we watched him scout the area around us and once again, he disappeared like the wind. He probably teleported somewhere else.
"Is it okay to let him be like that?" I asked Mason.
He laughed lowly in response. "Lila. He's a demon, there is no mortal that could ever hurt him."
"Oh!" I looked away shyly. That is true. Shaking my head we continued walking down the lit street.
"You seem to think that we aren't strong Lila." Mason spoke as he paused. "But rest assured. We are very strong. These three guys aren't even human. They are literal beasts. Their stamina, strength, and mental capacity is stronger than humans and are unmatched compared to us mortals." He nodded his head as he looked at me with pride shining in his eyes.
"Oh. I seem to forget that." I replied. They were non-human after all.
He grinned. "Besides, you are with the youngest and strongest archimage and wizard in the University. I'm very much capable of protecting you. Nothing will ever happen to you." He spoke seriously puffing out his chest a little in the process.
I giggled as he reminded me of a puppy. Nodding my head, I agreed with him. He's right, they are stronger than humans. I should trust them and put more faith in their abilities. Not be a worrisome bother for them.
We continued walking down the street for a while, searching for any signs of demons, but to no avail, there were no signs.
We walked for a few hours, but found nothing. My legs were starting to feel tired as I felt myself slow down to the point that I was getting dragged around by Mason's hand. I don't remember walking for so long in my world. But then again, I never went anywhere except home and school.
I squeaked as Mason scooped me up in his arms suddenly. I wrapped my arms around his neck instantly as a reflex. He placed his left arm around my butt for me to sit on.
"Mason, I might be heavy." I blushed looking up at his pretty face. I could see a slight stub of beard starting to grow on his face.
"You are light, I should make everyone feed you more. Eating is the best, learn it from Octavius. But isn't this better?" He smirked looking at me. I could feel his muscles under my thighs. He is strong. I gulped feeling those familiar butterflies in my lower tummy.
But on the other hand, I felt a red aura behind us. Peeking above Mason's shoulder I saw Octavius staring daggers at him. "What do you mean from me?" He scoffed, folding his hands.
"Oh, I just meant that she should eat more and stay healthy like you!" I felt beads of sweat form on Mason's forehead as he swallowed. He was getting nervous.
What is it with this weird atmosphere. I don't want to be here. I made a mental note to never comment of Octavius' appetite. The air grew tenser making me more nervous as the seconds flew by.
"Look what I found!" Orion announced through the mind link. Our attention turned in the direction of his voice. He was standing a block away on a three-storey building. We ran towards him. He jumped down from the building. I closed my eyes in fear of him getting hurt, but he gracefully landed on his two feet.
Oh right, he was not human, what was I worried about. Get used to it already Lila!
He walked in front of us and pointed to our right. Following his line of vision, we saw a building that had collapsed, with smashed bricks everywhere. I felt chills run up my back as I crawled into Mason's warmth, hiding my face in his chest. The place gave me creeps, as fear engulfed my heart, clenching it tighter.
"Lila, are you okay?" Mason asked concerned. His other hand on my waist held me closer to him. The sparks that I felt from his touch brought me a little comfort.
"There is some dark presence there. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling that… that.. it's like something dark is crawling up my soul." I shivered, scared at the vibes.
"Hahahaha…" A voice boomed from the fallen structure as a figure emerged out of nowhere.
I turned around to see the figure of a man. More particularly a pitch-black shadow that looked like a human in the distance. It was so dark that I couldn't see any definitive part of his body. His voice sent shivers on my skin as I trembled scared in Mason's hand. Darius and Octavius moved in front of me, blocking his vision. They took out their swords, which glowed red and blue respectively.
"Who are you?" Yelled Octavius.
But, no answer came from the figure.
Within a second, Orion teleported next to the man and held him by his neck. I watched as his body levitated in the air; however, he showed no signs of suffering or gasping for air. He only kept laughing which soon turned into growling. That could only mean one thing, the figure was a non-human, more like a demon.
My eyes widened at the realization.
"Did one of the seven demons send you here?" Orion roughly asked him.
Red eyes glowed in the middle of his face, but not two eyes like low rank demons. There were six eyes staring at me. They then shifted to look down at Orion. "You pest!" The demon growled and with the flick of his hand, Orion was thrown into a building on his right. I watched as his body passed through multiple walls away from us. "You have no right to call my Lords. They are our saviors, the princes of Hell. You should be worshipping them just like us!" He growled like a monster, raising his arms up as if in prayer.
"Orion!" I screamed, snatching the demon's attention towards me.
Oh no! It just slipped through.
"You little girl! The bane of my Lords' existence! You and that demon are the soul blemish on our kingdom. How dare you side with these pests?" He growled angrily. Green coloured saliva dripped from his mouth as the shadow took slow steps towards us. Mason took a step back holding onto me tightly.
"Now!" yelled Octavius through the mind link. Mason turned around and ran away from the area.
"Wait! Mason, what about…" I mind linked him, but he interrupted me. "They will be fine!"
"But…"
"Trust them Lila!"
I sighed as I held onto him tightly.
"You cannot run away, little fox! My Lords will hunt you down and savour every last drop of your soul. Oh, it would please them so much." I heard him growl in the distance.
But my mind had already gone blank by now as we disappeared from their line of vision. In the distance, we saw Rose and her mates. Mason waved at them as we succeeded in grabbing their attention.
Within a second, Blake was running beside us. "What happened?" He asked Mason.
"The General is here!" He spoke through small pants.
The General? I'm guessing it's the commander of the military army of the demons. But whose?
I felt water drip onto my face as I looked up worriedly at Mason's face; he was getting tired. I could see sweat drip from his face.
"So, it is true, they have resurrected?" Blake asked as we reached where Rose and her other mates were.
"Yes, they have resurrected." He answered.
I mind linked him to put me on my feet. He did so hesitantly as Rose was by my side to comfort me.
"Yukio and Mason, take Rose and Lila away from here!" Ordered Jace. I think that was the first time I heard him speak.
They nodded and held our hands. Yukio quickly tried to open a portal, but an explosion beneath us or underground made us trip and fall down. Huge cracks appeared on the ground as the ground separated into two halves. Mason caught my waist and pulled me onto his lap with ease. I held onto him for support and comfort. My mind went blank with all the scenarios that were happening around us, all I could think of was the getting everyone out of here safely, but I was so scared that I couldn't move an inch.
"Shit! The compass fell through the cracks!" Yukio yelled over the loud booms. We watched in horror as in between the cracks, black miasma floated above.
"They are here!" Yelled Jace.
"Who? What?" Asked Rosie scared in Blake's arms.
I knew who 'they' referred to. "The seven princes of Hell." I replied.
Everyone watched in horror as faceless ghost figures formed in the air. Yukio raised him arm to face the sky and whispered a spell. Instantly, grey clouds gathered above us in no time as it started pouring down heavily.
"That should keep them away for a while." He yelled over the thundering and lightening.
I watched as every time a droplet of the rain touched the miasma, it dissolved and fell on the ground, seeping into the big cracks of the ground. But some of it, instead of seeping down the cracks started forming a blob of water, taking the shape of a foot, slowly. It was manifesting physically.
It was no use. The rain wasn't helping them, instead just slowed down the process of their physical manifestation.
Mason quickly picked himself up and took out another compass from his pocket as another explosion went off in a different part of the city. I looked in the direction as I saw Orion on top of the roof of the building. He was alive, he didn't seem to be hurt. I was relieved a little.
"We need to leave now!" Mason yelled. He placed the compass in his hand and injected a small amount of power in it as it glowed, opening the portal, but a hand held Mason's wrist stopping him from opening the portal. I looked at the owner of the hand as the contaminated water droplets quickly formed a body and a dark face with two red eyes appeared.
"But, how?" I gasped in shock.
"Where do you think you are going?" The figure growled, spitting water everywhere in the process.
It jerked Mason's hand, pushing him at the side. Mason's grip never loosened on me though. He held me tight as I closed my eyes clinging onto him, bracing for impact. He landed on his back against the wall of a building. I opened my eyes to see him spit out blood on the side.
"Mason are you okay?" I asked worried immediately searching for any other wounds.
"Lila, stay here!" He spoke placing me gently on the ground.
"But you are hurt."
"I'll be fine!" He smiled, creating a defensive shield around me as he took out his sword and went to fight head on with the demons now in physical form.
Soon, I watched as Blake fought with a passed-out Rose in his arms, while Yukio and Jace were also fighting with the demons. It was like an army of demons who were asked to kill us. Anxiety and fear struck me like no other. I was so scared. Will we be able to escape from here? What about Octavius, Orion, and Darius? Will they be alright?
"Close your eyes, Lila!" Mason spoke through the mind link. I did as he told and covered my eyes and ears. I could hear growling and groaning beside me everywhere.
"Please take care of Rose." Blake spoke as I opened my eyes to see Rose being placed next to me inside the barrier. I gently held onto her hand scared. "Rose?" I whispered trying to see if she would respond, but she had already passed out. I covered her body with mine and held her close in my arms. She was cold and drenched in the rain.
I looked around hurriedly, searching for Mason, as he slaughtered the monsters mercilessly with his sword. Every time his sword sliced, the demon's ability to regenerate was damaged and he blew up vanishing into thin air, leaving behind no traces. As if it never existed.
I watched as countless demons kept coming at us, but were never able to reach the barrier as Mason, Blake, and Jace defeated them before they could reach us.
What do they want? To kill us? It struck me then. These were just pawns created by The General, to stop us from escaping from this place. The General might be waiting for defeating those three who are stopping it at the moment, and then it would run over here to kill us.
No, it can't defeat Orion. I remember learning in demonology class that fights among demons in futile, because they can neither hurt each other nor kill. But the others can be hurt, especially Octavius. Further, demons usually don't work with each other collaboratively, so how are all these demons working together to attack us. No, there is something else. It did be possible if they were being controlled by an external force, say for example, a demon Lord or The General.
Either ways, I need to find a way to stop this. But how? Also, why did it not show up earlier, why now?
I looked at the time in my watch, it was about 3:30 AM. The hour of the devil. Demons would be the strongest around 3 AM. My mates might be thinking of holding the general back until sunrise, when they may or may not disappear. But they cannot last that long, fighting continuously.
I need to find another way. Think Lila! Think!
"My blood!"
I remember Darius telling me a few days ago, that after drinking my blood, he seemed to feel powerful. They must be after my blood, which probably has some strong powers. The demon earlier also called me the' bane of his Lords' existence'. I need to test out my suspicions before reaching a conclusion.
My attention was brought back to the situation we were in as some of the water droplets started to form a figure in front of me. The figure leaned down to touch the barrier as its eyes glowed red. It had two eyes like the others around us, I believe it was another low ranked demon. The greater the number of eyes a demon has, the greater its status and power in the underworld.
I looked around fearfully, but everyone was busy fighting the demons. Reaching underneath my skirt, I unveiled the knife Mason gave me earlier. I held it and cut my fore finger. I flinched in pain as drops of blood fell down. I touched the demon's hand on the barrier, from earlier with my blood. I watched it groan in agony. Falling backwards it vanished into thin air.
My suspicions were confirmed. My blood is deadly to the demons, but to Darius, it helps him wield stronger powers.
"Lila! No!" Mason screamed looking at the blood.
All the demons' attention turned towards me. Mason and the others continued to slay those around them, but more of them regenerated blocking our vision. They all looked at me hungrily or more importantly for my blood. I gulped in fear. They walked towards me like as if they were in some sort of trance.
They wanted my blood. I pulled myself and Rose's body closer to the wall, scared of them reaching us. I looked down at Rose who was still passed out. If I stayed here, they would eventually break through Mason's barrier. I could not harm Rose. I leaned Rose's body against the wall and I ran away from the barrier.
"Lila!" Mason screamed my name in the distance.
"Sorry Mason. I have to go!" I replied through the mind link, running as fast as possible towards Darius. If I could just reach him and give him my blood, I think he knows what to do. But, he won't ever ask me to offer my blood to him for such a purpose.
I would have to convince him otherwise.
"Where? Wait for me, I'm coming!" He replied back.
A hand held my leg making me trip on the ground. I screamed in pain as it had a painful grip on my leg, pulling me towards it. I tried to kick the demon away with my other leg, but it didn't work.
I can't die like this!
I looked in my left hand to see that I was still holding onto the knife. I cut my right palm rashly and touched the hand that was holding onto my leg. The demon flinched in pain as I saw it vanish into this air.
My knees hurt as I groaned in pain. They were definitely scraped and bleeding. Getting up I started running towards where I could hear the loud explosions from the battle between the General and my mates.
"Darius!" Octavius yelled as I watched Darius' body fly across me and land on my left with a thud. He spat blood out as I went to his side to help him.
"Darius, are you alright?" I asked him. He had blood covering all his clothes. His stomach had a huge gash that seemed to heal quickly, but I could tell he had lost a lot of blood.
"What the hell, Lila? What are you doing here?" He asked shocked. "Where is Mason? And why do I smell blood?"
He snatched my hand that was bleeding towards his face. "You are bleeding!" He stated blankly.
He bent over on his side pushing my hand away as his eyes glowed red and his canines grew longer.
"Stay away Lila! Cover it up!" He spoke trying to get away from him, but I wasn't having any of it. I held onto his hand with my bleeding one as more blood gushed through the wound. I clenched my jaw in pain.
"Drink my blood!" I yelled at him. He looked at me crazily, thirsty for my blood. "You know you need it. Your wounded and you would gain…"
He didn't let me finish my explanation as he snatched my head towards him and bit down harshly on the left side of my neck. I croaked as I felt tears fall down my cheeks. His other hand wrapped around my waist preventing me from crumbling down like a pile of dust on the cold ground. I felt blood gush out as his fangs bit me deeper. I could hear him gulp down my blood. My heart quickened from the strange feeling as I held his body closer to mine, feeling warmer than usual, even though it was a cold night.
"Lila, you are insane." He whispered through the mind link.
My gaze shifted to the night sky which held a blood red moon. A bloody moon symbolizes resurrection according to legends. I guess they have really resurrected. The Seven Cardinal symbolic demons.
I plunged into a dreamless sleep with worry as I felt the energy drain outside me within comfortable arms.