After receiving medical attention, Kanito recuperated swiftly and took a week-long hiatus from academic pursuits. Meanwhile, Tiero escaped suspension for his enchantment usage, receiving only a cautionary warning from the school's disciplinary committee. Upon his return to school, Kanito displayed no lingering signs of distress or fatigue, despite still experiencing minor chest discomfort. He was warmly welcomed back by Principal Pears, who presented him with a bouquet, and was solicitously inquired after by Miss Laurel and Fiona regarding his well-being.
Kanito was informed by Shelly that Tiero's employment of a paralysis curse was responsible for his sudden immobility during their duel. Although he could have confronted Tiero about this, Kanito chose not to dwell on past events. Instead, he opted to visit the Library, driven by a desire to expand his knowledge on curses. Within the Library's halls, he engaged in conversation with the librarian, who recommended a Grimoire titled 'Enchantments: Doors to Victory'
penned by the esteemed voyager
Floyd Astrid.
Through his studies, Kanito came to understand that enchantments are a class of spells which fall under the 'status' type that either amplifies the impact of a primary spell or bestows a special effect upon it. These enchantments were broadly categorized into two distinct categories : Curses and Boons.
Curses are typically offensive in nature, designed to place one's adversary at a disadvantage, whereas Boons conferred an advantage upon the boon user. With renewed curiosity, Kanito continued to explore the Library's vast repository of knowledge, seeking a deeper comprehension.
Kanito borrowed the Grimoire and at home sought the opinion of Yuriel, Yuriel's eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he gazed at the book, his expression was a testament to his deep appreciation for the literary work. He said that this book does not deserve to be in the Magic academy. In his opinion, the book's value and insight were too great to be shelved alongside mundane texts
The monotonous routine of daily life goes on, nothing thrilling or concerning happens until one day, that tranquility was shattered by an ominous turn of events.
On a typical weekend, the streets were bustling with families and market-goers, a stark contrast to the usual weekday hustle of commuters. However, a sense of quiet unease settled over the city, an unease which was felt by all but acknowledged by none, a palpable warmth hung in the air, heavier than usual but it was still acceptable though, fluctuating weathers are a known thing, but the calmness of the atmosphere was broken.
Kanito, who was getting ready to leave for his school heard a deafening boom, the crowd on the streets stopped, went silent, the people started whispering, the loud sound was followed by another event.
The blue sky above darkened and the clouds came together casting a shadow upon the people. The warmth of the air vanished like it didn't exist in the first place, leaving behind an unsettling stillness
Something which no one ever wanted, happened. People started panicking, they have heard about the occurrence of such events in other worlds, as per the news which came out from the other worlds, nature is said to assume this type of a form before the world meets its doom. The people stood still, their fate slowly unveiled itself infront of the multitude.
From the thin and empty air, numerous red glowing magic circles materialized in a single second.
Before the public could react, otherworldly creatures slowly and steadily came out of the red portals, They were tall, broad, predator like beings, covered in Red or brown fur, some of them were short in height and green in colour while some were of medium height and red skin having tall slender and pointed red horns. They all wore armours and were wielding weapons. It was evident that they were of different races but were from the same species as they were united by the same sinister and hungry look in their eyes. As they set their feet onto the ground and the ferocious wolf like faces roared, "Demons !" was the scream that finally broke the uneasy peace of the streets,
the "demons" started ravaging the marketplace, slaughtering tens and twenties and fifties in a second, the white concrete ground was stained with red blood, the standing shops were ripped apart and were set on fire, Kanito who was inside Yuriel's house watched this scene was immediately
filled with the desire of revenge, he in anger picked up his longsword and charged towards the gate, but as he reached the gate, he panicked and sweated, before he could take any wrong decision, Yuriel pulled him back.
"Are you crazy?"
"Yuriel, what, why are these Demons here?"
"What do you mean by why they are here? To invade our world ofcourse, Stay inside and shut your mouth"
Yuriel drew a square pattern in the thin air and a blue mirror like floating screen appeared, he gave a message through the screen, it was apparent to Kanito that Yuriel was informing the incident to some authorities.
"Emergency, Capital Island, Bakerheim street is under attack, requesting immediate recruitment of troops, I repeat, it's an emergency, requesting immediate recruitment of troops"
"Which authority? The ISF or the Ashfelt's Military"
"ISF, I informed ISF's Ashfeltian branch, but they can't reach here in a minute, we need to control the situation temporarily and avoid them from gaining ground, come with me"
"Shouldn't you inform the national army too?"
"They are already informed by now I guess, come with me"
"Where?"
"You'll see"
In the Magic academy, Pears called a special meeting where he announced that every student who was on their way to academy should be given shelter inside the academy,
The Holy Azure Temple opened the Cinoplaza mansion for the common people to take shelter and recruited the 'crusaders' a group of highly trained sorcerers in order to fight the demons.
In Tenershire, the military headquarters appears Kuruth himself, wearing a
golden armour that covered his torso and his limbs and a golden helmet seeing him the active soldiers and senior officers bowed. The senior officers spoke before Kuruth can say anything.
"Young lord, Soldiers have been released, they will meet the demonic enemies in Bakerheim any minute"
"Release the magic slingshot, the canons, gather the oracles, do anything which saves life, no further damage will be tolerated, also ensure that the fight takes place only in Bakerheim, it must not spread to Rilga or Tenershire, if not possible, try to keep the battle Confined within this island"
"Right now My Lord, pardon my rudeness buy why is your highness dressed like a warrior?"
"Because I will fight alongside the army"
"What? You shouldn't"
"Do you want to get beheaded by this sword?"
"No, definitely not"
"Then question no more and make haste, see you in Bakerheim"
Kuruth hurried and got on his Chariot which was waiting outside, as he got up on the Chariot, a demon jumped in and beheaded the charioteer, Kuruth dodged the demon's attack but couldn't save the driver, he slashed the demon at its chest and killed it, he regretted immensely as he pushed away the beheaded body of the charioteer.
Kanito and Yuriel both arrived on a hill where other people wearing the same white and blue uniform as Yuriel's were present. People of a slighly different uniform were standing in several groups in different positions around their respective magic slingshots, Kanito fixed his black Robe reluctantly, he wore it under a golden armour only covering his chest and arms, with yellow shoulder plates from which a white cloak hung.
From the hill, the Demonic invaders were seen clearly seen as they moved forwards, a cloud of black smoke came out from the middle of the city of Bakerheim.
Their movement was slowed down, Yuriel saw with his cylindrical binoculars that the soldiers of Ashfelt have arrived, men wearing brown vests and round helmets and weilding different swords fought toe to toe with the demons.
The scream of pain and hatred was audible, this made Kanito tremble in fear as he felt chills running down his spines.
"Yuriel, my men are ready to shoot, what about your's?"
"My men are ready too, Jacquel, we will fire on General Hackel's order"
Hackel, A tall rough man of side swept lime green hair and a black eyepatch appeared infront of Yuriel and Kanito, he spoke in a deep and serious voice.
"I am waiting for Skyler's forces to gather up life energy, also just to check, are all senior officers of ISF from our country present?"
"I guess so, me, Yuriel, Rodriguez, Skyler and Snobe, yes all"
Yuriel turned around to see Kanito's confused face, he only told Kanito to ignore all of this talk and to only watch the scene. Yuriel lifted his head and looked over to one edge of the hill, he saw Ribero at a distance, waving at him with a grin in his face. Yuriel was angry and worried, Ribero came walking towards him and Yuriel asked him in a serious and concerned tone
"Wait, Ribero? Why are you here?"
"It's safer up here than the city below"
"Where's Stella? Don't tell me you left her alone"
"Huh, she is safe, look behind me"
Yuriel looked behind Ribero, he found a pair of curved clean black eyes looking up at him, it was Stella. She had a worried face, she was a small girl, not even in her teenage years, having waist reaching dark blue hair, the same colour as her brother's she wore a small navy blue robe and a white jacket over it.
Yuriel kneeled on one knee and smiled gently at her and pat her head, she closed her eyes, as if it was comforting for her. Yuriel rose up and assumed his old serious look again.
"Still, shouldn't the noise up here scare her? You could've left her in Cinoplaza, she would've been safe there"
Ribero stopped grinning and looked serious, he is really sensitive when it comes to his sister, Yuriel thought instantly that he made a mistake by advising Ribero regarding her sister's safety.
"She is the safest when she is with me, I don't trust anyone else"
"Okay that's fine, but make sure she is not scared"
General Hackel stood on the verge of the hill, looking the senior officers.
"My men, today, we shall see Victory, take positions to Fire"
As the situation escalated, senior officers hastened to their respective units, Yuriel positioning himself at the forefront of five groups, each comprising four men and it's own magic slingshot. The Magic slingshots stood on a flat metal base and were secured by sturdy rods which connected the base to the upper canon like end. Four soldiers put their wrist inside the funnel shaped canon and cast their life energies. The combined life energy is converted into Magical energy and takes the form of a spell, the slingshot amplifies the destructive ability of a spell five times, producing a much greater destructive spell at a very low cost.
The slingshots' silvery metallic hue was carved in with intricate blue inscriptions, it had funnel shaped openings on the two sides of the canon where the soldiers inserted their wrists.
Meanwhile, Ribero grasped Stella's hand firmly, leading her to a safe distance from the war devices.
He didnt know who this black haired, yellow eyed, harsh yet kind faced boy was who was standing in front of him looking curiously at the slingshots.
He still cautioned him to maintain a safe distance from the potentially perilous equipment.
Yuriel stretched his hands and gave a signal to his five groups to fire. The men cast the their life energies inside the canon, the blue inscriptions glowed and the canon casted a huge blue glowing magic sphere, the spell rushed down from the hill towards the city.
The Ashfeltian army noticed the incoming volley of spells and moved behind immediately leaving the demons vulnerable to them, the spell blasted and created an immense sound, blowing away dozens of demonic army, The Ashfeltian army cheered up, the newfound hope encouraged them to take the offensive, the remaining demons in that area were hesitant, the demons fought back but were defeated.
In another front, the Ashfelt's army was leaded by Kuruth. Fiona and her mother were still surving amidst this chaos, their small hut was burnt, that's why they were out on the streets. They found themselves cornered by a demon, that demon tried to attack her but was shot down as Kuruth threw his long slick sword which pierced the demon's chest, it bleeded and died.
Kuruth mounted on his brown horse came closer to Fiona where the demon lay dead, Kuruth extracted his sword up from the demon's bleeding chest
"What are you doing out on the streets?"
"The...hut, it was...it was burnt"
Fiona shivered as the dead demon lay infront her, still grinding it's teeth
"Then go to Cinoplaza, want me to take you there?"
"No...its fine, thank you so much for saving us, who..who are you?"
"Kuruth, Kuruth Eurashio"
The dark cloudy sky growled from the western corner, more red magic circles opened in thin air and more demons came out of them, stepping on the ground, Kuruth and his men galloped towards the west to stop any further damage there, Fiona stood with wonder, after her bubble of imagination popped, she came to the realization that it was Prince Kuruth.
Fiona instantly regretted, her eyes widened, she covered her shocked face with her palm, thinking that her tone should have been more formal and polite.
In the midst of the chaos, panic began to set in among the students of the Magic Academy, as they realized that while they were safe within the walls of the institution, their loved ones outside were not.
The noble students, Tiero and Shelly, however, were less concerned, aware that their parents had taken necessary precautions to ensure their own safety.
Principal Pears suddenly took the stage, his words unexpected and direct.
"Students of Purple Petal's Academy, the time has come to demonstrate your mettle. Fight for your country, for the world, and for your own loved ones. Army Wing students, take up your weapons and proceed to the battlefield - it is a direct order"
The students exchanged perplexed glances, questioning the sudden shift from reassurances of safety to a call to arms. Pears' convincing smile, however, left little room for dissent. The Army Wing students reluctantly retrieved their weapons from the lobby, Tiero questioned Shelly reluctantly
"Hey, do we really need to do it, I mean the army is here"
"You will be a part of it eventually, did you forget?"
"Ah, but still, we're still in the learning phase"
"Consider this a lesson then"
And with that, the students charged into the fray, their inexperience was evident as they struggled to vanquish the demons. Shelly and Tiero, however, worked in tandem, with Shelly unleashing a lightning barrage, 'Thunderbird,' and Tiero delivering the finishing blow with his cutlass
"Move, move the slingshots, towards the east" was the command given to the soldiers by General Hackel who stood on the hill, Kanito was still covering his ears, making an annoyed face. The enemies in Bakerheim were cleared and hence, they moved towards the eastern side, they heard that Kuruth and his army were already on the west, so it would only be a waste to not keep the eastern side under cover.
On the eastern side, those slender red horned, relatively shorter and more armoured demons were killing scores of people, they wielded sling strong swords and weren't mindless like the other troops, they resorted to tricks, like taking small children hostage, closing the tall entry door on the verge of the eastern side, trying to isolate that area, but those demons didn't realize that their enemies are up on the hill.
Yuriel Clenched his fist in anger, he gnashed his teeth, his clear blue eyes were blazing in the shade of fury, he was exasperated beyond words, he let go of his cool and calm demeanour, tightly gripped the blue hilt of his sabre and charged down, screaming, his scream's amplitude almost matching the roaring sky's
As he rushed down, everyone, including Kanito were dumbfounded, their eyes which were previously filled with confidence and determination soon changed into disbelief and despair as they saw Yuriel trampling on their plans as he rushed down the hill.
"That idiot thought he is doing the right thing, yet again" whispered Kanito as he followed Yuriel down the hill, he slided downwards, only a few metres behind him
As Yuriel dashed into the fray, the demons swiftly encircled him, attempting to lure him deeper into their territory with a cunning pincer maneuver, But Yuriel was no stranger to battle. He swung his sword in wide arcs, the blade slicing through their bodies with deadly precision,
As soon as Kanito entered the battlefield, was met by a horde of demons, trying to stop him from uniting with Yuriel, but Kanito, even though his throat went sore for a moment, he soon shook off his vague fear as he clashed with the demons skillfully, slightly mocking himself for feeling fear. He evaded their attacks with swift movement, he sliced through the limbs of the demons, slaughtering and slashing everything that dared to block his vision.
"Kanito, why the hell are you down here huh?"
As Yuriel turned around, Kanito saw his enraged face, he knew that if he angered or opposed him, Yuriel wouldn't hesitate to even behead him. Before Kanito could say something, the demons launched a magic attack
The demons cast a red glowing sphere of fire and launched it towards Yuriel and Kanito, however they both saw it coming and dodged it leading to both of them getting seperated, they both ran in opposite directions and took cover,
The demons closed in, trying to kill both of them, however as they came nearer, a barrage of powerful blue spells rained down from the hills above, the demons repelled backwards, even loosing some of their comrades in this magic attack. They felt threatened and took cover as well.
General Hackel lowered his arm and adjusted his silver gloves.
Since Yuriel ruined their plan, he proposed a new one, he shared the plan with everyone in the mind space created by the mind chain spell, everyone agreed to it.
The only problem was that Kanito wasn't a part of the mind space, so he didn't recieve the strategy that was proposed, Kanito noticed that something important was discussed which he wasn't made aware of, he made a nervous face.
Seeing his reluctance, Yuriel only shouted at him
"Just follow my lead !"
Kanito with a mild smirk, said to himself
"I will, like I always do"