Lucian narrowed his eyes, "Y-You're from the Darklight Sect?" He said
Astorias nodded, "Mhm."
"I'm not going back." He said
"You don't have a choice." Astorias said, "You're mine now."
Astorias disappeared from sight, surprising Lucian who took a step back.
In an instant, she appeared in front of him, swinging her greatsword down at him. While he was able to dodge the full swing, an invisible force hit Lucian hard and ripped apart his skin and flesh, blood flying out as he crashed against the ground, grunting in pain.
"A-Aghh!!" He shouted as his greatsword of flames dispersed, disappearing completely, "What the fuck?!"
The force of the swing created a powerful shockwave that destroyed a massive portion of the field they were on.
Ser Cretan saw this, "Fuck's sake." he said, "This is far from good."
Astorias straightened up, "Tsk tsk, Cursed One." She said, "You're being a bad boy right now."
Lucian clutched his left side, it was bleeding profusely, pain filling his entire body, "T-The hell, lady!" He shouted
Astorias took a step forward, "Your power is needed for our cause as the Arch-Magus says." She said as she leaned her sword against her shoulder, "Just come quietly and you won't get hurt....anymore..."
Lucian was wincing in pain, "I...." He started, "I'm not going to be controlled by a bunch of lunatics!!"
"Ouchies." Astorias said as her eyes smiled, "You got jokes, huh?"
She reached Lucian, who was unable to move, his body full of pain. Considering his Calamity's power had burned out temporarily, his body was getting used to the after-effects.
He looked up at her, "Why don't you all just leave me alone?!" He snapped at her
"Because I don't want to." Astorias said, "How about-"
"That's enough!" Brodin shouted, cutting her off
Astorias looked up at the old man who was pointing up at the sky, "What?" she said with a bored tone.
"The Onis and the Gargoyle are dead but the Swarm Hole is still open!" Brodin said as everyone looked up at the dark miasma in the sky, "That means something else is pulling through! You can't waste time focusing on him, Paladin Knight, he's a Cursed One that's not a danger at the moment! Do your job and exterminate the Demonic Activity!!"
Astoria's frown, her eyes glaring at Brodin, "Old man, you think you're in a position to give me orders?" She said seriously, "I'm having a conversation here."
"There's no time for conversatio-" Brodin started
There was a loud shattering sound coming from the Swarm Hole which shook the air terribly. The Bronze Bulls looked up in alarm as the miasma began to crack with electricity, emitting a powerful swirl of energy.
Ser Cretan began to walk towards his men, "What now?" He said, "Is a Demon coming through? Very well, I'll kill it and take the Artificer with me. The Cursed One included."
Astorias looked at the Knight, "I don't think so." She said, "This one is mine."
She gestured at Lucian who was bleeding, grimacing in pain as he panted heavily.
"Fuck this..." He muttered, "I can't move....."
Astorias then walked by him, giving him a wink, "Don't move~" she said with a sweet sounding tone
Lucian frowned, "Not like I have a choice!" he shouted
Everyone looked up to see a massive dark figure emerge from the miasma, slowly descending from the sky as a powerful pressure was emitted, as thick and ominous as Astorias's. The Bronze Bulls and Brodin looked at this with a bit of nervousness, knowing full well what was coming.
A Demon was descending right outside of Rivertown.
The figure, which was engulfed in the miasma, fully revealed itself. A massive humanoid monster with red skin and four arms, each of them had green reptilian scales and massive black claws. It's legs were thick and furry, resembling a mammoth's foot. It had a long, thick, and black scorpion tail, with a massive curved stinger on the tip of it. It had three heads sitting atop a thick and sturdy neck, they were all disfigured, the main and larger one looked like an Orc's face, with tusks that reached its glowing green eyes. The other two were human heads that were distorted with either pain or pleasure, their eyes also glowing green.
It had a pair of its arms crossed against its red and scarred chest as the other pair merely sat on its side. It was massive, towering the Gargoyle monster that was twice the size of the 10-foot Onis.
Ser Cretan whistled, "That's a big one." He stopped as he looked up at it
Astorias also stopped, some feet away from him, "A Demon." she simply said
The orc face opened its mouth, "I....." It said with a deep and raspy voice, "I am Ossmer, The Brutal, sent here by General Tryke to eradicate any human that interfered with our goals to claim the Calamity. Humans, step aside and I shall consider sparing you."
Lucian had his eyes widened the entire time, "A Demon?! That monstrosity is a Demon?!" He said, "I....this is a different feeling than the Onis and the stupid stone thing!!"
Brodin could only stand there, watching with his eyes widened as well. He didn't think that a demon of this caliber would show up to capture Lucian, the one with the Calamity. He was trying to think of a strategy to deal with this situation, tactics to try and bring it down efficiently.
No matter what he tried to come up with, he was sure it wasn't going to work. This was a Demon after all.
Ossmer looked down at the two figures in front of him, "You..." He said as he looked directly at Cretan, "Human. Begone. I have no time for you."
Cretan scowled, his eyes visible through his helm, "Oh is that so???" He said as he raised his hammer, "I'll show you the power of a Bronze Bull Captain!!!"
"Take it easy, hotshot." Astorias said, smirking behind her mask, "This one is mine."
"I'll be damned if I let an Order lapdog to get the glory!" Cretan said
"Oh, is that so-"
"Silence." Ossmer said as he lifted one of his arms and aimed it at the town, "Or die."
Suddenly, a massive bright orange light fired off from his palm, shooting directly at the town. In the following second, a massive explosion erupted from the town, completely obliterating nearly half of it with ease. The shockwave was enough to completely destroy the surrounding area, hitting them all and staggering them.
"What the hell?!" Lucian said as he closed his eyes, "T-T-That was crazy!!!"
Brodin gritted his teeth as he crouched down and covered his face with his arm, "This is a demon's power, huh?"
Cretan looked at the massive pillar of smoke and flames, "You....." He said, "You bastard!!"
"Relax." Astorias said, "The people were evacuated, no?"
"That may be so, but it was still their home!" Cretan said as he charged at the demon without a second thought, "I will have justice for this!!!"
He lunged at the demon's knee and swung his warhammer at it, colliding with the thick hide and fure and erupting a massive shockwave that slightly buckled Ossmer.
"What?" Ossmer said with a bit of surprise, "Impossible..."
As his head hung over slightly, Cretan launched himself up and swung his hammer at his face in an upwards motion, hitting him hard in the chin as another shockwave erupted and jerked him backward.
"Take that!" Cretan said as he hovered in the air in front of him and reared his hammer back, "Want some more?!"
"Minotaurus Impact!!!"
He swung his hammer forward, firing off a powerful shockwave that hit Ossmer in the chest, staggering the Demon and causing him to reel backwards several dozen meters.
"Hmph..." Ossmer said as he looked at Cretan who landed on the ground, "Interesting...you're strong....for a puny human."
The Demon then raised his left and back arm, snapping his fingers, his claws colliding and creating a spark.
In the next second, Cretan was hit by a massive explosion that sent him flying backwards to the side, covered in flames and smoke.
Some of the Bronze Bulls ran to aid him, "Captain!!" They shouted in unison
Ossmer patted his red chest with one of his other arms, "Die like the insect you are, Human."
Cretan writhed in pain, rolling around as his armor and cloak were set ablaze, "Aghhh!!!" He shouted
Ossmer then set his gaze on Astorias who was standing there, "And you..." He said, "You reek of power....but you are a mere woman.....a human woman. Die, like the inferior species you are."
"Ho?" Astorias said as her eyes smiled, a hint of malice in them, "Inferior? I should warn you....I am not like that weakling you just set ablaze."
"Is that so?" Ossmer said as he snapped his fingers again
Astorias was replaced by an explosion but the Demon noticed that he had hit nothing. He then looked up in the air and saw that Astorias was rearing her greatsword back as she looked at the Demon.
"Fast....." Ossmer simply said
Astorias chuckled as a thick and black aura surrounded her, "Not just fast...." She said, "I'm strong too...."
She swung her sword forward and in an instant, Ossmer's left side erupted with blood, staggering him back.
"W-What?!" Ossmer exclaimed as he felt an immeasurable amount of pain jolt through his monstrous body, "This power....!!"
Astorias laughed maniacally as she slowly descended to the ground, "What's wrong, demon?!" She taunted, "Surprised? I would be too!"
"I'm the Strongest after all!!"