Baelor stood on the city wall, his eyes locked on the distant mountain where a towering mushroom cloud still hung ominously in the sky.
He could feel the tremors of impending doom coursing through the earth beneath his feet. The vibration was still ongoing.
The moonlit night, usually serene and calm, now bore witness to the chaos threatening to engulf the town.
"Trouble... " Baelor grumbled under his breath.
But then.
*Boom!*
the first explosion shattered the night behind him, a thunderous boom that reverberated through the city.
"What!?"
Baelor spun around, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of crumbling buildings, billowing smoke, and the distant cries of panic that now filled the air.
"How can this be? Something managed to get in under my eyes?"
His heart clenched as he realized what was happening. The demon had sent its minions ahead, infiltrating the town and spreading destruction in its wake.
"Damn it," Baelor growled. "That demon got his minions in already." He had known the situation was dire, but this—this was worse than he had anticipated.
The town was already under siege, and he could hear the unmistakable sounds of battle rising from the streets below.
Swords clashed, and the agonized screams of the wounded pierced the night, mingling with the crackling of flames as buildings collapsed in on themselves.
Baelor's mind raced.
He was torn, caught between his duty to protect the town from whatever might emerge from the mountain, and the urgent need to save his people from the horrors already within the city walls.
"If I left, the demon can come at any time. If I don't" He took a deep breath with his eyes scanning the smoke in the distance.
"The people will die... "
"I hope Saer can make it in time," he muttered, his voice low and edged with desperation.
He had sent the young mage for reinforcements, but even if Saer managed to, help would take time.
Time they didn't have.
The decision gnawed at him, but Baelor knew he couldn't afford to hesitate any longer.
The city was falling apart, its people—his people—being slaughtered in the streets. He couldn't just stand by and let it happen, not when he had the power to make a difference.
"I will deal with the situation accordingly," he decided, his voice firm, the resolve of a warrior burning in his eyes. "My people need me more at this time."
He straightened to his full height, his imposing figure casting a long shadow over the soldiers stationed on the wall beside him.
They looked up at him, eyes filled with a mix of fear and respect, awaiting his orders.
Baelor's presence alone was enough to bolster their courage, to remind them of the duty they all shared.
"Stand by," he commanded, his voice carrying attention. "If danger came, lit the flare for any incoming enemy. Do not let anything breach these walls. Understood?"
"Yes, my lord!" the soldiers replied in unison, their voices steady despite the fear that gripped their hearts.
Satisfied that the wall would hold, Baelor turned his gaze back to the town.
Clouds gathered ominously in the sky, swirling above as if responding to the chaos below.
As Baelor prepared to move, his senses heightened and his resolve firm, the atmosphere around him suddenly shifted.
The night, previously tense with anticipation, grew thick with a strange, unnatural stillness.
It was as if the very air had frozen, time slowing to a crawl.
Baelor's tall figure, poised to leap into action, seemed suspended in the dim light, his every movement caught in this bizarre distortion.
And then it happened.
*Boom!*
The ground beside him erupted in an explosion of dust and debris, the sheer force of it sending shockwaves through the air.
In that frozen moment, Baelor's eyes remained locked forward, his instincts flaring as he sensed the incoming danger.
The platform of the wall beneath him cracked, and the city wall behind him trembled as a figure emerged from the cloud of destruction.
Cloaked in darkness and armor that dripped with the sheen of fresh blood, the figure was a nightmare-given form.
The clouds of dust that had been thrown into the air parted at a mere gesture from this being, splitting as cleanly as water before a blade.
The armored figure rose to its full height, meeting Baelor's gaze with a cold, piercing stare that seemed to suck the warmth out of the world.
"Who—" Baelor began, his voice a harsh bark of command.
But the words barely left his lips before the dark figure moved with a speed that defied comprehension.
*Boom!*
A gauntleted fist, wrapped in thorned metal, slammed into Baelor's face with the force of a battering ram.
The blow struck like thunder, the sheer power behind it sending Baelor's massive frame hurtling through the air.
The wall beneath them splintered, the foundation crumbling as the force of the punch radiated outwards, toppling the soldiers who had been standing guard.
In the same instant, chaos erupted around them.
"Ahhh! Help!" one soldier screamed, his voice lost in the cacophony as the ground beneath his feet gave way.
"W-what!" another soldier gasped, his expression one of sheer terror as the platform they had been standing on collapsed, sending them plummeting towards the earth below.
Baelor's body crashed through the street, his trajectory carving a deep, jagged scar into the city's cobblestones.
The destruction followed him like a trail of devastation, buildings and homes crumbling in his wake as he was hurled hundreds of meters away.
The impact did not stop until he reached the city center wall, a once-imposing barrier that now shattered beneath the force of his collision.
*Boom!*
The wall exploded in a shower of stone and dust, the sound of it echoing through the streets like the toll of a death knell.
Baelor's momentum carried him through the structure, sending shards of masonry flying in every direction.
Houses and buildings nearby were knocked apart, their sturdy foundations no match for the violent force that had been unleashed.
A deep, gaping trench marred the street where Baelor had been flung, a wound in the city itself, running to where he finally came to a halt.
The silence that followed was deafening, a momentary pause in the chaos as the dust began to settle.
The once-proud city center was now a ruin, its streets littered with rubble and the crumpled remains of homes.
Smoke rose from the destruction, mingling with the cries of the wounded and the panicked shouts of those who had narrowly escaped death.
Baelor lay amidst the wreckage, his body bruised and battered but still moving.
His eyes, sharp and filled with rage, locked onto the distant figure that had sent him flying.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, the taste of iron on his tongue.
"That hurts a bit"
With a groan, Baelor pushed himself up from the rubble, his muscles screaming in protest as he forced himself to stand.
The dark figure still stood at the edge of the ruined wall, observing.
Baelor's gaze hardened, and with a deep breath, he steadied himself, his muscles tightening.
"Whoever you are," Baelor muttered, his voice low but steady as he spat some blood to the side, "you've made a grave mistake coming here"
"I am in a very bad mood, now it's worsen. Thank you for I am about to crush you" Baelor muttered word by word, his anger accumulating.
The figure said nothing, it simply stood there, a dark silhouette against the night, as if daring Baelor to challenge it.
Baelor's hand tightened around the hilt of his axe, his knuckles white with the force of his grip. Even under the punch, the axe remained firm in his grasp.
As Baelor's words echoed through the atmosphere, a radiant aura began to emanate from his body, starkly contrasting the dark, oppressive energy of the silent figure before him.
This aura was not just bright—it was blinding, a beacon of light that seemed to challenge the very night itself.
It burned like the sun and shimmered like the moon, its brilliance washing over the ruins and rubble, igniting the air around him into a searing heat.
"Since you have come so far to die, then stay here forever" Baelor growled, his voice deep and resonant, like the rumble of an angry giant.