From the deepest part of the city hall, where the portal connecting Graham City to Grave City stood, another scene was unfolding. Graham City, a sprawling fortress at the heart of humanity's last stand, was a bustling metropolis teetering on the edge of chaos.
With billions of souls packed into its labyrinthine streets, order was a fragile illusion, though, despite its horrendous design, this city acted as one of the few last defenses of mankind from the horror that exist beyond the wall.
Saer, accompanied by a cadre of blue-cloaked warriors, hurried through the crowded corridors of the city hall. The people avoided them in doubts and also confusion, but the insignia that was etched on the shoulders of the blue-cloaked men warded them off like flies meeting fire.
"Please, we need to hurry. Lord Baelor might be in danger," Saer urged his voice filled with worries.
He was very surprised that the demon suppression force had acted this quickly under his request, the faster they got to the portal, the more lives they could save.
And in his hurried state of mind, he didn't manage to notice something, that there were some slight differences that these men had compared to a normal demon suppression general.
The men around him, all stoic and disciplined, understood the gravity of the situation. Among them, however, one figure stood out—a woman with fiery red hair, her beauty as fierce as her reputation.
Her armor, though functional, was elegant in its simplicity, it was a dress that was made out of a dragon scale, fiery red adorned over it as its hue and the long flame-like hair that cascaded behind like a volcano wave, truly a fierce beauty. And the position that she held within this group was apparent even from afar, directly in the middle, as if she was being protected.
Someone who is being escorted on a sightseeing instead of a battlefield. As they approached the portal, a commotion broke out behind them.
A young man with long, flowing hair, dressed in the finest black attire embroidered with silver, called out desperately.
"Princess! Wait for me!"
The woman didn't falter. She continued forward, her gaze fixed on the portal that would take her to Grave City.
The young man, undeterred, quickened his pace, his innocent smile betraying his inexperience.
One of the guards at his side, an older man with a grizzled beard, leaned in and whispered, "Your Highness, please, this is absurd"
"The princess… she's not to be trifled with. We cannot afford to provoke the royal family."
The young man ignored the warning, his eyes locked on the red-haired princess.
In his mind, if he could prove his devotion, he might win her favor. It was a foolish notion, born of youthful arrogance and the romantic ideals of courtly love. A young boy who was born and had always lived inside a cage of flowers, all they had been feeding him were fantasies and flowers alike, a mist of illusion.
Saer, sensing the tension, dared not intervene. He was a bit surprised that the woman was the princess, but really... the current situation was not where he could bargain but accept the available help. As such, he chose to remain silent and hurriedly guided them towards the portal hub, where many gates stood among the many others, connecting the human cities like a hive system.
As the group neared the portal, Saer's gaze briefly shifted to the woman at the center of the entourage.
Her outfit, though practical, radiated a quiet grandeur befitting her status. The emblem on her cloak, a phoenix rising from flames, marked her as a scion of the *Empire of Ignaria*.
*The daughter of the flame lord*
She was the 5th Princess, the *Fire Lady*, known throughout the empire for her indomitable spirit and unparalleled skill in battle.
"Then let's go... "
Her voice was crisp as Saer nodded, and the group made their way towards the portal with the view left behind under the flutter of their cloaks from behind.
Reaching the portal, they were hurriedly pacing their steps to arrive as fast as possible.
But as sudden as it was. *BOOM!* A suffocating pressure descended from the other side of the portal that connected to the grave city, the ground cracked in a circle surrounding it, as the people that had busily gone about the area faltered in their steps and drifted their gazes in doubts and also horror.
"What was that?" Spoke a man from among the crowds.
"I don't know but it seems to be some sort of an energy pressure?"
"From that portal?"
"Hell... could it be a demon?"
The crowd began to discuss, as the guards of the portal hub made their way to maintain order. The fiery-haired princess paused, her eyes narrowing as she felt the shift in the atmosphere.
Turning her gaze slightly to the other side with her face fixed forward, almost as if confirming something with her steps halted for a moment.
As she stood before the portal to Grave City, the chaotic sounds of the surrounding soldiers and citizens seemed to fade into the background.
To any onlooker, she appeared calm, almost indifferent, her striking red hair cascading down her back, eyes fixed forward.
But within, her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. It hadn't been long since she decided to alter her original course. Her journey had been meant for another city, one with pressing matters of state, but a strong pull had brought her here to Graham City.
She had stopped on a whim—or so she told herself—but there was something else here. Her eyes throbbed whenever she tried to alter her course of direction and as such, she decided to trust her intuition.
"Princess, I think having a second opinion on this random mission should suffice you a better fate," A deep voice came into her mind, it was an old voice. But Illira took no heed to it and brushed it aside.
And again, the voice sounded yet the second time, but this time, with an even more deeper meaning. "With your current strength, princess. It is not advisable to interfere with whatever ordeal is on the other side of that portal. Let the demon suppression deal with it later""How so, Sirius? Are you scared of a little demon?" she had responded telepathically, her inner voice tinged with a playful tone.
It was just on a whim, as they were taking a walk in the demon extermination branch here in this city.
Hearing about the plea of a man regarding a demon, she felt the sense of curiousty to take upon the task forcibly from the hands of the demon extermination side. It was also in the consideration of her gut feelings, the throbbing of her eyes gave her some sort of warning to this.
And in response to the princess' words.
"…" There had been a pause, one that spoke volumes.
When Sirius finally responded, his tone was different, more somber than she had ever heard it. "I can assure the princess that fear is there, this old man is nothing but a human… But your safety is not something I would ever compromise."
"How confident," she had mused, her gaze flickering over the stone walls of Graham City as they neared the portal, pushing the crowds aside as the group approached the gate under the respectful gaze of the guards on the side.
Sirius's caution was not something she took lightly. He was the Third Pillar of the Empire, a title that held the weight of immense responsibility and power. Sirius the Twilight, the lord of thunder, and the divine path that he had embarked upon is one of the hardest divinity paths in the human world.
Yet, here he was, voicing concerns about something on the other side of the portal. Concerns that she could sense were more serious than he was letting on. But then, his voice had grown even graver. "However, whatever is exuding this aura from the other side… It's extremely dangerous"
"Princess. Are you sure you want to tread on this path?"
For the first time in a long while, she had felt a moment of true apprehension. Something about this situation had set such a powerful figure like him on edge. It was enough to give her a pause, but only for a moment.
"The more dangerous it is, the more I need to go. Isn't that the job of a ruler, to save my people" she replied.
"…" Sirius had gone silent after that, though she could feel his presence, still watching over her.
When he finally spoke again, there was a softness in his tone, a rare display of affection. "Kind as always… You truly are your father's daughter."
As the group halted their steps before the portal under the princess's movement, the ominous feeling had only grown stronger.
Now, standing at the threshold, she could feel the dark energy pulsating from the other side. Her gaze remained forward, but her thoughts drifted back to the conversation. Sirius's warning echoed in her mind, but it was too late to turn back now.
She had made her decision.
The sound of a commotion behind her barely registered, though she was aware of the young noble, trying desperately to catch up.
A person of zero significance in her eyes, barely noticing his existence. His voice, calling out to her, was distant, overshadowed by her thoughts.
"Be ready, Sirius," she thought, her resolve hardening. "I may need you to act sooner than expected."
"As you command, Princess," his voice replied.
"We must go," Saer urged, his voice now tinged with desperation as he sensed the powerful aura on the other side of the portal. "Lord Baelor is dangerous. The people are in danger, I plea for Your Highness to save the common people"
Without another word, she stepped through the portal, her guards and Saer following close behind. The young man hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself and rushed in after them, ignoring the protests of his guards. As they emerged on the other side, the full scale of the chaos became apparent. The atmosphere was thick with tension, the place was filled with destruction and death.
Just as their feet touched the ground, a deep, ancient voice echoed through the city, resonating with a power that sent shivers down their spines.
"This farce shall end here for now," the voice boomed, its ominous timbre carrying across the ruined streets and crumbling buildings, silencing what little remained of the chaos.
The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, its source impossible to pinpoint. However one thing was certain.
"The sky... The night has been painted over with something even more sinister"
Baelor muttered in the middle of the ruins, his eyes scanning the distant sky. As for the dark knight, he remained motionless on the ground.
Killing him bid no benefits as he is simply, "But a puppet..."
The city, once a bustling fortress of humanity, now lay in shambles. Soldiers, who had moments before been locked in combat with dark creatures, frozen in place, their eyes wide with terror and disbelief.
Civilians huddled in the remnants of their homes, clutching loved ones, too afraid to move or even breathe. The ground itself seemed to tremble as if the city were recoiling from the sheer force of the voice.
Shadows that had once been the forms of monstrous beings began to waver and retreat, melting into the darkness from whence they came.
These creatures, diverse in their forms, ranged from grotesque beasts resembling twisted animals to humanoid figures warped beyond recognition.
Despite their varied shapes, they all shared a common essence—pure, unadulterated darkness that seemed to devour any light it touched.
The monsters, some with elongated limbs like spiders, others with wings like bats, slithered and crept away, their retreating forms vanishing into the shadowy recesses of the city.
Their presence, though fleeting, left an indelible mark on the minds of those who had witnessed them—a reminder of the unnatural terror that had swept through their lives.
"T-this voice?!" Sirius's voice broke through the tense silence as he materialized beside the princess, his usually calm demeanor was marred by an expression of deep concern.
He stepped forward swiftly, positioning himself protectively in front, his hand outstretched as if to ward off an unseen threat.
"Alas, what a troublesome situation we had stepped into"
Cloaked in a robe of white and gold, Sirius cut an imposing figure. His long, silver-white hair flowed like a waterfall from beneath his hood, which shadowed most of his face, leaving only his piercing eyes visible.
Those eyes, half-hidden, scanned the surroundings with dread.
"Princess, this is more than bad news," he muttered, his voice low and grave as his frown deepened.
The air around them was thick with an invisible miasma, a dark energy that seemed to cling to everything it touched, suffocating the very atmosphere. The princess's gaze, once so resolute, flickered ever so slightly, a tinge of doubt at her intuition to come here.
She could feel the oppressive weight of the darkness pressing down on them, it was as if, the air had become a sticky liquid that was constantly pressing against their bodies.
As the last of the dark creatures vanished into the shadows, the city seemed to hold its breath, the silence deafening in the aftermath of the voice's pronouncement. The soldiers, still gripping their weapons, exchanged fearful glances, unsure whether the nightmare had truly ended or if a greater horror was about to unfold.
"Is this what you feared, Sirius?" the princess asked, her voice steady but laced with a hint of apprehension.
"Yes" Sirius replied, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the darkened skies. "And perhaps the situation here is even worse than I anticipated"
The young noble who had foolishly followed the princess's group into this forsaken place was now a pitiful sight. He sat trembling on the ground, his legs having given out beneath him. Tears mixed with the snot running down his face, and his once pristine noble attire was now stained with dirt.
His guards hovered around him, trying desperately to pull him to his feet, but the boy seemed too stricken with terror to stand.
"I-I shouldn't have come here!" the young noble whimpered, his voice choked with fear. "This... This isn't what I expected! W-we need to leave! Right now!"
"Please, your grace, you must calm yourself," one of his guards urged, though his own voice wavered with anxiety. "We must keep moving."
"Calm? How can I be calm? We're all going to die!" The noble's voice cracked as he clung to the guard's arm, his eyes darting around wildly as if expecting death to come from any direction. "Why did I ever follow her? I... I thought I could impress her, but this... This is madness!"
Despite the noble's hysterics, the princess's group remained unfazed by his presence. They had far more pressing matters to attend to than dealing with a scared boy who had bitten off more than he could chew.
At the forefront of the group, Saer was visibly taken aback by the sudden appearance of Sirius. Though... With a quick salute, he acknowledged the old man's presence, but the gravity of the situation left little room for formalities.
"What should we do now, Princess?" Saer asked, his voice tight with concern.
Even the once confident Fire Lady, Princess Illira, felt a wave of uncertainty wash over her. The situation had spiraled far beyond anything she had anticipated.
"I... I'm not sure," Illira admitted, her usually steady voice faltering.
"The best course of action is to leave this place," Sirius interjected, his tone brokering no argument.
His eyes scanned the city with a glance before darting back to the sky over the mountain, where the darkness was so thick it blotted out the night sky, such pure darkness. "This kind of power... it's beyond what I am capable of dealing with, Princess. Even your father might not be able to do anything here... All that's left is the ancestor and the dean of the academy, but really... For so long we haven't seen them take action. Perhaps, they had passed away long ago... "
"Especially in a remote corner of the human territory, they might not be able to make it in time" "This..." Illira hesitated, her hands clenching. But this... this was different. "But if we leave, they will die," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Around her, the guards exchanged somber looks, knowing that millions of lives were at stake.
But they also knew that the princess's life was their priority, and if Sirius, the Third Pillar of the Empire, was urging retreat, then the danger was truly dire.
"Your life is more important," Sirius said firmly. "I can't save them. We are fortunate that the being hasn't taken action against us yet. For some reason... "
"Then... what is it doing?" Saer asked warily, gripping his staff tightly.
A soft green light emanated from the tip, warding off the encroaching darkness that swirled around them.
"This..." Sirius hesitated, his ancient eyes narrowing as he scanned the sky once more. "That being seems to be... waiting."
"Waiting?" Illira echoed, confusion and dread knotting in her chest.
And before anyone could respond, the sky suddenly erupted with a deafening sound.
*BOOM!*