The forces who had come to help out the town wasn't enough. It was all an ambush by the attackers as demons were already waiting at the other side of the magic circle to kill and devour the fleeing villages. Lilith and her band managed to keep the attackers away long enough for the surviving villagers to run into the magic circle, even if it ended up being a trap by the opposition to capture the villagers. Ronnie had followed the gang as they fled through another magic circle.
They had hidden themselves in a small cave, as the rain poured down. They all wore long faces and barely spoke more than three words to each other.
Aiden who could no longer keep his pain bottled up, cleared his throat.
"This is the second village we're losing in the space of a week! Is this team no longer capable of saving lives from Samael's forces?!" He asked, infuriated.
"I don't think it's a good idea to tell his name in the way that you just did. Maybe you should keep it down?" Anissa said, she sounded timid.
"Shut it, Anissa! I don't understand how you turned out to be the big sister, you're so cowardly, just like our parents were" Aiden said, his brow curving further into a disgusted look.
Lilith stood against the cold walls of the cave with her eyes closed, Riya stood at the entrance of the cave, letting the violent rainfall wash off the filth on her bloodied palms. Rachael looked at Anissa with pity filled eyes. She looked hurt and disappointed.
"You shouldn't talk to your sister that way. It's not her fault. All of us had short comings, we were too late" Rachael said, her bitter voice echoed through the cave.
"I don't see who invited you into the—"
"Aiden. You're being a child, walk away" Lilith said. Her tone sounded low but full of authority. Aiden stared at his sister, then at the rest of the bunch, and walked further into the cave. Lilith sighed in exhaustion.
"Lilith, how long do you think we can keep this up? The fight I mean. This revolution has lost us a lot of good men and women" Riya asked, a hint of stoicism in her voice.
"Do you want me to be honest? I don't know how long we can. We're on the losing side here. As we speak, Samael's forces have successfully convinced all the higher districts to join him in the invasion of the human realm. As for the ones who didn't agree—"
"They got purged, just like this town we failed to save" Riya said.
"It's unfortunate. Maybe I should just abandon the cause. I pledged to end this all, I thought I was the chosen one. Instead I've just led a lot of talented young warriors to their deaths, I don't know how much more I can take" Lillith lamented, she kept a calm demeanor but her teammates, as well as Ronnie saw right through her act.
Riya walked up to Lillith and placed her cold, wet hands on her shoulders.
"We can't back out now, Commander. We're in too deep to do that. I still believe you'll finally free the demon realm from oppression. You were given power matching that of the supreme demons for a reason. I'll follow you, till the day I draw my last breath" Riya said, her determined eyes glowed bright ember in the darkness of the cave.
"I believe in you as well, Commander. I give you my life, I'll follow your cause till the day I die" Rachael concurred.
"You took I and my brother into your troops when our parents died, you taught us how to survive, we would have died on our own. I believe in you, Commander Lilith" Anissa said, her voice was shaky.
"Don't you dare leave me out of it. My goal as Lillith's sword remains. Even if we lost this town, even if we will lose another, it doesn't change my responsibility" Aiden said, coming out of the shadows, his voice echoed.
Lilith wore a warm smile and took Riya's hands off her shoulders.
"You guys. I'll make sure I don't betray the belief you have in me. We will be free, even if it costs me my life" Lillith said.
Ronnie stood at the corner, dazzled by the things he had just witnessed. First the sheer carnage, then seeing how hard Lilly's life had been.
"I understand you a little better now" Ronnie mouthed.
Lillith looked in his direction, although she couldn't see him, she felt another presence among them.
"Lilith, is something the matter?" Riya asked. Aiden had already clutched his sword.
"No, it's nothing. I just had a strange feeling" Lillith said.
"So, what's the plan from here?" Riya asked.
"I've been thinking about our next move, I think I have it down now" Lillith said.
She conjured a floating magic circle and dipped her hand in it, she projected a map on the wall of the cave. she made a spark on her finger and illuminated the cave.
"This is the last town on the outer region of the demon realm, for our next move, we're going into the capital to meet with someone, he'll help us" Lilith said.
"You planted a spy inside a district in the capital? That's gutsy" Aiden said, nodding his head in approval.
"Not a spy. A demon general in Samael's inner council. He has been the one feeding us with information" Lillith said.
Anissa's eyes widened, Rachael gasped, Aiden was horrified, only Riya kept a neutral expression.
"You're in leagues with a general? A member of the inner council at that?! How could you keep this from us?!" Aiden asked.
"What would it have changed? you don't have to trust him. I don't either" Lillith said, unfazed by their reactions.
"You don't trust me? I find that quite hurtful, Lilith my dear" A voice came from within the cave.