The sky over Ashwick was a sickly, bruised purple as if it had been split open by something unseen. The wind carried a foul stench, sharp and acrid, like burnt flesh mixed with rust. The once-peaceful village was now a warzone, its streets filled with destruction, and the only sound that echoed through the broken buildings was the distant cries of something much darker than man.
Damian stood at the village's edge, his boots sinking slightly into the wet earth. His cloak fluttered in the wind, but his eyes were locked on the carnage ahead. Smoke billowed into the air, blotting out the sun, and what was left of Ashwick seemed to wither under the weight of something unnatural.
Demons.
The word was heavy in his chest. He had seen them before—he had fought them—but the stench of this attack felt different. More chaotic. More vicious.
He tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword, its blade glowing faintly with the blue grace that enveloped it. The energy thrummed beneath his fingertips, a divine power that had always been his shield and strength in battle. It was the grace—an essence bestowed upon the chosen ones to fight back the darkness. His sword, covered in the blue light, shimmered with power, ready to strike at any demon that dared to challenge him.
"Damian, we should proceed with caution," said Alaric, one of the knights who had accompanied him. His voice was a low murmur, full of concern, but his hands were already wrapped around the hilt of his axe, its blade radiating a bright blue light. The runes carved into the weapon glowed with divine energy, a stark contrast to the monstrous presence that loomed around them.
Damian didn't reply. He didn't need to. Alaric had been with him long enough to know that the silence before a fight was his way of focusing.
They moved forward in silence, the rest of the squad falling in behind them. Each knight was equipped for battle—strong, steadfast, and ready for anything. Their weapons all shimmered with grace, the blue light swirling around them like a protective aura. It wasn't just the metal of their blades—it was the will of the gods themselves, harnessed to strike down the demons and restore balance.
The first demon appeared from behind a collapsed building, its grotesque form towering over the remnants of a house. Its skin was thick and scaly, like a lizard's, and its massive claws dug into the earth as it stepped forward. The creature's head was that of a wolf, eyes glowing a deep, bloodshot red, and its mouth was filled with venomous fangs, dripping with saliva. It snarled and growled, its voice rumbling like thunder, as though the very sound of it could shatter bones.
Without a word, Damian was in motion. His sword—bathed in blue grace—sliced through the air with the speed of lightning. The blade met the demon's skull with a sickening crack, but the creature didn't fall. It staggered back, howling in fury as it swiped at him with a massive claw.
Damian sidestepped the strike effortlessly, his blade flashing out again, this time cutting through the demon's side. The grace that covered the weapon made the strike feel like divine justice. Blue light splattered across the ground as the creature staggered, roaring in pain. But it didn't retreat. It was relentless, feral, and angry.
A sharp crack echoed through the air as Alaric swung his axe. The heavy weapon, covered in grace, connected with the demon's shoulder, cleaving through bone and muscle with a powerful strike. Blue energy radiated from the blow, lighting up the surroundings in a burst of divine fury. But still, the creature didn't go down.
"These things are tougher than usual," Damian muttered under his breath. "We need to end this quickly."
The knights moved in, surrounding the demon. Their weapons, all glowing with the same blue grace, sliced through the creature with coordinated precision. Each strike was like the wrath of the gods, and after what felt like an eternity of fighting, the demon finally collapsed into a heap of twitching limbs, defeated by the sheer power of their divine weapons.
But the battle wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
More demons began to emerge, spilling from the alleyways, from behind crumbling buildings, from every shadow. The air seemed to vibrate with their presence, and the ground shook with the weight of their steps. The demons were different—larger, angrier, and more vicious than the ones they had just slain.
"Damian," Alaric called, his voice strained. "Look!"
Damian's eyes snapped toward the direction Alaric was pointing. A figure stood in the distance, near the village square. It was a girl—small, fragile, but standing alone in the middle of the destruction, completely unaware of the creatures that lurked around her.
"Two of them," Alaric said, his voice lowering. "There's another one."
Damian's eyes darted to the other girl beside the first. Twin sisters, both with disheveled hair and dirt-smeared faces, their small bodies hunched in an unnatural stillness as the demons closed in around them. One girl was trembling, her eyes wide with terror, while the other stood, seemingly unfazed, her small hands held together, glowing faintly with a soft blue light. The faint shimmer of grace surrounded her, just as it did the knights.
The knights hesitated for a moment, momentarily distracted. That's when the demons struck.
Damian barely had time to react as a massive, serpentine creature lunged at him from behind, its mouth gaping wide, filled with razor-sharp teeth. He twisted, slamming his sword into its throat, but the thing didn't go down. It hissed, rearing back with a force that nearly knocked him off his feet.
"Damian!" Alaric shouted, rushing to his side.
But the battle had already intensified. Damian fought back, his sword cutting through the air in sharp arcs, the blue grace of the blade lighting up with each strike. He could feel the power coursing through the weapon as it met flesh, sending waves of divine energy into the demon's body. Yet even that wasn't enough to bring it down.
The demons were relentless, and they were only getting stronger.
"Damian!" Alaric yelled again, this time with more urgency. "The girls! We have to protect them!"
Damian's eyes snapped back to the twins. They were still there, huddled together, but now the second girl—her twin—was raising her hands, her eyes closed in concentration. The ground around them seemed to shudder, and a powerful, invisible barrier shot up, protecting them from the demons.
The knights began to retreat toward them, but the demons were already closing in. They knew time was running out. Damian cursed under his breath.
"Stay close to them," he ordered. "Move them to safety!"
Two knights broke off from the fight, charging toward the twins. But as they got closer, the air seemed to shift. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the girl's eyes—dark, wide, and unnaturally sharp—turned toward them. There was something... different about her. Her presence felt almost... otherworldly.
Suddenly, the air rippled. A barrier of shimmering, translucent light sprang up around the girls, blocking the knights' path. They slammed into it, but it didn't break. The light pulsed in waves, as if it were alive.
Damian cursed under his breath. He recognized the power—he had heard stories about it. Speakers—rare individuals who could manipulate reality with their voice or presence. But this girl... she was too young. Too innocent to wield such power.
His heart clenched, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. The demons were regrouping, and they wouldn't wait for them to make sense of the situation.
"Can you stop it?" Damian called to the twin with the blue light, his voice firm but gentle.
The girl's lip trembled, and her eyes filled with tears. She nodded, closing her eyes and squeezing her tiny hands together. The barrier flickered before vanishing entirely.
Damian wasted no time. He rushed forward, cutting through the remaining demons with his sword, the blue grace flaring up with each strike. The knights followed his lead, their weapons glowing brightly as they held the creatures at bay.
But the girl wasn't looking at the demons anymore. She was staring at Damian, her eyes wide with fear, her voice barely a whisper.
"Are you... going to hurt me too?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Damian's heart sank. He could hear the tremble in her words, the innocence lost amidst the chaos. He took a deep breath and knelt down to her level, his sword resting at his side, still glowing with the blue grace.
"No," he said softly. "We're not here to hurt you. We're here to protect you."
The girl's lip trembled again, but her fear didn't lessen. "I... I don't want to fight anymore. I just... want it to stop."
Damian nodded, his gaze softening. "I know," he murmured. "But we can't stop fighting just yet."
He stood and turned to the knights. "We need to move them—get them somewhere safe."
One of the knights moved toward the girls, but the barrier flickered again. The girl's hands were still raised, trembling as though she was holding back a storm.
"Can you stop it?" Damian asked again, his voice gentle but insistent.
The girl hesitated, then slowly lowered her hands. The barrier vanished once again, and the knights quickly moved in, surrounding her and her twin to shield them from the demons still circling the perimeter.
"Move out!" Damian ordered, his voice low but commanding.
And with that, they began their retreat, carrying the girls to safety. But deep down, Damian knew that whatever had brought this destruction to Ashwick was far from over. The real battle was just beginning.
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