"What's happening?" Draco asked.
"We're being attacked!" Everyone widened their eyes; Jill stifled a scream.
"Who or what is attacking us, Sir Federic?" Virtof asked anxiously.
"It's terrible!" Federic responded hysterically, "I've never seen anything like it!"
"Stop spinning around, old man!" Lodtrack shouted in irritation.
"It's an army, a hundred soldiers, catapults, and wizards are attacking the city...!" Just as he finished his sentence, the castle shook violently.
"But what the hell? A normal army wouldn't make this racket," said Lodtrack, starting to worry. Federic crouched down and covered his head; everyone looked at Draco for guidance.
"Who dares to attack the sovereignty of Gramorg?" Draco asked Federic, who responded shakily. He could only make out one word, 'Poski.'
Lodtrack saw how on the castle walls, archers took their positions.
"They're coming," said Chub.
"Have they already taken the city? It's impossible that they did it so fast," Jill said astonished. Federic continued murmuring on the ground.
"What's happening?" Draco looked around, devising a plan. Then he realized that one of his apprentices was missing, "Silo!"
The apprentices began searching for him in the surroundings, but it was futile; he wasn't on the training field. Lodtrack, impatient, sprinted towards the walls to get a better view. Draco let him go and turned back to Federic.
"An army wouldn't leave you like this!" Draco tried to calm him, "nor would it be able to reach here so easily. What did you see?" Federic couldn't speak clearly; he paled and could only utter one word.
"Demon." Draco opened his eyes, stunned. It had been decades since he heard the word 'demon'; they were considered an extinct race. He himself had led the crusade that wiped out the remaining demons in that world, known as the terror of hell. But one capable of reducing a city before they even knew of the attack must be a formidable beast. He drew his apprentices' attention with a sign.
"All right, you must disperse. Virfot, try to find Silo. We'll need all the soldiers we can get. The Delta contingency plan will be implemented." Virfot nodded and ran inside the castle. "Jill, Chub, I need you to support the soldiers and slow down the advance as much as possible, but if it's truly a demon, don't try to face it alone; retreat." Chub was about to leave, but Jill stopped for a moment.
"What about Leonor? Someone has to find him," Jill expressed her concern.
"Lodtrack will take care of it; he would never leave his post," Draco assured her. Jill was relieved to know that Lodtrack would move away from the frontline; they had started dating recently, and she couldn't bear if something happened to him.
"What will you do." BOOM! An explosion rocked the building; a gigantic crack split the ground in two, separating Draco from his apprentices.
"I'll go with the Lord; the throne room will be the first place they attack. You take care of weakening them; I'll handle the rest!" shouted Draco. Jill and Chub nodded and left; Draco ran to the armory and grabbed his helmet, his steel Dwarf circular shield, and his legendary ancestral gold partisan spear 'Vindicta.' He smiled excitedly and ran inside the castle.
Lodtrack navigated through the castle halls, searching for Leonor. After what he saw, he had no doubt that it was only a matter of time before they had to face a bunch of extremely powerful knights and wizards. He had seen how one of the wizards alone summoned a fireball and knocked down the gates of the wall. The entrance to the castle was a total battlefield, and it wouldn't take long for them to surpass the defenses, if they hadn't already.
He ran through the hallways aimlessly. He began to despair. When he saw it... his golden hair stood out in the darkness. He thought he had succeeded when he saw Leonor had a sword at his neck; they had caught him.
"Leonor!" He reached for his sword when he felt the tip of a spear at his back.
"Not so fast," Lodtrack heard behind him; it was the voice of a woman with a strange accent. He raised his hands with no choice. Leonor struggled desperately, but the guard didn't let him move. "If you value the pretty boy's life, you'll stay still and take us to the Lord."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Lodtrack replied.
"Why not?" Impatiently asked the knight holding Leonor. Lodtrack smiled disdainfully.
"I don't feel like it," Leonor stifled a scream. He thought that, if he got out of this, he would kill Lodtrack for being an idiot.
"Idiot, we're not asking you for a favor!" Shouted the knight, removing the sword from Leonor's neck to point it at Lodtrack, "don't you care about his..." before he could finish, Lodtrack spun around himself at great speed, took the spear pointed at him with one hand, and hit the woman behind with the other. The soldier released the spear due to the impact. Lodtrack spun again before the male knight could react and threw the spear with great force. In a split second, the spear traveled the hallway and pierced the head of the knight, who fell to the ground releasing Leonor.
"NOOO!" The woman screamed from behind, pulled out a knife, and lunged at Lodtrack, who effortlessly stopped her and stabbed her in the neck with his knife. Blood spurted from the wound, staining the entire floor, "no... please... my children... I can't die here."
The strong smell of blood began to make Leonor dizzy. He saw how the spear had penetrated to wooden body and the tip protruded on the other side of the soldier's head. Finally, he vomited. Lodtrack just stood there, stunned, looking at the woman; on her finger, she wore a golden ring, she was married and had children.
Since he had been in the capital, he had killed many times: ogres, elves. He always felt bad about it, but he didn't care. But he never killed a human, let alone thought about the person's life or family. For some reason, seeing that woman overwhelmed him for a moment. Despite being raised to kill without compassion and show no mercy, for a moment, he wanted to vomit like Leonor. But there was no time for sentimentality; he regained his senses and took Leonor.
They went out to one of the castle's many terraces; the soldiers fought against the invaders who had managed to climb up there. A group of three soldiers approached them; Lodtrack ordered Leonor to take cover behind barrels full of supplies.
"Look at this skinny guy," said a big guy. He must have been about two meters tall and was as muscular as a bull. He wore a colossal armor and an axe the size of a person. He stooped to Lodtrack's height, "we have numerical and, well... physical advantage. If you hand over that noble, we'll let you go."
"Really?" Lodtrack asked, maintaining a serious expression. The gorilla nodded, along with the other two soldiers accompanying him. Lodtrack showed his fist by raising his thumb and middle finger, "go to hell."
The enraged gorilla raised his axe and attacked Lodtrack carelessly, who easily dodged the attack. The axe embedded in the ground, giving Lodtrack a few seconds. He passed the gorilla and attacked the other soldiers. The big guy took a few seconds to pull out the axe, and when he turned, he saw the lifeless bodies of his companions.
"Numerical superiority... solved," he looked up at the gorilla, who screamed in anger and swung a slash that Lodtrack blocked with his shield. The gorilla opened his eyes, staying still and stupefied, "and physical superiority, well... you never had it." Lodtrack sliced his neck in an instant. The blood spurted, coloring the floor and Lodtrack himself in red.
The blood reminded him of the woman from before, how her eyes lost life while thinking of her children. Why did it affect him so much?! He couldn't stop thinking about it. He understood that he had to kill; he did it by instinct. He didn't even think about leaving them unconscious. Maybe it wasn't necessary to kill them; he just had to knock them out. Lodtrack breathed more and more intensely. Leonor approached, worried.
"Lodtrack? Friend, are you okay?" Leonor asked, fearful that he might go into a blood frenzy and kill everyone there... like last time.
"I'm fine... just... just need a moment to rest," Lodtrack replied. Leonor glanced at the battle and wished that Lodtrack would indeed go into a frenzy. The soldiers had surpassed the defenses and were approaching them.
"Lodtrack!" Leonor shouted. Lodtrack lifted his gaze and took a battle stance. He was no longer nervous. He decided not to think about the woman anymore. He could handle the 10 soldiers coming without much trouble, but there must be many more coming up.
"Behind me!" Lodtrack ordered. But at that moment, the soldiers stopped abruptly. At first, they took a few steps back, but almost immediately, they ran in the opposite direction, "but what...?"
Leonor felt a chill down his spine, turned around, and saw a black figure jump from one of the towers.
"Watch out!" BAM! Before he could react, Lodtrack heard the crash behind him. The ground at his feet cracked. He turned around, alarmed, then he saw it.
It was the first time he stood still seeing an enemy, a squatting beast with black skin, wearing only pants that seemed to have been torn from the inside. He couldn't determine how tall it was, but more than 4 meters for sure. It was so large and muscular that it made the gorilla from earlier look like a skinny gnome. Its large deer-like horns were cracked, its teeth sharp as razors, and its eyes completely crimson red, like Lodtrack's or like the blood that covered it. It held the dismembered body of a castle soldier. Together, they formed the most terrifying and monstrous creature Lodtrack had ever seen.
"A Demon," Lodtrack finally said. He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and murmured to himself, "I'm screwed."