The entire next day passed without any news of the Pope. The silence was deafening, each hour stretching into an eternity. Lyall’s n scoured potential hideouts and burial sites, but they found nothing—no clues, no whispers, no trace of his whereabouts.
The demon’s words echoed in my mind: Three nights to seal the deal. It was a chilling tiline, filled with foreboding. I knew he wasn’t one to follow rules or play fair, but kidnapping the Pope? This was a move even I hadn’t anticipated.
I didn’t like the direction this was heading.
As dusk approached, the golden light fading into a dim orange hue, I sat with Lyall in my chambers, reviewing yet another fruitless report. The frustration was palpable, simring beneath the surface. Lyall’s expression mirrored my own—grim, focused, and deeply unsettled.
The tense stillness shattered as a man burst through the door, his face pale and his breath coming in frantic gasps.
"What’s wrong?" Lyall demanded, rising from his seat.
"Th-That..." The man struggled to speak, his words choking on urgency.
I tilted my head, gesturing for him to continue.
"The villages... near the Holy Place... they’re under attack!" he finally blurted, his voice trembling.
I shot to my feet in an instant. "What?"
"Yes," he confird, nodding quickly. "The Templar Knights are already there, but... but it doesn’t look like they can handle it."
"Why not?" Lyall asked, his tone sharp with tension.
"The creatures... they’re strange. They... they aren’t dying," the man stamred, his face ashen.
"Aren’t dying?" Lyall echoed, his voice rising in disbelief. "What the hell does that an?"
But I already understood. The reason for the creatures’ resilience clicked into place, a grim realization settling over .
"Are there any of our n stationed there?" I asked briskly.
"Only a few informants," the man replied.
"Order them to retreat imdiately," I commanded, already reaching for my cloak.
"Master—" Lyall began, standing as if to follow .
I stopped him with a raised hand. "No. Stay here. Look after the child."
"But—"
"No argunts," I said firmly, my gaze locking with his. Reluctantly, he nodded, though his jaw tightened in frustration.
Without another word, I turned and strode toward the window. Pausing for a brief mont, I glanced back at Lyall, a silent reassurance passing between us, before I leapt into the cool evening air.
My wings unfurled, catching the wind as I ascended swiftly into the darkening sky.
I had expected sothing like this from the demon. He was chaos incarnate, bound by no rules, constrained by no morals. This attack was his doing—there was no doubt in my mind.
The thick column of smoke rising against the twilight was my beacon. Even before I reached the village, the sounds of chaos reached my ears: the clash of swords, the guttural snarls of inhuman creatures, and the terrified screams of civilians.
As I approached, my Dragon’s Presence stirred within , restless and angry, an unchained beast demanding release. I halted mid-air, hovering as I took in the scene below.
It was a massacre.
The village was drenched in blood, the cobblestone streets slick with red. Mutilated bodies lay scattered, torn apart and desecrated beyond recognition. The stench of death filled the air, mingling with the acrid smoke of burning hos.
In the heart of the carnage, the Templar Knights fought valiantly, their blades glinting in the fading light. But they were struggling—desperately.
Their opponents were grotesque, twisted versions of ordinary animals, now oozing with black mist. Corrupted by demon blood, these creatures were no longer bound by the laws of nature. They were cursed, mindless abominations, their bodies resilient and unnaturally strong.
My gaze swept over the battlefield until it landed on Asher. He stood at the forefront, his blade a blur as he cut down one creature after another. His movents were fierce and relentless, but I knew it wasn’t enough. Without the power to purify their tainted forms, his efforts were in vain.
The rage within surged. My Dragon’s Presence roared like a storm, an undeniable force that demanded action.
I activated an invisibility spell, my form vanishing from sight as I descended silently to the blood-soaked ground. The mont my feet touched the earth, the creatures nearest froze.
Their heads snapped toward , their grotesque bodies trembling as they sensed the unbridled power radiating from . They ignored the knights, abandoning their skirmishes as they rushed toward instead.
I welcod them.
Drawing my water slicers, I stepped forward, eting their charge head-on. The first creature lunged, its jagged claws slicing through the air, but I was faster. My blades cleaved through their corrupted flesh with ease, my mana surging through the strike.
The creature’s body convulsed, black mist pouring from its wound as my power purified its taint. With a final, guttural screech, it crumbled into ash, its existence erased.
Another creature followed, then another, but the result was the sa. My blades danced through the air, slicing through their abominations one by one. My mana burned away their corruption, leaving nothing but scorched earth in my wake.
The Templar Knights faltered in their fight, their gazes darting toward the sudden shift in the battle. Asher’s eyes widened in confusion, scanning the chaos as if searching for the source of the unseen power.
But I didn’t reveal myself—not yet. My focus remained on the task at hand.
Just as I began to believe the chaos had subsided, the impossible happened.
The villagers’ corpses, lying lifeless on the blood-soaked ground, began to move.
A sickening sound—like wet flesh tearing and bones cracking—rose into the air as the bodies twitched and convulsed. The blood of the corrupted creatures seeped into the earth, pooling around the human remains. Sothing within it seed to act as a catalyst, twisting the once-human forms into grotesque, zombie-like monstrosities.
Their limbs, broken and bent at unnatural angles, dragged their mutilated bodies upright. Hollow eyes burned with a malevolent glow, their gaping mouths releasing guttural, mindless cries.
The Knights froze, their expressions filled with sheer horror. Fear rippled through their ranks, and for a mont, it seed the battlefield itself had stopped breathing.
Though the sight chilled to my core, I couldn’t afford to let it paralyze .
My Dragon’s Presence surged violently, reacting to the corruption spreading across the land. My blood felt like ice beneath my skin, the mana within coiling tighter and tighter. My heart thundered in my chest, every beat like a war drum, fueling the power that threatened to explode from within.
I was a breath away from losing control.
"Get back!" I roared, my voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.
The Knights stumbled with the sheer force of my roar, their gazes darting around like panicked animals. They hesitated, their fear anchoring them to the ground.
"Get back now!" I bellowed again, my voice laced with a command that left no room for argunt.
Asher was the first to react, snapping out of his shock. "Fall back! Retreat!" he shouted, waving his sword as he directed his n.
The Knights scrambled to obey, retreating with hurried, uneven steps.
With the battlefield cleared, the corrupted humanoids shifted their attention to . Their guttural cries grew louder as they surged forward in a mindless horde, driven by the remnants of the demon’s influence.
I let my mana loose.
The air around roared as a whirlwind of energy swirled into existence, a violent storm of power that crackled and raged. The corrupted creatures pressed forward, their grotesque forms undeterred. My anger, however, was unyielding—a furnace feeding the storm within .
Channeling my rage, I summoned the might of the Supre Aqua Dragon.
A massive Dragon of water materialized above , its translucent body shimring like liquid glass. It was far larger than I’d ever intended, towering over the battlefield with a nacing presence. My emotions had shaped it, imbuing the creature with a terrifying aura. Its eyes burned like twin storms, and its snarling maw curled into a visage of fury.
The Water Dragon reared back, its serpentine body twisting upward as it took to the skies. It roared, a sound that echoed with unrestrained power, shaking the very ground beneath us.
Then, with a feral dive, it plunged toward the horde.
The creatures, like moths drawn to a fla, rushed toward the Dragon with reckless abandon. The massive beast opened its maw, swallowing the entire horde in one mighty gulp. The corrupted mana within the creatures clashed against the purifying force of the Dragon’s essence.
I felt it—the chaos being stripped away, dissolved into nothingness.
With a final, deafening roar, the Water Dragon arced back into the air before smashing itself into the corrupted land. The force of its impact sent a wave of purifying water rushing across the battlefield.
The corrupted mist dissipated. The grotesque humanoids collapsed where they stood, their twisted forms falling lifeless to the ground. Even the mutilated animals lay still, their corrupted bodies cleansed of the demon’s taint.
The land grew silent once more.
At a distance, the Templar Knights watched in stunned awe. Their wide eyes and slack jaws told they had never witnessed anything like this before.
Asher stood among them, his gaze fixed on the battlefield, scanning the area as if searching for the remnants of threat or .
My Dragon’s Presence, now sated, settled into a calm hum within . My heart slowed, the tension in my chest easing with each deep breath I took.
I stepped forward, breaking the silence as I approached Asher. His eyes widened a bit, his expression unreadable but still tinged with lingering awe.
"Get everyone out of here," I said, my voice firm but steady. "The land is cleansed now."
I didn’t wait for a response, brushing past him without sparing a glance.
As I walked away, I felt his gaze linger in my direction, a shudder running through him. Whether it was from the overwhelming display of power or sothing deeper, I didn’t care to find out.
The battle was over. For now.
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