Announcement - Today I will post another 1 min video of Journey to discovery a new one with audio be ready to see it
The battlefield was a theater of absolute carnage, but amidst the chaos, Piers's army moved with supernatural coordination.
High above the fray, Garth stood atop a gargantuan serpent he had summoned from the depths of his rituals. The beast lunged, devouring clusters of enemy soldiers in a single gulp. With every rhythmic movement of its scales, a thick, toxic miasma billowed outward. Men from the Guardian and Devil Holder armies collapsed, their lungs burning from the poison gas. Yet, Piers's soldiers marched through the fog unscathed—Severin had already synthesized a cure, rendering the deadly vapor a one-sided weapon.
On the opposite flank, Xander commanded the skies. Perched upon a massive, sharp-eyed eagle, he rained down destruction. The enemy high command had expected Piers's known lieutenants, but they were caught completely off-guard by Garth and Xander. These two had never stepped onto a battlefield before, and their sudden appearance as high-level summoners turned the tide into a slaughter.
In a cratered section of the field, Jett lay gasping for air. Despite his reinforced scales, his body was a map of jagged wounds.
"Looks like we just struck gold," a voice rang out.
Jett looked up to see Ben, Emilia, and Selene approaching. "Were you the ones who sent that blast?" Jett hissed.
"Yes, we were," Emilia replied, her eyes glowing with mana.
Selene stepped forward, her weapon ready. "Now, are you ready to fight the real deal?"
Jett didn't hesitate. "Absolutely not."
With a sudden, sickening crack of shifting bones, Jett's legs transformed into a powerful, digitigrade form designed for pure velocity. He bolted. Jett had always prided himself on his cool head; he knew that fighting unknown strangers with unpredictable powers while heavily injured was a fool's errand. He vanished into the smoke before the trio could even give chase.
"Well, he was certainly a coward," a new voice remarked.
Ben turned his gaze toward an ordinary-looking soldier marching toward them with eerie calmness. "You can stop your farce," Ben said coldly. "I know who you are, demon."
The soldier grinned, and his skin began to peel back like wet parchment. "Looks like you are truly well-informed." The demon shed its human disguise, revealing a twisted, abyssal form. "But I know who you are, too. Ben, the Technique Emperor. And Emilia, the Mage of 15 Paths."
Emilia blinked. "Technique Emperor? Mage of 15 Paths? What's with those titles?"
"Ben," Selene asked, "do you know what he's talking about?"
"Certainly not," Ben muttered. "Do I look like an emperor-level fighter?"
The demon let out a guttural laugh. "Oh, you will become one. I heard it from the Fate Demon himself. Emilia, you will one day be a mage of equal standing. That is why you are both on our black list—the ones we must kill today."
Selene looked piqued. "What about me? How strong will I become?"
The demon glanced at her. "I have heard nothing about you."
Ben gripped his weapon. "Don't get your hopes down, Selene. Every time a Fate Demon fights, the future shifts. Nothing is set in stone."
The demon lunged, but Ben was faster. He drew his sidearm and unleashed a volley of specialized rounds. The demon shrieked as the bullets tore through its flesh. "Aaaaahhh! What is this? What's happening to me?!"
"Purification bullets," Ben explained. "Designed specifically to halt a demon's regeneration."
Enraged, the demon roared, "I will kill you!" but Emilia was already weaving her spell. A holy cage of shimmering light slammed down around the creature. It began to melt, hissing like acid.
"How? HHHHOOOOOWWWW?" the demon wailed. "I am a demon! I should have killed you kids!"
Selene stepped forward, hoisting a heavy bazooka. "Don't be so certain of your powers." She pulled the trigger, launching a shell packed with concentrated holy magic. The explosion incinerated the demon instantly, leaving nothing but ash.
Ben checked his gear. "We only have one bazooka shot left. We need to use it wisely."
Elsewhere at the crash site, Cary pushed herself up from the rubble. She was battered, but her injuries were light compared to the others. Her eyes narrowed as three figures emerged from the dust: Levi, Luc, and Adriel.
Levi was dragging a heavy, ornate coffin. Luc carried a large, mysterious bag, and Adriel held only his sword.
"I see the explosion was your work," Cary spat.
"Yeah, so?" Levi replied. He kicked the coffin, and it creaked open, revealing a terrifying arsenal. Some were weapons forged from Rei's original blueprints; others were sinister modifications.
"You dare to ignore me!" Cary screamed, charging at them. Adriel met her head-on. Their blades crossed with a shower of sparks.
"So weak," Adriel whispered. The Sin of Pride symbol burned dark on his forehead.
Cary recoiled. "Sin of Pride?"
Adriel let out a maniacal laugh as dark energy swirled around him. His movements became a blur of ferocity, unpredictable and savage. Cary tried to retreat, but a thunderous gunshot from Levi sent her flying to the side. She tried to roll, but another blast from Levi's modified firearm pinned her down.
Suddenly, Cary felt a sharp sting. She looked down to see her left arm falling to the dirt, severed cleanly at the shoulder. "Who is hiding?! Come out and face me!"
There was no answer. Luc was moving through the shadows, perfectly invisible. Before she could react, her other arm was sliced away. Adriel lunged forward, piercing Cary's chest with his blade. He began to drain her devil energy directly into himself.
"How..." Cary gasped, her vision fading. "I should be stronger than you all..."
In truth, Cary was stronger. But exhausted from her duel with Piers and the subsequent explosion, she was no match for the perfect synergy of the trio: Luc's stealth, Adriel's front-line aggression, and Levi's long-range suppression. Adriel pulled his sword from her chest and flicked the blood away. He assumed she was dead; he didn't realize that despite her drained energy, a spark of life still remained within her.
In Astria, within the dark, silent depths of Eugene's consciousness, he found himself adrift in a shoreless, black ocean. "What am I doing here?" he wondered. "Oh yeah... I was killed by those horns. I guess it's my fate to just be the support for my friends. They're the ones who have to keep fighting. Best of luck..." He closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into the nothingness.
In the waking world, Eugene's death was a devastating blow. Daina knelt over his limp, crushed body, her voice trembling. "I am sorry. I should not have said those things. I should have known you had a reason..."
Bart and Ava stood by, tears streaming down their faces. Bart placed a hand on Daina's shoulder. "Daina, we need to save the others now."
"But Eugene is—he's—"
"Don't worry," Ava sobbed. "I will make sure he gets out of here safe and in one piece." Ava used her ice magic to create a crystalline bridge leading out of the town toward the refugee camps.
Daina stood up, her grief curdling into a white-hot fury. "I am going to murder these creatures."
"No, Daina, you aren't strong enough to—" Bart started, but she was already gone.
Daina tore through the beast stampede, her sword a blur of vengeful steel. Bart said "this is not going to be pretty"