Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1815
The hundreds of thousands of spirits commanded by Ahamenna, attacking Kislathor like a flood from the tears in the sky, were brutally slaughtering every human in their path.
No one could understand why the spirits, who normally harmed no one and served the world, were attacking Kislathor with such great fury.
The Kislavein Warriors and Mages were fighting a desperate battle, risking their lives to protect the people.
"I don't understand why the spirits we hold sacred are attacking us, but I won't let them kill us without a fight," said Orsman.
Orsman raised his massive sword, shielding his son and daughter-in-law behind him. He stretched out his arms, filled his sword with a dark blood-red aura, and swung it with all his might.
The swung aura took shape, forming a giant crescent that destroyed tens of thousands of spirits in the sky.
Orsman was deeply disturbed by having to kill the spirits.
"It seems my fate includes slaughtering spirits as well.Damn it."
The Kislavein Dynasty worshipped the Spirits of their Ancestors. Naturally, they also considered the spirits, who made pacts with humans and granted power, sacred.
Even though they had to fight to survive, they were inwardly suffering from a great pang of conscience.
"Killing humans would have been easier,"Orsman said uncomfortably.
Ricardo looked at the spirits rushing towards him.
"They are here to kill me.Ahamenna, I can understand if you want revenge on me, but was all this necessary? You want to kill me on what should be the happiest day of my life."
Ricardo put his thoughts aside and formed a sword from aura.
Arnheid prepared her ice spells.
Husband and Wife were about to fight their first battle side-by-side.
"You two,take care of yourselves. I'm going," said Orsman, and he charged forward.
With every swing of Orsman's massive sword, he obliterated hundreds of spirits. With his spells, he sent fireballs, lightning bolts, tornadoes, and ice spears at the spirits emerging from the tears, destroying tens of thousands before they even touched the ground.
Ricardo fought against the tens of thousands of spirits charging at him. With his aura sword, he cut down hundreds of spirits, and with his spells, he destroyed tens of thousands.
Arnheid performed an ice spell, creating an ice tornado around her. She targeted the spirits and dispersed the tornado. The spreading ice magic turned every spirit it touched into an ice statue and shattered them to pieces.
Marilin held a fiery whip in one hand and spells in the other. She destroyed a thousand spirits attacking her with a single lash of her whip.
She gathered a massive amount of fire magic in her hand and spewed it towards the spirits.
The spirits screamed in agony, dying in pain as they burned alive.
Marilin mocked the spirits in an arrogant voice.
"What a disappointment.I expected them to be stronger."
Marilin fearlessly charged into the area with the highest concentration of spirits. She wielded her fiery whip with immense agility, destroying thousands of spirits with every swing, mesmerizing and enchanting those who watched.
"What a woman!" said a warrior watching Marilin.
This distracted warrior had his head torn off by a spirit and was killed.
"Idiot!Looking at me during a battle?!"
While cursing the dead soldier, Marilin slaughtered the spirits approaching from behind with earthen spears she summoned from the ground.
"Anyway,back to my work."
While Marilin was slaughtering spirits, the others weren't idle either.
Marco and his fiancée, Alia Kislavein, were fighting back-to-back.
"Wow,if I thought for 40 years, I'd never have imagined fighting spirits."
Marco was cutting down spirits with his two swords while Alia supported him with her spells.
Alia used wind magic to create tornadoes, trapping thousands of spirits in a single point.
"Marco,now!"
Marco charged at the tornado, filled his sword with mana, and shredded the spirits inside it in seconds.
"It's a good thing you invented this tactic,my love! Hah!"
While Marco was cutting down spirits, Alia used wind magic to capture spirits in the air and fling them around, killing them.
Benjen slammed his massive hammer on the ground, causing a great shockwave.
The spirits affected by the shockwave were immobilized.
Benjen shaped the aura he had filled his hammer with and hurled it towards the spirits.
The aura wave, taking the form of a hammer, crushed and plowed through the spirits.
"What is this?They just keep coming, no matter how many I kill!"
Jack, Jacop, and Jonas were cornered.
"I think we're fucked,lads," Jack said sarcastically.
Jacop was fighting angrily.
"Damn it,how can you joke even in a situation like this?"
Jonas called down dark blood-red lightning from the sky around them.
"These lightning bolts will give us some room to maneuver."
Jack took a deep breath.
"Hooray,Jonas! We almost went down the shitter."
Jacop gathered mana in his hands and prepared for a great spell.
"Help me!"
Jack and Jonas transferred their mana to Jacop.
Jacop finished preparing his spell and released the mana in his hands. At that moment, massive meteor stones crashed down upon the spirits.
Even though the spirits tried to escape, the meteors crushed every single one of them, but also reduced the surrounding houses to rubble.
"Ooh,we're saved!" said Jack.
Jonas asked curiously,
"Who did you learn this spell from,Jacop?"
Jacop, having run out of mana, collapsed to the ground, leaning his back against the wall, gasping for breath.
"Hah...hah... I learned it from a book at the academy... hah..."
Meanwhile, Luna, like a true assassin, was hiding in the shadows, killing spirits by targeting their most vulnerable points.
"That makes a full thousand spirits I've killed.Hah, so great. We were supposed to be eating, drinking, and having fun at the wedding."
Luna assassinated another spirit, but a hundred spirits suddenly appeared behind her.
"I guess my assassination spree is over."
Luna used her assassin's daggers and agile movements to cut down the spirits before they could get close.
"Hah,that was exhausting. I'm an assassin, not a close-combat fighter. That aside, poor Arnheid. She was so happy for this wedding."
"AHHHHH!" Henryk collapsed to the ground with agonizing screams.
"UNCLE!" Heinricht shouted.
Heinricht channeled mana into his legs and charged forward with a speed-enhancement spell. He channeled mana into his arms, increasing his sword-swinging speed.
"I made it!Hold on, Uncle, please!"
Heinricht decapitated the spirit that had gravely wounded his uncle, Henryk.
"Uncle,are you okay? Hold on a little!"
In a panic, Heinricht placed his hand on his uncle's chest and tried to perform a healing spell.
"Damn it!It's too weak!" Heinricht said in desperation.
Henryk grabbed Heinricht's arm.
"Go,fight! You are a Kislavein! Live accordingly! Don't show your emotions! That is forbidden! I didn't raise you for this!"
Heinricht stood up, steeling himself at his uncle's harsh words, wiping away his emotions.
"Okay,Uncle."
Henryk looked at his nephew with proud eyes.
"Well done,son. My daughter, Nulia, is in your care."
Henryk closed his eyes and breathed his last.
Though Heinricht tried to hide his emotions, he failed. He looked at the spirits gathering around him with eyes filled with pain, hatred, and rage.
"I will kill all of you!You are not sacred!"
Having lost his faith, Heinricht unleashed all his fury upon the spirits. With his sword, he tore to pieces every one that came before him.
Osiris had gathered a large group behind him and was trying to protect the people.
"This can't go on like this."
Osiris created a wall of fire around them.
The spirits trying to cross the wall were instantly burned to ashes.
"This should hold them for a while."
Tens of thousands of spirits had gathered on the other side of the wall, waiting for Osiris's mana to run out.
"Damn it!I can't hold this wall for more than an hour. I need to think of something."
While Osiris was holding the wall, an idea occurred to George, who was beside him.
"Osiris,project the wall towards the spirits."
Osiris didn't understand.
"What are you saying?"
"What I mean is, they're waiting for your mana to run out, so their defenses are down. While they're in this unprepared state, use your wall of fire to burn and destroy them."
Osiris finally understood.
"Long live your intelligence!"
Osiris reinforced his wall of fire with mana and suddenly projected it forward.
The spirits were burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"Hah!Our ancestors didn't say 'the state of an intelligent man is different' for nothing."
George was pleased with Osiris's praise.
"It's too early to rest,Osiris. The battle continues."
Osiris had sunk to the ground, catching his breath.
"You fight,I'll join later. My mana is very low; I need to catch my breath."
George stepped in front of Osiris, shielding him.
"You rest,Osiris. You protected us; now it's my turn."
Osiris laughed. After a few minutes, he regulated his breathing and stood up.
"I'm fine now.Let's continue protecting the people."
The three great units under Eduardo's command – the Blood Hawks, the Blood Orphans, and the Blood Bastards – were moving in three prongs, cutting down the spirits.
Eduardo commanded the Blood Hawks, Edmund Rodwel commanded the Blood Orphans, and Dornas, along with his son Deon and nephew Javier, commanded the Blood Bastards.
"PROTECT THE PEOPLE AND THE DYNASTY MEMBERS!ATTACK!"
At Eduardo's command, they attacked in three prongs, cutting down spirits and rescuing people on the brink of death.
Orsman was hovering in the air using wind magic, destroying the spirit reinforcements before they could reach the ground.
"I've killed over a hundred thousand,but they keep coming."
Although the Kislaveins had the advantage since the battle began, the situation was changing. They were tiring, and their casualties were increasing rapidly.
Tyrel and Arael, fighting side by side, noticed the worsening situation.
"The situation is bad,Arael. Our casualties are increasing rapidly."
Arael tried to keep morale high.
"Don't think negatively,Tyrel. We still have many soldiers."
Suddenly, their surroundings were flooded with spirits.
"DAMN IT!"they said simultaneously.
Just at that moment, Kaldrion and Kisrael from the Blood Academy destroyed all the spirits around them.
"Are you kids okay?"they asked worriedly.
Tyrel and Arael were very happy to see their former Academy Masters.
"Seeing you makes us feel better,Master," said Arael.
Kaldrion smiled.
"Good,then let's fight together."
All four continued fighting with enthusiastic spirits.
Terman, commanding his soldiers, was evacuating the people to a safe point.
"Damn it!Where did these spirits come from? Why are they so angry?"
Arnheid had surrounded herself with an ice tornado, placing herself under protection.
"This way,Ricardo can fight without worrying about me."
Ricardo was cutting down the thousands of spirits recklessly attacking him with his aura sword, resorting to spells when things got difficult.
"We've killed hundreds of thousands of spirits,but you're still there, watching me, Ahamenna. Are you trying to tire us out and deliver the final blow yourself? Do you desire to kill me so much that you don't care about the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and spirits?"
While these thoughts gnawed at Ricardo's mind, Arnheid was supporting him with ice spells.
"Our traumatized girl has gotten stronger."
Arnheid turned around in surprise.
"Brother!"
Arlen was supporting his sister with his own ice spells.
"It took me a while to get here.Too many spirits latched onto me. But strangely, they didn't harm me."
Arnheid realized something important at that moment.
"They didn't harm me either!They're only attacking the Dynasty Heir and the others."
"Did you notice it too, youngsters?"
Arlek and Arnheid turned in surprise.
"My Lady!"
They were surprised to see Lady Seliarnevre before them.
"When the attack started,I was swept away by many spirits. They tried to take me out of the city, but they didn't harm me."
All three were trying to make sense of this situation.
"So,what does this mean? Why aren't they harming us?"
Seliarnevre answered.
"We'll think about that later.First, let's help my son. Support me with your ice spells. I trained you; you can do this."
Arlek and Arnheid nodded their heads proudly, as if saying 'yes'.
The three Payrists created an ice spell of immense power and turned the spirits attacking Ricardo into ice statues.
"We did it!"Arnheid shouted happily.
They had killed fifty thousand spirits.
"That's amazing!The Payrist Dynasty is famous for its ice magic, but this is truly fantastic."
Seliarnevre screamed in fear.
"RICARDO,WATCH OUT!"
Ahamenna suddenly appeared behind Ricardo and threw a powerful punch.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Ricardo was sent flying meters away by Ahamenna's punch.
"Finally,the day I've waited for has come, Harloumen!"
Ahamenna lunged forward to deliver a second punch when a whip strike burned her arm.
"How dare you try to hit my future husband?!"
"Marilin!" said Ricardo.
Marilin lunged forward, savagely lashing her whip with a speed Ahamenna couldn't even catch.
Ahamenna couldn't react; countless whip strikes left burn marks all over her body.
"HAAAAAAAA!"
Ahamenna screamed as if her throat was being torn out, bursting the eardrums of tens of thousands of people, human and spirit alike, indiscriminately.
Only a few people escaped unharmed.
Ricardo and Marilin had managed to protect themselves at the last moment, but Seliarnevre, Arlek, and Arnheid were lying on the ground.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
Ahamenna, screaming in agony, ran towards the fallen Payrists, but her path was blocked by an enraged Marilin and Ricardo.
"AHAMENNA!WHY DID YOU NEED TO GO THIS FAR JUST TO KILL ME? YOU COULD HAVE CALLED ME! WE COULD HAVE FOUGHT ONE-ON-ONE! I'LL KILL YOU, AHAMENNA!"
In response to Ricardo's angry screams, Ahamenna responded with a furious scream of her own.
"IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU,HARLOUMEN! MY SISTER DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! AND NOW, WITHOUT ANY DISGUST, YOU'RE MARRYING SOMEONE FROM HER BLOODLINE!"
Ricardo was shocked. Marilin was even more shocked.
"Harloumen?What does this mean? Is Ricardo actually Harloumen? Or is the man I love my ancestor who underwent reincarnation?"
Marilin, in confusion, looked at Ricardo, lost in thought.
Although Ricardo was in shock, he immediately performed a healing spell on his mother and the two Payrists behind him.
Ricardo asked, filled with curiosity and shock,
"What does this mean,Ahamenna? Do Arlek and Arnheid descend from me and Aherlenna?"
Ahamenna was furious, but she did not approach Ricardo, who was trying to save the three descendants of her sister, who were on the verge of death because of her.
"Yes,those you call Payrists are descended from my sister Aherlenna and you, Harloumen."
Ricardo was shocked.
"I almost..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Ahamenna interrupted.
"Yes,you almost married someone from your own bloodline."
Ricardo spoke with fear.
"I didn't know!I studied the family trees of all the Dynasties! But the earliest known ancestor of the Payrists was the first Dynasty Lord, I Arlek! I didn't know they were from my bloodline!"
Ahamenna grew even angrier.
"Didn't their hair color,the same as my sister's, catch your attention, Harloumen?"
"I thought it was a coincidence."
Ahamenna became even more enraged.
"A COINCIDENCE?IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A COINCIDENCE, HARLOUMEN?!"
Ricardo's suppressed anger finally erupted.
"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?!EVERY HISTORY BOOK I READ SAID THAT ALL MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, EXCEPT KARLMEN, WERE KILLED! I THOUGHT MY DAUGHTER BORN FROM AHERLENNA WAS ALSO KILLED! HOW DID HER BLOODLINE CONTINUE?!"
Ahamenna was tired of this conversation. She lunged forward, grabbed Ricardo by the neck, and dragged him towards a portal.
Ricardo shouted angrily.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
They entered a portal. Ricardo found himself in the Spirit Realm, which he had only heard about from the spirits he had made pacts with.
"The Spirit Realm,"Ricardo said with astonishment and admiration.
"You'd better get used to it,Harloumen, because once you die, you'll start living here."
Ricardo stood up.
"I have no intention of dying this early,Ahamenna."
The two charged at each other, and their swords clashed. The thousand-year reckoning had begun.