Chapter 40: The City Beneath Holy Light
The gates of Serrealla were larger up close.
Far larger.
Massive white stone walls towered above the crowds entering the city, layered with golden carvings and ancient symbols that glowed faintly beneath the morning sunlight. Guards dressed in silver-and-white armor stood at attention near the entrance, long spears resting against the stone as lines of merchants, travelers, and soldiers slowly moved through inspection points.
Everything felt orderly.
Controlled.
Blue could feel it immediately.
The city wasn't built like Hollowfen.
It wasn't alive.
It was disciplined.
"Stay close," Lirael whispered softly.
The faint mist around them thickened once more.
The world blurred.
Not completely—
Just enough.
The group moved carefully alongside a caravan of human merchants carrying crates of food and cloth toward the gate entrance. Lirael's mist folded around them like a second layer of air, warping attention away from their presence.
People looked past them.
Through them.
Blue watched one of the guards glance directly toward him—
Then immediately lose focus and continue checking another merchant instead.
Kin blinked slowly.
"…Okay that is terrifying."
"Quiet," Mira muttered.
They continued moving.
Closer.
Closer.
And then—
They crossed through the gates.
For a moment, nothing happened.
No alarms.
No shouting.
No blades.
Just noise.
Life.
The city opened before them like another world entirely.
Blue slowed instinctively.
His eyes widened slightly despite himself.
Serrealla stretched endlessly across the coastline, layered streets climbing over one another through massive white stairways and stone bridges. Golden banners drifted overhead between buildings while crowds of humans moved through markets packed with food, clothing, books, weapons, and strange artifacts Blue had never seen before.
The air smelled of sea salt, cooked meat, metal, and incense.
Voices echoed everywhere.
Children laughed near fountains.
Merchants shouted prices.
Church bells rang faintly in the distance.
And above it all—
Wyverns flew between towering cathedral spires.
Kin stared upward openly now.
"…No way."
Two armored riders soared across the city skyline atop dark-scaled wyverns, their shadows sweeping across the streets below as civilians barely reacted.
Like this was normal.
"That should not be normal," Kin whispered.
"It is here," Lirael replied quietly.
Rito looked around slowly, taking everything in.
The people.
The movement.
The sheer scale of it all.
"…There's so many humans," she murmured.
Mira crossed her arms.
"…You expected less?"
"No," Rito admitted softly.
A pause.
"…I just never thought about it."
Blue understood exactly what she meant.
Hollowfen suddenly felt very small in comparison.
Vendors lined the streets beneath colorful awnings, selling fresh bread, jewelry, fabrics, glowing crystals, and polished weapons marked with holy symbols.
One blacksmith hammered glowing silver metal while nearby soldiers inspected newly forged blades.
Everywhere Blue looked—
There was structure.
Purpose.
Even the patrols moved differently.
Holy knights walked through the streets in organized formations, armor gleaming beneath the sunlight as civilians instinctively stepped aside for them. Some carried massive tower shields while others wielded glowing spears or strange mechanical weapons infused with faint traces of light magic.
Gus narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…You feel that?"
Blue nodded slowly.
The light in the city felt wrong.
Not dark.
Not evil.
But unnatural.
Cold.
Lirael's expression tightened subtly.
She could feel it too.
Darius moved at the front of the group calmly, his eyes constantly scanning every rooftop, every alley, every patrol pattern.
"Don't stare too long," he said quietly.
"Or you'll forget these people would kill us the second they knew what we were."
Kin looked away from a passing wyvern immediately.
"…Trust me, that's all I can think about."
Mira smirked faintly.
"…Good. Maybe survival instincts finally reached your brain."
Kin pointed toward her dramatically.
"See? You joke now. Character development."
"You're still annoying."
"Yeah, but now I'm your annoying."
Mira opened her mouth—
Then stopped herself.
Blue almost smiled at that.
Almost.
Lirael suddenly quickened her pace.
"Move faster," she said quietly.
"The oceanfront passage is near the lower district."
The group followed immediately.
As they descended deeper into the city, the atmosphere slowly began changing.
The upper districts had felt bright.
Refined.
The lower districts felt heavier.
The buildings grew tighter together, the streets narrower, older stone replacing polished marble. Fishing markets lined the roads near the coastline while massive ships rested along the distant docks beneath towering cliffs.
The ocean roared nearby now.
Blue frowned slightly.
Something felt wrong.
Too easy.
His eyes narrowed carefully as they continued toward a massive stone corridor leading toward the outer cliffside.
No resistance.
No patrol interference.
Nothing.
"…I don't like this," he muttered quietly.
Darius glanced toward him.
"…Neither do I."
Then—
They stopped.
The gate ahead was closed.
A massive reinforced steel barrier blocked the narrow passage leading toward the ocean caves beyond.
And standing directly in front of it—
Was a man.
Tall.
Broad.
Clad in silver armor trimmed with gold.
A massive greataxe rested against his shoulder as sunlight reflected across its polished edge.
The same knight from the gate.
His eyes locked directly onto them.
No.
Not them.
Lirael.
"…I knew it," he said calmly.
The mist around the group trembled.
"I sensed your presence the moment you entered this city."
Before anyone could react—
The knight moved.
His arm swung with terrifying force as the massive greataxe left his hand like a missile.
The weapon tore through the air fast enough to distort it.
Straight toward Lirael.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Mist exploded outward instantly as she raised her hand, wind spiraling around her body just as the axe slammed against her magic barrier with enough force to shatter the ground beneath her feet.
The impact echoed through the corridor.
And the invisibility shattered.
The group became visible instantly.
Civilians nearby screamed.
People began running.
The knight lifted his hand calmly—
And the axe ripped itself free from the stone before flying back toward him.
Ancient runes along the weapon glowed bright gold.
Kin blinked rapidly.
"…Okay nope. Absolutely not."
The knight caught the weapon effortlessly.
"The problem," he said coldly, "is that you creatures should never have entered this holy city."
Kin slowly raised his hands.
"Hey man, we really just wanna leave without problems."
The knight's expression didn't change.
"If you wished to live…"
His grip tightened around the axe.
"…you should have stayed hidden in the dark where your kind belongs."
Then he moved again.
The axe shot toward Kin this time with impossible speed.
Kin's eyes widened—
But shadow exploded beneath his feet instinctively.
His body twisted sideways unnaturally as the weapon tore past his face close enough for him to feel the wind from it.
"…WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS CITY?!"
The axe curved through the air before flying back toward the knight once more.
Darius stepped forward slowly now, blades sliding into his hands.
"…Ancient magitech," he muttered.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…We thought that died during the last Holy War."
The knight's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Silence."
Light erupted beneath his feet.
"I will kill every one of you."
The air cracked.
"And my god will reward me for cleansing these lands of foul beasts."
Then—
He vanished.
The ground exploded beneath his movement as he appeared directly in front of Darius, greataxe crashing downward with enough force to split stone.
Darius crossed both short blades upward instantly.
Steel collided.
The shockwave blasted through the corridor.
Even Blue's eyes widened slightly.
He's fast.
Far too fast for a normal human.
The knight pushed harder, golden light burning across his armor.
Darius smirked faintly despite the pressure.
"…Yeah."
His eyes sharpened.
"You're definitely not normal either."
The two vanished again.
A burst of speed.
Steel.
Light.
Shockwaves.
The corridor cracked apart around them as their weapons clashed faster and faster.
Darius glanced toward Lirael mid-combat.
"I'll handle this."
Another clash exploded between them.
"Get the entrance open."
Lirael hesitated for only a second—
Then turned toward the sealed ocean gate.
And behind them—
The holy city finally began to awaken.
End Chapter 40 🔥