The walls were filled with anticipation as the highs from yesterday's victory faded upon seeing the cruel reality before them.
"Can we win...?" A female in the Militia asked her sisters, watching the huge black wave approaching from the northwest.
'So this is what Kayne meant...'
Alexander's eyes watched as the little hopes of an easy victory faded, his heart slowly beating with a powerful rhythm akin to drums of war beating to spur him on, to fight his doubts.
"How many?" He asked as the woman beside him remained silent for several seconds before a hurried response came.
"A-ah... 19,000 at least." Venri's voice, despite becoming a Vesta, was nervous, her teeth rattling as if the grim reaper was tapping her shoulder to welcome her into Hell.
'They will be crushed... Like ants.'
Alexander looked back towards the woman he began to adore, her soft ears twitching, black and silver leather armour as she stood in the centre of the north wall.
'Qilana...'
Suddenly, a message repeated. One that had been sounding in Kayne's voice since the anomaly happened.
[Error - World Compromised, Invasion Commensing.]
[You may abandon the quest if you desire]
The enemy troops were not human but foreign creatures.
Twisted, with horrific visuals,
Alexander stood atop the weathered hill, his heart pounding as he beheld the ominous sight before him.
The horizon, once serene and unmarred, now churned with an infernal tempest.
A legion of demons, over ten thousand strong, had materialized on the blood-soaked battlefield. Their visages grotesque horrors that bespoke a malevolence that defied comprehension.
The demons' forms defied all notions of human anatomy, twisted and contorted into monstrous abominations. Towering figures emerged, their hulking frames amalgamating sinew and twisted metal.
Some stood over ten feet tall, covered in jagged spikes that jutted out from their flesh like a twisted crown.
Their skin, if it could be called such, was an ashen grey, marred with pulsating boils that oozed with an unholy ichor.
Faces twisted into grotesque masks of malice bore gaping maws filled with serrated fangs.
Eyes, glowing with an infernal light, burned like smouldering embers within their sunken sockets.
Flames danced beneath their skin, casting flickering shadows across their chiselled features, accentuating the horrors beneath them.
Their limbs were an unholy fusion of organic matter and metallic constructs. Sinister blades, serrated and distorted, extended from their forearms, ready to rend flesh and shatter bone.
Alexander's gaze was drawn to their hands, each finger ending in razor-sharp claws, poised to tear and rend with unholy precision.
The demons advanced, and the air grew heavy with the stench of sulfur and decay.
Each step caused the earth to tremble in fear, as if they were the new masters of this world, causing even the ghoulish Vesta to tremble slightly.
Yet they continued forward, the ground quaking beneath their thunderous footsteps, cracks forming as the earth recoiled in fear.
'Where did they even come from?!' Alexander's mind raced; they were not here a moment ago when the elves were taken inside, nor when they began to plan their next move.'
A symphony of demonic growls and guttural roars filled the air, drowning out the cries of the desperate and the dying.
Alexander only remembered a loud bang, followed by the sound of a distant wailing, was it the planet, or maybe Saphira herself? He worried, rushing to the meeting room's walls, only to be met with hopeless dread.
'I cannot... No! There must be a way; Kayne wouldn't have sent me here if this history couldn't be avoided!'
Once again, his eyes looked over the women who entered his heart, just like Stella, Sarah, and Amy had once done.
Venri, Zilna, Katrin, Anna, Qilana...
His narrowed eyes were now dark red, almost glowing like the fading sun watching as the distant demons approached.
'Old man!'
As they moved, the sun began to fade, turning dark as the light faded from the kingdom of Sarian.
'This is beyond what I've seen before... Old man, what is this!?'
Alexander's heart sank, for he knew that facing such a sinister force would test the limits of his courage and skill.
The grim visage of this legion of demons, inspired by the horrors of Doom, was a haunting reminder that he stood on the precipice of darkness.
It was a sight that would forever be etched into his memory, a macabre tableau of evil that would fuel his nightmares for the rest of his days, as now; he needed to make a choice.
The choice...
Who would he let die?
Alexander felt like time had frozen for him as he grasped the stone battlement, crushing it under his force.
A sense of urgency and despair that he tried to swallow down desperately.
"Haa...Haa..." Alexander's face filled with drops of sweat; never before was he tested, forced onto the back foot.
He became too comfortable relying on his advantage as his eyes looked around, Militia, Male Vrykuls, Vetsa... His Gula troops, then the elves, now numbered over 1,300.
Suddenly, a soft hand grasped his left and another his right.
"Master, this Venri will go with you into the depths of Hell! Say the word, and my 100 Gula warriors and I will support you till our last breath!"
"My Lord, please allow your unworthy knight Katrin to support you even in the most dire time of need, as darkness covers the land. I will become your guiding beacon!"
Their words were to motivate, to spur him on. The moment they spoke, his heart trembled. How could he not feel their fear despite this?
Him? Their lord, how could he be so pathetic when they needed a leader most?
His weary eyes tightly grasped their hands, for both knew the future they would lead would most certainly be death.
'Stupid girls...'
"Thank you." Alexander whispered.
His utmost thanks as their devotion and words comforted his wavering heart; with one last squeeze, he stroked the back of their hands before looking at both of them intently.
As if burning their faces into his retina, brain and soul, to never forget these two women.
"I need to speak with Qilana; prepare your troops. Gather anything you can, hidden projectiles, extra blades, poison, firebombs... Do not skimp and use anything you can; since money might be useless, take it and buy what you can."
His large hands took most of his A-coins and placed them in both girl's hands as he leaned forward, giving both a gentle kiss on their lips, nothing erotic, a simple but affectionate peck, causing their hearts to flutter and the darkness to be broken by his light.
"Understood!"
"Let's go, Venri!"
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