On the surface of the Bastion, the sun shone brightly at noon, its radiant rays bathing the atmosphere in a euphoric sense of comfort, heat and light.
Amidst this bright day, a few people went about their activities with urgency etched on their expressions.
Of course, these few people consisted of the gathered mbers of the twelve great families, the guards and the captives were herded together as a few carriages appeared within sight.
It seed they had called for so reinforcent, which was necessary given the circumstances.
Ensuring the beastkins returned to their clans was of utmost importance.
Rachael and Gloria were currently standing with Derick Silvan, who was engaged in what seed like an intense staring contest with Tiara.
His gaze was quite ticulous in hiding his emotions, a departure from his usual deanor. His recognition of Tiara among the Beastkins had caused a significant change to his behavior, especially given her royal lineage.
It was difficult not to tell her apart from the other elves.
Rachael found this rather uncomfortable but remained stoic in her expression and her willingness to intervene only dwindled.
If anything, she pretended not to notice their complicated locked gazes, and turned to her daughter, Morganna.
"They've been in there for how long now ?" She asked, a raised brow on her face.
Morganna turned to her mother, snapping her gaze away from the two elves.
"It should have been five minutes now….I only hope it won't be too traumatic…" Her tone was laced with worry, reducing with each sentence.
Rachael nodded, looking up.
She stood behind the two elves, with Morganna beside her, slightly behind.
They were currently surrounded by soldiers that tended to the Beaskins, including healers
Though Morganna did a splendid job, it was also possible for so to be hidden.
The girls that had been assaulted previously were one of such. It seed like they had more than just physical scars now, making it difficult to tell how well they would reintegrate back in society.
Derick broke the silence, a bright glint appearing within his eyes as he turned away from Tiara.
"So, that was how you were captured".
The girl nodded in affirmation, while Morganna blinked a couple of tis in confusion. 'Weren't they quiet for a while ?' she thought to herself, turning to her mother as if asking her for answers.
"cognitive conversation ?" Rachael asked, turning her gaze from her daughter to Derick.
The Elf Patriarch smiled, nodding his head to her question. "you know we can't let people hear of such…experiences".
Rachael's gaze landed on Tiara. "So, what's going to happen to her now ?" She asked, her curiosity palpable.
"Of course, she's royalty--though, a distant relative….." Derick replied, his hand on his chin as if in deep contemplation.
Tiara blinked a few tis but Rachael picked up what he said quickly.
"that's incest". She replied sternly, causing Tiara to back away while Morganna choked on her words.
Derick smiled at her, his intentions evident…though not in the way most would think.
Just as he was about to say sothing else, a chilling, malevolent aura suffused the air and clinging to their sensations like a parasite.
Derick and Rachael's eyes widened in shock, while so of the people present fell to despair.
The shock was evident in their expressions as a dark cascade hung in the air, consuming their minds with a palpable, sinister crimson aura perated the atmosphere.
Rachael and Derick exchanged quick glances, a single thought ringing in their head.
"A Devil ?!". Rachael said, her voice a stifled hush, as Derick rushed past her towards the entrance of the Bastion.
Rachael turned towards her Daughter. "Morganna, create a do to prevent the miasma; We will be back shortly".
She said, turning towards the entrance and bolting forward in an instant.
Morganna was left in charge, and she seed to be one of the few that weren't affected by the ghastly aura compared to the guards or the Beastkins.
So seed strong enough to resist a little, but a lot more were on their knees, puking out the content of their stomach, as the miasma assaulted their senses.
She had to be quick, trustful of her mother's decision.
'f they both had to go to assist, then this devil must be a high ranking one…A grand devil perhaps ?'
She thought to herself, mana swirling within her as a do spread out of her body.
"5th tier magic : Cleansing Do of Protection".
A green light suffused through the air within the Do, easing the minds of the Beastkins and the Guards, reducing the strain caused by the miasma.
'This would have to do for now'. She thought, when Tiara snapped her gaze at her.
"What ? Was that a devil ?". She asked, panic growing quickly within her chest.
Devils were beings of great strength and they were very different from demons.
Both had their own ranking as well, demons ranging from lesser, greater, king and grand.
They were creatures of unfathomable strength depending on their ranks, but they were mindless creatures.
Simply doing what they had been ordered, and sotis controlling small to large groups.
The Devils were quite different. They had a similar ranking, starting from lesser, greater, grand, monarchs and primordial.
They were creatures of unfathomable strength, supernatural abilities and intellect as good and sotis even better than humans.
Of course, there are certain creatures that differ from these rankings, and though Devils were more feared due to their intelligence, demons were not creatures to be ridiculed. So even defeating devils in order to gain evolution.
It was no wonder everyone seed to be in a panic. A devil is intelligent and the potency of miasma released was great, indicating that it was a rather high ranking devil.
That information was enough to shut down so of them, seeing as they were a few guards that lay unconscious but of course, they had stronger individuals on their side.
What they could do was hope that the devil is defeated on ti, and it doesn't perform a cunning antic or escape in order to survive.
Morganna nodded to Tiara's question, worry palpable in her expression.
Her pupils flickered as she turned towards the entrance to the Bastion.
'Please be safe, Mother'
*****
Within the dull, dark room, illuminated by magic lamps that floated in the air, two female figures stood with their guards up, their complexion pale, their breathing slow and filled with vigor. A sharp glint ignited in their eyes as they awaited their prey, ready to strike from any angle.
They were surrounded by a thick, red aura, known as Miasma, murky and opulent, blocking their vision from any sort of escape route.
It seed like their haste in eliminating the devils was the right call, but they were not quick enough to prevent the transformation from completing.
A total of sixty younglings existed, but now, they weren't sure how many had transford.
"How many did you kill ?" Aria asked, her gaze igniting with a pink hue. Her counter, though pale, couldn't hide the vigor and strength she had suppressed for a while.
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She had not expected things to escalate to this extent. If anything, she would have had her husband co in her stead.
'This situation is rather annoying'. She thought to herself.
Demon younglings' evolutions into devils weren't uncommon, but it wasn't common either.
It was unfortunate that such a situation had occurred, and it would make sense.
After all, those demons, Crying Orcs had all the ti to mate…it was no wonder they could find a ans of evolving.
"About 25, you ?" Gloria replied, her gaze flickering within the room. She couldn't see through the miasma, but from the thickness and opulence, she could tell they were facing off against a high ranking devil.
'Probably a grand devil..' She thought to herself and then the sa mind boggling question reeled in her thoughts.
'All this was happening….while we knew nothing ?'.
Aria nodded. "25….so it all cos down to ten, huh ?" She muttered, standing back-to-back with Gloria, watching or observing their environnt in any way they could, ready to prevent the atmosphere from consuming them in any mont's notice.
"It should be a grand devil…" Gloria said after a few seconds of silence.
This wouldn't be her first rodeo, but they were up against ten devils…there's no telling what they could expect.
As if reading their minds, sothing projected out from the miasma with great speed, a black cloud following its wake as it reached for Gloria in an instant.
Her body moved instantly, vines protruding out of the ground and forming a shield around them, blocking the black limb of miasma from reaching her.
It struck the thick bark of the large vine, rebounding with force, and retreated as soon as it appeared.
A mont of silence descended upon them, their gazes locked on each other, their minds racing with questions and solutions to their current predicant.
It was an estimate, but they were most likely facing off against Grand Devils, who seed to be gauging their strength? They weren't sure, but one thing was clear….they had no intention of letting them both live, well not like they would let these devils live either.
Gloria felt vibrations beneath her feet, and her gaze slowly drifted to its source. She listened in closely, causing thin vines to grow through the ground as she tried to locate the source of the vibration.
And then she saw it– the devils were underground.
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