Tave stepped out into the open courtyard of the fortress.
The night had fully taken hold, and chaos ruled the air.
Demons were dancing in wild. Their bodies swayed like beasts drunk on blood and sound. Laughter echoed. Fires burned high, roasting monstrous creatures on giant spits. The scent of charred flesh and fernted blood was overwhelming.
And more importantly, they were drinking.
Tave’s eyes moved across the crowd, carefully watching as demon after demon tilted their heads back and gulped down the brew, the very one he had laced with Lunaris Bloom.
At the center of it all was the throne.
A towering, jagged seat crafted from dark stone stood beside a massive fire pit. Around it, several elite demons, clearly stronger than the average rabble, stood at attention or sat close, watching the celebration unfold with unreadable expressions.
And there, sitting with unmistakable presence, was the leader of the entire force.
Marquis Kimaris.
Now that Tave saw him clearly, the mories clicked into place.
An armored figure draped in a regal, battle-worn cloak. But what truly defined him was his horse-like head.
Kimaris tilted back a goblet handed to him by one of the lesser demons and drank with exaggerated glee, the liquid spilling slightly from the corners of his jagged maw.
Around Tave, the others were whispering praises.
"That’s Lord Kimaris for you."
"The 68th seat of the Demon Codex, and still more terrifying than most above him."
Tave kept his expression neutral as the whispers continued, but his thoughts were racing.
Rank 68. Out of 72 total Nad Demons.
Not high, but still a Nad Demon.
Which ant he was no ordinary foe.
At this point in the tiline, a demon like Kimaris would likely be in the stage of a Gaia Grand Master, perhaps even pushing into Gaia Champion territory depending on his developnt.
And that ant only one thing.
This was a major threat.
Tave moved carefully among the crowd, forcing his body to sway with their rhythm, mimicking their snarls and laughter.
He grabbed a chunk of roasted at from a nearby tray, pretended to chew, occasionally lifting a mug to his lips without drinking. Around him, the demons reveled in their usual brutal chaos. Eating, drinking, taunting each other, and shouting over the firelight.
"To the collapse of the Rift!"
"To the slaughter yet to co!"
"Tonight we drink, tomorrow we conquer!"
"More blood! More fire! Let the world burn!"
Their voices rose in drunken glee.
Then. The drums stopped.
The howls quieted.
All heads turned toward the throne.
Marquis Kimaris stood.
The light of the fire behind him cast his massive fra into a sharp silhouette. The twisted grin on his horse-like head, and the pair of jagged horns spiraling upward from his skull.
The silence was complete as he raised his goblet high.
"Enjoy this night," he said. "Victory is near!"
He stepped forward slowly, the fire crackling beside him.
"Soon, we shall cross into Yunatea, into Dissidia! We will leave a scar so deep on that pitiful kingdom, the humans will never forget it."
"We will be the nightmare that wakes them. The fire that devours their illusions of peace."
"And when the sky shatters behind us. Our na shall be carved into their bones!"
"We. Will bring glory to the demon kind!"
A roar erupted around him.
"TO GLORY!"
"TO LORD KIMARIS!"
"YUNATEA WILL BLEED!"
The feast exploded in sound again, and Tave, still hidden among them. But one thing lingered at his thoughts.
Could the Rift’s collapse really be that close?
Tomorrow?
Judging by the atmosphere around him, the feast, the celebration, the reckless triumph in every shout and clash of goblets. It wasn’t just probable.
And that terrified him more than anything else.
Because if the Rift did collapse, if the demons opened their own exit gate and crossed into Yunatea... it would be a one-way passage for the demons.
Not for the Rift challengers. No, for the challengers, it would be annihilation.
Once an Ergency Rift reached the collapse phase, the monsters within multiplied exponentially.
The terrain destabilized, and a massive pulse of uncontrolled Gaia energy tore through the Rift’s core. The monsters would erupt from it. They would flood into the world outside.
For the demons, their exit was pre-built. They had a gate.
But there wouldn’t be such luxury for Tave and the others.
He could slip out alone, hide among the demons, walk through the gate, vanish into Yunatea pretending to be one of them.
But no. He wasn’t going to leave his comrades behind.
Not Velion. Not Panpan. Not Lina, or Elowen, or even Finn.
He would not let them die here.
As the fire crackled and Lord Kimaris settled back onto his jagged throne, a towering figure stepped forward from the circle of elite demons near the flas.
It was him, the one who had first found Tave and the others in the forest. Easily the tallest among them.
Clearly, this demon stood directly beneath Lord Kimaris in the chain of command.
"There’s still one insect crawling out there!" he roared, his claws clenched at his sides.
"A human, still hiding sowhere like a rat in the dark!"
The crowd rumbled, low growls and murmurs rising with tension.
"By morning, I want his head at my feet!" he snarled. "Whoever brings that worthless wretch will receive a reward worthy of a demon lord’s favor!"
The mont the words dropped, the courtyard erupted.
"FOR THE HUNT!"
"BLOOD FOR THE MARQUIS!"
Right after the demon made that declaration, so of the demons started moving. Nearly a third of them, which was a lot, acted like the party was over for them. They rushed out of the fortress without hesitation.
The rest of the demons, though, kept partying like their ceremony for the night wasn’t done yet. Normally, a party like this would go on until every last drop of brew was gone and they were completely knocked out drunk.
And with the effect of the Lunaris Bloom kicking in, they’d be even more out of it. At least for the next several hours.
Two demons suddenly closed in on Tave, one from each side, yelling and laughing as they slamd their arms around him.
"There you are, you smug little freak!" one of them barked. "Too good to drink with us, huh?!"
"Look at him! Acting all clean!" the other shouted.
Tave tried to pull away, turning his head, but they grabbed him tighter.
"Drink it, you coward!" one snarled, smashing a cup against his face. "What are you, scared?"
Tave gritted his teeth, resisting, but then another demon stord up from behind and yanked his shoulders back.
"Oh no, you’re not walking away now, you little rat!"
"Hold his mouth open! Get it in there!"
The cup was jamd against his lips. The demons scread and laughed.
Tave had completely forgotten he hadn’t even pretended to drink. He’d been too caught up in everything racing through his head.
Now the demons were forcing him to drink too.
Idiot. He hadn’t even faked it. Not a single sip. And now? Now he was screwed.
The worst part? He didn’t want that stuff anywhere near his mouth, let alone down his throat. Not even a drop.
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