When the company is our own, Divinity has a tendency to forget it is Divinity and instead starts acting like humanity. There is little to be done about this, it is true sowhat. When one stands with an equal, one can finally let down the permanent guard they are in.
Nevertheless, Divinity is not Humanity. We are constructs of it, but we will never be them. Every Divine that has tried to live amongst the souls which conceptualize us ets the sa ending: They grow mad. Whether it is through forming bonds to those we know must die, or whether it is that no matter how much we pretend, the level of power between us is simply incomparable.
A great magician may exist and challenge a lower-level Divine. Heroes could do it too, but Heroes carried blessings of the Divine within them. The fact we have exceptions does nothing to disprove the rule.
Divinity is not Humanity.
Any who forget it are mad.
- Excerpt written by Goddess Irinika, of Darkness.
Private lin squeezed the trigger, his eyes focused, and the rifle in his hands fired another burst of three rounds. He pretended to shift his target, to take aim, and squeezed again. He shifted, aid the rifle slightly to the left, and squeezed the trigger once again. And the gun once again pressed into his shoulder as it released another hail of bullets. And again lin squeezed, after shifting it to the right this ti. He pressed again and the chanism inside clicked.
Out of ammunition. Break ti. lin turned around and dropped, his legs giving out. The pistol on his belt pressed awkwardly into his thigh when landed on the sand-gravel mixture that lay at the bottom of each trench. By his side, his friend, Jonathan, turned and slid down to reload too. The two privates had not moved an inch today and sohow, both of them were breathing as if they were exhausted. “Break-ti?” Jonathan asked his shaky hands slid the magazine back into his rifle.
“Break-ti.” lin raised his voice to shout back, he pulled back the bolt on his rifle. Looked up for a mont, no fire was coming above them. He took a deep breath and forced his legs to stand against their own will. And lin was back in the action. Artillery roared behind him, constantly drumming as the demons from ahead gave charge. Tanks and machine guns flared, an endless hail of lead ripped through the ranks of the demons screaming as they responded with a full charge.
“The fuck is that?” Jonathan shouted. He aid and targeted towards so taller entity. Not as tall as the greatest Divines, nor the size of a greater demon, but taller than the rest of them. It obviously stood out. As the demons raced around it, it instead took calm steps forward, a sword in each hand held low and ready as it marched in a skulking pace. lin actually aid this ti towards that huge creature, its horns white.
He pulled the trigger and… flash flash flash. One of the arms moved at impossible speed. Private lin’s green eyes grew wide as he pressed the trigger again and saw the demon move, not even changing its pace. Soone else fired it. One of the stationary machine guns opened fire with its high calibre rounds. Not a single bullet hit, the monster leaned down, its blades flashing ahead in front of, splitting and knocking away rounds as it made it to the front. It rolled to one side, a mont later, a tank shell exploded to where it had stood. The Tartarians roared in a cheer as their champion advanced.
lin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up from the presence of sothing behind him now. His hand froze, his heart seed to cease it beat, he felt the air move, swept up into a torrent of wind as sothing huge launched itself just past his head. The private actually had to grab his helt to stop it rattling painfully against his ears, he heard the roar of a wolf.
Ahead of him, the monster had stopped. A mass of golden hair and claws and ripping jaws had slamd into it. Goddess Fer, of Beasthood, had arrived. The monster that had been catching bullets with blades stopped its charge, it slid back along the ground and raised its blade towards Fer as if proclaiming a duel. Of Beasthood did not respond in kind, she bent down and launched herself again, catching the demon of guard.
A blade slid through her stomach, opening a wound that closed as quickly as it opened. Her claw raced through his armour and what regeneration that creature had, it was nowhere near as fast. lin felt as if he was staring for hours, although it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds long. The demon took a step back and launched itself with a feint towards Fer.
She stepped directly into the blow, her leg twisting so that she caught the flat side of the blade with her knee. It slid along her leg. A blow hit the demon the chest and her hand shot out to catch the demons wrist. It pulled back quickly enough for her to catch the blade and the battle seed to stop, blurring out of existence for lin as the two beings stood there, the demon realising he had been caught when Fer did not let not go, no matter how much the blade tal tore at her palm.
Blood slid down Fer’s bare arm as she held onto the sword. The demon sliced around with his other arm, not a swing this ti but a stab going straight towards Fer’s stomach. lin felt his jaw fall open when he watched the Goddess of Beasthood catch it with her open palm, letting the blade pierce through her skin and redirecting the blow away from her torso.
For a mont, the entire battle distilled into a set of spectators for that duel as the demon and Fer stood still, staring into each other’s eyes. Then, lin saw the demon’s knees quiver in terror, Fer slowly slid the palm which the blade had pierced down the sharp sword, her claws wrapped around the hilt and the armoured fist holding it. The demon mouthed sothing that lin was not close enough to hear, Fer didn’t reply. She brought her arms apart, holding the demon spread eagle.
The next movent was a flash. Fer’s jaw settled on the demons neck, engulfing his shoulder and almost wholly. Her ears twitched, her tail went straight, and she ripped the demon left, then right, like a wolf shaking it prey to make sure it was dead. The wrist she held, she squeezed until it shattered, the hand she had pierced, she ripped backwards, tearing off the demon’s limb from the elbow. The blade slid out of her and plunged through the armour of a demon that was nearby. That signalled the careful backing away into a full-retreat. lin stared in awe as he watched a giant rip another giant apart. Fer twisted her arms, coiled, and split the demon in half at the waist with her jaw. She finally let the corpse go from her maw.
-
Of Beasthood looked down at her palm, the wound closing in real ti as the powerful demon’s blood set alight in her stomach, consud for whatever energy it held. She licked her lips.
Tasty.
-
Fortia looked over the photos and signed off on the report: Confird Death of Prince Alkazar, Bladechampion of Tartarus.
Private Askot jumped out of his trench as the first line was starting to be retaken. They had been holding, and then they had not. The change had been almost instantaneous, flas ripped through Imperial ranks, ammunition depots had began to cook off and explode. Tents and desert camouflage netting burst out into flas under the heat. Askot had been there when he heard the bubbling and the steaming, and he had only barely managed to propel himself out of the trench before a serpent of living fla ripped through it.
The Imperial lines had been falling, and then they had not. The change had been almost instantaneous. A massive plane flew over heard, Askot thought he would see another bombing or maybe so experintal weapon. Instead, he had watched Goddess Maisara, fully armoured in her silver cuirass and her skirt of gleaming scale-mail, walk off and drop down through the air, landing with enough force to put bombs to sha.
And bombs did not move, nor did they fight, nor did they bellow out orders and slaughter their way through ranks so easily, that they made it look like the Goddess of Order was reaping wheat during harvest. Maisara moved so quickly that she seemingly appeared where she was needing, either driving straight lines through the Tartarian lines as she ventured deeper into their ranks. There, she would execute the magicians in long swings of her axe. Whatever demon tried to close the distance on her would be caught in the blow, whatever pike ca at her, she would dodge with clinical precision. Every looked as if it was about to hit, then glance, then graze, and then it simply missed.
And Askot could only watch. Sothing that large should not be able to move that fast. Maisara turned when the glare of an orange flare perated across the battlefield, they were getting close again. Askot turned to, a pack of greater-demons, each the size of a barn, that had broken away and were attempting a counter charge on Imperial armour which was pushing up, infantry behind it. That had been Maisara’s orders, for the tanks to push and re-take terrain.
Suddenly, Maisara’s massive greataxe ca in a spin to slam into its back. Askot caught a silver flash, Maisara launching herself through the air, an explosion of sand and corpses in black armour where she had just stood. The Goddess of Order was large, but she was nowhere near the of a barn, yet when her mass slamd into the side of a greater demon, the monster crumpled. A pair of tanks were already firing at another. One explosion ripped the armour off, the second carved out a crater in its chest. Maisara jumped, her axe re-appearing her hand as she landed next to a tank, still moving even though its armour had already been seared black by the flas exploding from the ground around it. Maisara held her weapon up.
And she blocked the blow of the greater demon with nothing but raw strength. The force pushed her into the sand as the greater demon stared with as much terrified awe at the Goddess before him as Askot did. It lasted for less than a second, Maisara heaved with all her strength, her core twisting as she forced the cleaver about to split a vehicle back, its wielder stumbled a step back. And it was over. Maisara leapt over the tank, her axe beheading the massive, barn sized demon in one blow, as if it was a side-ways guillotine. She landed on the demon, her eyes. A growling voice, rough and struggling to pronounce the syllables, put a halt to the battle. “MAISARA!”
Maisara actually stopped, straightened her back and turned straight to the voice. The troops around Askot stopped firing, the demons actually stopped their advance. They retreated even, or gave space to a larger mber. He was almost as tall as Maisara, in black armour that shone and reflected the light just as brightly as Maisara’s armour did.
“Do not waste your words Zolin.” Maisara took a step towards the demon. “I did not like you then. I do not like you now.” She extended her arm to one side as Private Askot jumped into the trench just behind the one he ca out of. That massive axe materialized in her hand once again, no glow to it, no ripple of energy. The air was simply empty one at one mont, then filled in the next.
“What a sha Goddess.” The demon spun his flaming greatsword around in a circle. “Today, you shall be put down.” He aid the greatsword directly at her. He took a step forward, blade raised straight up in the side. The fires clothing it flared up. Then arced into the sky and down at Maisara’s position. Of Order pressed on, not even bothering with a feinting retreat. She closed the gap quickly. Her axe ready to catch the demon in the leg. Blade hit blade, sparks flew and the two creatures pushed away from each other. “They weren’t lying about your speed.” Zolin said. “I assu the tales of dragonhunting were true then? I never asked back then.”
“Dragons did not bother with wasting air.” Maisara said, she took a step, her axe at the side ready for a parry. She held the long pole with both hands as it if was a weightless quarterstaff. “Shut up and co at then.” She hissed back. Askot stared at the demon as he closed the gap, his swing fast yet not unguarded, his feet planted in such a way that he could escape from any blow. Maisara shifted, the axe blade coming up to et the greatsword. Zolin put more strength into the blow.
Just before blade t blade again, Maisara’s axe disappeared. Air that had been filled was suddenly empty. Zolin’s eyes grew wide in sheer, stunned surprise as Maisara sidestepped the heavy blow, slamming the other side of the demon with the sheer bulk of her silver cuirass. Maisara grabbed Zolin’s arm, she shifted her posture, her thrust foot out and pulled. The demon prince, so confident a mont before was propelled by the combination of his own montum and her pull. She… She simply through him down onto the ground. The demon began to recover imdiately, pushing itself
Her fist, empty one mont, holding a greataxe in the next, swung down.
Private Askot watched Maisara execute that monster like it was nothing. The Goddess of Order did not have the slightest hint of hesitation, nor did she give even the sliver of a chance, to Zolin as he tried to scramble and get up, his back to her.
-
Maisara stared down at the headless corpse of Zolin for one mont to bathe in the satisfaction of finally being allowed to kill the filth that had co onto her precious world. She looked up at the cohort that had followed the creature.
Not feeling so brave now, were they?
-
Fortia read the note that had been delivered on behalf of Maisara: Zolin is dead.
Corporal Oslin squeezed the trigger of his rifle and cut through two demon legionnaires that were chasing his squad. His team mbers picked off their own kills, one man shot at a succubi in the air. Another managed to catch the demon that was rising out of the trenchline in the head. The Imperial Army was in full retreat. All four trench lines had been overwheld by an unending mass of flas which lit up the night and bodies which filled the ground. They were shooting into a flood, a flood that did not seem to care how many of its droplets were dried out.
It was an organized retreat though. They were giving ground, but they were giving it slowly. Tanks and artillery still fired into the mass, the constant explosions lit up the night so well that there was not even any need for a flashlights, although every rifle had one. To blind if nothing else. Vehicles that were originally made to shoot flak into the air had been repurposed, their turrets shifted so that could throw hailstorms of lead straight before them. Mortars whistled the air. Bombers and fighters would howl high above, invisible in the night sky but audible from their engines and from the carpet runs that were constantly falling onto Tartarian forces.
But no matter how much firepower they poured into hell’s flood, it did not abate, nor slow, nor even recoil at what was happening.
And then, it did stop. The entire battle stopped. “Your advance ends now.” Oslin stared up at the sky, from where the voice he recognised from speeches and radios when the Goddess of Magic would detail the War College of Arcadia. But then, she spoke like an instructor, or a teacher, or a stern parent. Now, her voice bood and echoed across a flat desert. Oslin’s eyes grew wide when he saw a star in the sky far too close to the ground to truly be a star.
That was exactly how a Goddess should look like. “Do not dare test demons.” Elassa’s voice bood across the battlefield. “Prepare your souls, for I have co to return them to whatever cursed hell you mistakenly clambered out of.” The jewellery on the arm started to glow as brightly as a dozen flares, then a lighthouse which shone in all directions, until the blinding luminescence coalesced into a star. Fires roared up from the demonic ranks.
“TAKE HER DOWN!” A demon called out. It raised its hands into the air, fire stread forward. Around it, the demons bound in fla ignited and roared, their clothes of fire spiralling into the air coiling serpents. Oslin wordlessly mouthed a prayer, his eyes weren’t focused on those pillars, they were entirely fixed on sky above Maisara as it began to swirl like a whirlpool in the heavens. Sand began to rise from the ground in pillars that made the Tartarian flas look puny.
Elassa pointed her other hand towards the flas ascending to et swallow her. They coiled and twisted; she extended a single finger out. Oslin fell to his knees, breathing deeply, as he stared at salvation in the sky. One of his team-mbers collapsed onto the sand, breathing deeply, one of the privates steadied himself on Oslin’s shoulder. Her jewellery flashed for a mont and a rush of air ca from all directions. The spirals of Tartarian flas were suddenly swallowed by pillars of water which ford around them, they squeezed and choked and drowned the flas out, then fell down to wash the demons again.
And above her, the sand ford crashed together into pebbles, then stones, then rocks, the teorites which grew red hot and lted down into perfectly clear spheres of magma suspended above the battle. Her entire dress began to glow, every magical catalyst, every clear diamond suddenly sparked with a blinding light.
“I am the Goddess of the grandest art that has ever, is ever, and will ever exist upon Arda.” Elassa’s voice spoke from the sky. “Flee demons, for you are not worthy to even crawl into the shadow of the lowliest insect this world cradles, much less stand before the glory of magic.” The arm above her ca down and Oslin’s knees began to wobble when the desert began to groan. The sand shifted, flas ripped through Tartarus’ ranks hotter than any of the fires the demons conjured up.
Elassa made her final declaration. “Now die and remind your kin you have no Gods.” She cast the arm she had been holding above her head straight down. Corporal Oflin and his team watched as the world ahead of them broke apart. They had all long stopped shooting by now. The world twisted and ripped apart to swallow the demons, the sky ca down to hamr and crush whatever remained.
-
Elassa looked down upon the ravine she had carved out in the ground, the sand around it charred to dirty black obsidian or lted directly into steaming, cooling magma. She raised her hand at the retreating demons, one finger extended.
First fire, now ice. A blizzard of blades moved under her command.
-
Report: Entire cohort attacking section 2-4 routed.
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