[Juliana's PoV]
Juliana knew that the mansion expanse was quite large. Over the last few days, she had even found several trails that led to long jogs. When she had tried to run around the edge of Alia's land, it had taken her almost 11 hours. It was that large.
Just the fields that Ivan now tended–selling his herbs to their first few custors–could hold at least an entire battalion. If she didn't know better, Juliana would've claid that Alia's mansion and its land could house an entire army.
Yet, within minutes the demon squires had completely filled the land.
Juliana sent out her 12th bolt of lightning since the gates of oblivion first opened, killing hundreds of the squires closest to them. Looking overhead, Juliana cursed under her breath as a swirling dark cloud ford once again.
Every ti, this cloud contained a new wave of squires. Even if she killed thousands of them at once, she knew that they would simply recuperate their numbers within minutes. The damd things were like a mix between cockroaches and rabbits with how much they could survive and replace one another.
To make matters worse, Juliana was alone.
Looking back with so foolish hope that her latest display of strength would've inspired Alia at all, she was sorely disappointed to find her as fearful as ever.
In any other circumstance, Juliana knew she would feel bad for the poor girl. One look at her distant eyes showed that she was seeing her own death over and over in her mind. Like Juliana, she had gone through a very near-death situation already, so it was obvious that her vision was practically real.
This wasn't any other circumstance though. They were really going to die. Enemies were descending from every possible angle, and the only person doing anything was Juliana.
"Dammit! Alia, Ugyr, do sothing!"
Her call elicited nothing more than a slow blink from Alia and a soft laughter from Ugyr.
The dragon girl was sowhere high in the air, watching the struggle between Valkyrie and Demon with nothing more than amusent. It would be a nial task for her to co in and help, but Juliana knew better than to actually expect sothing like that from her.
No, she was going to be alone in this battle. A perfect warrior stepping up for her king, fighting for survival against an insurmountable enemy.
"Alia, if you aren't going to do anything, then just don't get in my way. Understood?"
...
[Alia's PoV]
'Don't get in her way?'
She was really that useless, huh?
But how could she be expected to fight, when the enemy was a species as terrifying as demons?!
Even just Juliana's lightning had been frightening. As much as she wanted to help, Alia simply couldn't. Although she was currently under the defense of her impenetrable armor, Alia still gripped her shield as tightly as possible until her white knuckles seed to glow even through steel gauntlets.
Not that such a thing could do much against demons anyway. All of the stories she'd heard throughout her life really didn't do them any justice. She had been told that they were weapons of mass destruction and that not even survival ant the ability to live.
Even if they didn't kill soone with their claws, the madness inflicted upon their soul would be more than enough. This madness surpassed even familial bonds if the stories were to be believed.
Alia shuddered against those nightmares, refusing to venture any further.
The surrounding annihilation was already harsh enough.
Lightning flashed across the adow like fireworks, lighting the area with sudden blinding flashes before receding against the darkness. They were like sudden bright instances of defiance, a fleeting battle against inevitability.
Even as Juliana did her best to push back the endless horde of demons, Alia didn't find any peace or safety in these victories. Reinforcents entered the fray just as quickly as despair struck her heart–a perfect cacophony that could lead to only whimpers.
She almost couldn't register her shield dropping as visions of the dark yet clear future invaded her mind.
After killing thousands of demons, even soone as fearso as Juliana would be overrun.
Her screams fused with the sizzling of lightning striking demon flesh in Alia's mind. In this certain future, Alia was watching as an irreversible fire hit Juliana, burning her slowly but surely.
Usual words of defiance from a crude individual turned into the whimpers of a coward like Alia. In this vision, she saw Juliana feel fear for the first ti. And like anyone else, fear overpowered her, completely uncaring of her usual unfaltering courage.
A small tear fell down Alia's cheek as she saw her friend and practically ntor reduced to such a state. She didn't bother wondering what had beco of herself, as it was quite obvious. If soone like Juliana had been bested, then Alia would've been long dead.
And it wasn't like she had much ti left either.
Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
Blood stains lined across her shirt and arms. The scar wounds across her wrist and forearm had beco infected and now oozed with yellow pus. Her normally scarlet eyes were now red but for an entirely different reason. This red was of bloodshot eyes, marking soone who was very near to death.
Every breath Juliana took was labored. Clear strain would be evident to soone who was both blind and deaf, as the pain in her soul reverberated amongst the darkness she was now jailed in. Off in the shadows, hidden and yet ever present all the sa, were endless demons just waiting for their turn to torture.
A soft laughter erupted from within these shadows. This laughter was clearly distinct from the bloodlusted squeals of the squires and ca with an authority that could only co from a bloodknight.
Suddenly, Alia realized that her vision was far too vivid to simply be caused by her fear. She was really seeing the future, or at least a possible future.
The bloodknight stepped from the shadows, a hulking 11-foot-tall mass of pure madness, apathy, and destruction. Once he was a few feet away from Juliana, he did sothing Alia didn't expect at all.
Instead of ending her right then and there, he kneeled.
Then he turned his head to Alia, and though his face was completely black from the shadows of his bloodred helm, she could still see him look directly into her soul.
That soft laughter reverberated through the darkness again, chilling Alia to a level that far surpassed anything ntal or spiritual.
"Don't be afraid, Valkyrie. Like any other race, I am bound by the curse of rcy."
Reviews
All reviews (0)