It was as though a grim cloud had drifted over the land. The Legion, Shadow Wardens, and Imperial forces had all momentarily froze, trying to grasp what exactly was going on. The innocent townspeople who were not already in hiding stared in awe at this devil’s sky.

Though they were still inside the belly of the violet barrier that engulfed the town, the sky turned visibly black. The sun was nigh set and the moon made its appearance above; however, it was a moon that neither the Empire nor the Shadow Wardens had seen before, as none who had seen it had lived to tell the tale.

Just as if the heavens themselves were pierced and exsanguinated, a crimson luminescence shone down from the blood moon above.

The fighting halted as the soldiers from all sides began to talk amongst themselves in fear of the unknown.

By Sol’s light...

What is that?!

From the center of the scarlet backdrop, an inconspicuous silhouette began to increase in size. Ever growing and ever drawing near, this unremarkable dot in the night sky eclipsed the blood moon as it became the umbra itself.

“GET DOWN!” One man shouted right before a meteoric impact made contact with the ground below.

In one decisive strike, half of the enemy forces’ lives ceased to exist.

The blood began to drain from the slain warriors’ corpses and flow down into the newly made crater.

“Yes... YES! Give me more!” The voice resounded from within the depths of the pit.

The sounds of rubble crumbling underfoot drew a direct parallel to the crumbling of the troops’ morale as the demon climbed to the surface.

One of the knights, though visibly shaking, began to raise his sword and charge toward the unknown. “FOR THE KI--”

The words could not reach their conclusion as a hand found its way out of the darkness and onto his face.

“Hee-hee... Your king is a coward and a fool.”

In a most tasteless display of disrespect, the demon sank its teeth into the knight’s throat and tore, showering in the wine of life; the product of this botched phlebotomy was siphoned into the orbs of gore that encircled it.

Pushing his way to the vanguard, Belzar let out a rallying cry for the remaining members of the Legion of Wrath, “Mistress Lilith stands with us! Let us join her in this savage feast!

●

“Ha! I can’t even find a reason why King Solum would be interested in you!” Erelia’s arrogant mockery matched the tempo of her assault, “You aren’t even able to hold your ground against me... You’re weak.”

Ymir could only grit his teeth and steel his nerves, unable to approach Erelia due to her advantage in range.

She’s too fast. My eyes can’t follow the movements of her chains.

Taking up a defensive posture, Ymir scanned for any openings or opportunities to exploit.

Erelia stopped attacking to let out a yawn. “You’re beginning to bore me...” She directed her attention off to the side, “Maybe I should make this more interesting.”

Ymir shifted his vision, following Erelia’s, for his gaze to meet that of Ira and Mora’s who were now struggling to rise from the ground.

Ymir dashed toward the two sisters, sliding in between them and their mother, preemptively reacting to the target of her next attack. As he arrived, he was met by a searing pain.

Looking down with a grimace on his face, he saw the chain piercing through his abdomen.

“Y..mir?” The voice came from behind him.

“Ira?” He turned his head and body slowly despite the burning sensation that coursed through his body, a small stream of blood slipping out from between his lips as he spoke her name.

Ymir’s eyes widened in shock.

What he saw when he turned was Ira, one knee on the ground as she started to stand, and the chain that lanced himself found its mark, embedded just under Ira’s clavicle.

Beside Ira and Ymir, Mora rose to her feet, “We need to put an end to this.”

Ira’s eyes met Ymir’s, “Don’t worry about me... I’m more concerned about you anyway...”

Ymir extended his hand down toward Ira.

With her one hand Ira grabbed on to his, and with the other gripped down tightly on the chain, ripping the speartip out of her chest before standing.

With the rest of the chain still disemboweling him, Ymir grabbed the span of links in front of him and gave a nod to Ira and Mora before yanking on the chain.

Erelia let out a slight yelp as she stumbled forward at the unexpected tug. As she regained her balance she noticed a barrage of chains raining down on her from above. Side-stepping just in time to avoid the impact, she instead opted for Ymir’s fist, launching her backward.

Maintaining his pursuit, Ymir walked to the crash site.

“It’s time to put an end to this.”

Though blinded by the dust in the air, he raised his right hand before him, his black branding twisting and flickering in resonance with the malice inside his soul.

It won’t be like the last time. Now I am in control. You will be the only one to die now, Erelia.

The courtyard of the estate began to turn monochrome as the singularity took its form in Ymir’s palm.

“Necrosis.”