Chapter 18 : Gods of the Old World

Confused, angry faces stared at the empty cell. Its thick, rusting metal walls housed nothing but a blanket and a plate full of slop, meant to feed a prisoner that was no longer there.

"there are 16 maximum security cells here, each one needs two unique keys and a highly advanced and specific magic release sequence to open. The walls are made of enchanted metal, the same material used in making the most powerful armor around, only 25 times thicker…so would someone like to tell me how the prisoner managed to escape though all of that unseen?"

Sariel, the head of the Ash'ai clan and father of the most powerful demon, spoke in a professional tone in a poor attempt to hide his overwhelming rage.

The poor lighting and heavy breathing of the other inmates made for a dark symphony of suffering and pain, pain that was about to be afflicted on whoever enabled Shiira to make her escape.

"calm down will you, the whole place is under lockdown. We have soldiers scouring the entire capital looking for her as well, she isn't going to get far."

Unlike the covertly furious Sariel, Raou spoke in a much calmer and more confident tone. He saw the panic spreading amongst the guards and knew what it meant. They were innocent, his clansmen and brethren would not conspire with a prisoner nor be lazy enough to enable an escape. he understood that Sariel's anger was justified, but only if it wasn't directed at them.

"has this door been opened after the prisoner entered her cell?"

Sariel ignored Raou's words and proceeded with his questioning, still hiding his true self behind the same old, tired mask.

One of the demons in charge of the cells walked up, visibly nervous despite his old age and relatively high standing within the Dra'ig clan.

"no sir, the cell was not opened at any point after the inmate was admitted. The plate of food was delivered through this small opening here and the keys are still securely on my person… I don't know how this happened, but I know for a fact this door did not open."

The demon pointed towards a small rectangular opening in the thick steel of the door, one too small to fit anything larger than a clenched fist. Sariel passed his hand through it, feeling cold air within the cell on his fingertips, almost causing him to shiver in reaction.

He retracted his hand back, confused as to why the temperature was so different inside the cell itself.

"is it usually cold inside the cells?"

Sariel looked towards Raou who shook his head in response. Confused he too put his hand into the cell, and was met with the same cold sensation Sariel felt.

"this is odd… young man, open this door. The cell is unusually cold on the inside, have you not noticed that?"

"My apologies guardian Raou, but we held off on doing anything until you got here, although we did not expect your… guest to come along."

The door opened with a creaking sound. Icy, cold air, freed from its steel prison, brushed past everyone present, causing them to shiver slightly. Sariel was about to walk in but suddenly stopped in place and whipped his head back as the familiar sensation of approaching danger assaulted his senses.

"are you alright si—"

"did you feel that, Sariel?"

One of the Ash'ai guards tried to check on him but he was cut off by Raou, whose movements mimicked Sariel's. the two were tense and wide-eyed as they looked at the dark, filthy walls behind them.

"…yes"

The others stared in confusion as Sariel and Raou's focus shifted from the small cell to the rest of the room. They started scanning the space around them with focused eyes, following their screaming instincts over common sense.

"you two go out and strengthen security inside the building, I believe that our prisoner might be closer than we think, and much more dangerous to boot."

Two of the confused Dra'ig members followed Raou's words and headed for the door, whispering to each other along the way.

"why are they not looking inside the cell? Do you think they figured something out just by opening it?"

"I don't know, let's just do what we're told quickly before that Ash'ai bastard flips out."

"shut up, he can probably hear— hey do you feel that…?"

Raou and Sariel watched as the two demons approached the door, speaking in what they thought were hushed voices. As one of them reached for the handle, he stopped and looked over to the other with a confused look on his face.

White vapor left their mouths every time they took a breath. They shivered slightly from the sudden and unexplained drop in temperature and looked back at Raou, hoping the guarding of the demon lord would have an answer to this bizarre phenomenon they encountered.

But before they could utter a single word the two were gruesomely impaled by countless ice shards, tearing, shredding, and mincing them along with their armor. killing them brutally and instantly to everyone's horror.

"NOO"

Raou, shocked by the death of his subordinates, tried to run to them, foolishly hoping to find them still clinging to life with enough strength that healing magic can bring them back.

His desperate attempt was interrupted by Sariel who held him back from walking into the scene of the massacre

"WHAT DO YOU THI—"

"shut up… look there, I guess we found our little prisoner. She somehow managed to completely erase her presence and remain in an invisible state until we unlocked the door for her. she also used that powerful ice magic like it was nothing, it's hard to believe she's even the same demon that left the capital not too long ago."

Raou looked in shock as the space in front of the door seemed to distort. Ice shards formed around the affected area, defiling the bodies of the Drai'ig soldiers with its cold embrace.

Suddenly the form of Shiira took shape. An emotionless, lifeless expression adorned her face, making the once respected and honored warrior appear as a brutal and merciless devil with no soul.

"hello Shiira, remember your old master? The one whose name you disgraced."

Shiira stood still amongst the frozen corpses, her expression unmoved by Sariel's words.

"you won't even answer me, you lowborn sow? Not to worry, you will talk once you see what I have prepared—"

A loud and bestial roar interrupted Sariel's speech. He looked to his side to see a furious Raou, pulsating with rage and magic power. His eyes were those of a wild animal, unchained and released to wreak havoc.

"cowardly rat…you hide and strike when your opponent has no chance to retaliate, you have no honor. I don't care what clan you belong to, you die here!"

Once those words left his mouth, Raou leaped towards Shiira, crushing the very ground his feet pressed against in a display of overwhelming physical strength.

Shiira released her Ice magic once again, but the shards that impaled the two demons mere seconds ago were of no use against the raging Raou. All the small icy spears shattered on impact, leaving not but scratches on Raou.

His body, bolstered by powerful magic and thick armor, withstood wave after wave of attacks until he came crashing into Shiira, destroying the door along with a part of the wall it was attached to.

The smoke quickly cleared and the light from outside lit the dark corridor they stood in, revealing Shiira hiding behind a cracked shield of solid ice, and Raou's powerful fist slamming on it repeatedly.

"be careful you fool!"

Sariel ran towards Raou in a panic, but his warning came too late. Once the ice shield was completely destroyed the jagged, and sharp remained shot forwards, targeting everyone within a short distance of Shiira and promising a cold death to those who could not withstand the brutal assault.

Raou noticed her scheme in the nick of time and backed away, shielding his subordinates with multiple barriers with no time to spare.

With the only danger to her preoccupied, Shiira finally turned her back on the battle and ran out through the destroyed door, leaving a trail of melting ice and blood behind.

"she's injured so I don't think she can get far, let's hurry. We need to catch her before she makes her way into the streets."

Sariel rushed out and Raou instantly followed, leaving the other demons to scramble to their feet.

"did you have to attack blindly like that?"

Sariel's words were cold as usual, unfazed by the madness that transpired mere moments ago.

"…she is not going back with you Sariel, once I catch that coward I'll rip her apart for what she's done."

Where was this enthusiasm when the human butchered your subordinates?

Sariel held his tongue and decided to play the long game. His interest in Shiira grew tenfold after she displayed such powerful and mysterious magic. He no longer wished to punish her for sullying the Ash'ai name but to use her to strengthen it.

Those spells… I've never seen anything like it. Invisibility that can last for long periods of time, ice magic that can instantly kill a royal guard in full armor, and a powerful shield that wasn't completely annihilated after being struck by Raou himself… such magic can't be attained even after a hundred years of training, its ancient unique magic… so how did she get her hands on it?

A scream suddenly echoed from afar, catching the attention of the two. They followed it back to its source and came upon a grizzly scene. Copses, with faces stuck on terrified expressions, impaled on jagged, knife-like ice shards. Pooling puddles of blood oozing from their wounds, coating the walls and floor in a thick crimson layer and filling the air with a heavy metallic smell.

In the middle of the brutal display was Shiira, laying motionless on the ground, wounded and bloody from the battle.

Raou and Sariel walked toward her, closely examining the area every step of the way.

"look there, that's an emergency escape door, heavily fortified but she could've easily broken through. The guards must have stopped her before she could make her escape… what a good death."

"did they? Look around, it looks like they've been dealt with easily enough."

Sariel was doubtful. He knew for a fact that even his best security team would not be able to keep up with Shiira as she was now, her power and speed were in a league of their own, so how come the Dra'ig guards managed to do it, he thought.

"they must've snuck a hit on her, or maybe her magic ran dry. Why else would she still be here if she could escape."

"…perhaps."

They looked around again and again, trying to spot any traps laying in wait for them, however, they were only greeted with the horrified expressions of the dead staring back at them.

As Sariel looked closer at the impaled bodies of the Dra'ig guards he noticed something odd, something that most would miss.

"Raou, hold on… something is wrong here, look at their injuries. No vital spots hit, that's not—"

Suddenly the once lifeless corpses jumped from their frozen tombs and hung unto the two, wailing and screeching in pain with every crude, puppet-like movement they made.

Their limbs contorted and hardened into chains of ice, trapping Raou and Sariel within its cold grasp.

The freezing embrace of the chains only got colder and tighter the more they tried to flee, their trashing was ineffective and all magic they tried to use was snuffed out instantly by the all-consuming cold.

Once they couldn't budge anymore, Shiira slowly stood up. Still bleeding from her wounds but showing no pain on her expressionless face.

"this… is the will of the gods."

Shiira finally spoke. Her voice was void of all feeling, interest, and emotion, a fitting one for her expression.

"you… what are you?"

Sariel could only squeak out a few words before the biting ice enveloped his mouth, sealing away his ability to speak.

"I'm but a humble servant of the gods, worry not, you will meet them soon and everything will become… clear."

Shiira approached them while molding magic into a spear of ice in her palm, preparing to slay two of the most important demons of this era at once, a feat none thought possible, but just as she raised her hand and prepared to strike the killing blow on Sariel, she too froze in place.

Her body shuddered as she tried to battle the invisible force pushing her to the ground, but there was no resisting it.

"what the hell happened here?"

"you… it's impossible… why is a kin of the gods here?"