Night of One Hundred Demons

Excessive manpower was spared in guaranteeing the precise tracking of the Demon group moving towards Gria, and reports of their appearances and capabilities were rapidly relayed back to the capital in an effort to understand the nature of their offensive. All 20 Anti-Demon Leagues and their sorcerer commanders were mobilised and ready to respond to an attack at any moment. The position once occupied by Dorma at the helm of the 1st Anti-Demon League was instead granted to Sir Lotte in her absence.

A continuous stream of displaced evacuees continued to funnel into the disparaged camps erected around Gria's walls, escorted by guardsmen using the wagons and coaches of traders which had been repurposed to suit the war effort. As a result of the Demon threat plaguing the land, still-populated hamlets suffered severe shortages of food and materials, especially those that were recently-founded or only beginning to develop their localised economies. Dependant on the deliveries of commodities from passing traders and caravans, they were the first to be marked for evacuation once news of the encroaching Demon Age reached Tor. Thanks to the enforcement of nearby guardsmen, crime was rare within the evacuee camp, but living conditions and rationing remained underdeveloped and disorganised, sowing the seeds of discontent among its dwellers.

It was on the second night following the appearance of those Demons marching on the capital when they had drawn close enough to necessitate a 24-hour watch by every available scout in the city. As the Anti-Demon Leagues were moved to the western walls, from where the Demons approached, efforts were made to move as many non-combatants as possible into the city. It was nearabouts the stroke of midnight, or perhaps a few minutes later, when word travelled from the westernmost battlements that a group of huge silhouettes had been spotted on the horizon.

Only an unfortunate few within Gria--scouts, mostly, had ever witnessed the true form of a Demon, and what little those men were willing to share about their experiences only fueled the worried rumours which coursed through the city like bad blood. Gargantuan titans--creatures not of this world. Muscles and organs clearly visible, jaws of innumerable teeth sharper than any blade. Like unfinished mistakes of life, they moved with staggered gaits, or crawled like maggots through the dirt. Their eyes, empty and predatory, resembled those of insects--unfettered by complex emotions or doubt. Indeed, it was obvious at a glance that Demons were disconnected from the very concept of life itself, as if they had been sculpted for the singular purpose of bringing death wherever they wandered.

"What terrible creatures…" Armed with a spyglass, King Granda IV did not allow fear or worry to overcome his expression as he stood on the western battlements, "But for the sake of humankind--no, for the sake of this world, we must fight. Even when faced with unconquerable odds, humanity has prevailed time and time again. Tonight shall be no different."

Their plan was simple enough. The footmen of the Anti-Demon Leagues would move to intercept and encircle the Demons while their sorcerer commanders utilised the magic circles near Gria's walls. A bombardment of high-level magic would penetrate even the toughest of armour, having already been proven by Dorma, Lotte and Yula's attack against Tiamat. The determining factor of their success would be just how well the Leagues could keep the Demons in one place. At Dorma's request, the soldiers themselves were lightly armoured to allow for more evasive movements, advising that it simply wouldn't be possible to outfit a soldier in such a way as to resist Demon attacks to any reasonable extent.

"Our focus will be on the anti-matter school of magic." In a previous meeting, Lotte had outlined the most effective usage of sorcery to attack Demons, "A Demon's hide is nigh-impenetrable, but it cannot resist the fundamental laws of the universe. Instead of bombarding the group indiscriminately, we will invoke high-level anti-matter beams at close range to ensure maximum damage. The Anti-Demon Leagues will protect you all as you incant."

Altogether, 100 Demons were approaching the city walls. That number had been corroborated with multiple scout reports as to their density. Each Anti-Demon League was divided into 10 companies of 100 soldiers, meaning a grand total of 20,000 men had been assembled to combat the threat--a not insignificant portion of Gria's total population.

While King Branda was the leading commander of the battle, each of the 20 sorcerers in charge of the Anti-Demon Leagues had their own responsibility to ensure the survival of their soldiers. It couldn't be said for certain just how deadly of a battle it would be, with how little humankind understood of the strength of Demons.

Lumbering like mindless husks towards Gria, the forms of those Demons became more and more visible as they drew closer. Some of them took barely-recognisable forms--Hounds, Slimes, Avians, Reptiles--but others took on such nightmarish appearances as to instil terror in even the guardsmen standing upon the city walls.

"Spread out!" Lotte demanded, throwing his arms out, "Don't let yourselves get stacked up! Some of them are capable of attacking from range!"

As if to accentuate his point, there was a blinding flash in the night--a second sun descending upon the world, and a beam of sapphire light which dug through the soil before rising up to pass over Gria's walls, leaving perfect grooves of nothingness where it struck. Thankfully, only a few soldiers were caught in the beam, but those that were had been reduced to ashes, incapable of resurrecting.

"Move in to encircle the group!" Lotte ordered, reaching into his trouser pocket to retrieve a strange-looking object--a pebble with laser-precise grooves on its surface.

"To all commanders, scatter your Leagues before sending them in and return to the walls! Begin the attack as soon as possible!" He yelled into the pebble, "We can't just sit around and wait for them to approach!"

It was a magical item--a kind of communicator that was capable of sending one's voice to pebbles with comparable grooves. Most commonly used by fleets to communicate from vessel to vessel, they had also seen use in the organisation of troops during times of conflict. As Lotte departed from his League, who had begun to march towards the Demon group, he quickly set his sights on one of the five-layered magical circles close to the palisade walls of the evacuee camp.

A continuous stream of beams soon began to emerge from the far darkness. The Demons responsible--those who were known as 'Barrel-Fiends', were like massive tubes of flesh on two gangly legs, capable of emitting a kind of magical laser from their engorged heads. For lack of a better term, they were the 'archers' of Demonkind, able to attack from a considerable distance.

As ordered, the companies of the Anti-Demon Leagues adopted loose formations in order to minimise casualties from the beams. It would also make it more practical to encircle the group when the time came. Linking up with 2 other sorcerers, including Yula, Lotte quickly began preparing a high-level anti-matter spell to be amplified by the magic circle.

Morale among the soldiers sent to confront those Demons was high, despite the casualties sustained by Barrel-Fiend attacks. This was largely due to the training they had endured to become members of such a powerful fighting force. As Dorma had advised, Demons were adept at spreading despair amongst their enemies, and declared that only the most iron-willed of warriors would be capable of facing them down. Yes, it was no exaggeration that those soldiers were more than ready to sacrifice their lives, if it was necessary to protect their country. Spreading out as they drew closer to the Demons, the Leagues prepared themselves for a counterattack, taking careful note of the large, long-snouted Hounds, whose ferocious assaults had been documented in the Elven archives.

"Hah…" Taking a breath as he finished the incantation alongside his comrades, Lotte turned to look towards the encroaching horde, "It's time. Let's begin with this barrage. Hopefully it will sow confusion amongst them, if they're even capable of feeling such emotions."

"Shouldn't we wait for the other commanders to report their readiness?" Yula asked, "Attacking all at once would prevent the Demons from evading."

"Perhaps you're right…" Lotte admitted, reaching for his Sending Stone, "How are everyone's incantations proceeding? The three of us stand ready to attack."

Reports came in. A number of muffled voices signalled their readiness to attack, whereas others requested a few moments more to finish their incantations.

"There's no need to rush, Lotte." Yula soothed, "The Leagues are well-trained. They'll keep the Demons at bay until everyone is ready."

"I certainly hope so." He replied, "I can't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen…"

As if to validate his worry, there was another flash of light in the distance. However, unlike the blinding, all-encompassing light emitted by the Barrel-Fiends, this one was constant--a cerulean glow forming a fuzzy half-circle over both the Demons and the Anti-Demon Leagues. Squinting his eyes to look closer, a strange sensation overcame Lotte--a sensation of heat rippling against his skin. It wasn't a particularly unpleasant heat. Like the touch of a warm summer's day, but one nonetheless surrounded by an aura of wrongness--the sense of passive danger received when one stands too close to an oven, or on the precipice of a grand cliff.

"What the-" Shielding his eyes from the glow, Lotte watched as the glowing half-circle faded away. It couldn't have lasted for more than two seconds, "What was that?"

"Lotte!" Yula shouted, "The other sorcerers are ready!"

"R-Right…" Turning back to his comrades, he refocuses himself, "It's time to begin the attack."