The Demonic Legion and the Fury of the Dragons
Elzareth, a city in the kingdom of Cælora usually bustling with markets and children playing through the alleys, was beginning to become deserted.
The inhabitants had gathered around the stone altar in the center of the city, their eyes riveted on the flames of a huge inferno. This sacred fire was linked to the power of the dragon king Volmeryn and was reputed to reflect the balance of the kingdom. Today, the flames were dying.
Whoosh. Crackle. The fire crackling with faint sparks.
Murmurs were heard in the crowd:
«The fire is getting weak... That means the Dragon King Volmeryn is in danger, right?» said an old woman.
A man dressed in a uniform of the royal guards of Cælora placed a comforting hand on the old lady's shoulder:
«The Dragon King Volmeryn never falters. He is preparing. You'll see, he'll destroy these demons as he always has.»
But despite his words to reassure the old lady, the soldier himself could not help but tremble.
He was one of the few who really knew what was going on on the borders of the kingdom. They had learned that messages from the outposts spoke of demonic hordes, dark skies, and villages wiped out before the inhabitants could even flee.
Not far from the soldier there was a young woman who was holding her child close to her. The boy barely six years old looked at the flames with curiosity:
«Mom, why has the fire become so small? The Dragon King no longer protects the kingdom?»
The woman gently stroked her son's hair and tried to hide her concern:
«The Dragon King Volmeryn always protects us, my treasure. This fire, however weak, is also a sign that he is watching over us. He will guide us to victory, my child.»
There was a great fear. If Volmeryn failed, what would they have left ?
The demonic army advanced, corrupting everything in its path. At their head, Zalkaroth stood straight. Behind him, his lieutenants followed each possessing a sinister aura.
Thud. Thud. Thud. The ground trembled with each step of their march.
— Zalkaroth: «So, this is where the so-called dragon king built his empire... Pathetic.»
His gaze turned to Khral'thar, one of his lieutenants:
«Lord Thanatos has sent us on a clear mission: to destroy this usurper and seize his kingdom. It is time for the world of Thanar to expand its influence across these dimensions.»
— Khral'thar (sneering): «A dragon king? His legends are overrated. Hah! This Volmeryn is only a mortal praised by his worshippers. I will reduce him to dust and carry his head to Lord Thanatos.»
At his side, another lieutenant named Sythranix watched calmly.
«Don't be so quick to underestimate him, Khral'thar. Stories of Thanar have spoken of him as a potential scourge for our world. But he is nothing in the face of the will of our god.»
Crackle. Fwoom! Another lieutenant named Thrazar, folded his arms.
«It is seldom that lord Thanatos deigns to send us on a mission. Consider this an honor, Zalkaroth. Failure is out of the question.»
The last lieutenant, Vorrak the Shattered, remained silent. Clink. Clank. Black chains wrapped around his mutilated body.
Zalkaroth: «Volmeryn and his army believe they have conquered this dimension. But the world of Thanar is limitless. We are subordinates of the god of death Thanatos. We are the messengers of nothingness. Hmph. And today, this kingdom will bend to our will.»
But at that moment, Brrrmmm! a titanic clock, appeared above Zalkaroth and his demonic army. Time seemed to stop.
Ting... Ting... Ting... The sound of chimes resonated as the clock pulsed with cosmic energy.
As Lysandros appeared in front of him, Zalkaroth burst out laughing. Hah! Hahaha!
«A dragon toy of time? You are only an insignificant curiosity. The world of Thanar has seen the birth and death of eons. Do you think you have mastered what Lord Thanatos has been teaching us for millennia?»
— Lysandros (mockingly): «And despite all this time, you are here, sent like obedient puppets. Your god must be very desperate.»
CLANG! A furious Zalkaroth wielded his abyssal spear, but before it could strike Lysandros, the dragon made a careless move. The spear disintegrated, it was reduced to temporal dust.
— Lysandros: «Really? A spear? Tsk! I have seen weapons capable of erasing dimensions. You... Do you come with that? Pathetic.»
BOOM! Zalkaroth was angry and summoned a torrent of demonic energy that broke through Lysandros' time barriers. But the dragon was still laughing.
— Lysandros: «Ah, a little resistance? Hah! Amusing. Let's see how long you can hold out.»
He held out his hand and the clock above the battlefield made a THUD ! . Each hit reduced a part of Zalkaroth's existence.
Meanwhile, on another front, Arelon confronts Lieutenant Khral'thar.
Khral'thar: «Do you think you can fight with me, dragon?»THOOM! He raised his titanic axe.
— Arelon: «You talk too much for someone who will soon no longer exist.»
With a quick gesture, Arelon released a wave of entropy that hit the lieutenant. Khral'thar screamed as his body began to dissipate, "Aaaaargh!" but he reconstituted himself by defying total obliteration.
— Arelon: «Fascinating. But entropy never gets tired.»
In the throne room, Volmeryn still watched events with his unwavering confidence.
— Volmeryn: «Zalkaroth thinks I'm passive... But this is just the beginning. Get ready, demon emperor. When the king enters the dance, even the gods tremble.Hmhmhm…»
«With my power, I can defeat a god.»
[System: Quest Activated: Demonstrate that you can breathe without bragging for 5 minutes.]
Volmeryn : « Shut the fuck up system. »
The celestial plain that had been the scene of the clashes between dragons and demons had been transformed into a landscape of chaos.
In another location on the battlefield, Nethrath faced Lieutenant Thrazar. Abyssal flames around Thrazar burned the air.
Thrazar: «Dragon, you may be the embodiment of infinity but you will know the end by my flames!»
Nethrath: «Insignificant spark... To try to challenge me is to sign your own absurdity.»
Fwoooosh: Thrazar channeled a wave of abyssal fire, it was a black and scarlet flame so dense that it shattered the void around them. The projectile flew with a whooomph! by hitting Nethrath in the chest in a titanic explosion. BOOOM!
But through the ash and smoke, Nethrath appeared unharmed with a mocking smile on his lips.
Nethrath: «A nice firework, demon. Perhaps you would have more success entertaining mortals. Is this all that your lord Thanatos has taught you?»
Craaaack — Nethrath opened his dragon wings by bending the laws of gravity and time. Spheres of light appeared around him in a wuuuum ! , and each of them contained divergent realities. He took a deep breath and then he released a shoooooom breath! which reduced an entire section of the battlefield to an absolute vacuum.
Thrazar dodged by opening a rift into the abyss and emerged behind Nethrath. In an instant, he creates a flaming spear made of infernal runes and hurls it towards the dragon. Ssshhhhh-WHOOSH! The spear pierced Nethrath's right wing and he let out a cry of pain. "ARRRRRHH!"
Thrazar: «You're not invincible, Dragon. Even infinity can bleed.»
Nethrath (smiling): «Bleeding? Oh, poor bug... This is only a remnant of my form, a mere fragment that I offer you for your arrogance.»
With a single thought, Nethrath regenerated his wing. "Shiiiiiinnnng!"
Suddenly, Thrazar found himself caught in a maze of fractal spaces. Every attack he attempted to escape was deflected against himself and his flames dissipated into endless vortexes. "Fwoosh! CRACK! WHAM!"
Nethrath (mocking): «You are lost, little demon. How much longer do you want to play warrior? I could destroy you in one breath, but I think seeing you struggle is much more fun.»
Thrazar screamed in rage as he made a final attack. "GRRAAAAAHHHH!" He concentrated all his essence into a cataclysmic explosion of abyssal fire.
The attack hit Nethrath, triggering a flash so intense that the universe seemed to die out for a moment. "BOOOOOOM!" But when the light disappeared, Nethrath appeared intact and smiling.
Nethrath: «Admirable... but futile. You're just an ant who wants to defy a hurricane.»
In response, Nethrath used his skill called the "Flood of Eternity": it was a breath that engulfed Thrazar in a sea of kaleidoscopic lights. "WHOOOOSH! KRRRRAAAKKK!" By annihilating not only his body but also the traces of his existence through time and space.
Nethrath (watching the traces disappear): «Your abyssal flames... extinguished as easily as a candle. Return to your nothingness Thrazar. Maybe you'll be more useful as an insignificant souvenir.»
On the other side, Arelon stood above the ruins where Khral'thar was desperately struggling to reform his decaying body. "Squelch... SQUISH..." The demon's flesh fragments tried to come together but with each attempt, Arelon raised just a finger and annihilated his efforts with a simple gesture. "FZZZZZ!"
Arelon: «Poor creature, your immortality is a cage not a force. How many times will I have to destroy you before you understand the futility of your resistance?»
A shapeless black mass emerged from the bowels of Khral'thar, swirling around him like a storm. "WHIRRRRRR!" He launched the attack with a devastating force that distorted space into a spiral of shadows. "KRRRRRAK-THOOM!" But Arelon remained motionless, still with his mocking gaze.
— Arelon: «A spatial skill? It's almost... charming. What a lack of respect towards us who are dragon gods. »
With a quick gesture he made a black sphere appear, condensed from an abyss of entropy. Vwooom. The air around them froze as if suspended by an inexorable force. Then the sphere fused fssshhh ! engulfing Khral'thar. The flesh, armor, and even the essence of the demon began to disintegrate, sucked into an inverted existence where all that had been ceased to be.
Khral'thar, to escape the grip of the attack tore off a fragment of his own body with a shrawn sound to escape total disintegration.
Arelon (with a cruel smile): «Do you persist? Either. »
With a snap of his fingers, Arelon released a purple wave. The attack spread encompassing a radius so vast that distant stars in the sky were annihilated . BOOM!! Khral'thar disappeared with his immortality bypassed by the total destruction of his essence.
— Arelon: «Poor stars, I destroyed them without meaning for this less than nothing. They really don't measure up. I hope Zalkaroth will be more entertaining. »
On another battlefield, Eirlys the dragon faced Sythranix. The demon, master of corruption and disease that turned the soil into a pestilential swamp. Splosh splosh, the black waters began to spread around them.
— Sythranix: «Look at yourself, little dragon, the life you embody is just a weakness to be exploited. Everything that lives can die and I am that death. You should have stayed with Volmeryn, prepared his meals and bore his heirs. This is the role of a woman. »
— Eirlys : «Death? Don't be ridiculous. Death is only part of what I control. And if you think that I will reduce myself to such a pitiful woman's role, you are even more stupid than I thought. »
Sythranix roared GRRAAAARGH as it launched a wave of black corruption, it was a flood of energy that tried to eat away at Eirlys. But at the moment of contact, an explosion of light BOOM! repelled the attack by purifying everything it touched. Fwoooosh, the darkness was dissipating under the influence of the light.
— Eirlys: «Enough played.»
She plunged her hands into the ground and whispered a strange incantation. Luminous vines rose from the ground and wrapped around Sythranix. The demon struggled but the light seeped into him and consumed his corruption from within. He was screaming in unimaginable pain that shattered his being.
— Sythranix: «GRAAAAAAH!»
— Eirlys: «You wanted to play with death? I'll show you what it really means. »
Vrrroum!! A vortex of light appeared as it sucked in Sythranix. His scream, an AAAAARGH, disappeared while his essence was annihilated.
CHAPTER ENDED.