Demoness 2 - Chapter 64 - Strategic Weapons (Patreon)

Elania’s heart sank as flew over the City Watch district.

The outer wall had been breached, a gaping hole blown through the stone and mortar. Flames licked at the edges of the hole, the acrid smell of smoke filling the air. A hastily twisted tower of metal had been put in place for the enemy to climb up and through the defense.

It wasn’t the only hole, either.

All along the southeastern section of the wall, the stone burned, the heat so intense that Elania could feel it even from a distance.

Lightbringers poured through the gap, their armor glinting in the flickering light of the flames. They swept across the wall, their numbers overwhelming the defenders.

The City Watch Fortress stood at the center of the district, its towers belching cannon fire in a desperate attempt to stem the tide.

But even from here, Elania could tell that the musket fire had slowed, the steady crack of shock-crystals fading into the chaos of battle.

Crossbow bolts flew back and forth, the defenders and attackers alike seeking to pincushion their foes.

“Where is Magister Bannon?” Elania muttered to herself.

He should have been able to use his magic to hold the tide, to turn back the Lightbringer assault. But there was no sign of him, no flashes of arcane energy or thunderous explosions.

She knew that the City Watch was outnumbered, outgunned, and running low on ammunition. Without Magister Bannon’s support, they didn’t stand a chance.

“Damn it all,” she muttered, reaching for her sword. She had to do something.

She soared over a dense pocket of Lightbringers on the wall. The sword wasn’t really needed. She was able to summon her attacks without it but having something in hand somehow felt better.

Maybe it was the seraph memory from Eziel’s vision?

Behind her, shimmering spears of pure light materialized, hanging suspended in the air, waiting for her command.

She completed her pass, flipping around mid-flight to face the enemy below.

She pointed her sword at them.

The light spears plummeting downward. The Lightbringers, caught off guard by the sudden aerial assault, had no time to react.

The spears struck the wall in rapid succession, each one detonating in a blinding explosion of divine energy.

The force of the blasts tore through the enemy ranks, their armor and flesh alike disintegrating under the onslaught. No warding spells or defensive barriers had been active.

As the smoke cleared, the wall lay bare; the Lightbringers reduced to nothing more than charred remnants and twisted metal.

Elania allowed herself a moment of satisfaction before turning and seeking a nearby melee.

She landed amidst a group of City Watch guards hopelessly mixed with the invaders. Her enchanted Magistry sword cleaved through the Lightbringers’ armor as if it were paper. The claws flaring from her left hand, crackling with energy, tore at their flesh, leaving deep, sizzling wounds in their wake.

“Push them back!” Elania shouted to the guards, her voice cutting through the din of battle. “Don’t let them gain another inch!”

The guards rallied. Before, where they had been falling back and trying to escape, now they were pushing forward, knocking down siege ladders and holding the line.

A sudden heavy blow slammed into her from behind, smashing her against a stone crenulation.

The impact cracked the masonry, sending shards of rock flying outward and she nearly went tumbling off the wall with it.

The familiar tingling sensation of [Regeneration] kicked in, knitting together her bruised side and mending the cracked bones. A flare of [Power] and a stretch of her wings halted the momentum, and she regained her feet, twirling to face the direction of the attack.

There was no one there.

Confused, she spread her wings and started to push off the wall, but a gust of wind slammed into her from above, knocking her back down.

She hit the stone with a painful thud, her wings crumpling beneath her. It took a pulse of [Power] and will to shove off the magical attack.

Wind. Wind magic, she realized.

She rolled onto her feet and curled her wings around her like a shield, scanning the battlefield for the source.

Standing atop a nearby tower were two figures. One she recognized as Elder Gant, his robes fluttering in the wind. The other was a large man clad in pristine white armor, his outstretched hand clutching a ball of pale green swirling energy.

Elania pushed herself to her feet, draining a mana shard and pressing it through her [Demonic Aura] to form a defensive barrier. Just as she finished, she felt a perilous spike stab into it, but the magic dissolved inside of her [Power].

Her heart sank at the realization of why Magister Bannon hadn’t been out on the battlefield. There were other major combatants on the enemy’s side, likely powerful enough to overpower him.

And now she faced two of them at once.

The air magic of the paladin posed an extreme threat to her aerial mobility. She wasn’t sure she could fly and block his magic simultaneously, leaving her vulnerable.

She hadn’t directly confronted Elder Gant during the clash at the Conclave Citadel, but she knew he had been at least as strong as Magister Bannon.

Gant jumped down from the tower, then began to approach with slow, deliberate steps. His movement was measured, calculated.

Elania’s grip tightened on her sword, her knuckles turning white. She could feel the tension in the air, the anticipation of the impending confrontation.

All the Guards and Lightbringers fighting had somehow moved away, still locked in their smaller conflicts, but unconsciously moving away as if they could sense the giants in their midst.

Like a fucking Dynasty Warriors game. Gant stopped and raised his chin with a smug look. Elania growled back.

“So, the demon shows her face at last,” Gant said, his voice carrying across the battlefield. “I believe you illegally impugned my name to trespass where you did not belong.”

Elania’s lips curled into a snarl. “Spare me the pleasantries, Gant.”

“Indeed,” Gant replied, his eyes narrowing. “Your presence in this city has been a blight upon our holy mission. It is time to rectify that mistake.”

He took another step forward, closing the distance between them. Elania shifted her stance, preparing for the inevitable clash. She knew Gant wanted to engage her up close, while aerial advantage was nullified and force her into a ground battle.

“You’re welcome to try,” Elania said, her voice dripping with venom. “But I won’t go down easily.”

Gant’s lips twitched into a smile. “I would expect nothing less from a creature of your ilk. But even demons can be purged by the light of righteousness.”

“I’m so tired of two-bit villain acts,” Elania hissed.

Her eyes slid off her opponent. Normally that would be suicide, but she didn’t like her odds in a two-on-one.

The city behind Gant and the paladin stretched behind them. It was nearly a straight line through the Artisan district, then through the Conclave district, and finally the Conclave Fortress.

A direct line to the enemy base. Nothing important—that was Yolani, Henri, the Magistry, and City Watch—in the way. That was all behind her.

A chill ran down her spine.

It was easy to imagine Elder Holt or more Paladins showing up at any moment.

Elania made a decision. The last time, it had been in a panic. This time, it was a measured response.

She sucked down all the power in her left bracer at once, forcing it into her palm as fast as she could.

The energy compressed, condensing into a dense, pulsating sphere.

It wanted released and did not want to remain smashed together.

They thought their pet seraph was the only one capable of launching strategic laser beams?

She would show them.

Winx had survived her first attempt, but this time she had more focus and experience with the ridiculous discharge.

She narrowed her aura and sucked down another mana shard in her other bracer just to pump her [Demonic Aura] enough to focus the energy into a narrow beam.

Narrow being nearly thirty meters in diameter, but things were relative, right?

Her vision disappeared in a flash of blinding light as her attack lashed out, a searing lance of [Divinity] laced energy that moved in slow motion.

Recoil from the shaping slammed into her, nearly knocking her off her feet, but she held her ground, her wings flaring out to steady herself.

Stone and metal turned to liquid, then vaporized into hot plasma. Buildings simply ceased to exist, along with their inhabitants. The ground trembled, the earth inside the city cavern buckling under the pressure.

Even the light stones flickered. Reality didn’t like what she was doing, the air around the laser turned into reflective glass shards before shattering.

When the point of the blast finally struck the wall of the cavern where the Conclave fortress stood, it dug into the stone deeply. A river of lava poured out and over the section where the bridges had once stood, scouring away their efforts to rebuild a crossing.

Finally, the power winked out all at once, the beam simply shrinking into itself and ceasing to exist. The air still crackled with residual energy.

Elania stared at the devastation her attack had wrought.

She focused her [Enhanced Mana Sense], reaching out to scan the area for any signs of life. Nothing. No trace of Gant or the Paladin’s essence remained, their life force snuffed out by the sheer power of the attack.

The nearby enemy soldiers turned and routed. The guards were too exhausted to chase and began to tend the wounded instead. They were in such rough shape that none of them cheered.

Elania turned and looked up to the City Watch Fortress. No more delays.

She pushed off the ground, her wings carrying her upwards.