Ili's eyes darted away from her attacker towards the tower, seeing her master fighting against the demon. As she saw the demon hit far away, the man in front of her seemed to calm down slightly, looking at her confused.
"Why am I..."
He looked at Ili, then at the broken sword he was holding. The dark aura surrounding the city seemed to lower in intensity. The people stopped fighting, looking at each other with a calming anger, returning back to their senses, questioning their actions. 'So their actions were being influenced by the Demon of Hatred, bringing out all the worst in everybody, all their hidden anger and hatred for each other…' Ili thought to herself, looking around and calming herself.
She looked up at the tower, seeing her master launching towards the direction of the demon, disappearing from sight. The music also seemed to get much quieter, starting to die down the slightest bit... All the chaos started to become a little more bearable. This was her chance…
Taking a deep breath, Ili placed her hands together, channeling her mana.
Thanks to Kulhun's explanations, Ili understood the concept of the spell to create fireworks… Although she hasn't tried it before…
She opened her palms. From inside, a sphere of light shot towards the sky, exploding in a warm spectacle or smaller lights.
The explosion caught everyone's attention, making them stop from what they were doing. The distraction made most come back to their senses, questioning their actions.
"It's a demon!" Ili shouted, her voice echoing through the chaos. Everyone looked at her. "The demon is bringing out everyone's anger and hatred, making you act that way towards each other! You can't let it consume you! The things you are feeling aren't real!"
The people looked around, letting go of their weapons.
"She's right," a man spoke, helping the person he was fighting with from the ground. "We're not acting like ourselves."
"If we stay here and fight against each other, we'll be dead before long." Ili spoke again, looking around. "Please… Trust me, like you trusted me before… Follow me to the hills. You'll be safe there…"
From the crowd, people started to come forward, looking at her with solemn expressions, nodding.
"You heard her!" another man spoke. "Get in line! Let's go, we don't have much time!"
"Come on! Everyone!"
Ili's eyes widened as she watched the people start gathering in an organized group. There were people coordinating them, others helping the wounded and old. Everything was starting to work out. It wasn't as hopeless as it seemed at first…
A man approached her.
"Tell us where, and we'll follow you..."
Ili nodded, looking outside the gates of the city. She pointed her finger towards a far away hill.
"We'll go there. We must get as far away as we can, but also high up. If we stand on the ground, we could be crushed by the stones and rubble thrown away from the fight, as well as the flames. The flames might also reach the forests, so it wouldn't be safe to stay too close to trees..."
The man nodded, turning to the others. Shouts started to be heard from the ground, signaling for them to leave. Slowly, the whole group started moving, evacuating towards the hill she pointed at...
After some time, the last of the group exited the city. Ili stood next to them, looking back towards the gates. Her eyes lit up and her breath caught in her throat as she saw two more people getting out of the city gates. Zephyr and Vella finally made it out...
Ili ran towards them, hugging the two as soon as she made it.
"I'm so glad you two are safe! I thought... Vella, your arm..."
"It's alright, it's just a small wound." the succubus responded, smiling sweetly to take away Ili's worry.
Ili took Vella near her, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder and casting healing magic as they walked.
Zephyr turned his head towards the place the battle was moved to. They still weren't safe… Not as long as the demon was alive…
The large group continued moving uphill, getting away from the city.