The six sorcerers stood at the ready, hands forward as if to prepare for spellcasting. The one who addressed her was a man of average height with slicked back black hair as dark as oil.
His cocky grin made her curious.
"Are you hard of hearing? I asked you a question, were you the ones who saved our sorcerers the other day?"
The man repeated himself slowly, condescension dripping with every word.
"Hang on Darius, my orders were to shadow her and observe. I was to report back to our superiors what I had learned."
Darius, the alleged leader of the new arrivals, glared at the man who had been stalking Seris. The two were very different from each other.
Seris noted that the stalker looked like a military soldier, clean cut hair that was kept short with a tidy uniform. He wore the same uniform as the rest of them. A pair of black slacks with a neat buttoned up black shirt that had the abbreviation, G.O.S. on the left breast.
Seris hadn't paid attention the other day to what the sorcerers had been wearing, she was too preoccupied with other things, like food.
"I don't care what your orders were, Orion, my orders came straight from the top."
Orion scowled at Darius while shaking his head.
"Where was I? Oh yes, you had better start talking or I will be forced to bring you in for further questioning."
Seris gave a small grin before replying, "I wouldn't try that if I were you. It would be a shame to scatter your body all over this nice sidewalk."
Darius looked like he had stepped in something foul. He obviously wasn't used to someone throwing his attitude back at him. It made Seris want to push his buttons even more.
"Are you threatening a member of the Global Order of Sorcerers?"
The air between them all grew heavy, as if a thunderstorm was slowly brewing. Sparks leapt from the hands of the sorcerers that flanked Darius. None of them looked very confident though.
"I wasn't threatening you, I was merely giving some friendly advice. Besides, I'm not really interested in talking to your superiors or answering your questions right now."
Orion grinned savagely behind Seris, he was happy to see someone walk all over the smug sorcerer.
The sudden clicking of someone taking photographs interrupted the tension.
Erin stood off to the side, away from the group in what he believed was a safe distance. He was focused on taking as many pictures as he could.
"This is great, the sorcerer out of time being confronted by the Global Order of Sorcerers."
Seris wore a look that clearly said, "huh?"
The truth was that Seris was actually curious about the state of the modern order and the higher ups running the show. She knew that eventually she would have to visit the temple but not right now. The thought of everything changing made her uncomfortable. Then there was the matter of learning what had happened to her friends, the longer she avoided the local temple, the longer she could delay finding out.
BOOM!
A building in the distance exploded.
The group turned as one, their faces switching from uneasy to determined.
"Another one this soon? This is getting out of hand," Orion muttered.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this. You just sit back newcomer and watch how a professional sorcerer handles a demon incursion."
Darius secretly believed that if the woman saw just how powerful he was, she would be so impressed that she would drop her attitude and comply with his demands. It usually worked on both civilians and other sorcerers so he had no reason to think it wouldn't work on her.
Seris cocked an eyebrow before waving her hands at him to get going, "show me what you got hot stuff."
Orion facepalmed himself while groaning. Darius was going to get carried away which meant there would be a lot of unintentional destruction. The higher ups were going to have a field day about this.
"Oh wow! Not only did I capture this tense standoff but now this?" Erin was practically falling over himself as he took off running to catch up with Darius.
Unlike Darius, Erin knew that there was a good chance Seris would get involved. He was hoping to capture some pictures that showed her in a positive light like saving the day again.
"Erin, wait!" Seris called out before sighing heavily.
***
Demons tore through cars, smashed walls, and shattered windows. They burned everything they came into contact with. The smell of sulfur wafted through the air, choking anyone who stood too close.
Civilians ran in all directions, some didn't make it time as they were snatched up by demons eager to shed human blood.
THUNK!
A large chunk of ice embedded itself into the chest of a demon who was busy eating away at a human. It fell over with a soft thud which caught the others attention.
Growls and howling erupted through the streets as the demons surged forward to confront Darius.
Darius stood confidently on top of a large semi-truck.
"You chose the wrong day to attack. You couldn't have known that I, Darius Valeno, would also be in the same city."
The demons threw themselves at him, flying through the air with outstretched talons that were every bit as black as Darius's hair.
He raised his hands in front of him, summoning his mana.
An ice blue ring of geometric shapes formed around his hands as dozens of razor sharp icicles fired out of them.
The hail of frozen missiles tore through the wave of demons, tearing up the paved road beneath them.
Darius turned, firing his spell in a different direction, hitting another wave of crimson skin demons who had tried to attack from his left.
"Is this really all you have? You guys are weaker than the last raiding party I killed. Pathetic."
Darius didn't see the demon approaching from his right.
SLAM!
Darius flew off the semi-trailer, crashing against a brick wall on the opposite side of the street.
Blood trickled down his forehead as he lifted himself up to see who had dared touch him.
A large, muscular demon stood where he had been only a few seconds ago. The demon, unlike the other impish lower level creatures running around, was over six feet tall with large black horns that curled up from his forehead.
"A demon barbarian. You got lucky with that hit. It won't happen again."
Daris pushed himself up slowly, ignoring the aching muscles and raised his hands.
"Hey, you're doing great, keep it up I'm rooting for you!"
Darius noticed the white haired woman sitting on top of a building, overlooking the battlefield below. She wore a friendly, teasing smile as she waved encouragingly at him.
Darius growled in anger before summoning more mana.
Two rings of light with triangles and squares formed around his hands. The fiery red light almost felt warm as he cast his second strongest spell.
A gushing torrent of fire shot forth, thick as a tree, hitting the semi-trailer. It engulfed it so completely that the truck was no longer visible.
BOOM!
The truck exploded from the intense heat, sending debris everywhere.
When the spell finished casting, Darius felt his knees buckle. His mana was getting low, but that spell should have done it. The rest of his companions could finish off the demonic imps.
"You're interrupting my fun," Seris said dryly as one of the imps rushed at her. It alone had figured out where she was, eager to get the kill it ran at her without hesitation.
Seris made a slashing move with her index finger.
A blade of invisible energy cleaved the imp in two.
She didn't bother to watch as the two halves of the demon fell to the ground below her.
A fist caught Darius in the stomach. He had enough time to see the glowing red, murderous eyes of the barbarian before he was launched backwards.
He crashed into the side of a car, sliding to the ground with a groan.
What the hell was this? Barbarians weren't this powerful, he had killed several of them before. Was this something else then? It looked just like the rest of them but its power was at least two or three times greater.
He glanced up to see the woman giving him an excited two thumbs up.
Anger blossomed within him, how dare she mock him. Darius was the strongest sorcerer of his generation, the strongest in the order. He was not going to lose to some barbarian muscle headed monster.
He thrust his hands forward as rings of purple surrounded them.
Lightening chained outwards, striking everything in its path.
Cars, street lamps, windows, buildings, demons everything was hit by the magical lightning bolts.
The barbarian threw out his chest, beating on it with one hand while staring defiantly at Darius.
The lightning hit the barbarian but he simply stood there, gritting his teeth as the powerful, destructive energy crackled through him.
It was over.
The barbarian stalked forward, grinning savagely as it flexed its giant fingers.
Darius tried to summon another spell but it was no use, he was tapped out. His body was exhausted and he could barely stand. He had used too much mana too quickly.
Fear flitted across his eyes as he saw his own death staring him in the face.
Seris had always been considered gifted when it came to spell theory. Her ability to analyze and break any spell down to its basic level meant that she could not only learn those spells but also modify them to her own liking. Most sorcerers couldn't accomplish this so easily. Using this gift, she had been analyzing Darius's attacks.
They were strong, destructive, and more than enough to kill most lower rank demons. Reflecting back on the sorcerers she encountered earlier and seeing Darius in action pointed out a simple fact: modern sorcerers were weak.
In her day, all sorcerers learned a wide variety of magic from offensive to defensive to even healing and utility. Sorcerers also learn how to augment their physical bodies making them more durable, stronger, and faster. This allowed them to physically keep up with their enemies whether demon or undead.
Darius though, along with the other sorcerers, displayed none of these skills. Seris's eyes narrowed as she began to understand why the demon attacks were becoming more frequent; it's because the only ones keeping them at bay were growing weaker. Who was to blame though?
Seris dismissed these dark thoughts and observations. No sense in sitting here while Darius got crushed to death. She vanished silently from her perch.
"Mind if I jump in, I'm not sure I can match such a powerful display but hey, I'll give it my best!"
Seris sat on top of the car he had been slammed into, mocking him as he laid there in pain.
How had she gotten there? He hadn't heard her approach.
Seris didn't wait for his answer.