After their initial terse encounter, a couple of weeks had passed by without incident. No more incursions had taken place in the city and things were relatively peaceful. Peace though, doesn't last for long.
Amelia had progressed quickly from the simple candle flame to the orange. She struggled more with this exercise because, unlike the candle, the orange had more detail to it. The color, dimples, taste, scent all of it had to be recalled perfectly in her mind before she could progress any further.
It was during one of these sessions, while she had been staring hard at the orange in front of her, that a sudden alert on her phone broke her concentration.
"Alert: Sapphire City is under attack. Demonic incursion spotted. All citizens are advised to evacuate the area."
She finished reading the alert out loud which caught the attention of Seris who had been meditating while hovering in the air in the corner of the room.
One blue eye opened at her words, just in time to see a look of worry float across Amelia's face.
"Whats wrong?"
"It's nothing," Amelia lied. She had a horrible poker face though and it didn't take a lot of skill or perception for Seris to see through it.
"Keeping secrets now?"
"No, it's just… my family lives in Sapphire City."
Seris landed gracefully on her feet, giving her apprentice a thoughtful look.
"Are they strong enough to protect themselves?"
Amelia thought about that. In truth, her clan was relatively stronger than others thanks to their ancestor but these days… power varied widely between her family members. She was absolutely certain that some of them could handle a demonic attack but there were some that would be helpless. Just as she would have been if she had stayed home.
"I'm not sure."
Seris nodded and gave a brief look of understanding.
"Then let's go save them."
Amelia quickly looked up, surprised by the casual acceptance of her mentor.
"Are you sure? The city is fairly far from here, it would take you a while to get there."
Seris studied Amelia's face closely, as if looking for something that Amelia was unaware of.
"You mentioned more than once that your family basically wrote you off. Kicked you to the curb when they decided you wouldn't be anything more than a second rate healer. Right?"
Amelia slowly nodded but stayed silent.
"But you still want to try and help them?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Amelia stared sadly at the orange, trying to figure out the best way to answer that question. In truth, Amelia didn't feel much for her family anymore. When she left to join the Temple of the Badger her parents had been furious. They thought she was wasting her time and the temple's time. They wanted her to stay home, become a proper lady, and hopefully marry into a prominent family. They had decided her future for her but she defied them. She hadn't spoken to them in several years as a consequence.
"At the end of the day, no matter my feelings for them, they are still my family. It would be wrong of me to sit by, doing nothing while they were in potential danger."
Seris gave a small smile as if she had found the answer she had been searching for on Amelia's face.
"Well, then let's go. We're wasting precious time."
Amelia jumped up, her heart pounding in anticipation and terror at what she was going to find in the city she had once called home.
***
The trains had stopped running to Sapphire City due to the demon raid so they had to find a different way to travel. Seris though had an answer for that inconvenience.
Her and Amelia appeared on the edge of the city in a blinding flash of golden light. Seris had used a complex spell to teleport them which was something that Amelia had thought to be impossible.
"Where did you learn that spell?"
"I picked it up a long time ago from a friend, he was a fairy that lost a bet."
"A fairy?" Amelia had a ton of questions but now wasn't the time to ask them. They had more important matters to attend to.
Seris was already scanning the area, looking for signs of demonic activity. This part of the city appeared to be abandoned. Stores were empty and cars were abandoned on the street as if the owners had taken off running rather than fight through the traffic jams.
The spell she used required a large amount of mana, the greater the distance the more it consumed. On top of that, she had brought Amelia along with her nearly doubling the normal amount it would take to teleport. She didn't use this spell very often because of that very reason. It left her feeling more tired until her mana had time to naturally restore itself.
BOOM!
A thunderous sound rocked through the city with screams accompanying it.
Seris and Amelia quickly took off in the direction of the noise. Amelia was careful to stay behind Seris, she hadn't mastered the basics enough yet to be of any use in fight. Which made Amelia wonder why she was even here to begin with.
They didn't have to run very far.
As they turned a corner they saw pure destruction in every direction. Buildings, cars, and even street signs had been demolished. Bodies of civilians who couldn't flee in time were sprawled out, most of them covered by heavy amounts of debris.
Amelia gasped audibly. She had never seen a battlefield before and this was almost too much for her. Her breathing quickened as her heart sped out of control. The world was spinning and nausea quickly rose up to accompany it.
"Breathe, Amelia."
Seris placed a calm hand on her shoulder while Amelia fought against the panic. Every fiber of her being was telling her to run, run and don't look back.
"What's this? Play things?" A gruff voice called out mockingly.
A chorus of foul sounding laughter joined him as a large demon jumped from a pile of broken cement. He landed on his feet with a thud while eyeing Amelia. In his eyes, she was a tempting snack. Too timid to be a slave so that left the alternative.
"The small fry, eat her boys. The white haired one looks strong though, we'll take her back with us."
***
Watching from the rooftop was a pair of figures. One was dressed in a black cloak, wearing a mask that looked vaguely like something a person would see at a theatre involving a tragedy. The sad eyes and smile of the mask was watching the events that were unfolding below.
Next to the masked figure was a massive, red skinned demon with huge black horns curling up from his forehead. Unlike the mysterious masked man, the demon was dressed in a combat uniform made of brown leather. Power radiated off him in waves, like heat shimmering over the hot asphalt in the summer.
"You haven't told me why we are here, Lord Azarion."
The masked figure spoke in a soft, elegant voice that showed no trace of emotion.
Lord Azarion smiled, his razor sharp teeth glinting in the afternoon sun.
"I thought it would be obvious, Linnox."
Linnox said nothing as he continued to gaze through his white mask.
"My soldiers have reported a rather new, disturbing element. A white haired sorcerer has taken to the battlefield. She's been causing havoc, even with our enhanced demons."
"Then kill her."
Azarion chuckled in a deep voice.
"We will, soon. First though we must get to know our enemy. If our spy is to be believed, she might be too much for our army to handle."
"One person can't stand against us."
Azarion nodded in agreement, smoke curling up from his wide nostrils.
"Correct. One person can offer something incredibly valuable to the humans though."
Linnox finally turned his attention away from the ruined city below to fix his hazel eyes on Azarion's black pupils.
"What can she offer that would stop the inevitable?"
"Hope. Endless hope. With it the humans could rally behind her, she could even restore that damned order to power if she had a mind to do it."
Beneath the mask Linnox frowned deeply at that. He had a hard time believing that one human could hold that much power.
"How do we know these aren't exaggerations?"
Azarion tapped his head knowingly.
"Our spy network was quick to give us every detail they could. Their stories all lined up with no inconsistencies."
Linnox was impressed by that. There was a handful of sorcerers that had been working with the Demon King for generations now. They had been the eyes and ears of the demon realm inside the domain of their greatest enemy. These same traitors had even helped in weakening the global order by diluting their teachings until the sorcerers knew just enough to handle small threats but were left powerless against the coming storm.
Given their loyalty over so many years of faithful service to the King, Linnox knew that despite the outrageous claims they must be based on truth.
"Let us see how she reacts to this incursion. Once we have enough intel we can plan a way to eliminate her."
Lord Azarion's advice was wise and demonstrated his great skill with strategizing.
"Paving our way for the invasion unchecked."
"Precisely," Azarion said with that razor sharp smile.