Chapter 88: White Star Smash
In the dead of night, a convoy of magical vehicles belonging to the Demon Alliance swiftly traversed the worn and brutalized lands, heading directly towards the site of a major clash. In the central vehicle, a Hobgoblin demon, Sir Ramurous, stood with a fierce, expectant expression. Beside him, a battered woman from one of the Fae races lay nude and bound, part of her left arm missing, her face etched with profound despair. Ramurous surveyed the residual damage from the large-scale battle, his scouts continuously reporting any discoveries.
"Sir Ramurous, the group that went ahead of us has fallen silent… It's uncertain what lies ahead. Should we continue?" a scout relayed, his voice laced with apprehension.
"We will continue!" Ramurous growled, his gaze hard. "We can't go back after suffering so much damage. Just be on high alert."
"Yes, Milord!"
Following this terse exchange, they pressed forward. The moment they reached the area, they saw a solitary man standing amidst a vast expanse of soot, scattered corpses, congealed blood, and debris. In certain spots, lingering flames flickered. They halted, looking at the man with a white, star-patterned mask covering his face, his blue and white robes visibly damaged. A longsword rested on his back. He stood there, watching them from the distance.
"You over there! State your name and your affiliation! What happened here?!" shouted a Gold Tier 2 demon expert, his voice echoing in the stillness.
They could clearly sense the man was no more than a Gold Tier 2 expert, with at least some slight injuries. While they remained cautious, they did not fear him, especially with Ramurous, a Gold Tier 4, at their side. The man said nothing, his hidden expression unreadable behind the mask.
"So, you don't wish to speak, eh?" the demon expert scoffed. "Fine then! Kill him!"
At the command, hordes of experts, from Bronze Tier all the way to Silver Tier 5, surged forward, charging their attacks—whether magical, Ki-based, or purely physical. Suddenly, a wall of plants and small trees burst from the ground, temporarily blocking many of the attackers and their assaults.
"Mow them down!" a demon roared as they smashed through the verdant barrier.
The masked man slid back ten paces, and suddenly, more forestation sprouted, further intercepting their attacks. After this happened three more times, the stronger Gold Tier experts moved in, swiftly aiding in mowing down the persistent plant growth, finally revealing an open path.
"Something is strange about this man! Kill him now!" a demon commanded, sensing an unseen danger.
The man suddenly weaved a hand sign, and in an instant, some of the white flames that had previously dispersed from the earlier battle reignited, setting ablaze the area where the man had repeatedly conjured forest barriers. The white flames were intensely hot and corrosive, causing many of the demon alliance members caught within to suffer tremendously. However, this effect was temporary, and the flames were not nearly as powerful as they were when initially cast. Ramurous, annoyed, swiftly leaped from his magical vehicle, landing before the flames. He waved his hand, and powerful demonic energy swept the flames away.
"You good-for-nothing bastards! Really can't do anything right! Kill that man, now!" he roared, enraged.
Even with their injuries, the demons picked themselves up and charged towards the man, faintly picking up some sort of incantation flowing from his lips. Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from him, causing even Ramurous to gasp in shock.
"Noo! Get back, all of you! Evade it!" he bellowed, then exploded with the full might of his Gold Tier 4 energy to defend against the impending attack. But the others were too slow.
—White Star Smash!—
Suddenly, the masked man pointed both his hands forward, primarily targeting Ramurous, and then—
Shpooooooooowww!
A colossal, explosive beam of thunderous white and blue twinkling light erupted, smashing directly into everyone before him in a ten-foot-wide radius. The beam crashed into them all, Ramurous included, then struck directly into their magical vehicles, sending them all flying nearly three miles before a hundred-foot explosion erupted, wiping out most of the weaker warriors.
The man fell to his knees, gasping heavily. He then pulled out his sword, causing it to expand, and, stepping atop it, sped off into the distance.
"Such a powerful yet tiresome skill," Elton muttered with a tired smile as he flew away.
In an area within a large, charred crater, filled with flickering white and blue static, lay a vast amount of wreckage—rubble, shattered magical vehicles, and bodies. The number of survivors was currently unknown. A hand shot up from a pile of charred rubble, swatting it away as a body attempted to climb up. Suddenly, the being's aura violently exploded from its body, pushing away debris and freeing itself.
"Raaaaaaaaaggghhhh!!!!! Damn it all!!!" roared the man. This was the hobgoblin demon, Ramurous, covered in bloody injuries.
"Bastard you will pay for this!!"
He quickly scouted the area, rescuing any survivors. After discovering them, he forcefully tossed them, waking them up, and ordered them to head back to base. Also heading towards the area were more demon alliance reinforcements and various other lurking powers, perhaps getting ready to attack them in their weakened state. Ramurous and his remaining forces swiftly retreated. After they left, unbeknownst to them, there were two other survivors: two women.
One woman was a demon, with large yellow eyes, long, brown, dirty, and ripped hair, orange skin, and lean muscles. Her body was riddled with bloody injuries, and after escaping the rubble, she didn't look like she had much time left.
The other woman was none other than the abused and originally restrained Fae region woman who had lain on the magical vehicle beside Ramurous. She slowly sat up, blankly gazing at the sky with lifeless eyes. The demon woman looked at her with pity.
"Oh, what unfortunate fates have fallen upon the two of us, cough cough," the demon woman rasped. "I won't be able to live past this day, no matter what, but you… Whether it's the workings of fate or not, who knows, cough, our spiritual bodies are decently aligned, cough cough COUGH! By expending the remainder of my life and calling upon the lost arts of my ancestors, you will be reborn anew, couuugh! And while you, no, we will be a new vessel, we will never forget the suffering that was brought upon us! And… We must also give gratitude to the one who gave us such an opportune fate. Cough. What say you?"
The Fae woman stopped staring at the sky and turned her gaze to the demon, her eyes filled with death and despair.
"…I… don't care about anything anymore… Such hatred… Such pain… Perhaps you're right. I will do whatever you say, as long as you can take all of the pain away…"
The demon woman's body suddenly crumbled into dust as a spirit-like being floated towards the Fae region woman. Something resembling a contract shimmered before them.
"Then let us be reborn and kill everyone who hurt us! Hobgoblin demons, Mirehearts race, so many others! We will kill them all!"
An extremely bright red demonic light suddenly enveloped the area for ten seconds before vanishing, and a beam of light shot into the distance.
By some curious circumstance, it charged straight for the Celebi Forest Kingdom at a rapid pace, and by some other chance, it smashed deep into a pit in the ground. Somehow, no noise was made as it continued to travel deep underground. It came into contact with a dark gold and red tree root that curled around it. After the light faded, what was revealed was a large, faintly pulsing egg. Inscriptions, a mix of elven magic and the script of vampires, slowly embedded themselves all over the egg's surface.
As a matter of fact, this was not the only such area where such an interesting spectacle was tangled within the vines and roots deep underground, with inscriptions being laid upon them. No one knew what terrifying disasters were actually laying in wait.
Elton eventually caught up to the others, much to their relief. They eventually made it back to the base, finding in passing that numerous battles had erupted in various camps. Upon their return to base, Jewleaf sighed in relief, especially upon seeing the safety of the exhausted Shayleaf.
"Good job, you guys. I don't know what happened, but I'm suspecting that it was you all who truly caused quite the stir, creating such a ripple effect that set all these forces in motion tonight," he said with a wry smile.
"I suppose you could probably say that," Ramiro replied, exhaustion evident in his voice, though a triumphant smile played on his lips. By his side, Seralily and the two other Fanged Elf women were tending to his injuries, their actions remarkably intimate in the process. Of course, Shayleaf stuck to Elton's arm like glue, excitedly describing what had happened to her father, much to Jewleaf's worry, but also his happiness at such an excellent child.
And so, the next day dawned, and the widespread wars continued their relentless course.