“Mr. Chance! Abbot Infinides! Are you okay?” King Aurelius shouted, voice ringing across the broken courtyard.
The bell peeled open, and Jared staggered out, one arm bracing the weakened Infinides, his own robes torn and singed, but his eyes still fiercely clear.
“We’re fine, King Aurelius,” rasped. “But alas, the church’s seal has shattered. A legion of one hundred thousand demonic souls is already racing toward Celestia.”
Aurelius felt his heart drop, heavy as iron. He opened his mouth to demand news of the city, but frantic footsteps cut the question short.
Lorraine burst from the treeline, gown in rags, hair matted with soot and blood. Behind pounded several Intelligence Agency cultivators, their blades bare, their faces drawn.
“Father!” sobbed, the single word tearing loose as threw herself forward. Lorraine collapsed into the king’s arms and cried without restraint. Her trembling shoulders spoke of cities burning and sacrifices already paid, while above them the night howled on.
Aurelius hugged his daughter tight against him, the tremor in his arms betraying equal parts terror and rage as felt the sticky blood on torn robes. “Lorri, how did you end up here? What happened to Celestia City?”
“Father, Celestia City is gone!” Lorraine cried out, voice splintering like glass. “Ieuan opened our gates to the horde of demonic souls. Soldiers, townsfolk, everyone resisted to the last, but the demons were too strong. They slaughtered everyone. In the end, Ieuan freed me and blew himself apart as penance…”
The princess tried to stand straight, yet every syllable dragged fresh images, corpses piled like ruined walls, flames chewing through mansions, black wraiths rippling above streets where brave men and women died shouting Celestia’s name.
Aurelius’ throat burned.
“Ieuan Chapman! Demonic souls!” His rage erupted.
He ripped his sword free, the blade flashing toward the distant city. “I will personally lead the army back to Celestia City and avenge every last citizen! Rylan, relay my order. All troops are to assemble and follow me to war!”
“You must not do that, King Aurelius!” Jared said as blocked the king’s path, voice low but unshakable. “There are a hundred thousand demonic souls, and Soul Devourer himself is a Human Immortal Realm expert. Our Imperial Guards would be butchered. A charge now is suicide, not salvation!”
Aurelius’ reddened gaze flared. “And what then? Am Ito watch those fiends roam free while Celestia City cries for justice? Do I not avenge my people?”
“Justice will come, but not today,” Jared replied, every word steady as hammer beats. “Only if every human and beast race of level six unite can we take on the Demonic Soul Army. If you fall in a reckless assault, that hope dies forever.”
Infinides, still catching his breath, nodded. “Jared is right. You are the pillar of strength of the human race, King Aurelius. You must not act rashly. Tempers must cool, and alliances must form. Only combined strength can shatter this siege.”
Lorraine wiped cheeks, meeting father’s eyes with quiet steel. “Mr. Chance is right, Father… We cannot bleed for nothing. For the people of Celestia City and for the entire level six, we must stay calm and level-headed…”
Aurelius looked from his daughter’s resolute stare to the shattered halls of Roaring Storm Church and the exhausted survivors around him. At last, drew one breath so deep it shook his rib cage and forced the fury down.
He drove the sword point into the flagstones, knuckles white. “Very well… I shall heed your advice! I shall use my power as king of Celestial City to summon every human and beast race of level six to Roaring Storm Church. Together, we will fight the demonic souls!”
With that, seized brush and ink himself, drafting a call to arms that spared no detail, the capital’s ruin, the threat of extinction, the need to bury every old feud beneath one banner.
When the last stroke dried, pressed the Dragon Royal Seal into crimson wax and handed the scroll to an Intelligence Agency cultivator. “Go! Spread this throughout level six. Make sure every force receives the message!”
The cultivator saluted, became a smudge of shadows, and vanished into four different horizons. Across level six, the various forces and races were already feeling uneasy upon learning of the demonic souls’ escape.
As such, when Aurelius’ call to action reached them, the gravity of the situation finally hit them. It was not only a crisis for Celestia, but a crisis for the entire level six!
