From somewhere unseen, the Ancient One was connecting this demi-plane with the Hell Dimensions, forcing this place to be the one and only path toward Earth.
I barely understood the principle of such magic, as it was the same magic that trapped Merlin within the tower of Avalon.
The world hated absolutes; it was very rare that such things were allowed to exist. That was why people with near-invulnerability only had near-invulnerability. Nature itself hated the idea of something being complete.
Magic followed the same principle, that a shield that was impossible to break would be all but impossible to make. Such a spell? It would require the full might of the universe to overcome the resistance of the concept itself.
But, if you introduce a single weakness?
That bypasses that resistance, like a single spot on the back not covered in the blood of a dragon, or the heels being a weak point.
Or like Baldur of the Norse gods, nothing can hurt him, neither steel nor magic, neither fist nor bone, nothing could hurt him, with a single exception, one tiny plant, a single weakness.
Just like how Merlin was imprisoned by magics that didn't say that no one could pass, only that only the pure could pass.
It was the same principle used here. The Ancient One returned the wards protecting Earth, from a blanket protection, making it very difficult for demons to enter, to impossible, with a single exception, a place where they would face no magical resistance at all.
And that place was right behind us, right behind my army, an open gate leading to Earth, where millions of demons could run around at full power, facing none of the weakening they would normally face.
A fatal attraction.
It was bait, it was a trap, but the forces of Hell had no choice but to step into it, even if they knew it was a trap. What other choice did they have? The defenses around Earth were a law now, forbidding anyone from passing through from Hell without using this one passage.
Even if the Lords of Hell themselves decided to call off their plan, their minions would be unable to resist this temptation.
This war would happen; it could no longer be stopped!
In the distance, the membrane between realms began to swirl, great vortices in the dimensional barriers as they merged.
As they finally stabilized, the differences between them were stark, as they led to so very different places.
One of the great portals led into a mist of all colors, all of them mixed together in ways that could shatter a mortal mind, impossible colors, never meant to be seen by the human eye.
A world of living dreams and endless unwaking nightmares. Of the deepest fears of mortal minds, endlessly complex, yet simple beyond comprehension.
A place where reality held no meaning.
Behind another of the great portals, fire and brimstone dominated everything, rivers of lava flowed across a black rocky ground, as creatures of fire danced in the endless flames.
The heat that radiated from this portal was enough to make the Enforcement Knights glow a soft red, their steel-like bodies absorbing the warmth as if they were in a furnace.
The third portal was a great whirlwind of shadow, darkness, and cold. A world of despair and endless suffering, where even the light seemed to die and the air itself seemed to carry with it a curse that would eat away at all things.
Then came the fourth, an endless wasteland of red sand, stretching on forever, dotted with ruins of countless fallen civilizations, a place that promised endless rage, slaughter, and power, a lawless place where the law of the jungle reigned supreme.
There was no portal leading to the Dark Dimension; the Ancient One would handle that one herself, which meant we just had to deal with these four. The four major realms of the Hell Dimensions that would take part in this invasion.
Then, through the portals, the demons began to pour, a river of nightmares.
From the mists of the Dream Dimension, creatures of impossible geometry flowed forth. Some were towering behemoths of shifting flesh and too many eyes, their forms constantly melting and reforming. Others were swarms of whispering shades that left trails of madness in their wake. They moved with a dream's logic, sometimes flowing like liquid, sometimes teleporting in silent blinks.
From the gates of Hell, the fire demons charged, their burning forms illuminating the battlefield with an unholy crimson light. They were born of rage and flame, their roars shaking the very ground. Some were hulking brutes of molten rock, while others were swift and serpentine, leaving trails of fire in their wake. The air grew hot, the very stones beneath the knights' feet beginning to soften and melt.
From the Plains of Despair, an army of despair emerged. Their forms were twisted and broken, each one a reflection of mortal suffering. Some were gaunt figures with hollow eyes that seemed to absorb all light, while others were weeping specters whose tears burned like acid. They moved with a slowness that seemed to sap the will to fight, their presence a weight on the soul.
And from the rage-filled red dimension of Satannish charged forth an army of foulness, beings enslaved by their mad master, people who had sold their souls for power, and in death, they entered the endless slaughter of their master.
"Knights of Camelot!" I shouted. "The time for battle is upon us! The enemy is before us! The world is behind us!"
My words were met with a roar from my knights and a silent, unwavering resolve from the hundred thousand steel warriors.
"Forward!" I commanded, my Caliburn pointing toward the approaching hordes.
The first to charge were the Enforcement Knights, a sea of steel that crashed against the demonic tide with a force that shook the very foundations of the demi-plane. Their halberds cut through flesh and bone, their magical nature allowing them to wound creatures that would be immune to mortal weapons. They fought not with passion or fury, but with cold, unwavering precision. Each one was a fortress, each one a weapon.
The fire demons crashed against them, their flames washing over the steel bodies of the knights, but the enchantments woven into their being held. The Enforcement Knights glowed brighter, absorbing the heat, their movements never faltering. They cut down the demons, their halberds finding gaps in their molten armor, their strikes precise and deadly.
The creatures from the Dream Dimension were more difficult to deal with. Their forms were ever-changing, their movements unpredictable. The knights fought with a discipline that was admirable, but the demons were like trying to grasp smoke. Still, the knights held their ground, their numbers and unwavering resolve a bulwark against the tide of nightmares.
Still, numbers were not at all on our side, a hundred thousand against untold numbers; steel might stand now, but my Enforcement Knights wouldn't be able to keep their advantage once the numbers truly began to swell.
It was now up to my commanders to show their worth.
"For the King!" Bors bellowed, his legion of knights pushing forward with renewed vigor. He fought at the forefront, his sword a blur of motion as he cut down a snarling beast of shadow and despair. His men, inspired by their leader, fought with a ferocity that matched the demons.
"To me!" Lamorak commanded, his knights forming a defensive line to protect a flank that was being overwhelmed by the dream-beasts. He moved with a grace that was almost dancer-like, his sword finding purchase in the creatures' shifting forms.
"Push them back! For Camelot!" Palamedes roared, his knights a wall of steel against the relentless charge of the rage-fueled demons of Satannish. He fought with a calculated coldness, his every move a lesson in efficiency.
The battle was a cacophony of steel and flame, of roars and screams, of clashing realities. The Enforcement Knights were holding their own, but the demons were endless. For every one that fell, ten more seemed to take its place. The air was thick with the stench of sulfur and the coppery tang of blood.
My Knights of the Round Table moved through the chaos, their auras shining like beacons in the darkness.