A/N: I am back from vacation!
***
The demon camp buzzed with anticipation as countless soldiers prepared for what they believed would be the final assault. For five days, they had maintained pressure on the city without committing their strongest forces, slowly exhausting the defenders and grinding away at their morale.
The strategy had worked perfectly. The walls were damaged, supplies within the city were dwindling, and according to the commanders they would launch their full scale attack only when every major border city across the kingdom was besieged.
The Church had withdrawn most of its elite forces to protect the capital, leaving only local defenders to withstand the invasion. Standing atop a command platform overlooking the battlefield, three Sage rank demon commanders watched the fighting below with expressions of confidence.
One of them lowered a communication crystal and smirked. "I just got information from the main force, all forces have reached the border cities. It is time to take them in one fell swoop."
The other two immediately understood the significance of the information, their operation had entered its final phase. One of them folded his arms and grinned viciously. "Let's go, we have waited long enough. It's time we crush these bugs."
The third commander nodded in agreement while looking toward the distant city walls where the lone human Sage continued observing the battlefield. The humans had held out longer than expected, but the outcome was already decided.
Three Sage rank demons against a single Sage rank human wasn't a battle, it was clear to them they would win this fight. Yet just as the three prepared to descend onto the battlefield, one of them frowned and looked upward.
Something unusual had appeared above their army. High in the sky, descending through the clouds, was an orb of blue fire surrounding a golden core. The strange flame moved slowly, completely at odds with the carnage below.
"What is that?" one commander muttered in confusion. The others followed his gaze and studied the object. None of them could immediately identify it. There were no familiar magical signatures, or obvious spell formations, and no visible source.
One of them snorted dismissively. "Probably an attack from the human Sage, let me intercept it."
Before either of the others could respond, he launched himself into the sky, crossing kilometers in seconds. The demons below cheered as their commander moved to destroy what they assumed was a desperate attack from the defenders.
Arriving before the descending orb, the commander didn't sense any danger. If anything, the flame seemed deceptively weak. A cruel smile appeared on his face as crimson energy erupted around his fist. "Pathetic." Then he punched directly into the orb.
The moment his fist touched the blue flame, it exploded.
BOOOOOOMM!
A deafening detonation shook the battlefield so violently that both armies froze instinctively. The orb instantly expanded into a gigantic sphere of blue and gold fire that swallowed the demon commander.
The flame felt wrong as they couldn't sense any mana from it, it was as if the fire was natural and not made using mana. The fire formed a massive spherical domain that completely engulfed their companion, cutting him off from view and the two of them widened their eyes in surprise.
The attack was far stronger than they expected, but neither felt particularly worried. Their companion was a Sage rank commander who had survived countless battles and slaughtered thousands of enemies. Surely he could survive a single spell even though they felt something was off about the spell.
Seconds passed and the flames gradually receded. The spherical inferno began shrinking and the battlefield fell silent as everyone looked toward the center of the explosion. Then confusion spread across the commanders' faces, their companion wasn't there.
There was nobody there, even in the worst case scenario his burnt body should be there but they couldn't even find a drop of blood. One of the commanders blinked repeatedly as if convinced his eyes were deceiving him. "W... What happened?" he stuttered. "Where is Xylos?"
The other commander immediately swept his senses across the battlefield. He searched desperately for any trace of their companion, but found absolutely nothing. The aura of the Sage rank demon had vanished completely. It was as though he had never existed in the first place.
For the first time since the siege began, genuine fear appeared in the eyes of both commanders, something had gone terribly wrong. Then they looked upward again and their fear transformed into horror. Hundreds of identical blue fire orbs had appeared high above the battlefield.
The sky itself seemed to be raining stars. One commander felt his knees weaken, every instinct in his body screamed danger. Before he could even issue an order to retreat, the fireballs began descending and this time they were not falling at a slow pace.
…
Several kilometers away atop the city walls, Maximus and the defenders witnessed the same scene from an entirely different perspective. Maximus had already accepted that he might die today.
The moment he saw the three demon commanders preparing to move, he understood that the stalemate was over. Beside him stood the strongest experts remaining within the city. Five of the strongest Archmages and Grandmasters who had survived every assault looked toward him with grim determination.
One of them stepped forward and said, "Lord Maximus, even though we would not be of much help, let us accompany you to this final battle."
The others nodded in agreement, none of them intended to flee. If the city was going to fall, they would die defending it. Maximus looked at each of them before gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. "Let's go."
His voice was calm despite the situation. Yet before anyone could move, one of the Grandmasters suddenly pointed toward the sky. "What is that?"
Confusion spread among the defenders as they noticed the descending orb of blue fire. Contrary to what the demons thought, they had no idea what they were looking at. The answer came moments later when one of the demon commanders intercepted the orb.
The resulting explosion illuminated the battlefield like a second sun. Even Maximus had to shield his eyes. The blast wave reached the city walls seconds later, rattling defensive barriers and sending dust flying through the air. When the flames eventually faded, the defenders stared in stunned silence.
The demon commander was gone, every expert present immediately sensed the same thing. His aura had vanished completely. One of the Archmages swallowed hard. "Oh my god..." he muttered with wide eyes. "Who launched that attack? To be able to kill a demon commander with a single hit..."
Before he could finish speaking, the entire group looked upward and watched with horrified expression as hundreds of identical fire orbs appeared across the sky. For a brief moment nobody spoke, then the fireballs descended.
The next few minutes would become a story repeated across taverns, kingdoms, and generations. Hundreds of blue fire orbs rained down upon the demon army like divine punishment. Every impact created a catastrophic explosion that erased everything within its radius.
Entire battalions disappeared instantly, siege beasts larger than castles were consumed by blue and golden flames before they could even roar. Archmage level demons died by the hundreds. The battlefield transformed into an ocean of destruction as explosion after explosion erupted continuously.
The remaining two Sage rank commanders reacted immediately, abandoning all thoughts of conquest and attempting to flee. Unfortunately for them, the fireballs seemed almost alive. Multiple orbs changed direction mid-flight and descended directly toward them. Their screams echoed briefly across the battlefield before being swallowed by the explosions.
Moments later, they too vanished from existence. Without leadership, the demon army collapsed into complete panic. Some attempted to retreat while others simply froze in terror, it made no difference. The fire orbs continued falling relentlessly until the battlefield was reduced to a smoking wasteland littered with craters.
When the final explosion faded, there was nothing left of the invading army. Tens of thousands of demons had been wiped out in minutes. The defenders stared in disbelief, some soldiers dropped their weapons while others fell to their knees. Many began praying to whatever gods they believed in. To them, only divine intervention could explain what they had just witnessed.
Far above the battlefield, concealed completely from mortal perception, Arthur observed the destruction silently. The Origin Flame floated within his Sea of Consciousness, calm and seemingly innocent despite the devastation it had just caused.
He wasn't celebrating. If anything, he felt uncomfortable with how effective the attack had been. The Sage rank commanders hadn't even been able to resist, the Origin Flame had erased them from existence and consumed their soul to strengthen itself.
Looking toward the city below, he saw exhausted soldiers embracing one another and civilians emerging cautiously from shelters. Thousands of lives had been saved, yet this was only one city.
The information he gathered earlier made it clear that similar battles were occurring throughout the kingdom. If the Church's strongest forces were defending the capital, then countless border settlements were relying on local defenders who were hopelessly outmatched.
Arthur knew he couldn't save everyone, but he could save some. That was enough, space twisted around him, and he disappeared from above the city.
The next city was suffering from nearly the same situation. Four Sage rank demon commanders oversaw a massive siege while two human Sages struggled to maintain the defenses. The battle had reached a critical point.
Arthur arrived, assessed the situation, and acted without hesitation. Hundreds of Origin Flame projectiles appeared above the battlefield. The result was identical, the demons never even understood what happened.
The fire orbs descended from the heavens like meteors, and within minutes another army ceased to exist. The defenders below stared upward with the same mixture of awe and terror as those in the previous city. Arthur didn't remain long enough to witness their reactions. He teleported again, and again.
The pattern repeated across the borderlands. Some cities faced two commanders, while others faced three. One city was under assault by five Sage rank demons and tens of thousands of soldiers.
But it didn't matter, every battlefield ended the same way. Blue fire orbs appeared in the sky, then the invading army disappeared. Rumors spread faster than Arthur could travel. Soldiers spoke of divine flames descending from heaven, priests declared that the gods had finally answered their prayers.
Some believed the Church had unveiled a hidden superweapon. Others claimed an ancient hero had returned. Arthur ignored all of it, if people wanted to give credit to the Church, so be it.
If the Church gained influence because of these events, that wasn't his concern. He wasn't doing this for recognition, he was doing it because innocent people were dying. As long as the lives were saved, he didn't particularly care who received the praise.
Nearly twenty minutes later, he arrived above the final city on his list. The moment he appeared, he realized he had arrived too late. Unlike the previous battlefields, this city had already fallen. One of the gates lay shattered, fires burned throughout entire districts.
Screams echoed from the streets below. The defenders had collapsed, and the demons were rampaging freely through the city. He immediately tried to locate the strongest human aura and discovered that the Sage rank defender was already dead. His body lay amidst the ruins near the breached gate.
The situation was far worse than before. Thousands of demons had already infiltrated the city and using the Origin Flame here would inevitably kill civilians. His expression hardened, then he expanded his divine sense.
In an instant, his perception covered the entire city. Every street, every building, every alleyway, every life form. Nothing escaped his awareness as he located every demon simultaneously. Then he acted, an invisible force erupted throughout the city.
Demons suddenly found themselves lifted off the ground without warning. Some were in the middle of slaughtering civilians. Others were fighting soldiers, and several were looting homes. All of them abruptly rose into the air as panic spread instantly through their ranks.
They struggled, roared, and unleashed attacks in every direction, but the force holding them was absolute. Citizens watched in stunned disbelief as thousands of demons floated upward like puppets being pulled by invisible strings.
Within seconds, every invader had been gathered high above the city. Confusion quickly turned into terror as they realized something unimaginably powerful had seized control of the battlefield.
Arthur activated Matter Manipulation, and the demons didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies disintegrated at the molecular level. Flesh, bone, armor, weapons everything dissolved into dust and thousands died simultaneously.
One moment the sky was filled with demons, the next it was empty. Silence descended over the city, exhausted surviving soldiers lowered their weapons and civilians stared upward in disbelief. None of them understood what had happened. They only knew that certain death had transformed into miraculous salvation.
Arthur looked down upon the devastated city for several moments before turning away. The border cities had been saved, at least for now. Yet as he vanished into the sky, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was merely the beginning of something much larger. So, he decided to visit the capital city.
***
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