Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty-Two: Encounter with the First Demon
A Deminus.
A Deminus stood in front of them.
Ayra loosed a shuddering breath. The night grew lifeless and deathlike.
Just like the creature in front of them.
Ayra knew it. Knew the reason behind the horrors happening near the First Gate was because of a Deminus.
But when reality finally crashed in and devoured her expectations like a storm, she battled the urge to yield to the brutish dread.
They stared at the heinous creature in front of them.
Hundreds of years ago, when the dark realm collided into the world, not one but three species of those vicious demons infiltrated the world.
Terras, Phantasmas and Deminus.
Terras' were the animal-like, cannibalistic creatures that fed on human flesh, skin and bone. These creatures' instinct to twist their claws into raw flesh was real and Ayra was suddenly taken aback to the mission with the Nightwalkers. These horrendous beings were the first one to enter the world and the last to leave when the Gates was formed.
But they couldn't be worse than the Phantasmas.
Phantasmas; parasites of the darkness.
Bodiless and shadowy figures that feed on the magic of wizards and take the entity and powers of the beholder. They are pretty strong. And ruthless relying upon the wizard they pitilessly steal from.
But even Terras and Phantasmas together can't possibly compare to the strength and viciousness of a Deminus. Deminus, the true creatures of the darkness.
They are the world's biggest nightmare. Beings that forcefully veiled darkness upon them and stole the light from under everybody's nose.
These abhorrent creatures are the most formidable ones of the three species and are said to be the creations of the dark gods themselves. They are the main reason why the world turned into a hellfire centuries ago and the sole reason why Seven Gates exist to shield the whole world from them.
Even when the Gates were closed and warriors shed blood to erase these creatures from the world, darkness still lingered in every deep corner.
But Ayra never thought she'd be fighting a Deminus again. She faced one for the first and the last time eight years ago.
And now, another one stood in front of her.
The darkest parts of her fear awakened again, one that birthed from the cruel events of her past. A kind of past that made these creatures look more ruthless and fearsome in her eyes.
But something else overpowered the fear.
Rage. A rage so diabolic and atrocious conquered her cravenness.
The darkness grew deeper and deeper. And her wind, glacial than ever.
The Deminus smiled.
And just like that, hands tightened on the weapons.
The man was tall and slenderly built. Ashen kissed hair arced near the collar bones and obsidian eyes darker than the deepest nights stared at them. They spoke of brutal bloodshed and cold-blooded murder. The Deminus adorned a deep, dark cloak around him. Pale hands held a small book and a handsome face wore a barbarous, unkind smile.
It was astonishing, really. How much these inhuman creatures resembled a human being. And the otherworldly beauty they possessed was almost painful. The unearthly allure and malicious charm they hold is akin to the silent siren of death.
"Took you long enough, " the demon--- man stated, his meager lips pulling once again into a captivating grin. He delicately shut his book and jumped onto the ground.
"It was rather disturbing to sit on a heap of dead and wait for your arrival. Even though I was not the reason behind this. I told them not to play too hard."
Ayra silently flinched, immediately catching onto the hidden revelation in that sentence.
There was more than one Deminus at play here.
The man smiled again, the same malignant one.
"I see you caught onto that, " he lowered his eyes, staring deep into her soul,
"Ayra."
A chill travelled down her spine. Ayra didn't understand why this creature knew of her name.
She desperately tried to direct her focus elsewhere but she couldn't ignore how her name rolled off the demon's tongue like a seething serpent and instilled a deep sense of alarm within her.
The wind grew colder and colder. The kind of coldness that burned all over. The kind of coldness that needed more than just plain warmth.
For a long time, no one spoke.
"How..." Valda breathed out.
That evil smile remained as if a cryptic answer remained behind it.
Ayra stiffened her shivering hands on the sturdy hilt of her Arcadius. She wanted to decapitate the demon's head from its body.
But she knew it would do nothing to these immortal beings. Regeneration abilities are one of the many ruthless abilities they naturally possess.
And there's no battling it in vain.
A heartless demon is akin to an empty body, they say. And that's the only way to end them. To rip their hearts from their chests.
"You will pay..." Rydan began, his shoulders shaking with implicit anger.
The breeze appeared to awaken, as though sensing a foreboding.
Rydan raised his head. Undiluted, raw fury flashed across his face. And Ayra knew that everyone's expression matched the Guardian's.
"You will pay for this!"
The Deminus just chuckled, mocking mirth resting behind that laughter.
"Ah, finally. I knew there would be a loudmouth amongst you."
He raised his arms towards them, as if in a welcoming manner,
"Let's begin then."
Rydan raised his sword to the night sky and slightly tilted it forward.
And that did it.
Chests heaved, flames of rage burning stronger. Hands tightened the steady grip on weapons ever so ready to kill. Hearts and minds grew brave, warrior souls enraged and infuriated even though death was just a breath away.
Ayra's wind grew stronger, a storm brewing behind her powers.
With a war cry, they raised their weapons high up to the night sky.
And launched towards the demon.
The Deminus simply stood there, completely unruffled and calm even when a hundred wizards were running for him. For his life. For his heart.
When the man remained smiling, the fury grew inside her. Her eyes involuntarily sent a fleeting glance towards the tower of dead bodies and the desire to end him overpowered all the other feelings within her.
She sped up, compelling her wind to propel her forward. It slapped against her face and hair, an incensed power running alongside her.
And soon, she was running at the front lines, with others behind her.
Her grip tightened on Arcadius and when he was just a few feet away from her, she harshly pulled the blade back and with a loud cry, drove the sharp blade through his chest and right through his blackened heart.
The night flickered. Time slowed down. Wind stilled.
His body jerked at the impact. And stilled like the dead.
Everyone stopped behind her, burning emotions on the verge of transitioning into cries of victory.
But Ayra knew it wasn't over. Knew it was too soon to celebrate.
Because the demon was still alive.
She harshly breathed in and out, the anger setting her emotions in a frenzy.
The man breathed against her ear, a breath so frosty that Ayra shivered cruelly.
"You missed, Ayra." The demon whispered.
The wind ruffled wildly around her, in warning. And she immediately pulled back, grunting as she withdrew her blade.
Black blood stained her blade.
But the demon remained standing.
Ayra, amidst her seething emotions, had overlooked how fast and deftly swift these creatures could be. A kind of supernatural agility that a normal wizard like her could never match.
She had missed her aim. And she immediately didn't fail to notice how the man had slightly, only slightly, stepped to the side. To escape her blade from reaching his heart.
He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows derisively.
A storm raged inside her, threatening to act upon her fury and unleash its wrath. Ayra growled like a feral beast before raising her Arcadius again.
But before she could launch her attack on the demon, something happened. Something unusual but something dangerous.
Ayra tasted the sharp tang of magic first before anything else. And then noticed the mist harshly ripple around her.
Before she could scream out a warning to her comrades, the man raised his gloved hands and smiled wickedly at her.
"It's my turn now, wizard."
He snapped his fingers. Just once.
And everything went black.
It happened so fast. So fast that Ayra almost failed to recall any of it.
It was as if someone harshly yanked her down into a deep abyss, into an unnatural space wedged between the worlds. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream and she couldn't see.
It was darkness everywhere. It was silence everywhere.
It was misery everywhere.
Her ears started ringing and her body started to feel cold and frigid. She couldn't breathe properly.
She couldn't feel her wind.
She couldn't feel anything.
It was as if she was dead.
What's happening? Ayra asked to no one.
Where am I? Ayra asked to no one.
And just like that, all those thoughts halted.
She was lying on a cold, hard ground. It was quiet. Deadly quiet.
Mind awakened to consciousness, hands twitched in response and legs slightly moved.
The wind embraced her, protectively. She released a trembling breath.
When Ayra opened her eyes, she was inside a labyrinth.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone