Dungeon of Niflheim

500 Chapter 500: Demon (2)

“[Great soul stealing hellscape]” With a dark and eery voice the demon bellowed the command words of his prepared spell. A move that aimed to encapsulate the entire battlefield and bring a swift end to Furano’s resistance.

All sapients within a several hundred metre radius were marked as targets as a black magic crest stretched out beneath them. The ground trembled as the lines of the magic crest began to glow. The ambient mana, blood residue and the thick stench of death that pervaded the battlefield was all sucked into this large crest as nourishment. Frost, Hamon and the other targets all felt their bodies freeze and their hearts tremble as the sound of distant screaming escaped from the ground, quickly growing louder and closer with every passing moment.

A grey mist filled with death aura formed along the ground before ethereal spectres, tortured souls and other ghastly entities stretched out their hands and feet searching for signs of the living. These ghosts and tortured spirits quickly sought out the sapients like sharks smelling fresh blood, hounding after them and wantonly ignoring the monsters who were not deemed targets. They wrapped their bodies around them and or dove inside in search of their very souls.

People screamed out in terror as the ghosts swarmed them and invaded their bodies, their desperate flaying and attacks proving to be useless against their ethereal makeup. Those with magic and chakra managed to defend against the onslaught but those without such means quickly found themselves growing weak, tired and listless as if their lifeforce was being forcible drained. Eventually when at their limits the ghosts would escape from their bodies dragging with them a fresh, powerless soul. With a quick tug the bond between the body and soul would be severed and in response the body would fall to the ground, motionless and empty, never to move again while the ghosts would cackle evilly as they dragged the fresh soul through to the other side of the portal, to be tortured indefinitely like they were. A terrifying fate that caused Hamon and Douglas to burn with unbridled fury and hatred, they could never condone such treatment towards their people.

“[Light God’s dawn]” Douglas being the only with specialist equipment ideal for facing off against those of evil origins activated his armour’s ability causing a bright flash of holy light to spread outward from him. This bright light burned the ghosts and pushed them back, but it was only a temporary measure at best. As long as the magic was still in effect the amount of evil spirits being unleashed would never end and unfortunately [Light God’s dawn] was not strong enough to destroy such magic and they certainly weren’t strong enough to take down the demon.

“Kyakkyakkyak that’s more like it, drown in the fear of what awaits you, fight back if you wish but you’re merely delaying the inevitable.” The demon wiped his brow- even for him casting such magic was a bit of an ask- and laughed evilly, a malicious grin returning to his face as he listened to the screams of people fending off the ghosts and being forcibly dragged into hell.

Hamon, Douglas, Vaccos and Maggie all sported blood crazed expressions as they viciously fought back against the four mid B-rank monsters. They were strong enough to resist the pull of the ghosts, but the others weren’t.

Soul after soul was dragged down into the demon’s hellscape to be tortured for eternity as they struggled to endure their combined might. Against Valend, Frostine and the two t-rexes they were sorely outmatched and with their exhaustion building serious wounds quickly developed, especially on Douglas who was singled out due to his armour. All while the grand commander, the mighty demon floated lazily in the air, marvelling at the spectacle and relishing in the forceful descent of fresh unblemished souls. He’d occasionally lick his lips as if savouring a delicacy sparking further hatred within the Furano commanders.

Frost watched on in grief as many people he’d fought side by side with were dragged into the hellscape, powerless to resist.

.....

“Ahhhhh!” Suddenly as he was about to rip the teleportation talisman and summon Maya, he heard the scream of someone he knew close by.

“Bagua!” Roaring out and releasing his grip on the talisman, Frost ordered Kiba to dash forward. The two of them were wreathed in ice fire chakra that helped to stave off the ghosts’ advances, but it was still annoying.

“[Claw of the ice wolf]” He slashed out with his glaive skill, summoning three ice claws that blew away several ghosts swarming Bagua but that only dealt with the external threats. Bagua’s eyes were white, and his body was spasming, clear signs that his mind and soul were under attack.

Frost desperate to help Bagua leapt from Kiba’s back and placed his hands on his shoulders before injecting ice fire chakra into his body, forcibly burning the invading ghosts out.

“Screeeeaaaaaaammmm!!!!” The ghost screamed in horror as they were forced to let go of Bagua’s soul and escape his body but the ice fire followed after, swiftly burning away their essence.

“Bagua! Bagua!” Frost shouted and shook his squad member, trying to rouse him from his unconscious state.

“Urghh!” Bagua slowly woke from the ordeal. His head felt like it had been spilt in half and a deep residual feeling of dread lingered in his heart but he was alive.

“..F…F…Fros…ttt” With blurry vision Bagua managed to make out Frost’s face.

“Yeah it’s me, that was a close one.” Frost breathed out in relief as Bagua came to and recognised him.

Bagua placed his right hand on his head to try and soothe his splitting headache and his eyes gradually regained focus allowing him to see around him clearly.

“Frost look out!” The moment his vision was clear Bagua spotted a large monster standing behind Frost with its battle-axe drawn, ready to cleave Frost in twain. Not hesitating for even a single second Bagua forced himself up and pushed Frost out of the way, a smile clear on his face as he did.

“Bagua!” Frost called out as he was pushed backwards only just now noticing the presence of the B-rank minotaur behind him. It all happened so fast; he didn’t have any time to react.

As Frost’s body was pushed back he watched in detail as the minotaur’s battle-axe swung down where he once was, cleaving through Bagua’s torso without resistance.

Spurt!

Blood spurted from Bagua’s body and landed on Frost’s cheek, his eyes wide open in disbelief as Bagua lay before him, cut in two. His death was swift, the ordeal from the ghosts attacking his soul leaving him weak. A gentle smile adorned his face as he lay there almost peacefully, like he had no regrets. Frost struggled to comprehend what just happened, the man he dashed over here to save just died moments after he rescued him, making his efforts seem pointless perhaps even laughable.

A strange laughter escaped his mouth as his upper lip twitched. He entered a daze, completely oblivious to the danger coming for him.

“Roar!” Kiba howled as he placed himself between Frost and the minotaur, staring it down with a snarl. His leg was still injured, and bleeding and the pressure emitted by both the demon’s aura and the minotaur’s weighed down on him, filling him with fear and panic but still he stood, refusing to leave his master’s side.

As this was happening it appeared that Hamon and the rest could no longer hold back the enemy commanders and as a result Douglas who was being specifically targeted was caught.

Douglas’s beautiful sword shattered as he defended against Valend’s hammer while one of the t-rexes bit his right shoulder, sinking its teeth into the armour causing it crack and groan under the pressure. Frostine even started chanting a 4th circle spell to blow him away if that wasn’t enough.

Maggie lay nearby on her back in a pool of her own blood. Her beastification undone, revealing a body covered in deep and likely fatal wounds, she was currently unresponsive.

Vaccos was half kneeling by her side, doing the best he could to protect her from the remaining t-rex and was thus unable to leave her side, forced to watch as another one of his sworn brothers was placed in dire straits.

Hamon the strongest of the group stood tall with his mighty golden back in full view for the soldiers fighting behind him to see but the front was awash with blood. Parts of his ribcage were completely exposed, and multiple puncture wounds littered his limbs where he had been bitten by the t-rexes but worst of all was a small puncture that spanned all the way to his heart.

The demon finding his rebellious look a little too indignant launched an attack against him with his trademark evil grin. A black dagger filled with malice and death arrived before Hamon’s chest after he was blown back by one of the t-rexes’ tails. It easily punctured through his runic inscriptions, destroying them outright as it pierced his skin and reached into chest. The dagger burst apart the moment it touched his heart, covering it in black ash that assaulted it with sharp freezing pain whenever it moved. He felt as though it was slowly and painfully corroding him, polluting his blood and organs until his entire body was completely turned black and oozed death.

Hamon could barely move at this point, all he could do was either stare hatefully at the demon or watch as the other B-rank monsters tore apart Douglas before moving onto the rest. It was clear that the demon wanted him to die last, to have him watch as the rest were welcomed into eternal suffering.

All truly seemed lost at this point.

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