A World With/Out Home

Chapter 16: Nightmare (Part 4)

With Lillia acting her role as Hero the battlefield rose and ebbed in chaos. Countless demons fell due to her magic as she hit the key points that needed her most. The lines were broken again and again yet the Guard remained firm doing whatever was necessary. As the hours passed reinforcements came from all over their world. The guards from the other cities, Elleneste, Trentheim and even the black armoured knights of Lavise. They had used their quickest methods to arrive and immediately joined the fray. The pressure of the war however never faded. The injured continued to rise and some may have even breathed their last. There was no end in sight as the demons appeared again and again. Had it not been for the Captain's foresightedness and preparation, the supplies of ammunition would have ended long ago.

As the seventh hour passed the flow of demons finally began to simmer. The muttering in the air had become no more than whispers. Seven hours was an excruciating long time for any sort of hazardous work, not to mention the demonic incursion. The amount of injured had passed into the several hundreds and although the actual casualty count was relatively small, there was no doubt that the battle had taken its toll. Even with so much of the city removed to create a proper battlefield the surrounding buildings had still been broken apart.

The final demon had been surrounded and all eyes were on it. A single Type A demon that had managed to reach the outskirts of the grounds, it lashed out violently again and again but under the advance of the cautious knights it could do nothing. Its eventual death released a powerful howl of regret into the air and with it the city suddenly became silent. The artillery fire had ended, the muttering was gone and all that remained were the tired breaths of the guards.

"Is it over?" the question came from a weary cameraman. His eyes were bloodshot and thick bags lined the underside.

"Yes... it's over," Rin answered relieved. Her and the other knights had wanted to join the battlefield multiple times but had their own duty to attend to. Many of them would have lost friends.

Mr Devro nodded, "Keep it going for a bit more everyone. We need to make sure we get as much of the clean up as we can."

"Yes sir!" the crew responded once more trying to show their enthusiasm but reaching nowhere near the levels as before. They were all tired.

Kyle however stood still. His eyes never left the view of the battlefield below. He had witnessed just how terrible the battle could be but at the same time it all felt too easy. It was clear he wasn't alone in the thought as he managed to spy not only the Captain but Lillia as well remaining vigilant. With the two leading figures not letting down their guard neither did anyone else and slowly the tense atmosphere began to rise once more. It was a delicate balance as many didn't know what to think as they all waited for something that might not even show, all hoping that it never would.

The minutes passed and just as it felt that the sky and world around them would return to normal, a tiny drop of black pooled out from the centre of the grounds. The reaction of the Guard was immediate as all hands once more went to action. They didn't even give it a chance to appear as the already cratered earth was pummelled again by artillery fire. The explosive noise lit the surroundings but then with a sudden drop of clarity everything turned eerily silent. From on top the hill Kyle and the others could still see the moving below but no sound reached them, as if suddenly something else had taken over.

A powerful gust rampaged across the city bringing with it sound back into their world. Shells still in mid-flight were sent aside exploding close to the Guard, forcing them to throw up their defences. Then from the centre of it all the demon appeared. A Primarch. It stretched tall and wide, expanding as eyes and mouths grew into its dark oozing flesh. The sight of it caused them to freeze in despair. This was a creature that shouldn't exist. Something that had no natural right. It screamed.