Chapter 406 Southern Corp's Final Fight Part 2

Chapter 406 Southern Corp's Final Fight Part 2

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/Step.../

/Crack.../

The Demon stepped forward, walking out of the dust cloud and into the view of everyone surrounding it.

Testros thought about when he first studied the traces it left behind when it killed the Commander within its Office now he would see for himself what the beast looked like.

/Growl.../

The Demon growled in a low tone, turbid air exhaling through its sharp teeth.

The stench of blood and iron followed the creature; it wasn't possible to tell if its skin was naturally reddish in color or if that was the blood from its prey.

Dark mist seemed to surround the creature, making it seem almost intangible.

To a certain degree, its body seemed ethereal, as if it was about to fade. It gave Testros the impression this creature shouldn't be there, as if the world was actively trying to banish it to whatever corner of existence it crawled out from.

Alas, it continued to torment them today.

As both he and Dale expected, the Demon was Humanoid, possessing two arms, two legs, and one head.

The Demon had no tail nor anything unusual attached to its body, and in a sense, it looked more like someone wearing a giant costume than anything. This deceptive appearance, however, was a stark contrast to its brutal strength and ferocity, a reminder that one should never judge a book by its cover, especially when it came to Demons.

Its legs were thick and muscular; its skin was rough and full of strange bumps, sometimes even thorns.

Its feet were broad and robust, perfectly matching the footsteps they saw that day.

Above that, lava seemed to boil underneath its skin as it shone with light, causing its flesh to steam and burn its surroundings, melting even the hardstone underneath its feet.

Above its waist, its arms weren't unique; their only eye-catching factor was the extensive nails each of its fingers possessed, which looked like knives.

Its chest was so broad and thick it looked like a piece of plate mail had been pushed inside its ribs.

/Baddum.../

The Demon's heartbeat shook their surroundings, sending shivers down the shoulder's back, powering the creature even further.

From its chest upward, the creature's skin began to grow out of proportion.

Around its neck, flaps of skin hardened into the shape of a protective high collar, so high it surpassed its own head.

Its face had all of the parts Testros expected to see, but for some reason, they felt odd...

A sharp mouth full of black teeth.

A hollow nose, almost entirely bone.

Dark eyes that flashed with strange lights...

Then, finally, in its forehead, a pair of terrific horns reached for the skies like spikes, each as extensive as the Demon's arms.

Everything together, including its overwhelming height of four meters, created the image of the creature that destroyed the Corps of the past. Its massive frame, covered in rough, reddish skin, seemed to radiate power and menace. Its eyes, dark and filled with a strange, otherworldly light, seemed to pierce through Testros' soul, leaving him with a chilling sense of dread.

To some degree... It was overwhelming, but Testros preferred it this way.

This was a true Demon, not just any run-of-the-mill ones he had seen before... Not that he had seen many nor that 'ordinary' Demons were easy to dispatch...

He didn't know the word to describe these kinds of Demons, he had never seen one before, but he knew that every once in a while, one of their kind would descend upon the world, bringing with it a wave of destruction and uncertainty.

But while Testros was unsure of what to call it, the others were very aware of the word.

A beast that crawled straight out of Hell, this was a high-ranking Demon that could not manifest into their world on its own.

Something strung it onto this very earth, allowing it to exist unbothered... Although it seemed its time was ending, that may be why it launched this massive attack. Given its personality, it may have chosen to continue attacking for another 100 years and weaken it to the point it collapsed independently.

This was a Demon connected to a particular region of the Netherworld, which could be explained by the unnatural power coming from its heart.

The power of an entire land and everything within it was channeling through it.

"I need a small group to head to the bunkers and issue the deployment of all air units now that communications are back up. It would be far too late to not make use of them if we wait too long..."

"..."

He spoke quite a bit, and once he was done, the soldiers saluted before running around in different directions.

"Phew... I wasn't meant for this." He said as he got up from the ground, making the priest healing him upset

He turned to look at Testros, smiling.

"That must've been pretty scary to you, don'tworry,you'redoing pretty well yourself."

"When I was a recruit, my Unit was deployed with the Infantry Division; it was meant to be a pretty simple deployment, but... We met a few complications."

"I pissed my pants that day; it's not something I'm embarrassed about as it mademethe man I'm now today."

"You're doing much better than me, but you should work on your trembling; you've been shaking for a while now." He said with a chuckle as he walked past Testros

"!"

'I was shaking?'

Testros looked at his hands, theywere indeed trembling heavily...

"Take a rest, recruit; we wouldn't want to lose you... Nor anyone else..."

The Commander walked away afterhe washealed, leaving Testros with the Priests.

And just as quickly as they were done, they moved to the edge of thewallto watch the fight in the distance.

While they talked,theyfight was pushed quite deep onto the battlefield, but its vibrations and echoes reached allthe wayover here.

"... We did what we could; we should leave." The Archbishop said as he patted Testros' shoulder

"No... I'll stay here."

"... Very well."

The Bishop did not retort, turning around after a moment of hesitation.

He wasn't his superior, and telling a soldier to do something else would take the time he didn't have, so he moved, walking to where he was needed.

"..."

Meanwhile, Testros remained in place, watching over the fight.

/Boom.../

/Tremble.../

It echoed in the distance, the realm of legends...

Heroes fought against Demons, a timeless and pure poetic tale sung across generations, a simple display of the essence of mankind's fight for survival in these harsh lands.

Testros kept his eyes open wide, focusing on the fight as if he would never have this opportunity again.

Today, they were his teachers, and they taught him a valuable lesson that would last a lifetime.

Like embers in a bonfire, their let out their last lights as they fought to remain lit against a storm.

The true spirit of the Corps, lost to time...

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Notes

This chapter was a bit iffy; this and the last 3-5 I have been writing without much of a guideline, as in the first place, it wasn't my intention to add any of Testros' character development now, but I ended up doing since I saw the chance.

I never did anything like this before, so it's a learning experience for me.

Anyhow, peace!