Anger coursed through me like thick, bitter syrup, infecting every inch of my soul.
The urge to find those responsible was overwhelming. I wanted to find them, and then inflict unspeakable pain upon them, tortures I’d only ever seen bored trainees perform on slaves.
Unfortunately, reality cared very little for my desires. I had to stand there, waiting, as Glaustro and Graighast ordered the demons to sweep for other survivors. They briefly considered giving the same order to the mortal troops, but discarded the idea quickly. We were neither sensitive enough to track mana properly, nor powerful enough to assist if we found someone under rubble.
That was a fair assessment, even if it did mean my blinding rage still had no outlet.
"We can only hope that the others have seen similar levels of devastation dealt to their own troops." Graighast’s callous words pierced through my furious haze, and I glanced at his expression.
It was a dreadful mix of anger and towering fear. For a moment, I couldn’t understand that particular combination, but then the words Hayden heard in the training camp far too often echoed in my mind.
Demons do not tolerate failure.
If other troops had fared just as badly as we did, then we wouldn’t necessarily be perceived as failures. Sure, the invasion would still be floundering, but at least they couldn’t single out our two commanders. We would only be in trouble if the general decided to burn an entire invasion force to the ground just to prove a point. Considering how many resources that would waste? I was pretty sure we were in the clear for that scenario.
Besides, there was another option, one that Graighast didn’t mention. That was rather kind of him, actually. Since a decent number of us managed to survive, if any of the other sergeants got completely wiped out, we would automatically be shining examples of demonic excellence, no?
I was surprised that I could think so analytically. Fury was still burning inside my chest. Normally, such an overwhelming emotion would have sent me into a destructive spiral.
But with each passing moment, I found myself feeling oddly... focused. The rage was definitely still there. It still fought to drive my actions, and I was even inclined to let it. But it was freezing over, crystallizing into an efficient fuel that promised true vengeance for my foes rather than my own fiery death.
"We don’t have time for this shit," Glaustro snapped, pulling my attention back to the two commanders. I idly noted that he usually descended into vulgarity only when he was really upset. "Damn it all, we’re going to have to burn good souls just to establish an anchor point here. Is it even worth it?"
"Yes," his brother was quick to assure him. "If we do that quickly, we can be the first, or among the first, to report what happened here."
"And get fucking punished for it? You really want to drag this shit to the general?"
Glaustro was a snarling mask of fury, but his brother refused to flinch.
"As opposed to what?" Graighast demanded. "Hiding it? How? At a glance, we’ve lost at least two thirds of our men. The only ones still alive are skilled mages and the lucky few who somehow managed to avoid the worst of the blast. Don’t be daft, brother. There is no concealing this. We would be severely punished if we tried. Presenting valuable intelligence might even see us rewarded for our haste."
Glaustro’s mace creaked from the fury of his grip, but he nodded. "Fine, then. We’ll... go together. The failure is ours to share. I’ll start establishing the anchoring ritual. You wrap up here. I don’t want any of our men to accidentally get swept up in that shit and disappear to who knows where when the spatial magic kicks in."
The mention of said magic made me wince.
With those cheery parting words, Graighast stalked away from us, leaving a bunch of genuinely hurt demons and confused mortals behind.
The second I was dismissed, I was moving. Ungrateful brat that I am, I didn’t even think to check on Mia. No, I just stalked the streets, finally giving my anger free rein, letting it consume me one thought at a time.
I honestly don’t know if it was providence or chance or some cosmic joke, but when I eventually lifted my eyes, they landed on the familiar façade of the Apple Infernal inn.
I entered without hesitation.
The crimson-suited demoness who had delivered the inn’s warning might have been lying. Maybe I actually would be under watch. But then, so what? What was the worst they could do to me? Were they going to blow me up the second I set foot inside my room?
They weren’t the ones who killed the one demon who genuinely gave a shit about me and was willing to help.
I marched up to the counter, my nails digging furrows into my skin. I was one hundred percent sure the receptionists were being slammed by my emotions, but they showed no outward sign of it.
"We are extremely happy to see you, dear customer," the receptionist chirped before I could say anything. "Our system detected that a number of our regulars have suddenly dropped out of the invasion, and we were worried about our valuable clients! We still don’t know what happened, but rest assured. Apple Infernal is here to support you through anything."
I stared blankly at the smiling demoness. She looked so genuine while she ’reassured’ me that I had no idea what to do. Rage was clearly not the answer here, not that I could have wielded it against her anyway.
There was a magnetic quality to her eyes that drew me in and grounded me. It wasn’t enough to erase all the anguish wreaking havoc on my thoughts and emotions, but it was enough to slow the tide. While I kept looking into her eyes, I knew peace. I knew everything would be all right.
"I don’t know how long I can stay. The sergeant didn’t give us a timeline. Everything is a mess." I reached for my soul purse, trying to determine an appropriate number of souls for ’I might be staying a week or a day.’
To my surprise, she stopped me. "Oh, none of that now, dear customer. You have been loyally staying with us since the start of this invasion! In light of all the recent events, your stay with us this time is free." She leaned over the counter to hand me a room key. Then, giving me a wink, she dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Please, do avail yourself of all our services. You’ll find our lovely inn offers much more than a warm bed and food!"
I nodded numbly, then staggered over to the stairs leading out of the lobby. A brief glance at my room key revealed I was on the first floor this time, probably because I was one of the first legion troops to arrive at the Apple.
And because the legion’s numbers were now severely reduced...
My slightly improved mood instantly took a nosedive again.
By the time I found my newly assigned room, I was a mess. I barely found enough strength to stumble onto the bed and curl up into a ball.
I almost died today. I almost died, and there was nothing I could do about it. This wasn’t a fight. I can’t just get better at the sword or grow my mana to combat this. Demons died. Bronwynn died.
I started to shudder as my anger, my grief, and my fear tore me apart.