Disembarked

Disembarked

Year 211 - Ednas POV

***

Lumoof was in bad shape, Edna knew when Aeon said it would take for him a few days to recover. The patriarch of the Treeologies was almost never out for a few days, so what transpired didnt seem good.

Yet, she had a feeling it wasnt all that bad.

Edna, get ready. Stellas giving us the location now. The sky told them the general direction. The riftgate opened so high up in the sky, and what followed was a streak of light that burned through the sky.

The demon king had somehow opened its rift way up in the sky, and was on track to-

A sudden shockwave of magic rippled through the air.

Everyone felt the explosion, especially those on the Northern parts of the Eastern Continent. It landed so strongly that a huge burst of wind temporarily destabilised the regular weather patterns.

Her skin felt a little tickled at the sensation of the unstable magic within the swirling winds, and she waited briefly for it to settle. Edna tapped the teleportation scroll, and chanted the coordinates. Alright. Lets go.

She wondered whether it world work, but then she smiled when the stored magic from within the scroll activated. She felt it tug, and they were teleported about half a days distance away from the impact site, on what was once a beautiful natural beach.

Instead, her eyes saw a vast charred crater, and at the center, a demon king that looked burnt and glowed. Its magical energies felt unsure, and that was when Edna knew something was wrong.

Aeon, the demon king looks like its been through something. Magical communications still worked, and Edna quickly went through her preparations.

The massive demon king was visibly injured from the impact, its outer shell charred and twisted, and Edna felt unusual magical energies radiating from many parts, as if some of its magic from travelling through the land between worlds had not been completely removed.

There were smaller explosions, and the demon king seemed to reel from the impact.

What the hell is happening? Roon asked, but he was getting ready..

I dont know, but we should attack. Hit it while its weak.

The heroes clearly thought the same. They arrived no later than Edna, and began their attack after a short minute. This was an advantage, and they were not going to waste it.

Edna took out javelins made of anti-mana glass, loaded with as many non-magical enchantments the central continents blacksmiths and weavers could fit. Then she popped a few elixirs, and felt her strength surge through her blood and muscles.

There were better magical equivalents, but this was what they have to work with.

The heroes first wave of attacks landed with a loud explosion, and a smaller shockwave. Every explosion was physical, they felt it in the air, as the shockwave passed through their body.

She sometimes had dreams of these shockwaves. Or maybe nightmares. Moments when she thought about fighting demon kings. She took a breath, and those thoughts faded.

She focused on the giant before them.

The demon king was huge, and the heroes attacks only took out chunks of its massive outer shell. From afar, the heroes were explosive fire ants, trying to kill an injured giant tortoise.

The heroes tried magic, and magic seemed to work.

Then, the demon king opened one of its undamaged eyes. For a brief moment, Edna felt magic around them attempt drain away, but then just as suddenly, it was interrupted. The demon king jerked, and seemed to cough, if such a thing was possible for the demon king.

Instead, they saw green streaks appearing throughout the demon kings body, and it felt strange, familiar. It pulsed in resistance, and for a moment, Edna felt like it was fighting the demon king.

What was Lumoof and Aeon doing back on the Sandworld? Aeons attempts to inject it with his seed actually succeeded?

Aeon, is that you? Edna asked. There was no reply.

What are we seeing, exactly? Roon asked through their shared magical network, which thankfully wasnt drained away. It wasnt like this when we saw it down there.

I have no idea. Edna said as she approached the massive body and hacked at it. It didnt do anything, but their attacks hardly hurt.

The magical suppression aura from the demon king seemed weak, and unstable. There were sudden periods when magic was suppressed, and then, periods when it wasnt.

The heroes clearly figured it out, as Edna watched them time their magical attacks during the gaps.

Those magical attacks exploded on its massive shell, and more of it were blown off. Edna, realising that her attacks were still not that useful, decided to retreat and provide defense for her peers.

Roon shook his head. I think Aeons been bugging it so much on its homeworld that it remembered Aeons presence.

Edna smirked. Youre saying Aeon irritated the demon king.

Is that not what Aeon did? The acid flowed slowly out of the crater, and the heroes moved closer to attack on the platform.

The heroes closed in and attacked with all their might. Then, the demon kings body cracked apart, and then.. It split

Uh. They pointed, as they saw the demon king crack apart, and transform into five smaller demon kings. I hate split-body demon kings.

It roared, and attempted to open a rift. But then, one of the split-bodies was covered with green streaks and it glowed. The rift collapsed before it could open. Edna once again felt that familiar presence, and wondered...

Had Aeon somehow corrupted the demon king?

***

The heroes engaged the split bodies, and honestly, they were not exceptional. They were tough, but relative to Sabnoc or Akkila, this was probably a whole grade weaker.

It almost seemed like it was under the effect of some kind of weakening effect, so, when they successfully destroyed two of the split bodies, they eventually focused on the third one.

The crater-lake was half-drained, and that meant their spells effectiveness had recovered somewhat. It was odd that the anti-magical properties were contained within the liquid, instead of its main body.

The third and fourth split body was destroyed a while later, again, without any particularly unique gimmicks. It seemed to rely on its high strength and toughness, but beyond that, the heroes took them down.

Down to its fifth body, it roared, and then the acid started to float. The heroes attacked it relentlessly, and they hoped to interrupt the transformation.

And they did.

It cracked and then, just as its outer shell vanished, it revealed a round black-green crystal.

The heroes knew what it was, and immediately teleported away. Everyone else warped away, except for Edna.

Edna felt a pulse from the crystal, filled with dense anti-magical qualities. It was good that the heroes warped out at first sight. If they get caught in the pulse, they wouldnt be able to leave, or defend themselves from the explosion.

She activated her [Duty Beyond Life and Death]. Edna sped ahead and went as close as possible to the black green crystal. She had a javelin made of anti-mana glass and stabbed it. It cracked the crystal and then she felt the crystal pulsed.

The glass crystal glowed as it absorbed mana, then it cracked.

She took out a few more, and stabbed it in again. Each of the anti-magic glass javelins sucked mana out of the crystal, and interfered with whatever reaction that happened within it. It was amazing how these glass weapons seemed to work better than Aeons vines in some way.

The green-black crystal pulsed weakly.

And then, with a whimper, stopped.

[Demon King Busihir was defeated]

Edna smiled, and gave the all clear once there was no explosion for ten minutes.

Stella. Portal, please.

A void portal swirled open right next to the green-black crystal, and Aeons roots surged out. It wrapped itself around the crystal like a hungry octopus consuming its prey, and once it had a good grip, pulled it through the portal.

The air was still filled with the anti-magic qualities. Edna began to check the other destroyed bodies, and noticed it had begun its transformation into daemolite.

Yet her eyes were drawn to the remains of the body with black-and-green streaks. It wasnt transforming into daemolite. As she got close, and investigated, it really felt like Aeons energies, and her mind began to speculate whether Aeons constant magical harassment during its gestation period interfered with its development.

Aeon, we should look at this too.

A void portal appeared next to her, and again, roots and vines pulled the remains through.

A demon king was slain once more. Honestly, it felt like a chore, and Edna wondered whether this was how Aeon felt. It had seen so many generations of demon kings, and participated in so many of its conflicts.

This was a tiring, tiring chore.

***