Southern Amanécer...
"General! That thing is being controlled—there's something on its back, just above the nape!" Lu Yin shouted as he withdrew from his assault on Dabbah, urgency thick in his voice.
"Just as that man warned us," Erebus muttered, jaw clenched tight.
The day before, at dawn...
Erebus' forces had breached the ancient barrier separating Amanécer from the other realms. The army paraded cautiously into unfamiliar lands, the weight of foreign soil beneath their boots.
During the march, Helios approached Erebus, keeping his posture composed and his voice low, as though fearing the very air might betray their conversation.
"General Erebus," Helios began, "there's something you need to be aware of."
Erebus pulled the reins of his beast, slowing it to match Helios' pace. "I'm listening."
"In our last engagement with Iblis... Part of my army was decimated. Only Rudolph and I survived."
Erebus narrowed his eyes. "Rudolph?"
"The man you met earlier. One of my generals. He's also Octavius' father."
"That explains the hostility I felt at first glance. Like father, like son," Erebus scoffed, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.
Helios nodded solemnly. "Iblis escaped, vowing to destroy Amanécer with his own hands."
He continued, recounting their desperate battle—the collapse of their forces, Vlad's fall, and the unholy power Iblis wielded. With each detail, Erebus' unease deepened. Could Iblis truly raise a one-man army of destruction?
"General! These strange craters—they're appearing simultaneously!" Lu Yin called out, pointing at the rhythmic indentations in the earth.
Helios dismounted and knelt beside one. His expression darkened. "These aren't craters... they're footprints."
"Dabbah's," he added grimly.
Gasps echoed among the command ranks. Erebus' men exchanged stunned glances. Even the notion was difficult to accept.
"It won't be long before it reaches Olympus," Rudolph warned grimly.
A tense silence followed.
"Any word from Canute?" Helios asked the scouts.
"No, Your Majesty. But we believe Lord Canute took the mountain pass to the northern regions of Amanécer. They may have entered before us."
"Then send word at once. Inform the city and the remaining forces. We can't afford to delay—go!"
The scouts took to the skies without hesitation.
As Erebus and Helios watched them vanish into the distance, Zeraf suddenly unsheathed his twin axes, eyes sharp.
"General—eleven o'clock. Demons."
A blur of movement darted through the scorched trees and rubble.
"All units, prepare for battle!" Lu Yin ordered.
Steel rang out in unison as weapons were drawn. The soldiers fell into formation, eyes scanning the treeline.
Silence descended. Even Erebus' beast grunted uneasily, then stilled.
"They're gone," Alessio murmured.
"No," Erebus said, eyes narrowing. "We follow them."
His instincts clawed at him. Something about the demons' movements—it mirrored Dabbah's path. They weren't just wandering. They were pursuing something. Or someone.
He urged his beast forward, the unit following suit at a cautious pace.
The pursuit continued through the day.
"General! Mountains spotted on the horizon!" a scout reported.
Erebus gazed ahead. A thin, dark line stretched across the edge of the world—jagged peaks silhouetted against the waning sun.
From a high ridge, they witnessed the devastation of Amanécer firsthand: forests turned to ash, towns razed to bone and brick. The land reeked of death.
"If we rest now, it'll cost us another day," Rudolph warned.
"We press on," Helios declared.
Erebus tightened his grip on the reins. His beast huffed, agitated by the terrain. They passed over shattered timber, bones of livestock—and worse. Human skulls poked through ash and dried blood, some still clinging to patches of hair and rotting flesh.
Helios said grimly, "This was Eirenion. A peaceful town, known for its hospitality."
Erebus imagined the village as it once was: warm fires, laughter, the safety of walls. Now, only ghosts remained.
They rode through graveyard towns, past skeletal ruins. Lesser demons were spotted and slain with swift efficiency.
Impressed, Helios turned to Erebus.
"If... if Dabbah and Iblis fall, I want your help eliminating the rest. The demons. The stragglers. You'll be rewarded—riches, lands, anything you desire."
"You know what I want," Erebus said quietly.
"We had an agreement when you joined us. We help your army end this, and I have her."
"That depends on Lucia," Helios replied firmly. "Her consent is everything. I won't force her into something that could ruin her life."
"I only ask for the chance to speak with her. The deal depends on her choice."
Helios' expression turned grim. "Be careful. Her heart is her greatest weakness. She gives herself fully to help others, even if it means losing herself in the process. Don't make her suffer for your cause."
"I would never harm her," Erebus said with conviction. "She is my wife."
He hesitated, then added, "Though I'm not sure she'll even stand my presence, let alone forgive me."
He stared ahead, haunted by the memory of her guarded eyes.
"I've made too many mistakes," he murmured. "Maybe... I truly am the worst kind of existence in the realms."
Evening fell. The mountains loomed taller, casting long shadows across the dying land.
"That mountain," Zeraf said, pointing. "It looks... strange."
Others began to notice it too. Its shape twisted unnaturally, and behind its peak glowed a faint, pulsing red.
Then the earth trembled.
The soldiers froze. Beasts reared and neighed, panic spreading like wildfire.
Erebus' eyes locked on the mountain, heart sinking.
"Dabbah," he growled.
"The other side lays Olympus!" Rudolph panicked.
"We end it here." Erebus seethed.
"All units! Prepare for battle. We bring this damned mutant down and today. " He roared out to the battalions.
A deafening roar wrung through the valleys. His army was always prepared.
To kill or be killed.