Grand Marshal Beren gripped the pale stone parapet of the Earth Sanctuary. Below his armored gauntlets, a suffocating sea of humanity surged across the ruined expanse of the Holy Plaza. Thousands of desperate refugees fled the lesser wards, illuminated by the frantic, flickering light of scattered torches. They crushed one another in a blind frenzy to reach the safety of the central compounds. They were funneling directly into a slaughterhouse.
"Report!" Beren roared. His voice cut through the deafening din of the weeping crowd.
A battered captain scrambled up the stone steps. Dented silver armor covered the soldier, painted with dark gore belonging to both monster and man. Collapsing to one knee, the officer gasped for the toxic air.
"The evacuation from the eastern ward is complete, Marshal!" the captain choked out. Visceral terror widened his eyes, shattering years of strict military discipline. "But the shadow has followed them! The Cathedral of Darkness was our secondary rallying point. Reports from the interior are incoherent, sir. They speak of a walking nightmare leaving only headless priests in its wake!"
Beren ground his teeth together until the roots ached. Cold, jagged anger instantly crystallized the sorrow eating at his heart. He understood the agonizing strategic reality of this specific disaster.
Deep beneath his boots, locked within the deepest vaults, the High Cardinals frantically orchestrated the transport of their ultimate insurance policy. The [World-Class Item]. Its exact nature remained a secret so profound that even the Grand Marshal was forbidden from laying eyes upon it. He only knew this artifact represented their sole remaining hope. Deploying it effectively required a clear, secure surface path. If the Cathedral of Darkness fell into chaos, mountains of corpses would permanently choke the primary evacuation routes.
The enemy is intentionally sealing them in, Beren realized.
Grand Master Drusus of the Iron Will Paladin Order stepped out of the shadows of the rampart. A cloaked, bleeding operative of the Wind Scripture accompanied the holy knight. Shredded, bloody ribbons replaced the pristine white cape of the paladin.
"My men cannot hold the barricades much longer," Drusus stated. His voice lacked its usual righteous fire entirely. "The enemy no longer attacks us directly. They are using the flock. The Cathedral of Darkness has become a factory of madness."
Clutching a necrotic wound at his side, the covert operative stepped forward.
"We face a localized magical anomaly of legendary caliber," the scout rasped, coughing blackened blood onto the stone. "A demonic entity has anchored itself to the highest spire. It radiates a continuous, pulsating aura of mass-conversion mind control."
Beren pulled an enchanted brass cylinder from his belt and pressed it to his eye. The magical lenses brought the distant spire into agonizing focus.
A gargantuan mass of malevolent darkness clung to the central steeple. This parasite of semi-liquid shadow observed the plaza, acting as a silent conductor orchestrating a symphony of despair. Below the entity, true horror took shape inside the massive nave.
The refugees trapped within were not screaming. They stood in perfectly still, eerie unison. Through shattered stained glass, Beren watched mothers set down weeping infants with terrifying mechanical precision. Men turned to their neighbors with vacant, glassy eyes and slack facial muscles.
At the center of this gathering madness moved a blur of jagged obsidian and tattered shrouds. It manipulated the very fabric of space. One moment, the infiltrator stood perfectly still beside a marble pillar. The next reality blinked. The assassin manifested directly behind a group of seasoned Black Scripture initiates attempting to clear the hall.
No grand clash of steel rang out. No arterial spray of blood painted the walls. Only the sickeningly papery sound of instantly harvested souls echoed through the nave. Armored bodies collapsed to the floor like empty husks.
Lowering the glass, a heavy block of glacial ice dropped into the gut of the Grand Marshal.
They are converting them, Beren thought, his blood running cold. The Sorcerer King is not merely culling us. He is turning our own people into a puppet army to block the path of the Cardinals. He is forcing us to use the relic.
Glancing back toward the heavy bronze doors of the Earth Sanctuary, Beren knew the leadership waited for his signal. They needed the plaza cleared. If the mob remained, the greatest weapon of the Theocracy would be trapped in a bottleneck built from the bodies of its own dying citizens.
"Marshal! Look to the gates! The mob is turning!" a forward scout screamed from the watchtower.
Rushing to the edge of the parapet, Beren witnessed the unthinkable.
Refugees pouring out from the Cathedral of Darkness were no longer fleeing. Moving with a jerky, synchronized stiffness, a wave of mind-controlled civilians pivoted. Driven entirely by the silent command of the demonic artifact, they threw themselves against the steel defensive line of the rearguard.
"Hold the line! By the Gods, hold the line!" a distant commander shrieked in pure panic.
The elite paladins hesitated. Trained from childhood to slaughter demi-humans and banish the undead, these warriors lacked the psychological conditioning to cut down unarmed bakers. They were not prepared to drive holy swords through weeping mothers and confused children.
The corrupted civilians possessed no such restraint.
Unarmored refugees threw themselves blindly onto the holy spears. They used bare hands and broken fingernails to tear relentlessly at the heavy plate armor. The mindless horde clawed at the steel, completely uncaring as their own human flesh sheared away down to the white bone.
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Author's Note
Hey everyone! 👋
I know this current story arc might not be everyone's absolute favorite right now, but we genuinely need to finish it up properly. Setting up this specific foundation is absolutely vital before we can dive into the massive future arcs I have planned for you all. I am just asking for a little bit of patience while we tie up these necessary loose ends. 🙏
In the meantime, if you are craving a different kind of vibe, I am currently writing something really exciting over on my Patreon.
We are exploring the Kingdom's brutal 30 days during Volume 14, right after Albedo delivers the Sorcerer Kingdom's ultimatum. The original novel only gave us a summary of that tense month, but I am writing out the full, grueling experience directly from the Kingdom's perspective as they realize exactly what is coming for them. ⏳💀
If you want to check it out, the first four chapters are completely free to read right now. Even better, they include full audio files so you can sit back and listen to the descent if you prefer! 🎧🏰
I genuinely believe you guys will find this psychological dive incredibly interesting. Thank you so much for sticking with me, and I will see you in the next chapter. ❤️🔥