A human figure leaped from the burning car suspended in the air. Its movements were nimble and swift. Upon landing, it immediately rolled, extinguishing the flames on itself. Pollock, covered in soot, rose to his feet. His hair and clothes were partially singed, but he had no serious injuries.
Boom!
The car crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. It was almost completely destroyed.
A tall figure burst through the car's chassis, escaping the fire. It was Reyn. His reaction wasn't as quick as Pollock's, and he hadn't managed to escape the vehicle mid-air. All he could do was activate the "Icebreaker" enchantment in the first instant, casting an ice armor spell on himself to shield from the flames. Following Reyn, Frida emerged from the car in silvery-white armor. These dotes, obtained from the Church of Justice, provided certain magical protection, and the flames hadn't harmed her much. However, the shockwave from the explosion had caused internal injuries. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her steps grew unsteady.
"Are you okay?" Pollock asked worriedly.
Reyn didn't answer him. He spun around and rushed to the car. Protected by his ice armor, he pulled a person from the fire—the driver. After inspecting him, he shook his head regretfully. The driver was an ordinary Human and had died in the explosion.
A large crater half a meter deep had formed on the road where the car had just passed. The air reeked of explosives. Clearly, this was Trevichi's handiwork. The powerful blast echoed throughout the port.
Kenji stepped out of the car that had been following them. Fear gripped him. If his vehicle had been in front, he—as a mechanic lacking physical strength—would likely be dead by now. Seeing the wounded Frida, he pulled out a potion vial and said,
"This is a mid-grade healing potion. Drink it quick."
Frida didn't refuse. After downing the potion, color quickly returned to her pale face.
The four gazed at warehouse number thirty-five. Trevichi was definitely inside. The bomb he'd planted on the road served as both a defense and a signal of approaching enemies. It was over thirty meters from here to the warehouse gates. An open area stretched before the gates, and no one knew if more bombs lay hidden there.
"Captain, what now?" Reyn asked.
Pollock pulled out his comm watch, checked the time, and said grimly,
"The supreme captain will arrive in at most ten minutes. He won't get away."
"I'm afraid we won't hold out even ten minutes," Reyn's face showed utmost seriousness. In the Voice of All Things, he had heard that the warehouse contained numerous entities—hundreds of them, and it wasn't just one Trevichi. These beings emitted strange, shrill sounds; their speech brimmed with chaos and evil, like a pack of deranged, ferocious beasts. They jostled and clamored, the entire warehouse resembling a long-suppressed volcano on the verge of eruption.
Pollock and the others didn't understand what Reyn meant. Before they could ask, a boom rang out—the warehouse gates exploded suddenly, and a horde of demons poured forth.
"Demons!" Pollock and Kenji cried out in horror.
Even the ever-calm Frida looked stunned and involuntarily exclaimed,
"Good God…"
The first to burst from the gates were several man-sized demons. They resembled hounds, covered in black, charred skin like patchwork stone. Red flames erupted from the seams between the stones. They had massive fangs, and two deep fires burned in their eye sockets. They ran incredibly fast, leaving fiery trails from their four paws on the ground. Reyn recognized them as Brimstone Hounds, lesser demons.
Following this pack of Brimstone Hounds came several dozen short-statured creatures. At first glance, they resembled goblins: scrawny bodies topped with disproportionately large, grotesque heads featuring short horns, huge noses, and wide pointed ears on the sides. Their only clothing was ragged cloths wrapped around their waists. They shuffled along, spreading a foul stench. These were Lesser Imps, among the weakest yet most numerous lesser demons of the Abyss, at the very bottom of the food chain. Lesser Imps were beings of pure chaos. Their intelligence was extremely low, their behavior devoid of logic, driven solely by two instincts: devouring and destruction. Their only attack spell was a fireball launched from their hands. The fireball's power was very low, not even reaching first-circle spell level, merely surpassing basic cantrips. However, Lesser Imps never fought alone. They gathered in packs, appearing in hundreds at a time. Their simultaneous fireballs resembled rain and matched the power of a fourth-circle "Fire Reyn" spell.
At that moment, the warehouse resembled a bottomless abyss from which demons erupted in a continuous stream. In seconds, their number exceeded thirty. These Brimstone Hounds and Lesser Imps howled excitedly and scattered in all directions, like a pack of starving wolves confined for days then released into a flock of sheep. Behind the warehouse gates lurked even more powerful demons, ready to emerge. As the demons gathered, a sinister aura of chaos spread through the port. Distant workers, witnessing the scene, screamed in terror and fled.
"Spirit of Mechanisms!" Kenji blurted out in shock. "Trevichi, what have you done?!"
"He's opened gates to the Abyss—likely one of the Underworld's planes. These are all Burning Demons, servants of the Dark Lord," Pollock said quickly, struggling to maintain composure.
The Abyss consisted of countless layered planes inhabited by the Four Great Evil Gods. Each Abyss god controlled dozens to hundreds of planes as their domains. At the head of the Four Great Evil Gods stood the Dark Lord Yuxotrn. Under him were three demon types: destruction demons, Burning Demons, and shadow demons. Each type had its own hierarchy, powers, and planes. They waged merciless war against each other, slaughtering kin and climbing over their corpses. Burning Demons were flame-born entities dwelling in the Underworld's extremely hostile worlds—nothing but stone and fire, everything else reduced to ash. Their existence had one purpose: burn all that lived to cinders.
Pollock took a deep breath and shouted loudly,
"Destroy these demons! We can't let them into the city to cause massacre and fires! We just need to hold for a few minutes—the supreme captain and the rest will be here soon!"
His face showed utmost resolve; he was ready to die today. Frida's longsword ignited with silver light, her gaze free of doubt—she shared his determination.
Reyn said nothing, proving it with action. His spiritual power surged; without sparing, he spent eight charge units and cast "Dragon Strength" twice in succession. In seconds, two spectral dragon skulls enveloped Pollock and Frida, granting them immense power and covering their skin in shimmering dragon scales. Feeling the surge of might, they looked at Reyn in surprise. He calmly cast the spell again, applying "Dragon Strength" to himself as well.
All three looked at Kenji.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have come with you," he grinned wryly. He had considered retreating but, infected by the trio's resolve, stopped hesitating. Slipping a hand under his clothes to touch something, he activated his spiritual power.
Boom!
A two-meter-tall humanoid mechanical golem appeared from nowhere, absorbing Kenji inside. The golem was fully cast from metal, clad in thick plate armor and a heavy helmet. Its armor was painted red and white, like a massive steel knight. A square backpack on its back—clearly the power source—belched thick streams of white steam. In its left hand, it gripped a massive spiritual Pistol; in the right, a gigantic sword.
"To battle!" Kenji's voice echoed from within the mechanical golem. He swung the gigantic sword, his heavy frame leaving deep imprints in the ground.
Seeing this mechanical golem, Reyn's mind raced, but now wasn't the time to distract. He turned and eyed the warehouse gates.
The demons split into three groups. The largest, over half, charged at them.
Bang-bang-bang…
Pollock and Kenji opened fire. Gunshots rang out, and the three leading Brimstone Hounds collapsed, their bodies tumbling forward.
Reyn narrowed his eyes and charged.
Whoosh! His figure shot forward like a released Arrow, covering dozens of meters in an instant, detonating ground bombs along the way. The shockwaves couldn't catch him. Ignoring the blasts behind, he powerfully pushed off the ground at the end of his dash, leaped high, and slammed down his warhammer. One Brimstone Hound bared its fangs and leaped into the air, trying to tear the Human apart.
Boom!
"Icebreaker" crushed the Brimstone Hound's head, instantly pulping its skull. A wave of icy breath burst out, sweeping the area and hitting six more Brimstone Hounds. The flames on their bodies were suppressed; they frosted over, their movements slowing.
Reyn took a deep breath, catching his breath and recovering strength, then charged again.
"Haaah!"
A loud cry rang out. The lightning-fast figure maneuvered impossibly, shifting direction at high speed and smashing into frozen Brimstone Hounds one after another. Like run over by a full-speed locomotive, six Brimstone Hounds exploded into chunks. Frozen flesh and burning blood sprayed everywhere. Reyn's figure emerged, an empty space behind him.
The clash took less than five seconds. Nearly all Brimstone Hounds were destroyed; only one or two farther back survived. Pollock and Kenji, firing from behind, froze in astonishment. Frida halted involuntarily. She couldn't dash, and a holy swordman's speed was modest. She ran along Reyn's path to meet the enemy but hadn't reached halfway before Reyn annihilated most demons.
Such terrifying power, such combat efficiency… Was he really a first-level mage? The thought flashed through all three minds simultaneously.
Reyn didn't dwell on it. In his Eye of the Soul, demon souls flew to him one after another like moths to flame, all absorbed, and his energy charge surged rapidly!