Chương 174: Chapter 162-The Unchosen Defeat

On a solitary island, on the farthest tip of the Southern Isles, lies a fortress. The fortress stands tall on the edge of a mountain. An impressive display of what the forces of good can do in only 4 years. Soldiers of all races man the walls. Young and old alike grip their weapons in anticipation. Their gazes stay fixed to the looming cloud of darkness that is approaching. A storm of malice and despair. One that should have never seen the light of day.

A woman with stark red hair, a suit of blue armor, and a claw scar across her face stands at the top of the fortress. She taps the ground with her greatsword, instantly lighting up a white magic circle that encircles the entire fortress.

"Are you scared? Do you feel that fear creeping into your body, your mind, your very soul? I feel it. Every fiber of my body is telling me to run away. Yet I stand. I stand as the last bastion between that fear and what is left. I stand here so that no family shall ever feel this fear. You all have chosen to stand, and for that you have gained my eternal respect," the woman says as the runes of the magic circle slowly alight.

The hearts of the soldiers hammer away as the screams of the creatures of evil echo through the air. The shadow of darkness swallows the sun, plunging them into darkness. They feel fear. They feel sorrow. They feel despair.

"These monsters have taken much from us. Parents who have lost their families. Children who have lost their childhood. Those whose friends have already left them and those whose partners they must live without. They have taken our homes. The lives we should have lived. They have taken our future, but they can never take our hope. Hold your head up high! Ready your weapons! Today we stand in the way of evil! We fight for good! We fight for hope!" she yells out as she starts to rhythmically tap the ground.

The soldiers tap the ground, creating a deafening chorus of resolve. They do not fight alone. They do not fight without hope. They feel the unshakable dread from the creatures of evil. They can see the silhouette of evil, but they do not run. They stand. Perhaps for the last time, but still they stand. The magic circle alights in a blinding white light. The weapons of the soldiers glow with a shining white light. Their armor is encrusted in magical light.

The woman points her glowing sword at the encroaching darkness and screams out a battle cry. One that echoes throughout the fortress, the island, and even the souls of her soldiers. With a slash of her sword, she cuts straight through the darkness with a beam of light, killing hundreds of Imps. Hundreds of what seems like thousands. The mages fire spell after spell. Explosions of fire. Chains of lightning. Javelins of ice. Torrents of wind.

Anything and everything to whittle down the enemy before they can make landfall. Yet with every hole they punch into the darkness, another swarm of creatures fills it. The creatures make landfall. The frontline of the fortress becomes a bloodbath. Soldiers and Imps alike are torn to shreds, but the math is simple. There are only so many soldiers. The captain of the front line initiates the mana bomb, leaving the front line a smoldering hole in the ground.

"The frontline has fallen. They will reach the walls soon. Mages, keep those monsters grounded. Cannons, I want volley fire; There should be no point where those bastards are not being bombarded. Infantry, the moment they breach the front wall, funnel them into the kill box. We must hold the line!" the woman says as she stares straight into the eyes of the Calamity that approaches. She knows that this is only the outer edges of the darkness. The true threat is further in.

The one that devoured the Sands and was dormant until now. The Hope Devourer. The creature that made the Era of Strife so deadly. In truth, she knows that they are just stalling for time. There is nothing she can do to such a creature. There is only one person who could ever hope to defeat such a thing, and she had already called for him. Although it had seemed that The Hope Devourer moved faster than expected. The doors fall as creatures begin to swarm into the courtyard of the fortress.

The soldiers fall one by one as they funnel the Imps into the kill box. The woman points her greatsword at the imps. A magic circle appears, quickly followed by a beam of light that eviscerates the area. The soldiers rush towards the doors to funnel the next wave of Imps. They could probably keep this up for some time, but that's only if they were fighting Imps. A beam of broken fractals deletes a section of the wall, cutting straight through the magical barriers that were baked into the very brick itself.

The woman on the fortress locks eyes with something truly terrifying. The Reality Breaker. One Calamity was enough to tear this fortress down, but two would surely spell doom. Still, the woman on the fortress does not falter. She leaps forward and lands where the wall once was. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Hold the line! Pay no mind to the wall. I will be the wall," she says as she faces the hordes of creatures along with The Reality Breaker. With a swipe of her greatsword, she cleaves straight through the unending horde. The Reality Breaker watches. Time passes. Wounds build. The soldiers grow tired. The darkness of the Hope Devourer encroaches. The glow on the soldiers fades as the magic circle's effect slowly comes to an end.

"I understand now," The Reality Breaker says as they point a finger at the woman. A small beam of broken fractals tears straight through the horde and into the greatsword. Deleting it from existence. Without missing a beat, the woman grabs an Imp by the throat and uses it to tear straight through the rest of the monsters. At the same time, she splatters her blood behind her. The blood lands at the edge of the dimming magic circle. In an instant, the glow returns. The soldiers regain their light.

"I understand now," The reality Breaker says as they point a finger at the magic circle. Another beam of broken fractals tears through the horde and straight at the magic circle. The woman rips her armor off and puts it right in the path of the beam, stopping it.

"I don't think so. You'll have to get through me!" she yells, firing a beam of light. The beam eviscerates the Imp horde and-"I understand now." The beam shatters before it can reach The Reality Breaker. Yet the woman is nowhere to be found. A fist tears straight through the back of The Reality Breaker. The woman's breath is ragged as she tears out the creature's heart. It falls dead. The Imp horde backs away as she goes to attack them.

"I understand now," The Reality Breaker says as they look down at their dead body. The woman turns right as the beam of fractals is inches away from her face, but then it's no longer there, or rather she is no longer there.

"Apologies for our late arrival, Princess of Ruin," the Archmage says as she wipes some blood from her mouth.

"You should warn him. The Reality Breaker is here," the Princess of Ruin says with a stoic face.

"Do not worry. He is The Chosen One after all," the Archmage says as she gestures to the battlefield. A star of light falls from the sky, tearing straight through the darkness. The Imps run away in fear as he lands at the front lines. The soldiers cheer as he raises The Chosen Blade. A wave of brown energy pulses from it, healing the wounds of everyone. He then points his blade at The Reality Breaker, who promptly disappears in fear.

"I suppose he is." Al looks out the window of the Headmaster's office. He looks down at his white pocketwatch. He shakes his head as Gerta walks through the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asks.

"Al Bulrick Rigon? Really, you've gotten sloppy with your names," Gerta says as she closes the door behind her.

"I have no idea what you speak of. Does this have to do with your pay as a janitor? I was actually looking over the payroll and was hoping to increase pay across the board, but if-" Al begins to explain as his head is cut straight off. Gerta lowers her mop.

"I am not interested in playing your games, 'Al'." The body of Al, or rather Abrigon, picks up his head.

"I may not be able to die, but it still hurts."

"You deserve the pain. You almost got him killed, and for what? To become Headmaster of this University? You've crossed the line. The Gods will punish you for this," she warns. Abrigon reattaches his head.

"No, they won't."

"Of course they will. You are directly interfering. You told the Purists where that woman was. You gave CJ a Unicorn horn. Worst of all, you broke our cardinal rule. You retethered Ilota's soul. Interfering with the mortals' business is one thing; I could even see the Gods overlooking what you did with Tyranus, but you have crossed the one line you shouldn't have. You interfered directly with a soul. Why?" Gerta asks.

"You're right. I have crossed the line. In more ways than you can imagine. Yet, I'm still here. Unharmed, mostly. No punishment is coming my way. Nothing is going to happen to me, and you already know why. You may not want to believe it, but deep down you know why," Abrigon says as he looms over her.

"You're wrong."

"Naive. After all these centuries. You will understand, eventually. Now leave. Get back to being a Janitor. I have important work to do. There are some changes that this University needs to go through," he says with a dismissive wave. As she leaves, Abrigon looks down at a file of an island in the Southern Isles.

"So many changes."