MMORPG : Ancient WORLD-Chapter 632: Death of Hope (II)

Hastan stood atop the wall, facing the cold winds sweeping up from the south. The noise of soldiers all around him, their boots striking stone, armor clattering, orders being barked, all of it barely registered.

His eyes were fixed on a single, empty patch of sky, lost to the memory of what had happened just an hour earlier.

An hour ago, Hastan was sitting in the watchtower, elbows resting on the window ledge, watching the calm expanse of stars. The night was quiet and peaceful.

He was smiling faintly then, deep in thoughts of how to surprise his wife when he told her about her pregnancy.

'A pendant or necklace feels too uncreative,' he had thought, running a hand through his hair. 'My gift should be something unique, something that truly makes Nmairis happy.'

Ideas came and went, each rejected as soon as it formed. The city was asleep, with the streets barely showing any activity, and the peaceful quiet almost made one forget the continent's current tumultuous state.

'I can't even take her on a trip,' he lamented silently, staring at the stars. 'Not with those baleful powers running rampant across the land.'

He sighed, defeated by his own indecision. 'I really wanted to think of something on my own, but maybe I should just ask Rain or Deira for help.'

'Yeah, that seems like a good idea.' That thought was barely formed when the world shook.

A deafening bang shook the world, followed by a blinding flash of white-blue light flooding his watchtower's space.

Hastan had jumped to his feet instantly. He knew at once that the lightning wasn't natural; the sky was cloudless, and the stars were undisturbed.

'Another mutated rage beast?' he wondered as he looked outside the window, eyes sweeping across the distant fields.

There, close to the city wall, on the main road, he saw it, the place where the lightning had struck.

A deep fissure had torn through the main road, the white marble capable of surviving the weight of millions of citizens, torn to shreds. The fissure itself stretched for nearly three hundred meters, jagged and deep, showing the strength behind it.

A chill crawled down his spine, as surprise gave way to a grim, rising urgency. Whatever had come, it was not a weak entity.

Hastan found no trace of a beast on the ground. The plains were still, eerily empty beneath the stars, but when he lifted his gaze, he froze.

A figure hung suspended in midair, motionless, weightless, its silhouette framed by the moonlight. The moment Hastan saw its shape, every instinct in him screamed.

The creature's alien features left no doubt about its identity; it was no wild beast affected by the terrible curse, but one of the followers of Leviathan.

The thing was a fishman demon, though the word barely did justice to the horror of its appearance. It stood over three meters tall, its sinewy frame encased in black and blue chitin that gleamed with an oily sheen.

Its skull was long and narrow, ghostly white, crowned with a short horn that ran back along its head like a blade. Two deep blue eyes glowed faintly in their sockets, cold and unblinking. Rows of needle-like teeth jutted from its jaws, with two long fangs curving down past its chin.

The creature bore four arms, the upper pair ending in webbed, humanoid hands, and the lower pair ending in curved, scythe-like blades that shimmered faintly in the starlight—from its back extended a spear-like tail, twitching lazily in the air.

There was no doubt in Hastan's mind, this was indeed a minion of Leviathan, the Sin Duke of Envy, and while he failed to recognise it, it was not a weak nobody.

A cold wave crawled down Hastan's spine, turning his breath shallow. Dread filled his heart because the presence of that entity meant a terrible, terrible situation.

Hastan's gaze darted across the surrounding plains, searching the darkness for the telltale tide of Rage Beasts, or worse, an advancing army.

But he saw nothing. No space doorways. No movement. No dust. No sound save the faint whine of the wind.

Hastan quickly grew calm, as he reminded himself that Nova was the capital of the White Flame Empire. Even if this creature led an army to their gates, the city's legions would crush them, unless Leviathan himself had come.

But no alarms had sounded, so for now no army was marching to their doors. So, why was it here? Had it wandered to their doorstep alone? Impossible. Even as an Elemental Ruler, such a creature wouldn't come to the capital unguarded; it would be suicide.

If it wasn't courting death, then it was here for a reason, but what reason could justify walking into the heart of the Empire?

Before Hastan could reach an answer, the creature's mouth opened, its jaw unhinging wider than any human's could. When it spoke, its voice carried across the plains and over the city walls, slithered through the still air, low, resonant, and cold.

"Listen, inhabitants of the White Flame Capital," it began, each word a hiss and growl interwoven, "I have come to deliver your message of doom."

"My master, Leviathan, the Sin Duke of Envy, the Demon General, the Terror of the Deep, the Ruler of the Nine Abyssal Tides, is coming for your city," he paused for a moment and then said.

"He brings with him the Demon Cultists, the proud legions of the Demons, and the endless hordes of the Great Devourer."

The words struck like hammer blows. Every syllable seemed to thrum in the air, sinking deep into the minds of those who heard it. From the outer walls to the inner streets, silence rippled for only a heartbeat before erupting into panicked cries and chaos.

He paused, hovering in the sky with an expression that could only be called amusement. He listened, savoring the sound of panic spreading through the capital, the rising wails, the roars of denial, the confusion of soldiers shouting orders no one could hear.

Only after the city's fear reached its peak did he speak again.

"In your past battles," he said, his voice smooth and cold as the sea before a storm, "you were saved by the clowns from the Malefis Domain. They shielded your miserable lives time and time again."

"But no more."

"This time, they will not come. No one will come. The hope of survival for any of you is..." he spread his four arms wide, the blade-tipped pair gleaming in the moonlight like two sythes, "Zero."

He let the word linger, his mouth twisting into something that might have been a smile, before he began to laugh.

It was not a laugh meant for human ears. It rose and broke like crashing waves, harsh and gleeful, echoing off the marble towers until the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.

For a moment, the city fell still as if even panic itself had forgotten how to breathe, and then came the roars.

Some screamed denials, shouting that the demons were liars, that they had heard such words before, tricks meant to break morale. Others raised their weapons, calling to strike down the creature before it could speak again.

The city's great cannons, massive constructs of magic and steel, came alive in unison. The air hummed with energy as they locked onto the target, their cores flaring white, as the sound grew into a deep, rising growl, promising annihilation.

The demon's laughter rolled through the air, jagged and cruel, and when at last it stopped, the silence that followed was almost worse.

"I hope you keep believing that little delusion of yours," it said, its voice dripping with venomous amusement. "For four more hours."

It spread its arms wide, its eye narrowing. "That is how long my master has granted you to live."

"As the sun rises, your city will face the onslaught of our armies, and we will turn it to dust. My Master will have your emperor's head, and that, I promise you, in the name of the Sin Duke of Envy."

The words were still fading when the first cannon fired.

Two of the great mana canons roared to life, their barrels flaring white as twin lances of searing energy tore through the night. The air cracked with the force of their discharge, drowning the demon's laughter beneath the thunderous blast.

For an instant, the figure vanished in the brilliance.

The light faded seconds later, and through the haze of dissipating energy, the creature stepped forward, untouched.

An awful grin stretched across its nightmare of a face. Its eyes shimmered with something like joy, and before another volley could fire, it vanished, dissolving into thin air like mist under sunlight.

A heavy stillness descended over the city. No one spoke. Even the hum of the cannon cores seemed quieter now, subdued beneath the weight of what they had just witnessed.

No one truly believed this was a trick. The demons were many things: sadistic, cunning, cruel, but never foolish enough to invoke the name of a Sin Duke falsely.

That meant the message had been real.

Hastan stood frozen in the watchtower, staring at the place where the creature had been. His breath came fast, his pulse drumming like a war beat in his chest as possibilities churned through his mind, each darker than the last.

If this were true, if Leviathan himself were marching on Nova and help from the Malefis Domain would not arrive, then the city was doomed.

He was still struggling to accept that truth, still having some hope, when a new voice cut through the tense silence.

It was deep, commanding, and painfully familiar. The voice of authority, the one every soldier and citizen in Nova would recognize instantly.

"My citizens..."

The voice rang across the city, deep, resonant, and impossibly calm. The chaos that had consumed Nova moments ago began to fade. Shouts died in throats, children stopped crying, and even the restless hum of the cannons stilled.

Every ear turned toward the sound.

Hastan froze where he stood. 'My Emperor,' he realized instantly, his heart seizing in his chest.

He rushed out of the tower, eyes lifted to the highest spire of the marble palace. And there, framed against the star-strewn sky, stood a man clad in radiant white armor, his hair silver-white and flowing in the wind like a banner of light.

When he spoke again, his words carried the weight of truth. "The demon spoke true."

"Their Sin General is coming, and with him, his armies." A murmur rippled through the streets, but the Emperor's voice cut through it like steel.

"It is also true," he said, "that aid from the Malefis Domain will not come in time. Their forces are stretched thin, defending the Ice Kingdom that is also under attack, and if left undefended, will fall within hours."

He drew a slow breath, his gaze sweeping the city below, the millions of lights, the homes, the terrified faces looking up at him.

"So hear me now," he continued, his tone steady but heavy with sorrow. "Help is coming. The Malefis Domain will march to aid humanity once again, but they will not reach us in time."

"Therefore, I command you, all who can move, all who can flee, go north. Take the roads that lead beyond the valley. Protect your children. Guard your lives. For your Emperor will remain here."

He paused, letting those words sink in. The silence that followed was so complete that Hastan could hear the beating of his own heart.

"I know why the Sin Duke of Envy comes," the Emperor said at last. "He comes for me."

"So be it."

"I will stand where I must stand, here, in Nova, in my home, before my people. If he seeks my life, then I will give it freely to buy you time, to slow him long enough for salvation to arrive."

He lifted his sword skyward, and the white flames upon the palace spires flared higher, brighter, their light spilling across the city like the first dawn.

"I am Melvin, Emperor of Humanity," he declared. "And I swear to you, the White Flame will not fade quietly into the dark, they will burn and be the guiding light for us in these dark times."