Xander stood behind rows of aspirants, a cold sweat trickling down his back as he stared at the demon standing in the middle of the street. Not an infernal caster, not a summoned demon, but an actual demon who had somehow pierced the veil.

  “This is insane,” Lydia mumbled from beside him. “There’s no fucking way we can fight that thing.”

  All he could do was nod his head in agreement. If demons were even one-tenth as dangerous as the ancient tales claimed, everyone on this street was dead, including himself and his sister.

  If I cast a barrier, we might survive the first exchange of spells.

  Not that he suspected a barrier would do much against infernal magic. The power of aspectborn from the ascendant realms was said to be on another level completely. He had access to the Light Realm, yet he doubted he could harm a single hair on the demon’s head before being obliterated.

  He took a step back, many of the nearby aspirants doing the same. A few of the foolhardier ones at the front had begun to march forward, most likely believing the inquisitors' lies that this was only an illusion. But he felt the profane power radiating off the creature standing in the street.

  “Go,” he whispered to Lydia. “I’ll cover your retreat.”

  His sister snorted. “In what world would I leave you behind?”

  “I’ll be fine,” he said, swallowing hard. “I swear.”

  Lydia grabbed his collar and yanked him backward. He barely had time to yelp as she dragged him away. A few of the aspirants gave them looks, but none of them said anything.

  “I’m sorry,” the demoness said in a strangely familiar voice. “I’m really sorry.” As soon as the words left the creature’s mouth, the world descended into shadows.

  Xander looked up quizzically to see what had blotted out the sun. His eyes widened as he saw what could only be described as a demonic turtle hurtling down from the sky.

  The creature was nearly the size of an ocean-going vessel and had black, leathery hide stretching between massive bones. Huge flippers flailed as the creature crashed into the mass of aspirants clustered together in the street.

  With a wince, Xander averted his gaze as dozens of aspirants disappeared underneath the bulk of the demon. Screams rent the air as men and women were crushed by the impact. The demonic turtle flailed about, snapping with a tooth-filled maw, and rolling around to squash anyone within reach.

  Forcing himself to look back at the carnage, Xander extended his hand and cast [Radiant Mending] on the most severely injured. Silvery light threaded down his arms before lancing out and washing over the gravely wounded aspirants. Through some miracle, he spotted only a handful of dead bodies. But far more had received grievous injuries; many of the young aspirants were missing limbs.

  “Are you trying to get eaten?” Lydia shouted over the demon’s roars and aspirants’ cries. “We need to go! Now, you dummy!”

  Xander hesitated as his gaze swept over the wounded. They needed his help. But after a moment, he nodded tersely. If they remained here as high-level wayfarers and adventurers fought against the demon, they would almost certainly be caught in the crossfire. The spells being cast would only escalate until entire buildings were being destroyed.

  Many other aspirants had reached the same conclusion, and hundreds fled from the demoness in a panicked mob. A woman near him shrieked as she was knocked to the ground and trampled underfoot.

  Xander fought to stay close to his sister in the stampeding crowd. As he stumbled back down the alleyway, his eyes widened as flames bloomed in front of him. He barely had time to throw up a barrier as a wave of fire crashed over the fleeing aspirants. The blaze struck his shimmering barrier and flowed around it like water. A tongue of flame licked at his robes, making him recoil.

  He glanced over to see his sister sheltering behind her shield. The exposed skin on her body blistered and blackened as the flames poured past her in the narrow confines of the alleyway.

  As the conflagration died down, Lydia sagged to her knees, breathing hard. She barely reacted as Xander’s healing magic flowed over her body, restoring her skin to a healthy pink color.

  At the end of the alley, a nun stood wreathed in flames. She had a wild look in her eyes, and spittle flecked the sides of her mouth as she screamed, “There is no retreat in the face of heretics! Any who does so has turned their back on the Undying Emperor and deserves only death!”

  Xander eyed the burning aspirants, the sickening smell of roasted flesh filling the air. With a hate-filled gaze, he turned back to the nun. “How could you murder them?”

  “They were cowards,” the nun spat. “Now turn back and fight the demon before I do the same to you!”

  “It’s suicide,” Lydia muttered in a pain-filled voice. “There’s nothing we can do against a demon.”

  “Then you have chosen death!”

  “Wait!” Xander held up his hand. “We’ll fight the demon.” He bent down to scoop up his sister and stumbled back toward the battle raging in the street. Dozens of aspirants and wayfarers hacked with their weapons at the massive demonic turtle, the thick hide turning away most of their blows.

  But the demon wasn’t just sitting idly as it was attacked. Using its flippers, it spun around, knocking away any who strayed too close. With terrible screams, aspirants were launched into the air before colliding with the nearby buildings.

  Another swing of a flipper crushed a woman’s leg. She stared in disbelief at the red smear on the street that had been her limb a moment earlier.

  For some reason, the demon wasn’t finishing off the wounded. But the attacks seemed to be driving it into a frenzy. It hurled its massive bulk around, making the facades of buildings crumble and sending aspirants flying.

  Shaking his head, Xander took a step back. It was better to fight the nun than face this creature in the street. At least then he had a minuscule chance of surviving.

  Before he could round on the nun, an imp bounded toward him with a dagger that almost seemed to drink the light.

  He cursed under his breath as he dropped into a fighting position with his staff held in front of him. How many more demons were going to appear in the battle? Was this the start of an infernal invasion of the city?

  “Lydia!” he called out. “I need your help!”

  His sister threw herself in front of him, her shield and mace at the ready. But the infernal creature simply bounded past them.

  For a second, the imp blurred before launching itself at the nun. Flames burst out from the robed woman’s hand, forming a burning wall. But the demon shot through the fire and drove its dagger deep into the woman’s shoulder. Pushing off with its feet, the imp ripped its weapon free and landed lithely in front of the nun.

  The robed sister staggered back, pressing on her wound with her hand. Blood dripped through her fingers as she regarded the imp with a pale face. Then, with a scream, she turned and fled, nearly tripping over the smoking bodies of her victims.

  Lydia stepped protectively in front of Xander as the imp turned to face them. A cruel grin split its long face. “You guys Xander and Lydia?”

  Xander exchanged a look with his sister. “How do you know our names?”

  The imp flipped the dagger in the air and caught it by the hilt. Without missing a beat, he hurled it at an aspirant charging at him. The blade caught the young man in the knee, sending him tumbling to the ground with a cry.

  “My name is Gretch. Someone high up told me to get you out of here,” the imp continued. “Now, you can stand around with your mouth open catching flies, or you can come with me.”

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  “Demons lie,” Xander said flatly. “This is a trick.”

  Gretch laughed in a cruel tone. “Oh boy. You’re not wrong there. I used to lie all the time before a bitch killed me. Now, are you going to come or not?”

  The earth quaked beneath Xander's feet, tearing open a great fissure in the alleyway. A moment later, a beam of pure light sliced through the building to his side; masonry, roof tiles, and timber collapsed onto the street.

  “Come on!” Gretch shouted. “Time to get out of here.”

  Xander took a deep breath and grabbed his sister’s hand. They raced after the imp as the building collapsed behind them. All he could do was pray to the Undying Emperor that they weren’t being led off to their doom.

  Piper dodged under a beam of searing white light, the surrounding air immediately becoming super-heated. Safely hidden behind her [Wraithskin], the beam missed her by a wide margin. But in its aftermath, her lungs burned as she sucked in the scorching air.

  She watched as her summoned imp, who was apparently named Gretch, led Xander and Lydia away from the battle. With every passing minute, the adventurers and nuns were becoming more reckless with their spells.

  Most of the attacks were directed at the dreadhulk, which seemed to have gone into a frenzy. She’d ordered the creature not to kill anyone. But a few deaths had been inevitable in the escalating confrontation on the street. More than a few notifications had appeared in her vision, mostly from extremely low-level aspirants who had no business facing a demon.

  She knew the number of notifications would only grow if she couldn’t escape and banish her summons back to the Infernal Realm. As more adventurers joined the fight, stabbing and hacking at the dreadhulk, she could feel the demon becoming enraged; at any second it could descend into a frenzy, and that would result in a massacre.

  Piper watched another wave of aspirants hurl themselves against the dreadhulk. She understood why they were doing it; if they survived, they would probably receive an epic class for fighting a demon. But so many of them were becoming maimed in the process.

  Thankfully, not all the aspirants were stupid enough to attack a powerful demon. She’d witnessed a few of them trying to escape, including Xander and his sister, only to be roasted by another lunatic from the Dawnward Host.

  What was wrong with the nuns? They were far more bloodthirsty that any demon she’d met so far. And that was saying something.

  At the sight of her recent group mates in trouble, she’d used [Subjugator] and summoned the imp to help. She’d quickly filled the demon in on their names and ordered it to escort them out of the alleyway. She’d also ordered it not to kill anyone except the nun. However, that apparently didn’t mean it couldn’t throw its dagger into an aspirant’s knee.

  Glancing over at the dreadhulk, she realized she had to escape now before it was brought down. Or before it slaughtered everyone fighting against it. Either option seemed possible at the moment as the creature lunged forward at a group of wayfarers pelting it with spells.

  The group barely had time to cry out before they disappeared into its gaping mouth. A single staff tumbled free and clattered against the hard ground.

  Spit them out! Piper mentally commanded the dreadhulk. This instant!

  The dreadhulk angled slightly to the side, almost as if it were a dog looking at her quizzically. Then it casually smacked a charging warrior with its flipper, sending him crashing through the front wall of a nearby house.

  After what felt like an eternity, it finally lifted its rear end and hacked up the group of wayfarers. They shot out of the mouth, covered in goo and looking shocked, but very much alive.

  Piper sighed with relief. She really didn’t want anyone spending the next few centuries being digested by the demon.

  Why wouldn’t the stupid aspirants leave her demon alone? All she wanted was for the dreadhulk to act as a distraction. How could anyone be stupid enough to attack a creature the size of a building?

  Further down the street, she caught a glimpse of Eleni and Hector. The young woman she’d saved had replaced her sword, and she was using what looked like wind magic to attack the dreadhulk. Meanwhile, Hector and Cronos were nipping at the demon’s back flipper.

  She hadn’t realized the demon resembled a turtle when she’d ridden on it in the boiling ocean. The flippers had been concealed beneath the dark surface. And she’d honestly thought it moved through some sort of magic propulsion.

  Piper facepalmed as her demon spun around, intent on gobbling down Hector and Eleni. She hurriedly cast [Shifting Veil] and [Phantom Flesh] to make a towering knight clad in black armor appear in front of them. She poured mana into her creation, hoping to make it strong enough to resist the demon.

  The illusory knight lifted a massive halberd and parried the dreadhulk’s bite, sliding back nearly a dozen paces from the impact. But she’d succeeded in saving her friends.

  She ordered the knight to cover Eleni’s and Hector’s retreat. Neither of them was stupid, and after the near miss, they both turned and sprinted away from the battle.

  For the moment, chaos reigned on the streets, with spells bursting in the air, and cries and screams drowning out any words. But she knew at any second she might be discovered by someone who could see through her illusions.

  Piper dashed into a nearby alleyway and dodged through the mass of fleeing aspirants. A nun spraying a jet of water tried to drive back the mob, but she was quickly overrun and crushed underfoot.

  Panic was spreading through the street, and almost as one, the wayfarers and aspirants broke and fled. Following close behind them was the lumbering dreadhulk. She hadn’t thought the creature would be so tough, but it barely had any wounds after tangling with some of the most powerful casters in the city.

  To prevent any further injuries, she dismissed the dreadhulk. As she did, she broke into a sprint and followed a pair of retreating aspirants. She popped into an open doorway and cast [False Face] and [Truthshroud].

  Using her [False Face] spell, she transformed into her alter ego, Anna. Then she took a moment to change her classes. Once she was done, she searched around in her pouch until she found her gold badge and placed it on her chest.

  Her transformation complete, she stepped out from the doorway and tried to blend into the multitude streaming away from the site of the battle. After a few paces, she nearly collided with Hector and Eleni. She skidded to a stop, not expecting to bump into them.

  At the sight of her, Hector’s face drained of color. “Anna,” he said in a wavering voice. “I didn’t see you in the battle.”

  Eleni glared daggers at him. “Probably because there was a giant demon blocking your view. And who do you think conjured the knight that saved us? If it wasn’t for her, we would have been eaten by the demon.”

  Hector tilted his head to the side. “You… saved us?”

  Piper nodded slowly. Hector was the only one in the city who knew her true identity. In hindsight, she probably should have just chosen a random face instead of Anna’s. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Really…?”

  “The demoness probably has ways to track us,” she said meaningfully. “So, we can’t stay here.”

  “She does?” Hector swallowed. “That’s right. She does, doesn’t she...?”

  Piper realized her conjured illusion was standing a short distance away, towering over everyone in the fleeing crowd in his black armor, his face was hidden behind a thick helmet. She mentally ordered him to fall in behind them.

  If they ran into trouble, he might be useful. Plus, after all her casting, she was completely out of mana. At this moment, her illusion was the only weapon she had left in her arsenal if they ran into trouble.

  Piper placed a hand on her hip. “Where should we go?”

  Eleni frowned, her gaze darting around the street. “I can give you shelter in my guild if you promise to sign up with us when you become a wayfarer. We’ll be safe there.”

  Piper gestured at the fleeing masses. “If your guild is safe, how did you get caught up in all this?”

  “Probably the same way you did,” Eleni said, screwing up her face. “I was at the wayfarer’s guild trying to find a quest when a few nuns showed up and conscripted everyone there. They swept up every abled bodied adventurer wannabe in the city. But they never told us we were going to be fighting demons.”

  “How far is your guild? And you’re sure it’s safe?”

  Eleni nodded. “The structure is warded against magic and built like a fortress. Nothing can touch us in there.”

  “Sounds good,” Piper said. “Lead the way.”

  Eleni set out at a rapid pace, as more bells began to toll in the city. Cries erupted from the street behind them, and she spotted nuns in their dark red robes appearing in the crowd.

  The sisters of the Dawnward Host seemed to have given up on trying to force their conscripts back into the battle. But then again, with herself and the dreadhulk disappearing, they didn’t have a target to attack. Most likely, they were focused on searching for her.

  Piper spotted a man wearing a gemmed monocle at the end of the street. She grabbed her companions and dragged them into an alley. Her illusory knight stomped after them a moment later.

  Glancing around the corner of the building, she watched the man scan the crowd. The magical artifact looked uncomfortably similar to the one she had in her pouch, taken from the undead aspirant who could see through her illusions.

  “What’s wrong?” Eleni breathed, pressing herself against the wall.

  “I thought I saw a demon,” she said. “We need to cut around this street.”

  “Another demon?” she cried out. “Is this a new Thronefall?”

  Piper frowned at the mention of Thronefall. Someday, she’d have to learn more about the event that had supposedly destroyed the world.

  Ding! Your racial skill, Demonic Intellect has reached Level 9.

  “Seriously?” she muttered under her breath. “Right now?

  When all of this was over, and she’d saved Ophelia, she really needed to learn more about this world. She’d been so caught up in everything that she hadn’t asked some basic questions. And it wasn’t like Ethel or Alfred had ever wanted to talk about Thronefall. The entire subject had been taboo for them.

  The three of them pressed onward through the dim passage between two buildings, heading away from the adventurer wearing the monocle. She winced as her boots squelched in something yucky. She really didn’t want to think about what she’d just stepped in.

  They reached the far end to find a nearly empty street. In the distance, they could hear horns sounding and the baying of dogs. But whatever was happening, it hadn’t reached here yet.

  Eleni set out at a jog toward the walls of the city, keeping toward the side of the street.

  Piper followed the woman, watching for any sign of the nuns. Though she appeared to have escaped their grasp for now, she knew they would never give up searching for her.

  For the time being, she would shelter at Eleni’s guild, whose name she couldn’t quite recall. She did remember it had something to do with silver, though. Was it the Silver Dragons?

  Shaking her head, her thoughts turned to Ophelia. The moment this all blew over, she would set out to save her best friend. She wouldn’t leave Ophelia in the hands of the sons of Ares a moment longer than necessary.