Last time, things proceeded in a way that allowed humans to match demons.
The initial invasion was thousands of Expert rank demons coming out at once, and it happened while the Emperor was battling to stop the Kingdom of Ribera and Roosevelt from gaining independence.
The timing was jarring, and the new enemies forced the internal war to a stop.
The kingdoms raised their banners in alliance along with their spears to face the newest enemies.
It was the first of events that would set off amongst a chain of events and all those events were grouped as one, because they preceded one another with months and then dubbed the Great calamity.
The Great Calamity in other words was a bundle of disastrous chain events that dealt catastrophic damage to Orion.
But something had changed, something massive had shifted.
The grandmaster rank demon entered Orion five months after the invasion began.
Mythical ranks came through years later, after dungeons and otherworld monsters had settled.
So, how was Alvarach here already?
Ezra was reeling from the reality of the situation.
Of all the possibilities, one of the most damning came to fruition.
A mythical rank getting through was beyond anything he could've predicted, and it met him in the worst state possible.
All the apprehensiveness in the world wouldn't push the mythical rank back to the demon world, so he had to think.
Stand and fight was an option, but the result was clear as day.
They'd be killed. Easily too.
Then, retreat? Could they even outrun the demon?
That was about all his options.
'Let's go with the latter'
In any situation, he might've sought to fight, but they were all exhausted, they'd barely get a hit in before all dying like fledging street thugs.
At this time, Alvarach's voice echoed.
"I've come to conquer Orion" he said, looking at them. "Killing you all is easy, but I'll offer you a deal as regards to your strength"
"Bow to me" he spoke, his tone crystal clear. "Bow to me, and I'll grant you power beyond your wildest dreams. I'll even forgive your act of killing my subordinate"
The Emperor stepped forth, erupting with lightning as he brandished shredder as he looked right into the demon's bright red eye. "This Emperor bows to no one"
Decorum pervaded the surroundings for a short minute, and then...
"How unwise"
Alvarach stretched out his palm as if to push against a wall and a crimson circle formed.
Ezra's eyes almost popped out.
"What?!" Getrahan's confusion took the best of him.
There was no doubt about it-that was a magic circle.
But how was a demon using magic circles?!
The demon world didn't have mana, so it shouldn't be possible.
Looking closely, it differed from those Oranian mages used, meaning it had been modified.
And if it had been modified yet worked, it couldn't be something recently created.
'Zydrax, did you know of this?!'
[Not at all, but I should say, your odds of surviving this encounter just went down tremendously]
Ezra popped a vein. 'Then do something to help!'
From the magic circle came a large ball of crimson fire.
[I'm already doing something] Zydrax said. [But you'll have to hold on for a bit]
On cue, the fireball was shot towards them.
Their senses told of fatal damage, so all three took off without hesitation, flying as fast as possible.
A large explosion occurred, and the cave was destroyed, the fire literally burned them out of existence up until it reached the surface, destroying it as well.
Now in the air, Ezra took flight in the opposite direction without a second wasted, streaking through the sky.
After lagging for a few seconds, Getrahan and the Emperor followed right after.
"We need to get out of here right now, or we'll all die" said Ezra.
Then he remembered his long journey here.
"How did you get here so fast" he inquired from the Emperor.
"Portals" he simply replied.
"The space mage that brought you-where is he?" Ezra hurriedly asked.
"At the army's rear"
"Then that's where we're going"
"We're running away" The Emperor muttered, the situation left him with a bitter taste.
"Do you have a better idea"
Ezra streaked through the sky, when a mirage appeared in front of him.
"Who said you could leave?"
'Shi-
His thoughts were cut short as a force easily surpassing his own landed right in the middle of his back.
Ezra smashed into the ground like a pancake, his insides squiggly, puking blood like vomit.
Attempting to stand...
"AH!"
Excruciating pain hit him all over, engulfing his senses.
His spinal cord had fractured.
Ezra couldn't get up, grasping at dirt as he endured.
He hadn't felt this much pain since...never.
He'd never felt this much pain, cultivating was painful, but it wasn't to such a degree.
'Zydrax' he called. 'Do something!'
[I can, but you must not fight against my control]
The purple particles from before had faded minutes after the Emperor killed the first demon.
Ezra glowed a bit, his body rose three meters above ground-Zydrax's doing.
Ezra could stop it but didn't.
He was dripping blood onto the ground like a broken vase.
Apparently, not only was his spine fractured, but his right arm was also held in an obscene angle, looking like a crooked walking stick.
Without further ado, Ezra was flipped onto his back, still floating, and then...
*Crack!*Crack!*Crack!*
"AHH!"
His spine was forcefully placed appropriately, generating pain even worse than the former.
As a grandmaster, no, even amongst grandmasters, Ezra had extraordinary healing ability.
At the same time, his ear picked up a large commotion.
"What's happening?" he asked.
The spine began healing the moment it was correctly placed, only then did Ezra feel relief, but before he could settle into it...
*Crunch!*
"Hmmm!" Ezra held himself from screaming.
*Crunch*Crunch*
A few more bone crunches saw his right arm receive swift treatment, looking better immediately after.
Gasping, Ezra takes out a healing potion from the ring and pops it into his mouth, healing himself.
Within minutes, the wounds healed, and the bleeding stopped.
Soon after, Ezra was placed on his feet and the glow on his skin faded.
His fall had levelled the soil immensely.
While healed, Ezra was still exhausted, and the use of excessive mana all through the day had him sore all over.
But now, he could see where the sound was coming from.
Above, he could a black and then a white figure, and then, someone inconspicuous.
Three people were battling in the sky.
One was Alvarach.
He looked different, with two large black wings outstretching from his back from the most jarring difference.
Another was the Emperor.
The third...was surely Getrahan.
Ezra was surprised.
Considering the force of Alvarach's strike, it wouldn't have been surprising that Getrahan was incapacitated in the ground somewhere.
Yet, there he was, fighting alongside the Emperor.
Ezra was sure he was stronger than him, so...
'Did he dodge the attack? Or did Alvarach not aim for him?'
Putting all such thoughts aside, Ezra watched as they battled.
[This is your chance to escape. Take it]
He was about to join, but then paused.
Zydrax was right, this was his chance to get away while those two held Alvarach's attention.
'But they'll both be killed' he replied.
[Everyone here is already dead] he said. [The only thing beating a Mythical rank is another Mythical rank, look at the battle closely]
Ezra squinted his eyes.
[The only reason those two are still alive is because Alvarach's playing around, he's testing their strength]
'Then why did he hit me into the ground?'
[You're a demon that's not a demon, he wants to capture you not kill]
'Doesn't that mean we'll have better odds if I join in'
[Do you NOT understand what I've been saying] Zydrax's voice exploded in his head. [There's nothing you or any other Grandmaster can do to stop him right now]
[I have a plan to stop him, but it'll all be for NOTHING if you get yourself killed, do you now understand]
Ezra grits his teeth, clenching his fists. Reality hit him like a mountain of stone.
He'd momentarily forgotten how cruel reality could be.
'So, I'm powerless again' he thought.
[No. You're powerful enough to run away, not many can say the same] Zydrax hauled at him. [Now start running]
Slowly, Ezra took off his dusty and bloody armour, putting it into the ring.
It provided no protection against Alvarach's attacks and its weight would only slow him down.
Taking a deep breath, Ezra's body lit up with lightning as placed one knee on the ground.
His veins protruded, giving clear visuals as they snaked along his skin.
It was his best movement skill thus far.
Gulping down mana recovery potion, Ezra built up the mana within him to amplify his body all over.
His red eye's momentarily flashes blue.
"Whoo..."
'Accelerate'
*VOM*
Ezra raced off, breaking the sound barrier.
The mana within him swirled like a whirlpool, boosting the rate of how much mana he could extract per second and pumping the rate of which he could produce lightning.
The sonic boom caught the attention of those battling above.
"Hmm?" Alvarach's eyes followed the trail of mana expertly and he located Ezra.
His gaze frowned, like a father disproving of his son.
"It seems our bout ends here" he said, putting the two grandmasters on the edge.
Suddenly, his figure vanished.
"...!"
Getrahan was rattled looking both ways trying to catch a glimpse of the opponent.
Then, he caught onto a presence appearing behind him, and hastily moved aside.
On cue...*Puck!*
Five pitch-black nails skewed his left shoulder along with the left side of his stomach, treating armour like paper.
"Ahh!" Getrahan screamed.
"You dodged that?" Alvarach spoke. "I was aiming for your head"
Without further ado...*Sha*
He cut off Getrahan's left arm, and cut out a portion of his stomach along with it.
In the same movement, Alvarach smashed his feet into Getrahan's face, sending him on his way to kiss the ground.
Upon turning around, he watches as a lightning emblazoned shredder swings down to cut him.
