Beyond the Will of Transcendence

CHAPTER 8

"The demons are rebelling! The demons are rebelling!"

While in the Arcane Hall, the library of the Empyrean Palace, Luna lifted her eyes from the picture book she was reading and wondered if she heard correctly.

Since she did not go for the Immortal Assembly and she was already done with assigning duties to the other servants, she decided to pass the time learning from the ancient records about spiritcraft. Maybe she could find something useful for her mistress, the Queen.

"The demons are rebelling! Everyone, go outside to defend the palace!"

What?! This time she was sure of what she heard.

She closed the book instantly and kept it back on the top shelf where she found it earlier. Then she pulled the lever on the side of the rolling ladder she was standing on and it retracted down to the floor.

She ran outside the library at once.

"Everyone, grab your weapons! The demons are rebelling!"

In the hallway, she saw the guards running in groups and immediately, she grabbed hold of one of them.

"What's the commotion about?" She inquired in confusion.

"The palace is under attack. All the guards have been summoned to the gate for support." The random guard rapped desperately.

"Who is attacking the palace?"

"The Stygian Warlord and his soldiers! I have to go, Luna." And he pulled away from her to join the other guards.

Luna was perplexed. The Stygian Warlord, Reid? Wasn't he one of the Queen's aides in the empyrean court?

She braced herself and rushed to the terrace to check the scenario.

*****

Outside the palace, watching from the terrace with other servants, Luna was grossly taken aback by how terrible the situation was going for the guards. The battle was not in their favour at all!

Most of the warriors of the Seraphic Vanguard who usually guarded the palace had joined the Queen's entourage to the Immortal Assembly earlier and now there was only a meager number of twenty angels compared to the more than a hundred demons attacking the palace gate. And even though the moon guards who served the palace came out in their numbers to give their support, the adverse gap in spiritcraft abilities was already playing out in this battle.

"Shield formation!"

Luna's attention snapped to the urgent cry of an angel warrior. Then she watched as the others swiftly ascended to join him at the roof.

Without delay, they arranged themselves in a tight circle and aimed their swords toward the centre, infusing them with spiritual energy. Instantly, sparks of crackling electricity surged from their bodies, coursing through the blades until they merged into a pulsating sphere of lightning in the middle. With determination, the angels pushed their weapons further, powerfully extending the shimmering globe upwards until the electrical force shot fiercely into the sky to envelope the palace in a protective dome.

At the awestriking sight of the barrier, Luna heaved a huge sigh of relief. Maybe the odds were in their favour after all. She looked at the enemy forces and let out a smirk of satisfaction. But her little celebration was soon cut short by the appearance of the central perpetrator.

The Stygian Warlord, Reid, was the commander of the Abyssal Legion, the demon army from Nether Zone. By nature, all demons possessed two brown horns on their head and colourful skin, and like his father, the Scarlet Scourge, Zayin, Reid was red-skinned.