"Move out of the way!"

  Samson roared at the humans fleeing from the city, who futilely attempted to fight against the demons in their way. Being unawakened, there was no hope. One had already started to be devoured by a fish with three human legs and teeth of sharks.

  When the humans spotted five students wielding skills and weapons, they dove out of the way. Samson swung his blade, sending an arc of purple energy towards the demons. The force crashed into the weak demons, severing their bodies in half. Compared to the Leviathan that they had just fought earlier, these creatures were nothing.

  Leox descended on a half-human demon with the face of a fish on its stomach. He dashed past the demon and activated Rapid Cleave, allowing the weightless, yet dangerous blade to cut the demon in half horizontally. Laughter and Marybetha worked on the remaining demons with their daggers and Longsword, whilst Astra watched from the side. The boy had avoided using his Astrologer skills, which meant he was left unarmed. Luckily, he wasn't needed at that current moment.

  After the demons had been slain, an opening was created for a group of humans to push through the gate and flee further from the city. As they ran, they screamed of the dangers that lay behind them.

  "Run! Run if you care for lives!" A woman said, holding onto her son's hand as she dragged him away from the apocalypse.

  The civilians following behind her seemed to agree vehemently. As for Leox and his allies, they continued into the city with weapons in hand. The interior was no different from the exterior. Left, right and centre, Demons feasted upon humans. Some fought back, using whatever weapons they could find to fight against them. The number of Holy Knights in the city streets was few, as they were most likely being used to defend the palace, academies, and church. That left the city guard to do the heavy lifting. Leox watched as a singular knight thrust a spear into the chest of a human demon, before being crept up on by a jellyfish demon that clung to the back of his head, draining the life out of him, and drinking his brains through his skull.

  "This is hell. This is hell on earth." Laughter spat. "And I've left my sister in an even worse hell."

  Leox didn't understand exactly what the boy had meant, but he pushed him on the shoulder.

  "Go," he urged. "Go and save your sister. She needs you right now."

  Laughter didn't need encouragement. With a nod, he began to filter his way through the chaos, leaving his allies behind him.

  "We should get going too," Samson said with his greatsword in hand, eyeing the demons in the street, desperate to bring his sword to them. "As we planned, we meet at the palace once this has all died down."

  "If." Marybetha added quietly. Afterwards, the pair headed westward. Leox watched as the girl cleaved her blade through a demon along the way.

  That left Leox alone with Astra. Somehow, through all of this, the star-eyed boy managed to keep a smile on his face.

  "Do you know where the Hawkings' estate is?" Leox asked, realising he didn't even know the directions to his location.

  Astra chuckled before nodding his head. "You've sworn to save this girl from where she was captured without even knowing anything about it. She must mean the world to you. Is she your girlfriend, Leox?"

  Before Leox could answer, Astra took off, travelling around the outskirts of the city. Leox followed behind.

  "What? No."

  ---

  Along the way, Leox and Astra cut down at least ten different Grade-One demons standing in their way between their destination. Astra now wielded a small spear looted from the corpse of a fallen knight. He would have called on the power of the stars, but guessed that he had to reserve his power for a more useful battle later on. At some point, they even saw a few holy knights fighting a Fallen Saint, which meant that not only was the city filled with Grade-One demons, but also Grade-Two.

  Eventually, the Hawkings' estate came into view. Even the family building seemed to carry a dark, sinister air to it. The three-story house was made from dark stone, and the plants of the garden were all of a red shade, as if tainted by blood. The demons didn't linger around the estate. If anything, it was eerily quiet, apart from the chaos taking place deeper in the city. The estate was built right up against the city walls, with a tunnel leading to the sewers right outside of it.

  "Be prepared, Leox. We do not know what we will find in there." Astra said, eyeing the building dubiously.

  Leox nodded his head, holding tightly onto his sword. Then, without saying anything else, he rushed inside in hopes of finding his friend.

  After a tiring dash through the city, avoiding all conflict that he could, Laughter finally arrived at the Glorieux Estate, where his sister would be. In an agile manoeuvre, he climbed the metal gate leading to the gardens of the estate, which were thankfully free of any demons. However, the guards that usually stood by the entrance were nowhere to be found, which filled him with worry.

  With his two daggers in hand and his cards in his breast pocket, he kicked open the door to the building and cried.

  "Rosie!"

  "I'm here, Laughter!"

  He followed the sound of her voice, leading him to the dining room. What he found caught him entirely off guard. His entire family was sitting around the table, with the house guards standing in the space too. Everyone turned their faces to look at him, noticing how beat up and flustered he looked. Laughter's eyes landed on his sister. A short twelve-year-old girl with orange hair like his, and round button eyes. She was sitting there with a look of fear on her face, which changed to happiness as she spotted her brother.

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  Then, he noticed the figure at the head of the table staring at him coldly. A giant man with an orange twirling moustache. It was none other than the head of the family.

  "Now, the clown shows up." Laughter's Father spoke, folding his muscular arms over one another. His squared jaw clenched, as if angered by the sight of his own son.

  "Be nice, brother. Your son is safe." Another, thinner, effeminate man said from the side, adjusting his glasses.

  "He's right, Brother Patrick." A beautiful lady said, wearing an orange dress that matched her long, luscious curls. "We are all here now. Let's escape this madness. The Glorieux family doesn't belong here."

  Patrick continued to glare at his son, who glared back at him. He noticed the look of anger in Laughter's face. The anger that had been there ever since that day three years ago.

  The man laughed.

  "Keep looking at me like that, boy, and I'll take your other eye. I'm not in the mood today. All of my plans... ruined because of that accursed family. Fuck them. Fuck them all!"

  As the words were spoken, Laughter felt the scar over his eye pulse with pain, remembering the day that the wound had been delivered to him. He lifted his hand to press against the scar, hoping to dull the pain. Rosie, who sat behind her father, suddenly had tears in her eyes.

  When Patrick saw this, he could only scoff with disgust. He palmed his face and looked towards his brother and sister, who sat on either side of him.

  "If I knew that I would produce such weak children, I would follow in your footsteps and remain celibate. Curse that witch, as it was surely her genes that did this, and not mine. That's why they're so small and frail."

  That was Laughter's breaking point. He wouldn't just stand there and let this man berate him and those he loved. Not anymore. Not right now.

  He reached into his jacket pocket and drew the two daggers he had previously sheathed. Their silver blades shone in the chandelier light. His father looked at him with a raised brow of amusement.

  "This will be the last time that you disrespect Mother." He growled, taking on a low stance.

  Everyone in the room went tense at the sudden display of bravery. The guards lifted their weapons, ready to defend their master from his own son, but Patrick merely raised a hand and rose to his feet slowly. Once standing, he towered over everybody in the room like a true giant.

  "Come on then, boy, to the garden. Let's see if you can avenge your whore of a mother. I wanted to blow off some steam before our journey anyway, and perhaps we can make the travel load a little lighter. Two birds with a single stone, I'd say."

  The smell of sweat and iron stung Samson and Marybetha's noses as they arrived on the street where the Blacksmith was located. The street was surprisingly empty in comparison to the others they had passed along the way. Their blades were already wet with the blood of demons, but it seemed they would have a chance to dry off.

  "I pray that Adola is alright," Samson said beneath his breath to himself, though Marybetha heard him.

  "If you know Adola as well as I do, you know that a few demons wouldn't be enough to take him down." She replied.

  "I know Adola like I know my own father," Samson replied. "He's made many blades for my family and me."

  "As he has for mine."

  The door to the building was already open. As they stepped inside, the sound of a hammer striking metal could be heard, followed by a sickening squelch. The hammer strikes came every half-second, much faster than a blacksmith might strike metal. When their eyes landed on the source of the noise, they realised why.

  At an anvil by the fireplace, five demons stood with hammers in their hands. They each took turns to strike the anvil, where a man's head was resting. With every strike, blood splattered, pulverising the corpse's head beyond recognition. It was a mixture of white and red. If it weren't for the man's body and the scars that ran up his forearms, neither Samson nor Marybetha would be able to recognise who it was. Unfortunately for them, they knew the man very well.

  "Adola..." Samson's voice trailed off, earning the attention of the five Fallen Saints. Each of the demons turned towards them. Different sizes, yet each perfectly muscular and handsome. They all wielded hammers tightly in their grips, and golden veins ran down the lengths of their arms, invigorating each hammer strike with power.

  Marybetha held back tears. She refused to show weakness, especially with such an important task before them. She placed a hand on Samson's shoulder, which was a rare sign of affection from the usually cold woman.

  "Do not cry. We are knights." She said, noticing the tears welling in the boy's eyes. "Raise your sword, and make him proud."

  It took a while for Samson to control his emotions. The demons watched as he clenched his fists angrily. Eventually, he sighed and lifted his blade.

  "We are knights."

  Then, the pair charged for the demons who had taken someone dear to them.

  "Mister Gutaru, it's not safe in there. We should head to the Palace and meet with the council. They will know what to do."

  As Gutaru stood outside the door to the Grand Hall of the Varadna Academy, ten other professors of the different year groups stood surrounding him. From behind the door, they heard a great roar, followed by screams of agony. They all had guesses as to what it was, which struck them with fear.

  So many stage three professors, yet they are all cowards. Even you, Falcon, the Stage Four? I expected better.

  Gutaru placed his hands on the door, causing the other professors to take a step back. They wanted nothing to do with what lay inside. Nothing went through their minds but saving themselves.

  "If you want to run, then go ahead. I will go in alone."

  One of the teachers stared at him with wide eyes. "Y-you're crazy."

  Perhaps.

  Gutaru pushed the door open and stepped inside. Immediately, he was met with the smell of death and deep growling that seemed to shake the floor beneath him. The grand hall was the largest room in the entire academy. The roofs stretched to great heights, and there were hundreds of stands facing towards a raised platform. Enough stands to hold the entire population of the school, and then some. Gutaru spotted the source of a death atop the stage. Five large sacks with red stains on them. Blood leaked onto the stage. How did the Hawkings manage to bring them here? The council had underestimated them gravely.

  Slowly, he stepped towards the stage, his footsteps echoing loudly through the hall. He glanced around, trying to find the source of the growls. It didn't take long. To his left and right, he spotted two giant shadows leaping toward him through his peripheral vision. They both moved faster than they should have, for beings of such size.

  Before even getting a closer look at them, Gutaru bent his knees and leapt so high that he cleared the height of both beings, dodging their charges by an inch. They clashed into each other with a great thud, tumbling backwards, falling into the stands, and crushing the woods flat. The building rumbled from their great weights. Gutaru managed to grab hold of a bannister above, which led to a second floor of stands that looked down on the hall below. As he hung in a one-handed grip, he eyed the two creatures, both pushing themselves to their feet.

  Gutaru would have described them both as mammoths. Their muscles were greater than any he had seen before, with striations evident even through their thick black furs. They were both the size of a small building, with two curved tusks, both five metres long. Their elephant snouts looked like hammers ready to be used against him, and their eyes were red, each staring up at their small prey with animosity. Their breath created great winds that flowed through the hall.

  Gutaru sighed

  "Two Behemoths." He said, before using his free hand to summon a floating piece of paper and an inked feather. "Let's see if I've still got it."