All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 272: Seize the day

Chapter 272: Seize the day

At the first real threat of danger, I finally made my move. Zipping down through the air above the city, I went to intercept the tide of demons that came flooding out of the castle grounds. It appeared that, whatever they'd been waiting for, the invasion was enough for them to stop hiding.

Some of the demons that had been masquerading as humans shed their flesh with a rather disgusting-looking transformation. Some flapped their revealed leathery wings and soared into the sky. Others poured out from cellars and other deep, dark, hidden passages on the ground. Whoops. Judging by their numbers, perhaps I should have investigated the castle a bit more intently.

The few actual humans defending the walls of the castle looked terrified. Some even started to try to climb down the wall in an attempt to surrender to the invading army rather than be mobbed by the demons coming from behind.

Our army was caught off guard but not wholly unprepared. We had known that there was a possibility of demonic involvement for a very long time, ever since we were attacked, but still. The sheer numbers and surprise of the thing shocked me.

Swooping down, I swept my Sanitation Lamp across the open gate, cutting down those demons pouring toward the soldiers below. I deemed them to be the most dangerous threat. The fliers could go pretty much anywhere, so they had the potential to cause a lot of destruction. Even worse, they'd be harder to take out since they didn't have to stick together in a single mass. However, they shouldn't be enough to push us out of the city completely. It would suck, but we'd have to deal with them later.

The army was pushing back, trying to get entry into the castle. Now that the gate had opened for the demons to flood out, the defensive perimeter was making that difficult. To help them out, I sprayed some of my sealants on a barrier I formed in front of that gate, forcing the demons to come out in an orderly, single-file line. Their faces twisted up in confusion and frustration as they squished through the invisible funnel. I wanted to leave some exit for them, though. Otherwise, I was afraid they would either break a new entryway into the city or just float over the walls. Then, there would be no way for us to contain them.

Going around, I found the other gates into the castle, already emptying of demons. Those I sealed off completely. The main gate was obviously the largest, but there were smaller gates that were only wide enough for a few at a time. The soldiers hadn't fully surrounded the castle yet, so I did take several minutes to hunt down the demons beginning to run wild in the streets. They were relatively easy to take care of. Just a few applications were usually enough to send them crumpling to the ground. That, or hovering over them and pulling them into my dustbin whole.

I had many other options for how to deal with them, but it was about efficiency at this point. So, running my thrusters at maximum, I zipped around the base of the castle, cleaning them up and blocking them in. As soon as I made a circuit, I shot up into the air to contain the ones that flew.

This was the vast minority of demons. Most seemed to be elemental-based, but a few of them were more specialized. Others just resembled the ape-like creatures I had seen before but with wings. Luckily, they were weak. Very weak. In fact, I was surprised that they were even here. If they immediately disintegrated into ash from being near my Sanitation Lamp or were sent flying by the wake of my Thrusters, then they couldn't be much use in a real fight. So, I could only assume they were being used as a distraction.

Letting them go, I decided that I'd have to trust the army to take care of them whenever they landed. This wasn't as big of an issue as I'd feared. Instead, I dove into the castle and began the arduous chore of clearing a path for the soldiers to storm in.

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It took me a little bit to clear a path, but after the first soldier made it through the gate, a small beachhead was quickly established that expanded as more and more soldiers rushed to fill the gap. Satisfied and seeing that they were taken care of, I rushed up to continue knocking out the flying demons.

***

A short while later, as I scanned the streets, I saw a figure waving down below. It took me a second to realize that it was Beatrice waving up at me. Next to her stood Arthur and Susan, each ready to go. I zipped down to greet them and see what they needed. After a customary greeting, Susan spoke first. "Lord Void. There are reports of extremely strong auras and conflict in the center of the castle. I've lost a few of the stronger scouts and some patrols have stopped reporting in. I think we need to put together a squad to go investigate. Would you come with us?"

"Of course." I had managed to whittle down the numbers of those demons in the sky enough that they couldn't cause too much havoc. They were still landing in the city, but the inexorable spread of the army was making it harder for them to find places to land. The soldiers still had to deal with it. They were struggling, but I believed they would pull through.

"Thank you," she bowed her head and turned to Beatrice, who nodded.

"All right, let's go. Are you sure you want to come, Arthur? Doesn't the army need you?" Beatrice asked.

"Not at this point. All my men know what they need to do, and I trust them to do it. I am best of service here, using my individual strength to remove the bigger obstacles. Assuming I can be of assistance with Lord Void here." Arthur replied in a steady voice.

Beatrice nodded. "Yes. I have fought with Void by my side many times, and while master certainly far outstrips me in power, it doesn't mean there aren't things we can do to assist. In fact, I found that Void often prefers that if we take care of our problems to the best of our abilities."

I did find that having people take care of things was a great teaching tool. And from what I could tell, they did, too. People seemed to find a lot of satisfaction in fixing things up themselves. I liked to help those who helped themselves.

"Very well," Arthur said, and the three of them turned to go towards the castle. I followed along merrily, hovering over their heads.

As we came closer, I got a better look at the active battle site. It was very distressing. The devastation was immense. It wasn't a simple set of superficial damage. The buildings were destroyed. With the high levels of our invading troops and the unexpectedly fervent response, a lot of powerful skills were being used. It wasn't simple swordplay but blasts of fire and walls of force, along with slashes that cut right through the stone.

The damage to the city would take forever for me to fix. I suppose I wouldn't have to do it all by myself, but I trailed off as another person ran up behind us and fell in step.

"Tony," Beatrice said. "Glad you could make it."

He panted for a second before catching his breath. "Yeah. Came as fast as I could. The outer wall is completely secure, and Captain Major is sending scouts all around to make sure that there are no reinforcements coming. Not any time soon, at least. No surprises."

"Good job, lad." Arthur said and clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll make a commander of you yet."

I sensed something slightly different about Tony than I had remembered when we last left. He had a kind of quiet confidence about him, a confidence that only came with experience. Tony had always been a bit of a charming guy with a laid-back demeanor. Knowing his limits and doing what he could now, it seemed more like he had pushed those limits a little bit farther. Like he'd stopped being the young man who went to help Beatrice find her way home and started being actually competent. There was a determined set to his eyes, and the way he walked was closer to Arthur's than his own father's.

I thought of something suddenly. It had been a while since we'd talked, with everything going on, and I might as well ask before we headed inside. "What class are you, Tony?"