Chapter 204 - 205
They were only a couple hundred paces away from the demon, which was moving at a slow, unsteady walk.
Tremors tickled their feet as a large blast blew several buildings to pieces a short ways away, the group lagging behind the fleeing crowd after briefly stopping in place. Only Alder and his group of guards remained on South Street, the view of their backs as they faced a receding heatwave and countless plumes of smoke leaving a lasting impression in Anice’s mind.
"To hell with swords," she heard him yell a moment after he led the guards away. "Ready your bows and keep a fair distance!" Massive amounts of moisture from the surrounding area began to coagulate around the man, his slick hair dripping with sweat as he rushed to set up a defensive line in order to prevent the demon from proceeding any farther into town.
Anice lost track of time as she and her friends arrived at the central plaza and veered westward. People could be seen running in every direction, all roads filled with panicking townsfolk and the occasional group of flustered, pale-faced city guards. The sound of rabid bell tolls mixed in with the myriad of screams that filled the air, punctuated by constant explosions, ear-splitting roars, and rumbling quakes that shook the stones beneath their feet and rattled the surrounding windows in their frames.
The group stopped a short ways down West Street, where they were joined by some familiar faces. Mr. and Mrs. Silvus were hugging Lessa fiercely, Priscilla nowhere in sight. According to them, the girl had gone off to speak to a friend in the moments before the nightmare began, and she had been one of the first to die from the residual heatwaves given off by the initial pillar of flames.
"I need to find my family," Zech was saying in an empty voice, though Lessa’s father stopped him with a slick hand covered in oozing burns. The young man’s shoulders slumped as Mr. Silvus shook his head in a tragic manner.
The demon’s aura suddenly flared up as if its previous energy signals had been but a shadow of what really lay beneath. Hearing a particularly pervasive grumbling sound, Anice turned to look at the face of a shop that sold cold drinks which was currently obscuring her view of South Street. Alder’s aura had abruptly disappeared, only a lingering wisp left in its place.
"Oh..." was all she managed to say, her voice going unheard by those around her.
The terrible rumbling sound grew louder by the second, the surrounding air seeming to rush southward before an unrealistically massive torrent of flames exploded forth from South Street and continued on down much of North Street. Over ten paces tall, this destructive, fiery blast engulfed the hundreds of people that had fled in that direction. She and her friends were swept to the ground by surging, searing winds, though they were almost instantly protected by a large wall of rapidly melting ice that Mr. Silvus conjured the moment that he realized they were in imminent danger. He was immediately assisted by his wife, steam hissing around them as they persisted for several moments, their exposed skin taking on an alarming flush.
"What kind of magic...?" came Mr. Silvus’s haggard voice, the man seemingly drained of all his energies.
The mass of flames gradually dissipated, leaving behind a terrifying scene that left everyone in the area awestruck. Countless pairs of feet remained frozen in place as those still within the vicinity of the plaza observed the aftermath of the attack with dazed expressions. From midway up South Street all the way to the distant plaza where the cathedral and the collegia were located, the buildings that lined the streets began to collapse as they were slowly swallowed up by a great conflagration. The disastrous spell had left a long line of smoldering, red-hot stones in its wake, another equally powerful torrent smashing eastward from the demon’s current location and signifying that it was proceeding toward the heart of town at a faster pace than before.
Alie...where are you?