Chapter 179: Savior?
As the Ice Demon’s coils fell still, I collapsed onto my staff, panting heavily. "It’s done," I whispered. But Instead of jubilation or elation, there was nothing but a hollow emptiness. Yes, the demon had been defeated, but at what cost?
Through sheer collateral damage, most of the demon army had been erased. A few scions trickled from the crevasses beneath the surface, but they were greeted by a very angry elemental.
No longer hindered by the mists, the soldiers of the Last Light Company quickly regained the initiative. After a brief, furious battle, they succeeded in stabilizing their position and forcing the now leaderless demons back. Rallying the remaining reserves, Captain Bethiv led the charge down the canyons, massacring everything in their path until the canyons ran with demon blood once more.
But as the soldiers deployed, it only made the holes in their ranks more obvious. Far too many remained behind, slumped over ice, unmoving. Their scarlet blood turned black as it mingled with the blues of the demons, dripping in tainted streams down the mountain. Of the three hundred soldiers, barely half remained.
They’d been living, breathing, and laughing just the night before, reminiscing of their many adventurers. None of them thought this fight would be anything more than a glorified slaughter. They were right in a way. The casualties of the main army beneath the ice were unknown, but it couldn’t be any lower than tens of thousands.
After I caught my breath, I called to the Infernal Mana and began casting Life Magic. The Nexus pulsed warmly, and a soft, green glow rose from hundreds of soldiers across the mountains. Their wounds knit together mid-fight and their energy was restored, bolstering their momentum. Soon, the demon lines broke, and they turned and fled, pushing back toward their underground chambers.
However, as they flowed out of the canyons, the Ice Spirit waited with open arms. With every sweeping strike, hundreds of scions perished. The elemental swelled in size as their icy flesh melded into its body, towering hundreds of feet in the air by the time the battle ended. The spirit strained against the magic circle binding it to my control, having surpassed the typical limits of the Elemental Spirit spell.
Even though the circle trembled, it held strong, keeping the powerful summon on the battlefield. My magic had always held more strength than traditional chants, and using arrays in which I was forced to create the spell from scratch, maximized the efficiency.
"Hero!"
I glanced up, finding a lightly armored soldier, one of Bethiv’s scouts, kneeling before me. I let the runes of the restoration spell I was casting fade away, taking advantage of his interruption to catch my breath and let my soul rest.
The scout bowed lower, nearly pressing his forehead to the ground. "If it pleases you, the captain requests your presence at the foot of the mountain. We’ve managed to secure one of the entrances underground."