Chapter 231: Visions of Fire
The world burned. There was no other way to describe it. Fire, smoke, and ash swirled through every corner of the small, country village, choking out the air and sending billions of blazing sparks into the night sky. The charred, skeletal remnants of houses disintegrated before my eyes, turning to fine white powder before the supernatural heat of the flames.
A vision. It had been almost a month since I received one, since the day I was freed from the threads of the slave crest.
But something was different about this vision, it felt more real and tangible, like the time I spoke with Fate outside the Western University, before facing the Curse demon. I could feel the lick of flames curling across my intangible skin, the dry, suffocating ash, and the unbearable pressure seizing the entire region.
"Get down!"
A massive pillar of flame erupted just outside the village limits. Drawn like a moth, I ran forward, feeling light and free, unrestrained by the mortal shackles of my body. As the roar of the flames died down, I could just make out the struggling silhouettes of soldiers, dragging their wounded through the inferno. The forest outside blazed hotter than the village, with every tree a torch raging into the night sky.
The flames roared, parting to reveal a monstrous creature. My hand flew to my chest, stilling a gasp I couldn’t have possibly given in this form, as I recognized it. It stood thirty feet tall and was vaguely humanoid, coated in dull, black scales. Fires wreathed its long, scythe-like claws and about the spines of its back and neck. Its eyes burned like black coals, flickering with unrestrained devastation.
A fire demon. I had fought hundreds of these in the first gate, though this one bore little resemblance to the lesser scions of the horde. It was closest to the Gate Commander, though that demon had been significantly smaller. The aura emanating from the demon surpassed even that of Soltair, undoubtedly passing beyond the beginning stages of with level.
As the human soldiers rallied against it, the demon raised its clawed hand. Six circles blossomed overhead, swelling out to fill the entire space above. The captain of the soldier’s eyes widened as they spun to competition in mere seconds.
"Shield!" he cried, his voice hardly more than a shill scream.