Chapter 377: Apostle of Curses
"Should we make a break for it?" Korra asked, looking over the billowing clouds of darkness at the wall behind them.
I shook my head and let out a long, defeated sigh. "There’s no point. They’re already locked on to you, and their spell is stronger than Adaptive Resistance or they wouldn’t have been able to cast it on you in the first place. I might be able to break it with a targeted Dispel Magic, but my soul...it hurts."
She jolted in surprise. "They’re tracking my soul? Are you sure you can’t-no, never mind. I know you’re doing your best, and you would if you could."
I nodded, but her words did little to make me feel better. Powerful presences appeared one after the other in the courtyard below, multiplying until their combined souls glowed so brightly it nearly overpowered the stifling darkness.
The surviving crowds of refugees surged away from the mustering army of demons. Terrified screams finally split apart the dreadful silence as they caught sight of glowing red eyes, gleaming blades, and flickering fires within the shadows.
I frowned as the demons remained in the cloud, showing remarkable restraint instead of attacking the civilians. Perhaps it was because they were all above fourth-level, and thus evolved demons. Scions had much self-discipline, and would usually go berserk the moment they sensed refined mana in a soul. Even so, a force this powerful might be able to take the keep by themselves, especially now that they were within the ranks of the city.
There was little chance that this was their objective, or why teleport exactly to where we were on the fringe of the city? With that in mind, I swallowed my fear and patted Fable’s flank. He glanced at me, a question in his eyes, but I merely nodded.
"Let’s see what they want."
Without further hesitation, he slipped off the guard house and landed lithely on the cracked paving stones, a silver shadow against the shadowy tendrils writhing throughout the courtyard. The last of the humans fled at our appearance, leaving us alone with nearly two score demons.