Chapter 92: Interlude: Leviathan
On the Fields of Perdition stood the Duke of Wrath, Mother of Furies, Mistress of Fifty Legions. The Wrath-Sin herself: Leviathan.
Towering above her army, her baleful wings cast a shadow great enough to block out the already ash-clouded sun as she raised her fist, looming like a mountain from the highest mound of the eternal battlefield. None here could match her sheer size as she rose to almost one hundred measures in a war form that could crush a dragon in its grip.
Above her circled an entire legion of dragon riders, but even they would hear her when she chose to speak.
She couldn’t help but notice how her legions shied away from the crater at the edge of the field, which had shattered the magma tunnels and filled with the now-stagnant water of a dozen rainfalls. That mysterious attack had helped her believe her most cherished enemy, Duke Maledict, when he said heaven had a new weapon... Not that she could do so publically.
For a moment she remembered the evacuation of Tzal. Was the city empty now? Was her daughter safe on Ayther or still waiting to pass through that gate?
If only Maledict had more ambition... They could have invaded Heaven months ago, with the magic of Goetia at her side, augmenting the pure brawn that had won her dominion of one-fifth of Hell. Instead, she had been made to wait. Until this moment...
The moment a perdition between Heaven and Hell became stable enough for their enemies to invade... Only this time, she intended to do more than simply beat them back. As soon as the angels deployed their gates, she intended to counterattack. To risk everything against the doom Maledict predicted.
She almost shook her head, needing to dispel such thoughts for the task at hand. There was no room for doubt, no matter how compelling the reasons for it. There could be only Wrath.
At her feet, massive, hulking demons were arrayed. Her generals and their captains, in sets that marshaled to one of her many children. Everything she had, every soldier worth their salt, was here, a token force guarding each of her cities.
She had even seized five legions from the Duke of Lies, thanks to Pride’s insistence that no wars be fought amongst demonkind during the Heavenswar; payment for the "abduction" of her daughter. She’d been sure to thank the other Dukes present for their compliance with Pride’s demands. The Duke of Lies’ legions would form the vanguard, aimed at whatever city was nearest to the Heaven side of the perdition. A disposable force, while her true legions sought victory against the Heavenly Host.
More importantly, she’d demanded enough demon mages to open the perditions wide enough for her entire army. A mana-intensive task for which her legions were understaffed.