The students obeyed.

Together, they marched towards the clock tower, killing whatever came in their way. Everyone performed to the best of their abilities.

Silas Mercer had carved acceleration runes into the boots of the entire rear guard, allowing them to move twice as fast as the Demons trying to flank.

Evander formed a barrier with his summons across one of the side streets, trapping a wave of Bug Demons in a dead end where Valeria had made short work of them.

Vernon, despite his frustration, was nothing short of devastating. He had created a rotating ring of fire and ice around himself; a killing field that reduced any demon that entered to ash or frozen chunks.

Thor couldn’t deny that his power was incredible, even if his attitude was insufferable.

They pushed through the third block.

There they met smarter Demons, ones that didn’t throw themselves at the attack team in waves. They harried from the edges, striking and retreating, trying to pull the formation apart.

A Winged Demon dropped a chunk of masonry on Silas, forcing him to dive out of the way. A Humanoid with six arms tossed with Evander’s beasts. A Bug Demon burrowed under the street and erupted beneath Kaleb, forcing the Storm Mage to leap onto a nearby rooftop to avoid being dragged underground.

Still, these pesky monstrosities couldn’t stop the vanguard’s advance. Not with Thor by their side.

The Heroine of Thunder killed anything that came within ten feet of her. Lightning crackled and blasted at every corner. Demons died while others fell just to be finished off by Valeria or Vernon.

However, the miasma’s effects were getting stronger. The only way to stop it from completely corrupting their Grace channels and taking over this town was to kill the Demon Head.

"We’re here."

Thor and the attack team stood before the tall tower erected in the center of Hebthej. There were crimson tendrils wrapped around the structure, pulsing like arteries and feeding Demonic energy from the leyline below into the heart of the tower.

At the top was a blaring red light; an undeniable sign that the Demon Head was inside.

But between them and the tower was a wrought iron gate. Like everything else in this damned town, the gate had been twisted and reshaped by the miasma into something organic, something alive.

The metal had grown teeth and had grown eyes. In that very moment in fact, it watched them approach with its yellow pupils, hungry or perhaps terrified.

The gate on its own wasn’t any concern of Thor or the rest of the attack team. What mattered was what was in front of the gate.

Another Demon.

But not just any Demon. This one was incredibly massive, despite being humanoid. It scaled to fifteen feet easily, with a body like a nightmare collage of every demon type in the world.

Its torso was humanoid, covered in overlapping plates of chitin that clicked and shifted with every breath it took. Its arms ended in crab-like pincers, each one large enough to crush a man’s skull like an egg.

From its back sprouted two sets of wings—one leathery like a bat’s, one feathered like a raven’s, both dripping with the crimson miasma. Its legs were insectoid, jointed backward, ending in hooked talons that dug into the ground. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

But its face was the worst.

It had no head in the traditional sense. Instead, a single massive eye sat in the center of its chest, ringed by a circle of writhing, snake-like tentacles. The eye was yellow with a slit pupil, and it never blinked.

It just watched.

The creature’s mouth—located where its stomach should have been—opened and closed rhythmically, revealing rows of teeth arranged in spiraling circles. Saliva dripped from the opening, and where it hit the ground, the cobblestones sizzled and melted.

"That’s the Demon Commander, alright," Silas whispered.

"What a hideous thing," remarked Thor.

⸢ Demon Commander - Rank: 7-Star Descending Demon ⸥

Thor slowly started to approach the creature, then she stopped ten feet away from it. From her vantage point, she could feel its power pressing against her, testing her, looking for weakness.

The air around it was thick with miasma and Gloom. Unlike Grace that caused the atmosphere to vibrate, Gloom made it solidify, made everything feel like death.

The Commander’s chest-eye focused on Thor. The tentacles around it writhed faster.

Then it growled from its stomach-mouth, so low and deep that Thor felt it in her bones. The creature’s watering mouth opened wider, revealing more teeth, more saliva.

Thor tightened her grip on her warhammer, ready to charge. She could already taste the rush of satisfaction she would feel from killing this monster.

But right then, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

Thor turned. Vernon Heavenblum stood beside her, his eyes were locked on the Demon Commander and then turned to her.

"What are you doing?" he asked directly. "You said this was my kill."

Thor’s eyes narrowed. She did say that. She had allowed the rush of killing Demons to get to her, and like a drug she wanted the rush from killing this one too.

But going against her word was not the way of a Valkyrie.

"Alright then," Thor accepted, her eyes softening. "You, Silas, Kaleb and Jaxen should deal with it. Valeria, you’re coming with me into the clock tower."

×××××××

In the original story, this mission had taken the vanguard close to three days. They had fought through the streets in advances, killing Demons section after section.

At night, they had barricaded themselves in half-collapsed buildings to sleep in shifts, regathering Grace while the Demons scratched at the walls.

But Lancet being here changed everything.

With Astensia and Thor fighting beside them, the mission was vastly easier. The vanguard wasn’t losing ground. They weren’t sleeping in ruined buildings or rationing their Grace. They were constantly advancing, pushing through Hebthej like a spear through rotten flesh.

But Lancet could see the toll it was taking on his Heroine.

Astensia’s movements, which had been fluid and effortless at the start, were getting heavier as time passed. Her breaths came slightly faster. The pauses between her kills grew a fraction longer.

It wasn’t like she was slowing down—at least not noticeably—but Lancet had been watching her for weeks. He knew the difference between Astensia conserving energy and Astensia spending it.

Now, she was spending it.

Even worse, the Demons were getting harder.

The ones that attacked the evac team as they closed in on the chapel were no longer the Fallen Ranks and lower stars Descending Ranks they had been slaughtering.

These ones ranged from 5 to 6 stars. The difference was immediately apparent in their size, their speed, and their intelligence.

A six-star Humanoid Demon with nine heads came charging from a side alley, wielding a door torn from its hinges as an improvised shield.

Astensia’s first slash caught the door, splitting it in half, but the Demon was already moving behind the wreckage. It rammed its shoulder into her chest, driving her back three steps.

Astensia’s boots scraped against the cobblestones. She had too great a constitution to fall so she planted her back foot, rotated and drove her Blessed Blade through the Demon’s lowest head.

[Heroine, Astensia, has killed 1 Demon (Rank: 6-Star Descending)]

A 6-Star Descending Winged Demon dove from above, leading a flock of lesser flyers one star below it. Its wingspan was easily twenty feet, its talons as long as short swords.

It grabbed Astensia by the shoulders and tried to lift her into the air.

Astensia sheathed her sword behind her, driving the edge of her shield into the Demon’s thigh. When the Demon refused to let go, Astensia reached up, grabbed its talons with both hands, and pulled.

The creature shrieked as she forced its claws apart, her muscles bulging. Then she twisted and broke both of the Demon’s ankles.

KAWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

It cried like a baby duck. While Nereus and the other students attacked and killed the other flying Demons, the 6-Star crashed to the ground, its wings folding awkwardly beneath it.

Astensia drew back her Blessed Blade and drove it through the creature’s chest. It thrashed for a moment, then went still.

[Heroine, Astensia, has killed 1 Demon (Rank: Descending, 7-Star)]

She pulled her sword free and staggered. Just for a moment before she caught herself.

Lancet saw it. A few others saw it too it

Astensia turned her head, caught Lancet’s eye, and gave him a small smile. I’m fine, the smile said. Don’t worry.

Lancet worried anyway.