Became a Demon with Pregnancy System-Chapter 141: The Fortress Under Siege

Without missing a beat, Luke flicked a hand. A swirl of blackish flames formed in the air: his Dark Fire synergy.

The creature screeched again, swerving at the last second, but not before the searing flame clipped its wing.

With a pained shriek, it spun out, landing on a lower bastion in a flail of feathers.

Wayne’s jaw dropped. "That was...incredible."

Luke smirked, scanning the horizon. "We should get inside. This fight might escalate quickly."

From the fortress courtyard, blasts of magic and shouts of alarm rung out in every corner.

The defenders had started forming a perimeter, but the relentless wave of White Devil Eagles hammered them.

Each eagle possessed the cunning of a mid-level demon, weaving past arrow fire to slash at towers and ramparts.

A sense of dread built in Luke’s gut. This might be just the prelude. The real menace—a rumored monarch eagle—hadn’t shown itself yet. If so, chaos would multiply.

"Wayne, we need to move," Luke urged, gently pulling the stunned youth away from the open parapet. "Find cover. I’ll handle whatever tries to break in here."

Wayne gave a shaky nod, still clutching Ash. "I’ll follow you, sir." His eyes brimmed with unwavering trust.

Luke led him down a flight of spiral stone stairs, each step echoing with distant booms from ongoing skirmishes. Halfway down, a series of cracks spidered across the tower wall.

A massive shape smashed into the exterior, nearly toppling them off their feet. Luke stabilized Wayne by the arm.

In the momentary lull, Wayne looked at Luke with a brave but apprehensive expression. "Sir...why are you here? Are you...someone who fights big demons?"

Luke considered how to answer.

"Let’s say, I’m here to help keep people safe from the real threat looming over Arcadia." He said no more, mindful that the final outcome might revolve around the Totem Serpent’s emergence and possibly the arrival of the Silver Dome Lord.

Lightning flickered from the courtyard, highlighting the swirl of feathers overhead. The fortress roared with renewed combat.

Wayne felt fear claw at him—but also a spark of courage, thanks to Luke’s presence.

They emerged into an open walkway, where a knot of soldiers battled three White Devil Eagles pecking viciously at the gate.

One soldier recognized Wayne.

"Kid, keep back! These eagles kill rookies in seconds!" Another soldier unleashed a volley of scorching arrows, driving the eagles back.

But the demon birds merely circled overhead, waiting for a gap.

Luke conjured a wisp of black flame, brandishing it like a living torch. "Stay with me," he told Wayne. "If an eagle dives, we’ll handle it together. You watch my flank, I’ll handle the rest."

Wayne swallowed, heart thudding, but nodded, an unspoken vow shining in his gaze. He saved Ash—I trust him. Ash perched on Wayne’s shoulder, ruffling its wings with equal resolve.

High above, the White Devil Eagles parted momentarily, revealing a swirling vortex of noxious miasma—familiar to Luke as the residue of the poison fiasco from White Town.

It’s spreading, he realized. Could that do more than lure lesser demons?

He gave a sidelong glance at Wayne and recalled the boy’s unwavering stand in front of the flame earlier that night.

Such sincerity was rare, especially in a conflict-ridden world. Luke admired that selflessness.

Yes, the future belongs to people like Wayne Yates, Luke thought. And if the city is to survive bigger storms, we’ll need hearts like his.

The West Fortress lay caught in a swirling tide of crisis.

With the ongoing demon invasion, most soldiers had converged on the fortress walls to repel the White Devil Eagles swooping in from the sky.

Under the harsh glare of warning beacons, the barracks themselves were nearly deserted, save for a handful of support staff and low-level beast tamers.

In the middle of this tension, a pock-faced beast tamer loitered near an armory shed, brooding.

He was the same man who had earlier tried to enforce "standard orders" by preemptively targeting any questionable tamed creatures.

He had a sour expression—he would much rather be at the front lines than stuck in the rear, but with his limited skills, the higher-ups judged him more useful (and safer) here.

Suddenly, there was a flutter of wind overhead. He jerked his head up—and saw a young man dropping out of the sky, a battered teenager cradled in his arms.

The teen’s disheveled uniform and a small gray-white eagle perched protectively by his shoulder were instantly recognizable: Wayne Yates and his beloved avian companion, Ash.

The older beast tamer’s eyes widened.

"What the—?! Who dares intrude on a military camp?!" he barked, startled by the newcomer’s casual landing. "Identify yourself!"

The young man, Luke, completely ignored the pock-faced tamer’s demand. He gently set Wayne Yates on his feet in a clearing between tent rows.

Overhead, the sky glimmered with the distant flashes of magical warfare—fire spells flickering, wind barriers shimmering, and the occasional thunderclap of lightning aimed at the White Devil Eagles.

Luke cast a brief glance around the half-empty barracks. As he suspected, nearly everyone was at the front battlements, leaving only a skeleton crew behind.

The tamer and a few logistics personnel—older, beginner-level mages—stared at him uncertainly.

They clearly recognized the Wind Wings that shimmered behind Luke, marking him as a high-level wind mage. None of them dared to pick a fight with a mage of that caliber.

Wayne, still gripping his basket and holding Ash close, blinked as if awakening from a fevered dream. "Sir, do I...do I know you? Did you serve with my brother?" He asked this because, in his mind, only a good friend of his deceased brother would have saved him so valiantly.

Luke shook his head. "No, I’ve never met your brother," he answered, voice calm. "Don’t worry about that. The question is: do you want to truly become a recognized soldier—to be more than just a caretaker at the watchtowers?"

Wayne’s eyes lit up at once, as if someone had flipped a switch in his chest.

"Yes—yes, I do! I want to stand with the real defenders of Arcadia and let Ash become my official companion eagle. That’s my dream."