At exactly midnight, the city's giant bells began to ring. In an instant, all of Gloris was in turmoil as the bright ringing tones broke through the silence of the night. It was not the usual beautiful melody that always rang out when it called people to worship, but rather a panicked call to protect the city. It was a warning, yet it was also a call for war. Like most of the others, Gerald was jolted awake by the sound, but he did not panic. His fatigue vanished immediately as he donned his golden armor, for he had been mentally preparing for this moment for weeks. The moment when the enemies would advance upon their gates. The siege would finally end, one way or another.
Outside the great city wall, millions of distorted, mutated feet were marching. It was dark, only countless yellow eyes glowed as the ranks of the Polykenas assembled. Over three million Polykenas, ready to reduce everything to rubble, eager for the coming battle. Twenty kilometers wide, a hundred rows deep, the army spread out. It was a terrifying sight for the humans on the wall. Hopelessness and panic spread at the sight.
Nero flew high above the Polykenas, surrounded by his five generals.
"Everything is ready!" said Xersies, who had just received the news from a messenger of the Yellow Patron.
"Very good," Nero said coolly and let his gaze glide across the wall. More and more people gathered there. From a distance, he couldn't make out their faces, but they were moving frantically, panicked.
Nero smiled slightly, "Ramor, Shire, get into position! The rest of you stay with me!" he commanded. Ramor, whose skin was glowing with bright symbols, nodded without a word and flew downward. Shire could not fly himself, but he simply jumped off the black cloud Nero was holding them on. He would land without injury.
At Nero's command, dozens of horns were blown throughout the Polykena army as the army began its advance.
Gerald had just reached the wall. His expression was serious as he fought his way forward through the dozens of soldiers. His gaze drifted across the approaching army. He couldn't help but sigh. Orders were being shouted, and archers and mages were positioned.
The infantry gathered behind the gates, ready in case the demons somehow managed to break through the wall. The army was a pitiful sight; it was huge, yes, but only a small part of it consisted of trained soldiers. Too many old people, young people, and women were in the army, forced to take up arms and defend their homeland. The only ones who did not fight were the crippled or sick, who were brought to the innermost circle of the city. Gerald could practically smell the fear hanging in the air.
A small man stepped beside him, "Are you afraid, General?" he asked suddenly. The young man seemed plain. He wore a pale grey shirt, long normal trousers, and simple shoes. His hair was a light brown and combed to the side. His eyes glowed brown, with an unnatural intelligence that did not match his young age. Despite his unremarkable appearance, the people around him stared at him in awe, respect, hope, and even fear. Gerald immediately fell to both knees and bowed, "Holy Father!"
It was strange how Gerald, a man approaching sixty, called someone barely half his age "Father," but he felt no shame at all, for before him stood Luis, the holy representative of the God of Light.
Luis placed a hand on Gerald's shoulder, "Rise, Gerald, there is no need for these formalities, after all, we've known each other since I was a little child."
Gerald rose slowly but still did not dare meet Luis's eyes. It was true, Gerald had been a good friend of his father before Luis could even properly walk.
"Of course, I am afraid," Gerald finally answered the question, speaking quietly enough so his soldiers would not hear, "This could mean the extinction of our entire population if I fail."
Luis turned and let his gaze wander thoughtfully across the approaching army. His eyes fell on the inconspicuous black cloud floating high above the army. His gaze quickly found the young man with black hair whom Trok had already told him about.
"So this is the leader of these demons," he muttered, more to himself than to Gerald. Gerald only nodded, but Luis didn't need a reply anyway, because it was obvious. The way he stood there at the front, the way his gaze swept over the wall, observing and analyzing. Even from this distance, Luis could see into the young man's eyes. They contained a darkness that threatened to extinguish all the light in the world. It was disgusting.
But he simply smiled, turning his gaze away encouragingly, "Do not worry, Gerald, everything is part of the plan of our glorious God. He will lead us to victory, I know that deep within my heart!" He spoke loudly so everyone around him could hear. When they heard the power of faith in his voice, the men couldn't help but breathe out. Only the foreign magicians kept a grim expression on their faces. They knew that even if they won, there would be consequences for them. Some even looked hopefully at the Polykena army, secretly hoping it would kill Luis.
"What about the council?" Gerald asked, referring to the other members of the holy council of the church.
"They're getting ready," Luis replied, without elaborating further.
Little was known about the council's members. They were all people who kept themselves deeply hidden. Only people of Gerald's standing even knew of their existence, but even he knew almost nothing about them. He only knew that Luis had chosen them all himself.
"What is the strategy?" the holy representative of God asked Gerald after a brief silence.
Gerald did not answer immediately. He took a breath, "To be honest, we don't have a proper strategy. Since we have almost no information about the strength of our enemy, it is impossible to plan a counterattack. And it's extremely difficult for me to command all these mages, so our best chance is to prevent them from ever reaching the wall. If that fails, the rest of our army will try to destroy them as best as they can, and if that fails..." Gerald shrugged, "Then only a miracle can save us."
"That sounds encouraging," Luis murmured, though he had no better idea himself. They were trapped in Gloris, without information and without the ability to strike back. Their best hope was to react quickly and accurately to everything their enemy had prepared.
He clapped his hands to drive away the negativity. He turned, looking at the people gathered behind him, "May the God of the Sun bless you all, my brothers and sisters. It may seem hopeless at first glance, but as long as faith burns within you, even the darkest darkness cannot defeat you. These creatures are intruders in our world! In the world of humans, in the world of light. They deserve to die, and that is exactly what will happen. May the light of the Sun God burn their misshapen skin, for we are—"
---
Nero watched as the young man delivered what seemed to be a glorious speech, raising the morale of his people. He heard the cheering even from this distance, and it seemed contagious, spreading across the entire wall as if everyone had heard the speech. Nero smiled slightly as he saw this, "Shall we take away their pathetic hope?" he asked Xersies, who stood a bit behind him. The latter grinned, his yellow eyes glowing with bloodlust, "Absolutely, my duce!"
"Then give the signal!"
Xersies did not hesitate. He flicked his hand. A small golden star burst from his fingertips and shot into the sky. It was a pitch-black night, clouds covering stars and moon, but the golden light of the artificial star briefly illuminated the entire region.
Immediately, the cheering on the wall fell silent when they saw this happening.
Luis turned angrily, "How dare they misuse the power of the Sun God!" he hissed and raised his hand. His eyes ignited as he clenched his fist. He seemed to grasp for the light standing dozens of kilometers away, high in the sky, and he actually succeeded.
Xersies looked shocked as the young man on the wall pulled in the star and all its light. Instantly, it spread across the city. As the people were bathed in the warm light, they burst once more into glorious cheering, even louder than before, but Xersies overcame his surprise quickly. "It seems they have a very powerful mage among their ranks."
Nero looked at the young man responsible for this miracle. He could definitely see a broad smile on the young man's face. He seemed to be very proud of himself. Nero grinned back and pointed downward. Luis frowned at the gesture. As he looked down, he froze, for the ranks of the marching demons were parting as a gigantic construction rolled toward the wall.
It was made of wood and steel, riding on more than two dozen enormous wheels. It rose dozens of meters into the air. The structure was gigantic as it was pushed forward on dozens of wooden wheels. It was shaped like a big altar, which rose up into the air, and in the middle of its body, there was a huge opening. The entire body of the structure was covered with symbols that glowed with a dangerous light. In addition, it was studded all over with huge, long spears from which screaming people hung. Their bodies were covered with symbols that seemed to draw their life force from them and pump it into the structure. Slowly and steadily, the giant monstrosity rolled toward the wall. Luis had no idea what it was or what it could do, but he knew it meant nothing good. He turned to give Gerald an order, but Gerald was currently speaking hastily with a small man. Luis could clearly see panic in his eyes.
"What is it?"
Gerald looked up, his face pale as he stared at the construction, "I just received the message that at the West Gate and the East Gate, armies of these demons have appeared as well. They seemed to rise out of the ground, and with them two more of these machines."
Luis didn't have time to react because a deafening explosion rang out from the structure outside the wall, which seemed to overtake every sound. A meteor of green flames shot out of the opening in the structure. It moved toward the wall at incredible speed, unstoppable. Not a breath later, the meteor struck the wall, and the whole world seemed to shake.