Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 72 Bloodfield 1

Whether it be the contestants, neutral audience, crowds, organisers or the ruling powers, they would be ecstatic to see a planet-exceeding talent emerge from their Gorun City and Gorun Stadium!

In fact, despite soundly and undisputably losing to the handsome heart-throb of a hunk, Natalie was not angry. No, she WAS irritated, but that was over the fact that she couldn't run over to his side at this very moment and beat him into submission until he surrendered to be hers! Instead, she could stand with folded arms, cheeks turned a deep red and panting with desire, body hot and filled with passion while her thighs were pressed together tightly.

As for the boy himself, he should normally be in a relaxed mood as he was wheeled away on a stretcher by the emergency first-aiders. But his eyes held a sharp glint. He sensed something amiss and quickly performed a self-healing to staunch the bleeding and regain his strength. It was fortunate that the wounds were not too serious - once he regained his Legendary might, it was a cinch to recover fully given a day of rest.

And despite the paramedics having to rush him off for emergency treatment, and the fact that everyone was barred from approaching, including Charley and Natalie, great excitement should have been bubbling in the air about this historic moment.

Well, that would normally be the case. But it wasn't.

As for why, it was because at that very moment, Head Administrator Natiro was fleeing back to the Stadium grounds from the pocket plane where the seniors' preliminaries was held.

A blood-covered young-faced elf came tumbling out of the permanent portal constructed that housed the pocket plan of the Gorun Stadium. This pocket plane was owned by the Trenel family who also owned the stadium. It was used for training sessions and often rented out at astronomical prices to families and groups requiring a secluded and self-contained place away from spying eyes.

The moment Head Administrator Natiro fell out of the portal, a dark shadowy figure could be seen behind him, perhaps not dark in the sense of the colours, but obscured by the swirling red and black hues of the pocket plane portal.

"GAH!!" The World-class realm elf immediately sprang to his feet and burst away into the distance, headed straight for the private viewing area where he sensed several mighty auras.

He needed help. And he needed to warn everyone in Gorun City... Desperately.

As he sped away through the passageways and crossed the metres in mere seconds, he did not care that he bowled over and even injured several workers or groundsmen and women. There was something too important to do.

Within but a few seconds time, he had emerged from the inner areas of the stadium compound and could see the sunlight. Without hesitation, he leapt across the field and soared across the air to land in a rolling heap, stopping only at General Weres' feet!

"Natiro! What are you--" Gaius Trenel's face turned dark as he felt this worker employed from the questers' guild had caused him to lose face significantly, but he was interrupted by the elf's frantic cry before he could even finish his sentence.

"EMERGENCY!!! ESTEEMED RULERS, ALL THE SENIOR CANDIDATES.... THEY... THEY..." Natiro's face twisted in panic and anxiety as he screamed out the words for everyone in the entire stadium to hear. This scene shocked the crowds out of their jubilant moods: What kind of peril or crisis could reduce the mighty Head Administrator into such a blathering mess!??

General Weres, as a man of action but few words, swiftly kneeled down to help Natiro up to his feet. But the elf's legs were like jelly and he collapsed a moment later.

Frowning in irritation, the mighty General urged him, "Calm down! Speak slowly, what has happened...?"

At this, the once calm and collected man looked up with deranged eyes that darted here and there and whispered, "They're.... ALL DEAD!!! SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Upon hearing this, a chill ran up the spines of everyone in the arena and they felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on ends.

Even the great powers gathered on the platform shivered as an inexplicable sensation of dread gushed over their entire bodies - a sinister omen they had never, ever felt before.

Except for General Weres.

The moment he felt this familiar aura, the powerful and usually stoic man roared in rage and released the full power of his aura. Simultaneously, he shot a grave glance to Gaius Trenel, a sign that the latter should immediately trigger the full defences of the entire Gorun Stadium!

"Is it really that serious..." Gaius muttered under his breath, but still complied. Despite his brave words, he too felt an ominous omen that boded ill for the fate of the stadium, his second greatest asset!

In a flash, the metal lattice crossing the sky began to crackle with tongues of blue-electric fire, darting here and there far above the heads of the test candidates. The lattice then formed a translucent but solid dome of blue energy, protecting everyone from external attacks.

Which was just in time, for the moment the shield was erected, black clouds blotted out the twilight sun, darkening the surroundings within mere seconds.

And as shadowy figures could be seen flitting through the black clouds and silhouetted by the occasional flashes of lightning, all of a sudden the entire heavens turned blood red.

The sign of a devil.

"WATCH OUT!!!!" General Weres bellowed and raised his hands to supply mana and bolster the stadium's defences, quickly followed by his companions who all had grave expressions and looks of worry painted across their faces.

Since when had anyone ever dared to launch an attack on the throne of a great Duke of the Kingdom of the Sands?!!

The crimson skies then began to swirl in a spiral and converge as if it were a whirlpool of water being sucked down a drainhole. Then without a warning, a terrible pillar of blood descended across the skies, slamming into the blue barried above their heads!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!

The earth shook and the stadium quaked as an eardrum shattering explosion swept across the entire city, causing panic in every sector and every area.

For a period of several seconds, the crimson pillar of blood continued to pour down like a waterfall, obscuring the entirety of the stadium from anyone's perception. The sinister miasma of energies merely looked like water, though. When it poured off the surface of the blue barrier and struck the ground around the building, it literally erased everything in its path - be it the stones of the ground, buildings or even living, breathing people.

Everything was erased, leaving a gaping chasm of shadows all around the stadium like a moat.

At that moment, a black robed figure emerged from the Duke's palace grounds, looking with sharp eyes up at the epicentre of the disturbance hovering above the stadium. The figure was tall and bore an aura of inimitable might. This was even despite her just standing motionlessly on the top of the tallest spire of the palace.

All over the city, dark clouds were gathering accompanied by the cries and screams of panic from the civilians and the clang of metal again claw and tooth as battle broke out across the entire city.

Chaos was descending. Furore and mayhem erupted in every street, alley, lane and neighbourhood of the entire city as imps, quasits, memphits and various other minor infernals appeared out of thin air and slaughtered the citizens wantonly.

Her heart rose in rage as she saw her people devoured and felled all across the city, and her shoulders heaved in barely controllable fury.

"The devils bloodfield...!!!!" The figure muttered gutturally in an elegant feminine voice, the anger palpable in her words. Yet the smooth-faced and raven-haired woman's heart palpitated as she wondered if this would be the end of her illustrious and glorious life of 80 years.

As she looked around, she began to see purple webs of power begin to form around the city, ley lines that drew a demonic[1] pentagram with the city within and the stadium at its centre.

Five great towers of sickly yellow material rose up, tearing apart whatever stood in the way of their ascent. The pillars burst through the weak defensive formations laid out in their area and were formed of bones, blood and some other brown material that sent shivers up the spine of whoever saw it.

Then the

Frowning in anxiety, the woman raised her hand and triggered an emergency signal that flared up into the sky from the spire she stood on.

"I can only hope help arrives... In time..."

Then with those words, she turned into a dark blur and vanished, headed towards the Gorun Stadium, where countless waves of dark infernal creatures were gathering.

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Outside of the city, yet afar off but bearing ill omens for the fortress of the north, dark winds rose from the four corners of the land.

From the east rivers, countless web-footed and web-handed Murlocs surfaced and swarmed over the villages and towns in between the waters and the city. In mere minutes, the countryside was reduced to bonfires and piles of driftwood.

The same scene happened on the north and west as well, only from the north it was instead various devil transformed creatures of the mountains such as sharp-fanged goats, mountain lions and reptilian monstrosities; whereas from the west arose a horde of goatmen with upper bodies of humans and 2 furry lower legs that ended in hooves.

Finally from the south, no great movements were seen.

Only, four gaunt, white-robed and tall figures with horns growing from their foreheads sped across the countryside, ignoring the unaware village folk they passed along the way.

Four Devil Lords of the Legendary stage.

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[1] The terms demonic and devilish will be used interchangeably for now. I know that this doesn't fit with the common lore used which is extracted from Dung**** and Dra****, but fits the lore I've introduced in the earlier chapters i.e. the Abyss is the common power behind the demons and the devils.

Chapter end