Embrace the Ether 37 Arrival

"Droh, we'll get through this…" Deus assured him in a murmured voice, slowly lowering himself so as to meet the young Faun at eye level. He fully understood that Droh was afraid, and rightfully so. If Deus had known exactly what sort of conflict there was between Droh and Roland beforehand, he never would've relied on this method to rescue them.

Deus glanced around, his view falling on several people as he slowly took in his surroundings. It wasn't a pretty sight. Elias perched himself nearest Nirox and Atra, using both of them as his two closest confidants. He was clearly glaring toward Deus, which was but one of the problems that Deus spotted.

The next issue was where they were. A dark desert ridge, overlooking a monumental battlefield of fire and metal. In front of them lied a massive tower which seemed to pierce through the air.

The air had gone silent for some time as the tower halted its barrage of fire, along with their ground troops. Normally, under this circumstance, you'd begin to retreat, but Deus and Elias both knew it was a trap. The enemy was putting on an act to lure them into a sense of comfort, but they knew that escape as it was now, was impossible.

They'd have to rely on an outside source aiding them, which is where Orion came in. A mighty clan that held direct influence throughout Direfell and its region.

Using Elias's connections, they had information regarding private operations that only those privy within Direfell's military would know of. That, however, was only the beginning of the Orion clan's network and realm.

In truth, only the leaders of Direfell held more power than Orion. Rol'an had secured a place for himself through bloodshed, uncovering many secrets and powers along the way.

Whatever weapons he couldn't directly use, he'd hand over to the Lord of Direfell in exchange for influence and rank. The weapons and powers he could use, however, would go only to him. Not even his clan knew the full extent of what he was capable of, in fact, only Droh would perhaps know what he wielded, as most of what Rol'an used had been uncovered by Droh personally.

"So, we've got the Direfell soldiers and their annoying tower to worry about now, and Roland arriving along with whatever forces he gathers coming soon… and both seek to kill us, most likely." Deus murmured to himself, just barely loud enough for Droh to listen.

"Maybe if I find some way to recharge the Archive… I could at least call for Roch to come, that way Roland and Roch would have to kill each other before getting to us…"

"No, won't work," Droh interrupted his thoughts, "The military captain is supposedly stronger than Roland… so we'd end up replacing one devil with another if we brought him here."

"Stronger?" Deus was shocked. "There's no end to these monsters, is there? What the hell have I walked into… I'm not qualified to even be here…"

"Sorry…" Droh simply sighed as his head fell, his ears laid flat on his head. "You can still make it, even once Roland gets here… after all, I stole everything, you didn't. In fact, you called him here, so he'll most likely reward you for turning me in."

"No, I'm not abandoning you like that. If it was Elias, Mercer, hell, anyone else… sure. But you guided me to Direfell, you gave me my name. We're in this together, you idiot."

Droh lifted his head in shock, his eyes showing a mix of emotion and confusion. He wasn't exactly sure how to feel about everything. On one hand, Deus hadn't tossed him aside—but on the other—he called him an idiot.

"R-right… we're in this together." Droh nodded, a faint smile finally showing itself on his face. Regardless of what happened, he was glad to have a friend to rely on.

"So, what's the plan?"

Deus paused as he thought.

"Let's see, maybe we can—"

A voice cut in, interrupting both of them. There had been no source to this sound, almost as if it echoed within their minds, and not physically. This voice seemed to command some sort of power, however, even though it was formless and genderless, like a faint whisper. "Don't speak. Don't even look around. Allow me to intervene now. In fact, you've done enough, both of you. What you need to do now is stay quiet and don't act, regardless of what comes next."

"A ship!" A voice shouted out within their camp, drawing everyone's attention toward it. Just like that clansman said, a small yet refined black ship sailed toward them, it's speed far superior to the Nijaden that they previously arrived on.

Elias rose to his feet as he broke out into a cold sweat. "The clan m-master… that's his personal…"

Their camp began to move in haste, hustling together their equipment as Mercer helped take charge, he did so only after seeing Elias show hesitation and lack of awareness.

Perhaps Mercer was eyeing for a promotion and figured he'd take advantage of Elias' slurring.

The ship arrived unimpeached, the forces within the tower simply stood their ground and awaited instruction, like always.

Black sand ruptured underneath it as it landed, slowly pressing it's weight down against the world. A whirlpool kicked up, yet no one seemed to retreat, almost as if they were too intoxicated by the aura of power that radiated from within the vessel.

A singular black door opened as shrouds exited, one after the other, they stepped out onto the sand. Each of them wielding some powerful weapon or another, ranging from guns to blades, with one even shuffling out holding a massive shield to one side.

An unknown yet oddly familiar force appeared before the clansmen who stood around Elias. They were similar in design to Goliath, yet many considered these elite warriors to be their prototype. The Orion clan's royal guard, keepers of peace in the name of Rol'an the Fiend.

Rol'an had constructed these mighty warriors to serve him perfectly, in absolute darkness. None of them were normal people, by any meaning of the word.

Their physical appearances varied from person to person, along with their apparent genders. Some were behemoth brutes with tusks that swayed out like cannons, while others were minuscule bugs with petite forms. The only similarity between them was their violet robes, which draped over their bodies as heavy metallic armor sat beneath.

Following them, a rough creature appeared. Its face was inhuman and rotten as if it's very existence was desolate of hope. An aura of bloodlust bled from its every action, an aura that could only be described as the manifestation of a deep-seeded hunger. This creature wasn't human, that much was obvious.

Deus grabbed for his mouth as he felt nauseous. "What the hell is that…' he thought as he began to cough heavily.

He soon came to know the answer to that question upon seeing how Droh reacted. The young little Faun began to shiver as he slowly tucked himself behind Deus as if to pretend he didn't exist. His tail hung down beneath his legs as his ears lied completely flat, to show submission, even if subconsciously.

'T-that fucking monster… that's Roland…?'

Chapter end