A Heartfelt Choice

Daegna’ar’s army finally came to the bridge across the river Styx. Not far from the other side of the bridge were the walls of Dis that extend to the east and west as far as the eye can see. The walls were armed with odd-looking ballistas and hundreds of archer demons. In the sky, above the walls, hovered the aerial warriors of Dis, each armed with sharp needle-like spears. It felt as if a lot more were hiding in the ashen clouds, waiting to strike.

Right across the bridge were the gates to the city, reinforced by protective glyphs, and right on top of the gates was a parapet. Upon which a big six-winged demon was standing. He had a helm on his head, covering his face where the eyes should be, his wings were ash-black, and dotted with eyes. It didn’t take long for Daegna’ar to figure out that this was the Leader of Dis, the Lord of Infernum – Sahmael the Omniscient.

As Daegna’ar’s army stopped at the bridge, the gates to the city swung open and hundreds of mounted armored demons rushed out to the front of the bridge. The amount of these demons was vastly more than the army of the foreigner, at least five times larger headcount.

While the demon army still used the ancient knowledge of warfare, Daegna’ar and his officers started giving out orders to the army, to take formations, that would be much more effective than anything the demons were using. They broke off in smaller squads of Infernum recruits, reinforced by Kenshi Corp. gunners and mechanized units. Meanwhile, the engineers were erecting a siege machine. This machine was a large breaching laser gun powered by Eiree energy, that they aimed at the gates of the City of Dis. At the back of the army, a portal was ripped open and the army was being reinforced by robotic units and scientist staff.

Watching this unfold, Sahmael was sending out sigils to his generals to act accordingly. What baffled him was the gateway that lead somewhere outside of Infernum. He saw nothing like it before. He ordered Ba’aelzathar to investigate the unknown element of the battlefield, it surely was some sort of magic, they had to stop it as soon as possible, who knows how much would they be able to continue reinforcing the army of the foreigner.

As the battle was set, the Lord of Infernum sent for the primordial one. Dr. Eireen Holmes.

On the other side of the bridge, Daegna’ar with his warlocks sent sigils to Sahmael, signaling that he is Daegna’ar, the King of Faomori, the great warlord and the eternal enemy of the Old Gods, who are seeking his companion, and according to his information, she is a captive of this city. Daegna’ar gave the leader of Dis a choice: hand over the captive, or pay for refusal in blood. While the sigils were prepared by the warlocks, this was also broadcasted in simple tongue over loudspeakers. As the sigils were complete and flew over to Sahmael, Daegna’ar saw Eireen being escorted to the parapet where Sahmael stood.

Eireen looked confused and lost, she must have heard the loudspeakers.

Sahmael turned to Eireen, and reminded her about her past testing her future, gesturing at Daegna’ar’s army across the bridge. As he was talking, he walked behind her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, as if hugging her. He then got close to her ear and whispered that the wheel of prophecy have started to turn.

She stood still, confused, and silent. It was already agreed upon, yet she felt uncertain. Yes, it’s all she ever wanted, and what she worked for all her life. But at the same time, seeing the blue-skinned demon at the bridge brought up distant memories, specks of time past where her heart soared and sang like a bird, like never before or ever since, not even with Sahmael.

Daegna’ar saw how Sahmael held her in his arms and all he could see was red. He cranked up the volume of the loudspeakers and spoke to her, knowing full well that everyone was eavesdropping on the conversation. He promised Eireen to honor her wish. If she wants him to fall on this bridge, fighting the unending hoards of demons, he will do just that, yet if she wishes to be his queen and rule over this world and the one above, he will not hesitate to slaughter everyone and anything that stands in the way of that.

With all that said, Daegna’ar raised Darkir-Tungu, and sent out a deafening warcry, only to be answered by an even louder one from the legions behind him.

The Lord of Dis was scrutinizing over the primordial, as the foreigner spoke aloud. She must fulfill her role, make Daegna’ar throw caution to the wind and fall into the trap, pushing through the bridge. This would allow Sahmael to rid this and any other world of the presence of the king of Faomori.

As the tirade went on, Sahmael sent out a sigil to Ba’aelzathar to ready the warlocks and send out word to commence the attack. They are to strike as soon as Sahmael flies off the parapet. Ba’aelzathar started crafting and sending out sigils to the generals. This was noticed by Daegna’ar himself who knew that something is about to happen, and the fates are about to be played out. His guard was on high alert and waiting.

The ashen winds grew stronger. Two armies now stood across one bridge, facing each other. Both waiting for any little spark to ignite the fire of battle.

Meanwhile, southeast of the battlefield a group of Ultec Robotics observers were overseeing the situation, sending back all the information to Cutieland, waiting for further orders from Ultar.

This is where the fate of Cutieland is to be decided.