How I became the Empress of Hell Ch. 24 - Arc 1 Ending

"Alright everyone, while the enemy is focusing on the spider army attacking them, we're going to go all out offensive. Keep the same groups as before and move out! Long range focus on taking down high levels and large threats, melee focus on keeping the mages and archers safe while taking out anyone who gets too close, healers only heal someone if they drop below 50% health, defense mages make sure to block area of effect attacks as much as possible. Attack ferociously and give no quarter! You are Demonspawn! Show them just how brutal and bloodthirsty you can be!"

I pointed towards the enemy with my sword and bared my fangs. Demonspawn surged forward below my feet and raised their weapons as they charged towards the enemy. Had I not been ready to fall over from exhaustion I would have been leading them from the front lines, so I hung back and watched as my army rushed ahead. As the last of the army moved ahead, I landed a little harder than I would have liked and let out the tremendous sigh I had been holding in. A large shadow loomed over me and I looked up in surprise at a massive golem made from bone. The front split open and Jade emerged from within.

"Decided to take on the whole angel army did ya? You definitely look like you've seen better days... gimme a sec and you'll be good as new. Nurse Jade is making a house call just for you."

I would have laughed if I wasn't ready to collapse, instead I gave Jade a weak smile and nodded slowly. She spread her arms out wide and dark red lines appeared along her body. The lines of blood flowed downwards and formed a small circle around her. The circle glowed brighter and began to move towards me. I watched as it flowed up and over my armor and onto my bare skin. It felt like someone had connected me to a car battery as my body suddenly felt alive with an overabundance of energy. The wave passed down my body and the exhaustion I had felt began to ebb away. As my skin absorbed the rest of the bright red liquid, I stood up, stretched out my limbs, and spread my wings.

Jade finished casting the spell and I moved swiftly as she started to stumble. She had less than 5% of her HP remaining and she gasped for air.

"Shit... I overdid it a bit. Your ass was hurt worse than I thought. I'll be OK in a minute... Don't go wasting all that effort by getting killed; now go slaughter every last one of them!"

I grinned with my fangs bared and hurled myself into the air. Whatever Jade had cast on me had me feeling supercharged, and I rocketed toward the enemy. As I landed I collided with a level 28 Angelspawn, hitting him in the chest and face with my boots. I felt his skull crunch under my heel and the other enemies backed away from me slowly. Their friend had just been killed by a ferocious looking winged demon, and they all wore looks of terror.

Whether he was brave or just plain stupid, one of the Angelspawn decided he could take me on. A level 33, rogue type based on his light armor and katana. He moved at fast speeds that would have been nearly impossible to track for any normal Demonspawn. Sadly for him I was so, so much more than that. I sheathed my sword and watched as the Angelspawn zipped back and forth around me. As he moved in for an attack I moved to intercept him at a high speed, and it made it seem like he was standing still. I came to a stop and had him held aloft by his neck. I held him up in the air for all around me to see, and crushed his throat with a powerful squeeze of my hand.

"Is that the best you can do? You're all pathetic!"

I tossed his body at a nearby group of enemies and drew my sword. I held my free hand out and began casting my summoning spells. I could tell that the surrounding Angelspawn had no idea what to expect, and many turned to flee the other direction. I slammed my hand onto the ground and my demon warriors rose up in front of me, swords and shields at the ready.

'Slaughter them all."

My demons threw themselves at the enemy, cutting them down like weeds. I quickly cast the rest of my summoning spells and barked orders at my demon army. We made short work of everything in our path, but the enemy army never seemed to run out of soldiers. As we climbed up to the crest of a large hill, my eyes went wide at the sheer number of enemies that remained. A blur of motion caused me and my demons to move to a defensive stance until I saw that it was Aeryn. Shortly behind him came Bray, Scythe, and Judas all riding atop a giant spider. Emelia and Jade came from behind carried forward by a moving carpet of bones and ice. As my clan moved towards me we embraced each other briefly before looking back over the battlefield.

"There's so many angels and Angelspawn left and so few of us. Even with your spiders, Aeryn, we just don't have the numbers. We need to find some way of evening the odds..."

I turned towards Jade and Emelia as I recalled a particularly devastating spell that had been shown during the gameplay trailer.

"Do you guys remember when they first showed the trailer for the game that planet-sized meteor spell one of the mages cast? How did they do that? Is there any mages powerful enough to cast something on such a massive scale like that?"

Jade shook her head and looked about to say something when Emelia placed her hand on her arm.

"That scene was actually the reason I decided to play a mage. I did extensive research on just how they would have been able to cast a spell of that magnitude, and realized you'd have to be near level 100 to even attempt something like that. The only way we could do it now is if everyone with Arcane abilities channeled all of their MP into a high level mage. Even then it would take time to channel that amount of MP safely to unleash something like that. So... it is doable, it's just not practical."

I closed my eyes briefly and ran everything through my head. I opened my eyes and sighed.

"If we don't do something drastic we're going to lose. We need to order a retreat and have everyone with Arcane ability group up. Em... I'm pretty sure you're the highest level mage we have...do you have a spell that would work at that magnitude?"

"Uhhh... I think I might be able to come up with something... but everyone else would have to cover all of us the whole time."

"We'll keep them off of you, you let me and Bray worry about that."

After coming up with a plan on the best way for the Demonkin army to retreat and regroup, we went our separate ways. Aeryn, Judas, and Scythe were assigned the task of gathering up as many Demonkin as they could and helping them fall back. Jade and Emelia moved to the spot they planned to use for casting the "super-spell," and Bray and I were responsible for providing a distraction for the rest of the army.

"Allie, I have an insane idea I wanna try; are you able to carry me into the air and still be able to fly?"

"I... actually have no idea. If I can stop a huge angel's attack with just my hand, I would think I could lift you. Why, what'd you have in mind?"

"Let's keep it as a surprise for now. As long as I don't kill myself in the process this is going to be... epic."

I spread my wings and lifted off the ground just a bit before reaching down and lifting the enormous warrior. He was heavier than I had imagined, but I was able to lift him just enough to keep myself airborne. I flew straight up and I could feel the muscles of my wings, arms, and back beginning to tire. Bray pointed over to a spot above the battlefield and told me to fly higher.

"OK. Allie, are most of the Demonspawn out of the way below us?"

"Y-yes."

"K... drop me."

"Wh-what? Are you f-fucking crazy?!"

"Yep. But you have to trust me. Now drop me!"

I slowly released my grasp on him and watched as he plummeted back to the ground. As the huge warrior fell he raised his huge axe over his head. The devastation from his attack was like a bomb had gone off. Everything surrounding him had been pulverized and a shockwave tore through the ground, knocking everyone within 250 feet back. Bray slowly stood up inside the large crater he had made and appeared to be dusting himself off. I folded my wings and dove straight down. Just before I hit the ground I spread my wings and landed softly beside the "half-human wrecking ball."

"Bray! Holy shit, that was fucking insane!!"

He laughed weakly and fell to one knee. Most of the heavy armor on his body had cracked and was shattered in several places. His HP had to be down in the single digits, and I quickly cast several healing spells on him. I used up the last of my MP, but he was still barely above 50% health. He lifted his large axe off the ground and we both watched in dismay as it broke apart in his hands.

"Well... shit."

I was about to respond when an arrow flew at him from above. I snatched it out of midair and drew my sword and shield. Instead of moving to attack I turned to the massive warrior and pushed the weapons into his arms. I spoke quickly before he had a chance to respond, as time was of the essence.

"I know these aren't exactly your speciality, but they're better than nothing. Fight your way back to the rally point and don't get killed. Tell Em and the others I'll be there shortly. Now go!"

He nodded and ran up and out of the crater. I toned out the sounds of swords crashing against each other and focused on my speed and strength. I let my bloodthirsty demon instincts take over as I rushed towards the closest enemy. After snapping the archer's neck who had shot at Bray earlier, I scanned the enemies around me, searching for one carrying the right type of weapon. I reacted quickly to any who drew too close to me before I finally found one carrying a weapon similar to the one Braylon had broken. I used my [Stoneskin] ability and rushed at the Angelspawn I had been seeking.

Most of the Angelspawn were still reeling from Bray's earth-shattering attack, but I still had to fight my way through far more enemies than I would have liked. The enemy carrying the massive axe rushed me from the side, intent on cleaving me in half. I dodged his clumsy blow easily and clamped down on his bicep. I grinned wickedly at him as I ripped his arm off his body, drinking in the look of pure terror on his face while a shower of Angelspawn blood coated my face and armor. After I grabbed the handle of the weapon, I pulled off the hand that was still clutching it tightly and handed it back to its owner.

"I just needed the axe... you can have that back though."

I had to restrain myself from bursting into laughter at the look of shock and confusion painted on the warrior's face. My hand burned through my armor from the contact with the holy weapon, but I ignored it as I spread my wings and launched myself into the air. I dodged a few spells and arrows as I took off before flying quickly over to the rally point. Bray had made it back safely and was sitting in a basic set of worn plate mail. I walked over to him and gave him a huge grin.

"I have a present for you, Wrecking Ball Bray."

"If it's a hug covered in Angelspawn blood I think I'll pass."

I held out the huge Axe that had turned from a polished white and steel color to a dull grey and obsidian color. Bray's eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet.

"Seriously? Where did you get this? This thing is awesome!"

He swapped my sword and shield for the new axe and gave it a few swings.

"Eh... I disarmed an Angelspawn and used my [Corrupting Touch] on his axe as I flew over here. Heh... disarmed..."

I giggled at my own joke and Bray cocked one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"You'd had to have been there... How's the spell coming?"

"See for yourself... I've never seen anything quite like it."

I drew closer to the huge circle of Demonspawn and watched in amazement; sparks of bluish white energy flickered in the area as lines of dark purple energy flowed towards Emelia. She was sitting back on her haunches with her arms outstretched. Her eyes had rolled back into the back of her head and she appeared deep in concentration. I used what little MP I had to summon my demon mages and priestesses and quietly ordered them to channel their MP into the small ice mage. More and more sparks of energy filled the air as each of the Demonspawn finished channeling the last of their MP into her.

When she had absorbed the last bit of Arcane energy, Emelia stood up slowly. Each step she took left a frozen footprint, and the ice started spreading out along the ground. The air around her literally thrummed with arcane power. The Demonspawn spread out and allowed her to pass as she walked towards the enemy. Several projectiles flew at her, but as they drew closer it was as if they had hit an invisible wall and instantly iced over before falling to the ground. She turned towards me, her eyes two blazing white orbs of magical energy, and spoke barely above a whisper.

"Get everyone back. I don't want to hurt them."

I ordered everyone to fall back further and watched Emelia walk slowly towards the advancing army. When the majority of them were within 100 feet she bent down and touched a single finger to the ground. A thick sheet of ice covered the ground and spread out from the spot she had touched like a massive tidal wave of ice. Everything that it touched was instantly frozen solid and it kept going until over half of the Angelspawn army had turned into living ice statues. At first I thought that was the entirety of the spell, and I was amazed at the sheer power of the tiny ice mage I had fallen for. She stepped forward suddenly and slammed her other hand onto the ground. Everything that had been coated in ice shattered instantly and the shards of ice rose slowly into the air. She stood up and flicked her wrist towards the rest of the attackers. Thousands upon thousands of razor sharp ice shards flew at the remaining Angelspawn, and we all watched as they were torn to shreds.

"Ho...ly... shit."

The energy that swirled around Emelia faded and I watched exhaustion and pain wrack through her body. I summoned every ounce of speed I could and rushed forward as her legs began to buckle. I caught her just before she could hit the ground and lifted her into my arms. I cradled her against my chest and walked slowly back towards the cheering Demonspawn.

"I did good?"

"Babe... There are no words for how amazing that was. Just rest now. K?"

She snuggled up against my neck and whispered softly into my ear.

"Best. Date. Ever."

1.26: Prelude to Arc 1 Finale

We lost track of the number of clan requests we had from all the players as we went back through the Hell Gate. Even the ones who had died and reset were wanting to join our gang of misfits, and we reluctantly had to disable the ability to send us clan requests. That still didn't stop everyone from crowding around us and peppering us with hundreds of questions. We finally made it into the tavern and handed over a large sack of gold to the owner to make it so only our clan could enter. I laid Emelia carefully down on top of a pile of rugs that the owner stacked on top of one of the tables. After we all took our seats he and the barmaid eagerly showered us with drinks and food. He also returned the sack of gold stating, "I couldn't possibly charge the heroes who saved us." After recounting more than a few of the highlights of the battle, Emelia woke and asked the question we had all been wondering; why did the angels and Angelspawn decide to attack now and how did they get so organized?

"A coordinated attack would have taken a lot of planning, and it felt like we were fighting pretty much every Angelspawn in the game..."

"Here's the thing that gets me though... I double checked the player numbers and the math just doesn't add up. There are over 5 million players over all the different servers, but well over half are Demonspawn. Yet somehow we were outnumbered nearly 4 to 1. Our server specifically is 63% Demonspawn, so we should have easily had the upper hand. Unless the majority of the Demonspawn players opted to not play today, during the games 1st double XP event no less, something was way off."

We all sat in stunned silence at Emelia's revelation and wondered what could have caused such a massive discrepancy. Suddenly I had a sick feeling in my stomach as a thought occurred to me. A powerful mage with enchanting powers, like a particular demon lord that I knew, theoretically could cast enchantments that might account for the numbers discrepancy. The thought of my master working with angels and Angelspawn was a laughable concept, though I couldn't shake the thought now that it had bubbled up in my mind.

"What's on your mind, Allie? You look deep in thought."

I turned towards Scythe and sighed.

"My master wasn't in the castle when I left my room this morning. He is always there, and he always finds creative ways to use my body... Today was the first time I didn't so much as see him. It was more than that though... the entire castle seemed... I don't know... boring and ordinary. Not what you'd expect from a demon lord. I hadn't thought much more about it until my mind started wandering just then. The power of his enchantments are... astonishing. If he can permanently change me from what I was to what I am now, there's no telling what he's capable of. When you caught me deep in thought I was thinking about how a powerful enchanter might account for the enemies' numbers. I know it sounds stupid that my master, a demon lord, would work with angels... but I couldn't stop picturing it..."

"From how you described him, your master doesn't seem the type to ally with anyone let alone angels. But I don't believe in coincidences either. The fact that your master was mysteriously absent at the same time a massive attack on the hellgate was happening is far too convenient to be unconnected. It would also explain the number error."

"I think you failed to mention to the rest of us that your master was an Enchanter. You told us he was a berserker warrior type."

I told them all everything that had happened in the spider caves and about my return to the castle. Scythe opened his character screen and swung it towards me.

"I have limited Enchanting knowledge... I did see that one of the spells I could eventually learn is [Body Multiplication]. It creates an exact duplicate who can act and move independently. Normally it restricts the duplication to a single copy... but if your master is as powerful as you say... he may have likely done something like that. If he in turn enchanted the copies to look like different people it would definitely explain the number discrepancy. All he would have to do is enchant himself like he did for you, only in reverse. Basically if he turned himself into an Angel, even if it was temporary, he could easily persuade a large group of players to go along with his plans once they saw how powerful he was."

The more I thought about it the more it made sense. Mellic was certainly vengeful enough to do something like that, and if his sister was to be believed, he was second to none when it came to enchantment magic. It would also explain why the entire army seemed intent on attacking me on sight.

Well... Shit.

"If that's what happened... and I'm really beginning to think that it is, there's no way in hell he's going to let me just stroll back into the castle..."

"I agree. That's why we're going with you. Our sanctuary is here, so we can level up, save, and then help you kick his ass. You said we needed to grind to 50, and after today's fight with the double XP event we are all pretty damn close."

My heart pounded in my chest at the thought of finally confronting my master. I hadn't anticipated it happening so soon, but Em was right. Now was probably our best chance of defeating him, but it would be probably the most challenging fight our clan had ever had.