[Mong00se]

This battle truly would be remembered in years to come. Though the two sides fought bravely through the night and into the early morning, and casualties were grand for both sides, both man and demon never stopped coming. The Gracian army was definately more skilled in the art of combat than the demons, and each man could claim at least 15 to their name. The demon army though never seemed to falter. Wave after wave of demon came, and though they were struck down with great zeal, more amassed in their places. The demon army seemed like an unbeatable plague.

From the original shock of the arrow in Nichi's armor, the troops had split up. Nichi and Belial had gone into the front lines, while Magus accompanied Masuto into the left rank. Malice had heard them talking before; he suspected trickery on Masuto's part. Magus was still not a keen fighter, and to have his life thrown away at a futile plan would be nonsense. Together the two had fought off demons, as they made their way to the front gate which still stood unbreached.

Malice himself had another plan though. Knowing full well that demons possessed skills in magic, he was wary, but he decided to act upon his instincts. Before they had all met on the palace steps, Malice had grabbed himself his wooden bow. It had been left in Gracia, as Malice rarely used it. In fights like these, where chaos made a lengthy appearance, bowmanship was a much appreciated skill. Malice brought his bow off his back after he sheathed his daggers, and felt one of two quivers for an arrow.

Faster than the human eye could percieve, the arrow was knocked and the bow string drawn taught. Malice searched for a life to save, and quickly unleashed the arrow when he spotted the solider.

The soldier had been parrying blows with an ogre-like demon. The demon had just snapped his sword with its giant club, and it had the club reared over its head to strike. The maul came down upon the staunch soldier, who still stood his guard. Before the club could wreak its havoc, Malice's arrow pierced its neck, propelling the demon sideways with its great momentum. The demon vanished in a puff of smoke; only ashes remained.

Malice quickly ran to the ramparts to aid the other archers. The human archers were still at odds with the demon crossbows. Arrows still rained from the sky, injuring both sides. Malice quickly knocked an arrow, and just as he past a human soldier, let the arrow fly. The arrow missed the human soldiers face by mere inches, and the soldier jumped in fright. Another demon fell. Malice quickly unleashed the whole first quiver of arrows into various demons. Most never got a chance to react before they lit up in a cloud of black dust.

Suddenly, the demons stopped firing. A runner quickly broke from the group. It didn't carry a sword or a crossbow, and it confused Malice to it's presence in the battle. The archers resumed their usual fire at their commanders whim, ignoring the runner. Malice sensed something odd.

"No no, fire at the rogue!" he exclaimed, trying to get everyones attention. The archers looked confused, but followed their commanders orders.

By this time, the rogue had revealed its true purpose. It was a spellcaster demon, and left unattended, it had formed a translucent shield that covered the crossbowmen entirely. The arrows stopped having effect. They hit the shield, and fell dead. The crossbows resumed firing. Their arrows hit the magical barrier, but instead of falling dead, they travelled through untouched.

"Everyone, shield formation!" Malice called. Noticing how correct he had been the first time, the archers drew their shields. Those not quick enough to react were cut down.

The commander was either too proud or too stupid to listen to Malice. He continued firing arrows from his silver bow, only to have them stop at the touch of the barrier. The demons had noticed the few that had been to pompous to listen to the words of a savior, and they aimed their arrows for them. Malice noticed this, and cloaked himself. He silently flew over the outer walls, and looked inward on the battle. The arrows flew at the unsuspecting archers, and Malice focused his mind, creating wind. With many bursts of wind jutting from his palms, he quickly altered the crossbow bolts course. He flew back to the ground, out of breath.

After a quick word with the commander, all tower shields were up, protecting the city as best as they could for the time being. Together, Malice and Commander Mordikir formulated a plan.