[Zerlina]

BANG! Outside, demons battered at the Gracian gates. Their small bodies were little match for the ominous entryway, which still towered sturdily above its invaders. From the ramparts, soldiers fired arrows down toward the offending beasts with little fatigue.

At about sunset the demons began to back up and stopped their persistence at the gate.

“They’ve given up!” cried an inexperienced Gracian soldier.

“No.” Nichi said, shaking his head “If they’d given up they would have left. They’re staying put, which can only mean…”

As if on cue, juggernauts –elephant like demons- made their way slowly to the Gracian gates. The creatures were pelted with arrows, but did not cease their mission. In less than five minutes and with only one of the demons slain, the gates gave way and enemy began spilling into the city.

“You!” Nichi cried, pointing to a group of soldiers “Stay up here and shoot them down before they can get inside.” He turned to another group “Come with me!”

Below, Magus had already begun battle with the creatures. A demon came from behind, raised its sword and made for the man’s neck. Seeing the beast from the corner of his eye, Magus quickly turned and parried the blow, kicking the demon in the knee before digging his heavy scythe into its chest.

“You ok?” Nichi asked as he ran down the steps of the rampart, slicing down a dozen demons in the process.

“Yeah…” Magus replied, surprised that the warrior was talking to him.

“Dammit…where’s Belial?” Nichi cried as he cut the head off of one of the invaders.

“Behind you. It’s a small world after all.” Belial muttered, his legs still weak from Osiris.

The stream of demons seemed endless, and the only thing that kept them from completely overwhelming the Gracian soldiers was the width of the gate.

A disturbing grin on its hideous face, a demon whose skin seemed to be festering with unimaginable things arrived within the city walls. Wielding a terrifying blade, the creature hacked through soldiers with little heed, before setting his eye on Nichi. A fiendish expression on his face, the demon swung his blade, nailing his victim in the back of the shoulder. There was a clang, but nothing more. His armour holding strong, Nichi turned to stare at his aggressor. His face was the last sight that the creature ever saw.

Belial stared in sarcastic wonder “New outfit?”

“Yeah.” Nichi laughed, turning quickly to dig his blade into another enemy that was coming for him.

The three of them fought bravely, Belial’s fists meeting the broken ribs of several demons and Magus’ blade finding many monstrous sheaths.

Suddenly, the battle came to a lull as the ground thundered beneath the warriors. Casting a dark shadow, a monstrous juggernaut came toward the group, crushing demon and human alike with its flat feet.

“What the hell?” a soldier exclaimed, firing an arrow at the beast only to find that it was useless.

More accustomed to giant enemies than the rest, Magus did not hesitate to attack. The others soon followed suit, but the creature held strong.

“What is that thing?” Nichi cried, taking a swipe at its legs.

“It’s called a Juggernaut.” Belial said, driving his fists into the monster.

“I don’t even want to know why you know that.”

The battle raged on and the ominous creature gave little leeway. It was not until a soldier dug his sword into its foot that beast could be more easily taken down, for you see, the blade held the monster to the ground, preventing an attack. In less than a minute, there was a harrowing cry as a Gracian sword cut through demon flesh, which soon turned to darkened ash.

A smile appeared on Nichi’s face as he saw the creature disappear, but it quickly faded- he raised his head to see that at least six more juggernauts wandered the city.

Suddenly, there came a familiar cry from a few meters away.

Before they could turn to look, Titania stood in a pile of ash, having been surprised by an attacking juggernaut. The fear and anger she’d already been feeling triggered in her a burst of holy magic; magic which was emitted from two objects that were hard to see beneath her lengthy sleeves.

The girl stared at the darkened ground for less than a moment before a demon came up behind her. Shocked and still full of magic, she hit the creature in the chest with the edge of her fan. As she had suspected, the object cut through the monster’s flesh and brought it to its knees. Utterly disgusted, she kneed it in the face and closed her fan, bringing it down into the creature’s skull. The thing gave out a terrible noise and then disappeared into smoke and ash.

“Sorry I’m la-” Titania began to speak to the others but was interrupted by another demon. Adrenaline flowing through her veins, she produced white magic once more, turning her attacker into the hellish dust he'd come from.

"...late."