6 The Demons From The Portal

War isn't pretty, it isn't poetic or heroic, it is necessary.

But the men of the 1st SE Division, now donning their MOPP suits, wondered if they went overkill with the amount of dead bodies that are now being piled up to be burned. The fight lasted more or less twenty-two minutes from the volley of missiles fired by the natives, to the last kill of the infantry, the result was this; A pile of bodies.

"Captain do you have figures on how many we smoked today?" A private asked while puffing on his cigarette,his MOPP headgear removed.

"I could've lived without knowing it but we seem to have taken out three thousand, all in less than an hour." Jonathan shook his head to mask out the stench of the bodies being piled up less than a few meters away from where he was resting.

"Want one Captain?" The private offered a stick to his officer.

"No, I'd rather not breathe in the stench and plus, I've quit smoking."

"Your loss sir."

He watched as a soldier dragged a stripped-down body of a dead enemy to the ditch where they will be set alight.

"Sir, why are we burning them?" The same private that has been smoking asked.

"Hm, you're a curious one private I'll give you that. Whats your name?"

"Lewis sir, Lewis Burke."

"Well Lewis, they might be carriers of diseases that we don't know about and is also the same reason why you should up your headgear on."

The private was about to take another huff but decided against it and put on his headgear back on.

"Thank you sir."

"M hm."

Then a lieutenant turned around the corner of the building along with a group of soldiers with him.

"Captain Meyer? We're going to take over now."

"Thank God... and tell that soldier under you to put on his MOPP headgear. Unless if he wants to get back home in a casket when he catches something from the bodies."

The said soldier quickly reached out for his headgear while muttering something about being baked alive in it.

"Good, you make take over my post lieutenant." They both saluted as the captain went to the temporary barracks for some shut-eye.

Ranae's POV

As he saw the houses on the outskirts of the town, he felt slightly relived that he made it. He slowed down the pace of his mount to not exhaust the beast as he has been traveling for more than three hours on the horse to reach the town of Lorfog, stopping by villages on the way to the nearest settlement with a courier system that he badly needs to send his report for the capital.

"And hopefully wish that nobody that survived saw me desert my post." He thought as he reached two alert guards who moved to assist him.

"By the church, you're all battered up! What happened?" One of the guards asked as he helped him dismount.

"I need...to...see...the mayor..." He breathed out, the anxiety in his chest taking away his breath.

"You!" The guard pointed to another guard. "Get the mayor now!"

"Yes captain!"

He was given a chair to sit down on, a flask of wine and a piece of bread as he regained his calm and waited for the mayor to arrive.

"So what does a soldier of the Holy Army owe me this..." The mayor, a plump, short man scanned the armor of the exhausted man in-front of him. "Oh, forgive me! You're an officer! Pray tell, what news do you bring that it required my attention?"

Now with his breathing calmed-down Ranae worded out his report. "The gateway to hell that the second holy army has been guarding has spewed out abominations of metal, with a roar so unholy to the ears, mine almost bled. The second holy army is no more."

The mayor's mouth was left agape with the last sentence, a veteran holy army destroyed. Although the church still has tens of other veteran armies and a dozen more green ones an army being destroyed in such a short time doesn't just happen... it only had been a few hours since a rider arrived with the news bearing contact and now an army eight leagues away has been destroyed, all in less than a day!

"I shall send the report to the capital immediately, and please come with me to the keep so that you can help me with the message and call for reinforcements."

Ranae was tired, but he knew that that message had to be sent if those demons were to be beaten back by the holy army.

"Of course, please lead the way."

In the middle of the night, a day later, the capital of the holy empire, Kron.

High Lord Rolph Fiske was awoken in the middle of the night by an urgent-sounding knock on the doors of his quarters.

"Who dares disturb my night's sleep!" He shouted across the room.

"It is I, Gustaf Aschen, the head of your military and security your highness."

The High Lord then realized whatever must've made his military head bold enough to knock on his quarters in the middle of the night must be urgent.

"Come in Gustaf, whatever brought you to me this unremarkable hour must be urgent." The door opened to reveal an old man in armor, with a sash in the color of the Empire of gold and blue' wrapped around him. The man knelled down to his lord and bowed his head.

"Your highness I bear grieve news."

The High Lord was considered a holy being in the empire, legends say that the god who created the world walked with men after he finished his creation and started the line of High-Kings who now rule the Empire.

So High-Lord Rolph was being treated like a god, in fact he is the one his people worship (sometimes forcefully) like his fathers before him.

But of all the High-Kings who only saw the system as a mean to control the obedience of the populace, Rolph actually believed this and started to indulge himself like a god, more than often at the expense of others in taxes, wars and tributes.

"Speak."

"The second army has been destroyed your highness, the por-"

"WHAT!?"

The walls reverberated the High-King's word and Gustaf only bowed his head further.

"Th-the demons your highness... they have arrived."