Chapter 127

**Ironhelm: Market District**

Blood smeared the cobblestone streets, its metallic scent heavy in the air. Crimson stains marred the walls of buildings, lampposts, hawker stands, and even the automatons abandoned in the chaos. The demons had descended upon the city, led by a grotesque abomination with a masculine body, four arms, two mouths, and multiple spider-like eyes. The massacre had been swift and brutal. Bodies lay strewn across the street, mangled and broken, a chilling testament to the violent onslaught.

Azure stood amid the carnage, his butler training a distant memory. He had come to the market for a simple grocery run, a mundane errand that had turned into a nightmare. Now, he was covered in blood, staring wide-eyed at the littered remains. Near him, two severed arms—one left, one right—lay close to a shattered porcelain body, their disturbing presence a stark reminder of the brutality that had unfolded. The childlike shapes, crafted from porcelain, bled as if they were flesh, an unsettling sight in the midst of the chaos.

Not a single drop of human or demi-human blood had been spilled. The bodies and blood that marked the walls, lampposts, and abandoned automatons were solely those of demons. Including the two arms near Azure, who watched as the spider-like demon began to crawl away, its multiple eyes wide with fear.

In the center of the street stood a man, the source of the demon's terror. He wore the uniform of an Ironguard1 officer, though not a typical one. This uniform was that of a specialist, a rank held by only seven individuals. The man was tall, as tall as Azure himself, with jet-black hair. From his right arm, whether cybernetic or merely equipped with a metallic hand, emanated a beam of blue energy. It vibrated like a chainsaw made of flames, casting an eerie light on the blood-stained ground.

But it wasn't the weapon that caused the demon, Cairos, to retreat in fear. He had seen more terrifying weapons in Hell. No, it was the man's eyes that struck terror into the demon's heart. Raven black and devoid of life, they stared down at Cairos with a chilling intensity. It felt as though death itself was looking at him. No, calling this man death would be an insult. This man was not a mere harbinger of the end; he was something far more terrifying. He was The One Feared By Death.

Aeron Wight walked towards Cairos, each step resonating with wet and crunching sounds as his boots crushed the bodies of the fallen Veinblood Cherubs beneath him. Cairos continued to back away, his two remaining arms scraping against the blood-slick cobblestones. His heart pounded with a fear unlike any he had known, a fear not even his lord or the depths of Hell itself could instill. His back hit a building, trapping him. The One Feared By Death loomed over him, lifeless eyes fixed on his prey. The Arc Fusion Blade hummed dangerously close to Cairos's left leg.

"What are you?" Aeron asked, his voice devoid of any significant emotion.

"A-a-a demon," Cairos stammered, compelled to answer, feeling that even if he were mute, he would find a way to speak at this man's command.

"How many of you are there?" Aeron asked, standing eerily still.

"Th-there are eleven o-others like m-me and our lord," Cairos gasped, struggling to breathe under the weight of his fear.

"Will more of them come to the city?" Aeron's lifeless eyes seemed to pierce through Cairos, demanding the truth.

"I-I do-don't know. Th-they could la-later," Cairos stuttered, his fear mounting. He truly didn't know when his fellow demons might arrive, but he was certain they would all meet their end if they faced this man.

Aeron raised his right arm, the Arc Fusion Blade glowing ominously. "You're relieved," he said, his voice as cold as his eyes.

Cairos's teeth clattered in terror. "Mo-monster," he whimpered, the word escaping his lips involuntarily. As the Arc Fusion Blade descended, he managed to scream, "Monster!"

The blade sliced through him with a swift, brutal efficiency. The energy blade cut through Cairos from head to lower torso, bisecting him in a single, fluid motion. Blood and viscera splattered against the wall and pooled on the ground. The demon's body fell apart in two uneven halves, the wound edges cauterized by the blade's heat. His spider-like eyes, wide with terror, glazed over as life left him.

Aeron stood over the lifeless remains, his expression unchanged. The air was thick with the smell of burnt flesh and blood. He deactivated the Arc Fusion Blade, the blue energy dissipating into the air. Azure released the breath he didn't know he had held, the sudden gasping sound drawing Aeron's attention. Azure froze as Aeron turned and walked toward him, carefully stepping over the bodies of the Veinblood Cherubs.

Midway through his approach, Aeron stopped and leaned down to pick up a bag, a paper bag that had miraculously remained untouched by the demons' blood. Azure's eyes widened in disbelief. *That's my bag,* he realized, recognizing the groceries he had been sent to buy.

Holding the bag, Aeron extended it towards Azure, who took it wordlessly, his hands trembling slightly. "Go home and take a shower, citizen. Make sure to thoroughly wipe off the ichor from your body," Aeron instructed, his voice still lacking any real emotion. Despite the coldness in his tone, Azure felt a strange sense of reassurance, though Aeron's unnerving black eyes still seemed to peer into his very soul.

"Y-yes, sir!" Azure stammered, feeling his body move automatically to obey the command. He hurried away, clutching the bag tightly, his mind racing to process the events he had just witnessed.

One invasion was stopped before it could even properly commence. Three more remained.