Bedeviled

Alven had no reason to respond to the demon. Why would he believe in the malignant demon's lies.

"Begone with you, demon! My faith in Apellix is the only aid I need to beat these rebels!"

Ves truly tired of those perfunctory displays of faith. The worst thing about them was that Alven wasn't hypocritical when he said those words.

"Your faith is doing well so far, has it? I'm sure you can outfaith your opponents, but what does that matter if your side is outnumbered by at least three-to-one?"

Short of an intervention by Apellix himself, the battle was as good as lost. Even a bystander like Ves could see that. He tried to broadcast his cold and brutal analysis of the situation to Alven.

The truth hurt much more than any threat spoken by a demon.

Ves showed Alven the dire state of the walls. He showed the pilot the dwindling number of defenders, the lack of reserves, and the excellent state of the attacking mechs.