Lucius Cypher, EliteCommander, Konan, Ryonara, Sundered Echo, Leon5431, and WitchChild collaboration --- The horde marched forward. Among their numbers were some of the best there was, including a Fallen Demonmancer. He had left the mortal world to conquer the Inferno, and he did so by joining the Archdemon of whom Tyrael defeated a few days ago. But this Fallen Mage was also privy to the scheme of betraying and destroying the college, as the mage was actually an agent of Kudd. Though he did not have a demon's strength in magic or physical prowess, he made up for it as their elite demonmancer; only he could rend the veils of the Inferno here at the college to ensure a steady supply of demonic troops. In his arrogance, the mage sat on a makeshift thrown carried by some of his own demons, so that he too could join the battle. But this just made him an easy target for the likes of Jenna. But he would not be so easily killed. Before the Arrow met it's mark, the Demonmancer swiped it out of the air, killing a mere imp below him. Underneath his blood-red helmet the demonmancer smiled, before he lifted his hand to create a portal into the Inferno. Out from the Inferno came bats, not entirely unlike like the ones Colette had summoned. But these bats were bound to him, and they came in a large swarm of a hundred. They flew towards the guards and the student defenders, biting and swiping at them with their teeth and claws. The other stronger demons began to work their way inside, or dealt with the various defenders impeding them. The Fallen Sorcerer got out of his thrown as his body began to engulf itself in a supernatrual Green Fire. Now he would enter this battle and crush the resistance in the Dinning Hall. -------------------------------- Ssarak was battered and sore, but he was still fighting. The front lines of the guardsmen had broken and reformed a few times, and he had been at the tip of the spear most of the time, He was not without his injuries, with dents in his armor and bruises under his scales. He had been hit a few times by clubs and maces, but luckily, most had been more of glancing blows than serious impacts. Adrenaline suppressed any pain he might have been feeling, so he was still fighting with all his normal ferocity. At the moment, the guards had once again been pushed back from the door, causing Ssarak to fall back. The guards with shields were in front of him, while he was behind, fighting any demons that made it past their front. It was the last line of defense between the approaching horde and the unarmed students on the far side of the hall who they were protecting. The guards in front were holding fast for the moment, but as Ssarak looked through the door the enemy was advancing through, he saw someone being carried on a throne by imp demons beneath it in the hall just beyond. It looked like it could be a demon, though it did appear rather humanoid. Regardless, if the imps were carrying it as if it were royalty, then it was likely important...and powerful. Ssarak quickly glanced around his immediate area, looking for others to help take on the new threat. ------------------------ After taking out those Slasher Demons and getting herself a new weapon Meirin as ready for another fight. The guards were holding, but not for long. They needed to do something decisive soon, because despite having the home field advantage, the college didn't have the numbers to fight a war of attrition. The demons were coming in with uneven waves, but they kept on coming more than they could afford to replace guardsmen. Meirin swore that she saw a couple of students don fallen guards armor to help out, but as much as she appreciates the effort, it won't matter. The students were just that; students. Even if they dressed like guards, they couldn't fight at the same level. Meirin was fortunate to have her training, but even than it doesn't compare to what some of the guards can do if they work together. And that's not something any student could just pick up on the fly. Patching herself up with some bandages Meirin noticed another enemy coming from the distance. A big shot demon or something, given that he had the gall to ride into battle on a throne carried by imps. She had half expected to see him get pelted full of arrows, but it seems like he just deflected them like flies. She noticed that Ssarak saw him too, and while she can't read minds like he could, she had a feeling that he was going to fight the new enemy. Walking over to her friend she put a reassuring hand on his side, since it would take a bit of effort to reach his shoulder. [b]"You thinking what I'm thinking?"[/b] ------------------------ After the battle with the large mace wielding Demon, Auriel had parted ways with Leith in an effort to escape the grand melee that seemed to be the night main entertainment in the hall. That had proved exceedingly difficult however, and the demons just kept coming. Rather than try to fight her way through, she stepped back to continue the brief respite from fighting. She grabbed the nearest pitcher with clear liquid in it, catching the scent of it immediately. It was not water. She poured a little on either arm to wash away some of the blood, wincing as whatever it was stung on contact with her wounds, before taking a swig of it as well. The stinging immediately subsided, a warm numbness setting in instead - that of strong drink and extreme exhaustion. The fight was not yet over though, a fact driven home as a man shaped demon, or maybe a demonic looking man, stepped off his throne to the ground, surrounded in fire. He seemed to be one of the ones in charge. "You have got to be kidding me!" Auriel exclaimed to no-one in particular. Why couldn't it just be over? Long fights just weren't any fun. Thankfully it seemed she was not the only one to notice this demonic big-shot. She quickly and quietly moved to join the others, relieved to see both the hulking form of Ssarak and the noble shape of Deven. Coming up behind Deven, she spoke, tiredness evident in her voice, even though it maintained a playful note. "I hope you're ready for your knight in shining armour routine Deven. You might need to save a damsel in distress..." Speaking to make evident she would be that Damsel. ------------------------ Once Leith had somewhat recovered from his fight with the demon, he tried distance himself as far as he could away from the chaos in the dining hall, but since demons were still trying to make their way in, he went to the small area where the medics of the armies tried to heal the people wounded from the battle. He was quickly tasked with finding and bringing wounded students and soldiers to the make-shift infirmary. After he had moved a couple of people from the battlefield, he heard a whole bunch of shrieking noises that came from outside his head. Looking up, he saw bats pouring into the dining hall and attacking people. He also saw many of his friends standing by the doors getting ready for something. As much as he didn't want to fight, Leith knew that he would feel horrible if one of his friends got hurt and he could have prevented it. Without another thought, he grabbed his gauntlet, which he barely got off his hand, and put it on. He then grabbed his sword and ran towards the doors. He noticed Deven and Auriel and made his way over towards them. When he arrived, saw Deven eying a barrel of, if the label was correct, pure alcohol. He transferred the sword to his left hand and rested his right hand on the barrel. "Need a hand?" he asked with a dry smile. ------------------------ The Fallen Sorcerer smirked underneath his helmet as he saw the opposition he was against. He may not know the names of these people, but he could tell from a glance that they were no mages, barely warriors even. Looking down on the novices gathered before him, he directed a hand towards their direction, which caused the swarm of bats to gather together and head in the direction the Fallen Sorcerer was pointing at. As far as he cared, the novices would naught but a curiosity. His task was to break the guards formation to allow the rest of his allies to make it through, and that is what he planned to do. After he sent the swarm of bats to attack the group of novice mages, the Fallen Sorcerer slammed his fists into the ground, and from the point of impact the ground began to darken and crack with flames, and it slowly began to spread out from the center. He was creating an area of the Inferno for his demonic allies to utilize, at least the ones who were capable of Inferno Magics. The settling was fire and brimstone, making the air in the area thin and hot. Guardsmen unlucky to be within the circle would feel a great heat wearing them down, and those who stayed for too long would notice their steel weapons and armor slowly melting. All the while the demonic bats from the Inferno continued to swoop and pester the novice mages. Those who had any bare skin or were only protected by light cloth would feel the bites of the hundred demonic bats, and the venom from their teeth. Otherwise however, those fully armored or with tough skin would merely find the bats an annoyance as they continued to fly in front of thier faces and screeching loud noises in their ears. --------------- Ssarak glanced down to Meirin and nodded. "We need to deal with it quickly." He commented. It was not long before the being revealed the nature of its abilities, as it had begun to alter a part of the dining hall near their front lines, slowly summoning forth the Inferno. If its influence spread throughout the hall, then everyone in it would surely perish. Unfortunately, they could not simply charge through the Inferno; they needed to find another way to interrupt him. Before Ssarak could even start thinking of a solution, the Demonmancer sent a swarm of strange, demonic bat-like creatures to attack them and a few other students. Between his armor and scales, he was rather well protected from the small creatures, but all the same, he whipped his tail back and forth while flapping his wings to try and prevent them from latching onto him. Meirin had considerably less protection than himself, so their attacks had the potential to be more effective on her. After a few moments of fighting off bats, Ssarak got the idea to face Meirin, hoping that the gusts of wind from his wings would interfere with the bats' flight paths. Their situation was turning increasingly more dire; the bats were merely a pest compared to some of the other demons in the hall. If they couldn't reach the demonmancer directly, they would need to find some other way to distract him. [i]"We cannot get to him through the inferno, and I would only make myself a target if I tried to fly to him. Perhaps...archers. Let's see if we can coordinate some bowmen to fire on him."[/i] ---------------------------- [I]Where's a hulking Esyrie when you need one?[/I] Deven thought to himself annoyed as he eyed up the large barrel of alcohol. Then a familiar voice spoke up from behind him, he turned his head to see a rather bloodied Auriel standing behind him, "Gods, Auriel are you a sight for sore eyes!" He exclaimed as he turned entirly to face her. He took the chance to quickly look over her wounds, a top the many minor wounds scattered over her body she looked as though she was seconds away from collapsing from exhaustion. He smiled under his helm at her comment, "You know I am always here to help." He said before turning his head to the entrance of the dinning hall, "But, I think there are more important things to deal with then saving your ass from trouble. Everyone in this hall is in danger, once we get that solved, then we'll see if were both still standing for that little routine." He said his tone grim. With that said his eyes turned back to the barrel before them. "I think we might be able to use that barrel there to hurt if not kill some of those damned demons." He said rather angrily. "But it isn't a very good idea for just me and you to mo-" He tried to say before a figure rushed into view and rested its hand on the barrel. Deven was surprised when he finally recognized the battered form of Leith standing before him, "Leith! I-I saw you get tackled by those imps, I thought you were dead." He said, his surprise clear in his voice. "Never have I been so glad to be wrong." He added after a short pause. "If your willing to help with this then by all means. The more the merrier." He said as he stepped towards the barrel. "If we can tip it then we can easily roll it to where we need it. But the main issue is more so getting it to stop when we get it into position, that is...if we even want it to stop, maybe a big rolling barrel might just help us out. But in no way will it help us as much as what's in it will. Me and Aur-" He went to say before remembering Auriels current condition. "I can light it once we get the alcohol in place, I am not sure how much this will do against demons, but some of those things seemed like they weren't as fire resistant, like those little claw demons, hell maybe even that big green thing, but either way, its something." He said hopefully. "Now we should probably make this quick. Time is of the essence, there are lives at stake." He said his eyes shooting to the defensive lines where he caught a sight the form of Ssarak standing further to the back. [I]Good, even he made it to this point. Had a feeling that big scaley bastard would get this far.[/I] He thought happily to himself before looking back to the barrel. "Lets hop to it then." He said partially to himself before he joined Leith at the barrels base. "Care giving us some moral support, Auriel?" He teased, his tone uneasy as he forced a smile under his helmet. --------------------- Ssarak looked rapidly around the room, using every ounce of his observational skills to get a sense of what was happening. He was still having to ward off the bats, though so were many others around him. Standing on a nearby table, he saw a familiar face, and the first member of the firing squad he was forming. Jenna evidently had been firing on the demonmancer, but the swarm of bats had interrupted her. [i]"I'll gather the archers, you find people to help keep the bats away while they aim."[/i] Ssarak said telepathically to Meirin before rushing over to Jenna's position. He used a burst of air from his wings both to grab her attention, and to help push away the bats before sending her a telepathic message as well. [i]"Jenna, I have an idea of how to stop this mage, but I need archers. Find as many as you can; I'm going to find a way to distract him."[/i] Ssarak looked across the battlefield and the growing inferno once more. The mage was out of range of the frontline guards, and additionally, there was a demon at its side which worried Ssarak. It was a strange-looking demon with many arms and a gaping maw. He did not know what its capabilities were, but its changing, amorphous-looking form concerned him nonetheless. While Jenna was gathering archers, he needed to join Meirin in getting others to help, and quickly. By the way the battle was going, they had only a precious few minutes to act. ---------------------------- Haklo kept himself safe as he joined up with the people in the dining hall. He saw what was going down and saw this Demonmancer and how he demonstrated his power. He noticed some people in the crowd, such as Auriel and Ssarak which he could see clearly further in the hall, battling with the Demonmancer's forces. He looked around at the battle raging around him and he saw a fallen soldier and grabbed his shield, a kite shield scratched and dented from both old and recent battles. He used it to defend himself against the claws and fangs of the cursed demons. He kept himself away from the larger demons but didn't pass up the chance to hamstring any larger demons that were already preoccupied with other matters. He smashed his shield against a demon's face, occasionally using his psychomantic attack sparingly just so he could get a kill swipe, opening throats from ear to ear. There was one time where a demon with straight horns attacked the nobleman only to meet his swordpoint through the chest. His ally was close behind him but with his sword stuck in the demon's chest, Haklo instead pushed the demon by the chin, causing the other demon to inadvertently impale itself on the other demon's horns. Safe for a few moments, Haklo retrieved his sword and continued on with the fray. By the time he managed to get to his destination, his armor had suffered scrapes and dents by demonic weapons. "Not quite the study lesson I had hoped for" he decided to quip and looked back at the Esyire psychomancer known as Ssarak. ------------------------------- Meirin saw the enemy mage summon a whole swarm of bats at them. [b]"Crap!"[/b] Meirin didn't bother trying to fight off the bats; even if she could cut down ten or so, there were at least hundreds of them. Ssarak was able to batter most of the bats away from her with the gust from his wings, which gave her ample time to escape. Right now they needed to deal with that demonmancer; she knew if they could kill him, his demons would be gone. If memories served correctly anyways. Either way, he needed to die. But how? That's when she Ssarak gave her a telepathic message that he'd be gathering archers. She needed to find able-bodied fighters to protect the archers from the bats. [i]"Simple enough."[/i] She thought. A quick glance and Meirin spotted Leith working with some others with a barrel of alcohol for some reason. She didn't imagine they were going for a drink, but it still begged to question what they were trying to do. The girl ran towards them before the bats took notice of her. [b]"Leith! We need your help! That demonmancer is doing a number to us right now, and we need someone to help us defend some of the guards. Ssarak is going to get them ready for some sort of attack."[/b] ------------------------------- Leith chuckled at Deven's remark and replied with a tired smile. "If it makes you feel any better, I thought [i]I[/i] was dead for a moment there. I just got really lucky." He shook his head. "I wouldn't count on myself getting that lucky again." When Deven said that he wanted to move the barrel toward the doors, Leith's smile grew a little wider, and when the man went to tip the barrel over, Leith waved him off. "Don't strain yourself. Tell me where you want it and-" He was cut off by someone shouting his name. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Meirin. As she explained that she needed help defending some of the garuds, Leith nodded and looked towards the demonmancer and noticed that the area around him looked a bit more hellish than the dining hall. Not only that, but it seemed that the bats that had swarmed into the room earlier had started attacking everyone close to the doors. "Alright, let's go, then," he said with a nod. He sunk the claws of his gauntlet into the top and far side of the barrel of alcohol, lifted it off the ground, and hurried towards the guards. Once he had made it close, three of the demonic bats swarmed at him. One of the bats managed to bite him in the back of the neck, causing him to drop the barrel where it was and swat at it with his hand. He realized what he had done moments the gauntlet made contact with back of his head. Letting out a string of curses that would put a sailor to shame, Leith swatted the bats out of the way before transferring his sword over to his right hand and rubbing the back of his head with his left to try and ease the pain caused by the ten pound gauntlet. He paused when he felt something wet on his neck. He didn't think that the bat had bit that deep. He pulled his hand from his neck to examine it. He saw a clear liquid in his hand. [i]Venom?[/i] As he stared at it, the bite on his neck started to hurt, and he got an idea. With a small flick of his wrist, he forced all of the venom to fly off his hand and form a ball that hung in front of him. It wasn't that much, a small marble at most, but he would get more of it. He grabbed a cup off the floor and shook the remaining contents out of it. He then moved the venom into the cup and hurried towards the archers that were starting to form, taking note of the dead bats along the way. Once he got to a table that was upright and quite close to the archer's, he set the cup on the table, and as fast as he could, he ran back the way he came and collected all the bats that he could. and brought them back to the table. He stopped at guard with a bow and told him to send the archers towards the table he was at. He then set his sword down and got ready to collect some venom. ----------------- The room only got more chaotic by the second. When the bats began to swarm, Auriel rushed closer to Ssarak, seeing how effective his wings were at keeping the beast away. She was feeling quite useless, she had exhausted her magic already and with no armour and only a dagger, she couldn't exactly engage any of the demons up close. At least not when every muscle in her body was crying out in agony. She couldn't even give Deven the 'moral support' he asked for. Her mind went blank and she couldn't just kiss him with his helmet in the way. When she saw a group of archers beginning to gather, an idea came to her as to how she could be useful. She may not have been the perfect shot that her nemesis Siala had been, but she was still trained with a bow. She had been able to fire a bow before learning to read in fact. Not very accurately, but it was the thought that counted and she'd since improved. She looked around for a bow, and quickly found one on the fallen body of a guard. Taking it up, she gave it a slight tug to test the weight. Slightly heavy for her, especially with how out of practice she was, but at this point the exertion just to move was such that pulling the bow felt hardly out of the ordinary. Gathering up a number of arrows to hold in a hunters grip, she joined the archers and prepared to fire. At least she would be a little useful in this fight. ---------------- No matter how slowly time seemed to be moving with the adrenaline pumping through Ssarak's body, he knew they did not have much time remaining. The front line was holding at that very moment, but that could change by the second. Jenna was gathering the archers, but the question remained on how exactly he should coordinate the attack. He had a feeling that a simple barrage would not suffice; the demonmancer had already shown he could defend himself against ranged attacks. Plus, the amorphous demon at his side could intervene. They needed a way to deliver a surprise attack. While Ssarak was working on keeping away the bats, he heard a familiar voice: Haklo. He was a psychomancer, perhaps not a close friend, but someone he knew. He did not respond immediately, as his presence inspired him with an idea. Ssarak knew well the limits of novice psychomancers such as himself, so he knew they could not manipulate their opponents' minds to any great extent, but subtle, minor illusions were within the scope of their abilities. If they didn't see an attack coming, then they would not respond to defend against it. It would be difficult to hide the intentions of an entire group of archers...unless he spread them out. If they were positioned at multiple angles, then not only would it reduce the likelihood of their arrows being interrupted, but it would also make it easier to hide the fact that they were all aiming at the demonmancer, especially if they remained in the periphery of his vision. Even better, if they refrained from aiming directly at him until the last moment, the demons would have even less time to respond. Ssarak had an idea of what to do, but there was still the matter of executing it. He did not look at Haklo, but instead sent him a telepathic message. [i]"I have a plan of how to deal with the demonmancer. Jenna is currently gathering archers. I will order them into position, and just before they fire, I will plant an illusion in the demonmancer's mind to prevent him from recognizing the threat. I need you to do the same to the amorphous demon next to him."[i] ---------------- Haklo did not respond to Ssarak verbally, not even through telepathic speech but just gave him a nod of acknowledgement and looked at the amorphous demon and the demonmancer that was with him. A lesser demon, about the height of a dwarf, leapt into him and the noble just managed to bash it's face with his shield. He made his stance though, awaiting for the plan to be set into motion. --- Ssarak nodded back to Haklo, then turned his attention to the group of archers Jenna had gathered. He still feared they were not ready, that his plan would not be successful, but it didn't matter. They had used the time they had, and now it was time to strike. Looking to the archers, Jenna, Auriel, and the guards they had gathered, he sent them a mental message detailing his plan. [i]"Spread out away from one another, behind our front lines in places you can get a good angle on the Demonmancer. Do not act like you are working together; take aim at the other demons approaching, and perhaps fire a few shots while everyone else is getting in position. When I say ready, draw your bows, but do not aim directly at the Demonmancer. Only when I say fire do I want you to take aim at him, then fire as soon as you are on target. Be sure to fire a few volleys. Now, get into position."[/i] Turning his attention to Meirin and the others she had found, such as Deven and Leith, he sent them another message [i]"The archers are spreading out into their positions. Protect them, and when I say ready, make sure to keep the bats off of them."[/i] For Haklo next to him, he gave a short, and simple message. [i]"When I say ready, prepare the illusion you plan to use, then when I say fire, activate your illusion against the amorphous demon."[/i] Now, the plan was setting into motion. While the others were quickly moving to their positions, Ssarak continued to use his wings to keep back the bats from himself and Auriel, since she was nearby. He was far enough back from the frontline that the bats were the only thing harassing him, for the moment. He looked across each person as they got into position to make sure he knew who to send his message to. To an observer, the archers had little cohesion. Most had a partner keeping away the bats, but they were all in different places, firing and aiming at different targets. Once they all stopped, he sent the first telepathic message. [i]"Ready"[/i] Ssarak ordered, signaling the archers to draw their bows, but not aim or fire until given the order. Ssarak prepared in his mind the specifics of the illusion he was going to use, then let out a deep breath as he sent the final message. [i]"Fire.[/i] Immediately as he sent the message, Ssarak began his illusion. There would be a short delay between when the archers took aim and when they fired, but it would not be long. His illusion was simple, and subtle. When the archers took aim, the intent of his illusion was to prevent him from noticing that they were focusing on him, since his attention was on the inferno he was bringing into the dining hall. Once they fired, he would keep the arrows out of his view for as long as he could. --- What were these pathetic students trying to pull? Rallying their soldiers to counter attack? With most of them concerned with the other demons baring down on them, there was little any of them could do. Which gave the Demonmancer plenty of time to create an Inferno Field. He had his Amorphous demon on standby, to protect him from any rogue fighters who saw the mage as an easy foe. But with the chaos and confusion in the dinning hall, the likelihood of anyone really paying attention to him was rather slim. A shame, for he had made such a grand entrance. The bat swarms continued to harass and bite at the students; even if they had ways to blow them back, many more would continue their assault, biting and clawing at them. The Amorphous demon took notice of a noble man who was dangerously near his master, so the demon strode forth to fight him. He did not give him any mercy; the demon took on a size as large as the dinning room wall, and simply fell onto the noble to consume him completely. It seemed that the plan would go without a hitch. The demonmancer only needed a few more moments before setting up a permanent Inferno Field, giving all the demons a natural environment to use for their advantage. Like he predicted, there was nothing the college could do. And just as he was about to finish, the demonmancer felt the sting of twenty arrows. "Impossible...." Many arrows skewered the mage. Many shot into his body, but a few into his arms and legs. He fell onto his knees and looked around. He noticed, finally, of the Eysire who seemed to have been watching him intently. It was than that he realized that the Eysire was a Psychomancer, who used his minor abilities to block the image of the archers away from him. They had been working underneath his suspicion and waited for the opportunity to focus their fire onto him, even during the bedlam. If the fallen sorcerer was a noble sort, he would have congratulated him on his plan. But instead he was vengeful. The sorcerer knew that he was as good as dead. Even if his body was recovered, he would die of his wounds before long. So in one final act of defiance, the Fallen Sorcerer used the rest of his life blood for one final spell; to empower another demon in this room, one of the more powerful demons. "Death comes to us all, fools! Yours... Yours is coming now!" With his final breath the sorcerer taunted the fighters, before falling and succumbing to his own injuries. The Amorphous Demon felt the shutter of his master's death. Knowing that he is without his power, the Amorphous Demon ceased his attack and fled. The Bats, no longer led by the Fallen Sorcerer, no long attacked in organized swarms and simply flew around aimlessly. The students had just barely moments for rest, as soon the empowered demon step forward to do battle.