I held my breath as I peeked over the edge of a broken wall. Just beyond where I hid was the courtyard surrounding the palace. I could feel the blood mist swirling around me in anticipation. I could feel it fighting with the dampening crystals I carried with me, trying to overwhelm them and consume me. I did not have much time left and yet, I was at an impasse.

In front of me, thousands of Demonkin had all gathered together. Alphas and mature Demonkin alike all stood shoulder to shoulder in neat orderly lines. Gone was the rowdy chaos from before and in its place were the lines of an orderly army acting like puppets on strings. They all looked up at the same spot on the faded outline of the palace as if waiting for something to appear.

I frowned at the sight. I had been hoping to take advantage of the confusion while Andras was still trying to get all the Demonkin under his control to easily sneak into the palace but it looked like that was out of the question now. It had taken more time than it would have with a superior Demon like Berith but Andras was now in complete control. Even the Leviathans in the sky seemed to have calmed down and were now awaiting orders.

The worst part of it was that the place Andras had commanded them to gather was precisely the area I needed to pass through. Now, my options were to either wait for a change in the situation, betting on the power of the dampening stones to protect me from the blood mist, or risk everything to force my way past the army and reach my objective before the Demons could stop me. Neither was a good option.

I ducked back behind the broken wall and sat on the damp ground. The swirling faces in the mist appeared to be mocking my predicament, goading me into making a mistake, but I did my best to drown out the distractions as I tried to think of a solution.

After a few moments in thought, I tapped the listless Irene on my shoulder and whispered, “Slight change of planes, Irene, get me to the city walls instead.”

Irene nodded and pointed out the way. I followed her direction silently. With every step I took, there was a chance a Demonkin might hear me or notice my presence. The anxiety I felt as I navigated the broken buildings was like a dagger stabbing into my chest.

Luckily, though, the further we moved from the center of the city, the fewer Demonkin there were. It was as if nearly every living creature had gathered in that one courtyard in preparation for something. Still, I couldn’t afford to be careless.

I crept through the city as if I was a mouse keeping to the smallest alleyways and passing through broken buildings. It felt like an eternity before I reached my destination.

The battlements of the city walls were as grand as they had always been. Even though the inside of the city had been destroyed by the endless waves of Demonkin, none of them could do much to the smooth black material of the wall. I knew from experience that even the strongest of Demons would struggle to leave a mark on it.

The doors that led into the battlements, however, were another matter. They had been made out of heavy steel but that had not been enough to stop them from ending up destroyed. The remains were tossed to the side, covered in deep scratch marks from the claws of some unknown beast.

I kept my head low as I snuck past the ruined doorway. My eyes darted frantically as I kept watch for any signs of Demonkin inside. To my luck though, it was empty. Inside was simply a barracks for soldiers. Most of the furniture was in ruins but that was to be expected.

Knowing that I didn’t have long, I hid Irene in a messy corner of the room and crept up the stairs to the topmost layer of the battlements sticking out from the wall. I was practically laying on the stairs as my head poked up.

I could barely contain my grin as I saw what I was looking for. Five hulking pieces of metal, with barrels bigger that a stallion aimed out at the plains beyond the city. Splinter cannons that had been created to protect the city, now being used by the very enemy they were designed to fight.

beside them I saw were small scaly monkey-like Demonkin that had a single horn on their head. They waited with their hands on the lever of the big machine without moving or even blinking. If you did not know better a person might have mistaken them for statues.

I watched the small Demonkin for nearly fifteen minutes. My eyes scanned for any movement in the mist but if there had been other Demonkin around, they were not here now. I would have liked to observe longer to get a better grasp of any patrols that might guard the wall but I didn’t have the time.

Taking a deep breath, I made my move. Hefting a loose stone I had picked up on the way here, I threw it at the first Demonkin with all my strength. I did not wait to see the effect of the throw as I dashed out of my hiding place. In a blur, I reached out for the second Demonkin. It did not even have time to react before my fingers ripped into the flesh of its throat. The hides of the Demonkin were tough enough to stop a sword but my new improved strength could crumple metal like it was cardboard. The Demonkin never stood a chance as I brutally ripped it apart in one swift motion. The third and fourth monkey creatures did not fare any better. The fifth monkey tried to call out for help but when I threw the body of one of its comrades at it, both creatures practically exploded in a bloody mess against the stone wall.

In less than five seconds, all five of the Demonkin were dead. I raised my eyebrow in surprise at how easy it had been. This was my first time using my newfound physical strength in a fight against normal Demonkin. Even if these five had been chosen for their dexterity rather than their strength, they were still Demonkin. They could tear a normal man apart limb from limb with ease and yet I had killed them as if they were newborn babes. It was a strange feeling. I had always been powerful in my past lives but I had never had physical strength like this before. It was almost intoxicating.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to revel in my new strength. Every second that passed was critical and I could not afford to waste a single one. I quickly moved over to the splinter cannons. They were an older model compared to the ones used by the Divisions today but I recognized the design well enough. Using two big cranks at the base of the giant metal behemoth, I began to turn the cannons. With one laborious crank after another I aimed the cannons backwards, directly at the courtyard I had just come from.

However, I could not fire the cannons now. All that would accomplish was drawing the ire of tens of thousands of Demonkin directly towards my location. Instead, I returned to the barracks on the lower floors and began to look for supplies to make my preparations.

Bed sheets would work as ropes. A giant pot used to cook the soldiers’ meals was filled with water from a nearby well. Finally, broken bits of broken furniture were gathered together and set alight with a flint and steel. It took some difficulty because my powers were still sealed by the stones I carried, but within just a few minutes I had everything I needed. My preparations might have taken some time but if my plan worked, it would all be worth it.

After twisting the bed sheets into ropes, I tied the center of each bed sheet to the firing lever of the splinter cannon. I then tied one end of the bed sheets to the heavy pot full of water and suspended it over the fire while the other end of the bed sheet was tied to one of the Demonkin corpses and tossed over the side of the wall.

Once everything was done, I stepped back and admired my work with a devious smile. For the moment, the big pot full of water was heavier than the corpse hanging on the other side of the rope. It kept the firing levers of the splinter cannons in the off position. However, that water was quickly heating up from the fire and once it evaporated, the corpse would be heavier. If everything went according to plan then in about twenty minutes, the water would be gone and all five of the cannons would fire simultaneously. Just enough time for me to make it back across to the other side of the city.

Picking Irene up from where I had hidden her, we made our return trip across the city. Moving through the deathly silent streets was just as nerve-wracking as the first time, maybe even more now that I had a literal timer before the cannons fired. Every time I had to stop and wait for a Demonkin to pass by so that I could cross a street or building, I would break out in a cold sweat. My estimation of how long it would take to boil water enough water to flip the lever was not exactly precise. If it went off before I was ready, there was nowhere I could hide. The Demon, Aym, could see through any wall. If he started looking for me, it was only a matter of time before I was found.

Maybe I was lucky, or maybe my math was just bad because I made it back to my previous location before anything happened. The ruins of the old collapsed house overlooked the courtyard perfectly.

The rows of Demonkin still stood unmoving as they looked up at the palace. Only now, Andras was standing on a balcony at the center of their attention. I could not see him very well through the mist but I could hear him.

He was giving a rousing speech about their certain victory to… Demonkin? I nearly laughed at the absurdity of the situation, almost giving my position away. Even the most intelligent of Demonkin only understood a bit more than your average dog or monkey. There was no way they understood the flowery words and prose he was using. Meanwhile, the Demonkin were completely under Andras’s control and forced to just stand there and listen to him. It was like a child, talking to his toys.

I shook my head at the absurdity of the situation and slunk down behind the wall to wait. So long as my plan worked, then any minute now, the splinter cannons would fire. I could not aim them very well through the mist like Aym could but with all the Demonkin gathered together in one place, I was bound to hit a few of them at least. If I was really lucky, even Andras could be in danger.

As I waited, I listened to the Demon drone on and on without even stopping to take a breath. “I will personally lead you all to victory in the forthcoming campaign. Berith was shortsighted, only caring about her own survival but I am greater than that. I am greater than her. My strategies entrapped even the great Aurielle that she feared so much! No one can stand against me now and when Envy arrives, I will find a word completely under my control. I will be his new right-hand man as he rises to become the new Archdemon, ruler of all! I will be the greatest general any Demon has ever seen, infallible and invincible. I will— Ahhh!

Andras’s rambling was cut short by a sudden scream of pain. It was at this moment that five beams of golden light pierced through the crimson mist. However, there was none of the roars of furious Demonkin I expected only stunned silence and a single continuous scream of agony.

Peeking over the broken wall to look, I had to rub my eyes in disbelief. My estimations on aiming the splinter cannons through the blood mist had been horribly off. Each and every cannon had fired too high, completely missing the tightly packed Demonkin horde in the courtyard. I had only managed to hit a single enemy, the only one standing above all the others, Andras, and I had done so with not just one but three separate splinter cannons!