Chapter 2: Prelude (II) (1/2)

Ellie had joined back with the group at some point in time, she didn't look to be out of breath in any way, and was somehow able to keep up with them in her tight outfit. ”What took you so long?” Rosie asked somewhat worried. ”Don't worry about her, I am sure she was doing something perverse again.”

”Hey, watch your mouth, sister Ellie isn't like that.” Rosie snapped back at Leo.

”It's alright dear, he's just a little bitter cause his hair won't grow.”

”HEY!” The others couldn't help but chuckle with only Rey remaining silent.

”Alright, guys let's focus we're almost there.” They all nodded in unison as they approached the north wing. So far they hadn't been ambushed by a general, which meant the enemy had made a smart move, the remaining generals had chosen to protect their master instead of arrogantly trying to take them out. Demons were prideful and mostly arrogant so even though they had considered this possibility, it was a rather low one.

This was also good news for them, if the generals had chosen to protect their master instead of attacking them, it meant there were only about one or two generals left in the castle and they couldn't afford to leave their master unprotected.

After fighting their way up the north wing, they finally arrived at the top floor in the north wing. They were in a large hall with a giant double door at the end of the room. The room had 21 Alcoves on both sides of the walls, the Alcoves contained 20 large pure white stone knights that could only be described as holy knights.

They held different weapons ranging from a shield to a sword. Each knight only had one weapon, whether it was a shield or a spear, a bill, a flail, or even a harp.

The last alcove had the statue of a female angel with four pitch-black wings, one of which was broken. She had small goat-like horns growing in the sides of her head, the intricate details on her facial features made it look like she was alive.

The group suddenly felt a sensation wash over them, it wasn't pressure or fear but a sense of calm. Against all their unease, they gathered themselves and moved forward.

They had only taken a few steps when they heard it, it was the sounds of music, a beautiful melody that came from the highest quality musical instrument. They instinctively got on their guard straight into a battle formation, looking around they saw the only holy knight holding a musical instrument, playing.

The knight was the only knight without a helmet. It was a knight made out of stone yet its movement looked smooth and gentle. They could feel his soft touch on the strings of the harp, the group were a little confused by this, the other knights hadn't moved and the only one moving was playing an harp, the music it played was like nothing they had heard before and gave them a sense of calm.

Since it wasn't attacking they thought it would be best not to provoke it. They didn't need any more distractions on their mission. They decided to slowly head for the large door ahead, but, the moment they took a step the knight turned its head to look at them, it smiled.

This wasn't a gentle smile, it was the most twisted and creepiest smile they had ever seen. The smile was so wide it was practically a grin, it sent chills down their spines and goosebumps appeared all over their skins. ”Dodge!” John yelled and the group instinctively dropped to the ground.

*Boom!

An arrow made of stone slammed the ground a few meters away from them, they all scrambled around and got back in formation. A knight with a bow had fired an arrow, the power behind the attack was so great it even cracked the sturdy marble floor that had been heavily reinforced with magic.

Having successfully evaded the attack the group no longer had any choice but to fight. The stone knights all stepped down from their Alcoves, all except the smiling knight. He proceeded to continue playing the harp. ”Leo, tank, I'll provide support, everyone else focuses on dealing damage, watch out for any surprise attacks from the remaining two statues.”

They proceeded to follow his lead, Leo used his skills to attract the attention of all 19 knights, while John proceeded to support him making sure he didn't get overwhelmed and ganged up on. They moved around to avoid being surrounded and Rosie intercepted any ranged attacks, Rey then launched spells that were suitable for stone monsters such as ”Chain Lightning” and ”Sonic Boom.”

Ellie also used strange spells, she waved her fan and some of the knights decayed and fell apart, while others ended up unable to control their limbs, striking their fellow knights. With their flawless timing and teamwork, the group made destroying 19 Tier 5 Holy knights look easy when it shouldn't have been.

There were only a handful of the knights remaining when suddenly, the music played by the harp changed. It was no longer as calming as it once was and was now as chaotic as a Storm.

The flow of Mana within their bodies became erratic, they were unable to control it anymore and the spellcasters were now unable to cast their spells. ”What's going on.” snapped Rey who had stayed quiet all this time, without his spells he wouldn't be of much use to the team.

John noticing the change as well. ”We need to destroy the knight with the harp, this is most likely a result of its music.”

”John is right, the change occurred when it started playing a different tune.”

”Alright cover me, I am the fastest so I'll take it down before it even knows what hit em.”

Before Rosie could even move the statue of the fallen angel flapped its remaining three wings and appeared in front of them. A spear of light and darkness materialized in each of her hands respectively as she swung it at Rosie.

Unable to react in time she had no choice but to take the attack, surely she wouldn't escape without a scratch.

*Boom!

Rosie opened her eyes in surprise as she hadn't felt any pain, she looked up and saw John, he stood in front of her and had blocked the attack. ”Are you hurt?”

”Er- uh n-no I'm fine,” she said in a fluster and her cheeks turn bright red, John had wanted to make sure she was fine as he saw she looked a little feverish but the angel had already launched her second attack. ”I'll handle this one, you take the harp bastard.”

Rosie immediately snapped out of it, Leo was getting ganged up on and the others couldn't help because they were unable to use magic. She activated a rage skill. This skill didn't require control over Mana and enhances her attacks and speed so it was the only option.