Chapter 3
"Oh spirits of the underworld who dwell in the shade of the deep darkness, thou who yearns for the destruction of the light and the fall of justice...head my call"
A gust of wind blew into the room, causing the ten candles that were encircling the diagram to flicker ever so slightly. The room which was all quiet earlier now had a frightening ambiance...The glow of a green light emerged from the talisman that was placed around the room, enveloping Jing fei with the very same light...
Sweat began to flow down her face as she continued reading the chant...
"Abide by thy will and let my power anchor thee to the mortal realm, under my authority as thy summoner I command you to grant my wish, and thine shall do the same under the pact we forge in the name of the god of darkness..."
She could feel the malevolent energy that was oozing from the talisman as she carried on. Her instincts were screaming that something deadly, something destructive was crawling from the abyss itself...A monster among monsters that are being brought about in the mortal realm through her actions...
"I-I..."
Her voice slightly wavered as her conscience was questioning her actions. This act of hers could bring about the destruction of thousands of cities. After all, demons were powerful creatures that have an endless capacity for carnage, the last recorded one being summoned was twenty years ago...
And during that time, the demon razed down an entire city and killed hundreds of innocents...
Of course, this was due to the wish of the one who summoned the demon. And Jing fei was confident that she could somewhat reign in the demon using the pact that they're about to form...but on the off chance she couldn't...then it's all over for the Giao province...
For the sake of her selfish wish...do the lives of the others need to be placed at risk?...
Her memories brought her back to the times in which her father would hang around with her, patting her head as they happily talk in the garden back in the capital. Her father was a kind and virtuous man, one who fulfilled his duties to the bitter end...
He always kept emphasizing to Jing fei the importance of self-sacrifice and obedience, that they do what they do for the sake of the peace of the world...and back then, she felt a sort of admiration for his resolve...
Even now, that still hasn't changed. In fact, she admired him all the more now because she only realized just how heavy was the burden that her father once carried
"But I'm really sorry pa...I just can't take this anymore..." She muttered this under her breath as she clutched her fist...
She's been obedient and endured this seemingly endless solitude for far too long. And this may just be her childish desires finally overtaking her...but if summoning this demon will grant her wish, then she doesn't care about anything else anymore...
"I'll be a bit selfish...just this once..."
With resolve in her eyes, she continued the ritual...
"I hereby swear!"
The shade of green on the talisman grew brighter, and the bones began to shake
"Under all that is evil, that I shall allow thy madness to roam forth into the world under my authority!"
The earth...Nay, the entire mountains themselves began to tremble as enormous amounts of evil energy began to spring forth to the ground. The soldiers who standing on guard immediately ran towards the mansion as fast as they could
"Oh great demon who dwells in the darkness I command thee to take the form of the flesh, and rise! rise ye great calamity that is sealed by the gods in the depths of the earth!"
The clouds began to turn black...A storm began to brew among the skies...The roar of lightning began echoing in the mountains...
"Come forth now under my command and announce thy return to the mortal realm! Shout your name oh great demon for all to remember!"
The skull began to glow the same green color, and the entire room was suddenly enveloped by the bright light. Seconds after that, the windows of Jing fei's room were shattered, which startled the guards, causing them to run even faster
"My lady!" One of them screamed as they stretched the limits of their legs, running desperately as to secure the lady.
Though such an action would be seen as heroism, they were all doing this simply because it's their job, and they would be in heap big trouble if they fail the Emperor...In fact, they were quite pissed that such a thing had to happen when it was their break
"My lady! Are you alright?!" One of the kicked down the sliding door as they entered the room...
"Ggh! What the...this manevolant energy...so pungent!"
They were greeted by a green smog that made their sense tingle upon feeling it. It wasn't as if the smog smelled bad, but as cultivators, such an amount of evil energy being concentrated in a room unconsciously made them disgusted...
And this very same smog began to spread out in the mansion...
"Damn it!... My lady! Where are you?...Damn, what trouble did that little brat got herself into..."
The smog was so thick that they could barely even see each other. Questions began to plague their minds, how did such a concentration of evil energy even get here without them even noticing?...
After a while, their minds finally pieced together the puzzle...this aura...Out of all the creatures in the world, only one is capable of releasing creating such a thing. And that is-
"A demon! There's a demon in this mansion!"
The soldier shouted this at the top of his lungs, but the moment he did so he felt a terrible...sinister presence roaming around his back
"Hahaha! Good on you to find that out, but you guys think too slow! I thought that I'd be left watching you all piss yourselves like a bunch of confused children over a little smoke"
"Wha-" Before he could even turn around he felt a heavy force hit his face. His brain couldn't even comprehend what happened, and his body was launched into the air
"-! Shit, Duan Liang is down!"
All of the soldiers immediately drew their weapons and braced each other for combat. They were all well-versed in combat, each reaching the 6th level of enlightenment, which was already considered an amazing feat...
"Ugh! He's here!- Gagh!" They heard the voice of a soldier in the smog before the loud sound of the furnishings being destroyed followed suit
The true power of the soldiers lies in their teamwork. As strong as they are, each of them was only human, their individual strength could only take them so far. And against a demon, who is an extremely powerful creature...taking it head-on would be foolish...
"Ggh! H-Help!" Another cry was heard, then the sound of the windows being shattered followed...
"Shit! He's picked off another one here!"
The smog was cutting them off from each other, they couldn't work together even if they wanted to...
"Damn it...what do we do?"
The screams of the soldiers continued to play in the mansion, like a wretched orchestra, each of the soldiers could only brace themselves against their inevitable turn against this monster...but how could they do that If they couldn't even see where it was?
Not to mention the smog was having some sort of effect on them...they couldn't think straight...all they felt right now was an extreme sense of fear...
"Tch...we aren't trained enough for this..."
"Hah, in the first place the exorcists are the ones that are supposed to handle shit like this!"
A mocking laughter suddenly reached their ears
"Awww, looks like our little boys are tired~ Want me to give you all a little break? Hehe you know, I've been wondering for a while now...but are you sure you're all soldiers? I mean, you're all wearing fancy-class armors so you have to be, but the farmers at my time could fight better than you clowns"
"Tch! Don't mock us you foul creature! Come out your damn shade and fight me like a man!"
One of the soldiers let out a war cry as he charged dead into the smoke
"You fool! Don't"
But it was too late, they all heard the sound of armor clanking at the ground, as the man was most likely knocked unconscious...
"...This isn't going well..."
They're being picked out like fruits, and they can't even do anything about it...If they could at least see its form or rescue the princess, then they could save face a little...though he doubt that they'd still escape punishment...
With the screams telling him that all hope in beating this monster is lost, one soldier quickly sprinted in the smog...His senses were dulled by the smoke, but for the sake of his honor as a soldier, he continued to push through...
Until she saw her blonde hair in the distance...
"-! My lady!" But before she could even touch him, he felt a sharp pain in his gut. His brain was caught off guard by the sudden pain as his eyes rolled back, and his body fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut...
"...You..." Jing fei glanced at the unconscious body on the ground...And turned her attention to the silhouette that was slowly walking toward her...Her eyes widened as her summon got closer...
It was the shadow with the shape of a man that was nearing her...which made her all the more confused...
But before she could even ask, the demon was finally in front of him...With peering eyes that was as deep as the abyss itself...
"So...am I right on assuming that you're my summoner this time around, little girl?"
He asked with the most intimidating smirk she ever saw...