Abnormal demons from Sandapati

"Everyone, threat incoming," William prepared to strike.

"What's wrong?" Dion asked.

"It seems several demons are approaching—either low-tier sentient demons or abnormal demons," William replied.

Dion looked toward the direction of William’s sharp gaze—he could see them too. The demons were coming in a horde. If they weren’t ready, they would surely be overwhelmed.

Thus, Dion prepared a magic circle.

A magic circle formed above him in an intricate pattern, glowing a bright green—the color of emerald.

"Dark Chain of Inquisitor," Dion chanted. From his hand emerged a chain, glowing black—black as obsidian.

"Prepare yourselves, it seems they know we’re coming!" Puspo Geni shouted.

"What do you mean?" one soldier asked.

"Look closely!" Puspo Geni pointed at one of the demons. "Demons like these are trained abnormal demons!"

"It seems they knew of our arrival," Pusmoko explained. "That’s why they’re blocking us here."

How could they know? We haven’t even killed Jenggolo yet, Arjuna thought.

"How could they know?" Arjuna asked aloud.

"Who knows, maybe there’s a demon not from Dahaluk meddling in this," Pusmoko replied.

The number of abnormal demons heading toward them grew more and more—it was clearly unnatural. Dahaluk was a small territory; it was impossible for it to have this many trained abnormal demons.

"I think I remember something," Pati Wuruh said, focusing on one of the still-distant abnormal demons.

"What is it?" Arga asked.

Pati Wuruh studied the demon’s form—it resembled something he knew. It looks like a demon from the Sandapati Kingdom, he thought.

"Its form is like a demon from the Sandapati Kingdom," Puspo Geni observed as well.

"I think so too," Pati Wuruh agreed.

"Sandapati—the demon kingdom ruled by Demon King Badranwuruk, right?" one soldier from the Aryapanggulu Kingdom asked.

"Correct," Pati Wuruh replied.

The soldiers from another fragthesis—specifically the Tirtawijaya Kingdom—felt a chill upon hearing that. Of course, that chill did not come from the wind; it was the manifestation of their thoughts, their fear.

That was because they knew—even though the demons of Sandapati were weaker than those of Jagrapati—they were infamous for their cunning.

Before their kingdom had fragthesized, history recorded that they once clashed directly with those demons.

In terms of sheer power, they had won, but—

In strategy, they had lost.

The gap had been vast, like earth and sky.
But not for the soldiers of Aryapanggulu. Not only were they unaware of such fear, they also had a clear intent—to conquer Dahaluk. And they would crush anything standing in their way.

"Don’t you want to retreat?" King Samhari asked, trembling.

"Why should we retreat?" one Aryapanggulu soldier retorted.


"Yes, I know why you’re trembling," a Gavian soldier added.

The Gavian soldiers certainly knew the fear the Tirtawijaya soldiers felt—they had witnessed that war firsthand.

"The demons from Sandapati are cunning—our soldiers, in the early days of the Tirtawijaya Kingdom, once fought them. All of our soldiers died!" King Samhari explained.

"Even so, we have no intention of retreating!" an Aryapanggulu soldier declared.

"In that case, you may retreat if you wish," William said, looking toward the Tirtawijaya soldiers.

William did not intend to mock them—he was only offering advice. But what the Tirtawijaya soldiers thought was different.

They felt insulted, yet could not get angry—because they could not escape from one thing: the fear of their dark past.

"Sorry if we disappoint you, but we will still fight alongside you," one Tirtawijaya soldier murmured.

"What do you mean?" William tilted his head.

"You weren’t insulting us, but we realize—from your words—that we are unworthy to be called soldiers," the Tirtawijaya soldier explained.

"And I realize too, from our history, that I am unworthy to be king—because I fear facing a figure reminiscent of our past," King Samhari added.

"I had no intention of insulting you; I was only giving advice," William clarified.

Even though the Tirtawijaya soldiers and their king knew William wasn’t mocking them—and that it was just a misunderstanding—they still took it as a chance for self-reflection.

From William’s words, they realized there was only one way forward: to muster courage.

One abnormal demon had gotten close.

There was no time to ready their weapons—fortunately, Dion’s black chain struck the demon in time.

They quickly raised their weapons—determined not to let that happen twice.

Another abnormal demon closed in, but this time they were ready.

Their swords severed the demons’ necks—the demons vanished.

Of course, they weren’t dead permanently—only in stasis. They would revive in their birthplace.

More and more demons approached, and they swung their swords with effort.

There was no choice but to cut them down.

"Even though we have a dark history with you, we will still fight on!" a Tirtawijaya soldier shouted.

"Ha, we came here intending to conquer Dahaluk, and our allies are braver than us," one Aryapanggulu soldier grinned.

"Come on, kill as many as you can!" another Aryapanggulu soldier called out.

The Aryapanggulu soldiers refused to be outdone—they wanted to prove their resolve. Not just empty words—they would not let fear rule their minds.

With blazing spirit, they swung their swords.

Their opponents had no instinct to dodge, so the abnormal demons were cleanly cut apart—vanishing into ash.

The Gavian soldiers also refused to just stand by—they wanted to participate too, not merely serve as mounts and transport.

So they joined the attack—their tails easily struck down the abnormal demons, quickly reducing their numbers.

However, they could not attack the flying ones—not because they were unable, but because human allies were riding on their backs.

"Honestly, we can’t handle the ones above," one Gavian soldier grumbled, looking at the flock of flying abnormal demons.

"Leave that to me," Arjuna said, drawing his bow toward the airborne horde.

"I’ll help too," Dion added.

Without wasting time, Arjuna loosed his attack—arrows materialized from empty air as he released his bowstring.

The arrows multiplied, though not all struck their targets.

Dion attacked as well—his black chain shot toward the abnormal demons, not in a straight line, but branching into multiple paths.

No matter the distance, the chain would find its target—as long as he could see it.

"These demons are mid-tier abnormal demons—you were right, Pusmoko," Arga said, scanning the surroundings.

"The magic here is indeed like a natural magical disaster, but there’s not a single living monster here. In other words, this desert is the result of environmental destruction caused by humans. Logically, the demons here should be weaker than the ones we faced in the Termodeflad fog forest," Dion mused.

"You’re right," Sudirja agreed.