A New World, an immersive game experience

"Who does he think I am? Him?" Ilmadia grumbled after receiving Eldrian's request. "Not everyone can simply come up with magic on the fly. That melody took me over a week to learn to mix my mana with..."

She sighed. It would be impossible for her to devise a way to detect the devils among them. She didn't even know where to start. No one knew their secret. How they were able to hide their auras and transform into normal people. Even fooling detection spells.

The only known way to discover a hidden devil was by the use of divine powers. But not even divine spells would reveal all. The only full proof method was by the manner of an oath. However, it was simply impossible to have everyone undergo an oath. It brought with it far too many restrictions. It simply wasn't a valid method for anything but a key position.

Worse, it had been thousands of years since the last invasion. The kingdom had grown idle. While they had renewed old traditions at the beginning of the invasion, many had slipped through the cracks.

After all, to question someone you knew for years was no simple thing.

Whether the devils had slipped in years ago, long before the start of the invasion. Showing limitless patience as they waited to spring their trap. Or whether they perfectly filled the person's shoes after replacing them. No one knew. But now, throughout the city, friends and family were turning against them.

"However..." Ilmadia murmured. She knew she couldn't use magic to determine who was their allies and who were their foes. But she didn't need to. They simply needed to take a moment to observe those fighting.

The devils were sure to fight coherently, knowing who their allies were. The citizens, however, would fight reservedly, defensively. Focusing on trying to protect themselves, wary and scared of everyone around them.

They would not push to fight, they would merely stand their ground.

The soldiers might act differently, but the important thing was helping the civilians. 'But to where?' Ilmadia questioned. She would have preferred setting a perimeter around the magic towers. But some had fallen, and those still standing were sure to be the enemy's next target.

'Then, the temples are our best bet.' Using the noble district was another option, but it would prove more difficult. She felt certain the enemy would prioritize it after the towers. After all, the last target would be the mayor's mansion.

Temples were actually quite perfect. It would act as the players' respawn point, where their reinforcement would arrive, their markets, and they had their own defensive arrays that could be employed in the case of an emergency.

With this in mind, Ilmadia took command of all the Phoenix players. "Everyone, follow me!" She shouted, sharing her evaluation of the situation with the rest of the Flaming Hearts. Nikki and Zyviss were over in Kynigo, busy gathering reinforcements, but the rest were all here.

Forming a voice chat between them, Ilmadia said, "We should split as soon as we stabilize the situation. Judith, your best placed moving aggressively, so talk with Eldrian or Elizabeth for the best deployment."

"Therdul—"

"I know. I'll work on making a defendable area around the temples. The best place would be this area here." Sharing the location with the others, he added, "There are five temples close to one another. We can form a perimeter with four and have everyone rest in the middle. It will also allow us to access more items with the market."

He was by no means a master of arrays, but he had learned a couple of tricks while working on the vertical farms and border walls. It would not keep anyone strong out, but it might change the tides against two equally matched forces.

They rushed outside and sprang to action; the players moving with care to not attack the wrong side. And as they started rescuing those desperately struggling to survive, the group received the video of Eldrian's fight with the Night Terrors.

"Perhaps we shouldn't group in one place?" Ilmadia mumbled. It would make them an easy target for the demons. And none of them could do anything against such a foe.

"No, we just need to make sure they don't get the drop on us before we get reinforcements." Therdul countered.

They simply didn't have the manpower to split themselves into multiple groups. If they tried, no group would be able to defend the citizens they saved. They had learned this before in their time aiding and rescuing the survivors in Pediades. Splitting your focus was a recipe for disaster.

—

Zig-zagging through the air, Ceph dodged the spells being rained upon them from the magic tower. First had been massive fireballs, each at least a meter in size. Then spears of ice as large as ballista bolts. Then blades of water covered the sky. Now it was a massive block of ice the size of an entire estate.

Ceph dextrously maneuver around the massive block of ice, behind them it crashed down into the surrounding buildings. Turning them all to rubble. A few screams echoed from below, but the two could not let that distract them.

'I'm going to teleport,' Eldrian told Ceph. While they had dodged all the attacks rained at them thus far, it had caused great harm to the area behind and below them. It had also slowed their advance, and soon they would be accosted by foes they could not match.

'I know you've been training, but can you really do it?' Ceph asked, the next attack a massive shockwave that they weathered. But as a result, they were sent hundreds of meters back. The carnage it wrought on their surroundings looked worse than it actually was.

'I can,' Eldrian replied with confidence. Feeling the surrounding mana being pulled towards the tower, he waited for the time of discharge. Using it as a guide and cover. When a massive ball of flames appeared before the tower, he appeared behind it.

'Not quite perfect, but close enough. It truly does get easier with practice.' Eldrian thought, recalling the many times he had lost his limbs or even died the past week. Luckily, Ceph had always been there to heal him, and as they had limited such reckless training to when they were in Avgi, if the worst happened, then Zamia was there to help.

A smile broke out from Eldrian's lips as he recalled the training. It certainly wasn't a kind way to train, but it showed far greater results than trying to master the theory behind the spell. By actually attempting it, he could 'feel' his way through it.

Taking out the near broken shield from his inventory as he plummeted towards the ground, Eldrian threw it down. Stopping its descent with wind and supporting it in midair with ether. And then, he kicked off from it towards the side of the tower.

The shield shattered into pieces, the attack from the Night Terror having brought it to the brink, and Eldrian's kick pushed it over its endurance limit.

Altering his fall with magic to ensure he flew for one of the many windows covering the sides of the tower—which he blasted out of its frame and sailed through expertly. Eldrian kicked off from the ground, bursting through the room's door and rushed, not upwards, but downwards.

The top floor control room was nothing but a relay. It allowed some simple commands and, of course, a view of the city as you commanded those spells. But to use the true powers of the tower, you needed to enter the room where the magic crystal rested.

Dave, who had taken Eldrian down there on a whim, was a strange one. Pelaros who had allowed Eldrian into the city's control room even stranger still.

Normally, the protocols to allow someone inside the hidden rooms were extremely strict. And it was thanks to this that Eldrian was certain their enemy did not have true control of the tower. Not everyone could be as strange as those two.

'Two, prepare all the knowledge we have on magic towers. I remember we glanced through a few books while staying at Myropsis' home.' As Eldrian said this, he paused.

'Perhaps everyone is that strange? Or is it because I am a Chosen that they skipped the formalities?' Praying that there would be no complications, Eldrian continued to rush down the stairs. Skipping five, sometimes even ten steps.

'Already at hand. Once you reach the bottom room, we can't afford to make any mistakes. So seal of the stairs first.'

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