Your body moves back towards the wall, and your hand reaches out into the void. With a flash, a glowing blue shield appears in your hand. The shield formed from the magic of Entomoth. It flashes one last time, and you are standing in the next room of the house, clutching the shield.
A rush of movement fills the space, and you pull the shield left and right to deflect the blows of the two large men. The men pause for a moment and you swipe at Elder Grime with your sword. You easily slice through his neck, and the head tumbles away. You deflect a thrust from the guard’s large sword and shove the knife into his eye. He crumbles to ash, and you leap backwards. The door is unlocks, and you make your way out of the house.
Everywhere you look, you see demons, many more than you can count. The flames that surround you puff up, and you see a flicker of alarm in their eyes. You open your shield and the flames rush over the demons, consuming them and bathing you in a soothing feeling of energy.
You look at the swarm of demons, and you try to think of a plan. The demons will not attack you, or they will if they cannot defeat you in the Void. You beckon for them to join you, and they quickly swarm towards you, surrounding you on all sides. Your eyes glow and you call upon Entomoth. The smaller iridescent insects move about you, their wings fluttering to create a humming noise.
The demons scream out in pain and confusion. Panic begins to fill the air and you see movement all around you. You charge forward, and the swarm follows closely behind you. The ground begins to shake and you run in front of your swarm and point. The swarm moves towards the group of demons, and they scatter in different directions. You leap over the demons, ignoring the pain and anger in their eyes.
You attempt to call upon the power of the Void, but your body refuses. Gritting your teeth, you push onward. You conjure memories of Jack, and the comfort he gave you. Your body begins to relax, it is enough, your memories guiding you forward.
The swarm moves down the street, scouring the environment for any survivors. A large man sits near a tree, sniveling and gripping his injured arm. You call out to the swarm, and they obey your commands. The man screams in pain as the swarm envelops him. You reach out for the urn tucked under his arm, and a panicked look of fear is emblazoned on his face. You swipe at him with your shield, and he reels back. At this point the swarm moves away from him. He gives out a huge sigh of relief, and you step forward.
You smile at the man, and then kick at him one last time, sending his body into the broken cane field.
The swarm moves on, and you turn your head down, avoiding the gazes of those who have been stricken. As you do so, you notice a small boy cowering in a ditch; you call out to the swarm. They move over the boy, and he screams in terror as he realizes the swarm is not going to leave. You circle the boy, and he pleads with you to help him.
You hesitate before reaching down to help him, and the fear intensifies in his eyes. You call out to the swarm again and they move away from the boy, moving up into the streets to survey the area. The boy looks up and tears run down his cheeks. He shouts out for help, but there is no answer. You step out of the aisle you guard and move close to the boy.
“Where is your parents, boy?”
The boy tells you his name is Jack, and that his parents are at work and could not be reached in time to save them from the demons. You tell him to head back to your house, and that you will protect him for now. Jack stands up and you take his hand. The boy feels warm in your grasp.
“What is your name?”
You hear the swarm scream out and you react on pure instinct. Your body flips forward, your hand twisting the arm of the boy to get him off his feet. The insects close in around the boy, and you leap backwards, keeping him safe from the attacks. The stone flies over your head and slams into your side.
Jack flies out of your clutches and lands on the ground, crying. You turn around and flip forward, placing your body in front of Jack. The mace slams into your stomach, and you feel the air rush out of you. Clutching your stomach, you roll forward and start to crawl away from the demon. You hear his laughter behind you, and his voice is hysterical.
“You cannot win. We will defeat your troupes, and then the boy.”
“I cannot win,” you whisper to yourself as you fall down to your knees. You feel a hand clutch your shoulder, and you awaken in Jack’s room.
“What happened to me?” You ask Jack.
“I don’t know. First you started screaming and thrashing. Then you became blue and started to float.”
You lean over and vomit onto the floor. Jack jumps off of the bed and cries, clutching the blanket. You move over to him and wipe the sweat from his brow.
“I need to go, the boy is in danger. You need to stay here.” You grab his hand and pinch his palm. The mark of Entomoth forms, and you move your other hand. He has protection, and if the demon attacks him, he is being warned now.
You move across the table, and put on your boots. Grabbing your sword and shield, you slam the sword home to reveal the sheath. The scabbard has the mark of Entomoth on it as well.
“Don’t leave me here. I won’t make it alone.”
“I will return as often as I can. I will protect you until then.”
You hear a soft pounding on the door, and you lean over to kiss Jack on the forehead and then slip out the door. Your horse is already saddled, and your men ride out to meet the demons. You draw out your mace and hold it in your hands, and you swish it through the air, out in front of you. The mounted demons gather and charge at you. As they draw closer, you can feel the rage and anger of the creatures in their eyes. Out in front of you, you see the swarm, buzzing and circling the demons.
The demons clamor up against your men, and you feel the heat from the pikes on your horses. The wind picks up as the demons cling to the beasts. You hear the fallen ground shaking, and you can see the shadows stretch out across the lands. The scabbard produces green fire and a shield is created around you.
You feel a hoarse whisper from the demons, and your men begin to fall.
“You cannot win,” a voice screams. It is a young girl. You can feel the dark power in them, the hate that they feel for you.
“This is my home, I will not give it up.”
You strike out with your mace at the demons, piercing through their skulls. All around you, you see the demons degrade, their clothes falling away. Their bodies are in pain, falling to the ground. You hear the screeching of the swarm, and you tighten your grip on your shield. Green fire is thrown in all directions, burning the monsters to cinders.
The swarm moves around your horse, lighting fire to the demons that are still standing. In an instant, you stand in the charred wasteland. You hear the sound of metal on metal, and you look to the swarm. The swarm has surrounded a young woman and they are taking her away. The swarm is moving her toward the forest, and you feel a surge of power come from her.
“The children of the demons are in danger! She is the only one who can stop them!”
You feel two hands on your shoulders and you turn to face the man.
“Sir, you must protect the boy from any harm. We are heading back to the town.”
You turn back to the woman, she is getting farther and farther away. The swarm swarms around her, and she screams out loudly. You feel your body move faster, and you see the green flames follow you. You grab her hand and shout her name. You watch as the green fire surrounds your horse and you.
“I can’t go with you! I must save the children!”
The fire engulfs you, and all sense of time disappears for you. All that fills your mind is pain and darkness. All that you know is the pain of bodies hitting you. All that you know is the pain of fire hitting me, and bodies trying to cover your body. I cannot move, cannot change. All I can feel is the pain. I feel as if I have become one with the fire, yet I am broken. I can feel my heart, but all it is doing is beating, it does not feel the pain. I am scared. I am alone here, I am afraid. I try to move away, but I don’t know how to. The fire is all around me, engulfing me. All I can feel is the fire.
Why do I feel the pain? I don’t understand. I feel the pain of everything that lives. I can feel myself, I can feel myself living….outside. What is the outside? I hear images. I hear sounds. I hear smells. They are familiar. A voice. A voice calls to me. I want to go to it. I want to find the voice. I want to know.
Your eyes snap open, and you see yourself lying on the ground. A small figure is lying next to you. You reach out, but you cannot move. You feel as if your body is heavy. Energy slowly replaces that feeling in your body, and you feel yourself moving. You sit up, the Demon Hunter up. The small figure stares at you, bawling her head off.
“A-am I dead?”
You nod, and the small child throws her arms around your body, hugging you tightly. Tears streak down your face, and you lean down and kiss her on the cheek.
“Welcome back.”
She pulls away from you, staring at you in terror. You move over to the small child. She is still crying, and pulling at her hair.
“I had this dream of you and I that I could not remember.”
You look at the girl, trying to see if you recognize her. She has a sweet face, and her hair is a messy blonde mess. She has blue eyes, and you feel you can recognize the girl, but you cannot place her.
“I was so worried.”
You lean next to the girl, and you look her in the eyes.
“I’m Arrow. It is nice to meet you.”
She grips your arm, and you feel a warm fire burning in her. She feels innocent, and you feel it is an honor to protect her.
“You are a Demon Hunter?”
You flash her your sword.
“Yes, I am. Don’t worry.”
She stares at the sword and then looks at you. She smiles.
“He is here.”
You look around, but you can see nothing. You can hear nothing. The air is silent, and all you can see is the little girl embracing you. It feels both nice and odd, but you don’t feel anxious. She sits up, and you watch as she looks around.
“How will I be able to see him if I can’t see magic?”
You hear a loud yell out, and the girl jumps into your arms.
“What is happening?”
You look over to her, and then at the ground where the magic circle that you had laid on the ground. It is flickering, and you can see the erratic nature of the magic.
“We are under attack.”
You hug the girl, and you sit up. Arrows flies at you, and you dodge every wave. You catch every arrow and throw it back at the swarm. You jump up, and throw fire at the swarm. Before you can jump again, arrows fly at you. You deflect them, and you drop down. Arrows fly up at you, and you stab out at them. As you jump up again, you leave a fire trail behind you. In front of you, you see the swarm drawing closer. You think back to what the small child said.
“He is here,” she says.
You stand up, and all around you the demons fall. Ten archers appear, surrounding you. You grab the girl and the demons draw near. They grab at you, and you scream out, swinging at them. The arrows pierce the demons, and the demons howl in agony.
You swing the girl from side to side, and you feel a strong gust of air move through the air. You feel yourself warm up, and you look around, trying to find the source. Shadows appear at your side, and you feel yourself whole again. To your right is the swarm, and before them, you can see a small girl holding a down rod. You see her hand tighten, and the arrow releases. It screams through the air and strikes a demon in the leg.