Mad God

A group of people stood on a hill overlooking a lush, golden field where wheat was swinging as the wind made them dance. Yet now there were no farmers present; the mills in the distance were turning their wheels in silence, without any human presence. Before the previously spotted, incoming demonic contingent reached this place, every human was evacuated. Now, Xendar and his group were preparing for an ambush and extermination of the invading demonic forces.

"Too bad that all this food is going to be wasted!" Zern sighed, standing next to Xendar, who felt like he was back in the old days, taking up the role of a general once again.

"The Empire's reserves are strong! It is going to survive, and wheat can be planted once again."

Out, hiding amongst the large field, waiting for Xendar's signal, Isha, Poli, Emi, 01, and 02 were ready to move at a moment's notice. Until then, they suppressed all of their auras and ensured their presence would not be picked up by anyone. What they were planning to pull off was to burn around 100 incoming demons into nothing but ashes. As most of them were of Fire affinity, they would synergize with each other, bringing down a curtain of flame that would prevent anyone from escaping. Poli's affinity was here to shock and stun those on the ground, while his sword, flying through the air, would cut off anyone from freely flying away. Of course, Xendar would be the central linchpin, responsible for organizing their attacks and overseeing the battle, while Zern's role was to ensure they won't use the ground to escape and prevent them from tunneling into it.

"They are coming!" Ariana's voice arrived, who was far away, serving as their scout and an extra layer of protection, eliminating the demons' sharp senses with her powers and ensuring they won't discover the ambush waiting for them.

"Get ready!" Xendar ordered, disappearing into the tall field of wheat, alongside Zern.

The arriving horde of demons all was in their humanoid forms but most of them, from the chest up, retained their animalistic features. It was evident from the start that the 'troops' were all piranha demons, their heads featuring a protruding lower jaw filled with sharp, multiple rows of teeth.

"They are greatly agitated!" Ariana's voice traveled to the others. "And hungry. Not seeing humans for days, marching from town to town… they are starving! And not for food but for simply to shed blood."

"No wonder there are so many of them." Poli replied with a slight chuckle, "I heard these kinds of fishes hunt in swarms, ripping and tearing cows apart, cleaning down their flesh to the bones in an instant!"

"Even if that is true," Emi answered, "they will be nothing but grilled meat soon!"

"Yey!" Kyu's cheerful voice chimed in from nowhere.

"Stay!" Toobu's order echoed in Kyu's head, "Tsk… next time, someone else has to be assigned to keep her in check!" He grumbled, making the others almost laugh out loud.

Toobu, Qeena, and Kyu were posted farther away as a backup force, ready to rush in as cavalry if needed. Toobu would also play a role in extinguishing the fires if they spiraled out of control… and well… Kyu would be the one to clean up the battlefield. A part she was happily content with!

"Hurry up and cook them! I'm hungry!" She continued.

"Is it true that she could eat all the incoming armies?" Qeena asked, receiving an affirmative answer from everyone else simultaneously.

"Yes."

"Keep yourself in check!" Xendar grumbled, aiming his voice at Kyu especially, "Even if your mother is not here, as your grandpa, I'll smack your bottom if I must!"

"Hauh… o-o-okay! Kyu will be a good girl!" She answered hurriedly, immediately reverting into a shy little kid, playing on Xendar's heartstrings after hearing his stern voice.

"Get ready! Cut the chatter!" Xendar ordered as everyone went still, unmoving and one with their surroundings.

The army of piranhas, if they could be called that, were marching in multiple columns, walking through the field of wheat. They were trailing from the previous milling village, going towards the next on the far horizon, looking for humans to eat. After coming to shore and building their outpost, they quickly ate up their reserves, which were nothing but dead bodies littering the previous battlefield. Their orders were simple: Kill. Kill… and KILL. Yet there was nobody to kill! The human armies retreated, setting up defensive positions further and reinforcing and closing down most roads that led into the heart of the land.

For now, the demons who were finally on the land were left with nothing to do, their blood burning but no outlet for their urges, sparking battles even between the different species of themselves. Those who were in the Demigod realm were not just held back by their own now but by the realization that traveling on the surface is nowhere the same as crossing the ocean. Without the proper skill to manage thousands of their species in a well-mannered, effective way, they quickly devolved into nothing but bandit-like groups. Easy pickings to a force like the Empire and their thousands of years of history on how to wage wars. Especially against demonic hordes.

"They are just stronger beasts…." Xendar thought to himself as he had fought and led armies against demonic hordes from the north before the changes brought forward by his daughter calmed down the forest. Watching the piranhas, the way they bickered amongst each other, sometimes even biting into one another, he couldn't help but shake his head. "Gods… bullshit!" he said to himself. "A God would take care of its followers and lead them towards a better future like Lady Rumira… these are just pawns in the hand of a madman! Hmph, I can't wait to see my daughter kicking their ass back to the pages of fables!" he smirked, but he would never say it aloud.

When they arrived where they wanted them to be, Xendar quickly gave the signal. The first and quickest to act was Isha. The ring of fire originating from her speedily surrounded the army of piranhas, startling them. The next who acted was Emi, turning into her fox form, wielding 7 tails behind her back. Opening her mouth, a bright point lit up at the tip of her tongue. It was pure fire, glowing in a white light, surging forward towards the group of fish people.

Of course, the invading demons were not defenseless. Their leaders, those who were at a high enough level to rein in their brethren, stepped forward, forming liquid shields, blocking Emi's attack. Their defenses were not made out of water but a mix of their saliva and vomit, still containing chunks of their previous meals. As soon as fire landed on them, the smell they released was stomach-turning, but it served to further aggravate their brethren's battle-hungry state. Rushing out from behind their cover of leaders, not even bothering with the option to escape, they wanted to swarm the now immobile Emi while she cast her spell.

As they split into two streams of flesh, going for her from two sides, 01 and 02, alongside Poli, sprung into action. The two 'numbers' worked perfectly in harmony, forming a fire net between them like some kind of mythical fisherman, casting it out towards the dozens of demons, rushing into it head first. On the other hand, Poli jumped into the ranks of the other 'stream' with a flash, wielding two swords in his hands. Both were made out of blue electricity and where his missing arm was, now a fully electric one made out of his own energy, wielded the second blade. He was moving quickly, starting a massacre while his main, real sword circled above them like an executioner's weapon, ready to deliver the punishment.

"I may not even need to act!" Xendar crossed his arms with pride, watching the battle play out. "Zern, go, join them!" He ordered with a small smile.

At his order, the ground started to crack and open up before those who were holding back Emi's white blaze of fire. Earthly hands stretched out, shaking them, dragging them downwards, disturbing their lines, and just as it happened, Poli's sword came down from the sky, decapitating them, delivering them their just fate.

"Pull!" 01 at 02 shouted, and the two, with one move of their hands, fished out dozens of piranha demons. Their net burnt deep into their fish scales, releasing a putrid smell as they tried to defend against it by releasing the mucus from their spores. Yet it was only a temporary solution as when it got burnt up; their flesh was the next.

"Coming through!" Toobu's voice arrived as Isha's fire curtain opened up. He rode in, sitting atop Qeena, who was in her demonic, chicken form, running at full speed, ramming into the backline of the demons. From one hand of Toobu came extreme coldness, siphoning away the demons' powers, and from the other, it spewed out a sickly colored, brownish, and greenish mix of flames right at their backs.

"They may have numbers but not strength!" Isha joined in, wielding fire as clothes, smiting demons left and right with a slap of her hand. Even if they tried to bite into her, before their jaws could close in, they got burnt by her fire, blowing apart their skulls with a miniature explosion.

"I want in; I want to play too!" Kyu's impatient voice arrived from a distance.

"Let the rest be hers!" Xendar chuckled, clapping. The sky quickly darkened as rain arrived, releasing thick trails of steam from the fires as it put them out around them. This left the surviving demons even more confused, as the visibility dropped to almost zero instantly.

By the time the wind picked up strength and cleared it, none of their attackers had remained there. Looking around, they could only see the destroyed wheat field, still glowing with orange embers. Rain continuously poured down from the sky. It was like night had come, only lit by the blue lightning rumbling above them.

"Yey~ My turn!" arrived a loud, cheerful chuckle, and when the survivors turned towards the source of the voice, they saw a 20-meter-tall, giant bear-like demon standing on all fours, towering above them. Kyu's fur, where it was black, was pitch black, like the abyss itself, and where it was white, it was bright, almost as if it was glowing with holy light. They were demons; even if blinded by the rage of Skoorn, they now felt their primal instinct of fear kick in. A kind of fear that only prey could feel when they looked into their predators' eyes.

"When did she grow this big?" Emi asked, also feeling some kind of unnatural fear rise inside of herself, watching from a distance. Everyone was standing next to Xendar, watching how Kyu vacuumed up not just the living piranhas but the already dead ones, munching and crunching them with a happy laugh.

"She has been spoiled rotten." Ariana arrived, looking on with a calm smile. "I am a bit afraid of what will become of her! She still only looks like a preteen when in human form, but look at her… she is huge! So is her appetite! Something is not right with her." she explained with a serious tone.

"Well…" Xendar smiled, opening his arms wide "Then it is a good thing my daughter picked her up, no? It is her problem to do something about it!" He laughed, drawing similar chuckles out of the rest. "When she finished her meal, we move! We still have a dozen more targets to hit for this week, so rest up while you can! This was only one battle of many to come! We will hunt down everything that dares to enter our land!"