Draven was not ready for the attack. He crossed his arms and bended his knees somewhat, and the burning aura surrounding him folded inwardly upon him, becoming thinner yet more concentrated, and more of a shield. Several of the apparitions latched on to him, an a huge explosion engulfed his body...
The smoke slowly cleared, and Draven was in the same location, though his aura was slightly dimmer. Many strands of his hair had become loose from the tie holding them together and the edges of his cape were somewhat tattered. His scowl revealed that he had taken a good deal of the force of the explosion...
"Tch! It seems you are also powerful for a mere demon..."
The last meteor slammed into a half collapsed building, finishing it off. Draven straightened himself in the air, as if he were standing on solid ground, placing his right hand on his hip and holding out the communications orb in his left.
"Say, I know a couple of guys you'd get along with real nice... See, a couple of years ago we were toying with the prospects of creating portals to new dimensions and such... when we happened to land in one of particular interest...
"This was a fiery plane, filled with millions of brutish demons of all sorts. They didn't take kindly to us and attacked. Killed a few good men too... But they also were fighting against themselves... It seemed their exalted leader, someone named Qor or something, had been killed. They were fighting over who should be their next ruler..."
Draven removed a scroll from his inner cape pocket, holding it in his right hand.
"Long story short, they didn't like their plane of existence very much. So I made a little... deal with them, demons being as unfit for self rule that they are..."
The scroll unfurled, revealing some demonic symbols...
"Freedom from their world, in exchange for loyalty... I would grant them access to this world, and allow them to enact their unholy vengeance on all creatures that were not cursed to be bonded to their plane-- excepting members of my empire of course-- and in exchange, they would serve me and hail me as their new king..."
The scroll rolled back up. Draven's smirk became more sinister and his aura brighter.
"So how does one pull off a summoning this big? Well now, allow me to show you..."
Draven's palm opened up, revealing the glass orb. A small translucent image of Julian appeared above it.
"Elite Julian, move into position and activate the black crystals. The time has come..."
----
(Not airships, just normal ships, though the Posidon X looks more advanced.)
King Henri lead the group into the town's streets, more onlookers taking note on the sides.
"I've directed everyone with the plague to be moved to sick houses we've set up in the capital, so I doubt you would find anyone in this town with it. But be wary of dark auras... it seems everyone that has been infected possesses one..."
They continued walking, now out of the town and towards a mountain pass.
"It is a strange disease. The victim is completely incapacitated, but we've had no deaths as a result... they just lie there, pale and breathing shallow, as if on the brink of death..."
They came to a single guard standing at the base of a large hill.
"Good morning, your majesty. Ah, Sir Ven! Glad to see you back!"
"Glad to be back, friend."
Upon closer inspection, the side of the hill actually contained a hidden doorway. The guard stepped back and the door opened upward like a latch, grass and all attached to it.
Henri turned to Zeros' and Duilin.
"This is a shortcut to our capital. It would take days going through the mountains, but we've created a tunnel straight through. We keep it hidden though, since I'm sure you understand the implications if this were to be discovered by our enemies..."
The group entered the dark tunnel.
----
Julian nodded at the receipt of the message.
"Yes, my Lord..."
The floating island, having regained its original altitude, now began to slowly float westward, in the direction of the center of the continent...
An invisible blast rocked the edge of the barrier surrounding the island, leaving visible red cracks, which slowly began to mend themselves...
----
James turned his head as Felix fell from the island. Huh, looks like he was telling the truth...
A voice came from the orb James was holding behind his back.
"It's starting. Better get back inside."
James put the orb back into his pocket, looking back to Celer.
"Well then, I must thank you. You've been a useful source of information, at the very least..."
His head moved up, looking past the man.
"Rufus! Hans! Let's go!"
A thin blue aura surrounded the man, and he began to levitate backwards and upwards.
Rufus barreled down on his opponent, his feet cracking the ground around Ogen. His fist stopped an inch away from the man's head.
"WWHAT?!"
Hans stopped as well.
"Are you serious, man?"
James shouted back as he flew back towards the now moving palace.
"These four are no longer a threat. Look, you do what you want but the boss says come back..."
Rufus clenched his teeth and stared at Ogen for a second, then turned his head and spat on the ground. His rage began to disappear, his muscles slowly reduced to their normal size. His scowl melted away to a warm smile.
His fist opened up and he brought his hand higher before giving Ogen a huge slap on the back-- the kind that knocks the wind out of you.
"HA HA HA!! That was great! Let's do that again sometime, buddy."
The green aura engulfed the man once more and he shot off into the sky after the island.
Hans wasn't as enthused. He gave his opponent another glance, and then shot off skyward, zipping ahead of the other two, after picking up his metallic tube of course.
As James passed the underside of the island, chunks of ice formed around the upside down cone of rock, sealing off the hole Felix used to enter...
