The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 214: Interlude - Amarena - Part 2

Chapter 214: Interlude - Amarena - Part 2

There was something strange about the ground as Amarena began to traverse it.

At first it seemed normal, but then it started to become a bit slippery. The more jagged portions had the best traction, but the snow made it hard to tell which parts would be safe to walk on.

She’d encountered a similar phenomenon traveling in the mountains, but never to this extent. It was almost like the entire ground was covered in ice, and the closer she got to the city the harder it became to keep purchase.

No wonder only Cocyutans fight in the north. Amarena thought bitterly to herself as she stepped on another seemingly firm patch of ground only to immediately step back as it started to crack. This place would seem like paradise to demons from the Lands of Despair.

Once it started. the ice before her didn’t stop cracking. More cracks began to propagate outward, like some sort of demented net that groaned and crackled and split, revealing that underneath all the ice wasn’t ground, but water.

Just as it finally struck Amarena that she was walking on frozen water, something massive vibrated the water beneath her, a mass of living mana attached to-

Grck- "GROOAAAAR!"

From out of the ice burst a massive creature, its long neck covered by a mane of algae-green and brown hair that led towards a blade-shaped head whose mouth gaped with twin rows of serrated teeth. Its skin was dark blue-grey, scaled along the spine and belly but fleshy in the middle, and vicious claws tipped its flippers.

As it roared, its yellow eyes locked onto Amarena, and its neck started to whip forward-

SNAP

The creature’s jaws closed with a loud, scratchy sound, and the air in front of Amarena filled with a thick melange of rotted fish and blood.

It was enough to make her gag, which cost her a precious moment to notice that the ice was now cracking in her direction.

One leg went down into the water as the creature tried to surge onto the ice. Only its awkwardness with its flippers kept it from reaching her as she scrambled to pull herself back to the surface, flopping half of her body back onto the ice as the other half followed her leg.

The creature snapped its jaws closer and Amarena rolled away, using her momentum to rise to her feet as the water steamed off of her demonically hot skin.

Reaching for her sword. She sliced at the dragon-like monster’s snout, leaving a shallow cut that bled a deep, dark red.

The monster roared, and out of frustration, Amarena roared back, smacking her tail against the ice as she flared her arms and took on her war form.

Growing in size, Amarena could feel her skin thickening into hide and scales, her claws grew longer and more vicious, one hand taking up the entire grip of her blade.

Before the creature could recover, she flashed forward, leveraging her speed as she clawed and stabbed her way up its neck and to the brow of its skull.

It began to thrash, but with her accelerated perceptions, Amarena was able to keep hold and finally stand atop the creature’s face, slashing into one eye. She tried to finish with a stab straight into the creature’s forehead but as soon as she tried her sword skated along its scales to catch along a horn.

She lost focus a moment later, coming out of her acceleration to find herself cast away by the creature’s thrashing, landing heavily and rolling to a stop against something hard.

As her war form melted back to normalcy, she felt a sharp pain in her arm, and looking down she realized that she couldn’t move it. The roars of the monster drew her gaze a moment later, and she had one last view of the thrashing, bleeding serpent - her sword glinting where it was still stuck in its horn - before it dove back into the blue-gray waters and disappeared, leaving behind a froth of red-tinged foam atop the lake.

For a long moment, Amarena just sat there, panting. She wanted her sword back, for it was the last thing she had to remember her father by, but she was injured and low on mana. She couldn’t tell if her arm was broken or dislocated, but she could tell that she was starting to feel very, very cold - especially on those parts of her that had gone into the water.

"I can’t... can’t die here..." she told herself, forcing herself to her feet as soon as she had her breath.

She turned, realizing that the object she’d struck was not a raised walkway but a pier extending out over the lake. The waters beneath the pier were hard-frozen, and too shallow for the beast to follow her, not that it had seemed inclined to after losing an eye.

Swearing to herself the entire time, Amarena forced herself to climb the rise leading past the pier, spotting no one as she beheld the few buildings out by the shore. Looking around, she saw that one pier was almost completely destroyed, and a sign in Common read "Danger: Joermagr" with a stylized depiction of the very creature she’d just fought.

She had to laugh, thinking that it would have been great to find such a sign on the other side of the lake.

As she walked through the lakeside port, she contemplated whether or not she should break into one of the buildings to see to her wounds and prepare. As dishonorable as it felt to her concept of self, approaching the gate while weak would not present the best image... But then again, she’d already lost her sword. It was by sheer luck that the satchel containing her previous spoils was still strapped to the back of her belt. Her bag with the last of the murderhorn meat had probably fallen into the lake. She would never be at her best no matter how she approached the Valrians, and so she might as well arrive as she was.

A wounded warrior, looking for comrades.

She was halfway to the wall when the orange glow of of its massive double-doors cracked open, and a portcullis rose to allow soldiers astride horses and sliepnirs - which resembled six-legged horses with clawed feet instead of hooves and shark-like faces - rode out.

As soon as they came near Amarena, they split their formation, surrounding her. They did not draw their weapons, and she did not make a hostile move as she paused her steps.

One of them, a Valrian-marked woman in full plate armor spoke, her voice only slightly muffled by her helmet.

"We saw your fight from the parapets, demon. What are you doing here?"

"Seeking strength," Amarena answered. "I heard Valrians are strong, but perhaps not if someone like I could defeat that beast on my own."

"There are different kinds of strength, demon, and I’m in no mood for jests. So answer truthfully. Do you intend to bring the Heavenswar down upon us?"

"I intend what I have said," Amarena asserted. "I would learn strength from those who have it, no matter how you define it. The Heavenswar of today is not my concern, only mastering myself."

"Are you, a demon, saying you wish to become a Valrian?" the woman asked.

"If you would have me," Amarena chuckled. "Otherwise, I would be a poor fight for you and yours in this state."

There were murmurs amongst the riders. Amarena ignored them, fixing her gaze on the leader she was speaking to.

"It is not our way to kill the helpless. For you to become a Valrian, you will need someone to speak for you. Our order is sustained by foundlings and bloodlines, and you are of neither."

Amarena had the distinct impression she was being glared at, she glared back.

A moment later the woman turned. "Are there any that would speak for this demon? To take her under their wing. To take on the burden of her honor until she can stand alone?"

A chuckle rose up from among the other horsemen.

Wrath stirred within Amarena. It was one thing to be disrespected, but to be laughed at? She had half a mind to burn every ounce of life she had left to show them-

"I will speak for her," a woman’s voice boomed.

Walking down the path in the snow was a giant of a woman, one who stood above most of the heights of those in the saddle. She had a grim face and cold eyes that looked upon Amarena in a way that reminded her of Leviathan.

Like the others, she was dressed in a full suit of plate armor, one that had been molded to her frame like a second skin, with little ornamentation except for the valor marks carved along the vambraces of both arms, shoulders, and the chest plate.

The chuckles stopped immediately.

When the giant stepped into the circle, the horses backed away, allowing her to approach Amarena, who greeted her.

"My name is Amarena, Daughter of Leviathan." Some of the riders hissed behind their helmets, but Amarena continued her introduction, determined not to let her practice go to waste. "A demon who wishes to become a Valrian, to master herself and her art..." She bowed her head.

"Raise your head, Wrath-Daughter, and follow. You will be healed, and then I shall speak to the Elders on your behalf."

"Warmancer-" the leader of the riders started to protest, but was cut off by the giant raising her hand.

"I have spoken," the giantess declared. "She will learn our ways, or I will hold true to the title I have been given."

"What title is that?" Amarena blurted.

The giantess turned. "They call me Demon Breaker."

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