Arpious of the Planes

"Now… if I was the leader, where would I want to stay… obviously in the back," I mutter before bending my knees even more and launching my body towards the top of the room.

My blades ripped through any gargoyles in the way, and the mist that released from my body petrified any gargoyles that tried to press their way through or tried to sneak attack me from behind.

Soon the floor had disappeared as I was surrounded by what seemed to be starving gargoyles while still in the air, but I didn't lose hope just yet. They basically had created a sphere of gargoyles around me.

[Forbidden Magic: Hermes]

Time stopped, and I activated my bat wings, allowing for more precise control of my body within the air.

Dodging and weaving all the flying gargoyles, I felt my body start to strain once again, signaling the skill was about to end, but I had already reached my goal.

BAM

I landed upside down on the mosaic ceiling as soon as my forbidden magic was deactivated. I thought maybe my landing would break the fragile-looking mosaic at least, but just like last time, there was not even a single scratch.

Kekekekekeke

The gargoyles laughed at me before flying upwards, and just as this happened, I saw a gargoyle flying away from me instead of charging towards me.

"You think you can escape from me?" I mutter before blasting off the ceiling towards the flying away gargoyle.

SHING

I immediately cut the flying stone goblin in half with ease, slightly making my eyebrow raise. I honestly thought it would put up a better fight as it was the leader.

Looking up, I saw the gargoyles freeze in place, and just to make sure, I focused on my godly senses once again.

Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum.

"SHIT! I thought I killed the leader!" I shout.

The gargoyles continued to smile as they quickly snapped their head in my direction and continued to cackle to themselves before flying towards me.

Once again, I ripped through all the gargoyles in my path, which put absolutely no dent in the remaining headcount, but my objective as of now wasn't to kill them but get answers.

My head poked out of the cloud of gargoyles as soon as I ripped through them, and I saw my maids struggling with only a few hundred who assaulted them from every direction.

SHING

I cut straight through the gargoyles, who pressed them in one spot before opening my mouth once again.

"Amelia! I killed the leader, but the horde didn't stop-"

I suddenly heard the laughs of the gargoyles grow even louder, and their bland-looking faces, which resembled an imp, quickly turned into an evil smile that sent a shiver down my spine.

Even from just their glowing red eyes, I could tell these things were menacing, and if let out of this dome… they could wipe out kingdoms.

"These bastards are too smart," I mutter after seeing the gargoyles charge in once again.

I finally figured out what they did… they tried to fake one of their allies being the leader, and once the victim easily killed them, hope would flutter up from their chests before being crushed back down into despair after seeing the gargoyles move once again.

It was the same tactic that I used against the human army when we were at war… the higher somebody's morale, the farther you can plunge them into despair if manipulated properly…

"There's no way these things are just monsters," I mutter while swiping my weapons towards the blood-thirsty monsters once again.

And even as their comrades were being slaughtered in front of them, they weren't phased and continued to press us towards the back of the room.

Damn, we need to get out of this trap; otherwise, our backs will hit the wall, and then everything will be over from there.

"Girls! When I say run forward, run forward with me!" I shout to my maids, who were backing up at a much quicker pace than I was.

[Heavenly War Flag of the True Hero]

A golden flag appears in front of me and proceeds to float in front of me even as the gargoyles lunged towards it.

I assumed the skill was waiting for me to grab it, but both of my hands were full, so I literally bit down onto the handle right where the weight was balanced.

As I held the massive flag in my mouth, I felt my mind become clearer, and any tension that might've subconsciously been induced through possibly fear of dying or maybe even losing… was entirely gone.

VWOOM VWOOM… VWOOM VWOOM… VWOOM VWOOM… VWOOM VWOOM…

The golden flag sent out waves of golden light that filled my maids with morale and even seemed to affect the gargoyles slightly.

Some became warier, and some even hesitated before charging into me, but clearly, somebody was behind them as they charged right back in with the same fearful and wary expressions.

"READY! SET… CHARGE!" I shout, signaling for my maids to run towards the seemingly infinite wave of gargoyles.

[Apocolyptic Weapon Swing]

I repeatedly used this skill, wiping out waves of gargoyles while my maids charged right back in after having their morale forcefully pushed up.

Which wasn't a bad thing until they don't know their limits and end up pushing themselves too far, which could eventually kill them or possibly give them a severe injury.

"HEY! STAY BEHIND ME AND SUPPORT MY SIDES AND BACK! BUT MAKE SURE NOT TO GET TOO CLOSE UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE!" I shout, which they immediately end up following.

My senses were all over the place from the amount of sound they made, blocking any hope of sensing everything around me. Footsteps, laughing, and even some looked to be communicating with each other.

SHING SHING SHING

"Wait… communicating? Why would they need to communicate… hold on… I THINK I MIGHT'VE FOUND THE LEADER! COVER MY BACK!" I shout at the top of my lungs before directing my eyes towards the top of the room.

The leader wasn't on the first layer of gargoyles but right behind it.

The gargoyles had created a sort of cage out of their bodies that blended in with the rest of the horde.

FWOOSH

Flying up, I conserved my energy by not using my weapons anymore and just letting the petrification mist do its job.

KEKKEKEKEEKEKE

The gargoyles seemed to panic as they realized that I found the leader, confirming my suspicion even more.

A nostalgic sadistic smile appeared on my face as I ate up the fearful and panicked expressions that filled my view.

KEKEKEKEKEE

All the gargoyles in the room directed their attention towards me, ignoring my maids and charging right at me, who blasted out a wave of gray mist, petrifying almost a sixth of the remaining gargoyles.

KEKEKEEKEKEKE

They had all surrounded me, but my smile only grew wider as I readied my blade behind me and activating all my summons, which filled the room.

The sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard, and when I looked back, all of my summons were instantly defeated, returning into white sparkles that entered my body.

What the fuck…

I was hoping to buy some space with my summons, but they were instantly slaughtered upon coming in contact with the horde.

KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE

The laughs grew louder as I found myself surrounded by gargoyles once again. They spun around in a spherical shape, preventing any escape as they slowly closed in on me with the occasional anomaly charging right at me. But with just a swing of my katana, they were gone from existence.

KEKEKEKEKEKEKKKEKKE

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I shout as I activate [Apocolyptic Weapon Swing], which tore through hundreds of gargoyles.

But the blade made of air was instantly stopped upon hitting the walls and ceiling of the room.

I continued to tear through the gargoyles until I found the cage-like shape again and didn't hesitate to charge in.

A few gargoyles ripped at my flesh and tried to yank my hair, but I pressed forward while trying to recover with Ichimei.

KEKEKEKEEKEKE

Their laughs had slightly slowed down as I reached the blades of my scythe towards the gargoyle leader's throat.

SHING

I had successfully swung my scythe, but for some reason, I felt it stop in its tracks.

And then, in the next second, all the gargoyles around me split up, seemingly running away from me.

"Huh? Are you scared to die-"

ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I mutter after seeing the gargoyle leader quickly expand and grow 3- no 4- no 9- no 12 times bigger… no, it just kept on growing without any signs of stopping.