The Damned Demon

Asher stepped onto the front deck of the Skycrawler, where Eradicator stood with unwavering focus, her eyes scanning the horizon. 

The control panels before her flickered with an array of luminescent runes and gauges, but her attention was as much on the dark, ominous skies as on the instruments.

Perched on her shoulder, a small cat with glossy black fur and piercing red eyes meticulously groomed its paw. Its two fluffy tails swished gently, almost in rhythm with the hum of the Skycrawler's engines.

Sensing the king's approach, Eradicator turned smoothly, her movements precise and efficient. The cat, seemingly undisturbed, agilely climbed atop her helmet, settling comfortably.

Eradicator bowed slightly, her voice even and devoid of emotion, "Your Majesty."

Asher offered a surprised smile, "I wasn't expecting you to bring Twilight along."

Twilight acknowledged his presence with a soft meow, its eyes briefly meeting Asher's before returning to its grooming.

Eradicator's tone remained neutral, "Twilight requires care. There was no one else to attend to her needs during my absence."

Asher suppressed a chuckle, the image of the stoic Eradicator as a cat caretaker amusing him more than he cared to admit, "It's quite surprising. I never took you for a cat lover."

She replied without missing a beat, "Twilight is... efficient in her role."

She then asked right after, "Do you have any instructions for me, Your Majesty? Anything I should be aware of?"

Asher glanced briefly at the control panels, "Nothing officially. But this ship is equipped with automatic navigation and threat detection arrays. So you could take a break, you know. The ship will alert us if there's any danger."

She remained unmoved, her gaze fixed, "Vigilance is part of my duty, Your Majesty. And standing does not bother me."

*Beeeep!*

Suddenly, the control deck emitted a series of urgent beeps, breaking the quietude. A small screen flickered to life, displaying a cluster of red signals that blinked ominously.

"Danger ahead?" Asher mused aloud, his eyes narrowing as he peered into the distance. Far ahead, where the sky churned with stormy clouds and streaks of red lightning, an ominous formation gathered.

Eradicator's fingers danced over a holographic map, highlighting several red circles. 

She turned to the king, her voice steady, "A powerful storm lies a few miles ahead. Shall we continue our course, or descend to a lower altitude, Your Majesty?"

Asher knew such storms were typical of a hellish world like this, and they were random, abrupt, and completely unpredictable. 

Such storms can even kill a Soul Devourer. It only made him realize how easy people had it on Earth, where they could travel without any worries.

"What's your assessment?" Asher asked with furrowed brows.

Eradicator weighed her options carefully, "Both choices carry significant risk but one of them is riskier. Descending exposes us to potential ground attacks, making our position vulnerable. It will be easy for our enemies to gather on the ground while having territorial advantage."

"Hmm…that is true," Asher nodded as he also thought about it. Traveling was very risky in a world like this, especially if you have a lot of enemies. 

This was the main reason why people chose to not travel too far from their homeland unless they were part of a very powerful kingdom. If they were, they wouldn't be wrong to be confident that nobody would dare attack them.

But his kingdom wasn't really the strongest, and there were still a lot of enemies who wouldn't be afraid to try and kill him while he was away from the protection of his kingdom. There were also no dragons accompanying him to deter such enemies.

Rowena would have sent her dragon or some other less powerful ones, but they would become very unpredictable and dangerous without the presence of their master. Most dragons didn't even have a master and listened to only Flaralis. So that wasn't an option at all.

Eradicator added after considering the second option, "Navigating through the storm keeps us less visible to any threats, but the ship will divert all energy to defense, limiting our offensive capabilities. Our Dreadwings cannot accompany us through such turbulence. We will be alone in that storm, which would take us at least an hour to cross."

Asher pondered for a moment, analyzing the strategic implications of each choice.

Finally, he made his decision, "Then there is no doubt here. We'll take our chances with the storm. Have the Dreadwings fly under the storm and regroup with us on the other side."

Asher knew the small army of Dreadwings on their own would have less chance of getting attacked because it wouldn't be worth the effort for anyone to attack a small army of them that has no valuable target among them.

And by choosing to pass through the storm, the chances of anyone attacking them will be way less and the ship will be alright as well.

Eradicator nodded, her expression unchanging as she relayed the orders.

The Skycrawler's engines hummed louder, bracing for the impending challenge.

"Is there trouble ahead?"

Asher turned around to see Silvan walking in with a worried look while looking around at the skies.

Asher nodded and said, "Yes. Tell everyone to brace for a storm ahead and keep a sharp lookout on our surroundings."

Silvan nodded with a serious look as he went back inside.

"What's going on? I heard some sounds coming from the ship," Leonidas walked into the cabin with furrowed brows, followed by Caelum, who immediately looked out through one of the windows with a focused gaze. 

Silvan was about to answer when Caelum let out a long sigh, "It seems we are heading into a dangerous storm."

"Oh devils, I was praying for not one to come at least until we reached close to our destination. But now we are already facing one?" Leonidas shook his head in frustration.

"Don't worry. The ship will protect us," Naida walked in with a reassuring smile as the rest of the three bowed in respect of her presence. She then added with a narrowed gaze, "But what we should be concerned about is any outside force attacking us, even if the storm should discourage most of them."

Silvan nodded firmly, "You are right, Lady Naida. His Majesty told us to keep a sharp lookout since we would be somewhat vulnerable while passing through the storm. I will go and let my brother know as well."

On the outside, the 100 Dreadwings, each with a warrior astride, veered downward, diverging from the Skycrawler's path as it bravely ventured into the heart of the storm. 

The Skycrawlwer was like a fearsome beast as it plunged into the tempest that sprawled across hundreds of miles.

Inside, Asher stood steadfast beside Eradicator, feeling the ship shudder as it absorbed the force of the lightning strikes. 

The defensive barriers, glowing with an intense energy, were holding strong against the relentless assault of nature.

Asher observed, his eyes scanning the chaotic dance of electric arcs outside. He knew any ordinary Soul Devourer caught in this would be annihilated in barely few minutes.

Eradicator maintained her unwavering focus on the controls, navigating through the tumultuous skies. During a storm, a manual touch was necessary to make it through with as little damage as possible.

The ship's defensive systems were pushed to their limits, ensuring their safety amidst the storm's fury.

After a couple of minutes,

*Beep! Beep!*

Suddenly, the calm within the cabin was shattered by the sharp beep of the radar. Multiple dots appeared on the screen, rapidly closing in on their position.

Asher leaned forward, his eyes narrowing, "Those cant' be our Dreadwings...Shit…We're under attack!" 

Eradicator's hand moved swiftly across the control panel, preparing for combat, "It seems they are not deterred by the storm," she stated, her voice cold and composed.

"Which idiots would dare to attack us in a storm like this?" Asher mumbled as he looked out through the windows.

Eradicator closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and uttering a single word, "Werewolves."

Asher focused his eyes as he peered through the thick, fortified windows of the Skycrawler, and the shadows of winged creatures began to become clearer, their forms slicing through the tempest with unnatural grace, "Werewolves in a storm like this...They can't survive the storm, right?" he murmured, his voice laced with both annoyance and surprised at their audacity.

Even if they had thick fur, it was not as if they could survive this storm.

"Yes, they can...in a roundabout way," Naida suddenly walked in before Eradicator could answer, her voice carrying an edge of seriousness.

Asher turned around with furrowed brows as Naida explained, "Those winged creatures you just saw are Stormroamers, capable of withstanding the fiercest storms. They're native to regions where such weather is commonplace. They had adapted to such conditions. But to tame them, these werewolves must be from a powerful clan, and it could be either—"

*Krechk!!*

The ship suddenly gave a slight shudder, and the sound of something akin to claws scraping against the barrier echoed through the cabin.

Silvan suddenly burst into the deck, his expression etched with urgency, "Your Majesty, it's the Rustblood Clan! There are dozens of them, and they've managed to attach themselves to the ship's exterior!"

Asher turned swiftly, his eyes flicking to Naida and then back to the window, "Rustblood Clan?" He clenched his fists, feeling the tension in the air.

"This is no random attack. They are targeting us specifically!" Leonidas came in with gritted teeth, followed by Caelum.

"It doesn't make sense for them to go this far and take such risks to take us down like this," Caelum mumbled with a look of contemplation.

Eradicator, standing by the controls, her posture rigid with readiness, added, "The Skycrawler's defenses are strong, but these werewolves are trying to tear apart the shield by latching onto the belly of the ship. They will eventually succeed if we do nothing."

Naida narrowed her eyes as she shook her head, "How clever of them. They are using our ship as a shield to protect themselves from the storm while trying to destroy our barrier," She then turned to look at Asher and asked, "It's your call, my king. How do you want to deal with this?"

Her question made the others also shift their tension-filled gazes as they landed on their king, who knew he had to make a quick decision in a situation like this, but there was no decision that could guarantee a perfect way out of this.