Clark, a city watch guard, wiped the sweat from his forehead. He laboriously braced his hand crossbow with his foot to reload it, then pointed it at the sea of devils before him. There were so many that he hardly needed to aim.
For two hours, Suzail's guards had held the watch post's wall of sandbags, stones, and planks with a will of iron and ferocious hatred, while wave after wave of devils surged toward them. Only duty and training kept Clark fighting.
We can't retreat. However large Suzail might be, the residential district is right behind us. Hundreds of innocent citizens live here!
Years of instructors screaming in his face and standing watch for hours on rain-soaked nights had molded him into one of the most disciplined soldiers in the city watch. Even so, Clark felt himself nearing the breaking point.
Suzail was burning.
The guards had no idea what had happened. They could not understand why devils had suddenly appeared so brazenly on the streets of the mortal world. Clark did not know why the Purple Dragon Knights and War Wizards had yet to respond. All he knew was that, as a soldier, he had a duty to defend his home and country. He firmly believed the Princess Regent would not abandon them.
He reached for his bolt pouch out of habit. It was empty.
"Matt, I'm out of bolts!"
Whoosh! His answer was not his comrade's voice, but a sharp bone spike. It pierced Matt's skull and killed him. The flying skull fragments and splattered brains foretold Clark's own approaching end.
Fear engulfed the guard. His lips trembled incessantly as he dropped to his knees without taking his eyes off the enemy and searched the bodies at his feet. Even if his training had not demanded that