On the floor of the city, several members of the Veritas Corps went around, rescuing citizens and taking them into temporary safe zones scattered all over the planet.

Not just them. Even the guilds had mobilized their own forces in opposition.

"Why do they have so many members?" One of the Corps members asked a guild member beside him as he ducked beneath a sword.

The guild member went silent for a while, then spoke.

"I don’t know."

His words were cold.

The guild member nocked his bow, firing a shot straight through three enemies.

His body bent backward from the waist as a spear thrust straight toward his head.

The Corps member covered for him, jumping over his bent body and slashing straight at the spearman’s neck.

A crimson spray filled the air as the head fell to the floor with a thud.

The guild member did not stay idle.

Still parallel to the ground, he drew an arrow, placed it on the bowstring and fired it into another enemy’s eye.

He rose smoothly.

"I will cover for you. Take those civilians to the safe zone," the Corps member said.

The guild member nodded and ran toward the civilians.

Similar situations played out throughout the city, with the guilds cooperating with the Veritas Corps members.

"So, you are the guild master of the Lion Guild, Leo," Azrael said as he approached a broad chested man dressed in gold plated armor, with a huge silver broadsword resting on his shoulder.

The guild master had a smile on his face as he reached Azrael.

"It is an honor to finally meet the Vice General of the Veritas Corps," Leo replied, extending his free hand for a shake.

Azrael took it firmly.

"Thank you for cooperating with us," Azrael said.

Around them, several members of the Crimson Fang tried to approach but were cut down by the circle of Lion Guild members and Veritas Corps members before they could even get close.

"It is our planet. Everyone has a part to play in keeping it safe," Leo replied calmly.

"Moreover, my guild is not the only one contributing. Every guild on the planet is."

Azrael smiled at Leo’s humility.

The Lion Guild was the strongest guild on their planet by a large margin.

They were responsible for harvesting 80% of the total void cores delivered to the planet’s treasury.

They held sway over 70% of the total non-governmental military capabilities.

"This is the area in need of personnel at the moment," Azrael went straight to the point, placing his finger on the three dimensional map that suddenly flared to life before them.

"So many casualties," Leo could not help but say, looking at the thousands of red dots that represented dead citizens.

"I will go personally with my most trusted members," Leo said.

Azrael thanked him.

They shook hands again before going their separate ways.

Three people fell into step beside Leo, walking behind him with strides that matched his own.

A single glance backward. That was all Leo did before he shot into the sky.

The three of them followed suit.

Azrael watched their departing figures before looking away.

"We have some cleaning up to do here too," he said.

His daggers appeared in his palms, held in reverse grips as he walked toward the heart of the chaos.

The circle of people began to split, creating a path for Azrael to pass through.

"Phantom Flow," the words came from his lips, so silent and gentle that even the wind could not carry them.

His aether roared in response.

He flickered, like a glitch in reality.

Thousands of blue silhouettes appeared all over the battlefield.

Then red.

Then the sound of thousands of things dropping hard against the floor.

They landed like the hooves of warhorses beating against the earth in a frantic chase.

Like he had never moved in the first place, Azrael appeared in the same spot, his breathing measured, his stance composed, his eyes calm.

His daggers disappeared from his palms and he turned back. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Let’s go," he said.

Two people jumped out of the circle in response.

While this was going on, the guild members who caught the streaks were blown out of their minds.

"Who was that?" One of them asked the person beside her.

In response, the person shrugged. "Who was what?"

"Don’t worry."

But the members of the Veritas Corps were not shocked.

Everyone who saw it knew instantly who it was.

After all, there was only one phantom demon on the entire planet. The Vice General, Azrael.

He continued walking forward after that brief pause.

Most of the enemies were dead, but not all of them.

From the Lion Guild’s side, their vice master Zara weaved through the battlefield, her golden rapier a sight to behold.

A dagger thrust toward her chest.

She sidestepped cleanly, her rapier already blurring into motion.

It pierced straight through the attacker’s ribs.

She pulled back, leaning backward to avoid another sword cleave toward her neck.

Her leg, like a rocket, smashed into the attacker’s head, destroying it instantly.

She looked around, seeing herself surrounded by thousands of enemies, each one eyeing her like a predator confident in wearing down prey through sheer numbers.

"Pfft."

Her rapier shook violently.

She thrust forward in a single clean motion that pierced through the air itself.

Thousands of wind drills formed at that moment, bursting outward in a wide circle.

She breathed lightly as blood filled the air, the drills passing through flesh and bone alike.

Buildings were not spared in the massacre. The drills passed through most of them too, reducing them to piles of broken bricks.

Within a breath, she had created a zone of silence, blood, corpses, and flesh.

Even the noise from surrounding areas reduced.

Some were still reeling from the sudden fall of several enemies, but seeing this scale of destruction, they forgot about the ghost for a moment.

This image only cemented in the Crimson Fang’s minds the terror of the planet’s full power.