It was exactly a week since the Fourth Woe had started and things looked more bleak than they had ever looked.

The Woe was coming to an end and with it the blanket of darkness that had covered the land.

The earth began to rumble, and the skies turned ashen black. A wave of heat slowly rose from all the corners of civilization... Felt by every single survivor of the woes.

Something was coming...

Something big.

A certain stench emerged, almost like a mix of rotting eggs, decaying flesh, and maggot-ridden feces. It came from a gaping hole that had formed on the ground.

The hole only kept getting wider as the smell became even more intense and unbearable.

Then—

"SKIIIIAAAAKKK!!!"

—Certain ’things’ began to emerge from the fiery, but disgustingly dark depths.

Creatures akin to giant locusts rose from the swirling hole on the ground, each of them at east three meters tall.

Their wings buzzed loudly, generating an unpleasantly disturbing sound that would make eardrums explode if exposed to it for too long.

These locusts were black in color, having glowing markings on their bodies that resembled tattoos.

No... More like brands.

These markings warbled as they ascended in their horse to the surface, causing the darkened clouds to grow even darker.

Before long, there were hundreds—no, thousands—of them buzzing and dancing in the air, as they remained aloft the massively growing hole.

It was almost as if they were waiting for something.

Then... They gave a screech.

"KARIIIAAAAKKKKK!!!"

It wasn’t one of worry or fear, neither was it one of pain or anguish.

No... It was one of worship.

They all jointly screeched in worship of the one emerging from the depths of darkness, coated in magnificent horror.

He was at least thirty meters tall—ten times the size of the massive locusts who already resembled overwhelming demons in their own right.

He wasn’t like them, though.

Unlike the primitive demons, he seemed like an amalgamation of Locust and Man...

... No, something worse.

He had massive wings behind him that caused everything around him to shiver as he ascended.

The several horns growing out of his bald head seemed like crooked spears that ascended to the heavens.

His multiple eyes resembled an insect’s, but it’s maw clearly belonged to a wild, savage beast.

He had four arms and two legs, possessing a tail that resembled a scorpion’s stinger.

He was coated in armor as well, and the fiery markings on it warbled endlessly.

This horrific entity rose from the depths of the hole, accompanied by a cloud of smoke and sulphur.

He seemed invincible in every sense of the word.

As the screeches of the Locusts grew louder, the Demon General’s maw loosened and he grinned with delight at the prey he was greeted with.

He was the very incarnation of chaos—far above the likes of the Horseman and lower Grade Demons.

He was a true General among Demons.

—Abbadon.

He sneered in disgust at the wasteland all around him and took a step forward.

The locusts made way for him as he surveyed the area.

They hovered around in mid air as though they were waiting for his command.

There was only one thing on his mind as he gazed around in anticipation.

Destruction. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The utter destruction and eradication of the puny humans on Earth.

He had impatiently awaited his turn below and he couldn’t wait to execute everything that he had dreamt up.

With a swish of his tail, he took off in the sky swiftly to assess the place better.

His beady eyes were drawn to a dome of light which was a considerable distance from where he currently stood.

Amidst the darkness it stood out as a beacon.

"How foolish of them," He muttered gruffly.

He reasoned that they had definitely made his work easier for him.

"At this point, it would be a sin not to oblige them," He said with a wide grin and sped towards the city.

Like a noisy fan switched on, the locusts around whirred into motion and followed after him.

The sky darkened even more as they blotted out the sun, casting a shadow over the desolate landscape.

Their jagged, razor-sharp wings hummed with a sinister energy as their mandibles dripped with a noxious, acidic saliva that corroded everything it touched.

As the horde descended, the air was filled with an ear-splitting cacophony of chittering and buzzing.

The locusts devoured everything in their path, stripping trees of their leaves, crops of their grains, and leaving the earth barren and scarred.

Buildings crumbled under their relentless assault, the walls pockmarked by their acidic spittle.

Even the animals caught in their path were overwhelmed, their flesh shredded by the locusts’ sharp appendages and powerful jaws.

Before long, the landscape was left in ruins, a wasteland of skeletal trees and smoldering remains.

Their coordination was nothing if not eerie, guided by a malevolent intelligence and leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

***

The people of the city alongside their leaders were still gathered around the gate deliberating on what next to do

The memory of Lyra being carted away to the hospital ward had been shelved away to the back of their minds.

They could still see the wraiths outside the barrier. They appeared to be looking for a way to get in and their frustration was evident in the way they encircled the dome and threw themselves on it.

There was a steadily increasing sound that came from the skies which made all of them look up.

Because of the darkness, they couldn’t see anything but the sounds got closer.

The soldiers closest to the gate saw the swarm of locusts first before the others.

"Incoming!!!"

They yelled as they urged the others to take cover.

"The dome will hold. I wonder why they’re acting panicked," Sariel said to Jeremy as they watched the people running wildly for their lives.

"How sure are you of that?" Jeremy asked, watching everything with an amused face.

"Because I did it."

"Fair point," He said as he flexed his hands waiting for the incoming attack.

"This should be interesting..."