"GRYYYAAAAARRGGHHH…!"
The scream of Aranthas resonated into the underground depths. The humans held captive there trembled in excitement… The death of the most bastard of all the Demon Lords that invaded their city has come!
The demons guarding the humans panicked, thinking that without their Demon Lords, they were as good as dead already, they quickly decided to ruin the humans plans of saving their kin.
"If we're going to die now, you all will come with us!!!" The Demons screamed, as the many Onis and Imps grabbed spears and pointed them at the captive humans.
They couldn't understand their demon language, for sure, but the people knew that they were afraid, and desperate. And would rather kill them now than let the humans that killed their Demon Lord rescue them.
"This is what human trash like you deserves!" Laughed an Imp holding a spear. "You're nothing but food to serve our powerful Archdemon Lords! Your souls shall feed their insatiable appetites! Gryahahahah!"
The spears descended, about to pierce the people's bodies, incapable of even fighting back as they were stuck to the walls with chains, they could only see in horror as the spears were about to pierce through their flesh and kill them agonizingly.
"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that, dears."
Suddenly, a large quantity of black water filled the underground, leaving the humans completely intact while wrapping around the demons in the shape of countless tentacles.
"Gryarkh! W-What the fuck?!" The Imp screamed in shock, as his entire body was squished until his guts exploded out of his mouth. "Gryyyaaarrggh!"
SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!
And that wasn't the first one, all the demons in there died in the same, agonizing, and ruthless method. Amidst the dark waters, which quickly went back to her, a lady with pale purple colored skin and red eyes emerged out of nowhere, emanating spiritual energy.
"No! I can sense it… Spirit energy…"
Celestina giggled, waving her claws as she cut down all the doors of the jails, and the chains as well. At her side appeared the young Monica, running towards the people.
"P-Please don't be intimidated by her, she's Celestina, a spirit of a friend." Sighed Monica. "Anyways, are you alright?! My name is Monica Darkage, I am the heir to the Darkage Duchy!"
"T-The Darkage Duchy is still hanging on?!"
"W-We're really saved?!"
The people quickly started having a mental breakdown, crying desperately as they realized they were finally being rescued, after seeing their own loved ones being killed in front of them, after seeing the massacres and everything else, when they had already lost all hope.
"Monica~ There's a few more people over there. I've killed the annoying demons as well." Hendrick appeared behind her, bringing forth all the people in the deeper areas over large insects he had summoned.
Most of them had fainted out of horror though…
"T-Thank you, Hendrick!" Monica forced a smile. "(His methods are a bit extreme but he's a good man anyways…)"
Suddenly, a few more figures walked downstairs, it was Erika and Elizabeth who had decided to help evacuate the people while Blake and Eleanora started taking down the demons.
"Phew! Eh?! Are we a bit too late?" Erika laughed a bit.
"Never too late. The people might seem alive but many are already wounded. Some have necrosis that has advanced a lot. How much have the demons tortured you?" Elizabeth sighed.
The presence of these two angelic girls made the people somehow feel at ease. Their very presences exuded a divine aura around them, Elizabeth in specific, everyone could swear they could see an angelic halo behind her head.
"Please everyone, stand still." Elizabeth said, counting the people in the underground as more and more insects brought them. "There's at least over four hundred people… This Duchy was said to have over a thousand population, how much have they killed?! By the Holy Spirits… Please, have mercy on these souls."
Elizabeth finally got into her Saintess act for once, as she started to pray to the Holy Spirits, divine light emerged from her body, which quickly covered everyone, even the people that were at the verge of death due to infected wounds instantly woke up before her divine healing light!
The light entered their bodies, healing their terrible wounds one after another. Their senses came back to them, their fatigue was healed, and even their exhaustion. Some of the people that had become almost skeletal in appearance grew some fat and muscle.
This wasn't just normal healing magic, as it even healed their exhaustion and tiredness, and could even fill them with nutrients. This was the power of a Saintess, to go beyond simply healing, but also nourishing, and bringing life to a body in the most literal sense.
"Can you stand up now?" Elizabeth asked. "Erika?"
"Alright… Here." Erika hit the floor with her hand, as several small trees started emerging one after another, which created small red apples. "Eat before leaving, you'll need a full stomach to walk all of that!"
"F-Food… They created food?!"
"Ahh, I haven't eaten normal food in so long!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The people desperately started eating the sweet fruits, feeling in heaven even if for a few seconds. A little silver-haired girl brought a small fruit to her mother that slowly started walking outside the cell.
Her appearance was in tatters, but her dignified eyes and her beautiful hair, the same color as her daughter, quickly made her stand out before everyone else.
"You're… Monica… Darkage, did I hear that right?" She asked with an exhausted voice.
"Y-Yes!" Monica nodded. "Are you…? Ah! You're…?! A member of Silverlight's Noble Family?"
"I-I'm surprised you could tell with my current appearance…" The woman sighed with a cynical smile. "I can't believe the duchy that we antagonized so much in the past would be our salvation now… We owe you more than you imagine. It is thanks to you all that… My daughter was not taken away from me." The woman started crying. "Thank you… thank you so much!"