Kane fought against his new brothers, the older Darkin commanders who were fiercely loyal to Grim each took turns sparring with the newest addition to their ranks exchanging blows with the youngster known for his swift attacks however compared to the battle-hardened commanders he was no match and the sparring served more as a hazing than anything and a display of power to the youngers warriors.
Grim payed little attention to his subordinates instead spending his time deep in thought remembering the old mans memories planning how he would break down the various kingdoms of these lands and punish those who were directly responsible, he now knew that after all these years his foes were alive and well hiding behind the veils of societies controlling and manipulating for their own gain in the pursuit of power something they despised the Darkin and those who were banished before them for.
Grim remembered all that he had went through in the darkness and the vows that were made to his benefactors, vows that he must fulfil. With the help of the woman from the old mans memories he had the hope of already being one step closer to paying his debt.
Grim entered his personal quarters inside the former village chiefs home, inside were the captive mages whom he'd allowed to freely lounge around, since he could kill them at any moment and they acknowledged this fact, the mages at first were terrified and didn't dare move an inch however after the bast week or so they had grown more comfortable and trusting of Grim's actions. Although he simply refused to speak the human tongue he occasionally communicated with the mages using telepathy, something that deeply intrigued the mages who only knew of it as a masterclass technique.
"Grim, Jok has returned. The girl is inside the tower." A bulky Darkin with golden tattoos covering him similar to Grim's entered the house causing the humans to silence and cower.
Grim looked at his companion who disturbed his peace with slight annoyance however after receiving the news quickly began to smirk slyly. "Igor please try not to scare my magicians." Grim said while placing his giant hand on one of the nearby mages releasing some of his mana into the room which soothed the tense humans.
"We march on the tower at dawn, have everyone assemble then."
"Finally, I do hope they give us a worthy welcoming party." Igor smiled with malice.
"As do I brother, as do I."
The humans were confused as they watched the exchange and once Igor left they bowed and spoke words of gratitude to Grim who simply waved nonchalantly before sitting back down and continued observing the group.
Dawn came and the Kings army alongside the August Tower waited in anticipation for the Darkin, after the events the prior day they learned from Aprilla the existence of the Darkin and the legends of their prowess alongside bits of their demise at the hands of the Holy Kingdom.
The soldiers gripped their weapons many still ignorant to the demons which approached them, they quickly found out what they were up against however as an unidentifiable object barrelled towards them piercing multiple men who had formed a shield wall outside the castle walls. As the spear which was launched lodged into the wall hanging the bodies of the unsuspecting soldiers in the air, a large crack appeared on the walls which were once thought to be unbreakable..
Igor stood at the head of the army with Kane standing alongside him. "Warriors! Show these mortals the wrath of our brethren! Rip and tear till your hearts content!" the horde cheered as they began their attack sprinting with all their might and quickly tearing their way through the soldiers shield wall. The renown Urus infantry was quickly thrown into chaos causing the magic knights to rush to their aid however they stood little chance as Igor rampaged with his personal warriors, he cleaved one of the knights in two with little effort and grabbed another knights arm mid swing before breaking his arm and crushing the knights throat with one punch.
Kane swiftly moved through the knight evading their movements with his sharp reflexes which put even most Darken to shame. He began to scale the wall alongside the other young warriors wanting to prove themselves as Kane did, before they could reach the top however the mages began their attack now unable to restrain themselves, balls of fire rained down and shards of ice pierced many of the Darkin causing their huge bodies to plummet to the ground below creating craters and even crushing some of the soldiers who had now been pushed right back to the castle walls.
Kane was pierced by one of the shards of ice through the shoulder however continued up the wall in desperation, he ignored the attacks and quickly reached the top where he barely managed to avoid having his head sliced clean off as Duke Osmund wasted little time and aimed to dispatch Kane quickly but his speed was still no match for the injured Darkin who kicked Osmund away breaking his ribs, this didn't stop the grizzled veteran who rushed forward this time with knights by his side as they aimed to overwhelm Kane and as they sliced his tendons causing him to fall to the ground they didn't notice the shadowy figure which had ascended the wall, they rose their swords to finish Kane but were interrupted as two of the knights let out wails of pain and fear as they were consumer by the demonic tentacles which hovered behind them and behind the man eating demons stood Grim who looked at the group with a look of boredom, he had walked through the battlefield after the attack started and observed how the humans fought, he was unimpressed by the defensive tactics the humans used to struggle against his overwhelming horde. As he looked at the group who had managed to kill off some of his warriors and the group now about to kill one of his commanders his expression changed however non saw it as he was mostly hidden in the misty abyss which surrounded him.
He stopped hovering and landed on the wall where he dispelled the tentacles and drew his blade, a large jagged black sword which appeared to be sentient as thorns extended from the handle and dug into Grim's arm.
Osmund launched himself at Grim who parried his attacks, jumping around the top of the wall and drawing out more of Osmund's true strength, he easily dodged his strikes and smiled while doing so, Osmund knew that this demon had to die, his instincts screamed at him to kill Grim and he tied with all he had ignoring his injuries and throwing attack after attack at the demon who seemed to be enjoying the exchange. Grim had his eyes on another prey however as he had spotted Julian and Aprilla a while ago, their gazes also fixed on Grim's battle with Osmund.
As Grim watch the battle around him he knew it would soon be coming to an end, only an hour into the siege and the Darken forces had largely overwhelmed the Urus forces and the mages of August had began to exhaust their mana allowing more Darken to scale their walls and wreak havoc on the forces inside. Grim's expression once again became deadpan and he started to lightly strike at Osmund who was overwhelmed in an instance as the tide changed in their battle, he then understood that he was no match for the demon and his only option now was to escape with the King and Prince.
"Hold back the demon! Protect the royal family at all costs!" Osmund yelled to his remaining troops who rushed to assist him while the Kings personal knights began to evacuate the defeated king despite his sons protest.
Grim watched as the royalty and nobility tried to flee and although he had no interest in them he watched Aprilla to see her next movements closely.
"I must stay Julian, I'm sorry." Aprilla said to her friend sorrowfully, Julian protested however Aprilla had made her mind up and with great effort cast a teleportation spell to transport the group away.
Grim seeing the power Aprilla displayed and sensing her vast mana pool licked his lips, he had finally found the woman who would help him reach godhood. He swung his sword after finally being satisfied with the desperate attacks of Osmund and his knights, the attack cleanly beheaded everyone including Osmund ending his legacy as the Shield of Urus. Kane watched in awe while resting nearby, Grim walked past the destruction towards Aprilla who sat on the ground awaiting her fate.
"Oh bride of mine, how I have longed to meet you these past weeks." Grim said with a mischievous smile. Aprilla turned around slowly upon hearing the menacing voice, "Lord Grim?" she knew as she saw Grim's unholy figure exactly who she was sitting before.
Grim towered over most other Darkin, his skin was dark grey, hair was long and black, his pointy ears were instead jagged and torn along with his body which were covered in golden tattoos expressing his authority. He extended his hand to the speechless Aprilla who after hesitating looked at Grim and placed her slender hand in Grim's palm, he gently held Aprilla in one arm and as he raised his free hand into the air he spoke with a mighty authority "My horde, the battle is won!" the Darkin warriors bellowed and roared while raising their weapons, the remaining soldiers and knights were quickly slain or captured by the Darkin who after seeing their leader with his prize had become elated causing many to go berserk from the overwhelming emotions they felt.
The day soon came to an end and the Darkin already began repairing the damage they had caused using their magic with some help from the mages who reluctantly accepted Aprilla's order to obey the Darkin. Meanwhile on the top floor of the tower Grim laid with his beautiful maiden sorceress finally indulging in his seemingly endless lust which he had kept restrained for far too long.