RISE OF EROS

Clouds gathered over the city, a dark and ominous canvas that foreshadowed what was to come. The breeze turned icy as a piercing scream echoed through the streets, an echo of the coming chaos.

Under that gloomy sky, Samanuel and his fellow angels prepared to face the most terrible of threats: the corrupted beasts, spawn of the ambition of Luza, the fallen angel. The beasts emerged from the ruins, grotesque and powerful, their presence unleashing immediate terror.

They were creatures of distorted form, with scales as glistening as obsidian, blazing eyes, and claws that tore the asphalt beneath their paws. Each of those fifteen beasts was a manifestation of madness and destruction, generating an aura of hopelessness that gripped the hearts of those who still wished to fight.

Their roar was a fractal of rage, an echo of the madness that Luza had enthroned in their souls. Samanuel watched his winged brothers prepare for combat. Although they outnumbered them, they knew they faced a formidable enemy.

The wings of his companions vibrated with anticipation, feathers twinkling with the celestial light that had empowered them. However, a shadow of doubt crossed their faces. Could they, true guardians of the light, contain the dark momentum of these creatures? The battle began. The beasts charged toward the group of angels with unstoppable ferocity.

The first to fall were those who, filled with courage, launched themselves into the attack without considering the consequences. Samanuel shouted orders as he spread his wings to their full extent, glowing with a golden light that cut through the darkness.

With a nimble movement, he brandished his sword, an artifact forged from the light of a thousand stars, which shone brightly in the face of the impending storm of evil. One of the monsters lunged at him.

It was an enormous creature, with the body of a lion and serpentine tentacles emerging from its back, covered in a corrosive liquid. With supernatural agility, Samanuel dodged the attack, rolling on the ground and slashing with his sword in a graceful upward arc.

The blade pierced one of the beast's limbs, causing a piercing scream to echo through the atmosphere, but the creature did not stop. Enraged, it spun around, launching one of its tentacles directly at him.

"Now!" Samanuel shouted, calling to his brothers. A group of angels launched themselves at the creature, combining their forces in a coordinated attack. Their weapons clanged; luminous arrows flew, seals of light burst in the air, as they formed a whirlwind of energy before ramming into the beast.

Despite the union of their powers, the creature thrashed furiously, and the attack, although it had wounded the monster, was not enough to stop its advance. In another corner of the city, a second beast, this one with the body of a dragon and the wings of a bat, unleashed hellish fire at a group of angels.

The halo of flames advanced like a fiery tsunami, devouring everything in its path. "Shield!" an angel ordered firmly, raising a shield of light that protected his companions. The divine wall was able to mitigate some of the fire, but the flames were still intense and some wings were touched, leaving scars on their wearers. Desperate, the angels responded with their own attack.

Beams of light burst from the sky, splitting the blackness into glowing fragments, but the dragon only grew more enraged. It spat fire in retaliation, snorting furiously as it began to fly, shooting out jets of flame in all directions.

One by one, the angels tried to bring it down, but their efforts proved fruitless. Meanwhile, Samanuel was engaged in a fierce struggle against the beast that had attacked first. His sword flashed brightly with each blow, but he felt the weight of the battle.

The beasts weren't just physically strong; they seemed to feed on the despair that grew with each fall of their comrades. With each roar and cry of pain, the tide of battle turned, pushing the angels to the brink of emotional collapse.

"Hold on!" Samanuel exclaimed, feeling the fervor burning within him. The angels began to pool their energies, creating a whirlwind of concentrated light. With a decisive movement, Samanuel added his strength to the group.

Together, they formed a beam of light so bright it nearly blinded the beasts. Directing it toward the creature facing them, the beam struck its chest, producing a burst of energy that lit up the dark sky.

The beast screamed, its eyes momentarily going dark, and Samanuel felt the power of his action course through him like an electric current. However, that victory was briefly overshadowed when he noticed that the flying dragon had descended, wreaking havoc on the angels' rearguard.

Wasting no time, Samanuel launched himself in their direction, leaving behind a trail of light. The angels were fighting with all their might. A magnificent combined force, utilizing ancient combat techniques and brilliant enchantments.

However, the brutality of the beasts overwhelmed them. As the battle raged, the air was permeated with the sadness and suffering of those who fell. Despair was beginning to be as powerful an enemy as the monsters themselves.

Finally, amidst the tumult, Samanuel decided to risk it all. Rising into the shadows, he activated the pure essence of his being, feeling every fiber of him ignite with heavenly light.

He concentrated his energy, forming an orb of light that crackled with the force of the universe itself. It was a sacrifice; he knew he must make it, or the city and its inhabitants would fall.

Like a bolt from the sky, he hurled his orb toward the dragon, which met it with a devastating impact. The light erupted in a series of explosions, illuminating even the darkest areas of the city, and in an instant, the dragon was disintegrated by the sheer power of its beam, which, after passing through its body, dispersed the darkness that surrounded it.

However, time did not stand still. The other beasts still remained. Samanuel, seeing that the moment of truth had arrived, stepped forward. "My brothers! Do not give up! For each of those we have lost, we must fight!"

The angels, galvanized by their leader's words, united beneath his light. With more determination than before, they began to move to the rhythm of their faith, forming a formation. Raising their hands to the sky, they began to invoke the ancient magic that had always resided within them.

Between them, a powerful energy began to swirl. After a few moments, a circle of brilliant light formed and expanded in all directions, radiating hope in a scene marked by terror. The beasts, feeling the pressure of the gathered power, momentarily retreated, their eyes reflecting fear for the first time. Samanuel, with his former power and the strength of his companions, rose.

"For the city we love! For the light that never goes out!" With a shrill cry, he directed the beam of light at the nearest beasts, and then, one by one, the others followed suit until the sky lit up like dawn.

The surge of power tore through the beasts, dissolving them in a flash. The light expanded, sweeping away every trace of darkness in its path. With each beast destroyed, the angels regained their hope, noticing that the bond between them grew even stronger.

Finally, after a final effort, the last beast was destroyed, disappearing in a torrent of light and revealing a clear sky where despair had once reigned. The angels fell to the ground, exhausted and covered in physical and emotional scars, but there was also a new sense of unity among them, reflected in the glances they shared.

Samanuel, though dejected, kept his gaze elevated. He knew the fight had been hard and the cost had been high, but he also understood that they had prevailed. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to celebrate their victory, as they soon realized it had all been a distraction. Due to the heat of the battle, they hadn't noticed Luza had infiltrated.

Only when all the beasts were eliminated did they notice the alarm on their magical protection system hadn't disappeared. They immediately understood it wasn't the beasts that had triggered it.

They could no longer see any of the beasts, but the alarm hadn't gone off, so there was still an intruder, and it wasn't difficult for Samanuel to realize that someone had infiltrated, and that this place held something valuable that needed a plan like this to infiltrate.

Knowing that it had all been a distraction, the intruder must have been looking for one thing: the body of the deceased god they were protecting. Samanuel and some powerful angels quickly rushed to where he was.

Although there were barriers and wards in that place, it wasn't difficult for them to understand that someone planning an attack like this would have a way to get past them. Just as they believed, Luza had passed the barriers and defenses without a problem.

Not only because he was powerful, but also because he knew most of the defense mechanisms. After all, he was one of those who protected the body of the deceased god before the ritual that had brought him down.

Despite knowing many of the mechanisms, Samanuel and the other angels had added new defenses and barriers, so Luza still had to spend some time breaking them. Thanks to this, Samanuel and the others managed to arrive before Luza could escape. Seeing Luza, Samanuel, and the others were surprised.

"Luza, I never expected you to attack us," Samanuel said when he saw it. Luza laughed contemptuously and replied, "Really? Did you really think he would never return?" Samanuel and the other angels looked at Luza with regret, for his question represented reality.

Yes, Samanuel and the others didn't believe that Luza and the other fallen angels would return; they hadn't added new defenses. He only said this because he truly didn't want to confront them.

They had once been comrades, friends, and family, but due to arrogance, they lost this bond and are now enemies. They didn't know how to confront Luza, for they knew that his condition was, in some way, their own fault.

If they hadn't been arrogant in trying to absorb the divinity from the body of the deceased god, Luza and the others wouldn't have lost their grace. Even though Luza and the others had accepted the ritual, it didn't absolve Samanuel and the others of guilt.

Because of this, they couldn't respond. Even so, Samanuel and the angels wouldn't allow him to take the body of the deceased god, so they gritted their teeth and decided to attack. They would only suffer more if they argued with words, so they decided to be decisive and simply erase Luza once and for all.

The problem was that the beasts Luza had unleashed earlier were stronger than they looked. While they were able to defeat them, they had to pay a price, and now Samanuel and the other angels were tired and injured, no match for Luza. To be precise, at this point, Luza could easily defeat them.

The problem was that Luza, as a fallen angel, corrupted by the divinity he couldn't control from the ritual, was not only arrogant and proud, but also self-centered. Seeing his superiority, he decided to humiliate Samanuel and the others.

He played with them, taking advantage of their weakness. He wanted them to feel pathetic and humiliated. His power surpassed them, and he could have killed them, but he didn't; instead, he amused himself with Samanuel and the others' futile attempt to defeat him.

His shrill laughter of contempt and mockery echoed throughout the room, and this only depressed Samanuel and the other angels. They knew they were no match for Luza in this state, and that wasn't what bothered them.

While losing a battle is never pleasant, what bothered them was the fact that Luza would steal the deceased god's body if they lost, and honestly, they didn't see how to prevent it.

Fortunately for them, Luza's self-centeredness led him to toy with them and waste time, giving an external force room to appear. Unbeknownst to them, there was a dragon nearby that had notified Crhono.

It wasn't until a powerful force enveloped them that they realized a powerful being had arrived. Luza became frightened and quickly shouted, "Who is it?" And from the void appeared Crhono with a stern expression, "To think that someone like you would exist."