The service door was already unlocked, and just minutes after landing, the ground team sans Xavier were already deep inside the fortress. The black steel structure seemed to be an empty husk, the armor around it protecting a mostly cold, featureless interior. Even stranger, after passing through several empty halls and opened blast doors, the group walked into an open-air courtyard kept alive by multiple sun-globes and thriving with overgrown plant life. In the middle was what appeared to be a small castle, its single steel door cracked open as if to greet them. The surrounding metal walls were so tall, that they towered over the castle and cast it into shadow.

  “What is this place, exactly?” Garder wondered.

  “From what we know, it was a Guard Citadel,” Leovyn replied.

  “The last one left, I’m guessing,” Rivia added.

  “So far as we know, yes. At its peak, this place was occupied by a mighty Guardian army and would’ve been impenetrable. Judging by its location, it was probably used by the naval forces. Only a few of these places were ever built. And if this is the last one surviving, then it was last used as it was designed about a thousand years ago.”

  “And Drides set up his home here,” Masayuki commented. “Or the king keeps him here to hide him from the world.”

  “Eyes open, everyone…” Shin said. “I’m detecting some strong electrical fields nearby… Wait… they’re above us.”

  They stopped in the middle of the large courtyard and looked up. There were several levels of catwalks above them, but no signs of life. Then suddenly, the blast door behind them slammed shut, and the sound of machinery firing up bounced across the metal walls. Everyone took combat positions, but no one knew where the threat was coming from.

  “Got a lock on those fields!” Masayuki exclaimed. “Schutz, above!”

  After applying power to their hydraulic leg systems, three of the heavy metal assault machines leapt from the rafters and dropped down onto the courtyard like meteors, forming craters on impact. One of the war robots landed on a tree, splintering it into tiny bits.

  “Damn lobsters,” Rivia grumbled. “Masayuki, we need a barrier.”

  “Got it.”

  Working together, Rivia and Shin’s cousin launched a powerful metal barrier shielded by a static field around the group, protecting them from the oncoming artillery and turret fire from the three schutz. Hundreds of bullets ricocheted or impacted into the metal itself, and the damage from the cannon fire left huge dents in the barrier, which had been reinforced by the heavy electrical field maintained by the lightning paradigm.

  “What are those things?” Garder shouted above the noise.

  “Guardian machinery,” Tabi replied. “Nasty things. Damn near impossible to destroy single-handed.”

  “Isn’t there a way past them?” Verim yelled back.

  Rivia, keeping his focus on his barrier, gave out orders, “Leovyn, Viktor, Tabi, Masayuki, you all stay here and help me deal with them. The rest of you—proceed to the castle.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Garder exclaimed.

  “Garder, Milla, all of you—just go!” Leovyn demanded. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to face whoever is ahead without us for a moment. Don’t worry—we’ll catch up! Do whatever you can to buy time!”

  “But…”

  “You don’t understand how dangerous these things are! Even the five of us are in for a rough time. There’s no trick to destroying them—you just have to use overwhelming brute force. You’re all capable of taking on Lontonkon, maybe even Drides, but you have to leave this up to us, got it?”

  “Okay, Dad,” Milla said. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everyone. You just be careful.”

  “You be careful. Don’t go getting yourselves killed.”

  “The barrier isn’t going to last much longer,” Viktor said as he drew his sword. “You eight—you have to move, now!”

  “Come on,” Wendell urged the group. “Drides is waiting for us.”

  “Dad…” Garder murmured. “Don’t… don’t die, okay?”

  “I won’t, kid. Not after we just met. You and Milla watch out for each other. I’ll rejoin you in a bit—promise.”

  The larger half of the team fled to the nearby stone castle, using the barrier for protection from the onslaught. Not unexpectedly, the heavy door sealed shut behind them as soon Lechi and Temki had gone through.

  Leovyn muttered, “Someone is watching us. Hope they’ll be okay.”

  “Have some faith in them,” Rivia replied. “They’ve done so much already by themselves.”

  “Don’t suppose either of you old coots have battled a schutz before,” Tabi wondered.

  “Heh, can’t say I have,” Leovyn said. “Leave it to reborn Germans to develop such nasty things.”

  The barrier failed, and the three machines turned their attention to those that had stayed behind. The sound of gunfire and powerful alchemagi that followed could just barely be heard from inside the castle.

  Simon, one of the team’s radio operators other than Leovyn, contacted Xavier as he and the others progressed through the dark, Gothic-styled castle. All he could tell him was that they had been split up, and to try and keep in touch. If things got worse, the Mezik could be brought in, but its weapons would likely be a danger to enemy and ally alike.

  Before long, they saw their next destination. Another opened blast door was all that remained in their way between the three figures in the castle’s own, smaller courtyard. In the center, resting over a field of grass, was a stone dais—and on it were Rayna, Lontonkon, and Delqua. It was no use devising any alternative plans; as soon as they had stepped into the dim Aurrian light, they had been noticed. The three of them were surprised to see the invaders, and now the motions would just have to play out.

  Led by Milla and Wendell, the group stepped forward into the courtyard, knowing already that the door behind them would slam shut. With a wave of his hand, the Aurrian king sealed everyone inside with him, and turned to face his audience. Rayna, expressionless, was at his left, while Delqua, holding back excitement, was on his right.

  “Well, no use in the patch anymore, Scud…” Wendell murmured to his partner. “Might as well see our company.”

  The cat rubbed against his shoulder until the eye patch had moved to its other eye and glared at the king, who responded with a faint chuckle.

  “Why, you must be Wendell Celin. I remember you.”

  “So do we,” Shin growled and gripped her sword’s hilt.

  “No sudden moves,” Lontonkon warned and inched closer to Rayna. “You wouldn’t want to hurt our little friend here.”

  “Rayna…” Milla called out. “Are… are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

  Rayna said nothing.

  “Where’s Drides?” Garder shouted. “And why are you here?”

  “Quite an impressive bird you’ve got out there,” Lontonkon continued. “I caught a glimpse of it passing overhead. I’m venturing a guess that Eden’s Burrow constructed it. I’ll be happy to add it to my new military force after I destroy the place.”

  “You’ll never find it.” Garder turned to Rayna. “Hey, you okay?”

  She looked away and remained silent.

  “You… What did you do to her?” Milla demanded. “I swear, if you’ve done anything to her, I’ll…”

  “My dear, I haven’t in the slightest. No, no. We’ve been treating her quite nicely, actually. Maybe nicer than you have. Drides showed her around our capital. Bought her some nice Aurrian clothes. Kept her out of rebel-infested Cities. Divulged… certain truths that you selfishly withheld.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?!” Rayna suddenly cried out. “You couldn’t even tell me what I was? That I was some… stone that came to life? That I’m not even a real person?”

  “Rayna, that’s not true at all!” Lechi responded.

  “Yes it is! And it all makes perfect sense… somehow…”

  “No, I think what Lechi means is…” Temki took a breath and a few steps forward, “Rayna, you are a real person. You’re just… different.”

  “Those people are not your friends,” Verim added. “Lontonkon and Drides—they don’t actually care about you—”

  “At least they told me what I was. At least they told me…”

  “Your parents love you, and they’re waiting for you back at our new Aurrian home,” Milla continued. “They would never see you as ‘not a real person.’ If you stay with these people, they’re going to do terrible things to you, and you’re never going… you’ll never see your parents again. All Lontonkon cares about is the demon—but not you. Do you understand?”

  Rayna calmed down a bit, but still couldn’t offer forgiveness.

  “Remember Dustin?” Temki said quietly after a few moments. “We promised you that we’d find him, remember? If you stay with Lontonkon… you’ll never get to find him, either…”

  “Quiet, boy!” Lontonkon shouted angrily. “As far as I’m concerned, both you and Rayna are property of the Aurrian Guard! And especially Rayna… She’s the result of a project I began long ago, and a very valuable, constructed asset. You’re not going to take her from me.”

  Shin angrily replied, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You should have some idea of what I seek, Shin. You and your cousin. I was born into your clan an outcast; as one who couldn’t even wield lightning. But you know what is truly magnificent? My handicap of being born a mind adept was not an obstacle for me.

  “Ever since I fled your family and wiped it out, I’ve been traveling the world, absorbing the contained powers of many more people. Call my ways sick and twisted if you wish, but through my manipulation of Aurra’s laws via the most extreme of methods, I can now utilize every element! I am the first self-made apostle! And after I absorb Drides’ heart, I will become the most powerful Aurrian… to have ever lived…”

  “Absorbing… hearts?”

  “Too literal. More like the heart of the human soul. Look at this armor.” He moved his hands to fully reveal the silver chainmail he was wearing. “This is something I had my loyalists that once worked with Pangs create just for me. Each link holds a single soul, and I must have over a thousand, all trapped so long as I live, ready to lend me their power on my demand. The only reason for Drides’ continued existence is so that I can add him to this magnificent armor. And the only thing that boy cannot kill with his eyes is the demon I created. After I become one with the creature, finally… not even my apprentice can stand in my way.”

  “Y-you… you…” Milla stammered. “How could you do all of this? I can’t believe that you and I… both have a place in Aurrian royalty. You’re beyond sick, Lontonkon. You… You’ll never be forgiven for this.”

  “You think I care about forgiveness? Aurra needs to be reshaped, Seriph. With the demon, I will become heir to the powers of the Original. Aurra will turn into a malleable dream, with I as its eternal king.”

  “He’s insane,” Garder muttered. “Listen to this crap. He’s finally gone mad.”

  “Silence!” Delqua shouted. “Do not speak down to his highness!”

  “Delqua, you pathetic lackey,” Verim spat. “What’s even in this for you? You belong behind a desk in A, taking bribes—not here.”

  “I don’t want much. Just the top position on the security council, and to see that spineless Flentek executed on the floor. Why not further my political career when the chance comes? Lontonkon can order me around as much as he likes, and I’ll be happy to obey his every command.”

  “We can agree that Chancellor Flentek’s a weak leader…” Garder replied, “but I’m ashamed that you represent N.”

  “And I’m ashamed that you hail from my City, you wretched little punk—you insipid, foul, dirty, lowlife, uneducated filth.”

  Garder laughed. “Pile on the insults if it makes you feel ever so slightly higher on the pedestal. I bet you’re the kind of person who has never led any sort of worthy life. You’re garbage. You’ll always be garbage. Garbage following some selfish, power hungry idiot in a position you’ll never achieve. He sacrifices entire armies, man. And you think he likes you?”

  “I am so very… sick of you. You… you know what? None of you are even worthy of seeing what Lontonkon is about to become. You’ll just have to wait until your next go around. Too bad. You’ve just missed your chance to watch a once in a lifetime event. Now die! All of you, die!”

  He shot up three fingers, and the ground beneath the group shook. Rock spires jutted up to form a circle, and then closed in to crush and impale them. But Delqua underestimated just how strong they had become and watched in astonishment as they worked together to dispel the attack.

  Simon diffused the technique to weaken the spires, Milla cut them apart with vector lines, and Garder blasted them with air blades. Simon and Lechi then worked with Temki to block them with metal barriers, while Verim used the nearby plant life to choke and crush them back into dirt.

  The councilor kept at it unabated, summoning one of his strongest spells in a burst of rage. Lontonkon watched in amusement as Delqua put himself at risk by forcing most of his reserves into an invisible sphere he could just barely control between his hands. But other than swirling dust and a low rumble in the air itself, the group couldn’t tell what he was doing.

  But Scud, with his feline senses, picked up on what he was creating. It wasn’t something that the humans would detect—in part because they had no sensitive whiskers that could feel the subtle tug of gravity. And now they were allowing a dangerous technique to strengthen.

  It was already too late for the cat to warn his master of the danger. With a gratifying shout, Delqua forced his palms forward and released the invisible sphere. Wendell felt Scud leap off of his shoulder and watched his partner dart across the grass. With what little youthfulness he still had in him, he leapt into the air and intercepted something he couldn’t even see.

  For a moment, Scud hung in the air, frozen in time—until a small orb appeared, turned a solid black, then exploded into a violently swirling vortex of distortion. The twister grew quickly, tearing apart the ground and then flattening everything under it. The deep thunder it emitted peaked to a near-deafening bass, just before the attack suddenly ended.

  All was silent, as if sound had been sucked away. Then Wendell noticed that the ground swirl reached just within an inch of his feet and extended to the same distance the other way—in front of Lontonkon and Rayna, where the vortex had demolished a large chunk of the stone dais.

  Delqua, nearly completely exhausted, hunched over and breathed out, “What… what the hell just happened? Why’d it detonate early?”

  “Nice little gravity bomb there, councilor,” Lontonkon jested. “But I’m afraid the cat just saved the humans. How embarrassing for you.”

  “Are… are you kidding me? Damn this lot…”

  Wendell, expressionless, noticed Scud’s shredded eyepatch floating gently back to the ground. He extended his arm and clasped it in his hand.

  “Ah, Scud… you stupid cat… look what you’ve gone and done now,” he sighed deeply and stared at the eyepatch.

  Milla looked at him and murmured, “Wendell…”

  “He… he saved us,” Verim added. “Damn it… I couldn’t tell what that attack was before it was too late.”

  “Rest easy, old friend,” Wendell said as he pocketed the eyepatch. “You’ll be a kitten again soon. Got a whole life ahead of ya…”

  “Damn your flea-bitten vermin!” Delqua shouted out. “I almost killed all of you. It would’ve been simple and fast. Why can’t anything ever just work like it should? I’ll kill all of you… one by one. Worthless scum…”

  Wendell reached around to his back. “No more talking. You just killed my partner of fifteen years. That won’t go unpunished.”

  “Well, look at you! High and mighty, aren’t we? Don’t worry about your stupid animal, old man, you’ll be joining him soo—”

  Bang. Wendell was no slouch on the draw. Within the time span of two seconds, he had removed his Aurrian rifle, cocked it, aimed, and fired. The next thing Delqua knew, he could no longer speak—his lungs no longer worked and there was an intense, blistering pain in his chest.

  The councilor covered the new hole in his rib cage and collapsed to his knees, as blood stained his robes and gloves and he gasped for breath that wouldn’t come. He crawled to Lontonkon and without words, begged for help. But the king offered none, only giving him a wince of the eye and a shuffle of the feet to keep a pair of expensive boots from being stained.

  Seconds later, Delqua dropped to the ground, stopped moving, and turned into orange particles that were swept away in the wind. Lontonkon merely kicked his robes off the dais and returned to his towering stance by Rayna, who didn’t want to absorb all that had happened in the past minute.

  Lontonkon soon laughed to himself. “Well, that was entertaining. Gives me one less promise to keep, in any case.”

  “You’re next,” Wendell said as he turned his rifle on the king.

  “I really wouldn’t do that. Redirecting your bullet to another… target would not be difficult for me. Now why don’t you just put away your weapons and listen to me for a moment?”

  Grudgingly, they obliged. Given their position, no one in the group wanted to risk aggravating the situation further. A few of them considered it a miracle that there weren’t any repercussions for what they’d done so far.

  “You’ve all come a long way in such a short time… I consider you worthy opponents. Worthy of learning the truth of what I’ve been doing—my little present to you, that you can take to the grave. Did you know that I had a half-sister? Had being the key word. She was no one important to me, mind you. She was my father’s other child. And she was a sickly little thing, from what I remember. But she outlasted the rest of my family. At least, before dying herself when she was in her early twenties.”

  “I’ve… never heard of her,” Milla replied.

  “No, of course not. Her existence was kept a secret, because of me. I wanted it so that if I died, then I would be it. I don’t want my lineage to continue. Partly because I wanted my secrets to die with me; partly because I do not believe Aurrian royalty should be decided by blood.”

  “How selfless of you,” Garder scoffed.

  “But she did find use in the end. As she was dying, the work on the demon was just finishing. It would be a creature of immense power, capable of tearing open the dimensional fabric, able to constantly grow metal-infused skin that can tolerate the haze. Then I had a thought: instead of giving all of that power to a wild, uncivilized animal, why not adapt it into myself? It was a fascinating challenge. I needed the creature to grow and to live on its own first, so that my body couldn’t destroy it before we became one; like any other elemental, it had to be bound to a person, who could support its existence. This would ensure not only its survival—it would also make it more capable of surviving inside of a human. And I could make it safer for myself further still, by having it grow inside of a body with similar genetics to my own, so that when I was finally ready to take it in… it’d be even more compatible with me. My sister was the key.

  “Here’s the truth, laid out for you. I’ve wanted to revel in this moment… I have told no one the full spectrum of my plans, and I must say that it feels… so very exciting. A weight off my back. Shortly before Zandri would’ve died, I had her genetics recorded onto a datastone capable of creating life, added the demon’s data, and had it sent to Earth.

  “Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what would happen. But I was patient. I could try as many things as I needed to. It just so happened that my first attempt worked perfectly.” Drides turned to Rayna, “Do you understand, child? You are my otherwise worthless sister reborn into a beautiful life that is chimera of human and demon. And that latter half is something that I’ve cultivated and waited to see for seven years now… You look just like her. I suppose there’s even a chance that you’ve inherited her illness. And I know you want to go home, but I believe that you are home.”

  “Because… Because I’m an Aurrian…” Rayna murmured.

  “You’re a monster!” Lechi shouted. “How can you justify exploiting human lives like that? Even your own family?”

  “She doesn’t belong to you!” Simon added. “No matter where she comes from, she’ll never belong to you!”

  Rayna looked at her friends. “Everyone… I…”

  “Enough. I don’t want to waste any further time here. I’ve said everything that I need to say, and I do not regret or apologize for anything I’ve done. It was all worth it, to make Aurra mine, to bring peace. I must ask that you all promptly perish. Rayna, I request that you hand over that creature that still resides within you.”

  “No! Leave me alone!”

  “You have no choice in the matter. Did you think your friends could save you? Watch how easily I’ll dispose of them.”

  And then she looked on in terror as Lontonkon summoned scorching flames that engulfed both Verim and Shin. She screamed and tried to run, but her body wouldn’t move. All she could do was watch as he moved onto Simon and Wendell, pulling them down into the ground and crushing them between slabs of sharpened steel. Two more friends, gone.

  The twins were next, each completely wiped out of existence by small pillars of nova-based energy. Garder first, and then Milla. Both managed to get out a brief screech of pain before disappearing from the world. Rayna could nearly feel her heart stop as Lontonkon finished his assault with unrelenting brutality on Lechi and Temki. The fact that they were children didn’t give him pause at all, and both were instantly gone after two deadly bolts of lightning slammed into them.

  Rayna fell to her knees and could finally feel tears streaming down her face. All of the friends she had made in Aurra—all dead within seconds. She could do nothing for them, and now they could do nothing for her.

  “I’m sorry, Rayna, but they were in the way of progress. They were in the way of a brighter, better future for Aurra. I know you’ll miss them, but you’ll make new friends. Friends… who would never hide the truth from you. What did they ever do for you, hmm? They didn’t actually care about you. You meant nothing to them.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “That… that’s not true…” Rayna sobbed. “Why did you have to… have to kill them? Why are you such a horrible person? How can you… you be so cruel?”

  “Do you hate me, Rayna? You hate me, don’t you? Tell you what, if you show me how much you hate me, and if you truly mean it, then I’ll let you go home. Would you like to go home? With your mother and father? All you have to do is show me how much you hate me.”

  “N-no… I know what you’re trying to do… I’ll never…”

  “Come on now, child. There’s no reason to bottle up those feelings of yours anymore. Let it all out. Let go of your fears. You already know all about the thing that can do this for you.”

  “No! No! I won’t let it out! I hate that monster!”

  “But that monster can destroy me. You could use it to destroy me, child! You could avenge your friends! All you have to do is…”

  “No! No, no, no!”

  The group watched all of this, feeling more helpless every passing moment. It had been several minutes since it began; Lontonkon had one hand over Rayna to control her thoughts, and the other outward towards them threateningly. All they could do was shout to her, tell her that none of what she was seeing was real. But none of their words could reach her.

  All the while, Temki was trying his hardest to free her mind. But even his paradigm strength was no match for Lontonkon’s powerful mind techniques, and he was eventually forced to give up to avoid passing out. And the others gave up, as well. They watched sadly as Rayna’s willpower began to ebb away, and they all knew that they were alive only because the king wanted it that way; he could’ve easily summoned an inescapable nova blast and wiped them all out instantly the entire time.

  It took longer than he had hoped, but eventually Rayna could stand against Lontonkon’s words no longer. As a dark presence began to loom in the area, she collapsed to the floor and fell into a deep slumber. There was a sudden, powerful release of energy. A dark shock wave spread out from her, shaking the surrounding foundation and then disappearing into the air.

  The demon then came back to life. But as it sprang out and flew up into the air, those that had seen it before knew that something had changed. It had no body; rather, it was a shadow, a ghost. Its body was translucent and wavered weakly in the air, as if a breeze could blow it away like smoke.

  “Welcome back,” Lontonkon said with a wry smile. “You, demon, look down here! Look at your master!”

  The fearsome creature growled in a whisper and turned its focus to the king. Its six eyes glowed menacingly and it moved in an agitated motion, but in its own strange way, it seemed to be willing to listen to Lontonkon.

  “My beautiful creature, that girl you’ve been leeching off of like a parasite has been the only thing keeping you alive. But look at her—she’s just a small child, and she hasn’t taken kindly to you. She fights to reject you. She makes your life a living hell. And while it’s true that she can hold your spirit, letting you be reborn in Aurra again and again, she’ll never appreciate you. She’ll only cause you further pain.

  “But look upon this vessel standing before you. It can contain you. I will give you true life. I will give you freedom. A permanent residence. All I ask is that you give me a fraction of your power and complete me. Leave the wretched girl behind and become one with me, demon! Become one with your creator, and we will accomplish great things!”

  “Stop!” Shin called out. “You have no idea what you’re doing!”

  “You idiot! You can’t control that thing!” Garder continued.

  “Silence! All of you, shut up! I will not let you take my greatest work from me! You will not interfere any further! I have devoted my entire life to this moment, and you cannot stop it!

  “And I don’t care what happens to me. Can you understand that? It doesn’t matter what I become! So long as part of my mind exists—I will see my goal through! Now, demon—I demand that we become one! Lend me your power and bend this armor to your will! Come to your maker!”

  The spirit of the vile beast snarled, and then tore into its creator. It turned into a swirling mass of blackness as it was absorbed into Lontonkon. The king’s alchemagi, body, thoughts, and his very essence merged, intertwined, and bent into a misshapen perversion of life.

  When the process was nearly complete, Lontonkon stood himself up again after a few coughs and groans. He turned and looked down at the people he had come to loathe with a passion, as the demon part of him used its power to turn his soul-infused armor into a liquid that spread thinly over his body, changing his skin into a cold ashen gray.

  “Ah…” he muttered as he looked at his palms. “You… cannot imagine… how this feels… Ha, y-yes… To achieve true apostolic power… The hidden techniques, the memories, the power of all those I embedded into the armor… All of it combined! This might must be beyond my comprehension… Of course it is! Such power is not something the weak human mind can understand! I… Together we will… We will…”

  He collapsed to his knees and coughed violently. At first, the group was reluctant to act, but after a few more seconds went by of whatever was happening to him, Milla leapt onto the dais, scooped up Rayna, and carried her to a safe corner of the courtyard, where she remained unconscious. At the same time, the others drew their weapons and prepared to seize the apparent moment to take down Lontonkon for good.

  But his transformation suddenly took a horrific turn. With his skin already a pale gray, his eyes turned solid black as his muscles were reshaped and stretched, while his hands mutated into long, boney claws. His wrists gave birth to skeletal spikes, with more growing out from his spine. Within seconds, the king had become a hybrid with the demon, making it evident that he had lost in his brief struggle to control the creature. Instead of living mutually with his creation, it had taken hold of every part of him, and was quickly turning him into a grotesque abomination.

  The mutations became worse as the team backed off to give the nightmare creature space. They were struggling to decide whether to fight, or run and risk giving the demon back its life in the worst possible way. The beast, its leg and arm muscles greatly twisted and altered, let out a sickening roar as it stood up to its new height of no less than twelve feet.

  “We have to take this thing down!” Garder shouted out. “If I got what the king was saying, if we kill this thing, the demon—and Lontonkon will be dead for good. And maybe… maybe Rayna could live a normal life.”

  “But we could kill her,” Verim replied.

  Milla sighed. “There’s no way around it. Temki, Lechi—I want you two over by Rayna. You protect her and use your iron-mind amplification to stop anything it throws at us. Help us, but from a safe distance.”

  They both nodded and ran off to Rayna.

  “Oh, God, this thing’s terrifying…” Verim commented. “Does it look… worse than the first time you fought it?”

  “Much worse,” Garder replied. “Before, it was just a flying serpent that we could shoot out of the sky if we could land a hit. But this…”

  “Christ,” Wendell muttered. “And that used to be Lontonkon…”

  “We work together,” Shin said. “We can’t let this thing live, no matter what. We at least hold out and give the others time to arrive.”

  The creature turned its attention to the group and snarled deeply while it looked them over. It clearly remembered two of its members.

  “Milla, now!” Garder shouted and grabbed hold of his sword.

  It looked over at Milla to see her making a hand gesture, and then back at Garder. Knowing what to expect this time, it leapt into the air with its wolf-like legs. Milla’s controlled vector line emanating from Garder’s blade followed it closely, but with the creature’s newfound ability to spin and twirl in the air, cling on to the walls, and launch itself off again at hundreds of miles an hour, avoiding the lines became almost too easy.

  To make matters worse, the beast now had access to a much higher intelligence than it originally possessed. It could adapt and learn quickly, making every passing moment for its attackers more dangerous.

  Grabbing onto the stone wall above, it launched fireballs at Garder. Upon noticing the oncoming threat, he fell to the ground, causing a rogue vector line to come down and slice the dais in half. Simon then put up a diffusion barrier and destroyed the fireballs before they reached him.

  But the creature was extremely agile, relentless, and hostile. It fired itself downward like a meteor, a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth wide open. Verim and Shin darted forward, intercepting its swipe before it could take someone out with a powerful blow. The two Holdians soon found themselves dueling with the demon, claw to sword—and they were quickly being worn down from the beast’s inhuman might.

  At the same time, Simon was attempting to blind it with light bursts, and Wendell was taking shots at its head with his rifle. But all the attacks amounted to were quick winces and a face-full of gunpowder ash. Lechi was throwing her own efforts into the battle, using Temki’s ability to synthesize giant metal spikes which she attempted to drive into the beast’s thick skin. And while most of them missed or were deflected, she finally managed to impale its torso with a flurry long, sharp metal skewers.

  Knowing they would make an electrical attack more powerful, Shin aimed to send a powerful shock through the demon. But she wanted to get the job done right, so she worked with Verim to set up the next attack, reminding Lechi to maintain control of the spikes.

  Verim backed off, took out most of his seeds, and scattered them around the raging beast. They sprouted into thick vines, some of which were filled with the conducting sap he had used on the mobile hammer. The beast chewed or ripped through the plant life, but the vines were so numerous that it quickly succumbed to their tendrils and was immobilized.

  With the spikes still pinned in its body, Verim attempted to get some of the vines to go inside the creature’s mouth—but couldn’t force its jaws open with plants alone. Deciding to act before they lost their brief dominance over the beast, Shin went ahead and drove her katana deep into the beast’s upper arm and delivered a powerful electrical current.

  On cue, everyone took advantage of the moment. Garder froze the beast’s legs to the ground, Milla dropped a large vector mandala she had formed overheard, Wendell ignited the sap-filled vines with bursts of fire, and Simon formed a smaller version of his condensed beam of light.

  The entire attack, from setup to pinnacle, lasted for only a few seconds. At the end of it, the area where the demon had stood was a mess of destructive alchemagi capable of tearing apart anything. Nearly anything.

  When the smoke cleared, the demon remained, now more enraged than ever. The gray skin that once covered its body was almost completely gone, and what was left was burning into thick, black vapor. Before it could be hit by a second series of attacks, it leapt back into the air and clung onto the upper walls, a trail of black following its every movement.

  “Crap, it’s just like its other form!” Garder shouted out. “We’re going to have to get through that armor-skin first.”

  “So we didn’t even hurt it all?” Shin replied angrily.

  “We kind of did. I think if we did all of that again, we might kill it.”

  “Do it all again? Garder, look at this thing! It’s learning as it fights! We’ll never pull off the same thing a second time.”

  “And we’re wearing ourselves out,” Simon added. “A second chance might be all we have.”

  Unwilling to give its enemies another shot at taking away its life, it roared angrily and began its retaliation. Within seconds, it had created small nova spheres around its body, and started firing them off in all directions. After seeing an orb hit a segment of the upper wall and destroy it, Lechi responded and worked with Temki to create layering metal barriers to both protect their friends and intercept the powerful bright orbs.

  Like exploding marbles, the nova spheres bounced off of floating metal plates a few times before spontaneously erupting into vibrant balls of energy. Every small explosion made it harder for the pair to maintain the barriers, and even with the rest of the group pitching in—Shin with her static field—the powerful barrage was quickly draining their reserves.

  The demon continued, with sickening enjoyment. Shaking the spheres off like fleas, it produced an endless supply that grew larger with each new wave. Barriers began to fail with each new deafening, blinding burst of light, and Temki and Lechi were soon struggling to keep one last barricade going. All that protected the group from the energy bursts was a single, thin layer of metal hovering in place above the ruined dais.

  Knowing that victory was near, the demon took a moment to power up a sphere that was bigger than the rest, and simply let it drop straight downwards. Not expecting it, Lechi had no time to counter the final, larger glowing orb that cut straight through the barrier, crashed into the dais, and detonated.

  The stone stage was reduced to dust by the attack, and the explosive force sent everyone flying backwards in pain. But it wasn’t just the force of the explosion; the brightness and loudness of the final burst sent everyone into shell shock, and even though they were mostly physically unharmed as they laid scattered on the grass, everyone was in such a daze that it felt as if their energy had been sapped straight out of them.

  With their vision blurry and their ears ringing, the group struggled to get back on their feet as they watched the demon take position on the place where the dais used to be—and ready its inevitable coup de grace.

  The beast roared once more, stretched its neck around, clicked its jaws, and growled deeply. Garder could already feel what was coming next.

  It latched its feet into the ground securely, opened its mouth as wide as it could go, faced straight up, and began to siphon raw energy from every part of its body. This time, instead of the black ink-like fluid seeping through etched patterns on its skin, it came straight out of the pores and slowly turned the creature’s body into a solid black.

  As the hum from the pure alchemagi pyramid forming in its mouth picked up, Garder realized that this might finally be the end his journey with the others. He suddenly found himself begging for that entity inside of him to come back out, knowing that it was their last hope. If he couldn’t get back to his feet and fight at his top ability again… the only result would be the death of himself and all of his friends.

  He closed his eyes and desperately sought that other life, no matter how much it frightened him. Caeden. He begged him to take control again. Whatever it took to save those he loved.

  Suddenly, they heard the unmistakable sound of a whistling arrow. Garder opened his eyes just in time to see the pointed end lodge itself straight into the demon’s lower jaw, causing it to lose control of its primary attack. The raw alchemagi pyramid fired off into the sky above, exploding in the clouds seconds later and blasting them away.

  Garder and the others turned their attention to a previously unseen hole in the wall, likely made by one of the rogue nova spheres. Rushing out of the new entrance was Rivia, Leovyn, and the three paradigms. And while they each already looked exhausted from their own fights, their appearance sent a small feeling of hope throughout the beaten group.

  “Looks like the codger king finally turned into something that reflects how we saw him,” Tabi said as she prepped another crossbow bolt.

  “How can you tell that’s Lontonkon?” Viktor replied.

  “Looks just as ugly, doesn’t it?”

  “Everyone okay?” Leovyn shouted out. “Don’t worry, guys. We’ll take it from here. But by all means, help if you still can.”

  “Go all out on this thing, okay? Really don’t like the looks of it.”

  “Right,” Rivia said. “We don’t give it a single chance. We need to do this in one movement, understood?”

  “Tabi, look,” Masayuki said, pointing to the courtyard’s grass.

  “I know. That’s quite an advantage. Okay, everyone… here we go.”

  Tabi fired three bolts at once, which spread out into an arc that the demon sidestepped to avoid. But it was exactly what she wanted, as it had just positioned itself back onto the field. Tabi took control over the grass, pumping it full of alchemagi and increasing its size tenfold. Thousands of blades wrapped themselves tightly around the legs of the beast, trapping it.

  Viktor and Masayuki charged forward with swords ahead, and the demon responded by taking wide, powerful, desperate swipes at them. But with Leovyn throwing out vector lines all around the creature, it became more concerned with avoiding those instead of stopping the two paradigms.

  Rather than attacking the beast directly, Viktor and Masayuki split up, circled around it—and dropped off a bag of seeds on either side of their target. Tabi sprouted the seeds, and in seconds, dozens of thorny vines ensnared both its arms and already entangled legs, fully ensnaring it.

  Now furiously trying to stay alive, it began firing off more nova spheres from its mouth, lobbing a repeated barrage all over the place. Rivia charged forward, his sword at the ready. He blocked several of the spheres with floating iron barriers, while Leovyn dealt with the majority by slicing them apart with atomized lines, detonating the orbs at a safe distance.

  Determined to get the job done right, Viktor and Masayuki came back around and without any difficulty, drove their weapons deep into the creature’s chest and sent intense flame and electricity through the blades. The creature loudly howled in pain, yet still refused to give up its reborn existence. Rivia then delivered what was meant as a final blow, implanting his elemental claymore straight into the demon’s torso and summoning up a torrent of wind that tore apart the beast from the inside out.

  The five’s assault on the demon was cunning, brutal, and over within a minute. The most elite officers of the Angels fully expected the creature to begin dissolving, taking with it the black blood that had been sprayed across their faces and shoulders. Yet, it instead clung to life.

  Suddenly finding a second wind, it put all of its remaining life into its eyes, which opened up wide and stared out at everyone.

  “No!” Garder called out. “Look awa—”

  They all felt their minds rattle, and reality fell apart. The sky turned nearly solid black as they all looked at each other and could hear one another’s thoughts. It took them a few seconds of effort to realize they were suffering a mass, mind-linked hallucination, but they were able to calm down with some standard Aurrian meditation to reduce the mental noise.

  Milla was the first to try and speak—but no words came out. There was no sound. They only had their thoughts. She spoke telepathically to all of them without trying to, as there suddenly didn’t seem to be a choice.

  “Garder—didn’t you say you experienced something like this at the stadium in C? How do we get out of this?”

  “I couldn’t,” he thought back. “I was snapped out of it from outside. If we’re all trapped together… And what if the demon’s about to attack us? We won’t even see it coming! W-we have to find some way to…”

  “It must be using Lontonkon’s mind alignment to boost an ability it already had…” Verim figured. “Damn, and we were so close to killing it!”

  “Wait, I hear something,” Tabi noticed.

  Figures suddenly appeared, forming as if synthesized. There were dozens of them, little more than shapes with few distinguishing details. They watched as they moved into action like shadow puppets, reenacting a story. They grabbed their swords and shot out lightning, but it did no good against their target: a taller, menacing man with a long blade. Their bolts just bent away from him, their weapons were unable to come close. They were trying to defend themselves against someone with providence.

  Then, a slaughter. The man effortlessly and skillfully sliced at his helpless victims. They didn’t beg or run, but looked desperate to land a single hit on their attacker as they were unceremoniously massacred. This could have been any Aurrian clan or bloodline over the years being killed by the Guard, but this particular killing was easily identifiable by Shin.

  “No…” her voiceless whisper murmured. “Don’t… Don’t show me this!” She looked over at Masayuki, who watched the replayed memory in great anger. “Make it stop! Masayuki, make it stop!”

  “I failed them…” he muttered. “I failed our family, Shinamayu. Even my brother didn’t stand a chance…”

  “Don’t fall for this crap,” Garder said. “You know it’s just…”

  He stopped as the brutal story ended and faded, and a familiar face emerged—because it was fully visible, and detailed. Jeryn was taking steps towards them, in an unfamiliar red cloak. Milla saw him next, and then all the others. They watched silently as he walked through and past them, towards the dark figure that remained after his victims had vanished.

  “Jeryn…” Milla stated with a flat expression. She then burst towards him, with an arm reaching out. “Jeryn, you were supposed to tell me something important! If these are the king’s memories… then he might also know… Tell me! You weren’t supposed to die before you told me!”

  He didn’t turn to face her or interact in anyway. Still, since they were now disoriented and she might very well be running directly into the wounded demon, Leovyn ran up and caught her before she got too close.

  “Milla. Milla, stop!” he ordered. “These are just memories. That thing might not even be controlling them, or know what it’s doing.”

  Jeryn knelt before the shadowy king, as if to receive a command. Instead, another figure emerged, also in full color. This one had a metal patch over one eye, and he looked down at Jeryn in more ways than one. Milla fought to regain some composure, looking for any clue hidden in the moment, regardless of how well replicated it might have been. Before it too faded, she picked up on something subtle: Drides reaching into his pocket.

  The memories suddenly became chaotic and visually loud. Black ooze dripped from the sky, and the visions turned into a torrent of times and places. Old Aurra, old Earth—they were from across centuries, of past lives. Good deeds, bad deeds, horrifying deeds. It was quickly becoming overwhelming. Either Lontonkon, or the demon, or both of them were crying out in pain, and were unable to focus on any one moment.

  “His recall is spilling out into this maelstrom,” Rivia observed. “I think he must be experiencing some serious brain trauma.”

  “We have to escape,” Viktor said. “Temki! You have to counter this. You have some training, don’t you? We need you to free us!”

  They looked at the young mind paradigm, just in time to see him watch one little intact vision off in a corner. The dark figure was near a projected image of Temki, who looked up fearfully. In the next instant, the king closed his fist, and the boy was compacted into the unmistakable shape of a synthid stone. Its new owner then grasped the object, seemingly made a wish, and then had an entire menacing army spread out in a smoky trail from behind him. Tanks, aircraft, naval ships, new weaponry—these things, this overwhelming and loyal new military force was so pervasive, that it overtook every other thought. The chaos and mess of memories all transformed into the focused ideation of an invincible and eternal and vast war machine. In the end, that was all Lontonkon really wanted.

  Drides was right. He was little more than a power-hungry old man who would never be satisfied. That simple truth was laid bare for all to see.

  The king so desired to use Temki to build a force to crush Aurra, to enslave and destroy his friends and only family. He had known of the plan and how he was involved already, but to see it broadcasted with such desire… He realized that he no longer wanted to run and hide.

  He cried out in anguish so loudly, that even in this place, his shouts turned into faint and muffled—yet real sound. Afraid of the power he was about to unleash, Lechi backed away from her friend a few feet.

  Temki grabbed onto his staff with both hands, let out another cry, and then forced so much mind-based alchemagi into it that it exploded into splinters. A bubble of clarity, a window into the real world, quickly grew from where the staff had been and expanded like a shock wave. The twisted illusions of a dying monster were blown away, and in seconds, everyone was back in reality again, feeling the small sprinkle of the courtyard’s cold rain.

  Lechi caught Temki as he passed out before he hit the ground, looked him over, felt his weak pulse, and then dragged him by herself the short distance over to where Rayna was still in her own slumber.

  “Good job, kid…” Garder huffed.

  Shin only enjoyed her freedom for a brief moment before charging ahead with a war cry of her own, in a brutal striking stance with sword above her head. The demon, which had been clinging to life on the ruins of the dais and trying to mend its wounds with vector lines, didn’t even have the motivation to attempt to get out of the way.

  It had transformed further still during the fight, and now had almost no resemblance to Lontonkon. But Shin knew he was still in there, and felt a great weight leave her shoulders. His mind may not have been intact enough to experience it in full clarity, but at least she was still able to deliver some long overdue justice for her people.

  After it let out a shriek of agony, Shin removed her blade from its chest and gazed upon the black blood that now soaked it. At long last, it gave up its last breath, and its eyes faded out of life. As the last of its air escaped from its lungs, it groaned, hunched over, and began to disintegrate in a flurry of black vapors, as did all the blood it had spilled.

  Something began to happen with its body as it started to drift away into the wind like ash. Tiny orbs, glowing a vibrant blue, were released into the air and promptly disappeared. There were hundreds of them, mixed in with the dark vapor. From their encounter with The Original, Milla and her team already knew what they were looking at. The others had a good guess.

  “Lontonkon did many terrible things…” Milla breathed out. “He imprisoned so many in that armor… Killed maybe thousands of others…”

  “And constructed a biological weapon that he’d later try to absorb to become a ‘god,’” Leovyn replied. “I guess that’s one way to go about it.”

  “Why didn’t you guys call for help?” Tabi wondered.

  “Figured you had your hands full already,” Verim replied. “We were doing pretty well at first. But, you know, seeing you five charge in like that and almost dealing with that thing so easily is kind of… Well, I guess the rest of us still have a lot to learn.”

  “Trust us,” Viktor spoke up, “taking down three of those guardian machines was no easy task. A five on one fight actually came as a relief.”

  “Everyone, see to our friends here,” Rivia said. “Lechi, how are Rayna and Temki?”

  “Still breathing,” she replied. “Do you think the demon’s… dead for good? I wonder what Rayna will feel like when she wakes up.”

  “I’m sure we’ll find out, but we’ve got to get everyone on their feet again and get out of here,” Leovyn said. “We can bomb this place to hell when we’re in the sky again.”

  Garder huffed, “I… actually thought he was an apostle just by wearing that armor. Now that I have a chance to think about, I guess that wouldn’t really make sense. He had to integrate it with his body first.”

  “Do you think Pangs knew anything about its development?” Wendell asked. “You all trust that man and his research teams, but some of them really seemed to have been in the king’s pocket…”

  “I plan to have a long talk with him sometime soon,” Rivia sighed.

  “Xavier, come in,” Tabi spoke into her radio. “King’s dead. So is his pet. We’re going to get everyone back in shape and get back to you.”

  “Got it. You guys had better hurry. I doubt this place is safe yet.”

  Garder and Simon seemed to have the worst of the injuries, though they were both still mostly in one piece. As Leovyn supervised the situation and the others treated the group’s light wounds, Milla approached her father and collected her thoughts for a moment.

  “We couldn’t do it by ourselves,” she murmured.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. Important thing is that you’re all okay. Judging by the damage to this place… you must’ve endured some hell.”

  “D-Dad…” Milla continued after noticing the bandage Tabi was wrapping around Garder’s shoulder. “This is my first go as a vector, and I was wondering… Can you teach me to mend wounds with our abilities?”

  “It’s tricky, like sewing and cauterizing at the same time. But it’s the only true way of using nothing but alchemagi to treat wounds. If you don’t count cauterizing with fire, or using iron to painfully rebuild bone calcium.”

  “Could… you teach me how to do that?”

  “I’m sure I could. You’ve more than enough talent to learn how.”

  “Leovyn,” Rivia called out from the corner where the children remained unmoved. “Rayna’s in a comatose-like state. I’m hoping it’s light, though—that her body’s just trying to adapt to a major change, judging by her biorhythm. And Temki’s already coming around.”

  “Good, good… If the rest of you are able to move, we should probably go ahead and get out of here.”

  Working together, the team picked themselves up and prepared to leave the fortress behind. Milla helped Garder, as Verim did the same for Wendell. Before they began their trek out, they took one last look around at the courtyard. The thought of Lontonkon actually having been killed—to say nothing of what he had become first—seemed unreal. It was almost a feeling of everything coming to an end so unexpectedly soon. With the king gone, the war might have a chance of a swift resolution. A chance.

  “Sorry about Scud,” Verim murmured. “He was a good partner, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes… I’ll miss the old hairball.”

  “Why do animals have to live such short lives? It’s not fair to us.”

  “Universe is a cruel place, kid. I’m getting old, but I’d probably still outlive another two partners. We animalects just have to get used to it.”

  “So what will you do now, Wendell?”

  “Talk some sense into the council if I can. Fight, perhaps.”

  “Right. Like they’ll actually listen to anyone.”

  “That thing he became… What I saw inside of it, even before it all spilled out… Swirling chaos. Hundreds of lives in torment, feeding it… He was a very different person from when we last met. My senses have gotten better over the years, so I suppose that when I saw him last, he already had a few people trapped in that armor and I couldn’t see it yet.”

  “Boggles the mind how twisted the human spirit can become. Wonder what Lontonkon’s feeling in Hold right now… Actually, I’d expect that he isn’t getting a warm reception up there. Down there? God, he caused the deaths of so many people. He deserves whatever he gets. Hey—we need a good new king. Maybe you should sign up, or Rivia perhaps. Or Milla—she has job experience,” Verim said with a laugh.

  “I don’t think I’m ready to do that again,” Milla replied after she and Garder joined the two. “But I definitely cast my vote for Rivia.”

  “Yeah, he really should become the next ruler,” Garder added.

  “You’re not being very realistic, I’m afraid…” Rivia sighed as Tabi picked up and carried Rayna behind him. “I’m a rebel officer. It wouldn’t be right for me to take the position, and there would be millions who would oppose it. It’s up to the senate now to decide the best course of action. They have the power to stop this war, if they really want that.”

  “Wait, is Lontonkon’s line really done?” Simon wondered. “I mean, are we sure that he doesn’t have any family left?”

  “They’ll check into that plenty,” Leovyn replied. “As ridiculous as it sounds, they’d rather make one of his third cousins, twice removed the new king as opposed to electing someone respected and deserving of the job. And then they act surprised that we’re rebelling.”

  “The bloodline system should really be abolished for that very reason,” Shin said. “It’s just pointless and archaic. I really hope the council and senate won’t be that stupid in a time like this.”

  “Oh, you can count on them to be,” a familiar, deep voice suddenly replied from behind the group.

  They turned around and confirmed their fears. Standing right there where the dais used to be, in plain sight, was William Drides.

  “Nothing will truly change, of course. Human stupidity will outlive us all. Even a Lontonkon ‘god.’ Could you believe that man? His ideas were not very original idea by any means. That’s why I must thank you for dealing with that fool. Because it is true, after all: he developed the demon specifically to be the only thing I could not kill with these eyes.”

  “You…” Garder growled and stepped away from the others.

  “Hello, Mr. Nolland. Do you have a matter you wish to settle?”

  Garder swiftly took up sword in hand and looked Drides straight in his two eyes with an unfaltering stare.

  “You’ve… changed some,” Drides said. “But have you truly improved? Go on, then. Show me what you can do.”

  “Everyone, stay back,” Milla ordered. “Garder and I are the only ones that can fight him.”

  “No.” Garder blocked his sister. “It’s just me and him this time.”

  “But…”

  “Milla, I’m sorry… forgive me, but he needs to be killed, no matter what. I’m going to let the other side of me take over for a bit. Just watch out for the others, okay?”

  “Garder, maybe I could…” Temki murmured weakly.

  “No! You’ve already pushed yourself today, too. Just stay back.”

  “Interesting,” Drides replied. “I’ve been waiting to see this power of yours since Jenera told me about it. Show me, Garder…”

  He didn’t even have to ask his other self—Caeden—to come out a second time. Before he knew that it had even happened, his conscience was once again cast aside to join the audience to a coming spectacle.