Ignatius, the High Abbot of the Radiant Host and the Lord of the Imperium, took a deep breath. He didn’t see his surroundings, no matter how grand. Nor did he feel secure in his own power, though in his territory, it was absolute. Few people in the Eternal Realm could hope to stand up to him, and yet, he felt as weak as a child. Because he had just been visited by a being so far above him that he might as well have been the most inconsequential insect.

And she had not been happy with his failures.

For a long while, he knelt on the floor of his office, feeling as if his entire world had come crashing down. His body felt as though it was on the verge of unraveling, and tears of blood ran down his cheeks. Slowly, his breathing steadied, and he managed to regain some degree of composure. Still, he knew it would be some time before he fully recovered.

And rightly so.

Even in the best of times, Shar Maelaine’s touch was too volatile to bear for someone like him. He’d reached the peak of the realm, and yet, he was nothing to her. He could scarcely withstand her presence, much less endure her ire without significant consequences.

Hours passed while he focused on his recovery. He didn’t dare use any skills. His entire system felt like it had been scorched clean, and letting mana flow through it would only exacerbate his issues. So, he relied on his high stats and natural regeneration for his recovery. At the same time, he steadied his mind and cast his thoughts toward the problem at hand.

The monsters and their army needed to be destroyed. He’d known that even before the Sun Goddess had visited him. Yet, he had, like everyone else, underestimated the danger of their leader. Shar Maelaine had not referred to him as a beast, instead calling him a man – which went against everything Ignatius knew. Monsters would not follow a human. He knew that because he’d supported experiments to enslave whole races of near-sapient creatures. They had all met with failure.

So, the notion that a man led the horde of monsters that had destroyed Adontis was as terrifying as it was ludicrous. From any other source, the claim would have been dismissed entirely.

But Shar Maelaine was a goddess, and one ignored their statements at their own peril.

More, she had given him a task.

“Destroy them,” she’d said, her voice echoing in his mind as her power forced him to his knees. “Root and stem, right down to the last monster. I will return for the leader’s head.”

Then, she’d reached down and placed a single finger on his chin, raising his face to hers. “Do not disappoint me, child,” she had said. “Do this, and you will be richly rewarded.”

Without anything else, she had disappeared, leaving Ignatius to recover as best he could. It wasn’t easy, because the echoes of her presence remained, and when he looked around his office, he saw that the copious gold decorations had all melted. His desk had burned to ash, and the two guards who’d been stationed at the door had been cremated where they stood.

Ignatius didn’t care about any of that. Wealth was as replaceable as those two mid-level guards. What he was worried about was how he was going to accomplish the task he’d been given. The reality was that if Karag and his team hadn’t been enough to kill the man or destroy the army of monsters, then there was very little that the Radiant Host could throw at him.

Especially considering that, after his coup of the Imperium and the wars he’d been fighting ever since, many of his assets were either out of position or dead. There were a few members of the Radiant Host who’d reached the peak, but Ignatius suspected they would not be enough.

Man or monster, the leader of that horde was too powerful to take lightly.

Ignatius finally picked himself up, and the first thing he realized was that he was entirely naked. The ceremonial armor of his office had been burned away, just like the room’s décor. Without hesitation, he went to the door and left the office behind. Thankfully, because of the enchantments he’d had placed on the room, the destruction only made it about fifty feet outside of the office. There were a few piles of ash that he suspected had once been other guards, but he ignored those as he strode down the hall.

After a while, he found himself confronted with a group of terrified men and women.

“Do not fear. I have been visited by our goddess, the most Radiant Shar Maelaine. She has given me a mission, a chance to earn glory for the Radiant Host and raise the Imperium to new heights!”

The people were taken aback, but they didn’t delay him as he strode past, eventually finding his way to his personal quarters. As soon as the door shut behind him, he felt his shoulders sag as the weight of everything settled onto his shoulders. Hundreds had died, and that wasn’t even an attack. Shar Maelaine hadn’t even visited in her physical form. Instead, she’d sent a projection, and even that was enough to destabilize everything in the general vicinity.

He took a deep breath, then found his favorite robe, which he donned with no small degree of relief. A few minutes later, one of the Servants of Light entered, leading a healer inside. The man used his skills, tending to the burns Ignatius’ visit with the Sun Goddess had left behind.

Briefly, he’d considered leaving them unhealed. A badge of honor to remind his subjects of the power they truly served. Yet, in the end, the pain persuaded him otherwise. He couldn’t do what was necessary if he was in constant agony.

When the healer had finished, Ignatius sent the Servant of Light to fetch Abigail. She’d returned only recently, and she’d told a story of power that, at the time, he hadn’t truly believed.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Now, he believed every word she’d said.

When she arrived, he’d placed himself upon one of the couches, and was enjoying a cup of restorative tea. Feigning unconcern, he said, “So good of you to join me, Abigail.”

“You summoned me?”

“Sit.”

“I would prefer to stand,” she said stiffly, her hands behind her back. He could feel the power radiating from her, but that was the entire reason he had chosen her as his Inquisitor. She had the favor of the Sun Goddess, which boded well for her development. Since she’d begun fighting his wars, she had progressed well, reaching far higher than he ever could have imagined, and in such a short amount of time. In a few years, she would become one of the world’s true elites.

If she made it that far.

Normally, she was as reliable as she was methodical, and yet, she had been soundly defeated, losing an important and irreplaceable ally along the way. The demon was a detestable creature – as was his horde – and yet, he’d proven to be an invaluable asset when it came to bringing the masses under Imperium control.

Now he was dead, and it would take months to travel to the Scar and find a suitable replacement. If one was even available. Demons were, at their very core, volatile, and finding one that would follow the rules without going on a rampage across the countryside would be extremely difficult.

Not that Ignatius cared overmuch about the damage they would do. Rampaging was all demons were good for, after all. However, he had no use for one he couldn’t at least point in the right direction. Serpentus had been unique in that respect. Powerful enough to be an asset, but still controllable, if only because he was intelligent enough to recognize the potential benefits he could earn.

A pity he was gone.

“Very well,” he said. Deciding to embrace brevity rather than engage in small talk, he continued, “I have been visited by the Sun Goddess, and she has given me a mission. I believe you can assist me in completing it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I was under the impression that I was in your doghouse at the moment.”

“You are,” he said. “What happened during your last assignment was regrettable, but the Sun Goddess will not wait for us to dwell on that failure. Instead, we are required to move ever forward, lest we disappoint her.”

Abigail shivered. Like most of the elites – and future elites – of the Radiant Host, she had been through the Crucible. Unlike most, she had been chosen by Shar Maelaine, her attunement altered so that she could serve more efficiently. However, as powerful as she had become, she had yet to fully escape the conditioning – both magical and psychological – she’d endured during her training. For someone like her, the mere thought of disappointing the Sun Goddess was unconscionable.

“How am I to serve?” she asked, flexing her jaw.

“You are familiar with the leader of the beast horde, are you not?” he asked.

“A metal monster. Inspections label it a titan approaching the pinnacle.”

“A titan,” Ignatius echoed, tapping his lip. “Yes. I read that. However, the Sun Goddess has informed me that our intelligence is faulty. The leader is no monster. Instead, he is a man using a high-tier transformation skill.”

“A…a man?” she breathed. “But –”

“Furthermore, he is familiar to you, and not just because you fought his armies so recently. Tell me, do you recall your life before your ascension?” he asked.

“W-what? What does that have to do –”

“Ezekiel Blackwood,” Ignatius said. “A former lover of yours, from what I understand. A human, though one unlike any I’ve ever seen. He frolics with undead, consorts with monsters, and has the stench of a demon about him. Am I wrong?”

“I…I don’t…it can’t…”

“Questioning me is questioning the Sun Goddess.”

She steeled her resolve. “Then no,” Abigail stated. “If you say it is him, then it must be true. But I don’t know how I can assist. He is more powerful than me, and when we parted, he made it clear that he never wished to see me again.”

“A lover’s quarrel?”

“He believes I betrayed him.”

“Did you?”

“It’s complicated. I did what I thought was necessary to save the world,” she stated evenly, though Ignatius could see the tightening of her eyes.

“Did you? Save the world, I mean.”

“I did not.”

“A pity.”

Abigail didn’t respond. Instead, she simply stood there, stiff-backed and staring straight ahead. Ignatius was no fool, though. He could see that she was angry. Perhaps he could use that. The scorn of a lover could be a dangerous thing.

“The Sun Goddess wants him eliminated,” the High Abbot said. “Do you believe you can do that?”

“No.”

“Is he so powerful?”

She locked her eyes on his, saying, “I saw him cut a peak demon in half with a single attack, and from what I understand, he destroyed Karag and his team. If –”

“How do you know that?”

“Deduction. I knew he was sent to clean up my mess,” she said with no small degree of resentment. She was a proud woman, and she didn’t like the implication that she had made a mistake. Even if she had, she certainly didn’t like being reminded of her faults. “If you’re talking to me, then that mission was unsuccessful. Karag wouldn’t have retreated, and so…he’s dead.”

“Just so. A great loss for the Radiant Host.”

“He was a two-bit thug who got lucky a few times,” Abigail said.

“Perhaps. But he was strong.”

“Strength is relative. Clearly, he wasn’t as powerful as you thought.”

“Obviously,” Ignatius agreed. “So, you do not believe you can kill him?”

“I know I can’t,” Abigail answered. “He was the strongest person in the world when we ascended, and it seems that he has only grown stronger since. I don’t know what benefits he’s found, but if you go after him, you better do it with an army of powerful people. Hit him hard and fast. Don’t let him respond, because if you allow him to get going, he will destroy everything you’ve built.”

“I see.”

“No. You really don’t. There’s a demon in him. A being of pure destruction. That’s what he does. That’s who he is. Underestimate him at your peril.”

“How would you fight him?”

“I wouldn’t. If he was in my way, I would go around. I would stay out of his path until he chose to ascend,” she said. “There’s no benefit to fighting him and a host of ways it could go wrong. My advice? Let him do his thing. Give him what he wants. And stay out of his way.”

Ignatius shook his head, then took a sip of his tea. It had gone cold. “That is an unfortunate opinion,” he said. “The Sun Goddess has given us a mission, and we dare not abandon it. But this man, this demon of destruction, he is not invincible. And we are not without allies. That is your part in this. You are to travel to Westport and meet with the Sultan. He and his…gnomes are powerful crafters. Tell them the issue, give them as much information on this man as you can, and have them create some contraption to kill or contain him.”

She dipped her head, but she said, “It won’t be enough.”

“It is but one part of the plan,” Ignatius stated. “We will defeat this man. Make no mistake about that. The only question is how many favors we’ll owe once this is finished. Now, go. Meet with the Diplomatic Union to arrange the trip.”

“As you wish, your holiness,” she said with a bow. Then, she turned on her heel and started for the exit.

“And Abigail?”

She turned to face him, asking, “Yes?”

“Do not let your feelings interfere with our mission. This man may have forgiven your betrayal, but the Sun Goddess is not so kind.”

“As you say.”