Mother was clad in her silver armor. Her face was concealed beneath a bright helm, and on her back was a flowing white cape. Her sword was in her hand, emblazoned with gold. Her shining shield was on her other arm, emblazoned with a lightning bolt symbol. It was the symbol of Zeya.

Melchious drew back, spinning the Axe of Fortenex into a stance as he did so. A smile came to his face, and he looked fair once more. "The Lady Azgora. I would have expected Raynald."

Mother ignored Melchious. Instead, she looked at William, moving to him. "My son, are you all right?"

Was he all right? The enormity of what had happened dawned on William. He nearly threw up, almost cried. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but choke back a sob. "He killed them, Mother, everyone in the Iron Kingdom! He killed them all!"

"I don't see what you're so upset about," noted Arraxia, rising up with her tail coiled. "It isn't as if you knew any of them personally. Moreover, they were all rather boring anyway."

"Sometimes, I remember why I let you live as long as I did, Arraxia," laughed Melchious. And he spun his axe in a flourish.

Then he wasn't laughing. Instead, he was falling backward. The wounds where his eyes had once been bled across his face. Mother slashed twice more, and his ears came off. With one final movement, the Lady Azgora tossed her sword. Then she rammed her fist so hard against Melchious' mouth that his teeth shattered.

Then, yanking backward, she pulled out his forked tongue. Down came her blade to cut right through it and plant itself in the ground before her. Tossing aside the tongue, she drew up her sword. Melchious fell backward, pouring blood all over the flagstones of his palace. Yet he was as silent as the stone.

There were no screams of pain as the demon lord put his hands over his face. No moans of agony as the Axe of Fortenex clattered to the ground. A mist of red arose around him, cloaking him so that he was hidden from sight. Then, a clawed hand took up the Axe of Fortenex, and Melchious emerged.

No more was he veiled in white. Nor were his features angelic. His hands had become clawed. His eyes were flaming gold and filled with hatred. His teeth were like knives, and he had a pair of horns on his head.

And yet, he had not lost his composure. There was no anger in his bearing. The malice that fueled him was without fire. The agony he had felt seemed nothing to him. "I'm impressed, Azgora. You do seem to possess some talent as a warrior."

"You don't know what a warrior is," said Mother.

They surged toward each other and met in a flurry of blows that blurred the air. Back and forth, they fought. They stepped around each other and exchanged blows of terrible power. Their cloaks billowed around them like wings. Their weapons gleamed in mutual blows, sending shockwaves through the air. One glanced off Azgora's helm and forced her reeling backward. In triumph, Melchious leaped back and raised a hand. What seemed like red lightning shot forward. It wrapped around Mother, who was frozen in place, gritting her teeth.

"A small spell but one I find useful," said Melchious. "It causes agony undreamed of to the one it is cast upon. No mere mortal may withstand it."

Mother brought up her sword and lunged. Melchious nearly had his throat cut as a flurry of blows were set against him. "I am no mere mortal! The blood of Zeya runs in the veins of all my people! We are her chosen servants, and you will die by my hand!"

Melchious parried the blows with careful ease. Sliding back, he turned the tables and struck back. "Am I to be impressed because the blood of the Rape Goddess flows through your veins? That is no achievement on your part.

"Still, I see why Vanion went to the trouble of taming you." Then he took a shield to the face and reeled away.

"You would never understand," said Mother, lunging to finish him.

Melchious parried it and struck her across the face with the haft of his axe. The blow sent Azgora staggering backward to hit a pillar. She fell to a knee, then arose, leaning forward to set one hand against the pillar. "Do not confuse absolute contempt with a lack of understanding. I prefer to break my conquests. Taming them leaves them with far too much self-will.

"As I shall break you."

The pillar cracked. And Mother smiled as she sheathed her sword. Down came the pillar, and Mother caught it with one hand before spinning it around to hurl it at Melchious. The demon lord leaped over it. The pillar passed under him, struck the other row, and smashed right through them.

Even as Melchious landed, Azgora was on him. She smashed him with her shield, and he was thrown backward. The Axe of Fortenex fell from his hand as he cracked against the broken wall.

He landed and caught himself on one knee. For the first time, there was genuine rage there.

"Wretched woman," he said, voice low. "Until now, I have only toyed with you. Now witness the unbridled power of the Axe of Fortenex-" He reached out as if to summon it.

But the Axe was gone. Arraxia was standing by the entrance, waving. In her left hand was the Axe of Fortenex. In her right was the Void Stone, dark as its name. "Thank you, Lady Azgora, for distracting my former master. I shall remember you fondly for at least a few moments after your death."

"You!" hissed Melchious.

"Yes, me," said Arraxia. "Farewell Melchious."

And she was gone, rushing down the halls. Melchious surged after her, but the ceiling above him cracked as he did. The entire left side of the throne room crumbled and fell inwards. Melchious let out a scream before he was buried beneath the rubble. The light of stars poured into the throne room from above.

As the dust settled, there was silence.

Then there were a primal howl. Out of the rubble came Melchious again. Now, all semblance of humanity had been shed. Wings like those of a hawk grew from his back as his hands became talons. Unharmed, he surged upward, laughing.

Azgora surged after him, scaling the rubble. Rising, William snatched up his sword and followed. Coming out to the top, he saw the vastness of the dead kingdom all around him. The stench of death surrounded them, and William wretched as Melchious surged into the air.

Turning around, Melchious drew a bow of fire. Pulling it back, he loosed an arrow of blue flame. As it shot forward, it split into thousands of arrows that surged down. Azgora raised her shield and kneeled, letting it cover her. The arrows struck the domed roof, and the stone melted and broke. But at it struck the shield, Azgora stood firm. As she did, she clenched a fist that began to crackle with lightning. The clouds gathered above them.

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Then, four bolts of lightning descended from on high toward Melchious. He surged away as his flame arrows ceased. However, the lightning shot toward Azgora, who caught it in hand. They formed together into a single immense spear, and William could feel the heat of it on his face. Turning around, Azgora hurled the spear. It surged toward Melchious, and all the lands were bathed in white light for an instant. Yet Melchious lashed out with a whip, cutting a great tower in half. The tower fell between them, and the lightning bolt hit it. The stones and masonry exploded. Fragments were sent all around, and William ducked as stones fell near him.

Looking up, he saw Melchious surging toward Azgora with duel whips of flame in his hands. Before she could move, her sword was snatched away. A moment later, she lost her shield, and Melchious struck again. But Azgora caught the whip in one gauntleted hand. She wrapped it around her wrist and pulled Melchious toward her.

Bring around a fist, she smashed one hand through his chest. Dragging out his heart, she crushed it before his eyes. As he howled in agony, she grabbed his horns and smashed his skull against the stonework so it cracked. Yet Melchious reformed, looking more animalistic than ever, and soon they were fighting.

Claw against fist, they grappled with one another. Azgora's strength was beyond Melchious' power to break. But flames poured from her wound to writhe her in flames, even as her hands pulsed with lightning. His claws surged for her eyes as something in his body snapped. A bladed tail surged from his back to stab at Azgora's back but scraped off her armor. Wrapping it around her waist, he threw her off balance.

Yet even as he did, Azgora adjusted her stance and threw him across the roof to hurl him from the balance. Turning in midair, Melchious found one of his wings broken and he fell like a stone into the streets beyond. The dead city stood forlorn and terrible for a moment.

Then Mother's eyes began to glow with a white light that soon emanated all around her. Soon, she rose into the air as the clouds above blotted out all light. Lightning began to surge down, hundreds of different bolts. One after another poured into Azgora's outstretched hand. Together, they formed into a dense bolt of lightning that whited out all save her.

Then Melchious arose from the streets, now less a being by himself but an evil presence in the mockery of a man. His form, a thing of flame and blood, rose high over all the city. A maw opened to reveal the unending horrors of the universe. All the city was now aflame around them as he surged toward Azgora.

A wave of dark flame surged toward her as she hurled her bolt.

Darkness and light battled, ripping and tearing. All the world was bathed in unfathomable twilight. There was a scream, and then Melchious was burned away.

Victory was theirs.

William lost track of time after that; the world seemed to blur as the clouds burst. Rain poured down on his face as he drifted, hardly able to speak. Cruel dawn rose over the city, revealing only the dead.

The blood was washed away, but the corpses remained. No one spoke, or perhaps William didn't hear them.

Wherever they walked, they found people dead, murdered, or having committed suicide. A few had been killed without any sign of injury, perhaps by dark magic. However, from the palace's towers, William had been able to perceive some survivors. These had fled at the sight of them. It seemed that the bloodshed had been less effective outside the city.

His efforts blunted the efforts of Melchious. And Melchious himself had lost an avatar.

It was a small comfort. William wondered if the healer who had helped him had survived? Certainly, she'd seemed strong-willed. Perhaps she and others like her had weathered the storm. At the moment, he couldn't remember her name. Or the names of those that he had saved from Grendesh. They had been faithful to Elranor, so they'd still be alive.

"Are you all alive and whole?" asked Mother.

It should have been the first thing they said, but no one felt like speaking. Looking at Mother then, she'd seemed more god than human. Zeya truly must have been immensely powerful in granting such abilities. Then William realized he hadn't answered, and Mother was looking concerned.

"Yes, thanks to you," said William.

"Good," said Azgora. "Come quickly. There is a ship waiting for us in the harbor. We must leave."

"But the people..." said Kiyora.

"They are dead," said Azgora. "Only if we escape this place can we hope to avenge them. Vanion will look after those that remain when he gets here."

They wandered through the broken halls of the palace. As they made their way out, they saw more and more corpses. Then, they passed from the palace and into the city. They saw no one alive. Were there no survivors? No people who had resisted the call to madness and clung to life among the ruins?

He hoped so. Perhaps they had stood in terror of his company and chosen to hide. Certainly, no one had had time to do an exhaustive search of the grim ruins. Only the inner palace.

"All this death," said Kiyora. "There were children. Babies. Little girls. He killed them all. I couldn't save them."

"Of course, you couldn't," said Azgora. "Melchious is a demon of unfathomable power, and he was infused with the strength of Fortenex. It was pure hubris for you to think you could break his enchantment. Even with the Goldenwood Harp, you and William could not have stopped him."

"We could have! We could!" said Kiyora. "It was the spirits! The spirits of the land! They wouldn't help! They wouldn't do anything! All they could think about was how the ancestors of the people in this kingdom raised a bunch of pillars! They didn't even care about the people!"

"It could have been worse," said Felix.

"How?!" screamed Kiyora. "How could it have been worse?!"

"Melchious could have used the pillars as a focus to drive the entire continent of Viokinar mad. Then he could murder us and escape with the axe," said Felix. "The bloodletting from such a result would probably recharge the axe again. Allowing him to do the same elsewhere." Kiyora fell silent.

"Elranor saved the faithful, at least," said Tanith, who was a bit somber.

"Why couldn't he save them all?!" said Kiyora. "They didn't deserve this! It isn't fair!"

"Of course, it isn't," said Felix. "Why is one man born a pauper and another an emperor? Why do the strong prey on the weak? Life isn't fair." How the hell was he so composed? It was like he didn't even care? No, he was used to all this.

What had Felix seen to make him like this? William thought it must have been during his time in Calisha. No wonder Tanith had been so nuts.

They suddenly came to a halt. Before them, they saw a mother. She was lying against the steps of a house with a smile. In her hands was clutched a sword. It was driven through a child's body and then through her stomach. And she was smiling. William turned away, but Azgora put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't look away," she commanded. "This is the face of hell. This is what happens when demons are allowed to win. It was not by your failure that this place fell, but the failure of generations. Thousands should have acted but didn't. Thousands knew what they did to be wrong, yet followed orders anyway.

"Look at it, acknowledge it, and learn from it."

William did look. Look at this abomination. This horror beyond imagining wrought by the mind of a creature that still lived and breathed. Something that should have never been but had been. It stayed with him long after they had left that place.

They came to the docks, where the sea gates had been shattered. There, they found a boat waiting for them. Hrungeld was there. "Lady Azgora, you're here. We feared the worst."

"Set sail at once," said Mother. "There is nothing left in this place but ashes and death."

Hrungeld looked around, then nodded. "I understand."

They stepped onto the boat and set sail soon enough. As they left behind them a forsaken and broken land, William took off his helmet and threw it to the ground. Then he looked to those around him. His friends. His companions. They seemed as broken as he felt.

He looked to Mother last of all. "How did you find us?"

"Zeya was my guide," said Azgora. "You are important to her. I have told you that you have the destiny to fulfill."

William could have asked. But he didn't care about destiny right now. He wanted only one thing to happen in his future, and nothing was mysterious about it. The day stretched on as the Iron Kingdom sank into the distance. He stood there on the ship, wanting to scream. But he didn't.

"... I'll kill him," he resolved at last. "I don't care how long it takes. I don't care what I have to do. I'll kill Melchious one day. I'll cut and plunge his powerless soul into the abyss prepared for him."

No one replied. Kiyora was staring into space, hugging Massacre with dead eyes. Felix looked back at the Iron City, and Tanith was sharpening her blade. Mother looked at him. "I'm proud of you," she said suddenly.

"What?" said William.

"You're finally acting like a warrior," said Mother. "It will be a long time before Melchious may recover from what I have done to him and set foot in this world again. And when he does, I am sure you will be ready to put a final end to him."

"I'll help you get him, William," said Kiyora suddenly.

"And I'll be there as well," said Tanith. "We'll kill that bastard."

"Bah," said Massacre.

"...The world would be a much better place without people like him," said Felix, not looking up.

"I will help you."

"Thank you," said William. "All of you. It won't be today or tomorrow. But we'll see justice done. One way or another."

The future would be grim. It would have much darkness. And William wasn't sure he wanted to know what it held. However, he knew this much: One day, he would end Melchious forever. Even if it was his own death to do so.