"Arileia! They've almost made it to the courtyard!"

"How can there be a human with so much power? Where is the demon lord?"

"She's still on her throne. She refuses to leave while her servants are still fighting to keep the castle."

"What is she thinking? Doesn't she know that we are fighting for her?"

"If anyone can convince her to escape, it's you."

"But--"

"Don't worry, we won't let them get any further. Now go, Arileia!"

"R-right!"

It was as if everything we had built was suddenly crashing down around us. We had unified most of the beasts of the continent under a single banner, bringing you one step closer to your rightful place at the pinnacle of the world. If only the existence of such monsters in Derival hadn't escaped your knowledge.

"Milady! What are you doing still here?! You should have had plenty of time to escape before they reach the throne room."

"Arileia, do you wish for me to abandon my children?"

"That's not the point!"

"Even if we lose this castle, do you really think that would be enough to cause our downfall?"

"But ..."

"Get her! The demon lord must be nearby."

"They've made it here already? But what about Danorak?"

Even when I couldn't help but panic in our situation and expect the worst, you approached them as they flooded into your home.

"Welcome heroes of Derival. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Silence, witch!"

"Hurry! Strike her down!"

"There's no need to wait for Andiar! Surround her and bring her tyranny to an end!"

"What an unruly bunch. Do I need to remind you that you are standing at the heart of my home?"

As you slowly walked toward them, not a single man was able to move nor avert their gaze. You simply walked past them as you exited the room through the same door they had entered from.

"These are no heroes. If I'm to stop Derival's advance on our home, then I can no longer waste time here. Deal with them as you wish."

"Of course, Milady. I hope you tresspassers have prepared yourselves."

Dealing with the fodder that made it to your throne room caused me no trouble, but, before I knew it, I had lost sight of you. Luckily, you left just enough destruction in your wake for me to follow your path to the courtyard.

That's when the true gravity of the situation we had found ourselves in became apparent to me. When I had left earlier to find you in the throne room, we were still holding the courtyard; barely, but it was still secure. But now, Seeing you standing alone in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by our dead and wounded allies, with the man responsible for the effectiveness of the raid approaching you with sword in hand, I couldn't help but fear the worst.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You must be the human I've heard so much about. Your strength is quite something, hero of Derival."

"And you must be the demon lord. I have to say, I expected you to be a bit more ... monstrous."

"Well, appearances don't always tell the full story, do they?"

"Indeed, they do not. I suppose you know why I'm here, demon lord."

"If you're looking for a cup of tea, I'm sorry to say that I've already finished the last one."

"I'm not here for your games."

"Then, why not tell me what it is you're seeking to accomplish here?"

"I'm here to bring an end to your reign of terror. My entire life has brought me to this moment. My companions that have survived this journey with me, and those who have fallen, the weight of all of their lives are behind this sword, and it is their will that will be taking your life."

"Poor soul."

I may not have been able to see your face, but your shoulders were filled with an incomprehensible sadness as you reached down to grab a weapon from one of your fallen followers.

As the hero charged forth, an arrow fired from your blindspot, but it would take more than that to surprise the one who had managed to bring us all together. Without breaking eye contact with the hero before you, you parried away the arrow with a thin blade.

As if falling into a rage for having missed its target, the arrow exploded into a hundred of its likeness, each swarming around you from different angles. Faster than most mortal eyes can see, you moved and swayed from the path of each arrow as they passed you and dug into the ground. Just as it appeared that you had avoided any damage the arrows then exploded in a blinding light one after the other.

"Andiar! We'll take her down together!"

Above us was a petite half-elf male with a bow.

"Nice timing, Torvis! Let's do this."

 The smoke cleared to reveal you mostly unharmed. It would take more than a few small explosion to injure the one who had successfully brought us all together, but the attacks weren't over yet.

Andiar struck at you with his sword, but no matter how fast he was, you never even flinched. Each blow was deflected with a single stroke of the sword you had picked up from the ground, but the power behind each blow finally crumbled the blade to pieces.

Arrows flittered from your blindspot, still incapable of hitting you despite being unarmed.

"What's taking you two so long? We've already cleared out the rest of the castle."

"Milady, we need to flee before it becomes too late!"

"Arlamei, don't let them escape.

"i'm on it!"

One of the newcomers started channeling a spell and the walls around us started to crumble at the same time the ground started to crack. The world felt like it had flipped on its axis, and my body hit the ground with enough force to lose consciousness for a few moments.

When I finally came to again I saw you smiling down on me. Even though I was supposed to be protecting you, you used your own body to shield me from harm. A sword was piercing through you from back to stomach, but it didn't seem to bother you.

"I'm sorry, Arileia, it looks like we're going to have to leave our home. I'm going to need your help one last time. I'm about to become immobile for a while, and I want you to look after me during that time. I don't know how long it's going to take, but I know I can trust you with this."

You didn't even wait for my response before standing up and removing the blade from your body. As blood escaped your wound, the ground started to shake again as an enormous magic circle formed at your feet.

"What is this? Arlamei, what is she doing?"

"I ... I have no idea, I've never seen magic like this before. It's like she's trying to break the very limits of our reality!"

"Can you stop it?"

"I'm trying, but her power is bursting from her like water breaking a dam! It's filling this whole area!"

"Damn it. This has to be the last of her power! Everyone take cover. As long as we're still standing after, then we've won!"

"Roger!"

All the enemies scattered as the courtyard became filled with an overwhelming white light. The world's shaking shaking stopped just before the light faded. You were still standing in the same spot and nothing seemed to change. With one last smile in my direction you collapsed. Before the assailants could emerge from wherever they were hiding I rushed to your side so that we could escape together.

We were able to flee by air, but I don't know how many others were able to escape, or where they went. It was only by chance that I stumbled across Enika, but by that time I was already starting to become aware of what you were trying to tell me before you fell asleep. You wanted me to protect your body until you were able to reawaken, but doing that had become difficult with the increased patrols and search parties being put out by Derival.

Somehow though, after two long years, you've finally returned to us, and now it's time for us to regather our forces and rebuild our home.