Though tragic as it may be, we needed to put Tolly’s death behind us and press on. According to the information provided to us by the Thieves Guild, we were only a few days travel to the border of the Devil King’s domain. Apparently, much of the perimeter to the domain was uninhabitable, untraversable badlands. Dead forest, rocky terrain, lakes of lava…you know what I’m talkin about.
The most direct route in was overland through the gates to the north of us. There was allegedly a wall and a barrier sustained by the last remaining general. Priscilla. Beast Master was supposed to be the toughest of the general’s, so it wasn’t expected he would be defeated in battle the way he was. We’d have the advantage if we moved quickly to the gate into Shagrath’s domain before anyone was alerted we were coming. We couldn’t afford to take more than a day's rest before moving out.
Thankfully, Arduwan’s wound wasn’t bad. She had a light treatment from a dwarf medic and then simply dumped a bucket of water over her head to clean up. That woman could roll in the dirt all day and somehow a splash of water was enough to make her look and smell like a rose again.
We decided to stay in the fortified camp for the night and then continue north in the morning. Our goal was to reach the Devil King’s domain in under three days so we could maintain the momentum and morale we had acquired from these first two victories.
Along the way, we met little resistance. With the Black Knights destroyed, only Shagrath’s human minions remained in the occupied territory we passed through. Our army quickly dispensed with them so as not to take a chance of them regrouping at the gates of the domain and tipping off Priscilla that we were coming.
Finally, on the evening of the third day, we arrived at the edge of Shagrath’s domain. We did our best to keep our forces under cover while we devised a plan. Only a dead and forgotten forest was between us and the enemy wall which stood about four stories tall. You could see the sheen of a purple miasma that acted as a membrane for the wall and protected the domain from invasion.
At the center of the wall was a gigantic iron gate with a tower above it. That must have been the central location for the domain's security. With the wall and barrier in place, not much was needed to defend the border of the Devil King’s land. Especially considering they were used to the other kingdoms playing defense against their assaults. The tower that housed Priscilla was the only structure in need of personnel.
“Should we send the Plasma Squad ahead to attack the gate?” asked Captain Christoph. We stood a little more than a mile away from the domain’s entrance as we hid among the dead trees.
“No, that would draw too much attention too quickly and if we can’t get the wall down fast enough, then they may overwhelm us. We don’t know just how much of the Devil King’s army is present behind that wall,” I noted.
“So what’s that miasma anyway? Will it disintegrate on contact?” asked Wraith.
“Hmm, looks to me like it’s just poison gas. More likely to suffocate you if you got too close to the wall. I’m betting that’s why we’re not seeing any guards posted up on this side. They probably just have Priscilla lower and raise the barrier whenever they need to transport people through the gate.”
Wraith had a frightened look on his face as he said, “So, any chance you can just aim the Divine Arrow over the wall and hit the Devil King from here?”
“No. I have to be able to see him within my normal firing range.”
“Ah. Well, it was a nice try. Better get going if we’re gonna get back to defending our homes and all.”
“Oh, stoppit, you,” I scolded him, “I think I have a plan. I’m willing to bet that Priscilla is at the top of the tower. If we can scale the wall and take her out, our people will have no problem breaking through the gate with the barrier gone.”
“Uh, yeah, but how are we supposed to get in the tower while the barrier is up?” he asked.
“I can do a concentration spell for a barrier of protection as long as you stay close to me. The air will be fine to breathe within it. The only problem is, I can only sustain it so long if I’m going to have enough MP left for a fight once we get up there. Still got that Agility Potion Tolly gave you?”
“Yeah.”
“Perfect. I’ve got mine too. If we sneak over to the base of the wall and drink these potions, I’m sure we can scale it in half a minute at most. We can find Priscilla and take her out while we still have the effects of the potion. She’s supposed to be the weakest in combat of the generals.”
“Alright. I’m with you,” he agreed, “but we should give some kind of signal to the others once we take her out.”
“Not a problem. When she dies, the barrier should drop and they’ll know to begin their assault. Understood?”
All of the squad commanders and Arduwan nodded in agreement.
* * *
About twenty minutes later, Wraith and I found ourselves at the base of the domain wall. We weren’t touching it but we were close enough that the miasma was starting to make us gag.
I quickly threw up my own barrier to not take any chances. It worked! The air was clean and as we walked towards the purple miasma, you could clearly see a bubble around Wraith and I.
Not wanting to waste precious MP, we quickly chugged our Agility Potions. I could feel the very cells in my body racing overtime. It was like, 100X more effective than the best energy drink on the market in my world. Wraith and I started scaling the wall with ease. In no time at all, we reached the window of what we assumed to be Priscilla’s room.
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It was dark inside, but there was just enough light to see that it was a woman's bedchamber due to the decor. We slipped in and quietly surveyed our surroundings. A moment later, we heard a voice.
“Please, sirs! Are you here to rescue me?”
Upon further inspection, we saw what looked like a kind and innocent blonde girl around age twenty walking towards us in a nightgown with her hands clasped together under her chin.
“Please help. I am prisoner of the Devil King. He snatched me away from my family and keeps me here to maintain this barrier against my will!”
“Don’t move, Wraith. Hang on just a second. I think I know what’s going on,” I dropped the protection spell around us as I prepared to cast a different spell. You see, I remember the notes from Thieves Guild saying that Priscilla was a half demon. Her father was some tyrant lord and her mother was a succubus. This was obviously a delusion! “Truesight!” I shouted, casting a spell on both me and Wraith so that we could see this girl for what she truly was.
It worked! Instead of the sweet, innocent young maiden we saw before, we now saw a woman with a dark ponytail, dressed as a full blown dominatrix standing before us!
“Let’s get her, Wraith!”
“Just a minute,” he halted me, “I mean…we don’t have to kill her do we? We just need her to lower the barrier.”
“What?! You think she’s just gonna do that for us? Don’t be stupid.”
“Well, let’s think about this,” he proposed, “I was ready to kill her before. But for some reason I don’t want to now. Maybe because she’s even hotter now?”
“You’ve gotta be joking. She’s clearly emitting seduction magic. I’m feeling horned up too but I can see right through it. Just think of Arduwan.”
“Forget about Arduwan…I have. This woman is more suited for me anyway.”
Unbelievable. Was he really this weak minded? Admittedly, Priscilla was probably on equally sexy grounds as Arduwan. They were both tied for the two most attractive women I’d seen in the multiverse. But all I had to do to keep from going under is think of Emily, baseball, and cold showers.
“We don’t have time for this, man. Let’s take her out and get it over with.”
Wraith now had a zombie-like gaze. He turned to me with his scimitar in hand and made like he was going to attack me. This wasn’t like the contest in the barbarian village. He was really really going to try and kill me this time.
The two of us clashed. My sword to his. Everything was faster than normal because the effects of our Agility Potions were still working. We tucked and tumbled away from each other. I was near the window and Wraith stood between me and Priscilla. They knew I was going to try and take her out to break the spell.
Wraith slowly lumbered towards me, still with his sword in hand. Things were looking desperate. There was only one thing I could think to do and it wasn’t going to be pretty at all.
“Kill him, my pet!” Priscilla ordered.
Wraith took off running towards me. At the last moment, I hit the deck and did a leg sweep, causing him to trip straight out of the window. I didn’t want it to be this way, but we were running out of options. This needed to end and it needed to end now! The fate of the universe was riding on it.
As I turned back around to face Priscilla, there was the crack of a whip. She was standing there, both hands gripping it with the other end wrapped around my neck. I grabbed hold in an attempt to stop her from pulling me down to my knees, but it was too late.
“Hahaha! I didn’t expect you to take out your own friend. But just the same, you’ll be joining him soon.”
The Agility Potion was wearing off and I was doing everything I could to stop her from choking me to death. I still had some magic left in me so my best bet was to try a wild card.
“Charm!” I managed to utter, as I sat there on my knees.
Priscilla suddenly released her grasp. Did that really work? I’d never heard of anyone ever trying to use charm on a succubus before. Maybe because she was only half succubi, it affected her.
“Hmm, strangely. I don’t feel the need to kill you. Perhaps you just looked like someone worth keeping around to lick my boots.”
Little did she know, I only needed one moment with her guard down.
“Flash!” I casted a blaze of light that blinded her long enough for me to grab the whip and pull it away from her.
When the room returned to normal, I lashed the whip in reverse towards her and left an awful mark across her face. She had a stunned look as she felt her cheek with her hand and looked at her own blood. I prepared myself for the next attack but it never came. Priscilla dropped to her knees, parallel to me and started crying.
“Waaahhhh! You scarred my beautiful face!!! I never thought something like this could happen!” she wailed.
This bought me some extra time. Did I continue my melee assault or should I think of another spell? I was running low on MP for real at this point. But then, at the last second. I noticed something. Across the room, on her vanity, was a jar with a cork in it. It had a very specific look to it. Like I had seen it before. It was a Jar of Entrapment! Like I had seen in the Tome of Wisdom when I was trying to think of what to use against Shagrath! She probably had one to do all kinds of twisted things to her prey.
I got up and bolted for the jar. Priscilla didn’t notice me there until I had already had it in my hand. From what I remembered, all I had to do was remove the cork, aim it, and shout, “Entrap!” A small tornado whisked Priscilla up and made her into the size of a Barbie doll…well, maybe Skipper sized. The whirlwind placed her inside the jar and I quickly sealed the cork back on. Inside, I saw the microsized Priscilla pounding on the glass screaming to be let out. I didn’t have time to deal with her right now, so I just put the jar into my satchel.
A moment later, I heard someone outside shout, “Typhlosion Wave!”
When I ran to the window, I saw a gigantic wave coming from the direction of the dead forest. It flowed in a direct stream towards the gate and blasted it open. That’s when I realized the barrier was gone! Priscilla’s magic was cut off by the jar. The wave down below came from Captain Tye, the pirate mercenary. This sword attack of his was uniquely his own and a legend all in itself.
After the tide settled, I saw the army rushing in with the Plasma Squad in front, leading the charge. I decided to run down stairs, slashing every soldier of the Devil Kill in my path. By the time I reached the bottom, our forces had seized the domain gate.
I had a pleasant surprise awaiting me when I gathered with the rest of the command staff. There was Wraith, alive and…well?
“H-hey, buddy,” he uttered, as he laid sprawled on a stretcher with Arduwan by his side, stroking his hair as a dwarf medic tended to him.
“Wraith! You’re alive! What happened?”
“Well. When you tossed me out of the window, I plummeted far enough away from Priscilla’s enchantment to snap out of it. Luckily, I was thrown past the miasma, so that didn’t kill me. Luckily, the Agility Potion hadn’t worn off, so I had enough time to try and break my fall.
Unfortunately, I broke everything else too.”
The dwarf medic added, “All four of his limbs are broken. Along with several ribs, his hip, and collar bone. I’m afraid we’ll have to take him off of the battlefield.”
“The plot armor is wearing thin,” I joked, but then added, “hey look though. Got a surprise for you.” I produced the jar from my satchel with Priscilla in it and said, “The second hottest chick in the universe.”
“What are we gonna do with her?” he asked.
“I dunno yet. But let’s figure that out later. We got a Devil to slay.”