After some time they reached the fort, the guards letting them through without any issues. They used the gateway to teleport back home, Quentin leaving the manor while Regis got himself something to eat. He went to sleep a quick bath later, waking up early to prepare for the final event of the Archdemon war. The loremaster spent a good half an hour in his study before Euric knocked on the door.

“Milord, your companions are here.” The butler stated solemnly.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I’ll be out there in a moment.”

He grabbed his blade staff, packed away a few things into his satchel and left the room, finding most of the gang waiting for him in the main hall.

“Morning everyone.” He greeted them, earning a similar reply.

“Are you ready to finish this?” Quentin asked while they headed over to the room where the loremaster's personal gateway was.

“Only one way to find out. I take it Fabien and Mary aren’t coming.”

“I told them to stay back in case something happened.” Valerie answered honestly.

“Playing the caring aunty already?” Regis teased her, the infernal woman letting out a chuckle.

“It kind of comes with a job.”

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes.” Came the unified answer as they stepped on the rune-covered floor tiles, the symbols glowing up before the group was teleported away.

When the light faded, they found themselves in the familiar fort, however, it was a lot busier than the evening before. Soldiers were running up and down the rampart, carriages were lined up in front of the gates and several familiar faces caught their eyes.

“Good morning, young ones!” Grandmaster Felix greeted them as he and several other elderly mages came over.

“Morning,” they answered in kind. “Is everything ready?”

“We have already sent forward most of the mages and were waiting for you to show up.”

“Well, we’re here so we might as well get going too.” Regis noted and the rest of them agreed with him on the matter.

“The sooner we get this done, the better,” another magus claimed. “Every minute we let that... thing stay here is a threat to the kingdom.”

“Then we better make sure she leaves before breakfast then?” Yet another one joked, lightening the mood a bit.

As the people began to board the carriages, a guard led the outlanders to their ride.

“Did you manage to bring it over?” The dark elf whispered to Osmond, earning a nervous nod from the bone puppeteer.

“I did. I also told the guards to stash it on our ride.”

“Good. Let’s hope everything goes as planned.”

“When does it ever?” Osmond asked back with a cracking voice.

“Hell if I know. Ulgrath visited us yesterday while I was working, but even that went to shit quickly.”

“What happened?”

“One of the guards decided to commit suicide by trying to attack her.”

“Shit. Is he...”

“Yep. Dead as a doornail. Got pierced through the chest by her tail.”

“He... what now?”

“Ulgrath used her tail like a spear and ran him through with it.” Regis explained, the bone puppeteer’s face going whiter than it already was.

“I guess it’s best not to aggravate her then.”

“That would be for the best.” Regis agreed.

“What are you to whispering on about back there?” Valerie asked, earning a slight head shake from the two.

“Nothing serious, just some catching up.” Osmond replied with a sigh.

The carriages finally began their journey toward the gateway’s location, solemn silence filling their road time as everyone was clearly on edge about what will soon occur. When they finally arrived, Regis found the small campsite much different from what it was the previous evening. Several dozen mages, knights and even some of the nobility were already present, the spellcasters taking turns channelling their arcana into the gateway. Surprisingly enough, there were also two lavishly decorated carriages there, both showing the symbol of the royal family just next to their ride.

“The Princess and King Mikkel are already here.” Quentin remarked as the group got off their ride.

“That’s got to be an awkward family meeting for sure.” Cruz remarked, the others nodding in agreement.

“You miserable bloody bastard,” they could hear Princess Helena’s voice from the other side of the royal carriages after a loud slap. “You think this makes everything right?”

The outlanders were closer than others, so they could hear the conversation of the royal siblings better than most.

“This is the truth,” King Mikkel the second retorted. “They didn’t use any dark magic to control me.”

“That makes it even worse! You let them wreak havoc on our homeland and for what? More power? You were already meant to be the king of Ecragurne.”

“And now I will become an emperor,” Mikkel said with a heavy tone. “I never wanted to rule this broken land that has nothing but debts and shortcomings. It would take generations to erase the results of our ancestors’ bad decisions and I will not waste my life away on a lost cause like that. Lady Ulgrath promised me a new empire under her protection. I could do so much… more.”

Stolen story; please report.

The abdicated king failed to finish his obviously well-practiced monologue as another loud slap stopped him from speaking.

“Get out of my sight,” Helena said with a tone cold enough to make even the loremaster shudder. “Get out of my kingdom and go rot in whatever hell your mistress crawled out from! You are no king. No emperor. You are just a worthless dog who is lower than the shit on the side of the road.”

“Damn,” Cruz hissed while the others looked at each other with raised eyebrows. “Girl sure knows how to diss people.”

“Lord Regis,” one of the mages called out to the loremaster, making him and the group snap out of their slight stupor. “We are more than halfway done with charging up the gate.”

“Glad to hear it.” He replied while walking over to the rune-covered archway.

The dark elf placed his hands on the stone, channelling his arcana into the gate to help speed up the process. His companions followed suit, adding their share into the mix before joining the group of meditating spellcasters to regain their spent magical energies.

“If things keep going at this pace, I might be able to leave this world in another hour.” Ulgrath’s voice resounded from behind him as the demon whispered into his ears, sending shivers down his spine.

“Goes to show just how popular you are with the locals.” Regis couldn’t stop himself from making the snark remark.

“I care not how they feel about me, only that they do what’s expected of them.” The archdemon replied while the dark elf turned around to face her.

“Have you read the description of the gateway yet?” He asked, seemingly unfazed by the sultry demon’s closeness.

“I did,” she sighed after taking a step toward the stone archway. “I expected it to be able to hold on a bit longer than half a minute.”

“It should be more than enough time for a carriage or two to roll through.”

“You’d be surprised how many people want to come with us.”

“I couldn’t give a damn about it as long as they don’t cause any trouble.” Regis noted bluntly, making Ulgrath slightly chuckle after hearing his words.

“And what about you, handsome? Don’t you want to come with us as well?”

“Not if I can help it.” He stated flatly, most of the onlooking nobles and mages turning toward them as they heard the conversation unfold.

“Oh please! You might be able to fool others, or even yourself, but I can read you like an open book. You yearn for power,” the archdemon bent closer to him, staring the loremaster in the eyes. “You’re trying to deny it, but it’s in everything you do, from the way you hold yourself to the things you create. You try to hinder your own ambition with obstacles like leading a town or keeping a... lover, I guess. You do all that to make it seem like you’re just like everyone else, but deep down, your ambition is burning hotter than the infernal realms.”

“That’s not...”

“I’m a demon, remember,” she chuckled with a sultry sing-song voice. “I can feel it in your every heartbeat. It rings clearer than little Natalie’s desire for power. Even if you try to fool yourself into believing it’s not true, it will become true eventually.”

At this point, her voice was loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

“Give it another year or five or ten and you will find this world too small for you as you stop at the edge of the fourth tier, unable to reach the fifth. When that time comes, build yourself another gate like this and come over for a visit.”

“I think I’ll pass,” the loremaster replied after a deep sigh. “This place isn’t too bad and not everyone wants to play God. For now, I’m perfectly content with having my own place here. Maybe a few kids to raise later on if the Seven allow it.”

“Fine,” Ulgrath relented as she rolled her eyes. “Be mundane if that’s what you want, for now. But my offer stands. By the time you change your mind, I will have established my forces well enough to be able to greet you properly. Just don’t take too long or some other rune-master might take the place I’m keeping for you.”

“Sure.” Regis shrugged as he walked away, joining the group of meditating mages under the conflicted gazes of the surrounding people.

He settled into the cycle of meditating and charging the gate with the others, spending another hour and a half in such a way before they finally finished the task. As the planar gate absorbed the last drops of arcana needed for its opening, the air around it began to shimmer and crackle with raw power. The mage who finished charging it stepped back in fright, everyone turning toward the gate as they sensed the change.

“Looks like it’s finally done.” Osmond said, leaving toward the carriage they came with after he received a slight nod from the dark elf.

“All right, everyone,” Regis spoke loudly. “Clear the area!”

Upon hearing his words, all of the mages and soldiers retreated, opening up the space in front of the gate. Several carriages lined up in front of the planar gate in quick succession, Ulgrath walking toward the carriage at the front with her attendees in tow.

“Finally,” she said, looking at the loremaster. “Although it took a while, I have to admit that you have done an admirable job. Still, it’s time for us to leave. Take care of yourself and do think about what I said earlier. That is if you don’t get killed before that.”

“I guess this is goodbye,” Natalie said with an almost sad smile. “Good luck dealing with... whatever comes after this. And try not to get stabbed in the back by some power-hungry idiot.”

“Or just die in a ditch for all I care.” Etienne remarked from the side before the three got on their carriage.

“Only after you,” Regis noted with a smirk as he stepped beside the planar gate. “Get ready.”

He placed one hand on the gate, the other reaching inside his satchel. A moment later the space between the confines of the stone archway began to crack apart as a flat wall of swirling darkness wormed its way into existence. When the portal reached the inner edges of the gate, the driver of the first coach yanked on the reins, urging the nervous horses to trot forward. It was a strange sight to see the carriages walk into the wall of nothingness, disappearing from their world.

By the time the last one passed through the portal, time was almost up. The locals all sighed in relief as the last carriage disappeared, but a strange occurrence pulled them out of their happy stupor. A giant bone puppet appeared from behind the remaining horse-carts, running toward the still open planar gate with a large barrel in its hands.

“Out of the way,” Osmond yelled as he jogged after the golem with sweat dripping from his forehead. “Special delivery coming through!”

The bone puppet rushed through the swirling portal just before it closed, the stone archway crumbling apart in front of the baffled crowd. A few seconds of awkward silence followed the strange event before Regis saw several golden lines appear in his vision.

{Your act of vanquishing Archdemon Ulgrath did not go unnoticed. Your deed has been recorded and you have received 25000 renown points.}

{Your caste was charged from 'true' intermediate noble to 'true' high noble.}

{Renown necessary toward next caste elevation: 40972}

“I guess we can call this a check... mate.” He tried and failed to say it to his companions as a sharp pain rushed through his chest.

“Regis!” Several voices yelled at the same time, the dark elf looking down, only to see a bloody sword protruding from his chest where his heart was.

“For Lady Ulgrath.” He heard a male voice whispering to his ear from behind as the blade was yanked out of his body, letting him collapse on the ground with blood flowing from his chest.

The dark elf saw through bleary eyes as his attacker, an ordinary-looking soldier stepped away from his limp body, slitting his own throat with a wide smile a moment later. He tried to call out to his friends as they rushed toward him but blood filled his lungs and throat, choking him while darkness slowly overtook him. 'I guess this is what mutually assured destruction is like.' Regis thought to himself as his eyes began to lose focus, the last image being of Letty as she tried calling out to him. 'Damn. So much about marriage being the end of me. It would have been a much better way to go... sort of.' As his last thought stilled with the chilling cold overtaking him, the loremaster finally completely slipped into darkness.