With Targen's cowardice, there was currently no one in the entire city of Harlond that could help him fly up to where Veritas tried to single handedly stop the demons from entering the castle.

Except Gi.

The otter still flew there, light impossibly dripping from his body like water with one hand held out. Before, he'd only trusted the monster because he'd helped them and it seemed like there was no down side to doing so.

But now, standing there without hope only for him to fly up at his most needed moment, Rowan had to wonder if maybe Cedrick was right. Maybe Gi had been sent by the gods...

Rowan's hand connected with Gi's paw and the Monster King pulled him into the air until there was enough space for an all white otter to appear beneath his feet.

"I'll keep us separate in case he attacks me again," Gi said and Rowan could only nod.

Gi flew him up ahead of him so that Veritas's eyes flicked to him first. The Emperor of Veridia wore a grim visage.

"Rowan! The demons are in the walls!" Even as he spoke meteor after meteor fell from the sky towards the breach, each one killing only a few demons but did manage to stall their advance.

Veritas's Aether was thick in the air; so much so, that anyone with a developed Soul would almost feel like they were choking on it. He'd expended a huge amount in the defense.

"Emperor! We nee-"

He watched as Veritas's eyes slid off of him to land on Gi behind him. "Our foes are in the air!"

Lances of earth materialized and launched themselves at Gi. Rowan desperately wanted to maneuver himself between Gi and the attacks in a bid to get him to stop, but he had no control over the summoned otter upon which he stood.

"VERITAS STOP!" His words fell on deaf ears.

"Rally our people, Rowan! Harlond shall not fall! Veridia shall not fall!"

Rowan took a look down and the high terrace was not below them anymore. If he fell, he would crash into the rocks at the base of the castle.

He'd live... probably, but falling from a great height was a hard fear to break. Rowan's eyes followed Castle Road that led towards the main gates and saw the break on the east side where... more Otters had appeared to create a line while Rowan's forces had yet to react.

He looked back to the Emperor who focused almost exclusively on Gi, a distant look in his eyes.

There were worse things than death.

Rowan leapt.

The summoned otter pushed away from him as he sailed through the air towards the Emperor. Even with his strength, the footing on the otter wasn't firm so he misjudged the distance.

His waist crashed into the summoned rock upon which Veritas stood and Rowan's hands scrambled for purchase.

"Gods, man!" The entire platform rocked in the air and both of them almost fell below, but luckily, Veritas stabilized it. "Are you trying to murder us both while..." he paused, confused. "...while?"

"Veritas!" Rowan yelled and the Emperor looked startled, leaning down to pull him up onto the platform.

"Rowan! Good gods, man! What are you doing up here? ...What am I doing up here?" His eyes flitted about nervously until he saw Gi. "A monster!"

Rowan grabbed Veritas's arm as he raised it to resume firing on Gi. The man looked almost sad as he looked back at him.

"The otters are our allies. We can't fight them."

"Our... allies?" A glance at Gi caused him to raise his hand again, but Rowan pulled it back down.

"We have to get back into the castle and try to replenish your reserves against our enemy."

"Our... enemy?" Veritas blinked. "Demons!" He spat out the word like a curse and then turned his gaze downward to see a few of them tentatively traversing the broken walls as his barrage had stopped. "They've already breached the walls. Rowan, get our for-"

"STOP!" His yell startled the Emperor. "We have to go inside. Please just trust me."

"Trust you? Of course, I trust you." He glanced at Gi and a nervous look crossed his features again, but he didn't attack. Rowan took that as a good sign.

"Fly us back to the castle."

"But wh-"

"Fly us back to the castle."

Rowan hated to be so harsh with his longtime friend and leader, but he did listen and the two of them drifted back down towards the castle. As soon as his feet touched the stone of the high terrace, he breathed a sigh of relief.

With one hand behind Veritas's back, he shooed Gi away hoping that he'd get the message before throwing his arm around the Emperor's shoulders so that he could physically steer him away from the battle.

"We needs to go recover your Aether."

"Rowan, I can very well-"

"You asked for my help."

"I did?"

The two of them continued into the castle, moving past the throne room. None of the usual servants or guards were there any longer and Rowan continued to guide Veritas until they were off into a small sitting area that was rarely used.

Despite that, it still hosted a lush couch and a small table for taking tea or wine. Rowan guided the man onto the couch and only then did he relax.

"No one comes in here any more...," Veritas said, looking around the room, but Rowan felt like he'd forced him too much. He clearly couldn't remember what had happened outside, but he knew that something was out of sorts. "Why are we here? Why is my Aether...?"

He gave Rowan a pitiful look, but before Rowan could decide the best answer that would keep him here, he continued speaking.

"I think something might be wrong with me... I can't remember what I was doing before or yesterday or the day before. You look... old to me. I have some vague sense that time has passed, but what happened?"

"You have been... unwell," Rowan said as gently as possible. This was the closest to fully lucid that he'd seen him since Gi's arrival and he didn't want to lose this opportunity. "Your mind is sick."

He wasn't sure if Veritas understood him as he still had a faraway look in his eyes even as he nodded. "I do have fleeting memories, but they feel all disconnected and out of order. I have memories where all the servants are strangers and... demons are invading?"

Tears sprang into the man's eyes. "Rowan, I don't know why we're here. Nobody ever comes into this room. Not since I was a child. Why are we here? I can't... remember. I just-"

A sob cut him off and Rowan did the only thing he could think to do. He embraced his old friend. The man's strong frame was an illusion against the fragility of his mind. The Emperor sobbed into his tunic, continuing to mutter about vague memories or to question why they were there.

Rowan just held him and let him cry. Relief that they would remain here for a time warred with a slick vile that settled over him. I'm betraying him. Holding my sick friend here so he might give his life to save us.

Rowan's own eyes itched and he just squeezed Veritas tighter into his chest.

***

An enormous crash echoed over the battlefield, briefly overcoming the cacophony of wails from behind and war cries from ahead. Samba, as tall as he was, could see over the debris to the endless lines of the demons beyond only lightly obscured by the dust of the Veridian Emperor's attacks.

The fallen walls had knocked over hundreds of houses that were nestled near its edge and even from here he could see dead humans dotting the wreckage.

But they weren't all dead.

"Templar!" Alice's yell sounded behind him. "Form a loose line as best as you can. Otters in front, humans behind."

Samba watched his brethren move off at her word, pulling back from the broken wall to form the line as she suggested. The priests they'd brought with them were already moving through the downed bodies, healing those they could and moving on to the next.

"Cave goblins," Samba said in a low voice and then Alice yelled out.

"Cave Goblins! Use the debris as much as you can to build a makeshift barrier behind this section of the wall. You won't have much time!"

"Underbridge!" They called out in response, but it wasn't a war cry, more the shouts of laborers before a tiresome task.

Rocky and his golems had more strength than their status as merchants would have led Samba to believe. They were picking up debris so that the priests and their human companions could get injured people inside.

Most of the healthy citizens had retreated to a safe distance, but a few lingered among the outskirts - perhaps brave and wanting to help but confused on seeing monsters and humans together.

Or maybe just nosy and lacking any sense.

The booms of the Emperor's attack continued to ring out, knocking explosion after explosion of dust into the air. Only a few demons tried to cross the death field of meteors and those that did were quickly taken out by their templar.

So far, it was going about as smooth as could be expected.

Their people didn't need any additional input on what to do so he and Alice kept watch over the workers and made sure that not too many demons were crossing the wrecked wall.

It felt like forever listening to the meteors drop, but the Veridians weren't staying idle either.

Up the Castle Road, Samba could see their army getting organized. The chaos of their citizens meant that they weren't likely to make it to them any time soon, but they did seem to be heading their way.

Samba hoped Cedrick was with them. He didn't know the man well and he hated how he seemed to immediately worship Gi, but anyone that was willing to make friends between monsters and humans was all right in his book.

He turned his attention back towards the wall and his heart froze.

The meteors had stopped falling.

Across the rubble, a roar was picking up from the demonic forces. It started as a small spark and grew to all the fury of a hurricane as their war cries erupted into the air.

"GET READY!" Samba shouted to his own people, and despite the vast forces arrayed against them, grim resolve clung to their features and their own cries rang out in defiance.

"For Wavecrest and Underbridge!"

The first demons crested the broken wall and the dust that had just begun to settle swirled around them, seeming to launch each of their footsteps just a bit further than it would have gone.

Samba's place wasn't on the back line.

As soon as that demon leapt towards one of the Templar, Samba grabbed the demon's head in his fist and smashed it like a fish against a piece of the wall.

That was only the first raindrop in the storm.

Demons swarmed through the space and only the quick fortifications of the Cave Goblins kept them from being overrun, but the demons didn't turn back, instead they leaped over the barriers.

Samba and the other Templar bashed demons with their maces like farmers reaping wheat, but they kept coming and their bodies were slowly building a bridge between the rubble and their barriers.

"WE NEED A FALLBACK!" Samba roared, knowing that Alice would hear him. Throughout their time together, he'd felt their souls entangle, not romantically in any way, but as companions. He didn't even need to look to know that she'd already retreated from the front line to go give commands.

He doubted they'd have enough time.

Rays of light that leaked an ancient aura started to lance through the assaulting demons. Their bodies were burned against the ruined wall before they could even get to Samba's line.

Begrudgingly, he felt relief. It was only the barest hint of Gi's current power, but anything that could stem the flow would help them from being overrun.

With the press of bodies reduced, Samba had enough time to take a new approach. He snatched up two of the fallen demon's bodies and started using them like a flail to smack demons back the way they came before flinging them into the oncoming horde.

Corin and the other Classers took his lead and started to also fling the bodies back into the horde, trying to get a wall of bodies further from their own fortifications.

Samba knew that it wouldn't last forever, but he was confident that it would last long enough for them to fall back.

He looked to Corin and saw a body with no head, standing upright as though he hadn't realized he was dead yet. Shock turned to horror as he watched the body of his friend fall to the ground lifeless.

Corin's companion, a man named Trent, was already screaming, but that quickly cut off as his throat was casually cut by a demon that had silently entered their midst.

He wore rough leathers over a broad frame. His singular horn jutted out on one side of his forehead and he flicked the blood of his dual scimitars before turning to smirk at Samba. The Roman numeral for nine was burned into his cheek.

Despair choked in his throat and only a fresh surge of anger kept him present in the fight. Roaring, Samba only managed one step before the heir disappeared in front of his eyes.