Gi swerved in the air as a rock bullet swerved past his head. The fourth heir, Xarin, had incorporated their Emperor's Domain into her own and it gave her fine control over small amounts of Earth Aether.

She used that control to send bullets of rock faster than Gi's own light attacks to keep him pinned down. It was the same attack that had forced Ellen's [Mud Coffin] to activate.

After dodging another bullet, Gi dropped to the parapet where Ellen's form was currently ensconced in mud. Her version of the Skill was even more powerful than the one her apprentice had in the Dungeon. She'd come out of it fully healed and energized.

But that took time and she was a sitting duck until then.

The humans had finally organized and taken to the parapets. Someone, Cedrick probably, must have made sure they knew he was friendly as none had tried to attack him. Instead, they sent arrows or various Aether attacks over the walls at the demons huddled below.

The fighting at the hole in the wall was mild now that the humans had joined Samba down there, but there was still a constant fight. The demons further back were the real threat. After Ellen's attack, it had taken awhile for them to reform up but they did.

Now water shields were up over most of the front, and where there were gaps, chunks of Earth were getting thrown up to the wall or over the front lines near the bottom.

In the chaos, Gi has taken a risk to send out three of his clones to attack the horde. With just three, it did little to curb their numbers, but he was steadily earning Spirit Orbs and keeping them on the backfoot.

The Demon Emperor hadn't retaliated so the loss of life must not be that concerning to him. Gi couldn't imagine being that callous about his own forces. Even at his worst, he'd never spent their lives so frivolously.

But this was a monster that had almost completely conquered the realm of monsters before the surge - only Queen Siht and environmental factors had kept them out of Igna.

Gi couldn't underestimate their expertise.

"BOSS!"

Poe flew erratically through the air, looping and swerving, as a handful of bullets shot after him. His oldest friend practically crashed behind the parapet where Gi rushed over to him.

Poe stumbled to his feet and took a deep breath. "Whew! That was scary!"

"You should have taken the long way. Their sniper is going to be a real problem."

"No!" Poe shouted unnecessarily. "Important information! Kumo's team was ambushed on their way to attack the healers, but managed to defeat one of the heirs."

"Which one?"

"Auraco?" Poe said, more questioning than answering.

"The fatereader? That's good. Really good."

Poe started to look antsy, bouncing from foot to foot to foot, as though the conversation was taking way too long.

"But Kumo is grievously injured and heading back for the camp. THE CAMP WHERE A CONTINGENT OF DEMONS APPEARED FROM BEHIND WITH THREE HEIRS!"

"Shit," Gi said. His first inclination was to rush over there, but the Demon Emperor was still out there. With Veritas still recovering, Gi was the only one that could stop him if he made a play.

It was bait. The Fourth Heir, Xarin, hadn't been trying to shoot Poe at all. If Gi was stupid, he'd rush over there and give the Demon Emperor free reign.

But if he didn't go over there at all, he might lose most of his Elites.

"Which heirs?"

"Three, Five, and Seven. I think..."

Three was Graves the Duelist, Galvina's true brother. He was the main threat there. The other two would be dangerous, but a more approachable risk. It was possible that they'd win which meant that Gi had to stay where he was.

If the Emperor had sent his top 3 heirs, Gi would have to have gone himself, but the Emperor didn't send all three of his top heirs - only Graves.

Which begged the question - what were his other two heirs doing?

More and more, Gi felt like he was being outplayed by the Emperor. For now, he had to hope his people were enough to beat the forces arrayed against them, but if he couldn't take control of the battle somehow - they were going to lose.

***

The sounds of war radiated from all around Galvina. The screams from humans, demons, and other monsters easily carried from the broken wall where the main fight was to where she sat on a chair near the other elites.

The human king and the old religious man stood off to one side, speaking between themselves. The last elite, other than herself, was Nori.

The angry goblin kept a fierce eye on her. Galvina only rolled her eyes.

"Unless you want to be my personal face cushion, goblin, I'd rather you keep your eyes to yourself."

"I'd rather claw open your stomach and hang you with your own intestines, but we don't always get what we want."

Galvina had always hated the goblins. They were a filthy little race not even worth being a bridge to walk over mud. It always appalled her to think that both Demons and Goblins were somehow both humanoids. Where was their intelligence?

Galvina just grunted. Ironically, she and this goblin had the same problem. They'd much prefer to kill the other, but had been handcuffed by their alliance to Gi - Galvina as her only path to survival and for Nori as her path to kill more demons.

Galvina wasn't as lazy as people thought. She'd come to learn about her newfound "allies" from humans to monsters. With [Demon in the Details] being her Domain, it was important that she understood what others wanted.

Her thoughts were interrupted as shouts of alarm sounded further in the camp. Galvina leapt to her feet.

Without thinking, Galvina found herself rushing towards the back of the camp alongside Nori and the two humans.

Over a dozen bodies already littered the ground between the tents. It included many of their non-combatants from monsters to humans.

The King yelled something in his language, both righteous and angry, but Galvina could care less about the dead. No, it was something else that made Galvina's blood boil.

Graves.

Her brother wore enchanted leathers that somehow looked neither audacious nor simple despite the glowing gold stitching along its edge. His rapier was clipped expertly to his waist, matching the same level of finery as his armor.

On his face was that insufferable smile, some who might not know him might even think it was his neutral face, but she did. It was as though everything was beneath him and he found it both funny and just.

His eyes found hers and they seemed to twinkle with mirth. "Ah, sister, we've come to rescue you."

He gestured to the two other heirs standing behind him, Zephyr and Dragara, as well as a contingent of demons.

There was a chance that his words were true. That she could simply acknowledge them and join their side, returning to the fold, but the brand of twelve on her back still itched and her brother was still her brother. It was with a lifelong venom that she spoke her next words.

"I'd rather flay my own skin than be rescued by you."

That subtle smirk seemed to tilt just a little higher. Again, it was surely barely perceptible to anyone else, but to her, he might has well have laughed in her face.

"Then, dearest sister, you should try not to be captured by our enemies."

"The only enemy here is you."

His expression didn't change as though he expected little else from his mischievous little sister - despite them being the same exact age.

"I see. Once we're done here, we'll see what the Emperor wants to do with you."

With a flick of his wrist, he ordered his demons forward to attack. Through their warcries that were answered by those of Gi's allied army, her eyes remained locked on Graves.

She slashed down two demons who attempted to attack her and cut her eyes over to where Nori had just punched a hole through one's chest.

"Hey, goblin, want to make a deal?" A subtle Aether stirred in her chest as she activated [Demon in the Details]. Like Auraco's abilties, hers too dealt with fate. It twisted things towards possible futures, but there were both rules and limits.

Fate was no simple thing to tame.

Nori grunted as she kicked the demon off of her arm and intercepted the next one. Off behind her, Elizabeth, the mercenary from Igna, had rallied her own crew and a little mini winter was happening in one section of the camp.

"Unless you're gonna help me kill demons, you can fuck off. I'm busy."

"Help me kill that demon. With him dead, the entire empire grows weaker."

She hated anything that might sound like she was being complimentary to her brother, but she wasn't allowed to lie and her Domain was shifting her this direction.

"What's in it for me?" Nori asked. Galvina understood that the goblin was just trying to milk her for something she was gonna do anyways, but that was fine. Galvina needed her power working for the best chance to win.

Galvina performed several quick slashes to clear the immediate area around her. Both her brother and the other two heirs were continuing to watch them. The humans seemed to be trying to get their own forces set up so they could take the fight to the Elites. The demons were going to let the fodder drain them as much as possible before the real fight began.

They had demons to spare after all.

With a little space made, Galvina pulled off her own gloves and tossed them over. "Demonsteel Cloth. It's as strong as an enchanted plate gauntlet that won't interfere with whatever Aether enhancement powers you have."

Nori powered up a kick and sent one of the demons rocketing back into his companions before picking up the gloves. She slipped them on and they shrunk to her smaller frame. Galvina could feel her Aether surge as she tested out whatever her Skill was.

Nori grinned wickedly at the payment and Galvina felt fate shift as she payed the cost. That was the second rule. The greater the cost; the greater the impact.

Demonsteel Cloth was priceless.

That left the limits. She could only influence toward the possible and it wasn't a guaranteed change. Her failures at sponsoring promising monsters before Gi in Igna was proof of that.

The last consideration was that the deal could only be between her and one person. No trying to shift the entire course of the Empire.

The Emperor had always seen the value in her Skill, but by the time she'd been born and it had manifested, he hadn't really needed it. Auraco's fate reading was much more useful.

Even his plan to have her contract someone to conquer Igna in his stead had been a backup. Amassing Toucans to ferry enough monsters through had been the real plan, but that took time whereas Galvina might have succeeded sooner.

She hadn't, but that was expected by them. Galvina, the heir that might be useful but never was.

She glanced along the line towards the humans and saw them look towards her and Nori. With Elizabeth off fighting in the distance, they didn't have her to translate, but their gazes were obvious. They were waiting for a combined assault on the three demon heirs.

"Good deal?" Galvina said, flicking blood off her rapier.

"Good fucking deal," Nori agreed.

"Then let's kill them."