The streets widened as they approached the middle of the city, though this clearly wasn’t normally the case. It wasn’t that the flagstone-covered roads expanded outwards, nor that they were designed to accommodate for a different kind of traffic. It was like space had been cleared to make room for the sheer number of monsters moving through.

The part of the street that was covered in the flagstones was the same width, but to either side, it was clear that the buildings themselves had been moved. Wide, blocky stretches of dark soil flanked the paved part of the road, patterns of lines revealing themselves as more monsters atop flagstones slid over the soft dirt. The buildings that had once occupied all the empty lots stood perched on the ones behind where they had once lain, gripping the roofs of the structures below them with their varied and numerous appendages. Monsters leaned out of the windows, watching the hundreds of people walking, running, flying and scuttling past below them.

Obtaining greater haste from their flat steeds by simply thinking of the request, Omet and Quet managed to catch up with the other three right around when they first went directly under the furthest-out parts of the castle. This close, the crowd of monsters was so dense, the flagstones simply gave up trying to bring them any closer and sank back into the ground. More and more monsters began to join the throng, many using the same method of transport as the visitors. Very few left.

The group pushed through the crowd, avoiding the street vendors selling swords and rudimentary glyphs, and finally came within view of what was drawing the monsters to the area.

A barricade of teeth-covered walls gripped the ground, blocking off easy access to the area directly in front of the gargantuan double doors leading into the castle. Whenever a monster came too close to one of the barriers, the teeth would part and a spine-covered tongue lashed out at the offender. About half a dozen monsters wearing duster coats covered in neon yellow strips hid behind the barricades, holding up their hands in an attempt to quieten the crowds.

Every so often, a monster would push their luck and try to brave the teeth and tongues of the walls. Whenever that happened, one or more of the duster-wearing monsters tackled the assaulter and hog-tied them with a coil of rainbow-flashing cable, several of which were strapped to their waists. One of the guards, who had six batlike wings poking through their coat, carried the tied-up attackers up to a low-hanging room in the castle. When they weren’t occupied with detaining the attackers, the guard busied themself with intercepting airborne invaders.

One of the guards seemed to be in a clear position of authority. He looked like the same general sort of monster as Salamin, a Ka-Sala, except this one was considerably taller, coming in at almost seven feet in height.

Horan tried to catch the eye of the one in charge and tried to speak over the noise of the crowd. “Hey, uh, excuse me? Could you let me and my friends through? We just- we just want to talk to whoever’s inside, we’ll be in and out, I swear!”

One of the other guards stepped over to block Horan’s line of sight with the one in charge. “S- Uh, yeah, Sir, we need you to please leave the area until the Leviathan Council has returned, you can come in and ask questions then. That goes for all of you, by the way! None of you are just going to waltz in and take over the city!”

Horan turned to the other four and, struggling to even hear himself speak, chose to wind-speak into the others’ ears. “Yeah, they aren’t letting us in. Mark, what’s Plan B? Do I fly in? Do we figure out what’s up with Quet’s magic, see if that can help in any way?”

Waia snorted. “Oh, so you’re just giving up after one guy said no? Fine, whatever. But I’m just saying, it’s not my fault when we get stranded here.”

Mark struggled to focus due to all the noise surrounding him. “Okay, so, we’ve got, um, the roofs. We could get up there, and then-”

Horan patted Mark on the shoulder and pointed at something behind him. Mark turned and saw a figure pushing through the crowd. They were taller than most of the monsters in the crowd, but they weren’t physically bulky like the other large monsters, nor did they possess any notable appendages or deformities to set them apart from a normal human silhouette. What had really caught Horan’s eye were the eyes. Glowing, solid-color, those were the eyes of a Primus.

It was only once everyone had turned and noticed the new Primus did Horan recognize who it was. And that wasn’t some random guy from one of the other Domains that Horan hadn’t visited in years. The eyes had thrown him off, but now that he was closer, the new arrival was definitely Orsinus. Or at least, a Primus who uncannily resembled him. But for some reason, somehow, his eyes had shifted from their original yellow color to a pale, ghostly blue.

Two more figures walked alongside him, both of whom seemed distinctly familiar to everyone except Waia. They looked like cat demons, wearing a few scraps of what used to be armor from Thel’s army on top of their more slapdash outfits.

Orsinus pushed past the monsters between him and the front of the crowd, allowing him and his companions passage to the barricades. Despite him needing to push and occasionally shove people to the side, he did not make any sort of expression or reaction to his actions. He just blankly stared forwards.

Horan broke out of his shock. “Wh… Should I talk to him? How is he even alive? How’d he get down here? This- th- this shouldn’t be happening, I don’t… Hey, Mark? Have we seen those two cats somewhere?”

Quet sighed. “Join the club, my guy. Today is just having a lot of fun making things weird, huh?”

Orsinus reached the front of the crowd and stepped aside, allowing one of the demons access to the guard behind the nearest barricade. The guard looked up at Orsinus’ towering figure and gulped. “Hey, um, Sir? I-I know it’s… You can’t go past this point, the castle is under lockdown until-”

“Down here, pal.” One of the cat demons raised her arm.

“Oh, uh… Okay.” The guard tore his eyes from Orsinus’ thousand-yard stare and looked down at the one who spoke. “Like I was saying, miss. You can’t-”

“I’m afraid I don’t especially care about what you think I can and/or can’t do, buddy. If you feel like avoiding trouble, I’d suggest you step aside and let me in.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The guard’s expression hardened. “Okay, You can’t just keep cutting me off like that. I know what that is-” He nodded in Orsinus’ direction, “-but we’re not just giving up because you were a little assertive.”

The demon sighed and looked at the second demon in exasperation. “This is… Okay. Look, pal. I assume you’re on a decent payroll. You have to be to put up with all this.” She pointed around at the crowd, who were beginning to quiet down and look at her. “But unless you and your buddies are getting something else out of this, there’s really no reason to do something this blatantly stupid.” She pointed to Orsinus. “You don’t want to mess with this guy, so again, I recommend you back off. That’s a warning as much as it is a threat.”

The guard looked over at another a couple dozen feet away. The second noticed his gaze, and the two met to quickly confer.

Something clicked in Mark’s head. “Hey, uh, Horan? I think I know who that is.”

Horan nodded. “Yeah, I was just thinking, she seems so familiar. What’s your idea?”

“Remember that group that jumped us in that gas station outside Athens?”

Horan’s eye shot open. “Oh. No. No, there’s no way. This is not happening.”

The first guard returned to the newcomers and brandished the cable on his belt. “I’m giving you one chance to move away from this before I sic this Barrier on you. It’s that, turning around, or letting me turn you in. Do the second one, it’s better for all of us.”

The demon sighed and looked once more at her companion. “I gave him a chance, right? This is his fault now, yeah?”

The second demon sighed. “Yup. Plenty of warnings.”

“It’s settled, then. Death it is.” The first demon snapped.

Orsinus immediately sprang into action. Before anyone could make any sort of reaction, his arms shot forward and a surge of lightning blasted the barricade and everyone behind it into smithereens. The whole crowd recoiled from the sudden burst of light and the resulting thunderclap that echoed throughout the streets. A few monsters that had been standing closer to Orsinus simply turned and ran then and there.

The demon stepped through the smoldering wreckage that had once blocked her path and walked into the middle of the blocked-off area. She saw the remaining guards poised and ready for engagement. The Ka-Sala in charge was pointing both arms at her, muscles tensed. The demon just smirked. “Try it, any of you. I dare you.”

The second demon pulled one of the barricades onto its back, eliciting a squeal of protest from the structure. The first demon climbed on top of the newly-created platform and looked out at the on-edge crowd of monsters, flanked by Orsinus and the other demon. “Evening, everyone. The name’s Yang.”

Quet and Omet finally recognized her. Omet stumbled back slightly. “No. No, no, no, no, this is… How, even?”

Yang continued, seemingly not having noticed the three Primoi in the crowd. “So, I’m kinda new to these parts.” She looked up at the castle. “Seems like a pretty nice place to live, though. Great view, good location, probably a few… hundred bedrooms.”

She looked down at the remaining guards, who were looking at each other in a desperate attempt to figure out everything that was happening. “And don’t worry, any of you. I’m not gonna be some crazy tyrannical despot, I’ve had more than my fair share of those as of recent. Instead, Xiao and I- Say hi, Xiao.”

Xiao waved. “I’m here too.”

Yang continued. “We’re just gonna live up in there, we might step in to deal with a problem that comes up. If we feel like it. We just don’t really wanna deal with everything going on back on earth. You all know what I’m talking about. But, one last thing. Any of you try to kick me out, well… You saw what my lightning guy can do. You people can all just go back to whatever you’re supposed to be doing is, but we’re here to stay.” She jumped down from the platform and looked at the guards, who were all huddled in one corner and staring at her. “Capiche?”

A few of the guards nodded, the rest made no change in their expression. Yang smiled. “Awesome. Now, if you don’t mind, Xiao and I want a tour of our new digs. Which one of you is in charge?”

The Ka-Sala groaned and stepped in front of the rest. “That’d be me.”

“Awesome. You can show me around, get me familiarized with this whole place.” She pointed at the double doors. “Mush.”

Orsinus pulled the huge doors open and allowed Yang, Xiao and the Ka-Sala to enter the castle before following them in. After a minute or two, the crowd outside began to disperse and the remaining guards took down the barricades.

Without saying another word, Mark turned around and began walking down the street. Noticing a building adorned with signage and interior design that called into memory a typical café had settled down from its perch on the roof of an apartment building, Mark decided to head inside and took a seat at a table near the entrance.

The other four followed him inside and awkwardly stood around, trying to figure out what he was doing. After a few seconds, Waia tried breaking the ice. “So, bring me up to speed here. Who exactly w-”

Mark began repeatedly banging his forehead into the table, rattling the candle on top and making the other patrons stare at the display, though many did not show much surprise. After slamming his head into the wood for a few moments, Mark screamed into the crook of his arm and stood up. “Okay, that’s out of my system. For the next few minutes, at least. You four want to talk about how that is the most impossibly stupid thing that could possibly have made things worse for us?”

Waia raised an arm. “I-I still need some catching up. I assume whoever Yang is, she’s an issue? Based on that, um… That.”

“She’s the one who led that demon attack on the Greeks. After the army stopped actually being a threat, that is,” explained Horan.

“Who, let me make just recap for you,” began Mark, “somehow survived the tower being smashed to pieces, along with the other guy, and then somehow managed to find a portal to the Down Below, which she visited with Orsinus, who somehow survived the same thing despite us seeing him fall to his death, and is now working for Yang for some reason. So now the two just happened to arrive at the same place as us, at the same time, and are now holing up in the exact worst possible place they could be doing so in.”

Mark leaned on the table and took a deep breath. “I-I am going to have an aneurysm. I am. There’s just… This doesn’t just happen. There is absolutely no possible way that that sequence of events perfectly happens at the exact right time to mess with us. It doesn’t. And yet, before my own two eyes, there she is. The emissary of bad luck, staring me in the face and laughing at my pain.” He sat back down and put his head in his hands. “It really doesn’t end. Ever.”

“I don’t think she actually noticed us,” pointed out Quet. “I’m not sure she knows we’re here.”

Omet sighed. “Honestly, I’m with Mark on that point. If it’s a total coincidence, that might be even worse.”

The owner of the café arrived at the table they were standing around. “Um, excuse me, but you’re all making a scene. Could you please talk about whatever all this is somewhere else? It’s bothering my actual customers.”

“Right, right, yes.” Horan grabbed Mark by the shoulders and began pulling him out of his seat. “I am so sorry. We’ll be out of your hair. Up you come, dude. We can go somewhere else and figure out our next move. We might even fix Quet’s magic, because that’s also a thing. Wow, it’s really hard to keep up with everything that’s going wrong.”

Mark limply let Horan push him out of the building. “What’s even the point anymore? Things are just gonna keep getting worse.”

“Crazy, I know.”