“Fight! The heathens are before us! Fight!”

Odwin bellowed as his mace crushed the head of a wretched otherworlder, though his own thoughts were far less inspiring. Not only had his great prize been stolen from him, but the capital had fallen completely, and yet the heathens before him were more sound and allied than ever.

The heretical rebel army had attacked them within sight of the vampire city in numbers as great as he knew them to be, but the quality of heathens had surpassed his expectations. Not least of all the pale blue skinned abominations that dealt only in cowardly assassination. That such beings as elves and dwarves and goliaths were deemed the same as humanity grated on his mind nearly as much as the bloody battle he was locked in.

A flicker caught his eye just in time to see a orichalcum dagger cleave off his head. Odwin swung his mace back as his head regenerated but his holy weapon caught only shadows. A thunderstomp gave distance between them and his focus was snatched upwards as a pillar of light crashed down upon him.

Odwin raised his shield with Anti and weathered the brunt of the mighty skill he had only seen in Hans besides here. But the Smite started to strain against what should have been his certain defense and soon the light fall on him truly. Flesh burned and his mind scalded, but Odwin gritted his teeth and barreled out of range, his flayed skin regenerating in an instant but danger laid before him still.

In his eyes, two heathens assailed him and him alone. One a man in golden armor with a marking on his forehead, channeling a white light in his palm. The heathen leader of the rebel king, he knew from the reports received. The other the shadowdancer elf, sinking into the dark beneath them.

A patriarch the abomination, he remembered from the tournament of false gods, and the heathen leader seemed just as dangerous. Odwin gritted his teeth as the veins of his temples bulged. Through danger and dark, he would never falter. Golden light enveloped him and surged as great power filled his mortal body. If the capital had fallen, he would rebuild it. If the faith dwindled he would restore it. If the heathens and heretics brandished blade and spell, he would put them all to the flame and claim his rightful place among the devout.

“Come! Heathens!”

A black arrow punctured through the back of his helm and head. A simple wound it should’ve been, but his limbs would not obey his fleeting thoughts. The arrow dissipated away and Odwin’s body started to fall, his thoughts still militant, still filled with righteous anger. And then his thoughts were no more. Miguel smiled from the cover of trees in the far distance, storing away his bow as he retreated at once with the rest of his bandits.

Chandra glanced over to Vestra, gaining her silent answer, and lifted Odwin’s body by his armor. “Their commander is fallen! Wipe them out to the last!”

The rebel army fought with increasing zeal at his words as the paladins started to waver and rout. The few rankers they had remaining fell one after the other to the allied guilds’ own and soon the last of the paladins hit the ground and lay still. Thunderous roars of victory filled the battlefield, though none of the elves raised a voice as they regrouped as one and Vestra approached the Justiciar.

“You have your impact. We must have ours.”

Chandra smiled back, already knowing what she wanted. “Then it’s yours.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

---

Katherine sped down the dirt path by carriage, her graceful posture betrayed by the stress in her experience. Her situation had truly become dire. The church was no more but the army of the self proclaimed boy king was far too powerful in its wake, more so now that it was bolstered with the same assassins that had prevented the Igarashi from making much progress into the capital.

The group that had slain the vampire king was on neither side, a small blessing but that was all it was. And despite having learned that the Champion was a direct relative to the clan she sided with, she was told there was no certainty he would side with them. If she could only rely on their alliance she could make it work but to throw everything away on a hope at this stage would be folly. There were still options, she assured herself. She could still manage.

“People will return to their worlds soon enough… What remains favors me more.” Katherine spoke out loud, more to herself than Mai sitting beside her. “The Sunlight Fellowship has the upper hand. If it’s come to this, I’ll need to form a marriage alliance with the soon to be crowned king. I have the status and might behind me to justify that much, and it benefits them as well. The vampire city may have fallen but the scourge remains and monsters beset us at all times… He couldn’t have built up much of a truly loyal following in this short time. Once the emotions of war settle, the people will look for stability and safety. It’s still manageable. The church is ruined and no one will see its return. I can guide this world to progress, even if I must wait a few more years to do so.”

Mai glanced at the rambling duchess, her composed expression betraying none of her displeasure. “...Shin will let everyone else do as they wish at this point, as long as they don’t move against him. We just need to be the first to reach the capital.”

“Yes… yes, you’re right. We must focus one step at a time. How goes the…” Mai was nowhere to be found when Katherine turned to her. But the duchess had not an instant more to think as a sharp pain found her chest. She turned to traces of cold eyes of her blue skinned assassin that sank back into the shadows of the carriage as quickly as she appeared.

The pain wetted Katherine’s eyes but her body was already numb and her mind started to follow. Fears and distress faded too in the cold embrace but she would not accept it. She had more to accomplish, so much more to change for the good of this world. But her numb fears and dreams started to muddle, her thoughts drifting off unwillingly as she fell into the eternal slumber.

---

The Sunlight Fellowship marched into the capital in the plain daylight. An air of relief and weariness held the army more than celebration, especially at the sight of the capital’s state, but still the looming atmosphere of victory could not be denied. The boy Clovis rode at the front on horseback with banners carried behind him and Chandra at his side. A resolve had found his face, nervous still, but a resolve nonetheless.

Chandra motioned them to carry on as he walked alone to Chariot loitering without care by the rubble of the building. “You don’t mind if we take things over from here?” He requested.

“Feel free.” Kamala answered for the party. They had done more than enough already, and all agreed to let the remainder of the event ride out.

Chandra smiled and continued on. “We’re holding a celebration, part of Clovis’ coronation. You all can join if you want.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to take you up on that.” Donny answered.

Chandra took his leave, rejoining the march to settle the city once more. Among them, Vestra took a long glance at Shin as she walked by, his distant neutral expression earning a trace of cold dismissal in her eyes. Though hers and her underling’s coldness was less concerning than the overt disdain and bitterness from many of the other invading guilds.

“Should we really hang around here?” Yen asked, not shying away from the sharp glances at all. “We don’t have any friends here.”

“Don’t think we have any friends anywhere.” Donny commented. “I don’t know about you lot, but I could use a break from the hermit life.”

“We should be hiding…” Basem muttered.

None of the party had any especially strong feelings, even if they had their preferences. Yen glanced at Shin who had been far more silent and uneventful than normal since their last battle. She glanced back to the marching procession, and figured a chance of pace might be good for them after all.