A man clad in white armor with golden trimmings stood roughly as tall as Bayard. The armor emitted a light glow that engulfed the man’s entire body. Two sword scabbards could be seen at the two sides of the man’s hip. Even from where he stood, Dreu could make out some unfamiliar characters written across the chest plate. The helmet resembled the head of a horse and covered the man’s entire head. Dreu only noticed the man was floating above the ground when he looked at the man’s sabaton that had wings attached to them. The man resembled the folk tale hero who would save the humans from external threats.

“That’s the Right Arm of Xemir,” said Sela affectionately. “We are saved!”

Dreu tried to untangle the puzzle before him. The Right Arm of Xemir was a powerful demi-god under the god, Xemir. As the name suggested, the demi-god served as an extension to the god to defeat the enemies of the human race. Stories claimed the Right Arm of Xemir ensured the human race's survival against all odds in the past two hundred years or so. Yet, this almost godlike figure in the kingdom, generally found in the capital, somehow knew Bayard, a summon of a power he unlocked recently. Then, there was the encyclopedic knowledge Bayard possessed of demons, a race he only encountered firsthand very recently.

This isn’t the time to be lost in thought, interrupted Rohese.

Rohese and Guiot moved into a formation to stand between him and the Right Arm of Xemir. He couldn’t see their expressions but he could easily feel the hostility between them and the strongest demi-god in the kingdom.

“We were never friends, Rowan!”

Rowan laughed when Bayard addressed him by his first name.

“I’m hurt! To think you have forgotten the times we fought back to back against our enemies!”

Multiple green fireballs came down at Rowan. When the fireballs were a meter or so from Rowan, a barrier appeared and, upon collision with a barrier, the fireballs dissipated.

“I guess you forgot about that time you stabbed him in the back,” said a female voice. “Quite literally!”

Dreu looked up to see the demoness he saw from the Cleric Fortress of Ujun. The demoness glided slowly down to the ground after she stepped off the walls. During her descent, a few more of those fireballs were sent at Rowan but the outcome remained the same.

“Let me guess! One of you wants to avenge your old master and one of you wants to avenge your old lover. Well, I can promise you one thing. You two will be joining Gavienus soon enough.”

With that, Rowan drew one of his swords. When he swung it to his side, a large gust blew past Dreu’s group. Before Rowan could take action against Bayard or Eglallin, a loud boom could be heard from the gates. The boom repeated several times and Dreu watched the gate distort in shape. Before long, the gate broke open and the demons swarmed in.

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“And I thought the party couldn’t get any livelier!,” said Rowan, drawing his other sword. “Let’s make this a special day then!”

A demon in black armor wielding a halberd stood at the head of the demons.

Is he the one you faced in battle? Dreu asked Zhao.

Yes, he defeated me with ease. I couldn’t even dodge his attacks.

Being much closer to the demon than last time, he could make out the various dents in the armor. The halberd looked well used with the point appearing incredibly sharp. The demon’s height rivaled that of Bayard and Rowan. Towering easily over the other demons, it was easy to entirely focus on this demon and forget about the minions around it.

“Rowan,” said the demon. “I’ll make sure your death will be fitting for a traitor!”

When the demon swung his halberd, the other demons headed for the castle while giving Rowan a wide berth. These demons completely ignored Dreu’s group and seemed far more focused on the humans exiting the castle gates.

“Braglames, I hope you can back up what you say! With Bayard in his current pathetic state, you don’t stand a chance against me.”

In response to Rowan’s comment, Braglames raised his halberd and held it like a two-handed sword. The demon’s shadow then moved beside him before it materialized out of the ground. Once fully formed, the shadow looked identical to Braglames and could moving independently.

I can’t believe he mastered the Shadow Double, muttered Bayard quietly.

What did Rowan mean by your pathetic state? Were you stronger before?

There’s a lengthy history about the Emperor Class, Dreu. If you learn enough of it, you will understand the struggles between your ancestor, Gavienus Tobias, and the god Xemir.

Now’s not the time for this, interrupted Rohese. We’ll all be dead if we stay in the open while those monsters fight one another.

You’re right, Rohese. We can share the past with Dreu in the future. He has earned the right to hear the story.

“Everyone!” said Bayard. “We must find cover before they start their combat. Otherwise, we’ll all be collateral damage!”

“Over there!” Sela pointed at a crystal inserted into the wall. “We can use that to keep ourselves safe.”

The group ran over to the crystal and Sela went to work inputting magic into it. The crystal glowed brighter and brighter until a visible barrier formed around them. Out of curiosity, Dreu reached out and touched the barrier. To his hand, the barrier felt no different from a stone used for fortifications. Unlike stone, the barrier was transparent so he could clearly see the rest of the courtyard.

“How does this work?” asked Jeane.

Sela described the need for spellcasters to protect themselves while engaged in combat. The crystal was the solution as they provided a barrier as long as magic is constantly fed to them. Whenever the barrier took damage, magic would be needed to repair the damage. In the large courtyard with no cover, these crystals provided spellcasters a way to engage the enemy while ensuring their safety. For their situation, they just needed to repair the barrier whenever it took damage and no harm would befall them.