I swung my blade at Lord Biustarn, only for it to be bounce off an invisible wall in front of him. The same barrier then slammed me against the sharp, very visible wall behind me and pinned me there. As expected, I was beaten before the fight even started and I hung my head in defeat. “What now? Is this where you kill me?”

“That would be rather wasteful and I want you to know that I personally have nothing against you.”

Somehow knowing that he wasn’t crushing me for personal reasons failed to provide any consolation. “Thank goodness, I was beginning to worry I might have to rethink my personality. But since you don’t hate me, I guess there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes, yes, very droll. In all honesty, I did consider killing you. However, your death would both likely upset Lady Sarinknell and compromise her usefulness to my cause, so I suppose you have her to thank for your continued existence.”

“I’ll be sure to thank her for needing me the next time I see her.”

“Do you understand how dire a situation you’re in? You don’t seem to fully appreciate the gravity of it all.”

“Oh, I’m well aware, but we’re past the point of having a rational conversation at this point, so why should I bother keep up pretences?”

It was easier to just let whatever nonsense I thought up spill from my mouth unfiltered.

“Dignity in what might very well be your last moments of life? And of course, it’s still not too late to change your mind.”

“I think you and I both know that’s not going to happen.”

“We shall see. I still remain hopeful that one of you will see sense.”

The barrier restraining me shifted, pinning my limbs while leaving my chest unconstrained. Without so much as a final glance, Lord Biustarn turned his back on me and went upstairs. Which suited me just fine, now all I had to do was escape. I pushed against the invisible wall in front of me with all my strength and failed to budge it in the slightest.

Alright, well, even if I couldn’t force my way out that didn’t mean I was entirely helpless. While I may not be able to contact Elmidath, I might still be able to return to her side. I willed myself to teleport to her and remained precisely where I was. And just like that my options were expended and I gave up. At least that part was easy.

The ground lurched beneath my feet, shaking me from my defeated stupor. What now? Had the Ortisfel finally decided to take the surface by force? They certainly weren’t waiting around now that Elmidath and I were both restrained. Not that we could have done anything to stop them anyway.

I was lamenting our failure and imminent doom as the floor shifted again with a great impact and the whole tower toppled. There was an instant of clarity in which the ceiling wheeled overhead before something struck me from behind and I passed out.

When I next awoke, I lay bruised and battered amidst a ruin of stone where Biustarn’s tower had once stood. Huge figures loomed over me and I idly wondered what fresh horrors had crawled forth from beneath the earth. However, as my vision cleared, I recognized the familiar monstrous forms of Aog and Gurk. Baffled, I remained on my back and stared up at them in utter confusion. What were they doing here? Where were the servants of the Ortisfel?

Despite all my confusion, they looked at me with their usual contempt and Aog prodded me with his club. “You are rather tenacious, puny one.”

“What’s going on? What happened to the tower?”

They exchanged a look, as if in disbelief at my stupidity before Gurk gestured towards the wreckage. “Have you lost all semblance of reason? We have broken this vile monument to the hubris of your people.”

While I didn’t particularly understand the nuance of what he was saying and had no interest in doing so, I got the gist of it; they’d destroyed Biustarn’s tower. “Then you’ve decided to help us?”

Sighing, Aog’s expansive forehead creased in consternation. “We have embarked on a course of destruction, nothing more and nothing less.”

“Then what I said convinced you?”

I didn’t know how that was possible, but I could hardly argue with the results.

“Not in the slightest. You merely annoyed us enough that we could simply not move on without a sufficient demonstration of our righteous rage. A demonstration which is far from concluded.”

At the conclusion of his statement, they stepped over me in unison and plunged into the rubble, shoving masonry aside like it was but a minor inconvenience. Shaking my head, I got to my feet and tried to refocus. Whatever the ogres had decided to do, I needed to find Elmidath. Querying her through link produced no reply and I was hesitant to try teleporting to her. Even if it worked, I could easily end up trapped in the debris.

Instead, I retrieved Shotensho and followed the ogres. Disagreeable as their company was, we were at least ostensibly on the same side and they’d finally decided to be of some use. Though I was sceptical of how long that could possibly last. It had been a minor miracle that their destructive urges had aligned with my own aims already, I couldn’t expect much more from them.

As I watched, Gurk chanted something I couldn’t understand and brought his club down on a large block of masonry, shattering it into little pieces. There was clearly magic at work here, judging by how easily his club sundered solid stone, but I had no idea what kind or how it might function.

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Though it appeared to be a random act of violence, there was a clearly logic at work here as beneath the rubble lay the supine form of Lord Biustarn. The demon lord jumped up, only to be slammed back down by Gurk’s club. Another deep guttural chant rumbled forth from the other as he raised his weapon above the struggling demon.

On impulse, I called out to the ogre. “Wait!”

Gurk lowered his club, opting instead to hold Biustarn in place by with one enormous foot, and gave me a long-suffering look. “Is this not one of the very servants of darkness that you wish destroyed? For what possible reason would you interfere on his behalf?”

I didn’t really have a good reason for it, I just didn’t want to see yet another avoidable death. Though Biustarn was technically our enemy now, it didn’t really feel that way. Then again, maybe that was just me being slow on the uptake. “He spared me when he didn’t have to and gave me a chance to change my mind. I’d like to do the same for him.”

“While you may consider that a valid reason to keep him alive, it’s hardly a compelling one as to why I should spare him. He is still a prime target for our most virtuous wrath.”

Ah. My argument had been good enough to half convince myself, but I hadn’t considered it would need to be enough for the ogres as well. Of course they wouldn’t respond to anything resembling mercy. “Right, but he can lead us to the true source of all this. Wouldn’t that be a far more appealing target?”

Grunting, Gurk stroked his chin with his free hand. Aog, however, looked unconvinced. “How far away would this greater foe be?” He gestured towards Biustarn. “For this one’s proximity makes me a rather appealing outlet.”

“Does it matter how far you must go when it comes to delivering justice upon the wicked? Surely the struggle only serves as further testament to your nobility.”

“For once you make a sound argument. The miraculous nature of that event alone is almost sufficient reason to follow your proposed course. Who knew that even a modicum of wisdom could spring from such a meagre source?”

It was almost a compliment coming from Aog, not that I particularly cared what the ogres thought of me. “Alright, let him go then.”

Gurk withdrew his foot, allowing Biustarn to breath once more and the demon lord climbed to his feet. Good, he was well enough to stand. That would make this easier. “I take it you’re willing to comply with their demands?”

Lord Biustarn nodded and I moved on; Elmidath was still missing. Convincing the ogres to help find her was probably a lost cause, and I thought it best not to waste any more time. I tried contacting her through our link again to no avail, and resorted to shouting her name while I searched amongst the broken remains of Biustarn’s home.

That didn’t work either and I started digging through the rubble by hand. It was slow going, and I was hard at work when Biustarn came over. I glanced at him, then went to shifting stone. “What is it? Aren’t you supposed to be leading the ogres somewhere?”

“I told them I wasn’t leaving until I’d found my daughter.”

“And they were okay with that?”

Looking back once more, I saw the ogres looming over us, but they made no move to stop Biustarn.

“Evidently. Now give me a hand with this. I believe they should both be somewhere around here.”

I went over and, between the two us, shifted a large chunk of stone aside. Clearing away some of the smaller pieces beneath, I spotted an arm. It twitched and I called out once more. This time there was a muffled reply and I dug with renewed vigour.

Throwing rubble aside, I quickly uncovered Elmidath. I lifted her unconscious body free, revealing Miusin who pulled herself free with the help of her father. They shared a quick embrace, while I checked if Elmidath was still breathing. I was sure I’d have felt it if she were close to death, but it was a relief to confirm she was just unconscious. Even if she’d suffered internal injuries it shouldn’t be long before she recovered, at least if how quickly my own body healed was anything to go by.

After a quick explanation, Biustarn left his daughter and went off with the ogres. I considered going along with them, but I could hardly take Elmidath wherever they were going and I didn’t want to leave her. Placing her gently on the ground away from any unstable structures, I turned to Miusin.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m a bit shaken up, but I’m mostly fine. Elmidath protected us both. I guess she got the worst of it.” Apparently realizing that she might have said something impolite, Miusin hurriedly added an addendum. “I’m sure she’ll be fine though.”

“Me too.”

There was no way she’d die from as harmless as being dropped from a considerable height and being crushed beneath a collapsing building. Right?

“Any idea what happened? I’m guessing you’re not the one who brought the tower down.”

“Nope. It was the ogres, though I’m not sure how they did it.”

Miusin shook her head. “Funny time for them to make themselves useful, not that I can complain.”

“Well you probably would have been fine regardless. It’s not like your father was going to execute you or anything.”

“Maybe not, but is working with the Ortisfel really so much better than that? I’d have to give in sooner or later. I still might have to if we stick around here.”

“Wait, you want to leave? What about your father?”

Frowning, Miusin took a deep breath. “He’s made his choice. Is it alright if I go along with you? I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“I really don’t know how much being with us will help you, but sure, go ahead. We could always use the extra help.”

“Great. So, now what?”

Elmidath still wasn’t waking up and we couldn’t wait around here forever. However, we still needed allies to protect Yuriel’s budding creation. “Well without your father, Lord Yueryurn is our last option. Hopefully he’s still willing to help us.”

Lifting Elmidath in my arms, I took a few steps before I realized Miusin wasn’t following. “Are you coming or not?”

She bit her lip, a conflicted look on her face. “I’m not sure. Is it really okay to leave like this? What’s going to happen to my father?”

“I don’t know, none of us really do.” Almost certainly something bad though. “You said it yourself, he made his choice.”

“I know, but is that really a good enough reason to just abandon him like this? He’d go after me if he was in my position.”

“Are you sure about that?” Given his recent conduct, it seemed more than a little dubious.

“Completely. He’s still my father, even if he can be an idiot sometimes.”

“Well if you want to go after him, I won’t stop you. But there’s a good chance you’ll never come back, and an even better one that you won’t be able to save him.”

Eyes bright with unshed tears, Miusin dug her fingers into her arm. “Then am I just supposed to let him go?”

“Sometimes letting go is the best thing we can do. For ourselves and others. This is probably one of those times.”

Everything I said was just a shot in the dark, given how little I knew for sure about the situation, but it was the best advice I could come up with. It was hard to imagine that her going after him could end well for either of them.

“You’re right.”

Miusin took one last look back in the direction her father had gone, before catching up to me. Setting off once more, I fervently hoped that I was right right.