A wave of palpable contentment and safety washed over Isaac, leaving him feeling far, far more wretched than he had been before. The Lord of Monsters had been defeated, their last hope smashed to tiny pieces. It was unbelievable; it had only been a month, and Rose and Amelia had been on the front lines the entire time.
Isaac had assumed they were still in the process of figuring out where the Lord of Monsters was, but…Amelia could teleport people across unfathomable differences. She wouldn’t really need to leave the front lines if she wasn’t searching for the Lord of Monsters herself, she just needed to teleport there and take care of it.
It was a miscalculation, but one that had ended up not mattering. The coalitions hadn’t been able to drum up enough support to make a real push into Odria, and so their armies had just sat at the border, waiting for an attack that never came. From what Isaac had heard from those parts of his army that were still in the Sapphire Empire, the swarm had been pushing in on that end quite heavily, and had claimed most of the land between their border and the line of defensive structures that soldiers were currently holed up in.
Isaac locked gazes with the staff that were in the meeting he was currently holding. “I will be cutting this meeting short.” He announced. “I need to get to the meeting place to meet with the other nations.”
“So…is this it, then?” Janice, one of his generals, asked. “Are we going to be doing that unofficial surrender?”
“If any of you truly think we have a hope of winning, then no.” Isaac said, locking eyes with each person in the room in turn. “But I can see you all know that this war is now officially hopeless. Best case scenario, the swarm can now turn its full attention to us. Worst case scenario, the Lord of Monsters has just joined their ranks. Either way, I don’t see a future where we win.”
There was a resigned silence as Isaac stood and left the room. His emotions were a tempest, but he couldn’t help but admit that he felt relieved in a perverse sort of way. The war was over, and he no longer had to struggle as he had before. The Goddess of Hearth had guaranteed the truth of the swarm’s mission to better the world, and it wasn’t like he was headed towards the gallows. Even most of his people would not fault him for this decision, if they knew it was being made. In short, the worst of thing was over, and now he just had to oversee the transfer of power.
He entered the meeting place in a sort of hazy state of mind. Everything just felt…unreal, like this wasn’t actually happening. And, when he got to the table, it seemed that he wasn’t the only one; Zara was sitting at the table wearing an expression that Isaac was sure mirrored his own.
“I didn’t think we would be here so soon.” Zara said, a dull note of acceptance in her voice. “Amelia and Rose didn’t even have to leave the front lines. We never stood a chance, even if our army’s morale wasn’t shot.”
“I realized much the same.” Isaac said hollowly. “Amelia could just teleport them to the location when they found it. They were never as vulnerable as we thought they’d be.”
“Do you think they converted the Lord of Monsters?” Zara asked.
“I can’t say for sure, but I think not.” Isaac replied. “My understanding is that, the more powerful a monster is, the more of its original personality remains. I don’t think they would take the risk of having it turn on them.”
Over the next couple of hours, other rulers began to trickle in and, eventually, all five rulers remaining in the alliance were present. “How are we going to do this?” Cedric, King of Larios asked. “We all agree that we’re all but surrendering, right?”
“I am, at the very least.” Amos, King of Illia, said. “I can’t rally enough troops to put up a reasonable defensive effort.”
“Is there any reason we’re not flat-out surrendering?” Alice, Queen of Mountainhome, asked.
“I believe we will just be pretending to resist.” Cedric replied. “The reason I was given was so that any bad actors wouldn’t rebel while the swarm came at us.”
“In that case, we can take what troops are still willing to fight and send them out to surrender, right?” Amos said. “We can stage a ‘heroic last stand’, and it won’t even be an unbelievable loss. The swarm simply is much stronger than the remnants of our armies.”
“I was going to attempt to meet with them and ask how they want it handled.” Zara said. “I left a letter in the designated drop-off point; they should see it as soon as they check those spots.”
“That would be now.” Amelia said. “You said you wish to surrender?”
Isaac jumped, turning to the previously empty space that Amelia’s voice had come from. She and Rose were there, as was…Lia? Or, at the very least, a foxkin who looked very similar; she shared her face and odd style of clothing, but she was a bit taller, a bit curvier, and, more importantly, had nine very bushy tails and her hair and fur was an entrancing silver that seemed to flash all sorts of different colors as the light hit it.
“Yes, I’m Lia.” Lia said, answering the unspoken question and taking a seat at the table where Brom used to sit. “Since you last saw me, I have evolved, thus my different appearance.”
“I have to ask,” Isaac began, “are we right in assuming you just teleported to the Lord of Monsters when you found it and killed it, and that’s why Amelia and Rose were on the front lines this past month?”
“Half-right.” Amelia said, conjuring a chair and sitting next to Lia. “I knew where it was the moment it appeared. We could have killed it then and there, but we opted to send Lia on an expedition to kill it to help train her leadership skills.”
“And Amelia and I did not participate in the fight.” Rose added, taking the empty seat next to Lia. “It was mostly Lia, with some support from Izumi and a few max level people, though said support was unnecessary; Lia was capable of handling it on her own. Amelia and I simply acted as insurance in case the fight was to go south.”
Isaac glanced at Lia with newfound respect. If what they were saying was true, and he didn’t see any reason for them to be lying when Zara had already called for surrender, then Lia was far stronger than he had given her credit for. “And…this doesn’t impact our decision at all, but did you convert the Lord of Monsters, or was it too much of a risk?”
“I killed it.” Lia replied. “We have its corpse we can use in conversion, but that’s it.”
“May we see it?” Zara asked curiously.
“Uh…I guess, but it’s a little…unrecognizable.” Lia replied, standing up and taking a few steps back. A moment later a cocoon appeared in the air, the modeling wax sloughing off to reveal a small black ball, one that would easily fit into the Isaac’s hand. It fell, impacting the stone floor and sending cracks throughout it. “This is it, along with most of the nearby landscape from when it was killed. It all got compacted into this little ball.”
She gave the other rulers time to crane their necks to see it, then the ball disappeared again. Lia crouched down and put a hand on the cracks, mending them before taking a seat again. “But, to get back on track, you said you were sort of surrendering?”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Yes.” Zara said. “We’re all in agreement that we won’t win the war, and so we wish to do our best to make the transition as painless as possible. We think there are elements of our courts that would rebel if we surrendered outright, so we will instead be offering as little resistance as is necessary to keep those people satisfied. We’ll provide anything you ask, and, though I cannot speak for others, I am willing to be converted if that can be hidden from those who are not in the know.”
“You’re a woman, so that’s pretty easy.” Lia replied. “After we finish talking here, we can discuss the details of your conversion.”
“I suppose I should be converted as well.” Alice sighed. “To help convey sincerity.”
“I have several high-ranking women who are in the know and likely would be willing to be converted now instead of waiting.” Isaac added. “And we’ll do anything you like to prove that this isn’t a trick.”
“I’ve been reading your minds this entire time, I know it’s not.” Amelia replied.
Lia gave a nod. “Since we have you all here, let’s discuss some specifics about what your responsibilities under our rule will be. First, some laws I’ll want you to implement…”
----------------------------------------
Izumi took a deep breath, grasping the portal device tightly. Though it had only been a few months, it felt like she hadn’t seen her family in a lifetime. How would they react to her new form? Would they disown her out of fear of being converted? Izumi didn’t think they would, but she wasn’t totally sure, and the thought terrified her.
She took yet another deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she opened the portal. When she didn’t hear any shouts of alarm or the like, she tentatively opened her eyes to see a large oval in the air in front of her, a view of her old room contained within. She braced herself and stepped through, the air modifying ever so slightly as she changed rooms.
She took another moment to calm herself, then opened the door to her room and announced her presence. “I’m home!”
There was the sound of intense shuffling, followed by the appearance of her parents down the hall. “Welcome back.” Her mother, Aya, said, scooping Izumi up into her arms. “We’ve missed you.”
“I…missed you too.” Izumi said, hugging her mother. “It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”
“Welcome back. They weren’t too rough on you over there, right?” Izumi’s father, Kazuto asked. “Whatever the case, I have food ready, I figured we’d have a feast to welcome you back.”
“Um…you’re not…worried about, you know…all of this?” Izumi asked, motioning to herself. “Do you know what’s going on?”
Aya set her down. “No matter what happens, you’ll always be our little b– girl.” She said seriously. “We know about the swarm, and we know you’re part of it now. The Goddess of Hearth herself visited us and talked to us about it. We don’t know the specifics of your time on…what was it, Ratha? Whatever the name, we want to hear about your escapades on that plane from you, and we’re choosing to withhold our judgement of the swarm until we see more for ourselves.”
“I…see.” Izumi replied. “Do we want to talk over dinner?”
“Let’s.” Kazuto replied, scratching Izumi behind her cat ears affectionately. “I have it all in the preserver, so it’ll be nice and hot for you.”
He set off down the hall, Izumi and Aya close behind. “How is your wardrobe, dear?” Aya asked worriedly. “I see you’re in a shrine maiden’s outfit, but that’s not exactly casual wear, is it?”
Izumi blinked in surprise. “Oh, right.” She said. “Because I’m part monster now, this clothing feels very comfortable for me. It doesn’t impede my movement at all either. Just this outfit is like that, though, since it’s my monster armor. And, uh, I know that might sound bad, the whole part monster thing, but it really doesn’t mean much. I’m just as much a person as I was before and I don’t want to randomly attack people or anything traditionally monster-y.”
“We know.” Aya said reassuringly. “And if you’re comfortable, that’s fine. I’d love to take you clothes shopping when you can safely leave the house, though. I’m sure you’d look great in other clothes, and I’ve always wanted to go clothes shopping with a daughter.”
“I’m not suddenly going to be happier to shop for clothes now that I’m a girl, Mom.” Izumi said exasperatedly. “That’s not how this works.”
“Well, how many outfits do you have?” Aya asked.
Izumi paused. “Um…three? It’s been low on our list of priorities, and for combat this is the only thing I’ll ever really wear, so…the plan is to wait until the plane stabilizes more before really looking at expanding people’s wardrobes.”
“Then you’ll need some new clothes anyway.” Aya said matter-of-factly. “Do you know when the swarm intends to start work on this plane, so we can go out together?”
They reached the dining room, taking seats at the table. “I’m not totally sure,” Izumi admitted, “but last I heard, I think the plan was to wait a year or two after they finish conquering Ratha? They want to make sure the people are taken care of and things are running smoothly before they jump into another war.”
“And how is the war going?” Kazuto asked, bringing plates of food into the dining room.
“At this point, it’s just extended cleanup.” Izumi replied. “At the rate things are going…I don’t think it’ll last more than a year, if that.”
“Why another war at all?” Ava asked. “Why not just stay on Ratha?”
Izumi frowned. “You know, I hadn’t really thought about it, but I think some of the gods are pushing them into it? More than half seem to be of the opinion that the swarm is, in the long term, better for society and want to spread it to…everywhere.”
There was silence as Izumi’s parents digested that. After a moment, Aya spoke up. “We can talk about this later.” She said. “I want to hear about your experience. What happened when you left?”
So, Izumi told them, and she told them everything, including her not-so-proud moments. They didn’t interrupt, listening intently as Izumi told her story, but their faces said plenty. After what must have been ten or twenty minutes, Izumi finally began to reach the end.
“Then…then the Queen cast a spell that made a black hole, and I’m decently sure that would have one-shot the Lord of Monsters even if it hadn’t been weakened already. It made her faint, which I’m guessing is why she didn’t cast it immediately, but it was…awe-inspiring. Anyway, after that the God of Space gave me my reward, we went back to the capital, waited an hour, then the Queen, Rose, and Amelia came to talk to me, we had a brief conversation with the Goddess of Hearth, and…here I am.”
“Ich– Izumi…” Kazuto began, “you made some mistakes, you let power get to your head and didn’t stop to think objectively about things, but, even so…you did your best, and you apologized for your mistakes. I’m proud of you.”
A flood of relief filled Izumi. “Really?” She asked.
“As long as you learn and promise not to let your strength get to your head again when you grow. It sounds like you still have more potential than normal, despite not being a Hero, and you cannot get conceited.”
“It’s kind of hard to get conceited when Amelia, Rose, and the Queen are there as living reminders that there’s always someone stronger.” Izumi admitted. “I haven’t given Amelia in particular justice in my retelling; she’s not…normal, even by Hero standards. She can make systems, that’s…well, her power borders on literally godlike at times.”
“Surely she can’t be that strong.” Aya said. “It’s one thing to say she’s powerful, but godlike? The war would be over.”
“My patron goddess herself said so, right after Amelia defeated me. Most of the time, the gods keep her and Rose bound, but on the rare occasions that their bindings are lifted…either one of them is enough to single-handedly end whatever conflict is happening. I didn’t believe it either when people told me about Amelia’s power, not until I fought her myself; I don’t know if there’s a soul alive, on any plane, who could defeat her in single combat.”
There was a pause in the conversation, then Izumi gave an awkward cough. “Um…how are things here? What have people been told about my absence?”
“The gods told us the truth, and we’ve told everyone else that you had been hit by a failed spell that had gone haywire and are recovering. That…might not hold up if it’s going to take another year or two for you to reconnect with society here, but…that’s not really going to matter, is it?”
“I suppose it won’t.” Izumi admitted. “So long as you won’t get investigated for it or anything.”
“The gods said not to worry, and that they’d take care of any troubles that would come from your extended absence.” Ava replied. “We even have some coursework for you, for when you’re feeling up to it. That way you won’t have to repeat years of school if you work hard enough.”
“I have to admit, I can’t imagine doing schoolwork right now.” Izumi said. “The past few months have been so…crazy, and I helped defeat the Lord of Monsters just hours ago. I was told I could stay here as long as I wanted and that, just like everyone else, I’m completely exempt from military service if I want, but…I don’t know, I just need time to readjust, I think.”
“Take all the time you need.” Kazuto said gently. “We’ll be behind you the whole –”
He was cut off by the doorbell ringing. “Ah, that’s probably, um…how do I put this…when I was talking to the Goddess of Hearth, she mentioned this guy, and –”
“Yeah, the Goddess of Hearth mentioned him to us.” Ava said. “Just in case it’s not, you head to your room, okay?”
Izumi nodded, swiftly excusing herself from the table and hiding up in her room. She heard the muffled sounds of conversation from the front, and then, after a moment, there was a knock on her door.
Izumi cautiously opened it to find a tall elf on the other side. “Hello!” He said brightly, holding out a hand for Izumi to shake. “I’m Faelyn, I believe the Goddess of Hearth mentioned me?”