Orange fire and smoking, twisted metal fell from the heavens as Lucina ran through the streets, her wing sprouting periodically to thrust her through the air with one powerful flap. The Empress turned a corner, only to be greeted by another sea of red-runed bodies. They were headed by a terrifying demon, who appeared as a grotesque, dog-headed creature with legs bent backwards at the knee like a goat.

“I see one of the shiny metal bugs has lost its way,” the demon leading the battalion barked in a flinchingly-loud voice.

“Get out of my way,” Lucina growled, barely sparing the terrifying demon a glance. With a flick of her wrist, the Bloodfire Blade whipped out. The dog-headed demon easily dodged, but it didn’t matter. Lucina’s weapon struck the nearest unarmoured limb and the entire unholy congregation, which had packed the streets completely full, was utterly vanquished in countless eruptions of purifying flame. Lucina flapped her one wing and jumped high, barrelling through the air to avoid the smouldering carnage below her. The ruler of the Incandestine decided that she would travel along the rooftops from now on. The footing was more treacherous, but the Empress was beginning to grow frustrated having to deal with fools with heads too big for their bodies.

Lucina leapt from rooftop to rooftop, following the trail of Tenebria Coronum’s forces, ready for whatever adversary might appear before her. Several creatures were posted along the rooftops; gargoyles, vampires, zombies and ghouls. They attempted to stop her, but the skilled Lucina destroyed them with nary a second thought. Nothing would get in her way.

It had been nearly an hour since the Intercessor’s destruction, but the lands below had not yet been flattened by the firestorm of chaotically falling debris, for, in the skies above, a guardian angel as large as a mountain flew through the heavens. Vulana silently struggled against the colossal pieces of the Intercessor threatening to end all life on the planet’s surface below. She fired millions of tons of metal across the dome of the sky, accelerated by electromagnetic force generated by the clever application of her Gift. The Elder aimed to knock pieces of the Intercessor into each other, sending them into orbit if not into deep space. Upon observing this fantastical sight, Lucina was reminded of the ancient game of snooker, except, in this case, the stakes of the game were life… or global extinction.

After the destruction of the Intercessor and witnessing Vulana fighting so desperately in the heavens, Lucina was forced to finally accept that Apolaphia was a place that operated on a set of logical ‘laws’ that deviated far from reality. Who could reasonably expect such things to happen?

Her eyes wandering to the east, the Empress saw that dawn would break within the hour, given the brightening tone on the horizon.

Lucina reached the end of the city block. The sounds of periodic rumbling had slowly grown louder over the last minute or so, and now, she could see why. The roads below her split into a wide, four-way intersection. It was at that intersection that the Empress laid eyes on an unusual sight; a small group of Apolaphians attempting to construct a magic circle while a horde of bloodthirsty zombies approached from multiple sides.

Four survivors were trying to hold their own. Three men and one woman. Given the livery of their clothing, a man and a woman belonged to Sophia’s knights, and two other men were commoners. The four of them had drawn a magic circle over the cobbled sandstone of the intersection, using all of the space to create an intricate pattern. Lucina decided that there was no other reason for the group to take such a risky position; zombies would be able to approach them from all four directions, compared to just two had they instead chosen a random stretch of street.

The Empress watched the struggle of the weak for a moment, her face lit up by periodic explosions of reddish light.

The Coronum’s army pressed in from three of the four directions. The exception was the road to the south, though Lucina would not be surprised to see that road soon occupied.

One of the commoners appeared to have some kind of handheld superweapon that drew Lucina’s interest; it was a pistol that fired devastating exploding fireballs. It was powerful enough for the man to deal with two of the three occupied streets on his lonesome. As the Empress watched, the function of his weapon changed, instead creating barricades of large, crimson crystals that violently exploded when physically contacted.

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The third street occupied by the Coronum’s forces was being dealt with by the other commoner and a female knight. The man wielded a sword that he could control with some kind of telekinesis, cutting down the foe like a farmer might reap the heads of wheat, come time for the harvest. The woman fought like a maniac, holding back the fray of limbs and frothing jaws with nothing but an axe and a set of impractical-looking ornate armour. Despite her frantic action, Lucina could appreciate the remarkable martial skill in the knight’s movements.

The last of the four survivors flitted about the magic circle, levitating by some unknown means. He was taking great pains to draw the magical patterns as accurately as possible from above, using some kind of black powder, driven into the ground with his Gift. Lucina was no mage, but at the rate that he was working, she wagered that it would take some time before his toil was done.

Lucina briefly contemplated if she should interfere. With the slightest effort, she could save the four of them from the endless tide of enemies they faced.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The old saying came to mind.

But to Rex Lucina, both the Coronum and Apolphian forces were enemies… What was Lucina to do?

The choice was rather simple.

Lucina made a winged leap over the cobbled street, to the next city block. If the Empress planned to capture Sophia or Rolynd, it would be in her best interests to leave any other factors tied up. If she saved the four survivors, what could they offer in return? They would surely oppose her if they knew her identity or purpose. Likewise, destroying the four Apolaphians wouldn’t be of much benefit; it was likely that would only draw more attention from the Coronum’s forces, slowing Lucina’s progress. And, the Empress was wary of engaging in combat with powerful magic users, given that she had already underestimated the limits of the Apolaphian’s strange powers.

Meanwhile, the survivors prepared to face their deaths.

“Just one more minute!” Runald shouted. He was painstakingly etching a magic circle into the reinforced street with shavings of iron sand, manipulated by his Gift. He couldn’t afford for the precise arrangement to be ruined by one literal misstep from his allies or enemies.

“Hurry!” Lumie shouted. The line of zombies was slowly pushing her and Leon back.

“I’ve only got three vials left!” Kari warned as he switched the vial on his wand-pistol yet again; this was his last yellow vial. After this, he had only two vials left, both blue.

When Kari had first received the wand-pistol from Lorrie in Franklin’s tavern, he had thought that he would never run out of ammunition; but now, he realised just how naïve he had been.

In the time Kari had taken to switch the vial, both streets had lost significant amounts of space. He could clearly make out the blackened, decayed extremities ears and fingertips of the raised dead.

With haste, Kari opened fire, desperately trying to drive the tide of bodies back, painfully aware that with each pull of the wand-pistol’s trigger, he came closer to becoming completely defenceless.

Invisible bolts of energy flew forth from Kari’s weapon, striking through the assembled throng like rays of light. A series of gory implosions snapped bone, tearing apart ligaments and muscles alike, sucking whatever the projectile passed through into tiny, crushing points. Wet noises and the loud, brutal cracks of snapping bone resounded throughout the area. Any zombies that survived were horrifically disfigured, missing limbs and huge chunks of flesh. But even those without legs crawled and clawed their way relentlessly closer through the puddles of freshly-spilt black blood, utterly undeterred.

The enemies were truly endless, and for very good reason; the Coronum’s commanders had caught wind of Runald’s magic. They could not tell exactly what spell was about to be cast, but the presence of the powerful, purifying silver myrrh on the magic circle’s perimeter was enough cause for concern. Even as zombies pressed in, their demon commanders plotted together on a nearby rooftop, preparing to join the fight themselves. They could not allow that spell to be cast no matter what.

For the four survivors, the situation suddenly grew even direr.

“They’re coming down the street from the south!” Runald shouted, reacting to movement in the corner of his eye.

“Damn! The knights must’ve been beaten back!” Kari exclaimed.

“Just a few more seconds!” Runald pleaded desperately. His magic circle was almost done, with four of five key points on the magic circle having their reagents already placed in the correct positions. All that was left was to draw this final line and place the last reagent.

“Lumie, buy me time!” Leon shouted.

“On it!” Lumie screamed. “Come and get me!!” she shouted, running headlong straight into the fray. Her ceramic armour exploded outwards in all directions, driven apart by her Gift.

Leon reclaimed his sword with his Gift and removed the cork from a glass flask. He hastily poured enchanted oil from the flask all over his sword, imbuing it with magical sharpness. It was his only flask of enchanted oil; saved specifically for an emergency such as this. “GET DOWN!” he screamed in warning.

Lumie threw herself onto the cobblestone slippery with blood and gore.