Effie materialised on Al Dherjza’s battlements and observed Sophia’s duel below her. She relayed what she saw to Rolynd.

“Rolynd. Things are not looking good. This new Chimaera seems to have some variant of your Aegis.”

“Impossible,” Rolynd replied.

“I would think so too, but my eyes see it, and I don’t know how else to explain it… We’re really out of options here, Rolynd. It might be time to do it.”

“I refuse. Calling them is a last resort. An absolute last resort, do you hear me?!”

Effie gritted her teeth. Frustration overtook her tone “Carmen is dead, Rolynd. Dead. How much more of a last resort are you waiting for? Will you let Sophia die too?!”

Silence from the other end of the line.

“…I’m going in to help her,” Effie said, putting down her arm whilst shaking her head and disappearing into another reality.

From the ‘other side’, Effie ran towards Asmodeus, intending to try and phase her sword into his brain. She wasn’t sure if it would work, as it seemed that Chimaeras could instinctually sense each other’s presence, but there was no time to hesitate.

Unfortunately, it seemed there was no time left at all.

With Sophia’s strength flagging, weakened by her various injuries sustained throughout the course of her duel, Asmodeus finally found the opening he had been waiting for. With the sound like a bomb going off, Sophia was blown away by a clean hit straight to her gut. Her armour was shattered, twisted metal shrapnel flying every which way. Huge gaping holes in Sophia’s midsection trailed haemorrhaging blood.

Effie felt her heart stop, eyes wide in disbelief.

“NO. NONONONONO!!” Effie screamed, sprinting to where Sophia’s unconscious body lay bleeding out.

There was no time to hesitate, even though the last time Effie had tried this, it had led to a certain crown princess’ death. She couldn’t let her past failures define her.

Reaching across realities, Effie superimposed her hand on Sophia’s, and while their bodies were thusly fused, focused. She used her power to pull Sophia through the border between realities with her Bloodstone power.

Effie didn’t even take the time to celebrate her success, she began to rummage through her pockets as fast as humanly possible, producing a handful of vials: Healing potions, nutrient mixtures, and coagulants. She worked as fast as she could to stop the bleeding, then to replace the lost blood and restore the lifeforce that had already partially left Sophia’s soul.

Finally, only after all the vials were empty, did Effie even stop to breathe. She collapsed backwards onto the floor, suddenly overcome by exhaustion. The unconscious Sophia would be safe in Effie’s realm, it would take some time before she would come to.

But Effie’s work still wasn’t done. She returned to reality.

“Rolynd! Sophia would’ve died just now if it weren’t for me! Do you hear me?! You have to call them, right now! We’re at the end of the road, there’s no one left to oppose this demon!” Effie shouted at Rolynd as she watched Asmodeus from the corner of her eye. He seemed to catch notice of her, seemingly saying something. But Effie paid him no mind. She could only hear Rolynd’s tired response. She had finally gotten through to him.

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“…Okay.” The King declared in defeated resignation.

And at once there came the crack of blood-red thunder from the heavens.

Like everyone else on the battlefield below the Intercessor, Effie and Asmodeus cast their eyes to the heavens. From the horizon rolled in dark storm clouds, blacker than night, impossibly fast, like scenery that changed chaotically during one’s nightmares.

Another flash of lightning, brighter than a day.

And as the blinding afterimage faded from one’s sight, it could be seen: high in the sky, black spires partially hidden by the ailing clouds, two incomplete concentric rings about a central structure; Apolaphia’s Cursed Crown.

Tenebria Coronum.

It was a monstrosity about as large as Al Dherjza itself. The mere sight of it instinctively filled one’s body and soul with a sense of impending doom.

Then, came the rustling wind and distant whisper of gentle droplets. Splat. Splat. Splatter. Starting slow, but growing in intensity with every passing moment, the whisper turned into the violent drumming of red droplets upon the jinxed land below.

Effie flinched as the first warm, sticky drop struck the back of her hand, filling her nostrils with the smell of iron.

Blood.

The warm, sticky droplets painted the entire landscape a horrifying shade of red, sparing no one and nothing in its heinous, disgusting deluge.

Even Asmodeus was disturbed. “…What the?” he began to say.

“Not a fan?” a voice asked. Calm. Bored.

Asmodeus and Effie both did a double-take. When had this person arrived? How had they not been noticed until now?

A tall, pale male elf with long, white hair, dressed in an elegant burgundy suit with shiny gold buttons. He wore diamond-studded earrings and a ring on each finger, studded with various precious gems. He stood with his head tilted backwards, facing up at the sky with his eyes closed. He ran his hands through his hair which was already dripping red with blood, just as one might if they were bathing.

An elven vampire.

At this, Effie’s heart froze with recognition. She disappeared at once into her pocket dimension.

“Who are you? Some kind of wotsit- …vampire?” Asmodeus asked. He was calmer than most people would be in such a scenario, with the confidence he had in the power of his Aegis to protect him. But one only needed to look around to see how far things had progressed from ‘normal’.

“Mmmmm…” Valamir mused lazily, almost in a sleepy tone. “Something like that.”

“What do you want?” Asmodeus asked. His voice had a new edge to it. Uncertainty. Apprehension.

“Well, many things, to be honest. Yes. Very many things. I could even do with a drink. I am feeling rather parched. Oh, really, it's such a shame that you’ve got Elder blood flowing through your veins. Not even my ex-wife could get me to drink that diseased slop.” Valamir answered, wrinkling his nose as he spoke his last sentence. He lowered his head, gazing at Asmodeus with apathetic eyes. “But for now, you must die for me, so I can fulfil my contract to that idiot King.”

Valamir pointed at the ground beneath Asmodeus with a bent wrist and his head held high. The blood soaking into the sands began to rearrange itself like it was alive.

Asmodeus reflexively jumped back, anticipating some kind of attack from below, but instead, he only walked further into Valamir’s trap.

Though he didn’t know it, Asmodeus found himself standing in the centre of a giant magic circle drawn in blood. As the centre of the arrangement, he was the target of a spell. And, the blood that had been pouring from the wound in his calf left by Sophia had been pooling in the place of a reagent.

Five rings flew out from Valamir’s hands, bewildering the Chimera as they came to rest at seemingly arbitrary points on the circle that he now stood in the centre of. A hexagram with six points.

Spells could not affect entities protected by Universal Law… Unless, of course, the caster and target were one and the same, just as it was for any other supernatural power.

And so it was that the trail of blood from Asmodeus’ calf drew the final stroke missing from the bloody hexagram, completing the magic circle and accidentally activating the spell.

With a dull wet splat, then Chimaera collapsed, dead on the battlefield outside Al Dherjza’s walls. Effie could see no trace of injury on his body.

No cheers arose from the Al Dherjzan knights who had the opportunity to spectate. Not a peep or a single word. spectating.

Feeling the lifeless blood within Asmodeus’ body, Valamir yawned as his rings returned to his fingers. The vampire disappeared into a swarm of bats that floated up towards the Coronum.

The Lord of Night had much more interesting business to attend to.