“Just... just look at this mess!” Junil exclaimed, her arms outstretched. She was referring to the New Frontierland docks, of course, which were currently a small disaster unraveling in broad daylight.

Aluminum bars were strewn across the street that was headed directly to the docks. Most people were running over or past the mess — not ignoring it, but rather, they were headed directly towards the commodities exchange. Some had aluminum in their hands, the aluminum that they had bought with their own money prior.

Junil was not a market expert, by any means, but she knew that trying to sell now was a futile task.

“The economic damage that this will result in is worrisome,” Ronn stated. “The Second Coming is far more forward-planning than I had anticipated.”

The Healer’s head whipped over, to allow her to stare at the Hero.

“You think this is her fault?” she asked.

Ronn stared back, through his metal helmet.

“Yes. I do,” he said. “Is it not clear as to the immense amounts of damage she has caused so far?”

“That she—? Ronn, I didn’t take you for a fool, but it’s clear that your chase was what caused the damage! She was just running away, you were the one bowling over everything!”

“Even so, even if we were to allow the Second Coming to go free, even if she truly is innocent, would it be correct to allow her to go without any questions, after all the damage that has already been wrought?”

Both stood there, quiet. The Healer was the first to break the silence. Her voice was low.

“A gambler’s fallacy,” Junil stated. “You’ve sunk so much cost into trying to apprehend the Second Coming... that you’re now using it to justify what you’re doing.”

“I see little wrong with justifying our pursuit of the Second Coming. She is a genuine threat. The same applied to the Demon Lord. It is basic risk assessment, Miss Junil.”

The Healer stomped her foot, then pointed down at the ground in rage.

“And this is the exact reason that the other Demonfolk Generals aren’t in our custody, either!” the Healer yelled. “It’s partially your fault!”

The Hero stopped.

“Miss Junil,” he said. “Are you really bringing that up again?”

“During the War,” she clarified. “You were so determined with confronting the Demon Lord that we didn’t bother with trying to capture the Generals until after Luth was in our custody.”

The Healer clenched her fists.

“And by then, most of them had just up and disappeared! And now one of them’s causing problems!”

“Luth was a priority. Taking any detours to apprehend the other Demonfolk Generals would have added, at minimum, a month to the conflict.”

“So what?” Junil rebutted. “The Demon Lord is captured a month later. All the other Generals would’ve been captured, too. But you decided

“And those Generals are still around. We just know General Forge is helping the Second Coming, and we don’t even know where General Seis and General Brington are! Is the war really finished, Ronn? Would you call that ‘concluded’?”

“The other Generals are not relevant at this moment, and I am not budging on apprehending the Second Coming,” Ronn stated. “We have little time to loiter. Miss Junil, let us go.”

Junil stood there, even as Ronn turned away from her. He paused, then glanced back at her.

“Must I repeat myself? We will be headed to the Capital immediately, before the Second Coming wreaks havoc there.”

The Healer grimaced, then followed him.

Both had little time to loiter at New Frontierland. After all, the entire aluminum scheme that blew up in Fraul’s face was her mess to clean up.

Or, as Ronn would put it, “The Mage has taken out obligations that she must repay back,” or some such statement that Junil found far too formal for a disaster such as this. The Healer suspected that Ronn even wanted to help Fraul pay off her debts, but due to his current lack of funds on hand, he had to refrain.

Good riddance on that, at least. Fraul needed to learn some humility.

Regardless, the Healer had swiped at least a dozen potions to hide in various pockets all over her clothes. Considering that potions were ridiculously cheap now, after the potion market crashed, it wasn’t all that difficult to pick up a few high-quality potions now.

Ronn had used his authority to obtain additional fast ship tickets to the Capital, under the reasoning of it being a crucial emergency. Additionally, he had also obtained seasickness medicine for the Healer.

They couldn’t get a messenger pigeon to the Capital on such short notice, though. So they needed to head there via boat.

“It’s nice being on a ship and not being sick,” Junil muttered. “At least you didn’t forget the medicine this time.”

“I did not forget because I recall the condition you were under in the last instance,” Ronn replied. “Due to how crucial this is, I must ensure you are in good health when we apprehend the Second Coming.”

“How considerate of you.”

The fast boat rocked as it neared the Capital. Only an hour had passed into the trip when Ronn stirred from where he was sitting.

“I smell smoke,” he said. “There is a fire nearby.”

Junil sniffed the air. She, too, could smell the faint burning of something.

“Can you tell what’s burning?” the Healer asked. “I hope it’s not this ship.”

“Very unlikely for it to be,” the Hero replied. “Otherwise, the smell would be far more pronounced. No, it appears to be coming from...”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Ronn pointed at the horizon, and Junil’s eyes followed the direction he pointed at.

Several pillars of smoke were what had caught the Hero’s attention.

“The Capital.”

The two were in mute silence, before the Healer asked, “...What? This isn’t... What’s happened at the Capital?”

“The Second Coming is what happened here,” the Hero replied. “We are still several minutes away. Brace yourself, Miss Junil.”

The fast ship had soon pulled into the port of the Capital, where various assorted boats and ships were pulling out of the chaos-stricken harbor. Several ships at dock had been set aflame. Several water mages from the nearby garrison seemed to be trying to put it out, as plumes of seawater splashed onto the burning vessels.

Crates and barrels of product had been thrown overboard, the fast boat bumping into them on its way in.

“It looks like we can’t dock!” the captain of the ship yelled. “It’s way too dangerous!”

Ronn grunted, upon hearing that. Without warning, he picked up the Healer.

“Wha—? Ronn, what are you—?”

He didn’t give Junil time to finish her question. The Hero began running across the deck of the ship.

“Ronn, stop this—!”

He did not stop, and jumped the moment the deck ended. That brought him sailing through the air, directly onto the dock that the fast boat would otherwise have stopped at.

His armored shoes shattered the wooden planks of the dock as he skidded forward, before coming to a stop.

“We are here.”

He placed down the utterly terrified Healer, who was shaking a little. Junil stumbled a little as she regained balance on solid ground.

“Ronn,” Junil said, her voice quivering. “You need to warn me whenever you do that.”

“It was a plan that would have taken longer to explain than to execute,” was his reply.

The city was a mess. Both Demonfolk and Humans were running around. Some were setting fire to buildings, while others clashed with the knights of the garrison. Ronn used his hand to block a brick that had been tossed in his direction, shattering the brick upon impact.

Junil flinched as a glass bottle smashed right next to her.

“Did... did Sollar do this?” Junil asked. “She somehow commanded all the Demonfolk to start this?”

“No,” Ronn immediately replied. “While she is a very credible threat, the Demonfolk here appear to be very unorganized. There are also Human rioters within their midst. Regardless, I do believe this is indirectly caused by the Second Coming.”

“How?” Junil asked.

“She exploited the existing Human-Demonfolk tensions to ensure the garrison of the Capital would be far too overwhelmed to respond to her plans. Junil, we need to stop her immediately.”

The two walked at a brisk pace through the streets. Both Human and Demonfolk alike recognized the pair and gave them a wide berth; it seemed that any streets that had rioting and looting drastically slowed in said rioting and looting once the Hero and the Healer were seen running through.

Once they had passed by, though, the looting continued.

“...I was going to ask if we should stop them, but that’s not our priority now, is it?” Junil asked.

“Clearly. We have to handle the Second Coming first. I had been looking to inform the guards to double the amount stationed at the Palace Spire. However, the garrison is likely too busy, considering current events. No matter what happens, however, the Second Coming must not be allowed to come into contact with her brother.”

A burning wagon blocked their way. The Hero did not hesitate to push through it, sending chunks of burning wood debris across the street.

He gestured Junil to pass by once the road was clear.

“I am especially worried about Sir Salken,” Ronn continued. “She may have known that he was here, and may have targeted him.”

“Would she?”

Ronn did not reply. Instead, he pointed to the large figure that had just appeared in the sky. The Healer’s blood ran cold when she spotted it, too.

Above the capital was a magical symbol, a flare.

It just so happened to be one that the Demonfolk rallied around. Despite the fact that it was mostly unreadable to humans, it was still recognizable as one belonging to the Demonfolk Generals.

“General Seis. She is here, too.”

“Really?” Junil asked. “You can tell just from that?”

“My intuition says so. The only Demonfolk General we know the whereabouts of is General Riall. But, of the four, General Seis is the one we do not know the appearance of.”

They had finally gotten to the street where Salkin’s factory was. And, of all the streets in the city, this one looked the worst. Entire storefronts were burnt out or otherwise torn to shreds, and debris littered the floor.

The Arbalest’s factory, specifically, was a mess. It had been trashed almost thoroughly, almost all of it except the office, which was somewhat untouched.

Stepping through the front door, they could see Salkin’s secretary tending to an unconscious Salkin. The secretary’s hair was messy, as though she had just done it up. Her glasses were askew, too.

Ronn stepped towards the unconscious Salkin, making the secretary flinch.

“Is Sir Salken alright?” Ronn asked.

“He... was drunk,” Seyya said. “I’m currently tending to his wounds.”

Looking over the Arbalest, it seemed that he was covered in coal dust. A nasty bruise was over his left cheek, but he seemed unharmed otherwise.

“Junil, can you heal him?” Ronn asked.

“The leeches can help with the bruising,” the Healer replied.

“You’re not allowed to use your leeches. Magic only.”

The Healer grumbled, but whipped her wand out of her sleeve. Tapping it twice on the wall, she conjured up a spell to cast upon the injured Salkin.

Meanwhile, Ronn began conversing with the Demonfolk secretary.

“Miss Seyya, have you witnessed a particular Demonfolk around here at all?”

Seyya raised an eyebrow.

“The Capital is filled with Demonfolk. Who are you looking for?”

“A specific Demonfolk girl. She is short, with apricot-orange hair. Her eyes are a matching shade of orange. Most notably, she has a pair of horns that curl forward.”

It seemed that there was a glimmer of familiarity in Seyya’s eyes when he mentioned the Second Coming. However, it lasted for only a moment, not long enough for him to think much of it.

“It sounds familiar,” Seyya said. “Why do you ask?”

“She is an individual of importance. But you likely have not seen her in the chaos. I shall take my leave now.”

Ronn was about to step away from the secretary, and same with Junil. However, she stopped them both before they could step out of the office.

“Wait!” Seyya exclaimed.

Ronn stopped, and turned around to glance at the Demonfolk woman.

“I believe she is the one who struck Salkin,” Seyya said. “I remembered seeing him harassing her.”

“Oh?” the Hero asked.

“Yes, yes. I think...”

Seyya tapped some fingers on her forehead, trying to remember what had transpired.

“He grabbed her tail, and she used a shovel to strike him in retaliation.”

Junil frowned at the mention of the shovel.

“That is when the rioting began, as everyone on the street had witnessed it,” Seyya finished.

“The way you are framing it sounds as though Sir Salkin is partially at fault for the riots,” the Hero stated.

“Well — Sir Salkin here has particularly poor habits when interacting with female Demonfolk. I can... attest to that personally.”

Ronn stared at Seyya for a good ten seconds.

“I will take this into consideration. Junil, are you done healing Sir Salken?”

“Just doing the finishing touches and... done,” Junil said, raising her wand up. The Healer then bound after the Hero, leaving Seyya to tend to Salkin.

The two then made their way directly to the Palace Spire’s gates.

Even from this distance, what with all the smoke and fire and chaos happening, the two knew that something was very wrong. The large gates of the Palace Spire were wide open, something that could be seen even from a distance.

The pair ran directly at the front gate of the Palace Spire, running past groups of knights and rioters clashing. Two factories that were closest to the Palace Spire burned, and the searing heat could be felt even from this distance.

It wasn’t long before Ronn and Junil were now at the front gates of the Palace Spire.

A familiar Demonfolk General stood guard at the gates. His poleaxe was out, but the Demonfolk General leaned with his back against the wall of the Palace Spire.

“Sire Ronn, you’re here already?” General Forge asked.