I stared vacantly at the smoldering corpse of the enormous Demonkin. Berith was dead. It should have been a momentous accomplishment but it did not put my mind at ease. Worries and fears flooded my imagination. Berith’s strength did not come from her raw power but instead from her knowledge of the future, knowledge she undoubtedly already shared with the Demons that served her. Even after her death, the threat she posed did not disappear. However, that was far from the most pressing concern bearing down on me.
I was broken out of the mire of fears when the sound of footsteps walking across the loose rocks stopped beside me. I looked over to see Dom sitting down beside me with a heavy sigh.
“You should really get your arm treated while we have this moment of rest,” he said as he looked out at the smoking remains of the creature.
I shook my head without bothering to look at the injured arm. “The healers have more important work to focus on than me. Even without pushing my talent past its limits, I can heal a broken arm in a week or two just fine.”
“And yet you have not even started healing it yet,” Dom spoke. He paused for a long moment before continuing. “How long have we known each other, Aurielle?”
“Three hundred years give or take a decade or two,” I replied uncertainly, “Why? Are you feeling nostalgic?”
Dom reached into his shirt and pulled out a small flask. I could smell the pungent alcohol as he unscrewed the cap and took a swig. “Three hundred years, huh? A lot has changed in all that time.”
With a grin, I held out my hand for the flask. “I wonder what your kids would think if they knew you were once the head of a crime syndicate.”
“Seriously, you are going to blackmail me out of my own drink?” Dom complained as he reluctantly handed the flask over to me.
I coughed as the liquid fire touched my lips, nearly spilling the flask in the process. “That tasted so much better in my last body.”
Dom snatched the flask back before any of its contents were lost into the dirt. “You shouldn’t force things you aren’t ready for.”
“I know,” I mumbled glumly. I stared off at the smoldering corpse again as silence fell between us.
Dom sporadically drank from the flask for several minutes before he finally broke the silence. “Do you remember the day you recruited me? You broke into my base unannounced, plopped down in my chair, and simply declared yourself the new boss. Not paying any mind to the literal army of men pointing their weapons at you.”
“Your face was priceless,” I replied with a teasing smile.
Dom chuckled. “I never imagined that some random woman off the streets would have the gall to even raise her voice to me, let alone declare herself boss but you shattered that delusion. You have always been unwaveringly confident with a single-minded determination to accomplish your goal no matter what stands in your way. You never worried about the consequences of your actions because they truly did not matter to you. You were unlike anyone I had ever met.” Dom paused to take another swig from his flask before he continued. “But that is not true anymore, is it?”
“You are hardly the one to talk to me about change,” I mumbled as I pulled my knees to my chest.
“Perhaps,” Dom replied with a shrug, “But I know who I am. You, however, have not seemed to notice how much different you have become. You still try to act as if you are that person from all those years ago but that is not who you are anymore. The reason you could act the way you did was because it was all just a game to you. There was nobody you had to worry about, nobody to protect. Even death was just an inconvenience. Now, things are different. It is no longer a game. You have people you care about. There are consequences. They might die if you make a mistake.”
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“What is your point?” I replied angrily, “You think that they are weighing me down? That I should cast them aside so I can move without any inhibition.”
“Maybe once upon a time, I would have told you that,” Dom said with a sigh, “But, no, that is not my point. I am actually happy you finally found people you care for. In many ways, it is true that those people can be considered a weakness but one thing I learned from my first wife was that they can also be your source of strength, a double edged sword. You simply have to trust them to make their own decisions and not treat them like pet birds to be protected in a cage. Your parents were injured and so you have tried to take control of everything so that you can help them as quickly. You are trying to bear everything yourself but you are not used to worrying about all these problems, are you?”
“No,” I mumbled dejectedly, “You are right, of course. In the past, all I ever had to worry about was completing my mission or die trying. I never gave any thought to things like prophecies, protecting others, or consequences. Even among the Five Calamites, I was not the strongest, not good at leading others, not the strategist, and not even the one that fixed everything when it inevitably went wrong. I never had to worry about these problems because there was always someone else that was better at it.”
“And that is exactly what you need to do now,” Dom said with a smile.
I looked over at the man as he took a confident swig from his flask. “What do you mean?”
“They may not be on the level of the Five Calamities but you have surrounded yourself with a pretty incredible group of people. Rather than trying to figure out everything yourself, it is time you learned to delegate. For strength, you have my brat of a son, the Demigod of Slaughter, and even a dragon. For strategy, you have some of the best minds from across the realm gathered in that coalition army. We have heroic generals to inspire the people and strong healers like your brother. All the pieces are there for a truly formidable force. You just need to learn how to trust them. Tell them your worries and work on a plan together.”
“You want me to share my worries with them?” I replied with a derisive chuckle. I pointed towards the smoking corpse of the colossal Demonkin in the distance. “That is an offspring of the Leviathan. One of probably two we have met. The fact that both those Demonkin still looked even slightly similar despite the Leviathan’s mutation capability means that they are both newborns. Do you understand what that means?” Dom paled as he looked at the oversized corpse in the distance. I did not wait for him to answer as I continued. “How do you think they will react when I tell them that not only is Envy invading this realm but that he has probably taken control of the Archdemon’s personal mount. What do you think they will say when I tell them the World Eater is coming?”
“Is Envy really strong enough to control the Leviathan?” Dom asked doubtfully.
“I don’t know,” I whispered hopelessly, “But it would explain why he is treating the Demons under his command as disposable pawns. They would not mean anything to him if he has that kind of power at his fingertips.”
“Then it is all the more reason you should gather the others. Only once they understand the threat can they find a way to defend against it,” Dom said firmly as he stood up. “Come on, I will gather everyone and call for a strategy meeting. Worst case, they refuse to help and we are back where we started.”
I stood up and followed Dom back towards where the coalition had gathered. As I did, I took one final glance over my shoulder at the body of the young Demonkin. Dom may be right about me needing to rely on others more but I was still not sure about the idea of telling them all my worries. The implication of the Leviathan under Envy’s control was just one problem that the charred body represented.
I closed my eyes as I felt the golden flame still burning through the body of the giant beast. Would it be possible to revive even something like this? Even if it is possible, should I allow it? All the children of the Leviathan had a ravenous hunger that could not be sated no matter how much they ate. That was not even considering that Berith’s personality might still be in there if it was revived. If controlled, it could be a powerful weapon unlike any other in this war but if it went on a rampage, it could be a disaster worse than the Demon herself.