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This.
Relias had ordered the city’s magic circle lock-down to prevent this exact situation.
Once again, I had gone off alone, chasing after something bigger than I should handle alone. And now, my only escape route was blocked, leaving me with no option but to fight.
Except… it didn’t make any sense.
Sure, movie plots often have dramatic scene-stealers like this to create tension.
But this was no movie.
Why would Amos destroy the magic transportation circle after I stepped out of it? I might have survived the blast if he had targeted us both, but it certainly could have been a successful surprise attack on his part. Actually… he probably could have done it before I even arrived.
What would have happened then? Would I have been trapped in subspace? Or did they have a safety feature that sent you back to the origin circle?
Either way, I wouldn’t have been his problem anymore. But he chose to act in a way that kept me close to him and the others away.
Why?
He might have thought he could take me on if I were alone, but Amos didn’t strike me as a full-on confrontation sort of being. If he did want to change from flight to fight now, he wouldn’t be direct with his attacks. I wasn’t going to let my guard down, though. After whispering the words to track him, I glanced at my cape, which flapped back and forth, suggesting Amos was zigzagging down the alleyway.
Maybe he was setting traps. But even then, he still had at least one big problem.
“The way I see it, you’re running out of options,” I declared, projecting my loss of choice on him. “Even if you manage to get out of the city, there’s a whole Holy Order out there, and I don’t think they’d give you the option to talk like I’m willing to.”
No response.
“Let’s say you manage to make it out of Ecclesia. Then what? Do you tell him about how bad things went today? That instead of Relias being ousted entirely, he’s now in charge? That wasn’t the plan, was it?”
I had no idea what his plan was. I wasn’t even sure Amos knew it. King Olethros had ordered him to spy on Relias the last time I saw him, but again, Amos had been reticent to do even that.
I didn’t blame him. It was risky work, and it didn’t sound gratifying.
“I must admit, whatever you did to make Procul and Pravum so brainless today was a nice touch. Did you see at the end how they were squawking at each other, saying it was the other’s fault? How’d you do it? Animus? Possession? Even I couldn’t figure it out.”
My cape stopped swirling and instead pulled steadily forward on a slight right diagonal.
“I cannot go back.” Amos’s words were barely a whisper on the wind, and it took me a moment to correctly parse them.
Negotiating skills +1, right?
“Yeah,” I agreed, still scanning the area for any changes in the shadows. “He’s not going to be happy… Not that he has been, as of late. I heard him yelling at you earlier. Does he talk to you like that all the time? Why do you put up with it?”
“You…” There was a lengthy pause. “Don’t understand anything! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
Darkness spilled from every doorway and window, colliding violently in a chaotic frenzy. The tidal wave of shadows flooded the street, heading straight toward me. I set my feet and braced for impact, channeling all my energy into creating what I hoped was an impenetrable aura. But instead of being swept away, the wave split around me, turning into a mist-like substance before ensnaring me and solidifying into a spherical shell of darkness.
“King Olethros!” Amos cried out desperately from somewhere within the depths of the pocket dimension. “You were right! She stands before me now!”
Wait—is he serious?!
A searing burst of vibrant lavender flames erupted only a few feet in front of me, flaring with a deafening roar. It surged in all directions, scorching an intricate and ominous runic pattern into the ground. Within moments, a behemoth-sized demon emerged from the fiery magic circle, clad in sleek, opulent black body armor. Its metallic mask featured an extra set of horns, and its eyes blazed with emerald fury. A fiery purple mane cascaded down its back into a spiked tail that lashed about between its cloven hooves. Slowly, it raised its massive claws, conjuring its twisted scythe forged from pure darkness. Once it had completed itself within his hands, he swung it down with a deafening roar.
“Let’s finish this, Raeylnn!” the demon bellowed in a murderously triumphant tone. “Our final battle!”
Now I get it.
An inevitable battle with the demon king…
He was right; it was one of my biggest fears, however, not for the exact reasons he had rationalized.
Had Amos included a little more detail, like showing me the mangled corpses of my companions strewn about, I’m sure he would have been able to siphon off a lot more of my terror to strengthen himself. That particular recurring nightmare was probably an all-you-can-eat buffet for a demon. But we were here alone, so they were safe, and my negative emotions wouldn’t be enough for him to brew an energy drink of ill will suitable for his escape.
Thank the goddess and Relias for this fantastic headband of mental protection!
“No,” I declined, waving my hand. “Not interested.”
“I will not rest until I have defeated you!” He took a few loud, ponderous steps forward as he lifted the scythe overhead.
“Could you maybe, just not?” I asked plaintively, holding up one hand. “You look positively ridiculous in that form. You got the proportions all wrong.”
I cannot stress enough how important it is to downplay any negative emotions when dealing with a desperate demon. Do anything you can to prevent your fear from overwhelming you and feeding it. Some people shout and scream, and some denounce evil. That can work. As for me? I prefer to make light of the situation wherever possible. If that distraction doesn’t work, at least you’ll go out with a laugh.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The demon looked left and right, its eyes losing its evil glow. A telltale shimmer rippled through him, showing he was near exhaustion. “You speak nonsense!”
“I know it’s just you, Amos,” I continued. “He’d be really pissed about how ugly you made him look.”
He let out another frustrated roar, swinging his scythe downward towards my head. I easily dodged to the left, his swing far too slow and labored.
If it were him, he would have shattered the flagstones.
I readied my sword and shield. “Stop acting like a fool.”
His next move was a forward stab, which I blocked with my aura-coated targe. While I felt a dark pressure behind the attack, it wasn’t nearly strong enough to cause me any lasting damage. Swirls of dark, crackling energy continued to fade from his form. Realizing he was at an increasing disadvantage, he launched into a flurry of swings, each movement more and more desperate to catch me off guard. I blocked them in succession with both sword and shield in an almost rhythmic dance, letting him burn up whatever animus he had left.
“Give it up, Amos! Don’t make me do this the hard way!”
The illusory king of horrors lunged forward again but then abruptly popped into a thousand tiny black bubbles, melting back into the exhausted shape of the scared scribe. “Damn it, damn it! What gave it away?”
Not my biggest fear. Using the wrong name for me. The fact that I knew we were still in Chairo, the holy city hellbent on keeping him out? All bark and no bite? And, by the way, he really did get the proportions wrong.
I sighed. “We don’t have enough hours left in the day to discuss it.”
Amos flickered again, and the black pocket dimension around us faded to reveal the empty alleyway once more. “I shouldn’t… even be talking to you…” he said between ragged gasps.
“Yeah. I probably shouldn’t be talking to you, either,” I admitted. “But I need information. And a favor.”
“You expect me… to help you?” Amos started laughing hysterically as he pulled at his ponytail, letting his hair fly free. “I may be off on my way to Naught, but I would never, ever betray my Master...”
Interesting. Was it out of respect or bound servitude?
“What if I could guarantee that neither of those outcomes would be the case?”
He stopped laughing, studying me through his monocled eye. “You can ask, but I doubt… what you want is something I would provide.”
I held up a finger. “First, I want to know what he’s up to and if he understands the global consequences of his actions.”
It was insinuating and vague, and he probably wouldn’t bite. However, Nora taught me to ask for the moon once and be happy that I got a moon rock instead.
“Second, I need you to tell him something important.”
Amos shook his head and then dropped tiredly it to his chest. “Weren’t you listening? I cannot go back.”
“Why can’t you—”
A loud blast tore through the air as the entire row of gutted homes between us exploded in a fiery inferno, sending smoldering shards of wood and debris in all directions. I was protected by a second golden bubble that had formed around me, and the flying debris simply shot through the demonic scribe even as he fizzled into the ether. The smoky air around us pulsed forward before pulling back into the vacuum that was once the middle building. Two hazy figures appeared instantly recognizable, encapsulated in the same light I bore. Behind Nora and Relias were the rest of my companions, bolstered by a wave of silver and red soldiers, all with their weapons held high.
“You will not escape me, Amos!” Relias shouted as he stormed forward, his staff aloft and glowing.
I swore under my breath at his impeccable timing, then shouted, “I think he already did—”
Amos’s sudden screams reverberated throughout the alley. His ethereal form reappeared and swirled inside the confines of a large and luminous light magic circle. Relias began chanting the longer, more powerful rendition of Aeternum Edictum Euphridiae, the ultimate spell of demonic exorcism.
“I was just following orders!” Amos cried desperately from his core. “I had nothing to do with the council’s attack on you! Please, I beg for mercy!”
You are accountable for your actions, regardless of the orders you follow.
Except… none of us really knew what his orders actually were beyond spying. Admittedly, that was bad enough, but destroying him without figuring out the extent of his involvement seemed premature. We needed conclusive evidence, not a reactive ruling from someone who just hated him on principle alone.
There was also the fact I still needed him to do something for me.
Nora ran over, skipping and dodging over the bigger bits of the debris she had blown up. “Can you believe him, asking for mercy?”
“I can,” I replied quietly, walking forward just as Relias began his crescendo. “Just as he said, I don’t think he’s the one behind the Council’s actions.”
I heard her draw her breath sharply, but thankfully, she made no move to stop me. Brandishing my sword with a defiant flair, I declared, “Amos! Inform your Master that I am coming, and he best be ready to receive me properly!”
I swung the Holy Celestia toward his core in a swift, diagonal arc. The sword shimmered with its light as it cut through the air with divine energy trailing behind it. My strike was intentionally imprecise, calculated to avoid delivering a fatal blow to its center so he would be banished back home instead of inside Naught as Relias had intended.
You owe me, Amos. Au Revoir!
Amos let out a wild, echoing screech that was an equal mix of laughter and pain. A blazing golden fire poured out of his core, causing it to swell and contract before slowly fading away along with the intricate magic circle containing it.
With so many people watching, I had to keep my final words to Amos vague. I had wanted to say, “Tell him we need to talk,” but I couldn’t come back professionally from a statement like that. If Amos had half a brain, he’d explain our encounter to his Master, and I could negotiate from there. I mean, I saved the life of his henchman, right?
Even if it didn’t work, I’d be no poorer. Olethros already knew I was around here somewhere, and he would surely surmise I’d show up here in Chairo at some point.
I knew Relias wouldn’t be happy with my decision, but I wasn’t exactly prepared for how upset he would be at my public act of rebellion.
“Captain Lightbringer…” he gasped, his eyes widening and then constricting in anger. “Do you have any idea of what you have just done?!”
Oh, I’m entirely aware of what I just did, Your Holiness.
Nora sprinted to stop him, quickly taking control of the situation by proclaiming in a loud voice to the onlookers, “The Chosen One has proven herself by defeating the Demon King’s second-in-command and boldly announcing her return to the King of Evil himself! All hail Captain Lightbringer!”
I never said he was second-in-command. He’s probably just a peon!
“All hail Captain Lightbringer!” Tetora, Aleph, and Vernie shouted after catching Nora’s insistent gaze, then turning to the rest of the soldiers expectantly.
The third thunderous cheer shook the ground I stood on. Still, Relias’s disgusted mental shout cut through the noise, forever ingraining itself into my memory and causing me to second-guess my actions over and over in the weeks and months to come.
“Raelynn Lightbringer, I have never, ever been more disappointed in you.”
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Here ends Book 2, The Holy Order of Gold. A brief Afterword (tomorrow) and Nora’s Quarterly Report (on Friday) will follow before Book 3 begins next week.
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Post-Chapter Omake:
Nora: We finally made it into the Holy City. Things are looking up!
Rae: Then why is the next volume called ‘Into Shadows?!’
Nora: Crap. You got me there.
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