The wind whips across my body. The small Paludamentum flutters beside me. The thick, brown, shaggy fur waving wildly in the cool night air. At this altitude, my breath creates a small cloud that puffs through the small gaps in my new helmet. My eyes trace the stars above that I both recognize, yet still feel are alien to me. Their glittering beauty captivating my racing mind. I feel the steady heartbeat of steam vibrate through my feet as my boots hold firm against the purposefully textured upper deck plate. My free handshakes at my side as my other grips my father's spear tightly in anticipation. Beside me stand my truest friends, no longer forced to wear the plate and garb of our masters. Sertean and Henna stand on either side of me their weapons in hand and ready for the combat ahead.

Mekare reaches the upper deck along with two other quite familiar-looking men. All three are wearing masks and tight-fitting leather clothing. The other two are also some manner of demon like Mekare, but I don't care if my friends know their true nature. Hell, I don't care if anyone knows their identity at this point, but I'd rather not deal with that headache. The demons wrap their arms around our torsos, Mekare pressing her entire body against my back. She whispers in my ear,

"Ready master?"

I let out an amused snort and reply,

"Let us begin..."

There is a sound like a tarp unrolling rapidly as a pair of large bat-like wings appears on the backs of all three demons and then, with a single motion we leap off the bow of the flying ironclad. As we fall past the bridge I see Markus inside who waves at me happily and we dive into the clouds below.

Just before I lose sight due to the clouds I take a final look at the small fleet of airships I managed to gather. The King did not necessarily condone this military action, but he didn't have any objections to it either. None of these airships come from the royal army. All of them are from the Hasslerouge, Donnerstein, and Schneemacher personal armies. I pulled favors and the Donnersteins practically threw their support behind me as an apology for Karl. A total of 30 ships plus my iron-clad, against the biggest air navy in the world... seems like a fair fight.

We break through the clouds and the wings catch enough air and our squad of three levels out. We fly under the darkened clouds at incredible speed. Endless countryside races past us, small yellow lights breaking up the darkness below. Rivers and valleys pass us by as our flight continues. Then in the distance, there is a bright light that breaks through the darkness of the night sky.

A huge city located on a floating island. The city itself is carved into the rock along the sides of the island as great spires reach the sky above. Bolts of magical fireworks illuminate the sky as celebration fills the great flying city that is the capital of the Kingdom of Lusthardia. Surrounding the island is a massive fleet of airships, not all of them Lusthardian. Nobles from the Alrius Kingdom have also arrived for this celebration as it is the night before the wedding. Per Lusthardian tradition, the night before is one of celebration, and if it's their King, the whole kingdom celebrates with royal coin.

Above the city, on a separate and smaller island is the great palace itself. It's the size of a small city itself with dozens of gardens and huge courtyards. It is also a fortress itself. The tall towers are capped with large crystals that can focus magic like a wand or staff, they work as ye olde anti-aircraft guns. The outer walls have eight of these towers, while the palace building itself has four, but hanging above the palace is that massive six-masted ship, but all of this was not only within expectation but already planned for thanks to intelligence gathering.

Due to the fireworks and the darkened sky our silhouettes are nearly invisible to the watchmen along the palace walls as the demons dip below the horizon of the floating island. With a great flap of the wings, the trio pulls up into the sky with harsh g-force and using the speed gained from the dive begins to rocket up and over the walls of the palace grounds. My face is only a mere foot away from the masonry as our flight reaches its end. Just as we barely clear the wall Mekare tosses me the last gap and I land gently on the stone bricks of the defensive structure. She falls backward before flying off, back to the ships.

Henna and Sertean are beside me and one poor guard stares at us in terror and surprise, who was just unfortunate enough to be left alone on this section of wall.

With a flash of steel, he is left on the ground, blood flowing freely from his slashed throat. The speed of my attack surprised me to a large extent. My new armor and gear are surprisingly capable, beyond my expectations.

This armor is similar to my old ones. Leather with individual steel plates in major vital zones. The leather I used this time was from Silus's hide. Turns out dragon hide makes for much better leather than normal creatures, through testing, it can handle many more runes on it. I replaced the chain that covered my face and joints and spent great care to create a mesh of small hexagonal plates that interconnect, offering a more protective and sturdy form of mail to protect my neck and other joints. The helmet is about the same as before, the metal faceplate once more shaped like the face of a coyote. Not making my helmet look like the snout of an animal, but it's a flattened and shaped piece of steel working like a normal faceplate, the tip of the muzzle sitting down at my chin.

As for runes, I have found a new and quite interesting mix. Along with the normal impact resistance, strength, and toughness, thanks to the properties of the dragon hide I also added a healing rune, while not instant it works as both medicine and painkiller. Torn muscles and broken bones heal in moments, or at least are held together until healed and I don't feel a thing... I found this out the hard way falling off a scaffold. The last one is interesting, while strength does increase my speed, there is a rune that just increases the acceleration and top speed I can reach. Thus my hand speed and other forms of speed are increased. This makes me a terrifying blur of action.

The new sword isn't anything special. Sharpness, toughness, and impact. It's a thick single-edged blade with an angular point and a handguard that doubles as a knuckle duster. My dad's spear is untouched as usual aside from repairs done to it.

Sertean is wearing a similar set of armor to myself, but made of normal leather, therefore he only has the strength, toughness, and impact resistance. The strength is limited to avoid injury to himself. He wields a six-foot-eight halberd with the same runes as my sword, making it a devastating polearm.

Henna is in the same situation, but is wearing a traditional Red Hyena armor. A thick studded leather breastplate with chain mail covering the belly. , with only a small ringlet on their head that covers their ears but not the top of their head. They also wear their hair outside of the ringlet making them seem rather unhinged. Her runes are the same as Sertean, and she wields a large two-handed sword called a Hyena fang. It's a heavy and thick sword with a blunted tip like an executioner's sword but the front edge is hooked forward to work as a grappling tool along with being a great armor penetrator. It is also runed similarly to my sword.

We stand against the darkened backdrop of the cloudy night, illuminated randomly by the fireworks below. Our infiltration was a success, now it is time to destroy or disable all of the outer defensive towers. While I am quite sure of the combat capabilities of my friends, we decide to stick together for this fight to make sure no alarm is raised as we do our work.

As one we sprint toward the first tower. The door is kicked from its hinges and the three guards inside have only the time to look up in surprise from their meal as their heads are removed from their shoulders. The magic crystal is easily disabled through the action of simply shoving it off the tower, with its awkward shape and the enhanced strength of the armor, this is easily possible.

With the first tower down the rest go down just as easy. All as planned. This is because of the celebration going on. Most of the regular non-magical guards were sent home. With only a skeleton crew left behind to man the towers and walls. Not only this, the guards who are posted are going to be lazy and relaxed as they are given a strong wine ration, which may have been requisitioned by me through some nice contacts I have thanks to some favors pulled through the Hasslerouge family.

All this combined with our quick movement and weapon skill, all the defensive towers are destroyed and all the wall guards are left dead with the next guard change in three hours. No alarms were raised and now, it is time for us to enter the palace proper, and that is where things will start to get interesting.

The palace grounds are patrolled by a mix of regular guards and magical knights. Most of the knights were pulled to the main courtyard in the center of the palace complex to protect the nobility in attendance at the pre-wedding festivities. If my information is correct there will be a total of fifty guards outside of the main party. All of them must be killed. Not for alarm reasons, but for flanking reasons. Even a single regular person can get a lucky stab in if they get you from behind. I will not take any chances.

We scale down the walls and into the first garden where a squad of ten guards march along in loose formation. We hit them from the side before we are even spotted. I spear the first man in the formation and slide on a knee past him, plunging my sword into the ribs of the man beside him. Sertean plows through two men, spearing the first and knocking the other down. A stomp from his empowered foot breaks the neck of the downed man. He swings the big weapon around nearly cleaving one man in half and with the back swing the spike catches another in the head. Henna controls herself only doing her laugh quietly as she swings her big blade in a circle around her head before bringing it around in a horizontal sweep which beheads two men and nearly splits another in half across the chest. I retrieve my sword from the man I stabbed and whip it around in a blinding flash, spilling the guts of the last person. As he falls forward with a terrible gurgling noise I drive the sword through his face silencing him. All the sounds of our fight are drowned out by the fireworks below and the sounds of the party nearby. With this group defeated we wipe our blades and hurry to the next location.

The three other gardens have the same situation unfold with minor variations on the number of kills achieved. Once we took them out silently, once they saw us after Sertean tripped on a tree root, but none got away, and with our enhanced strength and superior combat skill and synergy, it was a losing battle for our foes. This leaves the last ten magical knights who guard the entrances to the central main building. There are two entrances on either side, five at each gate. The gates are huge wooden doors with a metal grate-styled gate over it. It is currently locked up tight for the party.

The first group stands lazily drinking their wine with their helmets off. We sneak up as close as we possibly can before launching our attack. I once again open up with a spear strike killing the ranking officer knight, Sertean with a wide swing splits the skull of one knight and lodging his halberds axehead in the chest of another who spits up blood before fading away. Henna performs a downward strike completely splitting a man in two. The last one rises and manages to fire off a small firepell at me. I raise the small cape over my left shoulder and the flames hit the shaggy fur and quickly die out and the fur is left unscathed. It is the remainder of the untanned hide of Silus, it turns out, his fur is nearly fireproof, but when it is untreated it outright deactivates magic firing into it.

The exposed face of the knight twists into an expression of horror as his spell did all jack shit to me. He shouts,

"You gotta be fucking me!"

His final words go unheard by anyone who would miss him.

The last external group is dealt with easily as we found them asleep. They will not wake up ever again. With the outside handled we wait for a moment. In that short while Mekare and the other demons drop off a group of three other Stella Coyote Frontiersmen. Armed with either a sword or an axe, with runes engraved on their weapons and armor. Mekare and her demons land and catch their breath. I ask her,

"How long until the ships arrive?"

She gulps air and responds,

"Thirty minutes... depends on the wind for the sailing ships. I think the iron one will arrive first."

I nod and wait for her to breathe. Our group of nine will be all that's needed for the next stage. Once we step into the central area, stealth will no longer be an option. There are too many guests, servants, and knights inside for that to be possible. The three Frontiersmen are some trusted and skilled warriors of mine. They will destroy the last defensive crystals. Mekare and her kin will begin some sabotage work, focusing on servants. Me and my friends... we will kill everything between us and the central courtyard.

Mekare and her demons switch to servant clothing and I watch as their features change. Hair color, eye color, skin tone, and even body shape. With disguises done, they knock on the gate. A passing servant opens the small peephole and sees the three fakes. The peephole closes and the gate is lifted and the doors swing open. The servant with two knights begins to scold the tardy three servants, but his words catch in his throat as it is cut. The two knights meet a similar fate. With the central building breached we split and went about our tasks.

We sprint through the halls, offering no reaction time for the pairs of knights we come across. Our runic weapons and armor grant us an absolute advantage over the knights who rely on magic.

I leap knee forward into a knight who has his helmet caved in, his friend cries out in surprise and I silence him with my sword slamming through the eye-slit of his helmet. A servant at that moment comes through a door and lets out a shrill scream. She begins to run but slams face-first into Henna who silences the panicking woman. Unfortunately, her scream had raised the alarm, or maybe one of the ones upstairs did, regardless a group of a dozen or more knights, rushed around a corner, some had empowered themselves with magic.

Instead of pulling back or holding position, we rush to meet their challenge.

I lead with a spear thrust impaling a leading knight. I duck under a wild slash from one of his comrades and drive my sword through the attacker's armpit and into his heart. I drop into the splits as I remove the spear. I feel multiple weapons fly past me, right where I once was. There is a thunderous crash as Henna cleaves three men in half at the waist with her terrible blade, with the alarm raised she is loudly, almost screaming the terrible hyena laughing warcry of her home. A berserk glee fills her eyes as she blocks an incoming attack. Sertean guts one knight with a stab and slash, he then rolls the halberd across his shoulders slamming the spike on the back through the helmet of another knight. He releases his halberd with his right hand and catches the arm of a different knight. He then headbutts the man who recoils back. Sertean then performs an overhead strike with his polearm removing the spike from the collapsing knight and the axehead tears a deep gouge through the chest of the recoiling knight.

I bring my legs together around the legs of a nearby knight and roll. This brings him to the ground with a slam, I release and hop to my knees. From there I swing the blunt backend of my spear into a standing knight's knee, breaking it badly. As he falls I drive my sword into the inner thigh of another still-standing knight. I barely manage to dodge the stream of blood as I climb to my feet. The one I rolled to the ground gets a spear to the back of his head and with a violent stomp I crush the skull of the one with the broken knee. Henna finishes the last knight by breaking his guard with a smack from the pommel of her sword, followed by the terrible forward hook.

As the last knight falls the sound of metal boots on tile floors gets closer. I stretch my neck and roll my shoulders. Then we continue our slaughter, we have to both make it to our target location and also buy time for the navy to arrive. That is something we can do.

Many a knight is greeted by three brown and gray warriors, fighting with impossible speed and strength, many have no time to even react to us before they are killed with ruthless efficiency. At some point, I began singing Bonnie Tyler: Holding Out For a Hero translated into the language of this world. As I continue Sertean and Henna begin joining with the chorus and after the second repeat of the song we are singing the pop tune in a trio. Behind us is a trail of broken bodies and blood.

Another group rounds a corner on us and Henna, with a terrible yipping laugh, swings her sword in a circle over her head, and with the momentum gained paired with runic strength, she cleaves through the armored men who can't even scream in surprise. The sound is a mix of flesh getting cleaved in two, bones snapping, and metal squealing as it is torn apart. Limbs and torsos fly into the air as the terrible clash happens. I protect Henna from the strike of one of the surviving members of the group as I swing the blunted end of the spear into his helmet cracking it like a nut, blood streaming through the airholes. Sertean keeps the pressure on with his polearm, spacing the knights who are only armed with longswords. Quickly the group is left in a bloody pile of limbs and metal.

I look over at Henna, who is flicking the blood off her blade, I say to her,

"If we weren't on such a time crunch I would fuck the spots right off your face!"

She laughs and jests back,

"Sorry, I doubt you're equipped for me!"

Sertean butts in saying,

"Yeah, it's too loose for him!"

We all share a short bout of laughter before continuing. The biggest problem is that we only barely understand the layout of this building, moving to the center feels like the best option, but this place is quite winding and complex. We slide around a corner, our boots losing purchase on the polished stone floor and come across three knights failing at their duty as they accost a poor servant girl who is pushing a cart of food. Seeing that she may know the layout of the central palace, we decide to... help her.

I get a triple kill, spearing through two of the knights at once with a hard run-up, the last one has his neck cut with a quick slash. I retract my spear and all three hit the ground in a spreading pool of blood. The girl to my surprise doesn't scream and is rather calm. Upon further inspection, I find she is a Frontiersman slave girl. From the group known as the Swamp Mammoth. I feel disgusted upon hearing this because from what I remember about that group, this girl is only about 12.

The mammoth groups are rather small in number but the average adult height of women is like 6'5" and for men is close to 7'. This girl is a normal-sized woman meaning she is quite underage. She almost immediately gives me a big hug and her stoicism is broken quickly as she says,

"Thank you, Mr.Coyote."

I wrap an arm around her and say,

"It's okay sweetheart."

She lets me go looks at the three of us with wide eyes and asks carefully,

"Why are you all here? I don't know of any freedom movements."

I nod and reply,

"We are here on a rescue mission for the captured princess, but I think we can make a detour to do some other good."

I retrieve one of the empowered engraving tools from my belt I had mass-produced many months ago. It's not my main one, but it still works damn well. During testing with these tools, I know they can break the magical shackles used to mark slaves. Simply I just place the sharp end of the tool against the steel and slap the back with some force and immediately a huge crack forms across the surface of the shackle and it falls off with a loud clatter. I have her do her other wrist and then hand her the tool. I tell her,

"Free your friends and family. Any true Frontiersman regardless of home will know what must be done."

I see the years of abuse she has endured flash through her eyes and turn into resolve and an almost sadistic glee. She asks me with a surprising amount of force for a young girl,

"Where will we go once we do what must be done?"

I nod to her acknowledging her question and answer,

"After you all do what must be done, come to the Alrius Kingdom, if possible. I will take you into my home."

She smiles genuinely, a weight seemingly disappearing from her broad shoulders as she stands higher, pride returning to her. Without another word, she turns heel and sprints into a hidden staircase, most likely leading to slave quarters.

We all pat each other on the shoulders, proud of the young woman, but turn our attention to the food cart and the cakes and other sweets piled high on the platters. We all non-verbally agree to not let the confections go to complete waste as we realize we never asked the girl for directions. Sertean and I remove our helmets as we shove the sweet treats into our mouths, taking a short breather as to avoid becoming too tired for any upcoming fights. We quench our thirst in one of the fountains decorating the halls before replacing our gear and start moving at a brisk jog to find our target location.

The halls are dangerously quiet as we move through them now, eventually stumbling upon the doors to the inner courtyard where the party is being held. We check the unguarded doors and find them locked tight. Not only that, but they are too sturdy to simply kick in or hack through. This forces us to find another way. We search the nearby halls for a stairwell leading up and on the second floor we find more knights who are dispatched easily enough. On the second floor, we find the balconies overlooking the courtyard. These doors are easily breakable, but upon doing so we will be the center of attention. We take a moment to completely calm down, and mentally prepare and with a powerful kick the completely normal door is blown off its hinges by my overkill of a kick...

The music stops as the loud bang rings throughout the courtyard as everyone looks up at the balcony where two doors slam against the banister. The remaining knights who had entered the courtyard to reinforce it against our nine-man assault let out a collective sigh of disappointment that they hadn't realized the ease of access from the balcony. I step up to the edge and announce,

"GOOOOOOD EVENING LADIES AND GENTS! Your nightly entertainment has just arrived!"

I hop onto the banister and then hop down to the courtyard below. The impact resistance of my armor keeps me from hurting my knees despite landing quite straight-legged, but damn it looked cool, I think. A path opens up in the crowd for the knights and the few Scarlet Raven warriors also run to challenge me. Sertean and Henna hop down after me, and then on the opposite side of the courtyard, the three sent to destroy the towers hop into the courtyard.

Six against about fifty, a pretty rough spot. The hero Sakura and the High King stand on a sort of raised stage alongside Godiva. All three are dressed in nice party clothes. Sakura has an expression of shock at seeing me for some reason. The large flagship hovering above the palace breaks its moors and it begins to rise into the sky and past the clouds above. Distantly there is a crash of thunder, just barely audible over the fireworks.

I don't care much for monologue so I open the fight by impaling the head of the closest knight. Sertean, Henna, and the others don't need any other confirmation to begin. I swing the corpse over and use the dead knight as a shield. Two swords impale him as I see some of the others prepare spells. I choke up on the spear's handle getting chest to chest with the dead one and reach around him to remove the hand of one of the knights I blocked. I remove my spear and shove the body onto the intact knight stabbing the one-handed one in the chest with my sword. The body topples two knights for some reason and I push into the approaching steel tide.

My armor surprisingly shrugs off any glancing slash without any apparent damage. Any attack the knights do that doesn't have a full windup is useless against the dragon leather armor. I easily parry anything that seems too dangerous. I slam the handguard of my sword into the head of one knight while smoking another with a backswing of my spear. My punch is followed up by a backward slash which lodges the thick blade into the neck and shoulder of another one. The Ravens sit at the back of the tide, clearly running defense for the ten or so preparing to obliterate us with magic. I won't let that happen.

I lower my stance and duck under the swing of a few knights pushing for the casters. I take a hard hit to the back of my head but the steel helmet bounces the swing with a painful clang. I break from the crowd just to stop right before the curved Khopesh-style sword misses my face. The Scarlet Ravens while looking like armored plague doctors, utilize weaponry similar to that of ancient Egypt. Khopesh swords and epsilon-style axes. They only wear coat of plates-style armor fashioned in a way to look like glittering feathers only on their torso. Everywhere else is covered by thick red cloth with a steel bird mask. They run a slash-heavy combat style largely focusing on speed but are not against heavy and slow blows.

Only two Ravens come to challenge me, the other four sitting in the back to protect the mages. They try to circle around to my sides to hit my flanks, but I focus on one and push him. He slashes and I catch it with my spear. He spins the Khopesh around and catches my spear in the hook-like back end, hoping to disarm me, instead, I plant a runically enhanced boot in his chest sending him flying back a few feet with a sickening grunt. His Khopesh falls to the ground after I shake it off my spear. This comes no sooner than the one behind me comes down with a beheading strike with his Epsilon axe which I manage to dodge last second, steel sparks flying off my shoulder right guard. I step on the axe denying him the ability to lift and strike again and feint a slash, he reacts perfectly as I angle my wrist and the handguard collides with the beak of his mask. He spins from the force and I plant my spearhead into his chest, dropping him quickly. I hear the sound of metal on stone as the one I kicked picks his sword back up. I go to turn but the one I stabbed in his last moments grabs my spear's handle, locking it in a death grip. I release the spear and come around with a slash which is blocked. We grapple for a moment before he rears his head back and tries to "peck" me in the eye. I dodge and with my free hand, I grab his stupid beak and wrench his head to the sky. He staggers back as we unlock our blades and I punch him hard in the exposed throat with my sword handguard. I feel cartilage break and deform as his Adam's apple and windpipe are destroyed. He falls to the ground choking just as the spells finish and I am engulfed in flame and magically created lightning, I hear Godiva scream as the torrent of light and heat surrounds me.

It's hot for sure, but the armor insulates me enough to where I feel uncomfortable because the flames have nothing to burn. As the magically fueled flames and lightning hit my magical nullifying brown dragon armor the magic as far as I can tell is dispersed and the flames die out. As I look through the fading flames I spot the Scarlet Ravens and leap from the inferno sword first driving a downward stab right between his eyes to the shock of the crowd as the High King is interrupted from some manner of speech about the futility of facing him or something.

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I swing with my free hand and grab the pole of another Ravens Axe. I take it from his hands, spinning the weapon with a terrible snap as one of his wrists breaks. I can one-hand the weapon thanks to my enhanced strength and use it to behead its old master. I follow through with the swing, spinning myself around and hacking one of the magic knighs from shoulder to hip only stopping as the wooden pole breaks. I use the stopping of momentum as a fulcrum forward and shoulder check another caster to the ground. I pin him with my foot as an upward strike removes the arm of one of his compatriots.

The final two Scarlet Ravens rush me, the Khopesh swinging low and the Epsilon axe coming from above. I dodge the downward strike which finishes the pinned Knight. The lower sweep catches the steel shin of my armor and stops with a hearty thud. Even with the runes, it hurts like a bitch but the armor did its job, and without any physical enhancements the Raven is not strong enough to simply hack through a near half-inch of steel. I grab the low swinging one by the back of the head and slam him into the ground, his beak bouncing painfully and I windmill my arm in a downward stab which goes through the back of his neck. The axeman with his weapon free from his ally's chest takes a horizontal swing at my gut. I feel my back crack as I fall backward and the back of my helmet slams against the stone floor. I watch the axe pass over me and unable to simply stand right back up like a vampire I fall flat and roll into his legs. I grab an ankle and roll up on him. This knocks him down, removing his ability to use an axe in this fight. I hop to my knees and have my finishing blow blocked by the handle of the axe. I take my free hand and begin punching him in the head, denting the steel mask with my braced knuckles. He loses his grip on his axe and I can perform my Coup De Grace and stab him through the heart. With this task done, I stand up surrounded by carnage as Henna and Sertean finish off the last of the casters and other knights. For the other three one of them fell in battle, and another seemingly lost an eye, but overall we came out nearly unscathed.

I stand up breathing heavily and approach the stage where Sakura now activates her armor. The white and gold armor once more has adapted to my past actions as I can see special guards on her ankles. She stands in front of the stairs as I approach now having caught my breath. Above the clouds flash with bright orange and a terrible roll of thunder fills the air. I take a look around the courtyard and then to everyone's surprise I remove my helmet. My glance proved my plans are in full motion, but there is one last thing I have to do, and time is of the essence.

I take a breath and say in a loud voice,

"Hero Princess Sakura! I have come to speak to no one but you."

Even through her helmet, I can see her surprise. I sheath my sword and she steps forward, her helmet retracting and revealing her face. She scowls and asks,

"What is it you wish to speak to me about?"

I swallow, shift my weight, and exhale loudly and prepare to earn my Oscar I start,

"It's... it's so strange. I know we are foes but I can no longer hide my feelings oh Hero Sakura! I love you! Ever since our first battle, I felt this way. The way you fought was so valiant and your strength was so admirable!

I was only acting in a manner to survive so that maybe one day I could see your beautiful face once more! I had to cheat to even survive in our last battle!

My only question... my only demand and request..."

I drop to my knee and from a hidden pocked procure a ring with a large gemstone on it and finish,

"...Will you marry me?"

I peek out the corner of my eye and see Henna fighting a smile and laughter, faking an expression of distant admiration. Thank God Sertean's face is covered because I doubt I would be able to keep my composure if he even cracked a smile. It appears I broke the poor girl though and the crowd's expression is priceless as the first cup hits the ground. She stammers out as her face grows red,

"I-I don't know what to say... I mean we are enemies... It's forbidden... but... I mean... I...I can't say... "

I stand up and approach her reaching my free hand around her armored waist as I hold the ring up for her. We stare into each other's eyes and I barely manage to fight a wince of pain as I see passion fill her gaze and she leans in, and so do I. Our lips meet in a kiss and she immediately goes for some tongue so I oblige her. We hold this for a second to a gasp from the crowd and a whimper from Godiva, then Sakura tastes the blood, my blood.

She violently pushes away from me and I fall down the small flight of stairs as more cups hit the ground and glasses shatter against stone. She makes a terrible coughing sound and her eyes begin to bleed as she shouts at me,

"You bastard! You...Tricked me!"

I laugh as I spit onto the ground, blood coming from the place I had bit the inside of my mouth after having chewed on it for a while before. Now there are true sounds of panic from the crowd as people begin dropping, dying from a hemmoragic neurotoxin. Blood pours from the eyes, mouths, noses, and even skin of some people. With that, I have successfully poisoned most if not all of the important people at the party. Mekare and her assistants appear out of the crowd, masked but wearing servant clothing. An empty jug that once contained my blood in her hands. A small additive into the drinks of this party. I had to do what I did because I noticed Sakura and the High King were drinking from separate bottles of wine from the large punch bowls the rest of the party was drinking.

Sakura activates her helmet as it glows working hard to try and counteract the poison running through her body. The magic of the armor is still not enough to entirely heal her. I get to my feet, replace my helmet, and start up the stairs toward the High King but Sakura stops me through her pain. She shouts,

"No! You will go no further."

I reach under my small cape and draw the pistol I had there. I then aim it up the stage at my target. Sakura spreads her arms and shouts,

"Do it! My armor will protect me! Even from a gun!"

I say quietly, just loud enough for her to hear over people choking on blood,

"I'm not aiming at you."

The High King now smirks as the walls of the courtyard are suddenly filled with knights who have prepared spells, all aimed at me. Even three ballistae are being manned by Scarlet Ravens. One of the decorative towers erupts in magic power, throwing off its shingles revealing one of those magical focusing crystals that begins to glow with power, most likely aimed at me or my friends. He then says,

"Go ahead, whatever that weapon is use it! I am the ruler of the skies! It will not bring me any harm that matters!

As he finishes his statement, the huge six-masted ship falls out of the clouds engulfed in flame as crewmen leap from it to avoid burning to death. The hulk of a ship violently slams into the exterior portion of the palace with a deafening blast as it nearly explodes from the flames being forced into the air by the force of crashing. I feel the ground slightly shake as the violent spectacle unfolds. Some of the Knights stop their spell as their concentration is broken by the violence, and some are caught by flying debris falling to their deaths.

Over the deafening roar of a burning titan, there are three short blasts from a massive warhorn. Powered by steam the horn rings out across the palace. Shaking the very air with its power. Like the fin of a shark a circular turret with twin cannons sticks out of the clouds. With a burst of steam it traverses slightly and with a similar hiss of pressure, the guns elevate. A sudden flash, followed by a plume of smoke and thunder shatters the stunned silence left by the warhorn. The crystal tower is struck by two anti-fortification shells devastating it and demolishing the stone structure. The focusing crystal shatters releasing its energy in a brilliant flash of light as the tower collapses.

The steel bulk of the ironclad descends from the clouds. Its dark gray hull is marked with scorches from flame spells, but there is no visible damage to its hellishly armored mass. I make a mental note about this because the end product of the ship is actually much worse than we planned. Due to rushed production armor thickness was sacrificed and we never figured out a good propulsion system. On average, we sacrificed 1-2 inches of armor and the main drive is two large propellers, which are twisted properly to produce thrust but are wholly inadequate for the speed we initially projected. Regardless of its subpar current state, it appears to have done well.

The large ship descends lower as all the Knights on the walls stare at it in awe as it releases a long blast from the warhorn. The broadside cannons traverse downward and aim at the walls. They all fire in near unison, utilizing a canister-like shell blasting white-hot shrapnel at the walls. Some knights are turned into minced meat immediately, some fall off the walls with new holes in their bodies. Masonry dust is thrown into the air as dozens if not hundreds of metal shards and balls slam into the surrounding walls. It's not perfect as not all of the knights and Ravens are left dead or incapacitated, but panic immediately sets in. Some of the knights throw themselves off the walls in fear, others scramble for stairwells down, and others fire weak spells at the ship which just shrugs off the desperate attacks, adding to the panic further. The broadside guns are quickly reloaded and another round is fired completely breaking the will of the remaining knights or killing them outright.

As the knights run off the walls, they are met by the now free Frontiersmen slaves who picked up the weapons of the various knights and guards my group and I ended. Their resentment toward their old masters mixed with the pants-shitting fear the knights feel makes the battle one-sided as quickly a full-on slave rebellion is gaining momentum across the palace against the free servants. While unplanned, it does make my job easier. The bottom turret of the ship traverses toward the Hero Sakura who is no longer glowing, her armor apparently having adapted to my toxic blood finally.

Her arms hang at her sides and I can see her grip tighten on her sword. Henna behind me is damn near on the ground in laughter over how fucking cool the ship is. Godiva stares at the vessel with a slack jaw, now understanding why I worked so hard on the armored vessel. Then the High King, with an expression of fear shouts at me,

"What the hell is that airship? My great vessel is the lord of the skies! How can this thing exist? I am the Ruler of the skies! Who are you?"

I shake my head and say flatly,

"I am simply not caught up in tradition. I always want more, and I am not keen on tyrants."

His hands shake and he grabs Godiva by the arm and shouts to Sakura,

"Sister! Protect me so I may escape!"

I squeeze the trigger gently and the High King's right shoulder explodes in a spray of blood after a sharp crack fills the courtyard. My pistol barrel smokes for a second as I replace it in the hidden holster I had been keeping it in. The High Kind squeals in a high-pitched cry of pain as he writhes on the ground holding his destroyed shoulder. Sakura doesn't move, she only looks at her brother for a moment before facing me once more. She asks me in a soft voice in English,

"Who are you?"

I reply in the same language,

"I am only someone playing the game with the cards I've been dealt. All I have been doing is stacking the deck in my favor. That's all. Each hand we play has been fair up until now. "

She nods possibly understanding what I mean. She asks then,

"What now? You've won."

I shake my head and tell her,

"No. You are still here, and we are still 1 and 1. I think we still have a tiebreaker. "

She laughs hollowly and responds,

"What does it matter now? "

I answer her truthfully,

"Because you are a rallying point. If I allow you to live you can recover from this even if the Alrius Kingdom conquers you. I do not fear a war, I fear suicidal retaliation. I plan to completely dismantle your nation. Here I have killed the entire ruling nobility, this creates a power vacuum. Even the most stable of nations cannot survive that. While unplanned it appears I started a slave rebellion which will help further this goal of complete destabilization of your nation. The worse the situation and the more your people slaughter one another, the easier it will be to either conquer the victor or combat the survivors seeking retribution.

You are the only beacon of stability left. I plan to kill you, but as a kindness, I am willing to make it a fight rather than simply cut your throat in your sleep or poison you while your armor is deactivated."

She shakes her head and responds,

"It appears we made the wrong choice... we chose the only kingdom with a monster like you. So be it. Let's fight... tell me... what if I slay you?"

I shake my head,

"You won't... that's not an option this time... trust me I'm not being overconfident here."

I back away from the stairs as she steps down them, head held high in dignity. I begin messing with my armor. I had built-in knee, elbow, and even finger braces into the armor. In reality, they are just metal hinges with locks that do not allow my joints to bend any further than what is normal and healthy. While my armor has a healing rune it is most likely incapable of healing an ACL or other tear quick enough to keep me in the fight. While so far I haven't broken anything with my enhanced strength and speed, that is only because I haven't truly gone all-out yet, and I can feel the maximum output is strong enough to break me if I'm not careful.

She raises her sword and when I'm done locking my joints I toss my short sword into my right hand. I do not need my father's spear for this fight. Everything has been planned for.

She begins the fight with a push forward hard and fast, with minimal effort I parry her strike without moving my feet. My upward parry sent her blade above her head and made her step back, then I push forward. In a blur of motion, I press her. Her armor is only barely able to keep up with my hand and foot speed. Each one of my strikes, blocked or not sends her reeling backward. She desperately begins focusing entirely on blocking my attacks as all of her dodges are sloppy and every step she takes is cut off by me or she nearly trips from a hard kick to the side of her knee. She seemingly can't see my focus as my eyes never leave my real target.

She eventually grabs the front of her blade utilizing the weapon as a shield entirely. My movements are nothing but blurs of motion and flashes of steel. Sparks fly from her blade with every single one of my attacks. Then it happens my target is destroyed. About three inches from the hilt of her sword my consistent and targeted strikes break the blade into two main pieces, shards breaking off into multiple directions. While she thought she had been blocking my attacks, instead she had been offering me my target. My whole focus was on breaking the blade. She drops her weapon and leaps away from me. She looks at her hands in disbelief. I sheathe the small sword and crack my knuckles. Now I can fight her in a meaningful way.

In a flash, I am within her guard as I throw my entire body into a haymaker punch. She cannot react fast enough and my fist slams into the faceplate of her helmet. The magical metal bends and squeals as it is dented bad enough to crush her face. I feel bone and cartilage break as the armor spalls and bends. Nothing can pierce her armor meaning it cannot be broken, but it can bend and dent as in the end, it is still metal, even if it is magical.

She falls flat onto her back, probably unconscious for a moment, as she heals and tries to get up I grab her by the head and lift her. I then start practically dribbling her head against the stone. Lifting her only to send her back down with a powerful punch utilizing my full body behind each blow. Blood explodes out from under her helmet as I destroy her skull with blinding speed and brutal strength, she can't even scream as her mouth and neck are obliterated. The stone underneath cracks and shatters from the force, the punches now even sending sparks flying as the steel on the knuckles of my fist begins to shear off and burn. Her armor keeps her alive and mostly awake. I feel her under me trying to punch me and kick me, desperately clawing and fighting to get me off of her, to no avail, her angle is wrong to get any form of leverage against me.

I then grab her by the shoulder and lift her to her feet. Her head quickly returns to sorta normal and I grab it before pulling her down into a rising knee, caving her chest in with a disgusting gurgling noise as her lungs are liquified by the hit. I don't let her fall as I throw her against a wall, sending her through the non-fortified masonry. I spring forward and drag her back out. She is no longer fighting, only trying to get away. Now I find it's time to see if I can kill her. I noticed her helmet isn't actually attached to anything, this means I might be able to rip her helmet off and if how she reacts to poison is anything to go off of, her armor can't heal what it isn't covering.

I pin her down with a knee on her torso. I place one hand on her collar and another on the bottom edge of her helmet. Then with a loud groan, I begin pulling them apart. Her neck is pulled back as she cries out in pain and I continue pulling with all my enhanced might. The metal is surprisingly resistant to this action but it begins to bend where I am pulling and I slowly reveal her chin then mouth, and slowly the rest of her head. I can feel the helmet trying to reform around her head as I rip it free. She cries out in fear screaming in panic. Then with a terrible metal shearing noise, the helmet comes free. I draw my sword to quickly end this as she cries out,

"Please I don't want to die again!"

I drive the blade down and there is a bright flash and I feel myself being thrown across the courtyard.

I land in a heap and quickly get to my feet only to see something... strange.

Sakura is glowing, her armor is gone and she is wearing nothing but the dress she had been wearing previously. An aura of pale white light engulfs her body and she has no physical damage done to her that I can see. She is glaring at me with one of the most venomous expressions I have ever received. What bothers me the most is her eyes. At first glance, they appear to be glowing golden orbs, but upon further inspection, they are shining but beneath the golden glow her eyes look like those of a goat. Her whites are black and the iris is a deep red with a horizontal pupil. It doesn't look right.

She then speaks in a voice that is not her own. A deep masculine voice. It says to me,

"We are quite surprised at your ability to fight young man. It has been so long since someone has managed to beat one of our hosts. It's unfortunate that now we are forced to take the reigns of this poor girl, but it is what must be done."

I ask,

"What are you?"

She shrugs and responds,

"We are the god Bullhard. This is our chosen hero, our host to experience the physical world. We would have liked to not have produced an avatar to incarnate into as we rather do not enjoy the feeling of skin... or the chill of wind... and especially pain.

Regardless we are here now and our worshipers are in danger. I cannot believe his chosen one has done this. I thought we were safe in this world, but it appears we are not.

Now, young Isa. It is time to die."

A large sword with a blade made of what seems to be vanta black appears in her hand as the light intensifies for a moment, when the light subsides it reveals a set of armor made of light, not glowing, but the light itself bent around her body to form what appears to be armor. A very great contrast, but it doesn't take a genius to understand this situation is fucked. I don't know what this "god" thing is, but I know it is on a whole separate level than anything I have faced so far, even the dragons felt far more surmountable.

I shout to the people behind me,

"Get the fuck out of here! Run!"

Mekare grabs Godiva off the stage as the ironclad drops rope ladders. My friends and allies grasp the rungs of the ladders and only climb up enough to get a grip before the crew above begins retracting the ladders. There isn't enough room for me, but I just need to survive long enough for the ladders to drop back down.

I pick back up my sword which I had dropped during my little flight. I get into a fighting stance as Bullhard laughs and tells me,

"It is incredibly admirable that you would sacrifice yourself for your allies, but it is futile. We will get to them at one point or another. Since we are the first incarnate god of this world we will begin our crusade. We will be the new ruler of the skies and your tin vessel means nothing to the power of a god. We will use you as a sacrifice to begin our domination. Feel... honored."

I spit back,

"Go fuck yourself."

Then he is upon me. I barely have time to react as the armored figure is already in attacking range. Only thanks to my enhanced strength and speed I am able to redirect the blow elsewhere. He goes for another strike, blindingly fast with a streak of impossible black, I send the attack into the ground where the sword seemingly scorches the stone below. I do not want to be hit by that, not one bit.

We begin a dance of blinding flashes of strikes and parries, no ground gained on one another. Our arms move in blurs nearly impossible to see, relying on the windup to predict an attack, because once the attack begins there is no response that a human can produce in time. I watch in utter horror as my sword is slowly chipped down with each block I make, or every time my attacks are parried.

I begin growing tired from this fight, I'm putting my all behind every action because anything less would result in my immediate death. I find my situation hopeless because every time I manage to get a hit, it harmlessly bounces off the glowing armor. Stabs and slashes do nothing but to my horror punches don't even phase the glowing figure. He even drops his blade to allow me to land a powerful blow with my sword handguard. It feels like I hit a rock wall, bending the steel guard and smashing my fingers. I shout in frustration as the armored figure chuckles. He then tells me,

"We have given you enough of a fight to have died with dignity. You are unable to harm us, do not feel... too much lesser than we."

I see his shoulder shift and go to block but suddenly I am impaled through the torso, just under my ribs, and right through my diaphragm, missing my lungs by a mere inch. I didn't see the strike. It's as if the sword had always been there. No blur or flash, just one moment at his side the next inside my torso.

I shouldn't feel the pain thanks to my runic healing but I feel this. It's as if the blade is both white-hot and absolute zero at the same time. Burning heat and cold at the same time mixed with being unable to take in a breath. I look down at the wound and notice it's odd, my armor has no damage to it. It's almost as if the blade clipped through the leather and steel. He cocks his head in surprise and says inquisitively,

"So that's what your armor is made of. We wondered what it was composed of. Very good."

He retracts the blade and blood flows through the gaps in my armor. I fall to my ass and begin shuffling backward making a terrible sound as I try to breathe. The runic healing seals the injury as fast as it can, but it cannot heal this deep of a wound in such a short time. My sword is still fairly fuzed to my hands because of the smashed guard. The armored figure walks slowly toward me shaking his head and speaking to me condescendingly,

"We are immune to your damage. Nothing in this world can harm us. Nothing natural. Keep struggling, die tired, it makes no difference to us."

A rope ladder drops from the airship for me and I grab a rung, then once more in the span of a blink, he moves. The ladder is cut apart and he stands over me. I swing upward with my sword and in a similar blink my sword is cleaved in two. The handguard is cut free and I use this moment to roll onto my stomach and get up to all fours and crawl away, switching to my feet as I try to escape my fate.

I am cut off from every escape, as he appears in front of me each time I change directions. I feel my panic rising until I take a long breath and realize what I must do. I stop running and walk upright to where my father's spear is still stuck inside the Scarlet Raven from earlier. I pull it from its gory sheath and unbind a string over my thumb. This reveals the small stud on the tip of my thumb, a final gambit, an empowered engraving needle I had built in.

I unwrap the leather handle of my father's spear and pull the bear charm free. I hook the bear charm onto my belt. The armored figure just watches in what I assume is amusement at my futile attempt. Under the leather wrapping is an incomplete rune, not just any rune but a complex cursive-like rune. In testing this does not create a composite rune, instead it does the thing when you add too many runes to an object. I face the avatar and say,

"I won't keep you waiting, this is going to be my last strike. Don't hold back."

He nods and replies,

"So be it. "

I step forward, then again, and then into a full sprint forward. I wind my arm backward as the god stands there without moving, then just before I strike forward I shift my thumb upward completing the long string of runes. Immediately the entire steel spear glows a brilliant orange and quickly begins glowing brighter. I feel the heat through my dragon-leather gloves and my skin begins to cook. At this moment the armored figure seems to note that he is in danger and raises his guard, but it is useless.

I quietly state,

"Thank you, Dad... for leaving me this chance."

I strike forward with all of my might as the light of the glowing spear grows unbearable along with the heat. It meets the black sword which looks to be driven away by the orange light. The vanta black blade disappears as if it were made of smoke the head continues forward and it makes contact with the glowing armor. The two lights meet and create a shower of sparks as they contest against one another. The spear stabilizes for a moment somehow as it locks in a battle with the glowing armor. The orange glow changes to a golden hue as I make progress slowly driving through the armor. The god grabs my wrist trying to stop the motion but the spear is now moving without my input as it continues the push forward. Then something snaps. A sound fills my head, not my ears, a metallic shattering sound as the spear no longer meets resistance and is driven through the avatar of a god.

This gambit was planned in advance based on what I had explained to me. Sakura had said nothing of this world can penetrate her armor, and the god said as much too. In my research of runes, I found a statement,

"The runes work through channeling the power of the world itself. It utilizes the raw power of creation and destruction. The fundamental aspects of reality."

I interpreted this as meaning the runes work as a sort of coding language. Each one performs a different function changing core aspects of reality. In a sense entirely natural and unnatural at the same time. This combined with how Blake's sword can penetrate the armor, I came to the conclusion the gods have some manner of this power. The explosion from adding too many runes makes no sense. Incredible heat and energy released from seemingly nothing. This plan of course is a Hail Mary, but it appears to have worked.

After the spear finishes its penetration the expected explosion happens. I am thrown back by the blast, my arm nearly ripping from its socket. There is a wave of what feels like static and the world seems to get runny around the edges for a moment as a pained voice cries,

"TO BE DEFEATED BY A MAN! TO BE DEFEATED AND VANQUISHED BY A CHOSEN ONE OF HE! WOE IS UPON US! WOE BE UPON YE!

MAY YOU NEVER KNOW PEACE!"

Then the world goes back to normal. The feeling is gone and the only sound is the rhythmic thrumming of the steam engine above. I lie on my back for a moment, sucking in air. I take the bear off my belt and look at it. I am happy I won, but sad I lost my father's spear. I know he would have let me do what I did, he's my father, and my survival comes before any memento... I just wish it didn't hurt.

Above me, multiple airships descend from the clouds. They bear the Alrius coat of arms. The fleet is wounded, with scars marking the wooden hulls as they descend and begin lowering gangplanks onto the palace walls. Alrius knights pour from the ships and stare in awe and horror at the scene of carnage that is the palace courtyard. A large flagship appears and sets down outside of the palace. I continue lying down as I hear the sound of the big doors being broken down. They crash loudly and when I look over I see a group of Alrius knights, leading them is both Blake and Kind Alrius himself. I wave at them as they step over the corpses on the ground. I get back up to my feet and start to go greet them until I hear a sob. I look over and see Sakura, in her party dress, her guts ripped open but I can see her chest rising and falling still. I walk over and sit down next to her. I pull her head onto my lap and remove my helmet.

Her eyes are back to normal showing that the god who was in charge is now gone. Her eyes are filled with tears, her breaths are long and labored, some strange power keeping her alive despite most of her blood being on the ground around us. She makes eye contact with me and says in a pitiful voice,

"I don't want to die again... "

I just hold her on my lap. She reaches up to me with a pale hand and I take it in mine, I gently squeeze her hand as she begins pouring her heart out,

"I screwed up again... I-I should've done better... I let others dictate my life again... why... why am I like this...

I got a second chance... I could've been a real hero...I could've made my journey my own...I could've found happiness, live to my fullest... now here I am again... not able to even see my twentieth birthday... not last time... not this time."

I frown and say to her in a gentle voice,

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's terrible to die so young. What makes you say you were not in control of your journey?"

She shakes her head tears flowing more freely now,

"I never thought high of myself... I always found my worth is other people. I required their support to find worth in myself. I got caught up in a bad crowd in my last life... I fell in league with a tyrant in this one... I let my body be possessed by a god who doesn't care... all because I couldn't figure it out myself. I let myself be overwhelmed... I didn't want this... but I had to do it.

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I caused you pain and suffering... I hurt so many people for a cause that meant nothing."

I shush her gently and say calmly,

"But you followed it through. That's enough for now. Even if what you chose was wrong and amounted to nothing, you saw it through until you couldn't anymore. I may not agree with you, and hell I was against you, but I respect your commitment...even if what you were committed to wasn't your own.

I forgive you. We are no longer enemies. It is over."

She smiles lightly through tears and says sadly,

"So that means it's over... it's coming... I can feel it. Will you hold me? I'm scared of what comes next..."

I nod and hold her hand tightly as her eyes flutter closed and she takes her last breath. When I am sure she has passed I release her hand and fold her arms over her chest. I gently lay her on the ground as Blake approaches and asks me,

"Why did you do that? "

I reply,

"Because it didn't matter... she was done... and in the end, all she was is a scared girl in a new world... I hold no hard feelings."

Blake nods and grunts in agreement. I then move toward the stage where the injured High King is lying. He laughs as I approach. He starts,

"So you beat both my sister and our god... how-"

I interrupt him,

"Nope, you don't get a passing word."

I kick him in the side of the head, killing him instantly. I am far too tired to deal with his bullshit. With regicide committed I turn toward King Alrius who claps loudly for me he then shouts,

"Bravo! I believe a reward is awaiting you back home."

I nod silently and I walk past him as another rope ladder falls from the ironclad. I grab a rung and turn to the King and say,

"Enjoy your new lands. My gift to you... your majesty."

He smiles widely at me and puts his hand on Blake's shoulder. He says,

"Don't worry. The hero and I will enjoy cleaning things up here."

Blake looks between us confusedly as we share a knowing smile and I am pulled onboard the Godiva. As I am being pulled into the sky the ship rises and begins sailing back toward home. I climb onto the top deck and find myself on the bow once more. The wind blows past me, this time my helmet is hooked onto my belt so the cool night air blows through my short hair. The ship passes through the clouds revealing the beautiful night sky once more and I gaze into the heavens staring at the mesmerizing stars. The heartbeat of steam under my feet as we chug back home.

Behind me someone climbs onto the top decks but I keep my gaze forward, I know who it is. It's far too cliche for my liking. I say,

"You know this wasn't an action taken out of romance..."

A pair of arms wrap around me as Godiva presses herself against me. She then says quietly, barely audible over the wind,

"I know... Regardless I am thankful. I am beyond thankful for you Isa."

I place a hand on top of her arms wrapped around me. In that moment we say nothing as there are no more words to say. She knows I saved her out of care, but not romance. I truly do care about her she is my treasured friend, but I cannot see her in a romantic light. I hope she understands this, it's nothing about her, I treasure her friendship over anything else I could get from her.

After a long while in silence, she lets me go and asks me,

"So what is next?"

I look back at her with a smile on my face. I tell her,

"What's next?

That's easy, I will keep building, but this time I will be on the front foot, I will not be working from behind anymore. I am below nobody, I will continue doing as I have.

No more and no less.

In order to truly honor my friends and family I lost, in order to keep anything like what happened from happening again. To break my chains and those of others like me,

I will keep moving forward... and that's all I will do..."

Season 1

End....