From high to low

And in just a moment, the reluctant Nono turns into a firebug. She sets small spheres of fireballs in every corner of the building, even on all the floors below. I can’t even fathom how she keeps control of so many spells at once, but she does and we reach the gate without trouble. Safrim and Karina aren’t there yet.

“Why isn’t anyone standing guard?” I ask.

“Because they think that no one would be stupid enough to come here, and they’re right.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Where are these two idiots?”

“I don’t see anyone.”

We stand in the shadows next to the gate, waiting and waiting. I grow anxious, even more so when I hear an impact noise. Another core has been dropped. Oh no. The demon will run right past us.

“That thing will spot us!” I whisper.

“I’m working on it…” Nono replies.

She whispers something and the shadowy veil starts forming, but she can’t produce it completely in time. Apparently even she has a limit on how many spells she can maintain at the same time.

A scream. Then, quick footsteps. Karina and Safrim are running towards us from the gloom of the courtyard, another hound on their heels.

“Go! Go! Activate the magic when we’re clear of the gate!” Safrim yells.

“Shit.”

Nono grabs my arm, likely because I’m frozen in shock, and pulls me through the gate. Safrim and Karina are right behind us, but so is the demon hound. I tear myself from Nono’s grasp and turn around. I hold both arms out like Poru did with the little centipede’s and yell “Daylight!”

The resulting spell is a mockery of what Poru did, but since it’s so dark around us, the flash of light is enough to disorient the creature, and maybe even hurt it. I hear it yelp in a voice almost alive.

“Yuki, come on!”

This time it’s Karina, who pulls me, and I go willingly. The path down the hill is winding, but it is mostly free. Mostly. There are no boulders or other debris, but from the ruins below, a dark mass surges towards us.

“Detonate!” Safrim shouts, and the two fire mages comply immediately.

The explosion above us lights up the night like a sunrise. The castle itself shakes and walls crumble, collapse. This is more than just a fire. They laid enough firepower to raze the whole thing. The town below is illuminated in all directions, the ruins standing out in stark contrast. Yet another thing is also standing out.

It is one thing to have a single demon on your heels. It’s another to have an army raised and rushing towards you. From the depths of the shadows below, countless small shapes rise and run towards the castle.

Towards us.

But the most horrible thing is behind us. A loud scream is audible above the fiery inferno, above the crumbling walls. In an instant, the fog around us is sucked in like a vacuum, the air clearing so suddenly that the sunshine blinds me. I have to hold an arm over my eyes, stopping dead in my tracks. The demons below sound unhappy, but they continue their advance.

“We have to leave. Now!” Nono shouts. “The mage survived and they’re sending something bigger than the centipede after us!”

Safrim curses and urges us to go on. I stumble at first, then slowly get used to the brilliant daylight. I can suddenly see all across town, into the river valley below, and the surrounding hills as well. It’s a scene of devastation during the most brilliant day under blue skies. Overgrown ruins as far as the eye can see, forests encroaching on the prior townscape, large flowering plants dotting the land in bright red and yellows. It’s sad and beautiful at the same time. Why can’t it just be ugly and vile?

“Lightveil!”

A spectacle even more brilliant than the sun erupts in the middle of the city. Poru!

“He’s drawing their attention! We need to help him!” Safrim shouts.

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. We run, run towards the source of the light, stumbling across roots and stones. The demons leave us alone, rushing towards the new threat. They’re steaming in the sunlight, running alongside us. I recognise the pear tree. Poru is in the ruins of the old church!

Yes!

I gather all my strength and run as fast as I can, practically flying through the ruins. I can see him. Poru is kneeling inside the ruined church, his hands folded in prayer. Around him, there is a dome of light, which both draws the demons in and protects him at the same time. He looks like a holy vision, the true Light’s Champion. As soon as I reach the first fallen stones, I put my hands on them.

“Appraisal!”

[Skyblue Church of our Lady Erya]
Type: Place of Worship
Attributes: Light
Durability: 2/150
Age: 356 years

“Manipulation durability +150!”

[Durability will exceed natural durability. Proceed?]

“Proceed!”

The whole area starts shaking and all the stones in the vicinity are rumbling. There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach, nausea hitting me like a brick and I fall to my knees. A headache shoots through me like a red-hot poker to the brain. I actually retch, the contents of my stomach emptying itself. Finally, the stones flicker and disappear. I feel, more than see, the restored church in front of me. Erya’s presence is like a tangible sensation in the air, her blessing spreading out through the air alongside a sweet smell, so different from the acrid stench before.

“Erya!” I call out, rolling over the ground.

“I hear you,” comes the answer, very gentle, only in my head, but it’s enough.

The demons in and around the church are disintegrated in one fell swoop, the beam of light reaching from the heavens like a godly miracle, bathing everything in brilliant sunshine. Someone grabs me by my arms and I am carried inside the church through the backdoor.

The interior is fashioned from white and grey marble, golden and silver decorations all around. There is a large throne where the altar should be in my experience, a window right above it like in the cathedral. As we lay on the ground, out of breath, but otherwise unharmed, a figure fashioned out of golden sunlight materialises on the throne.

“My children, you brought light back to this place. For this, I—”

The whole church shakes as something impacts, shattering windows and toppling small decorations. A cacophony of sound echoes in the interior. Erya’s form disappears.