The Last Stand

“What was that?” Karina yells.

“Din’s last effort at revenge,” Nono whispers, so only I can hear. “To summon something that large, he likely gave his life. We can’t fight it. We need to leave.”

“But we have Erya—”

The wall of the church collapses directly on her throne, burying it completely.

“We did it before,” Karina says.

“The centipede wasn’t out to kill humans. Whatever this is, definitely is. Retreat is our only option.”

Another hit and part of the roof drops down. I wouldn’t be able to rebuild this place as fast as the demon tears it down. Safrim is right. We achieved our goal—more than that. An outpost has been razed, attention is definitely diverted and the area is freed from the shadows. It will only be a failure if any of us dies in the process.

“Let’s go while the building is still at least partially standing. The thing may be after us, but none of them can resist tearing down a place of Light worship,” Safrim says.

We exit through the main door, leaving the Skyblue Church of our Lady Erya behind to run beneath the actual blue sky. The ground is littered with black particles like charcoal, which crunch under my feet like fresh snow. I dare a look back while we run.

Next to the church stands a horse as large as I imagine Godzilla to be. A horse wouldn’t be my first choice for a predator, but as it kicks down the walls with heavy hoofs, I see the reasoning. As soon as it decides to pursue us, we don’t stand a chance. Even if we make it to the river, it will catch up with only a few steps. The others have come to a similar conclusion, dread on their faces. On all except Nono. She looks at me expectantly.

“No, I’m not giving up,” I say.

“Yet.”

I grind my teeth. What can we do? What… The image of the large area of Erya’s blessing comes to mind again. If it can keep demons out, can it also keep them in? After rebuilding the church, my muscles ache and my breath is already strained, but what does it matter if we die otherwise.

“I have an idea!”

The others are startled when I stop in my tracks.

“Are you mad?” Karina screams at me. “Go! Run!”

“We can’t outrun it. We need to stop it. Here and now.”

“We—”

“What will happen to the lands around Atol if that thing gallops directly for the city? It might not get through the wall, but it will wreak havoc nonetheless. We can’t let that happen.”

“Yuki is right. But how do we stop it?”

“I stay here. When it comes close, I create an area of blessing and lock it inside. It’ll hopefully be weakened and then you can attack it. Cut off its legs.”

Safrim shakes his head. “That’s madness. Nothing like that has been done before.”

“You didn’t have the Hero and the Champion of Light in the same place before. Between us, we will keep it down. I trust you all to finish it. Find the core. You just need to pierce the core.”

“Just pierce the core… You’re saying it like the easiest thing on the planet. That thing is massive!” Karina says.

In the distance, the house neighs as the last of the church falls. The sound echoes, hauntingly, around the broken town. I’ve always been a fan of horses, but I’m revising my opinion right now. That thing is horrific.

“It’s coming after us!”

“Poru-in, here.”

We reach for each other’s hands and close our eyes. A comfortable warmth floods me, into the last recesses of my body. I open my eyes again and see a ball of light form between us, growing in size. It’s working!

“Poru-in!”

“I know. Cage?”

“Birdcage?”

“Yes.”

We focus on an image, the bars flickering around us until our imaginations align and they become substantial.

“Alright. Wait for my signal,” he says.

The bars disappear again and the horse rears its head, stomping on the rest of the church, crushing it to dust. In one jump, it is right next to us.

“Now!”

The golden light blooms and the bars of the cage close again, around the body of the horse, digging into its dark flesh. The sound it makes is unholy, its hooves coming down on us, the shield over us vibrating. Nono and Karina immediately attack the creature with their fire magic, and Safrim fans the flames with sharp winds. Poru is sweating and I probably look worse, keeping together the light cage with sheer willpower alone.

A large shadow grows next to us, and for a moment I think it’s another demon, but then I recognise Gale’s form. He has grown to several hundred times his size and dives, claws first, into the horse's hind legs, ripping one of them clean off, then the other. Shadows stream from the body like blood and the others focus their attacks on the gash.

“We’re doing it!” Poru yells. “It’s working! Your plan worked!”

Nono jumps up on the monster’s head, propelled by a fierce wind, sending fireballs directly into its face. It really is working! We’re—

A voice rises above the commotion, deep and serious, speaking words I don’t understand.

“That’s my mother tongue! But why?” Poru asks and looks up into the sky.

I fear I know why.

Din.

He isn’t dead after all.

The fragments of the horse and the other demons congregate and the legs grow back. The demon rises to its full height and breaks the cage with a strong kick.

“No, no…”

“Let’s go!”

I help Poru to his feet and we run, not knowing where the others are. I need to… I need to…

A horn? Where does…

“It’s the Atol cavalry!” Karina shouts! “They’re here!”

Several cannonballs, likely propelled by magic, knock into the horse’s legs, ripping them into pieces once more. The horse stumbles on its broken limbs, flailing. Moments later, the first magic projectiles from the direction of the army reach us. They impact on the horses’ body, burning into it. I see several people jump with magic at their heels, directly onto the demon. Not much later, we hear a screech so loud I fear it may have damaged my hearing, and the horse disintegrates into dark fog. It temporarily takes my vision away and flows into my lungs, but then it’s dispersed by a strong gale and the sunshine returns.

The whole town is silent for a moment, a beautiful picture in the sunlight. Then the troops cheer. The sound travels across the ruins, making the plants around us shake.

The town of Granlal has been reclaimed by the light. The demons have been pushed back, one of their mages eliminated. The outcome is beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.

“Yuki!” Karina yells and points up into the sky.

I whip my head around to look into the blue sky, where a streak of red and blue fire burns a line through the air. It’s like a meteor, a bright light that brightens up the battlefield below despite the sunshine. Yet suddenly the light changes course, turning in a circle, then a downwards spiral.