Fight or Flight

As the world blinks into focus, I pull Thorne from its holster.

"Fifty cal rounds." Walking towards the town's gates as the gun clanks the rounds home, I take a deep breath as the hinges squeal eerily in the breeze. Stepping inside the town, I See him standing there in the middle of the town square. His eye burning red, reflecting the small fire he's standing beside.

"So, you came, Human. Honestly, I wasn't sure if you would."

"I said I would, and I'm a man of my word, Saetaen. After all, if a man can't keep his promises, then he's no man at all." Walking calmly across the square towards him, I cock the hammer back, and my finger inside the trigger guard.

"You seem jumpy. I promise you no harm will befall you here tonight. Outlier. This is, like I said, a talk between Fathers. You see, I'm aware of how my daughter feels about you. I have been for some time." Walking and waving his hands to emphasize his points, he stops and turns towards me.

"You don't find it strange that I would know?"

"Not really."

"That's curious. Why, pray tell, do you not? Most humans would jump at information that they thought was hidden."

"Maybe in this world. But where I come from, information from all around the world was available at your fingertips within minutes of the event happening. Humans are flawed. There are plenty of greedy, self-centered pricks out there who will do anything to get ahead. Including betraying their own." Stopping my rant to look Saetaen in the eye, my detective instincts kick in. Time to throw him off balance.

"Then again, Maybe some Demons aren't all that different." Watching his eye twitch at the insult, he resumes pacing and talking once more.

"You know, you are a very arrogant Human. And a foolish one. To think you…"

"No complaints from me on that one, pal. Man, if you had seen some of the dumb shit I did when I was younger."

"I swear if interrupt me one more time, Human, I'll…"

"You'll what? Go back on your word and cause harm to me? Smite me? Look, pal, I doubt you've got time to spend wasting on me. Haven't you got a Fenrir to vanquish? And some leviathans to let out of their cage or something?" Turning towards me, his eyes fill with caverns of fire, and for a moment, thick black wings appear from his back.

"I will not stand for this disrespect, human. You know nothing. You are nothing. Scum. A lowly ant that, and if I so chose to, I could crush under my boot. I am a god in this world." Laughing, a sense of fearlessness takes hold of me, and I step up to Saetean, close enough to feel the heat radiating off his skin.

"Some god you are. If you're so powerful, why haven't you destroyed this world by now? I think you're just another power-hungry asshole looking to convince everyone around you that you're more than a pathetic coward. But we both know that ain't true, don't we?" For a moment, a blank look crosses his face and I push my luck, shoving him backward. An instinctive thought running through my mind.

"In fact, I reckon you're here because you failed. Some Demon King you are. You should quit while you're behind. After all, you don't want to lose to a human, do you?" Finally snapping out of his stupor, his hand flexes for a moment and his fake smile cracks. Roaring claws come from his fingertips and come whistling towards me. Stepping forward to meet them, they stop inches away from my face as Thorne's barrel presses up against the underside of Saetaen's chin. Where the neck meets the jaw. The sweet spot, and at this range with this caliber, it's universally fatal.

"Checkmate bitch. Finish your swing. Ten bucks says I can blow your head clean off your shoulders before those claws reach me. You want the over or the under on that one?" Watching his eyes twitch between the claws, the guns and my face, I see the decision in his eyes even before he takes two steps back, the claws and wings disappearing.

"I was a fool to underestimate you, Outlier. But it won't happen again. I am curious, though. If you're here, who's protecting that daughter of yours at the castle?" Laughing, he disappears in a cloud of black smoke. Panicking, I turn and run through the gates, my fear tapping into that ancient power within me. The world begins to blur and slow as energy crackles around me.

"Phase!" In an instant, the world shimmers and the edge of Maplefall is replaced by the main hall of the castle. Landing heavily, I stumble and go sprawling across the ground, crashing into a suit of armor, sending pieces of armor clattering over the hall. Groaning, I twist as the sword from the suit of armor comes back down narrowly missing my face but cutting my cheek. Pushing it aside, I scramble to my feet and, ignoring the calls from the guards, I take the nearby steps three at a time. Racing my way to the floor of Ella's room, I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I race towards it. Sliding around the corner, the door sits open, and that energy from before bursts around me. Covering the distance to the door in an instant, it's obliterated as I go through, the splinters bouncing off me. Stopping, I see a squad of demons standing above Hannah and Ella, each one with a small, curved blade in their hand. Looking at the two women, Anger churns my stomach at the blood running from multiple small wounds on their bodies. Tearing Thorne free from its holster, a cold calm energy rises within me, and Bernard's voice rings through my head.

"Oscar, I have one more skill to teach you. However, this should only be used when you need to save something precious to you. The backlash from this will be unlike anything else." Feeling the power rise to my eyes, I look at the demons and time stops.

"Death March." Disappearing from where I'm standing, I reappear in front of each demon, pointing Thorne towards it before moving onto the next. Finding myself back where I started, I look at the apparitions of myself standing in front of each demon, and raising Throne above my head, I pull its trigger. Tearing through the night like a sonic boom, the sound of multiple gunshots firing all at once deafens me for a moment, a deep ringing sound filling my ears. Looking down at the defeated demons, I see Ella drop the shield she was holding in her hand, looking at me gratefully. Taking a step forward, I collapse to my knees as pain sears through my body. Crying out as it overwhelms me and I fall to the floor. Rushing to my side, Ella picks my head up and turns me over, looking into my eyes.

"Oscar, are you alright?" Coming to me as if it was far away, I try to raise my hand and another wave of pain washes over me. Closing my eyes, I force my mouth to get the words out.

"I'm fine. It's just the… Backlash… from the spell. Give me… a… minute." Struggling to get the words out between bursts of pain, Ella leaves me on the floor and heads over to Hannah, helping her to her feet. Almost as soon as it had started, the pain goes away. Finally stopping my body from seizing up, I let out a sigh of relief. Getting to my feet shakily, I wipe the sweat off my brow and put my hand over my eyes for a moment, trying to suppress the splitting headache forming behind them.

"Are you both okay." Moving my hand as the pain lessens, I see Ella and Hannah standing there, looking at me. Coming over to me, Ella slides under my arm and cuddles into me on one side, leaning up to give me a kiss.

"We are, thanks to you. How did you know we were in danger?" Stepping back, Ella moves to the side, and Hannah comes over to give me a hug, wrapping her arms around my neck. Pulling her free after a moment, I look at the wounds on her arms and face. Stepping back from both of them, I hold my hand up and focus my magic.

"Oscar, you shouldn't after just using an ability like that."

"I'll be fine. Healing wave!" From my hand, golden energy bursts forth, washing over both women, healing their wounds in a matter of moments. Letting the spell dissipate, I stumble and fall against the wall as a wave of tiredness hits me. Unable to stand, I slide down the wall and lean heavily against it. Coming over, Ella squats down in front of me,

"I told you. You're such a man, Oscar."

"It's all part of my charm." Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head at me.

"You keep telling yourself that, mister. Now, you haven't answered my question. How did you know we were in danger? Those assassins were quiet. I doubt anyone even knew they were here."

"Promise you won't get angry."

"Oscar…"

"Your father told me. When I met him at Maplefall earlier this evening. " At my words, Anger explodes across her face, and she gets up as if she was moving away from something burning her. Rounding on me after a moment, her eyes flash.

"Are you an idiot? How stupid could you be? Why would you go meet my father, and why didn't you tell me about this?"

"For exactly this reason, Ella. He sent me a missive this morning, asking to meet. He asked me to come alone and parley."

"And you went? You're even more of a fool than I realized." Before she can say anymore, a commotion sounds at the door and guards come bursting into the room, their eyes widening at the carnage in front of them.

"My Lord, My Ladies, are you alright?" Looking at me with an understanding look, Hannah takes charge.

"We are now. Though we won't be staying here tonight. Have Ellavessa's belongings brought to Mine and my father's quarters, please." At the guard captains nod, Hannah comes over to me and helps me to my feet. Leaning heavily on her as she walks towards the door, she stops next to Ella.

"Come with us, Ella. You know my father well enough by now. He would have had his reasons. We should at least hear him out." With a sigh, she nods and takes my other arm and, leading me from Ella's room, the two women march me towards my room and the answers they seek.