Machinations

Sitting down in the king's antechamber, the atmosphere weighs down heavily on us as we wait in silence. With a sigh, the king gets up from his chair and paces around the room.

"This move by the Demon King has thrown everything into chaos! With the federation moving to attack the demon lands, we have no choice but to go with them or miss our window to fight the Demon King with a united front. I heard from the Noble demonic families as well. They are marching to the Hall of the Damned to stop him." Stirring in her chair, Ella leans back and looks over at the king.

"How long until they arrive at the Hall?"

"A few days at most. We won't even have the key formed for another two!" Getting up from my seat, I move over to Elias and look down at this tactic table before speaking.

"Is there anyway we can get a force to the Hall of the Damned to try to delay the assault? To buy us enough time to finish the key and get it there?"

"No. I will head there myself to try to convince them in person. The mages will carry on binding the key. Once it is done, I will get them to transport by magic directly to me . What I need is support from everyone in this room." Taking a seat, he pulls out a sheet of parchment and begins writing a letter.

"Hannah, can you take this letter to the adventurers' guild and ensure they are ready? The skills their members possess will be incredibly valuable in the upcoming battle. IF you pass this on to the Guild Master, he should know what to do." Taking the letter from the king, she rolls it up and heads for the door.

"No problem. I'll be back once it's done."

"Thank you." As the door closes behind us, Elias turns to look at Ella.

"Any luck contacting the Fenrir?"

"No. I sent a message to someone who could reach out, but I haven't heard. Also, there's something we need to discuss." At her solemn tone, a tired shadow crosses Elias' face.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I took Oscar to the Window of the Soul this morning."

"Oh. And what was the verdict?"

"I am not sure how to say this." As she fumbles for words, I step forward.

"It exploded." At my words, Ella hangs her head and puts her hand over her eyes.

"Tactful Oscar."

"It exploded? How in the hell did that happen?" Looking at me, Ella gestures for me to explain.

"Well, when I went to put my hand on it, there was a voice saying that it wouldn't allow me to reveal myself, and then it kinda just. Went. Boom." Watching the color drain from Elias's face, he slumps in his chair.

"Eleven generations. We have possessed that for eleven generations. A gift from the goddess herself and a national treasure, and it is now gone. Surely you Jest. How can it just explode?"

"There is more to Oscar than meets the eye, it seems, Elias. Whilst I know this comes as a shock, we also need to deal with the Hall of the Damned as well as the loss of this nation's national treasure."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Just the three of us."

"Keep it that way. If word got out, it would be devastating to the people. They have enough to worry about already." Taking out another piece of parchment, he writes, muttering eleven generations under his breath every once in a while. Finally finishing the letter, he hands it to Ella.

"See if you can get this to the Fenrir. As one of the oldest races, they may be able to apply some pressure to the federation to stop what is already in motion. But I refuse to put all my hopes on that." Still a pasty shade of white, he turns and looks at me.

"Seen as you just destroyed an ancient treasure that has saved countless lives and our nation more times in history than I can count, you are coming with me." Getting up from his seat, he heads towards the door and gestures for me to follow. As we walk out the door into the throne room, Ella leans forward and gives me a kiss before heading off on her own. Walking to the throne, Elias buckles on his sword before leading me out into the castle.

"Where are we going?"

"To see someone, I wish I did not have to. But I am desperate. And we have little choice but to rely on people we would not otherwise associate with. I suspect you know a little something about that." Nodding as I recall times when I had to cut deals with criminals in order to bring their bosses to justice, I sigh.

"Don your weapons and armor, Oscar. I do not know what to expect." Equipping my gear as we walk, I follow the king deeper into the castle grounds and out towards an area past the training grounds I've never been to before. Arriving at a door set into the wall, he stops.

"Before we enter here, Oscar, I need you to know one thing. Whatever happens here and whatever deal I make, I do it for the good of this kingdom. I just need you to know that."

"Don't worry, Elias. I've made my fair share of deals over the years I wished I didn't have to. The bigger picture and all that. You don't need to justify yourself to me." Giving me a reassuring smile, he inserts a key into the lock and turns it with a loud knock. Pushing the door open, we step into a small alcove overlooking an arena-shaped area. Standing in the middle, a woman dressed in black leather test swings a single-edged thin longsword. Happy with it, she gestures to someone I can't see from our position. Watching the doors to the alcoves nearby open, I take a step forward as monsters come pouring out. Stopping me with a hand, Elias gestures for me to watch. Moving with the speed of lightning, she cuts a bloody path through the creatures, landing lightly on her feet. Swinging her sword, she clears the blood off it and looks up towards the king and me. Her yellow eyes glowing with amusement.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the mighty King Elias. Come down from on high to join us here in the pits of hell. You must be desperate, my liege, to come here." Taking a step forward, Elias looks down at the woman.

"It's been a long time, Abigail. How fares the underworld?" Gesturing around at the stadium.

"How do you think? This used to be the pinnacle of entertainment until the aristocracy decided there was no more enjoyment to be had watching commoners beat themselves to death anymore." Pointing her sword towards the king, a dark look crosses her face.

"Whatever you came for, Elias, turn and walk away. I want no part of it. I rose from the ashes of this place and became its queen. Your authority has no place here. Walk away." Leaping from the wall before I can stop him, his cloak flies off and he lands lightly on the dusty ground below. Drawing his blade, he points it back towards her.

"Would that I could, Abigail. But whether you want a part of it or not is not up to you. You will help because you still cannot beat me in a fight." Brandishing her blade, she wastes no time and launches towards the king with blinding speed, appearing next to him in an instant. Swinging his blade to meet hers, the shockwave ruffles my clothes from the blades impacting. Stepping up to the edge, I watch as the King of the kingdom and the Queen of the Underworld clash blades. In the pale light of the arena, their blades flash in the dust, and for a moment both take a few steps back, creating some distance between them. Hefting their blades, they begin to circle one another, neither willing to make the first move. It was like I was watching one of those old movies where the two gifted swordsmen fight and neither gives ground. As their stances shift, the wind blows across the arena, swirling the dust around, and a heavy feeling settles over me. Looking around the edge of the arena, I see shadows moving. Faster than any normal human could, and converging towards the center. Leaping from the ledge, Aetheris comes to my hand, and I remove a silver bullet, throwing it into the sky above Elias and Abigail.

"Aces High." As the shot from the white gun in my hand rings out, lightning rains down from the sky and stops the assassins in their tracks, meters from the pair in the center. Landing heavily, I pull Thorne from its holster and let shots off, felling more demons as I get to my feet and make my way to the king. Stopping next to him as the wind kicks up, creating a wall of dust, the three of us fall into a triangle pattern, each person holding a different angle.

"Elias, how do you want to handle this?" As a demon comes running out of the dust, I put an end to it.

"We need to leave. Abigail, can you get us to the door?"

"What have you dragged me into, Elias? I swear to the gods, if we get out of this alive, I will make you regret getting me involved."

"I already do. Now, we need to go." Reaching over, she taps me on the shoulder and gestures to the opposite side of the arena from where we dropped in.

"You. Were moving in that direction. Bring up the rear." Falling in line behind Elias and Abigail as she leads us across the arena, we shoot and slash demons as they appear from the cloud of dust. Finally reaching a wall, I slide a round out of Aetheris and toss it into the sky, taking aim with it again.

"Aces high." As the bullets collide, a whirlwind bursts forth, blowing the dust away. Standing in front of us, a handful of demonic assassins' stalk towards us with curved blades.

"Get the door open, I'll take care of this." Walking forward, I place both guns together into a cross, letting the power build inside of me for a moment. Leaping into the air, I activate it.

"Akimbo!" twisting my body lets out a hailstorm of bullets. Landing heavily in the center of the demons as they collapse, I fall to one knee and lean down heavily as the backlash from the spell immobilizes me for a moment. Panting heavily, I look up as a lone demon, pulling itself from the bodies of its comrades. Walking over to me, it yells, and the blade comes whistling down, disappearing in a flash of black. Bending down, Abigail wipes the blade clean on the demon's clothes before helping me to my feet with one hand.

"Backlash from the spell?"

"Yeah."

"You Outliers. You are powerful; I will give you that, but that backlash. It will get you killed one day. Frankly, I am surprised it hasn't already." Finally finding my feet, I lean on her as we walk through the door.

"It almost has. Thanks for the assist." Letting me go to lean against the wall, she shoves the door closed with Elias. Turning on him the second the door closes, she hits him over the head.

"You are an imbecile. Demon's Elias, really? What took you so long to come and get me?"

"You know why."

"Ooh. Our father would be turning in his grave if he could see you now."

"Wait! She's your sister?" Turning to Elias in disbelief, he shrugs.

"It is a complicated story."

"Wha…whe… how?" Looking between Elias and Abigail, I lose my ability to speak.

"Never mind that outlier. A tale for another time. Let's go, Elias. You have some explaining to do." Following the two of them into the tunnel and up some stairs, I shake my head in disbelief as we emerge out into the daylight of the castle with more questions than I had before we went into the arena.