First defenders

The Demon Lord’s castle had fallen, brought down by the same attack it had aimed towards Valebryn.

Everyone watched as its impenetrable defenses were shattered and its looming presence in the sky taken down.

The warriors of Valebryn cheered, but a few of them were more focused on their mysterious savior. The purple flames he emanated brought back dark, distant memories, along with the familiar sense of impending doom, leaving them wondering if this savior was truly on their side… or simply supplanting the initial calamity.

At the same time, the agents of Noctis felt powerless, seeing their leader fall from the sky. They had already resigned themselves to be swept along in the moment of destruction, fulfilled by their sacrifice in what looked like a guaranteed victory. But the sudden arrival of the unknown force dragged them through a rollercoaster of emotions. They immediately recognized the flames and the overwhelming presence of their long-fallen leader, the one their entire organization had been striving to bring back into the world. It lifted their spirits and gave them a second wind of motivation to fulfill their mission—but their supposed leader instead protected Valebryn and took down his own castle, and that was when they realized he wasn’t here for them.

As the crash of the Demon Lord’s castle echoed through the entire kingdom, the remaining forces of Noctis were easily wiped out by the newly invigorated warriors of Valebryn. The outcome of the battle was almost decided then and there, but the vengeful Demon Lady would not accept such an end.

Amidst the rubble of their skybound sanctum, the place where they had shared thousands of cherished memories, Hisora climbed out and gazed at the purple flame hovering above Valebryn. Despite the vast distance between them, Naoya’s eyes met hers, and neither of them dared to look away.

One was filled with vengeful hatred, hiding away her tears of longing.

The other held firm conviction, the same one he always had, but no longer did it look toward selfish ambitions.

Instead, he set his sights on the woman before him, determined to put an end to her endless anguish.

Both of them knew the battle had just begun.

…

Meanwhile, the inhabitants within the Silver Crown Palace tried to make sense of the events that had just transpired, unable to keep up with such a series of unexpected twists.

“Alright, can we actually confirm who that person really is?”

“I’m telling you all, it’s the Demon Lord! We need to prepare every defense now! Where’s Sir Valiansteel?”

“Are you blind, mate? He literally just protected us! There’s no need to panic if he’s not aiming anything towards us.”

“Your Highness, the warriors from the city report several Noctis agents surrendering to our forces. What will be our terms?”

“Everyone, shut up! This isn’t over yet!”

The King of Valebryn shouted at his subjects as a dark grey fire flared into life from the remains of the castle, and everyone’s jaws dropped at what happened next.

Several legions of soldiers, vastly outnumbering the initial army of Noctis, spawned before the grey flame. Their ranks consisted of battle-ready demons in all shapes and sizes. Some were mindless, ravenous beasts, eagerly waiting to be set loose, while others were brutish, armor-wearing giants reaching heights comparable to the walls surrounding Valebryn.

Everyone anxiously watched as another wave of invaders prepared to strike, more vicious and numerous than the last. Along with the damage from the previous battle and their dwindling resources, the recently improved morale of Valebryn’s protectors plummeted. All they could do was pick up their weapons once more and hold on to Sir Valiansteel’s promise, as the demons beyond their walls advanced toward each of the city’s four gates, covering every avenue of escape.

The army was relentless, their thunderous march echoing like a herald’s horn of despair. Toward their backlines, demon mages sent volleys of spells at the kingdom, aiming to demolish its stalwart walls. But none of their attacks reached the target. They simply vanished into thin air, and it did not take long before the reason was revealed.

A young woman with wavy blue hair, wearing a large hat and elegant robes, appeared at the city’s southern gate—the same area where the Demon Lord’s castle had fallen.

She soared upward as a blue streak of light, and the towering brutes within the enemy’s forces slowly rose into the air along with her.

With effortless movements, she shot a beam of prismatic light at her suspended targets, turning them all into frozen crystalline statues. She shattered these massive crystals into hundreds of thousands of deadly shards, and the moment she pointed her finger downward, the shards became a shimmering storm of death, smiting the countless swarm of invaders and steadily reducing their numbers.

A large portion of them managed to survive the Archmage’s attack and successfully breached the gates, quickly overwhelming the frontlines and showing no signs of slowing their advance, like a dark tide washing over the kingdom.

The remaining defenders, including those restored by the Canopy’s power, quickly gathered at important positions in the city, coordinated by the Silver Crown Palace. They fortified their defenses and created strategic walls to divert the enemy’s advance into more favorable angles. They completed their bulwarks just in time and prepared once again to face the onslaught of demons.

Around the Canopy of Names, even more fortifications had been set up, and the members of Cipher and Halo Unit regrouped to share updates on the situation.

“The Archmage has returned, and she is thinning down the enemy numbers from beyond the walls.”

Greta and Ana sighed with relief, and Astrea asked an interesting question to Captain Bellan.

“Where’s Naoya?”

The mention of his name caught Clara’s attention.

“He was spotted flying toward the northern gates and significantly fortifying its defenses. All the witnesses there reported a powerful Knight of the Aetheryn Order singlehandedly decimating the enemy forces pouring through, which freed them up to reinforce the other gates while he handled the northern areas by himself,” Captain Bellan said with a reassuring smile to the two girls.

“But… he’s evil, isn’t he? He’s the biggest evil of them all! Why is he doing that?” Clara asked, completely puzzled by what she heard, while Astrea simply looked down as tears began forming in her eyes.

Ana gave the two of them gentle headpats.

“I told you he wasn’t evil. He’s Shiranui Naoya, and he’s still the same kind, curious, and happy friend we’ve all known ever since we first met him.”

Clara’s confusion softened into mild, conflicting thoughts as she processed the princess’ words, and she looked up to find all her friends giving her reassuring smiles. Greta hugged Astrea as the latter began to sob, and all of them felt relieved that their worst fears were, in fact, untrue.

The communicators suddenly rang as another message from the Palace arrived.

“A large swarm is heading toward the Canopy. Any nearby available reinforcements, please hold the line.”

Astrea dried her eyes as they all shifted back into battle mode, preparing as the incoming demons charged at them.

But before the enemy could get close, something miraculous happened.

Everywhere across the kingdom, mythical spirit warriors made of pristine white marble and flowing liquid gold emerged from the ground, forming massive golden shields and stopping the enemy’s advance by knocking them away with overwhelming force.

More of these gilded spirits spawned everywhere, appearing just in time to save Valebryn’s warriors from peril. Using the liquid gold flowing around their marble bodies, these warriors formed weapons and effortlessly cut down hordes of demons, unyielding in their defense of the kingdom.

Everyone watched in awe as they witnessed the rebirth of Valebryn’s Eternal Thronewardens.

The defenders of the Canopy regained their spirits and fought alongside the gilded warriors, and as they did, they noticed chaos erupting on the enemy’s backline. The sound of a familiar buckshot cut through the battlefield, followed by hundreds of demon bodies and limbs flying through the air in a spray of dark blood. The Aetheryn Knights retreated toward the Canopy and stood at attention, patiently waiting for their leader’s return.

The buckshots and showers of body parts drew closer, and with a single slash of his blade, the demons before him were eviscerated—revealing the triumphant return of the Steelstorm Sheriff, Sir Valiansteel.

The Knights saluted their Prime Sentinel with tearful pride and gratitude, alongside the Royal Army’s Vanguards and the Faunite warriors from Jaruna.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, sheathing his katana. “I didn’t expect such a grand welcome from y’all.”

“We’re happy for your successful return, Sir Valiansteel. We all know the monumental journey you’ve been through to keep your promise,” Captain Bellan replied.

“Speaking of journey, how long has it been since I left?” he asked, scratching his thicker-than-usual beard.

“It’s been ten hours since you left, sir. And eight hours since the battle started.”

The man smiled, and with a short whistle, a beautiful horse appeared from the ground, made of the same marble and liquid gold as the Thronewardens. Its golden mane and tail flowed through the air as Sir Valiansteel climbed onto it and racked his shotgun.

“Good. So I still got the whole afternoon of killing demons ahead of me. Time to take this beaut for a ride.”

The horse buckled, and with tremendous force that shattered the ground, it leapt high into the air, heading toward the other gates of the kingdom.

…

Hisora watched as Valebryn bolstered its defenses, while hers slowly dwindled. Their stubborn resistance, Jaruna’s reinforcements, and the fact that Naoya had returned in their defense pushed her to the brink, and she finally decided to take care of things herself.

She teleported to the center of the city in a dark grey blaze, turning every living and non-living thing around her into ash, friend and foe alike. The Thronewardens, however, were unaffected, and they immediately turned on her after their initial targets had been scorched. Unfortunately for them, their insane resistance to any form of damage, combined with their immense strength and thousands of years of battle experience, was still no match against the superior magical prowess of the Demon Lady. They could do nothing as she closed her eyes, and their immaculate gilded forms exploded into a fountain of golden fury, just as she felt at that moment.

But before she could begin the complete decimation of Valebryn, a dark void of nothingness appeared behind her, as if the fabric of space itself had been carved out of the world. And in the blink of an eye, the Archmage herself popped into existence right in front of her, shoving her into the void and stitching reality back together, leaving her to forever wander the emptiness between realities.

Or so that was the plan.

After only a brief moment, a large grey scythe pierced through reality itself, ripping it apart to make way for Hisora’s return. But instead of the decimated surroundings of Valebryn, the first thing she saw when the tear opened was the twin barrels of a cold steel shotgun. She could not react fast enough before she caught a shot directly in the face, blowing her back into the void.

Now even more furious at their attempts to contain her, she quickly sliced an opening back to the real world with her scythe—this time moving to a different spot within the kingdom. But when she stepped through, she heard the voice of someone she had been expecting to see.

“So this is where your anger comes from…”

Hisora turned to the speaker, fighting back tears in her eyes.

“I sacrificed myself to save you and left you alone in this world. I came back, but I was different. And now, Valebryn must be punished for turning the Demon Lord—or rather, your husband—against you.”

She aimed her scythe at him, and he responded with a smile.

“How are you doing, Arisune?”