Siege of the Black Gates 2

After ensuring that the castle was hers and making arrangements with Schneizel to reinforce each other when needed, she and her vampire entourage began the journey back to the Black Gates. With flight, they were able to cross the ashlands to the gates. The sounds of fighting had gone silent and the once opened gates were now closed to any more foreign invaders. The paladins had done their job splendidly and with negligible casualties.

There were nine great metal gates spread across the canyon, each needing to be opened individually. Making it so that the breaching of one gate was recoverable. However this means that in the case of Jupiter coming to attack, the gates on his side of the canyon are defenseless. 18,000 men was enough to defend one side but they would need to fill in the gaps quickly with reinforcements. Luckily each gate came with magical cannons attached by the orcs after discovering them throughout the ashlands and reactivating them. Synthara noticed these cannons were similar to those of modern artillery. Could they possibly be leftovers from the old world that somehow survived? She swore she could have helped make some of those.

The undead have already taken up positions by their new fortifications after gathering the remains of the guards, muskets at the ready. Synthara revived the guards and added 5,000 more men and another Dark Paladin to her forces. On the top of the canyon was the command center where the gates were opened. After being satisfied with her defenses, she went there to get a nap before the attack came. She had a feeling she was not going to get one for a while.

Day 1

The Ougonites were thrown into a frenzy come morning, according to her scouts. The reinforcements that were supposed to be sent in today were all slaughtered by the Schneizel family. Reports from her vampire scouts say the Ougonites are putting together an army to besiege both Fort Lynch and the Black Gates. Meanwhile the next shipment of reinforcements arrived, adding 18,000 more men totalling 41,000, she could now comfortably defend both sides of the canyon. The reinforcements she sent by boat will take 5 days to arrive, so to prepare for their arrival, Synthara took 6,000 men, and 4 vampires to take the port city. They took it with minimal casualties, left behind the 6,000 men as a garrison, and returned to the gates. At night, more reinforcements arrived, bringing her total forces to 59,000.

Day 3

The Ougonites have besieged Fort Lynch and the Black Gates in large numbers. They seemed to have recalled their Qin expeditionary force and reports are coming in on how they’re recalling their Bolotnyy expeditionary force as well. Synthara conducted a sortie to drive off the besieging force of 100,000. They managed to inflict 5,000 casualties before being repelled by Augustus the Lawmaker, one of The Ultimatum’s imperial guard. We took 3,000 casualties. Our numbers at the end of the day totalled 74,000.

“Damn, what kind of power was that?” Synthara thought as she sat at the gate command center. It was as if some oppressive force made everything she did more taxing. Her men moved far more sluggishly and the amount of volleys they could do was cut in half. Was that his soul armament power? She managed to get a glimpse of the enemy commander. It was an elf with platinum blonde hair that wore a laurel wreath on his head and white-gold plate armor. In his hands was some sort of hammer, no, a gavel? Could his power involve laws somehow?

One of her vampires came in with a message. “The enemy commander wishes to parley tomorrow.”

Well now’s her chance.

Day 4

At noon, when the sun was at its highest, a red circle hidden beneath the ash clouds, Synthara and Augustus met each other with their bodyguards on the barren field before the gate. Both were out of range of their muskets and crossbows.

Augustus came with two of the angels that Synthara had fought back in Reido. Synthara came with two of her Dark Paladins. Their bodyguards stayed back at a respectful distance as the two commanders walked toward each other. They stopped a few paces away from each other, eyeing the other to gauge their strength.

Augustus spoke first. “Greetings, I am Emperor Augustus Romiel, ruler of the Ougonite Empire by the blessing of the Ultimatum and one of the Ultimatum’s imperial guards.

“I am Synthara, Goddess of Fire, Goddess of Magic, and patron deity of the Ragna Kingdom.”

“So you are the Synthara I've heard Jupiter mention in his reports, I must say you’re quite beautiful.”

Synthara giggled. “I appreciate the compliment, you would be surprised how little I get compliments regarding my appearance. I put so much effort into it.”

“Perhaps because it is not your appearance that's the most striking, but your aura, your power. You radiate immense, destructive power. The polar opposite of the Ultimatum who seeks to build.”

“Given that, you deign to show yourself before me? You’re quite brave.”

Augustus smiled mirthlessly. “I do, do you know what power the Ultimatum has bestowed upon me?”

“No.” Synthara frowned, this man must be confident if he’s willing to tell her how his power works.

“It's the ability to rewrite laws. I am able to rewrite the very laws that govern this world.”

Synthara scoffed.

“It has its limitations of course. But do you not wonder why your attack yesterday wasn't as effective as you thought? That was the world itself forbidding the injuring of my soldiers. Right now, in this very spot, the act of fighting and lying to each other is forbidden.”

Synthara knew when she surveyed the area with her strings for any magical activity.

“Of course, as I am sure you can guess, the laws I write apply to me as well. Nothing I have said is a lie.”

“Depending on how you word the law, you can be quite sneaky with your wording I bet.”

August stayed silent.

“My, that's quite a deadly power you’ve got. Almost like that of a god. So why are you here then? If you have such overwhelming power, why bother with parley?”

“Because I am offering you the chance to surrender.”

Synthara laughed, a sweet yet mocking thing. “So you can execute me later? You’re quite funny for a lawyer.”

Augustus hesitated, as if he was not sure if he should say what he was about to say. “In this space, only the two of us can hear our words. No magical senses and such are able to defy this law. With that in mind, I will say that I do not intend to execute you, in fact I bear you no ill will at all. I believe that the empire has made a terrible mistake in starting this costly war. I would like to count you as one of my allies when I overthrow the Ultimatum. I believe the Ultimatum is a scourge on the empire that must be dealt with. My dream of a truly united and prosperous Ougonite Empire cannot happen while under the Ultimatum’s fist. If you accept my offer, I will keep you somewhere safe until the time is right and have the Ultimatum believe you are dead.”

Synthara was not too surprised that this man had his own ulterior motives but to organize a coup against his own god? Perhaps this man was not a dull stick in the mud lawyer after all.

“You might not be lying now, but what guarantee do I have that you won't betray me later?”

“My Soul Armament, Lex Malleo, also allows me to create a Geass, a binding vow between two individuals. Should any one break the terms of the geass, the offender will die on the spot. Their soul will be completely destroyed, unable to reach any sort of afterlife. Both parties must consent of their own free will. If either party does not fully understand the terms of the agreement or is otherwise currently compromised in their decision making, the spell will not work. Does that reassure you?”

“Say this plan works and the Ultimatum is dead. What now? You still have me and other rival gods threatening your land and you just killed your greatest source of power.”

“I have you.”

“You want me to become the new Ultimatum, is that it? Under your control of course.”

August looked straight into Synthara’s eyes. “No, we’ll become the new Ultimatum. I want to marry you.”

“Huh?” Synthara’s mouth dropped.

“Yes, it is exactly as I have said. Together we will become the new ruling dynasty of Ougon.”

“Y-You do know what kind of goddess I am right? Won't your people refuse to acknowledge me as their ruler? The god they have been told was evil and threatened to destroy the world for their entire existence!?"

“I can rehabilitate your reputation by revealing that the entire Cult of the Ultimatum is against the people of Ougon’s interests and has been lying to them since its inception. Rest assured I will do everything in my power to protect you from slander.” Augustus’ long platinum hair blew in the breeze. His eyes filled with resolve and truth. Synthara sensed that there might have been more behind his proposal rather than just pragmatic gain.

Synthara could not help but blush. No one’s ever said they wanted to marry her. She would be getting a lot out of this deal. “H-How exactly do you plan to carry this coup out?”

“I cannot tell you until you accept my offer.”

Synthara frowned as she thought for a moment. It was a tempting offer, if she could convince Augustus to organize the killing of Jupiter, she would be able to restore some of her power. Then she could use her black flames to break the agreement with no consequence if she wished. It was a good plan, but it does not account for the fact that the action of killing a Demon King would be immediately known to the other three due to all of them possessing pieces of the Throne within them. It was something that was known only among the four of them as far she knows. There was no way to fool Aeturnus regarding her death.

She didn't want to admit it, but she also thought about what it would be like to be married. In her old life, men only wanted one thing from her, and she wanted the same in return. Nothing more. Marriage was just a distraction from her true passion. Not to mention that she’s loath to have children and was reluctant to damage her good looks with pregnancy.

Yet, this Augustus did not seem like a bad man. He was handsome, rich, powerful, and he seemed to genuinely want what's best for her country. If his powers are to be believed, then everything he has said was not a lie. But would they even be compatible? She doesn't know this man at all and yet she’s supposed to devote her entire being just to him? Familial bonds weren't exactly something Synthara put much stock in. But this time she would be the one choosing her family.

Synthara was at a crossroads, does she continue her path of conquest, slaughter, and godhood?

Or does she settle down and become an empress with this handsome elf?

The little girl within her she thought died decades ago was pulling her towards the latter path.

While her current ideal self pushed her to the former path.

Synthara imagined the little girl and the path to familial bondage being burnt to ash.

Marriage was not a thing witches do.

She locked eyes with Augustus. “I refuse.”

Augustus looked almost sad. “I see. Then we shall meet again, on the field of battle. If reason will not sway you, then the unyielding force of the law shall.”

At the end of the day, Synthara’s force increased to 92,000.