Year 2: The Fire Burns - Chapter 1

Four months had passed since the Summoned Heroes arrived in Aangapea.

With the beginning of their fifth month, tensions and anxieties among the heroes were higher than ever.

All of them knew that there was at least one traitor among their ranks; no one spoke of it in a tone louder than a whisper, but many fingers were being pointed and some friendships were ready to break.

Knowing this, King Alexander decided to take a rash and very dangerous path to resolving the crisis.

Though it’s a bit early and our preparations aren’t finished, it’s better than what we have right now.

On the first day of the fifth month, King Alexander greeted the heroes in the dining room that morning, with their instructors, the other monarchs and some knights, to issue them their new assignment for the week.

“This time, you will all travel together to a single place,” he explained. “Two days ago, we received a panicked message from a spy deep within the Demon Empire; they told us that a great host of demons and undead were preparing to assault us from the south-east and that we’d best prepare. By some good fortune, one of our allied defence camps, run by Commander Leomare Shimta, is right near to where the invasion force is meant to penetrate our defences.

“For this month’s assignment, you are all to work with Commander Leomare to defend the west and repel the invaders. Do not fear though, for your instructors will be going with you. Not only that, but my eldest daughter, Alicent, shall be coming with you to help with the logistic side of things. Of course.” He puffed up his chest. “That means many of the knights of Rhodes will accompany you too, so have no fear, my friends! Lord Akechi, if you would hand out the envelopes.”

***

Except you haven’t told them everything, King Alexander, Princess Hiiragi thought, maintaining a perfect, expressionless face while he spoke. On the surface, they are all going to perform the same roles, but there are inconsistencies in the documents we’ve provided them. Each set contains different guard patrol routes and times, each places certain items and storehouses in different locations, and you didn’t mention the adventurers and mages travelling in secret with them.

As the teams opened their envelopes one by one, the princess studied their reactions closely.

Their expressions and body languages varied greatly, but no one revealed anything.

They’re keeping their guard up…or is there something else we’re missing?

While the invasion from the east is a lie, we’ve taken lots of precautions in the event that the Demon Empire does attack the camp - Leomare knows this and has prepared appropriate countermeasures and defences.

So, why do I feel so unsettled by this?

***

“Wow,” Duncan inadvertently mumbled as their carriage approached the outskirts of the camp.

War camps were something he had grown used to seeing, in particular the one that sat not too far from the front gates of Rhodes, but Leomare’s camp was far larger than any he’d ever seen.

Stretching for miles and miles around the hills, valleys and rivers of the grassy plains, the camp seemed to have no end or beginning. From a distance, they could hear the sounds of soldiers training, the metallic boots of patrols marching and the crowds of people talking. Temporary watch towers, both made of wood and stone, had been set up across the camp, great siege weapons lying atop them. There were two stone walls, one small one surrounding the entire expanse of the camp and a taller one behind it, and a ditch in front of each wall.

As the heroes’ carriages approached, they were welcomed like royals.

Music was played, cheers cried out, many dropped to their hands and knees in reverence, and many praised them for their efforts.

“I’m guessing stories of us have passed all across alliance territory,” Stephanie mused. “I wonder if they capture me perfectly.”

“No bard could truly capture you, Sister Stephanie.”

“Aw, thank you, Feng Li! If I didn’t already have someone I liked, I’d probably have fallen for you.”

“Whilst flattering to hear, I am more interested in learning whom it is you hold affections for.”

“Eh?!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Brenda joined in. “Come on, Steph.” She elbowed her friend. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“S-shut up!” Stephanie turned red, huffed and crossed her arms. “I-it was a joke, a joke…a joke.”

“Liar.”

“Hmph.”

Brenda couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s cute, if terrible, resistance to teasing.

The others inside their carriage, however, were less talkative.

Dao Chen remained a mystery and she didn’t once gaze at her party members whilst they talked, Blake glared daggers at Dao Chen for she believed she was a traitor, while Duncan didn’t want to think about anything at all.

…If one of these guys was the traitor, I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself.

“Oh, is that where we’ll be staying?”

Duncan lazily turned to see where Brenda was pointing and saw a large, old manor house atop a hill towards the centre of the camp.

It too, like the camp around it, was protected by walls and towers, though they were less impressive in size and craftsmanship.

“The Rivers House.”

“Sister Stephanie?”

“That’s what it’s called, the Rivers House,” she said. “Hundreds of years ago, there was a great battle here, the Battle of the Ardma Rivers, where some commoner captain took charge of an army and repelled an enemy one twice their size. In honour of his service, the commoner was made a viscount, given the land he’d defended with his life and made a noble. That estate we’re staying at was something he and his men built.

“The Rivers the house’s name refers to comes from the fact that there are eighteen different rivers that converge in the small lake at the far end of his territory. Well, that’s what the history books I found say.”

“…You really looked all this up?” Brenda asked.

“Yep. What? I was curious and we had a bit of time on our hands before we departed.”

“We had six hours.”

“Plenty of time.”

“So, does that captain’s family still live in that house to this day?”

“Sadly, no,” Stephanie said. “The captain’s grandson couldn’t produce any heirs, so his line died out. Nowadays, the Rivers House is left as a bit of a historic sight like a castle back on Earth; ever since the war started though, it’s been a rallying point for the Free People’s Alliance and it’s where all of us very important people get to stay while we’re at the commander’s camp.”

***

Shortly after they arrived at the Rivers House, Commander Leomare gave them a brief welcoming speech, directed them to the most senior members of staff and then promptly escorted Princess Alicent and her ladies in waiting to their quarters. The heroes were shown to their team’s bedrooms by the butlers who helped them unpack.

Once that was done, the heroes didn’t have anything else to do other than explore. One or two chose to go off on their own, but most stuck to their teams.

Well, there was no way we could ever convince Dao Chen or Talon to stay with the rest of us, Duncan thought as Kayleigh pulled on his shirt sleeve.

“You okay?”

“…Yeah, I think.”

“You think? What’s wrong?”

Duncan let out a small chuckle. “What isn’t?” From the top of the estate’s battlements, they could see nothing but the camp for miles and miles. “It’s…insane, to think that this is real.”

“…Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“How many people are there here?”

“A hundred thousand, probably a bit more than that if you add in the non-combatants…maybe more if reinforcements arrive,” Kayleigh said, smiling a little. “I never thought I’d see something like this outside of a fantasy movie.”

“Me too…which is why this scares me.”

“…Yeah.”

“What, you’re scared too?”

Kayleigh raised an eyebrow, slightly offended by Duncan’s comment. “What? I’m human, war’s never going to be an exciting thing in real life.”

“Hajime was pretty pumped about it, once upon a time.”

“Yeah, and look where that got him.”

“I can still hear the sound of his bones breaking, but that’s not what you came up here to talk to me about, is it?”

Kayleigh solemnly shook her head. “Sorry.”

“…Don’t be. No matter how much I don’t want to believe it, I can’t keep running away from reality, both the war and the traitor…do you have an idea who it is?”

“No, but I think we’ll find out before the end of the night.”

“…Why?”

“I discussed this with Akane.” She handed him a tightly folded piece of paper. “Don’t read it here, keep it in your breast pocket and read it when you’re alone in your bedroom, or just lock yourself in a bathroom and do it there. Either way, don’t let anyone else see that note.”

***

Differences in our documents?!

Duncan didn’t believe it at first, but then he saw the information Kayleigh had written down about the patrols and realised hers was different to what his documents said.

…I see, that’s why Kayleigh thinks they’ll catch the traitor tonight. It’s the perfect opportunity and a well laid trap - I imagine no one but Kayleigh and Akane would’ve thought to confirm the specific details among the group. Everyone else would’ve just accepted what they saw and assumed everyone had the same information.

“Duncan,” Kayleigh’s memo continued. “Akane and I agree that we should do our own guard rotations as well, just in case someone does try something. Tonight, I'll be heading to Hajime’s room to convince him to do the same, but don’t say anything to anyone just yet, especially if you don’t think you can trust them. Worst case scenario, we three alone will do the job.”

***

“Hey, Hajime, do you-? Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you weren’t alone.”

“Fear not, Akane.” Amen smiled. “We are not doing anything inappropriate.”

“Of course, we aren’t!” Hajime protested, before sighing. “Also, Amen, we’re in my room, so do you need to have the window open?”

“Why not? The gentle night air is quite relaxing and-”

“Cold! Very, very cold! If you want the window open, go back to your room.”

“I suppose I must.” Amen closed the window and shook his head. “I am all but alone in my enjoyment of the night air.”

“Duncan quite likes it,” Kayleigh said.

“I feel Duncan prefers the company that comes with the territory more.”

***

“Yve.”

“What, Hailey?”

“What if…no, never mind.”

“What, what? Cat got your tongue? If you’d prefer, I could get your-I’m sorry, I’ll never make those sorts of jokes again.” Yve sat on the bed beside Hailey. “What’s wrong? You’ve been rather down as of late.”

“…Have I? I…didn’t even notice.”

“Hmm, yet you wanted to talk to me about something, right? What?”

“It’s…nothing.”

“You sure?”

Hailey nodded, then put her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Just…let me stay like this, for a little bit.”

Yve smiled and stroked her friend’s head. “Stay as long as you want.”

***

“I definitely saw some walking around the camp!” Liam exclaimed.

“Really?!”

“Really.”

“Yes! Alright, lads, we need to head out at once and-”

“No!”

“Adrien?”

“No more!” The young boy stood up with a rare, angry look in his eyes. “For too long, I’ve been dragged into your idiotic schemes and branded a perv! No more. I’m going to tell Blake on all of you and watch you burn at the stake!”

“Traitor!”

“Betrayer!”

“Y-yeah, maybe I shouldn’t use the word traitor, but still!”

“Shut up, Kavi, Gati! I’m going!”

“Lads, he’s serious, stop him! Stop him like your life depends on it!” Liam ordered.

“It does!” The other two cried back.

***

“Gabriel?”

“Hey, Ewan.”

“Why are you here?”

“Honestly…I’d rather be anywhere but here.”

“…Nice, so now that we’ve established that-”

Gabriel put his foot in the door, stopping Ewan from shutting it.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Whatever it is, I’m not interested.”

“Even if it has to do with who you really are?”

“…What?”

Gabriel thinly smiled. “Still don’t want to talk?”

***

“I miss my cats.”

“I miss them too, because it kept you from clinging to me like this, Fala,” Elysa lightly complained, awkwardly trying to untangle herself from her teammate. “Where’s Stephanie when you need her.”

“Cats…”

“Please, just fall asleep and dream about them instead.”

“You smell like them.”

“That’s because they insist on marking all of my clothes whenever I visit you.”

“Roxy…Nala…mother misses you.”

***

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Duncan rolled over on the grassy hill and saw Stephanie standing behind him, wearing her pyjamas and carrying a small lantern.

“Sort of…you?”

Stephanie smiled warmly and sat down beside him. “Something like that.” She curled into a ball and titled her head to look into his eyes. “You haven’t been yourself lately, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Thanks, but…I’m fine, I think.”

Then, she flicked him on the forehead.

“Ow! What’d you-?”

“If!” She thrust a finger into his face right before his eyes. “You can only think you’re fine, then you’re not!”

“Really?”

“Probably.”

“At least say it with conviction.”

Stephanie giggled, shifting herself closer to Duncan, leaving just a few inches between their bodies. “This is kind of nostalgic.”

“How so?”

“I mean, back on our first assignment, after we fought those bandits, you came to find me when I was feeling depressed, so I thought I’d return the favour. Or at least try to. I don’t know what’s been bothering you specifically, but I can take a good guess and I hope…you aren’t thinking what I think you are. If you are.” She put her hand on top of his. “It’s not me and I don’t think it’s anyone on our team.”

“…Neither do I, but-”

“But you keep thinking about the What if scenarios and that scares you, doesn’t it?” Duncan’s silence was the only answer she needed. “Duncan, I can only say what I know and ask that you believe me - I can’t make the little dark thoughts in the back of your mind stop tormenting you, but I can at least be beside you to help you get through them.” She interlocked their fingers together and squeezed his hand gently. “It’s okay if you don’t say anything; sometimes, all you really need is just a good friend beside you to remind you you’re not alone.”

Duncan’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he put his head against hers. “Thank you, Steph.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“…So, correct me if I’m wrong here.”

“Yes?”

“But I’m the guy you like, right?”

Stephanie froze.

Then, she instantly turned red and started sweating profusely.

“H-huh?!”

She tried to break free of his grasp, but Duncan didn’t let go. Defeatedly and through repeated, weak denials, she sat back down and whispered, “Yeah…idiot.”

Duncan laughed, making her jab him in the side. “Ow.”

“Don’t laugh at a maiden’s feelings.”

“Sorry, here. Let me make it up to you.”

Duncan put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her on her lips.

At first, Stephanie didn’t respond to the kiss until she realised what had happened; then, she closed her eyes and kissed him back.

After a few seconds, the two separated and both look shyly at one another.

“That’s my answer, Steph.”

“…You better not be playing with my heart.”

***

“I like this plan,” Hajime said.

“I’m glad you approve.”

“Still, I wish you’d consult with me first sometimes rather than Akane.”

“…Sorry.”

“I-it’s fine, I know she’s more dependable and smarter than me, so-”

“You’re my friend, Hajime; I shouldn’t keep things like this from you,” Kayleigh whispered, clutching her arm.

“Don’t worry about it.” He patted her shoulder. “I’ll head to Akane’s room and tell her that I’ll take the first night’s watch.”

“Thank you. Then, until tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.”

Hajime then walked to Akane’s room, knocked and found the weary woman inside, dressed in pyjamas.

“Sorry, were you getting ready for bed?”

“I was.” Akane yawned. “Doesn’t matter. Did Kayleigh talk to you?”

“Yeah, and I’ll be the first one on night duty.”

“Ok. I see you’ve got your Divine Artifact already, but no armour?”

“Not yet,” Hajime said awkwardly. “Amen was in my room and I wasn’t about to strip in front of him.”

“Of course not, not when you’re my betrothed.”

“Are you still going to tease me about that?! I said all that in the heat of the moment back at the mountains!”

Akane giggled. “I know, but I must admit you showed me quite the manly display that day. Father would have tried to make you my suitor there and then.”

“I get chills just thinking about it. Right, of course.” Hajime chuckled bitterly. “Even if I didn’t have the night duty tonight, I’d still not be able to get any sleep.”

“Where did that bold enthusiasm just go?”

“It’s not my fault! Amen was in my room and he opened the damn windows again! God, honestly, I don’t understand him. I mean, does he really need them open every single night?! Does he not get cold?”

“…Wait a minute.” Akane’s tone turned as did the expression on her face. “When was Amen in your room?”

“Huh? About ten-fifteen minutes ago, why?”

Unbeknownst to Hajime, Akane’s brain was firing off a million cylinders at once, even though she herself did not know why at that precise second.

The documents.

The time of each patrol.

Their route.

Who they protect.

When.

Where.

What.

The windows - he’s always opened them, but why?

Why were there no footprints?

Why was it that there was no obvious moment where someone could have snuck into the king’s office?

“…Shit.”

Akane quickly grabbed her Divine Artifact, some shoes and ran out of the room, swearing loudly as she ran; a confused Hajime chased after her.

“Akane?! What’s wrong?”

“Amen! Amen’s what’s wrong!”

“What?!”

“The chains! If I’m right, he’s not going to be in his room.”

Akane didn’t hestitate to blow the door clean off its hinges with her hammer, intentionally using the lightning generated within to create even more noise.

“What are you doing?!”

“Hopefully putting the whole estate on high alert,” Akane said, stepping inside Amen’s room. “Empty, I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“It’s him, he’s the traitor!”

***

Alarm bells rang from the north-east watch tower.

“Commander Leomare, an undead army has been spotted closing in on our position!”

“…So, it’s begun,” the lizardman said, putting on the last piece of his armour. “Sound the alarm but tell the men not to panic. They are to remain at their posts and only the reserves are to move freely. If anyone violates this order, I shall personally execute them.”

“Commander?!”

“The Demon Emperor wants panic; he craves it like a ravenous beast. Deny him it and he will eventually die. Do not disobey my orders if you wish to see the sun rise again.”

***

“The forty-thousand undead are advancing hastily, as you instructed, your majesty.”

“Good. Now, go forth, Mímir, and scout ahead; open a portal at the location your spy designated and wait for my arrival.”

***

Akane couldn’t find a trace of where Amen went and dashed towards the only place she thought logical for him to have gone; the princess’s quarters.

“Why is it Amen?”

“I don’t know, but think about it,” Akane said. “Remember what King Alexander said about there being no footprints inside his office and how not a single guard let an intruder pass? We ruled out the high window because no human could reach it without making a lot of noise, but what about if a human didn’t but an object did?”

“…Gleipnir.”

“Gleipnir is not easy to fight with,” Amen had told them.

“We’ve seen what Amen can do with those chains. We’ve seen that they’ve got quite the reach and length, and we know he’s been practicing hard with them to perfect his abilities. If he’s managed to find a way of manipulating them with great precision, then he could use the chains to unlock the window, sneak one or two of them in through there and reach the desk that way.”

“But he’d have to know what the king’s room looked like or had someone spotting for him.”

“The Demon Emperor has many spies, both humanoid and animal; they could have guided him inside.”

“But we’d have noticed him talking to someone at night!”

“Unless he never said a word and only a small creature did so in his ear, like a spider or a fly,” Akane said. “It’s a lot of conjecture, I know, but it fits. Why else would he have needed the window open every night? He told us his reasons and we believed him, but that might be a well-crafted lie used to divert our attention away from his actions. Hajime, let me ask you this - did you ever see if his hand was hanging outside the window or not?”

“…He always had them on the windowsill or hanging outside,” Hajime muttered.

They reached the princess’s quarters and found a bloody sight.

Bruised and battered corpses, the door ripped clean off the walls and the window in the far room that led into a private courtyard had been broken.

The two charged through, quickly searching for survivors but found none, before pursuing their quarry through the window.

As they stepped outside, they saw it - the sight that confirmed their worst fears.

Wrapped tightly in bloodied chains were three women, two maids and King Alexander’s eldest daughter, Lady Alicent.

Her attendants and guards were scattered across the grassy courtyard, some drenched in blood while others looked only to be unconscious.

Standing above them with a polite smile was the traitor - gleefully, he turned and greeted them.

“Good evening, Hajime, Akane.”

“Amen, you-”

“I know, surprising, isn’t it?” Amen laughed at his former friend’s confusion, tugging on the chains, making Alicent cry out in agony. “Did either of you ever expect this, I wonder? Hajime probably wouldn’t have ever considered it, but Akane.” When he saw her shaken expression, his smile faded. “It would seem you failed to consider me a candidate for the traitor.”

“Of course, I did; it didn’t make sense,” she argued. “You, of all people, who saw what men like the Demon Emperor were capable off back on Earth. You told me, you told Hajime, you told everyone what you saw, why you accepted Harmonia’s offer, why you fight.” Akane narrowed her eyes. “To think you would lie about such-”

“I didn’t lie about anything I saw, Akane.” Amen took one step towards them, slightly dragging his hostages with him. “I did see those things. I saw the rich, the influential, the famous, I saw them all do whatever they wanted and brush it all under the rug. Whenever they were caught, it was okay if it was them, for their wealth and status allowed them to barter for lessened sentences or to avoid any real consequences at all.

“There were rarely months that passed without a least one horrid incident like that playing out on the streets. It happened so often I grew accustomed to it, grew numb to it and eventually…well.” Amen chuckled. “I imagine you might understand it, Hajime.”

“W-what?”

“When we’ve spoken before, you told me how you envied the others, how jealous you were of their strength, their wisdom, their courage. How even on Earth, you admired those heroes in the books you read and the games you played, and the people you idolised back on Earth. Your uncle, was it?” Hajime’s blood ran cold. “The great firefighter who always did his best and encouraged you to do the same.”

“…Don’t you dare talk about him.”

Amen laughed. “Forgive me, but I meant no disrespect. If anything, I’m glad to see you’re still striving towards that ideal even now. But we both know that feeling, don’t we? When we see the people we idolised, the elation that follows and the desire to be just like them.”

Amen met his gaze with a ghastly, full smile and said, “That’s how I felt when I saw those bastards.”

Seven chains sliced through the courtyard at lightning speed, nearly splitting the two heroes in half. Both were just about fast enough to dodge them, but they’d been separated and neither of them were in their armour, putting them at a great disadvantage.

To make matters worse, Amen was wearing his and he had hostages.

One wrong move and we’re dead! Hajime’s whole body screamed at him.

“When I saw those bastards get away with everything, I was so jealous of them. I envied them so much that I wanted to become just like them - an untouchable, an infallible man, a being so great that the world itself would bend and break itself to work around me,” Amen said softly. “Harmonia’s offer was a tempting one, I cannot deny that, but the title of hero is more burdensome than I anticipated.”

“…No wonder why I didn’t find your actions suspicious,” Akane whispered. “In the beginning, you really were our friend and comrade.”

“But of course. Even now, I do still consider you two friends, though comrades we shall never be.” Amen chuckled. “Alas, both of you are too righteous to truly grasp the benefits and real power of status. The Demon Emperor, however, does. He knows exactly what he’s capable of, what he can do and that no one can stop him, not even thirty of us!

“To top it off, he has an empire to call his own, a grand castle filled with beautiful women that serve him on their hands and knees, multiple wives and unmatched, raw strength. Is there anything else in this whole world more enviable than that?”

“You…bastard!” Hajime roared, spinning Tonbogiri a few times and shifting himself into a battle stance.

“Hajime, don’t!”

“I know, I know, but-!”

“I feel your frustration, but do not charge recklessly!” Akane gripped Ukonvasara tightly with both hands. “Now that Amen has betrayed us, he will want to impress his new master and the heads of two of the remaining heroes would be a worthy present for the Demon Emperor.”

Amen smiled and brandished Gleipnir, his chains still wrapped tightly around his hostages. “If you were to both throw down your Divine Artefacts, I would be willing to spare your lives and guarantee the safety of these hostages. Of course, you would have to come with me to the Dread Keep where Lady Mania would turn you both into Awoken.”

“As tempting as your offer is, go to hell!” Hajime bellowed.

“Ah, Hajime, to think the day would come when you would yell at me like that. I thought that we were friends.”

“So did I! However.” Hajime stared daggers at Amen. “You’re scum.”

“A shame. I would have liked to keep you both alive. It’s a shame but.” Chains soared from Gleipnir. “I’ll simply have to settle for your heads.”