Year 2: The Fire Burns - Chapter 2

Hey guys, TheGrompFather here - before reading this chapter of The Children of Eris, please do have a quick look at my entry for the Honeyfeed x YOASOBI writing contest 'The Cat' and let me know what you think of it. It's very short, unlike most of the stuff I write on here, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

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The Rivers House estate was awake in the dead of night.

Occupants had either been roused by the alarm bells coming from the camp or from Akane’s explosive destruction of Amen’s bedroom door.

Duncan and Stephanie, who had been enjoying a warm cuddle together, ran back together into the estate’s lobby.

“Duncan!”

“Feng Li, what’s happ-wait, you’re in full combat gear?”

Feng Li nodded and drew one of his swords. “You two should get armed too; there’s an army at the gates and an attack at the estate.”

“Wait, what?! How did that-?”

“I don’t know, Sister Stephanie, but that’s the reality of it. I told Brenda already and went to find you two; no idea where Blake or Dao Chen are.”

“We’ll find them, but we have to stick together,” Duncan ordered. “Feng, guard our rooms as best you can; we’ll get ready asap.”

Thankfully, Duncan had been training to quick change into his armour with his team in the event that they were ever attacked unawares, though they hadn’t had to put it into practice until today. Within a minute, both heroes emerged and found Brenda and Feng Li waiting for them.

“What’s our move, Duncan?” Brenda asked.

“There’re tens of thousands of soldiers in the camp, but we don’t know how many of them know what’s happening at the estate, so defending the Rivers House is the priority. If we were at full strength, I’d say we split up, but that’s too dangerous with just the four of us. We’ll head for the princess’s chambers but protect anyone we see along the way.”

“Alright, let’s get to it!”

***

“Thank God I decided to room with you,” Yve thanked her past self, as she quickly started to change into her armour in Hailey’s bathroom.

While the two girls had been sleeping in the same bed, Hailey felt too embarrassed to have Yve change in the same room as her. Reluctantly, and a bit angrily, Yve dashed into the ensuite to change.

“How did this happen, and why tonight of all nights?” Yve complained, before lightly smacking herself on the forehead. “Duh, it happened because we’re here! Wait, actually, do you think they’ve come for us or the princess?”

“No idea,” Hailey said, slipping her second gauntlet on. “And I don’t care.”

“R-right.” Hailey’s aggressive tone was not something that Yve was used to hearing, at least not in a serious way. “We should probably link up with Liam and the others; perverts or not, they’re still our teammates so sticking together is probably the best idea for right now.

“Don’t you think-?”

Yve cut herself off as she emerged from the bathroom.

Much to her surprise, Hailey was nowhere to be seen, though the door was wide open.

With a small sigh, Yve muttered, “What did I just say?”

***

Ewan spotted the assailants first and dragged Gabriel out of the way of their crossbow bolts.

One landed in Ewan’s bed, piercing the covers, whilst another found its mark in Ewan’s shoulder.

Four men broke in through the window, two of whom discarded their fired crossbows before drawing short swords.

A quick assessment told Ewan everything he needed to know about them and their current situation.

Four human assassins, armed to the teeth and in leather armour, versus two heroes, one of whom is unarmed and vulnerable. Ewan grabbed Gungnir off his desk and skewered one man through the stomach. They’re not that strong, but they’ve caught us at a bad time.

Ewan ripped his spear free and swung it to block the next three attacks from the other intruders, before kicking one in the shin and spinning Gungnir’s tip across the man’s throat.

Gabriel dove and grabbed one of the discarded short swords and went to support Ewan, but he wasn’t used to sword fighting. His Divine Artifact, Eurytus' Bow, was far removed from a sword, so he ended up swinging wildly and without much purpose or precision.

It was, however, enough for Ewan to finish off his third attacker, and then end the life of the fourth.

“You okay?” He asked once the men dropped to the ground, blood pouring into the carpet.

“Yeah, but you got hit,” Gabriel said. “Need me to take it out?”

Ewan shook his head. “If it’s removed improperly, it’ll make it worse. And I don’t think that’s the last of them.”

“Still, that’s gotta hurt, right? And upset your flow when fighting, no?”

“It’s fine.”

“…Okay, but we should probably find someone to treat it before-”

“I said I’m fine, dammit!” Ewan exclaimed, before stabbing one of the dead men with Gungnir. With a wince, he said, “Fine, if it bothers you that much, here!” With his free hand, Ewan ripped the bolt out and chucked it to Gabriel. “So? We good to go?”

Somewhat terrified by the side of Ewan he’d never seen before, Gabriel nodded.

***

Mímir successfully infiltrated the estate without any resistance.

The undead had done their job, expertly distracting the bulk of the enemy forces, whilst spies and traitorous humans had snuck into the camp and made their way to the heroes’ quarters.

Not that we expect them to succeed, Mímir thought.

These human assassins, unlike the last ones the Demon Emperor had used in the west, were common sell swords hired in the empire and then brought to the enemy side of the border some distance away who then snuck into the camp. There were only fifty of them, but the Demon Emperor had promised them a chest of gold for each hero they slew.

If they did manage to catch one or two off guard, then perhaps they ended their lives. One can hope at least.

The spymaster walked casually among the gardens, escorted by two Ravens, as chaos and the sounds of battle rang out around them. Then, after reaching a secluded part of the gardens, he conjured a portal to bring forth one hundred Machai and one hundred Hysminai from the empire.

“Machai, kill every last person inside this estate. Hysminai, half of you shall form a defensive line at the main entrance from the camp, whilst the rest shall come with me.”

“Sayeh, no!”

Ari’s loud desperate cry snatched Mímir’s attention towards the small girl, wielding dual daggers, flying towards his face. Without flinching, Mímir caught the girl midair in his wires, wrapped them tightly around her limbs and threw her back to her nearby friends, a boy and another girl.

The Machai growled as the Hysminai quickly formed a shield wall between the general and the assailants.

“So, you three are some of the Summoned Heroes we’ve heard about,” the spymaster said, drawing his katana from his back. “Fenrir said you were a great disappoint last time she met you; let’s see if you’ve improved since then.”

***

“The attack on the camp is definitely bait!” Dao Chen hissed.

“I agree.”

“So, that stands to reason that the true target for the attack is here, at the Rivers House.”

Talon nodded and drew Carnwennan. “Do you think the traitor will reveal themselves?”

“It’s very likely.”

“Then, I’ll kill them myself.”

***

“But why would the traitor reveal themselves so soon after we started narrowing the suspects down?” Elysa asked as she and Kayleigh ran through the halls, evacuating the staff and fighting off the human assassins. “Why not just lay low?”

“I’m guessing it’s because they realised there was little else they could do from inside our ranks,” Kayleigh replied, smashing the skull of the sixth assassin she’d slain. “I doubt the Demon Emperor wanted this outcome, but they’re probably trying to capitalise on the situation as best they can.”

“I see. Then, does that mean the princess’s life is in danger?”

“If anything, she’s going to be a hostage, a buffer to prevent King Alexander from mobilising the army of Rhodes to fight the Demon Empire. However, no matter how much he loves his daughter, he would never agree to those terms unless.” Kayleigh killed the last assassin in the corridor. “Unless the monarchs were so totally confident in this trap of theirs that they could guarantee her safety. This attack was, no doubt, planned but why leap at such an obvious bait?”

Dread quickly dawned over Elysa’s face. “They’re not trying to capture the princess; they’re trying to extract their spy!”

“Which means we have to find them and soon.” Kayleigh sighed as she looked around the now empty corridors that were stained with blood. “I really wish the others were here right now so we could plan our attack.”

Then, four large demons broke through the soft wall near them, brandishing great claymores or spears.

“I think that might have to wait,” Elysa groaned, readying to engage the Machai. “I’m really hoping these guys aren’t as strong as the stories say they are.”

***

From the ramparts, Leomare watched on with a smug smile on his face.

The undead horde was utterly being destroyed by his defences and soldiers without much effort.

“Is this it, Demon Emperor? Is this all you can muster?”

“Oh, I assure you, it most certainly is not.”

Leomare felt the stabbing pain in his back before he saw the great halberd sticking out of his stomach, blue blood dripping from its axe. Slowly, he was raised into the air, struggling to grip the mighty weapon’s pole, blood trickling from his lips as his men watched on in horror.

Beneath him, drenching herself in his lizardman blood, was a woman in a fine dress.

With a sweet smile on her lips, she gazed up at him, like a predator about to devour its prey, before flinging his body to the ground.

“Goodbye, Commander Leomare. With your death, one of our three objectives has been completed.”

***

Amen’s attacks were numerous and deadly, leaving Akane and Hajime no time to counterattack.

Without their armour and without Akane’s bracelet, they only had their weapons left to defend themselves.

Akane could blow away multiple chains with her hammer, but Hajime struggled to parry or block all of the attacks at once. He could block three out of four, but the fourth would bludgeon his shoulder. They were painful injuries, but he still didn’t stop fighting.

As much as I want to beat the hell out of Amen, we need to save those hostages first!

As long as Amen had human shields, there wasn’t too much they could do. If they got too close, Amen would no doubt drag them before him to deflect any incoming blows.

“Akane! Just focus on offense, not defence.”

“Easier said than done, but.” She channelled more energy into Ukonvasara. “Roger that.”

With a mighty swing, Akane cleared away twenty chains at once and ran forward, abandoning all sense of protecting herself.

“Hmm, an interesting strategy,” Amen whispered, slicing several chains at her, only for Hajime to throw himself and Tonbokiri between them. “Ah, now I see.” Amen chuckled. “As expected of our leader.”

“I’m not your leader!”

Akane jumped into the air and slammed her hammer into the ground, sending an earth-shattering shockwave and bolts of lightning at Amen. Amen dug several links of Gleipnir into the dirt behind him and them made a wall of metal to block the attack. The electrical charge was earthed, but the shockwave knocked him onto his back.

Seeing an opening, Hajime ran forward and sliced the chains holding one of the maids in two, freeing her. He then hauled her like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and ran away, much to Amen’s annoyance.

“I’m disappointed in you, Hajime.” Amen raised himself up in time to block Akane’s next swing with Ukonvasara. He then swatted her into a nearby wall with Gleipnir before launching seven chains at Hajime, aiming for his limbs and organs.

Hajime turned on his heel, put the maid behind him, and roared, wilding spinning Tonbokiri in front of him, hoping the spear would deflect some of the incoming attacks.

It blasted a few away, but two dug into Hajime’s shoulders and, with a violent tug, dragged him towards Amen. Hajime’s front was dragged through the dust and dirt, bruising his body and leaving some small cuts on his face, but Hajime was powerless to resist.

Akane limped back into action, her left arm knocked out of its socket, and swung Ukonvasara with much less force at Amen, hoping that the lightning bolts would do enough damage regardless.

Disappointingly, Amen blocked the attack in the same way as before, then sent a chain to loop itself around Akane’s neck, holding her tightly but just shy of actually choking her.

“I imagine you are both wondering how I got this strong despite never showing this side of myself to you two,” Amen said, smiling a little solemnly as he spoke. “I’m afraid that I’ve been doing a lot of training late at night in my own bedroom whenever I can, and now I can control Gleipnir’s chains as if they were my own limbs. It took quite some time, but now sending one or two of them into King Alexander’s private study is as easy as breathing.”

Hajime tried to say something, but Amen forced him back into the dirt. “Now, now, don’t struggle - soon enough, we’ll all be at the Dread Keep and you two will be wonderful Awoken.”

Feathers soared like arrows at them.

Flustered, Amen ripped his chains around just in time to block the feathers of the Swan Cloak Dao Chen had sent his way, but he couldn’t stop them from breaking the chains holding Hajime, Akane and the other maid. Had Amen not been quick enough to drag the princess to his side, she too would have been freed.

“I never would’ve guessed it was you, Amen.” Dao Chen glowered at Amen as Talon helped Akane to her feet. Dao Chen offered her hand to Hajime, who gratefully accepted it.

“Does my betrayal sadden you, Dao?”

She snorted. “Far from it. Just means there’s one less dickhead I need to talk to around here.”

Dao fired more feathers from her cloak at Amen who was now being pushed back and cornered. Talon charged whilst Amen was blinded to her movements, but he soon dropped part of his shield to send dozens of chains out at all four of the other heroes.

Akane and Hajime were largely defenceless, but Dao Chen managed to knock some of the chains down with her arrow-like feathers. The rest they managed to dodge, although Akane did land painfully on her dislocated arm and screamed in agony. Hajime took back up Tonbokiri and charged, but Amen sent four whip-like chains to beat him back onto the ground, nearly knocking him unconscious.

Dao Chen didn’t stop shooting at Amen, but Amen’s attention was now largely focused on Talon and he had his back to Dao Chen.

Talon kept hiding in various shadows, but would have to move quite quickly between them as Amen’s chains chased her. One nearly clipped her temple, but she was fast enough to evade his attacks.

“This is pointless,” Amen lamented, retracting his chains to Gleipnir before unleashing them all towards Hajime, Dao Chen and Akane. “Don’t worry, old friends, you won’t die, but Dao Chen will.”

Just before the chains reached them, a spear was flung at Amen’s face.

Panicked, Amen retreated and created a wall of chains, just in time to block Dante’s scythe that followed Kella’s spear.

“Instructor Dante! Instructor Kella!” Hajime cried for relief, easing himself back onto his feet.

“Sorry for the wait, Hajime,” Dante said with a big smile. “Had to deal with the riff-raff inside first.”

Behind the two instructors came a dozen knights.

“What?! But how did you-?”

“Make it through your demon friends?” Atalanta laughed, emerging from the walls behind Hajime with Lord Akechi at her side. “They were too easy to be our opponents.”

“Impossible, the Demon Emperor’s legions are the finest in the world.”

“Maybe, but we aren’t soldiers.” Dante smirked. “We’re warriors.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean you’re looking down on the fine men and women who serve in the Free People’s army, Dante,” Lord Akechi lightly chided him as more knights emerged from behind him.

With a forced cough, Dante turned back to Amen. “Give up, Amen,” he ordered as the instructors and knights began to circle the boy. “I don’t know what possessed you to do this, but it’s over. Surrender, tell us everything you know and we’ll spare your life.”

Between panicked breaths, Amen laughed, struggling to keep himself standing. His chains were still tied around the princess’s throat and he could end her life before they took his, hence why they were so cautious in their approach.

“I don’t suppose Sister Stephanie has a way of disabling him from a distance.”

“Not a surefire way,” she whispered.

“…She doesn’t, but Talon does,” Dao Chen said calmly.

It was then that Duncan and the others realised that Talon had disappeared at some point during the fighting. She had been chasing Amen relentlessly at first and then vanished without a trace.

Her Divine Artifact! Duncan tried to hide his reaction in case Amen was watching him.

“Instructor Dante, do you really think I’d ever trust your word?” Amen asked, a slight nervousness in his voice.

“That depends, given how you trusted the Demon Emperor.”

“Oh, I’m not the only one here who’s done that.”

Amen’s gaze wandered towards where Kella was standing, but Dante, fearing what he was about to reveal, took a step forward, forcing Amen’s attention back squarely on him.

“One more! Just one more step and I’ll kill her!”

“Then you won’t get to enjoy ‘your nice prize’,” Atalanta taunted from his side.

At Amen’s back, Talon emerged, Carnwennan in hand, and stabbed at his neck.

“Now, now.” Before anyone had blinked, Xi Shi had appeared between Talon and her prey, grasping the tip of Carnwennan lightly between her fingertips. “I can’t have you doing that.”

“When did she-?!”

Talon was kicked hard in the stomach, launching her into Lord Akechi’s arms. She vomited blood and Akechi immediately took a few steps back, taking shelter behind a line of armoured knights.

“Who is that?”

“I don’t know, but she wasn’t in any of the reports.”

“When did she get behind Amen?”

“Thank you for the assistance, Lady Xi,” Amen greeted her with a bow.

Xi Shi giggled just as Dao Chen launched a hundred feathers from the Swan’s Cloak at the pair.

Seemingly without moving an inch, Xi Shi repelled them all, launching a colossal amount of air around her as she did. The winds were so intense the ground cracked around her and a few knights were blown into the estate’s walls.

Kayleigh, who was one of the few to have ever encountered one of the Demon Emperor’s generals, was paralysed with fear.

Fenrir had been strong, strong enough that she’d dropped her entire team and her without so much as a fight, but this woman with the halberd eclipsed her.

…She’s not just strong; that sort of power is far beyond that, and she’s not the Demon Emperor.

If he has someone like that serving him…no, more importantly, we’ve been training for months and we’re nowhere near that level.

What the hell is this?

“Be grateful, Amen, that the Demon Emperor values your life so much,” Xi Shi said with a playful voice. “You provided us with everything we wanted and allowed us to assassinate this camp’s leader - you’ll be rewarded when we return to the Dread Keep.”

“Leomare’s dead?!” Akechi shouted. “Bastards!”

“Oh, do forgive me if he was someone precious to you.” Xi Shi’s mocking tone was anything but apologetic. “Truthfully, his death and the deaths of the soldiers here matter little to the Dark Lord. We came here only to retrieve Amen and nothing more.”

“Do you really expect us to believe that?” Kella yelled.

“Would you rather I slaughter you right here and now?” Xi Shi lowered her halberd slightly, making everyone flinch and grasp their weapons more tightly. “Truthfully, if I went all out right now, I could kill most of you before I fell, but that does not mean I wish to do so just yet. As the emperor says.” She snickered, revealing a sick, twisted grin on her lips. “There’s no fun in a hunt this easy.”

“…If you’re so confident.” Dante shifted his feet so that he was stood in a more defensive fighting stance. “Then come and prove it.”

“Not tonight.” Mímir’s ethereal voice came from the sides as the spy master, escorted by six Hysminai emerged, his strings dragging three bodies behind him. “We shall leave you soon enough to wallow in your defeat. Should you continue to provoke us, I cannot guarantee the lives of these heroes.”

“Sayeh! Ari! Zuzu!” Hajime screamed. He nearly rushed to rescue them, but Akane held an arm across his body. Frustrated, Hajime clicked his tongue and relented, his anger continuing to boil inside him.

“Fear not, they’re only unconscious, though the little one with two daggers was rather eager to throw her life away,” Mímir mused. “They’re injuries would have been much lighter if she didn’t insist on damaging herself at any opportunity thrown at her.”

“You-!”

“Hajime, don’t.”

“I know, Akane…I know.”

Mímir and the Hysminai walked into the middle of the encirclement, dragging the unconscious heroes behind him.

“So, you’re Dante?” Mímir sized the scythe-wielder up.

“I take it your Satyr Knight mentioned me?”

“No, but my agents have spoken at length of your inferiority. Why she’s taken so long to put you down is beyond me.”

“Heh, if I’m so weak, why does your emperor keep her as his personal knight?”

Bloodlust radiated from the centre of the circle, from Xi Shi of all people.

Her soft, playful demeanour was all gone and she was glaring daggers at Dante.

“You dare,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

“Xi Shi, control yourself,” a booming voice commanded.

It was a voice a few of them recognised but, for those who had never heard it before, the cruelty and malice dripping from it was enough to tell them exactly whom it belonged to.

From a portal behind the two generals, he emerged, in a suit of Dragon Metal armour, a visage of evil incarnate.

With a heavy, oppressive steps, he slowly marched forwards, those around him locked their attention solely upon him.

The most battle hardened, like the instructors, fought their every fibre telling them to run.

Dante, whom had slain dragons and other great beasts, felt fear that he hadn’t the last time he’d met the Demon Emperor.

Back then, he’d landed a small blow to the emperor’s skin, but now it almost appeared as if the Demon Emperor was untouchable.

Some knights almost fainted gazing upon him, whilst others shrieked quietly and stepped backwards, but their captain’s determined, “Hold positions,” kept them from retreating.

For the summoned heroes, it was their first time seeing their mortal enemy.

Hajime dropped to his knees and Akane moved in front of him to defend him.

Dao Chen who had tried attacking Xi Shi remained vigilant, but she could not ignore the sweat trickling down her back nor the fear in her heart.

Talon, through squinted eyes and in agony, remembered the feeling of oppression the Demon Emperor’s aura gave off all too well, and it sickened her.

Duncan, Feng Li, Stephanie and Brenda remained standing but could not move, let alone blink; Duncan himself even forgot to breathe as he gazed upon the tyrant.

This…is the Demon Emperor…He swallowed.

Kayleigh supported Elysa but didn’t move; she had been paralysed seeing Xi Shi by herself. Now, coupled with the Demon Emperor, it seemed truly hopeless.

They could end us, right now, if they wanted to, she thought, her eyes quickly trying to find an escape route for her friends. Maybe I can distract them long enough.

Kella remained indifferent as always, though she held a slight sadness in her eyes that everyone else around her missed.

Two knew who it was beneath that helmet, but one hadn’t been told by anyone.

“...David.”

“...Eh?”

On shaking legs, Hailey walked forward, her sword and shield slipping through her trembling fingers.

Her eyes, that her comrades had seen remain still or distant whenever Yve wasn’t around, were overflowing with emotions.

“...You’re…David, right?” Hailey stopped, tears forming in her eyes, and a broken smile on her lips. “It’s…a lie, right? You’re…not David, right?”

“Hai…ley?”

The dark aura vanished and no one said a word.

Confusion.

Anxiety.

Anguish.

Pain.

Fear.

Gloom.

As everyone them watched on, Hailey and David gazed into one another’s souls.

Then, he slowly shut his eyes and reached for his helmet.

With both hands, the Demon Emperor unmasked himself before the Free People’s Alliance, and Hailey’s emotions burst open like a dam.

She was indescribably happy.

She was indescribably sad.

“Da…vid.”

To be continued.

Hi everyone, thank you for reading The Children of Eris Year 2 Arc up until this point. I will be taking a small break (no longer than 4 weeks) from posting new chapters of Eris to Honeyfeed as I want to take a bit more time to plan and write the rest of this arc for you. On Friday, I will be posting a brief afterword of this arc so far, but I'm afraid to say that you'll be left on this cliffhanger for just a little bit. 

Thank you again everyone for your continued support of The Children of Eris, it means the world to me and please do check out The Cat, my Honeyfeed x YOASOBI entry!