Year 2: The Battle of Rhodes - Chapter 5

The night at the Rivers House had haunted Duncan for months.

Amen’s betrayal.

The sheer terror of the Demon Emperor’s visage.

The slow, rising anxiety he’d had in the weeks following the Demon Emperor’s quieter actions in the east. Deep down, he and everyone else knew something was coming, but the savagery of the attack at the palace was far beyond his expectations.

Men and women who Duncan knew by name or face were dead or dying.

Buildings crumbled and broke.

Screams bounded through the cold night air.

All because of you. Duncan’s grip on his sword became vice-like.

The Demon Emperor - David Athelward.

He, along with five Dread Knights and a company of Hysminai, held the south gate.

The emperor himself held a dying knight in his left hand by her skull.

Without hesitation, he crushed it and threw her corpse to Duncan’s feet.

“You shouldn’t have split up,” David said.

Duncan scowled. “You-!”

“Duncan, don’t do anything rash.”

“…I know, Brenda. David…why are you doing this?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? To win the war.”

“You-!”

“David Athelward.” Feng put a hand on Duncan’s shoulder and stepped to the front of the party. “Might I be permitted to ask you a few questions before combat is joined?”

The Demon Emperor chuckled. “Why not? You might be trying to buy time, but it doesn’t matter. The King’s Palace will fall, whether it’s in five minutes or five hours from now. I’m a patient man; I can wait.”

“We are aware of your patience,” Feng said. “Whether it was before Themis fell or your arrival tonight, you have been quite patient in your approach to us and your conquest of Aangapea. This fact has proven quite interesting to try and dissect over these past few months, though I imagine you wouldn’t tell me if my deductions regarding your actions were correct or not.

“Not that it matters now.” Feng sighed and stared deep into the Demon Emperor’s glowing orange eyes. “Then, let me ask you - you were summoned here to Aangapea like us, correct?”

The furnace-like eyes beneath the emperor’s helmet narrowed. “What does that matter?”

“…Then, might I follow up and ask who it was that brought you here?” The emperor stayed silent. “We Summoned Heroes all had an audience with the Goddess Harmonia before accepting our question and arriving in this world. The people of the Alliance seemed somewhat confused by this as they believed it was the Goddess Themis that brought us here.

“If, by this logic, you too were summoned to Aangapea in a similar fashion to us, then answer me this - which deity brought you here?”

“I was curious about that too,” Duncan said. “Back at the Rivers House, Hailey said she recognised you and called you David. You responded when we call you that too, so that means you’re either someone from Earth that she know, or a cruel imitation of that man. Either way, we want to know why.”

Still, the Demon Emperor remained unchanged, starring at the party of heroes even as the fighting drew closer and closer.

Then, he sighed.

Heavily.

Wearily.

Deeply.

“This world is mine.

“It’s rivers and lakes, its animals and mountains, its cities and its people. Everything under the night’s sky is mine. That’s all.”

“What do you-?”

The Demon Emperor sung his great sword onto his shoulder. “When all of you heroes our dead, my victory shall be absolute. That’s all you need to know!”

His aura flared.

His body shimmered and vanished, leaving a great crater where he’d stood, and storm-like blasts of air assaulted the heroes.

And then, the Demon Emperor was there, before their very eyes, bloodlust emanating from his entire being, and his sword curving towards their necks.

Shi-! Duncan tried to block the strike, but time seemingly crawled to a snail’s pace.

He wouldn’t make it.

But.

A shield appeared and shockwaves rocked the grounds.

Between Duncan and the Demon Emperor was a young woman, her shield arm bleeding and throbbing, and her face adorned with a scathing expression.

“David!” Hailey screamed, trying to push back the Demon Emperor’s claymore whilst swinging Excalibur at his stomach.

The Demon Emperor jumped back a few metres to avoid the attack, but neither his demeanour nor his expression changed.

“What the hell are you doing?! Why did you ignore me back at the Rivers?! Why are you doing all of this?! Tell me!”

Tears were forming in Hailey’s eyes but, unlike last time, she was not going to falter.

“Hailey, thank God you’re-”

“Elysa’s a traitor,” Hailey said bluntly, cutting Brenda off. “The others are all fighting David’s elite forces and there are Dread Knights everywhere. Duncan, Yve will need all the help she can get back at the dorms. Go.”

“But-”

“Go!” Hailey aimed her sword at David’s head. “He won’t kill me and, if he does.” She spat. “Then the man I loved will have truly died a long time ago.”

“…Are you sure about this, Sister Hailey?”

“Yeah, he’s far stronger than you,” Blake added. “Together, we might have a chance.”

“I know, but we can’t win against him, not right now. Help the others first, then come back for me.” She shot them a happy smile. “This is something only I can do, and there are things only you can do, Duncan.”

Possibilities ran through Duncan’s mind.

Was Hailey telling the truth?

Was Elysa really a traitor?

Even if she was, what if Hailey was too?

He saw the resolve in her eyes and remembered her cries at the Rivers House.

“…We’ll be back,” Duncan vowed.

“I know you will.”

***

We got arrogant, Dao Chen reflected.

Dao Chen and Talon had intentionally sequestered themselves from the party, knowing deep down that something would go wrong.

“An attack, no doubt,” Talon had speculated.

Dao Chen had agreed, but from where, with what forces and how?

The King’s Palace in Rhodes was, in theory, the most heavily defended place in all of the Alliance territory, so it was unthinkable, to some, that the Demon Emperor could launch a substantial attack in the capital.

If he had invaded with a large army, then sure, the possibility would become an almost certainty in Dao Chen’s mind, but that wasn’t the case.

The pair of heroes had staked out the rooftop of the main palace, sitting back-to-back, observing the as much of the palace grounds as possible.

When the attack began, Dao Chen immediately started targeting anyone who looked like a commander or officer.

From the safety of the rooftops, Dao Chen’s feathers rained down on the enemy while Talon, using the invisibility created by Carnwennan, slit their throats.

Things had gone well for a short time, until.

“Good evening.”

The shivers Dao Chen felt run down her spine was the most unpleasant sensation she had ever experienced.

Charybdis had appeared behind Dao Chen without the young hero realising, though the monster girl did not have her bow in hand.

Dao Chen shot at her, but Charybdis dodged every feather, smiling sweetly all the while. Then, her jaw dislocated as fur deep green claws spurted from her back, slicing and grabbing at Dao Chen.

“What-?!” Dao Chen couldn’t avoid them as two of the appendages dug into her shoulders, then pulled her in close to Charybdis.

The monster’s inner mouth clacked its pincers as she giggled. “Huh? I thought you were meant to be one of the stronger ones? Well.” She laughed mockingly at the hero. “That’s just what Amen said you told everyone.”

Dammit, I can’t move! Dao Chen clicked her tongue. I’m bleeding and the claws are in quite deep. If I tried to force myself free, I might make the wounds even worse and I could bleed out. Patience, Dao, patience. Talon should have noticed that something’s wrong and she’ll come and help.

Wait for the opportunity to strike.

“Hmm?” Charybdis’ jaw reset itself and she purred. “You’re rather calm.”

Dao Chen grunted. “What can I say? I’ve had worse.”

“Of that, I have no doubt, but can the same be said for her?”

Just before Talon could strike, Dread Knights emerged from a portal Charybdis conjured, forcing the French girl to retreat.

However.

Talon collapsed onto her knees, struggling against a great dizziness and pain that assaulted her.

A poisoned dagger was poking out of her back; where it had come from, neither hero knew.

“When did…?” Talon winced and fell onto her hands and knees.

Despite the vicious toxin flooding through her veins, Talon tried to get back up, but a Dread Knight pushed her down and disarmed her, kicking her Divine Artifact away.

Still smiling, Charybdis released Dao Chen into the custody of other Dread Knights.

Then, wordlessly, Charybdis began her work like a skilled doctor performing the most complex of surgeries.

She pulled skin, broke nails, pulled out hair, dislocated joints and more, all while Dao Chen was forced to watch and Talon was powerless to watch.

Occasionally, the monster girl smacked and punched Talon’s body, leaving bruises; then, she’d alternate to dragging her knife-like fingernails through the girl’s flesh to leave shallow wounds, but deep enough to draw blood.

“Human bodies are so frail, are they not?” Charybdis asked rhetorically. “Without much force, skin can be pulled or ripped off it. Without much effort, it can bleed out and die. Without doing much, one can kill them. A broken neck, for example, and they drop down dead.” Charybdis giggled. “Yet, if in the hands of someone skilled, the human body is in no great danger.

“A skilled surgeon can make it appear as if there was never anything wrong with your body. A beautician can make even the ugliest of human’s look like a natural beauty. A masterful torturer can play with their victim’s body for dozens of hours without inflicting any lasting harm or ensure that the victim remains in great agony for days on end.

“Dao Chen.” Charybdis twirled the poisoned dagger between her fingertips as the hero in question, kneeling and pinned by two Dread Knights, was forced to watch Talon, broken and bloodied, lying on a table beside Charybdis, unable to move or breath properly. “What do you think would happen if I put this dagger that lets us transform into your companion’s body?

“Do you think the poison would overwhelm her and destroy her, or do you think she’d changed into a great sea creature like us?” Charybdis smiled sweetly. “Shall we find out together?”

“…What do you actually want?”

“Me? Hmm, I’m not sure? Maybe I just want to show off to someone who can properly appreciate my talents? Maybe I felt a strong kinship with you or maybe.” She giggled. “Maybe I’m hoping to force you to your breaking point to entertain me.”

“…Are all of the Demon Emperor’s people like this?” Dao Chen muttered.

“Not all of us, but we’re all unique in our own ways. Say, won’t you tell me, Dao Chen, what hells have you seen?

“And what joys have you had, Torturer?”