Year 2: The Battle of Rhodes - Chapter 9

Loki - The Greater God of Trickery.

She made David more uncomfortable than Eris did in a way.

Eris wore her intentions on her sleeve and never hid her desires.

Loki claimed that she couldn’t help but mess with Eris and her game, but was that the truth?

Said God was currently playing whimsically on a table with a map of Aangapea spread across it; she was picking up the wooden tokens and figures and making them fight one another.

“Do you have something you want to ask me, David Athelward?”

Her neck twisted like a snake up and around itself, spinning her head around so she could look him in the eyes.

It was a deeply unsettling thing to see, made worse by the kind smile on her face. Her mismatched eyes sparkled with joy too, even as her body unnaturally bent itself around, before fixing itself to face David properly.

“…Does Eris know?”

“About that situation.” Loki giggled mischievously. “Don’t worry, she’s unaware. Then again.” Loki gripped the bottom of the table, then lay her back onto the table. “I imagine she knows your plan to attack the King’s Palace as soon as her amended contract ends.”

David chuckled. “I wanted her to know that.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew she’d approve of it.”

Loki hummed as she lifted her legs high into the air, kicking them a few times towards the ceiling. “Don’t except it to go as you think it will.”

“…I know that much already.” David stood from his throne and sauntered over to the table, sitting beside the god’s head. “If I’m lucky and Eris is feeling generous, she’ll allow a few of the Summoned Heroes to die or be badly wounded. If I’m unlucky, she’ll force me to put safeguards in place to keep them all alive. No, knowing her, she’ll give me a strict time limit to meet my goals.”

“How strict?”

“Until dawn would be too generous for her, so I expect a few hours maximum. In that time.” David glanced behind him at the distant sight of the city of Rhodes. “I hope to cripple the Free People’s Alliance as much as possible.”

“Can you do it?” Loki asked.

“…It’s too uncertain right now. I’m sending in a lot of Dread Knights and all of my strongest allies into the battle to make sure, except for the Vampire Court.”

“Why are you leaving them behind?”

“To make sure there aren’t any foolish rebellions taking place in my absence. A few hours is a long time for rebels.” He frowned. “Raeanne and her lot wouldn’t miss that opportunity.”

Loki grinned and spun around on her back, then sat up right beside him, putting her chin on his shoulder. “So, why do you know that Eris will let you attack them?”

“Because she’s there.”

***

Six months.

For six months, Hailey Carman had known that her childhood friend, her first and only love, David Athelward, had been the Demon Emperor.

Everyone of her comrades knew of their bond.

Yve had seen the torment it had had on Hailey first hand.

Talon had doubted it, proclaiming her an actress of great talent.

Hailey tried to pay the piercing and sympathetic gazes no mind as she trained and studied, devoting herself fully into her role as a Summoned Hero.

In her mind, she played through countless scenarios of when they’d reunite, of what she’d say, the questions she’d demand answers to, and everything she every wanted to tell him.

Why was he doing this?

How Hailey had let Kara down.

Who brought him to Aangapea?

How cruel it was that he wasn’t on their side.

As Hailey stood before him and his men, gripping her sword and shield, her hair blowing in the wind and the distant sounds of battle raging across the palace, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Her mouth moved, but no words came out.

In the end, she just stopped thinking too hard about it and said, “It’s been a while.”

“…Yeah.”

Hailey huffed a little, but smiled. “So, you’ll actually talk to me this time? I don’t even remember the last time you ignored me when I spoke to you…maybe that time I bought the last brownie at the bakery.” She laughed. “You were really pissed that day, because you hadn’t had one in two months, but you forgave me a few hours later.”

David didn’t answer.

He also did not remove his helmet like last time.

The Dread Knights and Hysminai remained stationary, but on high alert, though their attention was on the things surrounding them, not Hailey and David.

“…Can you just tell me something, just one thing…please?” Hailey took a deep breath and asked, “Is it really you? My David?”

Solemnly, he nodded.

Hailey’s knees nearly gave out, but she forced herself to stay standing. Then, fighting down all of the bottled-up emotions threatening to explode inside of her, she took a step forward.

“…I’m sorry…about Kara…I couldn’t look after her. But, don’t worry.” Hailey forced herself to smile. “She’s fine, as are your mum and dad. My folks were okay too, as were…were…”

Hailey couldn’t hold back any more.

“…Why? Why are you the Demon Emperor?! Hey, David, tell me, please! Is this who you really were, all this time?! Or is someone making you do this?! Tell me, please…just…something…something to help me.” Her sobs became louder. “Something to help me make sense of all this.”

Still, it appeared the Demon Emperor remained unphased.

“I can tell you.”

“Instructor…Kella?”

Kella, bloodied spear in hand, came forward, instantly shifting the Dread Knights’ attention to her.

She stood alongside Hailey, but used her arm to keep the young hero slightly behind her.

“Hello, Allaric.”

“All…aric?”

“A familiar name, Hailey?” Kella scoffed. “Should be. It’s been a long time since we met like this, hasn’t it? Not since the Sack of Themis. What’d he tell you so far, Hailey? Because I could tell you so much about him.” She glared daggers at David. “The real him.”

“An empty threat,” David muttered.

“…Perhaps, but what did you tell her, David? Did you tell her about the time you took over a castle? Or when you put a city to death just so you could see how strong your military was?” Kella grunted. “Did you tell her about how you killed my brother and his friends, then fucked me right afterwards?”

“…Eh?”

The pained anguish in Hailey’s voice got a reaction out the Demon Emperor.

His hand tightened around his sword’s hilt and his eyes narrowed.

“Did he not ever mention that bit?” Kella asked, turning to look into Hailey’s eyes. “See, David over there, spent most of last year hiding in the shadows, building up his armies and causing murders and pandemonium across the Holy Empire, but he was scared. Scared his men would fail and he’d died, struck down by a member of the Holy Legion on some battlefield.

“So, he needed to test his strength and that of his enemies.

“Black Port had over a hundred thousand people living in it when David sent his armies there. They burnt the city, slaughtered everyone inside and brought them back as undead husks. Then, for good measure, David decided to get some real experience killing people with his own two hands…so he went to the tombs where my brother and his party had been sent, and stabbed them in the back.

“He told me he cried over their bodies after the deed, and then he came running to me. Do you think it was because he knew what he’d done, or because he needed to feel better after a hard day?” Kella chuckled bitterly, coldly, at the memories. “I invited him into my home, told him about my wonderful brother, and then he slept with me, even after he’d learnt he’d been the one to kill my brother.

“…When did you find out, Kella?” David asked her.

“The night before the Sack of Themis, where you begged me for mercy and asked me for forgiveness,” Kella spat. “I gave it to you, you said you’d run away, and then what happened, David? You sacked the city and laughed as its people were slaughtered and raped. Or did you forget that?”

“…David…is this…true?”

The sheer disbelief in Hailey’s voice conveyed the dark, crushing emotions she must have been feeling inside.

Betrayal.

Disbelief.

Denial.

A faint, lingering hope that would be extinguished with just a single breath.

“…Go on, David, answer her,” Kella demanded.

“…What difference…would it make now?”

“…Eh?”

The Demon Emperor walked forward with his sword drawn. “After all this time, after everything, what difference would it make now? You said it yourself when you came here, Kella - I’m Allaric, the Demon Empire’s tyrant, its absolute ruler and the soon to be ruler of Aangapea. Past mistakes.” He stopped and stared the two women down. “Are irrelevant.”

“…Is that so?”

Kella bit her lip and shot a quick glance at Hailey.

The girl’s eyes were wide open, freshly wet from tears, and her face had gone pale.

“…If you’re not ready for this, I suggest you stand back.” Kella spun her spear around and aimed it squarely at the Demon Emperor’s neck. “He’s strong, but not invincible.”

“…It’s okay, Instructor.” Hailey wiped her eyes as best she could on her armour’s sleeve, then moved into an offensive stance. “…I have my answer, God knows I wish I didn’t. The man I loved would’ve told me everything and made me understand why he was doing this. This thing, this monster.” An intense glare pierced through the Demon Emperor’s armour and into his skin. “Is not David Athelward, so I can kill it.”

The Demon Emperor did not seem to care.

He simply stood there, his vicious aura radiating off his entire being, waiting for them to attack.

“Words are one thing, actions are another.”

Kella laughed mockingly. “You taught me that best, David!”