Year 2: The Aftermath - Chapter 1

No one had slept during the night.

Not the wounded, not the dying, not the tired.

There was too much to do and the reality of the dawn was still sinking in.

The King’s Palace of Rhodes, what many in the Alliance had deemed to be the safest place in the west, had been besieged and assaulted.

While the exact numbers would take time to determine, thousands had lost their lives and tens of thousands had been wounded.

Thanks to the brave efforts of the heroes and Alliance soldiers, almost all of the VIPs were still alive. Likewise, there had been few civilian casualties in the city itself, largely in part to the quick actions of Atalanta and others like her who jumped into action.

As the townspeople and soldiers worked, news spread from word of mouth between them, speaking of the terror of the Demon Emperor, of his generals, of his soldiers, and the wounds the Summoned Heroes had endured.

And of the death of Lord Takahiro Akechi.

***

Princess Sakura Hiiragi stared blankly at the white linen that covered her husband’s corpse.

Upon learning of their liege lord’s death, the remaining Blades of Yun rushed to the princess’s side and treated both she and her husband’s body with the greatest of respects. They blocked her vision so she wouldn’t have to see his corpse like that, wrapped his body in royal garments and blankets, and recovered the parts that remained scattered across the floor, a gruesome reminder of the brutal manner in which Xi Shi killed Lord Akechi.

Sakura was too weak to stand, so they helped walk her with her husband’s body to their quarters and his body was laid to rest on a table.

Two Blades of Yun stayed with her inside the room, four more waited outside, and the rest went to help the survivors of the attack.

Sakura had tried to send them away before, but they refused.

“Princess.”

“…What?”

“King Alexander is here. Shall I-?”

“Let him in.”

The guards opened the doors, let the king inside, and they all retreated outside the room, giving the monarchs their privacy.

“…Princess Hiiragi.”

“How were your wife and kids?”

“My eldest took an arrow to his shoulder, my daughters are scared and clutching to their mother’s back, and my other sons are breaking their backs to help carry bodies around.”

King Alexander stood beside her and said nothing more.

“…You aren’t going to say you’re sorry?”

“The last thing you need right now is my pity.”

“Why?”

“Because it’ll do nothing but make you feel worse,” he said. “Whether you wish to have him buried here, at home, or cremated, we shall-”

“I don’t care.” Sakura gave out a bitter laugh. “Takahiro was robbed of a dignified death by that bitch. Xi Shi…I’ll give the entire Shogunate to whomever ends her life.”

***

“Heard you died,” Bernaught grunted.

“Nearly,” Dorothy said, coughing a little as she sat up on her bed.

The battle for the walls had been a leisurely stroll in comparison to her clash with the demon general Xi Shi. Despite the elf queen’s best efforts, she’d failed to protect Hiiragi’s husband and suffered many lacerations across her body, leaving her bed ridden and covered in bandages.

But Dorothy was just grateful to be alive.

Her prized sword, Moonheart, had almost shattered - a royal relic forged from Dragon Metal that had pierced the hides of behemoths and slain krakens.

“You don’t look any worse than normal.”

Bernaught chuckled at her joke. “I got lucky, that’s all. The areas I was fighting in were nothing like the shit you all had to deal with. Not even one Dread Knight, not that I wanted to fight them exactly, but you get what I mean.” His expression stiffened. “You know what this means, right?”

Dorothy nodded. “We have to go on the offensive.”

Bernaught grunted in confirmation. “The Demon Emperor might have pulled back for now, but he could return today, tomorrow or whenever he fancies. Rhodes isn’t safe any longer.”

“The ancient city of kings between the 3-way border might be the best place then.”

“As long as our enemy can teleport anywhere or find ways of sneaking through out lines, nowhere is safe. Which.” Bernaught stood up straight. “I’m pleased to say my plan’s coming along nicely.”

“Will it be enough?”

Bernaught grinned. “More than enough to pay that bastard back for every single drop of blood he’s spilt.”

***

“Alright, load the next lot on, promptly!” Dante bellowed as another cart full of rubble was drawn away. “Oi! You lot there!” He began to cough and splutter as his tightly bound wounds threatened to burst. “Corpses!” He choked, but swallowed the fluid in his mouth down. “Corpses go to…” Dante took a sharp breath. “To Atalanta, not me.”

Those he’d called out to followed his commands and left.

Dante let out a relieved sigh as he slumped into a flimsy wooden chair, his escorts, including a doctor, panicked and asked if he was okay.

“When I start throwing up my lungs, then you can worry about me.”

His eyes wandered through the weary crowd; all of them remained stoic as they shifted and sorted through the rubble. When they found flesh or the dead, Alliance soldiers handled it; everything else was passed along and loaded up on wooden carts, to be taken to the largest courtyard on the palace grounds.

I wonder if Alexander intends to use it all for the repairs. Most of tis too weak to make good use off, but we could always just launch it from siege machines at our enemy.

Better than wasting it.

While chatter was at a low, as was the mood, the crowd were not lacking in motivation.

The hope of finding survivors.

The drive to never give up.

The inspiration that came from seeing nobles and royals, King Alexander’s children included, doing their part to help.

It was a sight Dante couldn’t help but crack a smile at.

Your fearmongering has no power here, Demon Emperor.

***

On a whim, Kella had come to the lake where they’d met every month.

It was not their usual time or date, and she hadn’t come expecting to find him, and of course he wasn’t there.

Silently, she placed a sealed letter on the grassy bank they always rested on and walked away.

“I’ve made my choice.”

***

Only a hundred people could attend the rushed funeral of Prince Julius, Prince Augustus and their attendants that had escaped Themis with them.

Some judged it to be ill timed and inappropriate. Others wished they could have attended but prioritised the cleanup efforts instead.

No speeches were given, no words were said; only quiet sobs echoed in the cathedral, the very place the Summoned Heroes had arrived in.

A year had passed since then and for the survivors of the Holy Empire of Themis, it felt as if their final hope had gone.

***

The former Divine Paladin Lawrence awoke bound in thick steel chains, his armour and weapons confiscated and replaced with torn, dirty rags.

Each was bound to the stone walls and floor, enchanted with spells to make them heavier and denser, and three knights were watching him from the front of his cell bars.

“…I don’t suppose any of you would be willing to end a failure’s life?”

***

Ewan didn’t expect to wake up, least of all on a comfy bed.

How am I…alive?

He tried to reach down and touch his waist where he’d been severed, but his arm felt heavier than a rock.

Slowly, agonisingly, he eventually managed to touch it and he couldn’t even feel a scar.

Xi Shi…she…cut me in two…why?

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Gabriel said by his bedside.

Confused, Ewan tried to look at him, but his neck was too stiff.

“I’d stay still and silent, friend, if I were you. Don’t know what happened to you, but I heard you were basically a corpse when they found you. Two seconds I think the healer said you had left until healing magic wouldn’t have any effect on you.” Gabriel lent back in his chair and sighed. “…I wouldn’t say you’re unlucky. Some of the others are way, way worse off than you.”

***

Delwyn had lost an arm.

Eerika nearly died fighting Machai and her body had the scars to prove it.

Tomar’s left lung had been destroyed, making it difficult for him to breathe.

An arrow had taken Reis’s right eye.

Thanks to the efforts of Liam, Kavi, Adrien and Gati, no one on Guy’s team had died fighting in the ballroom, but it was hard for Guy to look on everything positively.

He blamed himself for their wounds.

I’m their leader and, under my command, that happened to them!

To hide his frustrations, Guy worked tirelessly in the makeshift hospital, helping wherever he could, and as far away from his own team as possible.

He knew that he shouldn’t run away from them, yet he ran nonetheless.

***

Feng Li and Brenda were the only two of the heroes free to help tend to the dead inside their dormitories.

There were many faces they recognised.

The soldiers that watched over them.

The staff who brought them their meals and cleaned their rooms.

The friends they’d talked to about their days.

All of them were gone, slaughtered, a slaughter enabled by one of their own - Elysa Tedra.

The two heroes were silent as they worked with the Alliance soldiers, and they treated the dead with as much respect and dignity that could be afforded.

Sadly, their bodies, like almost all the rest, would have to be burnt or buried fast to prevent the spread of diseases and to bring about a proper end to the Battle of Rhodes.

For Feng who had seen plenty of battlefields in his time, with causalities far higher than this, he was used to such duties.

Brenda, however, was fighting hard to resist vomiting.

They’d fought the enemy before and Brenda had seen corpses brutalised before, but it was horrifying for her to see such atrocities committed on those she knew.

“Sister Brenda.”

“…What?”

“Never try to forget what you see today.”

“…Why, Feng?”

“Because this will always keep pushing you forward, onwards to the dawn where no one else must suffer like we are now,” Feng Li said calmly. “I had seen the tyranny of monsters before, and I thought Dong Zhou could not be bested - the Demon Emperor will pay for this, as will Elysa.”

“…That we can both agree on.”

***

“…I thought it was better for me to stay distant from everyone to find the traitor,” Akane said softly to her teammates, Sayeh, Zuzu and Ari. “I thought that if I did that, I’d be protecting everyone, that I’d be helping win the war…that it’d be better in the long run. I…was wrong.

“I didn’t see Amen for who he was, I didn’t see what Elysa was up to and…all I did was distance myself from the people I wanted to protect. When I was living at home back in Japan, I was taught that the leader of any warriors, whether five or five thousand, should never get too close to her men, that she must always be at a good distance and properly see everything.

“That was the way the Nariko family…and it worked for my father and brothers, but not for me.” Akane sighed a little. “I won’t ask for your forgiveness or friendship, but I do ask that you give me a chance to work alongside you all again, with Hajime and the other teams, and that I can earn your trust.”

She gave the trio a deep bow and said, “Please.”

***

“…Your wounds…are they-?”

“Healed by the Demon Emperor’s servant, Mania,” Talon confessed.

The two were meeting on the rooftops again, the place where Charybdis had tortured Talon and she’d defeated Dao Chen.

“…How’d you survive?”

“Luck, and the timely arrival of Stephanie and the others on their way to help Duncan.” Dao Chen sighed. “Honestly, I’m shocked they bothered, given how I’ve treated them. Or did they just do it because it was the right thing to do?”

“What does it matter? All that matters is that what we need to do is kill the Demon Emperor.” Talon’s hands turned into fists. “That’s all.”

“…But we can’t do it by ourselves…you realised that too, right?”

Talon said nothing.

“…I honestly thought we were the strongest, but.” Dao Chen clicked her tongue. “Akane fought Mímir to a tie, Duncan and the others fought the Demon Emperor himself, and Yve and those guys held out the dorms almost entirely by themselves. We need-”

“I’m leaving.”

“Eh?”

“I’m going after them. All of them.” Talon stood up and drew her Divine Artifact. “I’ll sneak into that fucking castle, cut their throats and end this.”

“Talon, that’s suicide.”

“It doesn’t matter if it works.”

“It won’t work, you know that!” Dao Chen exclaimed. “Even if you managed to sneak all the way to the Dread Keep, do you really think there wouldn’t be people that could detect you when you’re invisible? It happened at the Rivers and it happened here, and it can easily happen again. You aren’t thinking straight and you know it.”

“And you’re running,” Talon spat back, glowering at Dao. “You know how that bitch Charybdis fights now, you can beat her, you know that, right? You’re smart enough to-!”

“Talon!” Dao Chen grabbed the other girl’s shoulders firmly. “I don’t know what Mania said to you, but she’s gotten into your head and you’re not thinking clearly!” Dao exhaled. “We can’t do this, alone or together. We need the other heroes…they need us. Harmonia summoned all of us together because she knew we couldn’t do this alone. Admittedly, two traitors, maybe more, isn’t a great record, but…” Dao Chen smiled thinly. “Maybe it happened because we weren’t all united. Talon, please.” Dao Chen took a softer tone. “Just try it, for me.

“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll go together and do your plan. Okay?”

***

“Steph, are you sure we should be training today? I mean, after everything that happened and-”

“It’s not like I don’t feel bad for this, but I think I might be on the cusp of a breakthrough,” she said, studying Blake’s rings more intently.

“…When did you have this sudden inspiration?”

“While fighting that Hermes guy.”

Blake looked at her in disbelief. “You got inspired by the Demon Emperor’s court wizard?”

“…Inspiration comes when you least expect it. Anyway, if it helps us win the war, what does it matter? And now that Elysa, that bitch!” Stephanie grabbed Blake’s fingers forcefully and started pumping mana into them. “Has abandoned us, we’re short a good, constant supply of mana to experiment with. Thankfully.”

The rings began to glow a golden yellow.

“We might not need her.”

***

Hailey had gladly volunteered to help sweep the palace for any enemy stragglers.

The chances were very low, given the Demon Emperor’s previous track record, but it was a job King Alexander wanted doing nonetheless.

Yve had volunteered too, as had a number of knights and adventurers, each moving in small teams to survey the King’s Palace and its surroundings.

Hailey and Yve were patrolling the walls as a pair, taking care to not get in the way of the people gathering the dead and rubble.

“…How you holding up?” Yve asked.

“…I don’t know…” Hailey confessed with a small laugh. “Numb, I guess is the best way to describe it. Just…numb. I don’t know what I’m meant to feel right now, seeing this, seeing David, knowing he wanted to kill you guys and…freaking brainwash me.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Can you teach me some French swear words real quick?”

“Sure. Bastard. Fuckface. Cunt. Die in a fire, you fucking cunting bastard cunt, how dare you hurt my lovely Hailey!”

“…Do I want to-?”

“No. It’s better this way.”

Hailey giggled a little, then, with a melancholic expression, repeated the words, though her pronunciation was a little off.

“…Feel better?”

Hailey shrugged. “A little bit, maybe, I don’t know.” She sighed again and looked across the battlements towards the east. “We’ll be going after him next time, won’t we?”

“…Yep.”

“Think I’ll get some proper answers or closure next time?”

“…I hope so,” Yve said. “But hey, if all else fails.” She put an arm around Hailey, cupped her cheek and put on a handsome smile. “I’ll always be there for you, princess.”

Still as unimpressed by the French girl’s flirting as always, Hailey gently pushed her fingers away and poked Yve’s nose with her finger. “Still gonna have to do better than that.” Hailey said, walking away.

“Ah, but my love, I speak no-” Yve paused as she followed Hailey’s back. “No…huh?”

Suddenly, Yve felt very flushed.

Her face felt hot and she could feel her cheeks turning red.

Oh no.

Yve, embarrassed, turned away from Hailey and swore beneath her breath.

“Yve? Is everything-?”

“Yep! Yep! All good, just…just one…moment.”

Hailey, I…I don’t think my jokes are, hehe, jokes…anymore.

Shyly, Yve glanced around at Hailey who was looking at her slightly confused.

“Oh shit.”

***

On an isolated hilltop far from the city, two bodies were burning atop funeral pyres.

Dame Chelsea and Amen Hassad - a former knight of the Holy Empire of Themis and a former teammate.

There were three people in attendance for their funeral.

Kayleigh, Duncan and Hajime.

Their eyes were red, their throats dry, their expressions vacant.

It had been a long night and the day was proving to be even longer.

It felt like years had passed since the attack had begun.

In reality, it hadn’t even been fifteen hours.

Since they’d been dancing at the ball.

Since the New Year had rung in.

Since they’d looked optimistically towards the New Year.

“…What about Gleipnir?” Kayleigh asked.

“It…stopped working, I think,” Hajime said. “I couldn’t use it…but King Alexander said he’ll see if anyone else can. If not.” Hajime shrugged. “Back to the vault, I guess…somehow.”

“…Better that than into the hands of the Demon Emperor,” Duncan said. “…Elysa?”

Kayleigh shook her head. “Escaped, with them. Taking her Divine Artifact with her…I should’ve…I…” She trailed off and scrunched her eyelids together. “Duncan, Hajime…can I…can I ask you both something?”

Her voice shook as she spoke, deeply alarming the two men.

“Are we…” She sniffled a little as they looked at her, seeing an expression that Kayleigh would never have normally allowed them to see; a pitiful, soul crushing one. “Are we…really friends?”

Duncan didn’t hesitate to hug her.

Startled, Kayleigh didn’t respond at first, but slowly embraced him back and began to cry softly into his shoulder.

“…I don’t know about everyone else, but I swear to you, to both of you.” Duncan glanced over his shoulder as Hajime stood beside them, firmly placing hands on both their shoulders. “I am your friend. I’ll say it as many times as you want and prove it just as many, I swear it.”

“Me too,” Hajime said.

Kayleigh nodded and held Duncan more tightly. “Yeah!”