Demoness 3 - Chapter 14: ​Towers (14,566 Words) (Patreon)

Elania watched as Arlois and the Sun Emperor flew towards each other. Auras blazed with power around both of them, causing the air to crackle with energy as they closed the distance.

It seemed like they sped up the closer they got, their movement turning into a flash that was almost too fast to follow.

Yolani’s hand squeezed Elania’s. Elania glanced at the other girl. She was biting her lip, concern etched in lines on her face.

Elania let out a tense breath, the touch grounding her, reminding her she wasn’t alone in the fight.

Four guards finally arrived, carrying a machine gun and a large box of ammunition.

They looked to Elania and Yolani, awaiting orders.

“Where should we set up?” one of them asked, his voice strained with the effort of carrying the heavy weapon.

Elania glanced out across the city, taking in the battlefield's chaos.

The enemy army had vanished, essentially wiped out, but their airships still flew around the periphery, trading cannon fire with Contia’s defenses.

With the city’s barrier down, enemy spells and cannonballs smashed into uncovered defensive emplacements, while the city’s weapons continued to lick at the enemy fleet’s defenses.

Yolani gestured to a spot beside them, and the men quickly set up the machine gun. It seemed like it was a bit too late. The machine gun wasn’t meant for fighting ships.

Elania took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she knew she had to do. “I’m going to go help Arlois,” she said, her voice steady despite the very opposite feeling gripping her heart.

Yolani’s hand tightened around hers, and Elania could feel the other woman’s concern radiating through the touch. “Be careful,” Yolani said, her eyes searching Elania’s face.

Elania nodded. “You too,” she said, her voice soft. “Be careful.”

Yolani pulled her into a hug, holding her close. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” Elania replied, returning the embrace with equal fervor.

After a moment, Elania pulled away, hopping up onto the crenellation and spreading her wings. The wind tugged at her hair and armor, urging her to take flight.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” Yolani asked, her voice tinged with a hint of amusement.

Elania looked back, a wry grin tugging at her lips. “I’d never leave you,” she said, her voice filled with conviction.

Then, with a powerful beat of her wings, she launched herself into the air, aiming towards the battle that raged above.

As she drew closer, a massive flare of purple and yellow energy erupted around the two Demi-Divine leaders, obscuring their forms.

The intense wind generated by the clash pushed Elania back, making it difficult for her to approach.

A red wing flickered in the corner of Elania’s vision, and a weight slammed into her from the side. Instinctively, Elania grabbed the other Demi’s arm, ready to attack, but she quickly realized it was Ember.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ember shouted, her voice barely audible over the roaring wind.

“We need to help Arlois!” Elania yelled back, her eyes still fixed on the swirling energy.

Ember’s grip tightened on Elania’s arms. “No! You need to help me deal with the enemy air fleet—that will be helping Arlois!”

Elania grunted, her gaze shifting to the remaining enemy ships firing into the burnt city below.

She nodded. “Alright, I will. What do you want me to do?”

A grin spread across Ember’s face. “We’ll burn them all.”

Elania’s stomach churned. There had already been so much flame. “I’ve already seen too much burning,” she said, her voice strained.

“I’m sorry, but that’s my natural affinity,” Ember said, her tone hinting she was anything but sorry.

Frustration bubbled up inside Elania. “Fine! But What. Do. You. Want. Me. To. Do?”

The grin returned to Ember’s face. “I need you to shield us while we fly through, and I’ll do the rest.”

Elania nodded. “I can do that.”

Ember tugged on Elania’s hand, pointing toward a section of the enemy ships. “You go first. I’ll be right on your toes.”

With a nod, Elania turned and flew towards the enemy fleet.

A few seconds later she felt a weight on her ankles and glanced down to see Ember literally grabbing onto her feet. She nearly stopped mid-flight.

“What are you doing?” Elania shouted.

Ember’s grip tightened. “I need to focus, and you need to fly over the airships without getting us smashed by anti-divinity!”

Elania grunted, annoyance flashing across her face. “Fine!”

As they approached, there was a sudden drag on their speed.

She looked back and saw Ember’s wings expanding behind them, growing larger and larger with each passing second. The sight was both awe-inspiring and concerning.

“Go faster!” Ember shouted, her voice strained with effort.

“You’re slowing us down!” Elania retorted, frustration evident in her tone.

“That’s the point! Keep us moving, or we’ll get hit with our own attack!”

Elania hissed, miffed by Ember’s demands.

Nevertheless, she focused on increasing her speed, jetting down toward the enemy fleet.

She knew their expanded form would make them an easy target, and her instincts were quickly proven right.

Purple flak-like anti-divinity rounds fired up at them, exploding in the surrounding air.

Elania dove through the barrage, dodging sideways and zig-zagging to avoid the attacks.

Ember’s wings acted like parachutes, slowing down every maneuver and making it harder to evade the exploding rounds.

“That’s good, now take us over them!” Ember called out.

Elania complied, flying over the enemy ships and banking slightly to aim for the next group.

The anti-divinity fire from the ships behind them slowed and then stopped altogether.

She glanced back, and what she saw nearly caused her to lose control.

Everything behind them had been turned into a roiling inferno with the flames connected to Ember’s wings in a terrifying display.

No, they definitely couldn’t stop. Or even slow down.

She focused on dragging them over the rest of the enemy ships, her wings beating furiously.

Some of the vessels started to flee the oncoming wall of fire, but they were too slow, even with Ember’s wings slowing them down.

The flames consumed the ships, turning them into burning husks that plummeted from the sky.

Halfway around the city, Elania spotted their starting point, still boiling with fire.

She realized the flame wall had expanded to the size of the city, engulfing the area outside of it. Awe filled her as she witnessed the sheer magnitude of Ember’s power. If Ember could do this, why hadn’t they done it to the enemy fleet at the beginning?

A golden and purple clash cleaved an island in half in the distance, and Elania’s stomach sank.

That was part of the airship wharf that had just been annihilated, the one she had helped repair. The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.

That’s why they hadn’t started with it—the Sun Emperor.

Both sides had been hiding their trump cards, slowly dolling out their decks until things reached a boil.

“Focus!” Ember shouted, snapping Elania out of her thoughts.

Elania grunted, realizing she had almost missed several enemy ships in her distraction.

They continued burning away the enemy armada, leaving very few ships remaining as they completed the rest of their circle.

As the enemy flagship came into sight, Elania made a beeline for it.

Taking down the command ship would be a coup and significant blow to the Monevoian forces. Not that there were many left.

She pushed herself to fly faster, determined to reach the flagship before it could escape the encroaching inferno.

The heat from the flames was intense, and sweat dripped down her face. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the discomfort as she focused on her target.

The flagship grew in size as they closed the distance, its massive hull bristling with weapons and armor.

Elania’s heart raced as they drew closer, the anticipation of the impending confrontation sending a rush of adrenaline.

Hundreds of smaller guns opened up, firing at them with wild abandon.

A golden sphere formed around the ship, acting as a powerful arcane defense field.

Ember flapped her wings forward toward the ship, slamming it between the two appendages of inferno.

The heat and flames rushed over them. “What are you doing?” Elania yelled, her voice barely audible over the roaring flames.

Ember slid up from her ankles and grabbed her waist, pulling her close. “Hold on!” she shouted, her grip tightening around Elania.

Elania gripped the other woman as they were flung around in the inferno, Ember’s barrier somehow protecting them as the giant flame storm rushed over them and into the enemy flagship, converging and shrinking into a spear of flame as it struck.

The heat licked at them through Ember’s barrier. It was worse than an oven on a hot day.

Ember dragged them out of the path of flames, and Elania regained her wings, twisting to look at the enemy ship.

The golden protection sphere flickered and then died, and the colossal flame wall skewered the ship like it was a little toy, punching through it and then expanding in a massive cloud that was washed away immediately by the inferno.

Elania panted as she regained her breath. “That’s ridiculous,” she said in a strained voice.

Ember nodded, her expression grim. “We should go to the central Spire now and regroup.”

Elania nodded, and they turned to fly toward the central Spire.

The Purple Tower was just ahead of them, along the way.

A yellow crescent suddenly sliced in two along with the island it was on, causing the section of the city to fall off Contia.

Elania froze for a second, her eyes wide with shock.

Ember turned and looked at her, her expression mirroring Elania’s.

Before she could ask what was going on, the other woman cursed and then shot toward Elania, shoving her through the air.

Elania shouted in surprise, regaining her balance. “What was that for?” she demanded, but as she looked at Ember, her heart stopped.

The Ember was impaled through the middle on a golden trident held up by a golden Demi-Divine.

The Sun Emperor, Elania realized with a sinking feeling in her gut.

  *

Elania stared at the Sun Emperor, getting her first good view up close. He was encased in brilliant gold armor like his Golds, in an almost classic era style. His form resembled a chiseled statue, except in color.

Elania’s eyes flashed to the impaled Ember, whose wings flickered out.

Elania pulled out her dagger and rushed the Sun Emperor with a shout.

He reached out and waved a hand at her. Despite not being anywhere near hitting her, a solid blow struck her in the face, knocking her away. She went tumbling away in a daze.

By the time she recovered, Ember was falling to the ground, limp.

Elania shot toward her to try and catch her, only for the Sun Emperor to appear in front of her.

He grabbed her wrist as she swung at him and crushed it, the snapping of bone jolting down her arm. Elania shrieked and kicked at him.

He raised his hand, golden light surrounding it and turning into a blade. “Not even worth keeping in a harem,” he spat, starting to swing at her.

She struggled, but it was no use.

Before he could slash her, a green vine surrounded his hand and jerked him away.

He didn’t release her, and she was tugged along too.

A thought formed and she forced her bracer to turn into spikes to impale his hand. That got him to let go so he could punch her.

She ducked it and morphed her bracer into her revolver, shooting him in the stomach with a normal bullet.

It thunked and flattened itself on his armor. It did absolutely nothing but add to her backward momentum as she unleashed her full standard clip at him.

He ignored her shots and focused on Elysia, who had grown a giant tree vine out into the sky to them.

Thousands of small branches grew off the tree and began to fire in giant waves of spears at the Emperor.

He raised his hand at the tree, and suddenly a golden wave flowed out, setting it all on fire and incinerating the projectiles.

Elania floated backwards, gaining distance while her wrist healed, bones snapping back together with a painful crunching sound.

She ignored the pain and opened her Regalia’s cylinder and reached for a speed loader, her hands trembling as uncertainty gripped her. Which one should she choose?

Elysia waved her green staff, and the giant, growing tree vine launched toward the Sun Emperor, flames licking at its edges.

The Sun Emperor raised his hand overhead, a massive orb of flame forming and compressing above him.

The small, concentrated orb flashed toward the tip of the vine, reaching for him, and they collided in a tremendous plasma explosion.

Instead of incinerating, the vine exploded into a massive green cloud of gas. Elania winced as the sudden, strong smell of rotten eggs assaulted her nostrils.

Realization dawned on her—the glowing green cloud was sulfuric acid, or at least some magical version of it.

The Emperor’s outfit suffered some damage, but he slapped his hands together, creating a massive wind turbulence.

A shimmering barrier formed around him, suddenly turning a brilliant white hot, forcing Elania to shield her eyes from the blinding light.

Ice came to mind, and Elania grabbed the ice speed loader, slotting it into her revolver with a satisfying click.

The giant tree vine melted all the way back to the island, and Elysia rushed forward, her staff at the ready.

The Sun Emperor reached out, and a sword—a genuine blade, not a light weapon—materialized in his hand.

His parry nearly sliced Elysia in half as it flicked through her staff like it was a twig, but she didn’t falter.

She attacked with the broken halves, dual-wielding the jagged remnants. Thorns grew on the splintered ends and shot out, stabbing at the Emperor’s exposed flesh.

Elania took a deep breath, steeling herself. She shot forward.

Elysia’s thorny stick connected with the Sun Emperor’s helmet, the growth wrapping around his head like a crown of thorns.

For a moment, it seemed like the tide had turned in their favor. But his body suddenly flared with an intense yellow heat, searing the thorny growth off of him.

In a swift motion, he grabbed Elysia as she swung again, his hand gripping her arm tightly.

He head-butted her with a sickening crack, causing Elania to wince. He shook Elysia like a rag-doll before plunging his sword through her neck at the collarbone. Elania’s heart sank as she watched him toss Elysia’s limp body away.

Desperation surged as Elania raised her revolver and fired. The ice shock grew rapidly, encasing the Sun Emperor in a crystalline cone suspended in the air.

But he wasn’t frozen inside of it.

He raised his hand, his reflection hazy inside the ice.

A wave of panic washed over her. She fired again, emptying her cylinder, each shot shattering the ice and regrowing it instantly, shredding the air with thousands of ice shards.

The Emperor ignored that, flashing through them and straight toward her, his ornate steel sword slicing through the air and barely missing her head as she ducked.

The air shimmered with heat from the blade’s passage.

She grabbed his ankle and squeezed with all her might, the metal of his armor shrieking and crumpling under her grip, but the flesh beneath resisted easily.

A kick connected with Elania’s helmet, sending her yawing through the air.

As she tumbled, Elania summoned two light spears and hurled them at him, but they flipped mid-flight and flew back at her instead.

She raised her arms in a cross to block, bracing herself as the spears exploded against her wings.

That hurt, dazzling and dazing her as she struggled to correct with her wings.

As her vision cleared, a dozen more light spears hurtled towards her. She rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging the onslaught, but the shockwaves from their nearby explosions buffeted her.

When she recovered from the tumble, she found herself face-to-face with the Emperor, accidentally slamming into his solid form.

She lashed out with an uppercut, aiming for his jaw, but he caught her wrist in an iron grip.

Time seemed to freeze as they locked eyes, and everything seemed to fade away into a yellow haze.

She struggled against the Sun Emperor’s grip, but she couldn’t move at all.

She was frozen.

He had captured her in his [Domain].

His helmet retracted, revealing a strikingly handsome face with piercing golden eyes and yellow-blonde hair.

He smirked at her, his voice dripping with condescension. “I misjudged you. At least you have courage. Perhaps I’ll add you after all.”

Elania tried to fight back, picturing her own domain and pushing against his influence with all her might. All she managed was a feeble shiver.

The Sun Emperor clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “It’s impolite to keep your helmet on when I’ve removed mine.”

He reached out and touched the side of her head, somehow dismissing her Regalia with the gesture.

Her fist remained frozen in the air, her revolver gripped tightly in her other hand.

He pulled her arm up and examined the weapon. “A peculiar device, but your [Elemental Affinity] is far too basic to properly use it yet. Still, it’s quite novel for a fledgling.”

His eyes lit up as he stroked the side of Elania’s face, his touch sending a wave of revulsion through her. “I will add you to my collection.”

A frown creased his face, and he pulled back as he scrutinized her. His eyes narrowed. “Actually, tell me, are you mine? You’re almost pretty enough to be.”

Confusion clouded Elania’s mind. What was he talking about?

“It would make sense. I can’t imagine Arlois taking just any random Demi under her wing.” He frowned, his displeasure evident. “I don’t take daughters.”

Elania’s eyes flickered to her frozen uppercut, where her bracer of mana shards rested.

The Sun Emperor waved his hand dismissively. “Answer me. Are you my daughter?”

Elania met his gaze, defiance burning in her eyes. “If I was, the only thing I would say to you is ‘Get Fucked, Dad.’”

She compressed all twenty-four of her mana shards at once.

The sudden surge of power overwhelmed her [Mana Manipulation], crumpling it like tissue paper as the energy went supernova.

The explosion hurled her away from him, breaking his [Domain].

She folded her wings around herself, shielding her body from the searing energy that tore at her flesh.

Despite the pain, a small sense of relief washed over her—she was no longer trapped in his grasp.

That only lasted for a second, because then the energy began to devour her flesh.

She shrieked as her body burned away.

Desperately she pumped [Divine Power] into [Regeneration].

Her flesh constantly regrew and vaporized despite the guard of her wings.

[Demonic Aura] did nothing to stem the rush of [Power] washing over her.

She hurtled through the air for what felt like an eternity of pain when suddenly arms caught her, and her flesh reformed. Her missing left arm began to re-knit and reform. Painfully.

Elania cracked an eye open and looked up at the sky.

A massive pillar of light jutted into the air, creating a hole in the sky.

It was mesmerizing—stars, glittering thousands of stars—visible where the atmosphere had been totally blown away.

“I got you,” a female voice said, and Elania realized Lyra was holding her.

Elania calmed her breathing and steadied herself in the air, her torn wings reforming with golden feathers.

She looked at where the blast had gone off.

The pillar didn’t just go up into the sky. The deep puncture wound into the earth bled lava and smoke from where it had dug downward into the ground.

A molten geyser of liquid rock poured hundreds of feet into the air.

Elania tried to speak and coughed, the new flesh raw.

She grabbed a healing potion and drank it, soothing her throat and pain.

“Are you okay?” Lyra asked.

Elania asked, “Is the bastard dead?”

Lyra frowned and said, “No.”

Elania grunted. Lyra let go of her and moved in front of Elania.

The Sun Emperor dove and stopped in front of them, stopping at a safe distance.

Elania could see his armor, shattered and slowly reforming, his flesh seared and bloody in the gaps.

His face was pulverized, an eyeball sliding back into its socket. The sight was grotesque and horrible as he reformed.

Outrage and hatred steamed off of him, aimed directly at Elania.

She tensed.

“You’ll pay for that,” he said flatly. He surged forward.

Lyra shoved her toward Contia. “Back to the city!”

  *

Elania zoomed as fast as she could back to the city.

She looked around frantically for Arlois, her heart sinking when she couldn’t spot their leader. What had happened to her?

Halfway back, the Emperor appeared in front of her with a flicker, causing her to jerk. She barely dodged a light spear launched at her, the searing heat grazing her cheek as it whizzed past.

Lyra appeared beside her, throwing a crescent of water that lashed out at the Sun Emperor. He batted it away with a swing of his fist, vaporizing it.

The steam shifted, transforming into a spear that flew back around to stab him in the side. He cursed before gesturing to the injury. The steam turned into plasma, melting into his body as he absorbed it.

“Go! I’ll hold him off!” Lyra shouted.

Elania nodded and turned to fly.

Lyra intercepted the Sun Emperor as he moved to attack Elania again. She struck with two water geysers; the water surging towards their enemy. The Sun Emperor countered with two sun orbs, the blazing spheres colliding with the geysers in a burst of heated water vapor.

Power and divinity swirled in the air, thickening it and making it difficult for Elania to navigate.

She was forced to do a flip to avoid a projectile; the energy sizzling past her. Elania turned around and flew backwards, watching the clash.

Mostly so she could know when to dodge, but also because of the sheer gratuitousness of the fight.

Dozens of water crescents were countered by dozens of sun orbs, a growing wall of steam filling the air above and below the two combatants.

Suddenly, all the steam was possessed by Lyra’s power, shifting into a barrage of spears that hurtled towards the Sun Emperor.

He summoned a golden shield and flew backward.

The steam spears slammed into the shield, bursting into popping explosions. The explosions were loud enough to cause Elania to wince, the ringing in her head disorienting.

The Sun Emperor pivoted toward Elania and launched like a bullet at her, moving twice as fast as she had seen before.

Lyra struggled to keep up, summoning water spears and shooting them at him. They hissed as they evaporated in the heat of his wings.

Elania dragged desperately on her [Divine Power] but drew a blank on what she could do.

Her mana shards were gone.

She blinked, realizing that maybe she didn’t need one?

She tried to convert the [Divine Power] into [Power] without shoving it into a mana shard or skill first.

It wrestled with her, and she felt a painful prick in the back of her head, but then it suddenly clicked.

A blue orb formed in front of her.

That was a surprise.

She accidentally released it, and a blue beam of pure [Power] mana lashed forward like a laser, slamming into the Emperor.

He tumbled slightly, and Lyra swung a whip of water at him, snagging his ankle and yanking him backward.

He flipped around, his wings spreading out and glowing like two giant furnaces, vaporizing the water.

He clapped them together in front of him, slamming Lyra.

Elania felt panic rise in her chest, almost stopping her flight back to the city to try and help.

But the two flaming wings were pried open by a growing well of water, steam spraying into the air as the liquid fought against the radiance.

Lyra’s shell of water turned into a massive dragon, expanding on itself until it was many times larger than an airship. It swung its tail, slamming the Emperor and flinging him away.

Elania turned and flew faster toward the city, searching for any sign of Arlois.

Behind her, the titanic battle between the water dragon and the Sun Emperor raged on, the violent sprays of water falling on her and the city in a torrential rainfall whenever chunks were blown away from the dragon.

As the battle traveled toward the city along with her, Elania reached an outer island. Suddenly, a giant spinning wheel of flame appeared in the sky, raining down chunks of fire on the area as the wheel beat relentlessly at the water dragon.

Elania turned, watching in awe as the water dragon smashed the flame orbs with its wings and released a massive gout of steam from its throat, stifling the wheel.

The dragon’s tail lashed out again, striking the Sun Emperor and knocking him to the ground on the island.

It beat at him, but he rolled out of the way, his solar wings slapping the attack away. The dragon roared and reached down with a clawed arm, pinning him in place. He began to beat at the claws repeatedly.

Lyra flew forward to the side, raising her hand as a giant icicle formed in the air, glittering sapphire blue in the dying light of dusk.

The Sun Emperor roared. The water dragon roared back in his face.

Do it, Elania urged.

The blackened Emperor’s flagship crashed through the dragon to slam into Lyra from the side. Elania’s eyes widened in horror as the water dragon exploded into loose water, defeated.

Terror gripped at her.

Lyra’s icicle fell uselessly to the ground as the Sun Emperor was freed.

He rose to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury. He glanced at her, not Lyra and the plummeting flagship.

Elania turned and flew as fast as she could toward the Central Spire and the Celestial Engine.

Light spears chased her, filling the air with explosions.

The heat from the attacks singed her skin. She didn’t look back.

Instead, she overcharged her wings with power to the point that her feathers burned off, leaving a glittering cloud of golden motes in her wake.

She hoped Arlois or the Central Tower would help her, but the purple lightning strike from the spire that had taken down the enemy airship never came.

Defenders pointed their turrets at her and fired. She dodged the shots, knowing they weren’t aiming for her but at the Sun Emperor tailing her. They were just moving so fast it was impossible to hit either of them.

When she reached the tower, her heart sank when she saw no sign of Arlois.

She pivoted in the air, pulling on her [Divine Power] to charge another [Power] attack. She compressed the energy into an exponential lump in the air, this time focusing on maintaining control of the orb.

The Sun Emperor flared his massive solar wings, one of them clipping the tower and crushing right through it. Masonry spilled from the top of the building as it crumbled under the impact.

Elania focused on her mana orb, refusing to let it slip early this time.

She made a tiny hole in the orb’s shell, releasing a narrow laser beam at the Emperor.

He dodged, but she opened another hole in the orb, shooting at him again, the energy crackling through the air as it sought its target.

It missed too.

That was okay.

She pulled the beams back to curve around through the air and back into the orb.

Crescents of blue began to fill the air, forming deadly wires of [Power] as the Emperor dodged and weaved through the air.

His annoyance finally burst and he raised his sword to slice the air, sending a golden arc of sunlight at her.

Elania grunted and spread her hands, causing the orb to turn into a vertical panel. The sunlight and it sparked and cackled while the rest of the strike passed behind her and struck the central tower.

Panic gripped Elania as the attack hit the Celestial Engine chamber.

The Sun Emperor darted in at her at close range.

She waved her hand and the mana orb stabbed him in the side, exploding spikes running through his leg, but his hand reached her throat and he jetted forward, slamming her into the central tower.

There was an explosion as a defensive field flared, causing them to separate.

He slammed into the barrier, and she hurtled into the Celestial Engine chamber, bouncing on the ornate marbled floor, leaving a bloody trail as she skidded to a stop.

Elania looked up. The Celestial Engine astrolabe was still there, turning.

The barrier around the room flared to red and spider-webbed and shattered as the Sun Emperor pounded on it with his fists.

Elania struggled to her feet, her body aching from the impact.

She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes locked on the Sun Emperor as he broke through the barrier.

The astrolabe continued to turn behind her, its gentle clicking a stark contrast to the violence unfolding in the chamber.

The Sun Emperor stepped through the shattered barrier, his eyes blazing with fury.

Elania watched with growing unease as the Emperor turned his attention to the Celestial Engine, opening his arms wide in a gesture of reverence.

“Ah, how wonderful, to finally have a second Engine in my grasp,” he said, his voice dripping with satisfaction.

Elania glanced around the chamber, searching for anything she could use to fight him.

Her heart sank as she checked her HUD.

[Divine Power: 23,385/60,000]

The Sun Emperor chuckled, turning to face her with a condescending smile.

“Don’t worry, little bird,” he said, his tone mockingly reassuring. “Once I rip the concept seed from your mother’s little toy, I will take the ultimate step toward Full Divinity. And being magnanimous, I can forgive my impertinent children’s transgressions.”

Elania glared at him, her resolve hardening. “You can’t have the Engine,” she declared, her voice steady despite the fear gripping her heart. “The city needs it, and I won’t let you have it.”

The Sun Emperor sighed, a golden glowing sword of yellow energy slowly forming in his hand.

Elania took a deep breath, slipping her last elemental speed loader into her revolver. The weight of her Regalia was small comfort.

“You have a horrible mouth on you,” the Sun Emperor tsked, his eyes narrowing. “I’m going to mark you well enough so you remember not to wag your tongue so much.”

He launched forward, cleaving the distance between them.

Elania raised her revolver, firing before he could reach her.

A gout of ice erupted from the barrel, encasing him in a frozen prison. It was short-lived as he shattered the ice with a flex of his power.

Elania fired again, a lightning bolt slamming into his body and arcing off the shattering ice. He jerked from the impact but swung his sword, absorbing the crackling energy.

He moved to charge at her again, his wings expanding to maintain his balance.

Desperation clutched at her and she fired a third time, a mist of acid blanketing the area. He jumped over it, but Elania pointed her revolver up at him, firing a fourth shot.

A black dart shot out, nailing his wing.

A black orb of dissolution began to whirl around the wound, and he cursed at her, his face contorted with rage.

It didn’t work how she wanted it to.

He spun along with the dissolution magic, but his form glowed with an intense, blinding light.

Her magic popped and failed, the dissolution magic deleted by his sheer power and will.

Elania raised her revolver and fired again, but the wave of fire stopped halfway to him and shot back at her, forcing her to curl her wings for protection.

The blast hit her in the face anyway, scorching her skin and causing her to cry out in pain.

She swung her wing and went to aim at him again, but his hand slapped her across the face, sending her flying to the floor with a sickening thump.

Disoriented, she tried to recover, but the Sun Emperor’s foot slammed down on her shoulder, pinning her in place.

He held his golden sword up, ready to deliver the coup de grâce.

“I have decided to get rid of you,” he sneered, his eyes gleaming with malice.

As he went to stab her, a bullet slammed into his helmet, knocking him aside.

He growled and turned toward the source of the shot, only for a second bullet to hit him in the head, shattering his golden helmet.

He ripped the remnants of the helmet off, his face contorted with rage.

“Puny mortal, you dare?” he roared, charging toward the shooter.

Elania rolled to her side, her eyes widening as she saw Yolani reloading her weapon, a look of determination mixed with fear on her face.

“NO!” Elania shouted, reaching out her hand.

  *

Elania’s heart spasmed as she watched the Sun Emperor rush toward Yolani, who fumbled with reloading.

She scrambled to her feet.

The distance was much too far.

Even if she tried to materialize her aura, it wouldn’t be enough to slow him.

Yolani swapped to her wand and pointed at the ground, a sheet of stone erupting in front of her. The Emperor smashed through it effortlessly, sending a spray of stone slamming into Yolani.

He stepped forward and raised his glowing blade to strike her down.

Elania flew like a bullet. It wasn’t nearly enough.

At the last second, a purple blur slammed into the Emperor, sending the two tumbling away.

Arlois.

Elania continued to rush to Yolani’s side. Kneeling beside the other girl, it took a second to take in her wounds.

Stone shards were buried in her flesh and gear, like a load of birdshot had worked its way under her skin. Blood seeped from the injuries at a slow, but widespread, rate.

Elania swallowed and pushed [Divine Mending] to activate, forcing [Power] through it and overlaying it on her. “You’re going to be okay,” Elania reassured her, her voice trembling.

Yolani’s breathing was shallow. There weren’t any wounds on her face or head, but there was a deep gash on her neck. Yolani reached up and squeezed Elania’s hand.

The stones began to work their way out of her body as the golden glow of mending took hold.

And then the screaming began.

Elania squeezed Yolani’s hand back and fumbled with her pouch and pulled out her three remaining healing potions. One went down Yolani’s throat, the other splashed on the largest wounds Elania could find.

Yolani turned on her side and coughed up blood, then began to stir, and Elania helped her sit up.

“These healing potions aren’t very tasty,” Yolani mumbled, still dazed.

Elania hugged her tightly, relief washing over her. “What are you doing here?”

Yolani held onto Elania’s arm, their eyes meeting. “Everyone needs to help,” she whispered.

A loud crash behind them drew Elania’s attention.

She looked back and saw Arlois locked in combat with the Sun Emperor. Arlois was missing her left arm, wielding a purple flame sword in her right hand that sent sprays of gold and purple sparks through the air with each clash of their glowing blades.

“I have to go help,” Elania said.

Yolani grabbed Elania’s pant leg, stopping her.

Elania frowned, torn. “We have to defeat him, and then we’ve won,” she said, her voice urgent.

Yolani held up a handful of small mana shards. Elania grunted and took them. “Thanks,” she said, turning to look for an opening in the ongoing battle.

The sword fight between Arlois and the Sun Emperor intensified as Elania watched. The clash of their blades sent vibrant sparks flying with each exchange, painting the chamber in a dazzling display of gold and purple.

The Emperor’s strength was far superior, and each blow bashed Arlois around with brutal force. Yet Arlois flowed with each strike, dodging and parrying with calculated precision.

It seemed like they were evenly matched.

The Emperor waved his free hand, cleaving the air between them with a golden crescent.

Arlois ducked under it, narrowly avoiding the attack, only to be met with a second one that she was forced to leap over. Mid-air, their swords clashed again and Arlois was flung toward a wall. She landed on her feet and shot back at him with enough force to crack the stone.

The extra force was enough to knock the Emperor’s sword away with the next clash and Arlois dropped a purple ball in his face that exploded.

His golden armor crumbled around his face, before slowly reforming as he pivoted toward Arlois’ next attack.

Elania tore her gaze away from the battle, checking her revolver.

She pushed some standard bullets into the empty slots, noting the single kinetic elemental shell that remained.

With a grunt, she turned to Yolani. “We need to work on a melee weapon.”

Yolani looked up at her, then glanced at Elania’s back. “What about your sword?”

Time seemed to freeze.

She blinked and then reached behind her back. Her fingers encircled a hilt.

Pulling it out revealed a giant golden sword that should have been a noticeable hindrance to her the entire battle.

Recognition dawned on her slowly, followed by a wave of outrage.

“How could you?” she whispered to Eziel.

[No. You cannot wield me here. You are too weak. His domain will force me to obey his orders. He would win immediately.]

Elania trembled, biting back the urge to rant at him.

If he was useless in the fight, then he was useless.

She placed him back on her back and turned to Yolani. “The sword is broken, so we can’t use it.”

Yolani frowned and nodded. “I might be able to help.” She tugged Elania back down and grabbed her bracer, closing her eyes in concentration.

The metal grew slowly, a blade extending from it over Elania’s hand. It grew longer, taking the shape of a triangle, resembling a katar.

Yolani finished, her chest puffing. “It’s hard to work on Regalia like that on the fly.”

Elania thanked her, then looked away. “Go back to the Neftasu District. It isn’t safe here.”

Yolani shook her head. “Nowhere is safe.”

Elania clicked her tongue, her gaze returning to the ongoing battle between Arlois and the Sun Emperor.

Elania’s heart raced as the Sun Emperor stared at her, turning his attention away from Arlois.

The Purple Tower fought ferociously, landing a half dozen blows with her violet sword as it turned into a flickering punishment for the dismissal.

He battered her away; his injuries healing with golden energy.

He didn’t care.

Elania stood up.

[He knows.]

Elania jumped away from Yolani, her eyes scanning the chamber for the balcony so she could fly away.

She wasn’t fast enough. The Emperor bulled through Arlois’ assault and charged straight for Elania.

Elania’s hand closed around one of the mana shards Yolani had given her, crushing it in her palm. Then she compressed the released [Power] before it could escape, gesturing at the wall and blasting an opening.

She slipped through the jagged hole, her wings spreading as she flashed into the open air. She spun around and leveled her Regalia at the hole.

As soon as the Emperor emerged from the smoke and debris, she fired.

The shot smashed a dent into his pauldron, but it did nothing to slow him down.

Elania turned and her wings beat furiously as she flung herself upward, desperate to keep her distance.

A flash of red caught her eye, and she realized it was Ember, diving straight at her with a crimson lance in hand. The fiery Demi-Divine passed by in a flash, her weapon poised to strike.

Elania flipped around. Arlois and Ember attacked together, their weapons a flurry of color as purple, red, and gold sparks erupted.

The addition of Ember didn’t change the equation. Somehow. Elania bit her lip and squeezed her revolver. What did they need to get rid of this bastard?

Elysia arrived, her body half-encased in wood that expanded and grew until she towered over the fight. With a massive tree-hand she slapped the Emperor, sending him reeling.

His retaliation was immediate as sun orbs slammed into the wooden golem, causing Elysia to combust.

A wave of water surged forth, dousing the flame and leaving Elysia steaming. Lyra landed on the golem’s shoulder, clutching her injured side as she joined in the fight.

Elania hovered nearby, her eyes darting between the chaotic battle.

Finally. They were all here. This is what they needed from the beginning, to swarm him and pound away at him.

He wasn’t invincible. She’d seen him bleeding.

They just needed to do enough damage fast enough that he didn’t recover.

The air crackled with magic, a maelstrom of elemental forces whipping between the Emperor and the four Towers.

She needed to help.

Finding an opening to shoot at him was impossible with the constant flurry of attacks.

The Emperor moved with blinding speed, his glowing sword flashing between each strike while his free hand summoned sun orb after sun orb to fend off the incoming elemental blasts and grasping hands of Elysia’s tree form.

[They are outmatched. Flee.]

Elania felt her stomach turn a flip.

They were losing?

A searing yellow whip lashed out of a puff of smoke, snaking to wrap around Lyra’s middle, scorching her flesh and tossing her to the ground like a rag doll.

A kick surged out, and he kicked Ember in the stomach, sending her flying back. Then he spun, his blade slicing towards Arlois, who barely dodged backwards. It didn’t give her enough space and the Emperor’s solar wing slapped her, sending her tumbling and reeling.

Elysia moved to clap him between her palms, but his wings surged, growing in size and extending to slash her wrists and lop off her hands entirely. The stumps blazed with fire as they ignited from the heat.

Arlois attacked from behind, but a sun orb flared into existence behind her, blocking the path. He focused on Elysia, beating at her with his wings, chopping the tree golem into flaming pieces.

Finally, his wing smashed into Elysia herself, sending her downward. She bounced and tumbled along the ground, smoldering embers smoking from her outfit.

He turned toward Arlois and pressed her with rapid sword work, her defense faltering. His wings moved to smash her, but her own purple ones flared out to block the strike.

Elania flew in, taking aim with her Regalia.

Before she could fire, the Sun Emperor reached up, drawing a light spear from the air and impaled Arlois through the middle. He knocked away her sword with a slap of his own blade before stabbing her with it.

Elania pulled the trigger, the kinetic round streaking towards him. It struck him in the back, the vortex of white energy cleaving off his solar wings and sending him flying into the island. His tumble punched through walls in a series of smoke-filled and masonry destroying impacts.

Elania darted to Arlois’ side, pulling out her last healing potion.

She spread the liquid out as best she could over the half dozen yellow, burning holes in Arlois’ torso. The Demi-Divine’s armor had been punctured like tissue paper.

Arlois gurgled blood, coughing out enough to hint at a punctured lung.

Elania panted, panic gripping her as half the injuries failed to heal, even with the Mushroohum potion’s powerful effects. She called on [Divine Mending], but it refused to take hold.

Arlois reached up, her hand grasping Elania’s arm weakly. “Flee, we’ve lost.”

Elania’s eyes darted to the destroyed wall, glimpsing the Celestial Engine beyond. She trembled, her hand clasping Arlois’ tightly. “You swore you had the most powerful [Domain. You said you could beat him,” Elania whispered accusingly. “I believed in you.”

Arlois choked, blood bubbling. “Domain… isn’t everything. Sometimes… you’re just not strong enough.”

[There is no more time. Flee now before he returns!]

Elania blinked as Eziel’s words echoed. She reached behind her back and pulled Eziel in front of her.

Arlois frowned, her eyes narrowing as she studied the golden blade. “I’ve seen that sword before,” she whispered.

Without hesitation, Elania pressed the hilt into Arlois’ hand, wrapping the Demi-Divine’s fingers around the grip. “Use Eziel,” she ordered, her voice firm.

Purple energy materialized in the air, swirling and flowing around them. Her strength seemed to return, and although her wounds didn’t close the blood seemed to stop flowing from them.

“An Arch-Seraph,” Arlois mumbled, disbelief and awe mingling in her voice.

Elania helped Arlois to her feet, supporting her as she struggled to stand. Arlois held Eziel in front of them, her grip tightening on the hilt as she faced the direction of the Sun Emperor.

“Eziel, Arch-Seraph of Light, I order you to stop this invasion and destroy the Sun Emperor,” Arlois commanded, her voice ringing with authority.

The sword vibrated in her hand.

[I am not a toy to be controlled, again.]

The purple energy around them intensified, pulsing with a suffocating intensity. Elania gasps for breath, feeling as if she were caught in a powerful [Domain] once more. Invisible force pressed down on her from every direction as Arlois stared intently at the sword.

The purple energy crackled, flowing into Eziel as Arlois repeated her order, her voice strained with effort.

A pulse of energy erupted from Eziel, and the crushing pressure of the [Domain] dissipated. Elania took a deep breath, her lungs burning.

Relief was short-lived as a giant sunlight spear flashed towards them from the Celestial Engine chamber.

Elania instinctively folded her wings around herself, bracing for impact. Instead, Arlois swung Eziel, meeting the spear head-on. The light weapon shattered, its energy soaked up into the blade with a blinding flow of light motes.

The Sun Emperor stepped out from the chamber, his armor glowing brightly and his solar wings reforming behind him. “You’ve found an interesting toy,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt, “but it won’t make a difference.”

He waved his hand, and a energy sword and spear formed in the air. They floated into his hands as he strode forward.

  *

Arlois swung Eziel at the Emperor, a blade of energy forming and flashing toward him. He swung back, and the two crescents of energy slammed into each other, creating a shockwave of wind to blast out in a ring.

It nearly knocked Elania off her feet, but she tilted her wings and maintained her balance.

Elania looked at the others, her eyes falling on Ember and Elysia. They were motionless on the ground. Leaving the fight to Arlois, she flew over to them, grabbing each one under an arm.

Their bodies felt limp and heavy in her grasp, and she could feel the sticky warmth of blood seeping through their clothes.

“Elania!” Yolani shouted.

Elania’s head snapped over to her Oracle, waving at her from inside the Celestial Engine room. Fear kicked her in the gut—it was much too dangerous for Yolani to be here!

She headed to the other girl. Another buffet of wind threatened to knock her around. She gritted her teeth, fighting to maintain her grip on Ember and Elysia as she landed in the Celestial Engine room.

Yolani saw their problem and raised her wand; a thin dome expanded to encompass the area, diverting the shockwaves around them and into the ground.

Elania landed with a thump. Yolani helped her set Ember and Elysia down as gently as possible.

Yolani’s pack opened, various liquids oozed out, her pack having been bashed a bit too hard for some of the contents. But the soft glow of the healing potions was still contained in a few bottles. Yolani began to tend to the two wounded Demi-Divine immediately.

“I have to go find Lyra, too,” Elania said.

Yolani nodded. “I’ll take care of them. Hurry!” She moved to giving first aid immediately.

Elania turned and flew back into the open.

Arlois and the Sun Emperor clashed at a faster pace than before. They seemed to almost be teleporting around the battlefield, each impact sending a shockwave that reverberated through the air and shook the island.

The area began to change hues, little light motes floating in the air randomly. They were tearing reality apart.

Elania focused on her [Demonic Aura], and the air around her solidified. The shocks were diffuse and didn’t penetrate the barrier. That was enough to allow her to scan the ground for Lyra.

She spotted the blue of the woman’s dress and dived for it. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Elania scooped the woman up. Lyra screamed as Elania touched the horrible burns around her middle.

Elania grunted and tried to focus on her [Divine Mending] to try to ease the suffering, but the healing magic was slow at the best of times, and she didn’t have any potions left.

Elania danced back into the air as the ground below them began to crumble from the damage from the repeated shockwave.

Elania blinked; everything nearby was crumbling away, except the area directly around the Celestial Engine. The shimmering dome of protective energy there protected it… but for how long?

The sense of pressure disappeared as soon as they crossed the barrier and Elania dismissed her aura. Setting down Lyra beside the other two Towers, Elania struggled to push down a wave of fear.

Yolani held up a single potion. “We only have one left,” she said, voice tight with concern.

Elania nodded, taking the potion and pouring it over Lyra’s middle, rolling her over to get the back as well. Despite their efforts, the three Demi remained badly hurt, their wounds only partially taken care of.

Outside, lights flickered and flashed in the air. The clouds created by the Celestial Engine had diffused and spread out, leaving a strange orange artificial sun beaming down on them. The weird light cast everything in a strange apocalyptic light.

It fit the scene. As far as Elania could see, the entire city had been scoured clean of habitation and was a charred wasteland.

Yolani reached over and squeezed her hand. “Do you think Arlois and Eziel can win?”

Elania choked back a sob, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her. “At least we can remember his fucking name now,” she said, her voice breaking.

Yolani laughed weakly, the sound tinged with pain and exhaustion.

They huddled for a moment. Yolani slipped her hand into Elania’s and squeezed. It was a reminder of what they were fighting for.

Each other. The city. Their friends.

Elania took a deep breath as the battle raged outside.

Her eyes flickered to the wounded Towers. Her brow furrowed. “I’ll try to heal them better,” she said, closing her eyes.

Her own [Divine Power] had started to run low. She needed a better way to use it with her [Divine Mending]. She pictured a conduit like the one between her and Yolani, only between the two skills. Then she split the energy, directing it toward the three Towers.

It started to work, slowly. Flesh that had been splashed by the healing potions mended first, knitting together while burns faded.

Yolani leaned in. “It’s working.”

Elania nearly lost her focus at the sound of the other girl’s voice, but she wrestled with her concentration, determined to keep the energy flowing.

When it felt like she had wrung everything of herself out, Lyra began to stir.

The woman’s eyes fluttered open. “Is he dead yet?” she asked groggily before sitting up.

Elania’s eyes snapped open, and she breathed heavily, checking her HUD.

[Divine Power: 1,526/60,000]

She grunted. Oh. Yeah. That was why everything felt like she was being pinched. If she were a car, she’d be running on fumes.

Ember and Elysia sat up as well, their wounds mostly healed or patched. They still looked battered, but it was a considerable improvement.

Yolani grabbed Elania’s shoulder, steadying her as she swayed.

“I’m out of [Power],” she admitted with a strained voice.

The Towers stood, moving to the edge to look outside at the savage combat between Arlois and the Sun Emperor. Yolani helped Elania stand, and the two joined them.

Giant waves of energy battered against each other, tears in the sky spewing forth different elements to combat flares of solar energy. The force of the clashes sent spirals of light into the heavens, blowing away the atmosphere, creating vortexes of rain and snow that would vaporize by artificial yellow orbs that fought with the orange sun to light the landscape.

Blasts impacted the island like meteors, scourging sheets of blackened charr of the rock away just to burn the uncovered rock and dirt again.

Stray projectile slammed into the Celestial Engines spherical shield, casting expanding ripples across the blue shimmer. It’s arcane field protected them, but what about the rest of the city.

They’d gotten everyone into underground bunkers, but that wouldn’t help anyone if the islands were literally ripped asunder.

Ember glanced back at her, then looked to Lyra and Elysia. “We should restore Elania,” she said, her voice firm.

“I’m low on power, too,” Lyra complained.

Elysia nodded. “We can share,” she said, stepping forward.

They formed a triangle, then looked to Elania. Yolani helped her into position, supporting her weight.

“Hands,” Ember said.

Elania blinked as the towers joined hands in a circle, Ember and Lyra offering theirs to her. Elysia stood opposite of her as she took the offered hands hesitantly, not sure what to do.

Elania looked between them. “Is it okay for you to be giving me some of your power?”

Ember nodded. “We still have a lot more than you, and you’ve already proven that its worth having you in the fight.”

Lyra and Elysia nodded in agreement.

“What do I do?” Elania asked.

The answer was simple: she didn’t have to do much.

[Divine Power] flowed into her palms slowly, then faster. Her entire body tingled like pins were stabbing into her, especially on her scalp. A fire lit and rushed through her.

Ember grinned at her. “Finally getting inside of you,” she teased.

Elania trembled, the energy resonating with Ember’s laugh. The sensation blew away as a sheet of cold washed away the sensation. She immediately recognized Lyra’s energy.

The Blue Demi glanced at Ember, a hint of annoyance in her expression. “I want Elysia’s, not Ember’s,” she stated firmly.

Elysia closed her eyes, and Elania could feel waves of soothing life coursing through her. It was hard to describe. It left the taste of fresh fruit on the tongue, along with a pleasant warmth running through her entire body.

Her HUD flashed in the corner of her vision.

[Divine Power: 58,392/60,000]

The three Towers looked at her expectantly.

Elania blinked, confused. “What is it?”

Ember smirked. “It’s your turn.”

“I don’t know how,” Elania said.

Elysia smiled reassuringly. “Close your eyes and picture hugging us all, sharing your [Power],” she instructed.

Lyra added, “Just a little bit to equalize things. Too much and we will have to refill you again.”

Elania bit her lip and nodded. Focusing on her best memories of each one of them while trying to follow Elysia’s direction. [Power] began to flow out of her, and she wondered what it tasted like to them.

After a few seconds, Ember interrupted, “That’s enough.”

Elania opened her eyes. A few seconds had cost her ten thousand points.

The three Towers looked at her, surprise evident on their faces.

It made her feel uncomfortable. “What?”

Yolani interrupted urgently, pointing out toward the battle. “We need to hurry!”

Everyone’s gaze flicked up into the sky.

The Emperor had grown to a monstrous size, his wings spreading out like Ember’s had during the firestorm. Heat radiated off them, baking everything. Arlois hovered below him, holding up Eziel in a guard position, a purple barrier in front of them that seemed to shred streams of power as the radiance blasted away at it.

The charred remains of the island below began to glow red, then white, as if they were at the bottom of a campfire. Elania winced. If it wasn’t for the protective barrier of the Celestial Engine, they’d have been scorched by the blistering temperature.

Elysia frowned, turning to the others. “What are we supposed to do?”

Elania frowned, but at least for once, she wasn’t the one asking that.

Lyra shook her head, her expression grim. “I have no idea.”

Ember stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the ongoing battle. “We can’t let the Sun Emperor get the sword,” she declared, her voice filled with determination. The others nodded in agreement.

Ember turned to Elania. “We’ll distract him, and you can grab it.”

The others looked at Elania, surprise evident on their faces. Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Her?”

Ember nodded, her expression resolute. “That’s our best chance.”

Elania frowned. “But Arlois…”

“She’s running out of steam.” Lyra said immediately.

Ember nodded. “We can delay him a bit. If he gets the sword, we won’t be able to do anything at all.”

Elania let out a breath. It felt like her chest was constricting her breathing. They’d managed to heal and regroup, just for this to be their plan?

They weren’t wrong… as she watched the fight, Arlois’ movements were becoming slower, and she could tell the Emperor was wearing her down on purpose, looking for an opportunity to snatch her weapon.

Just as Elania nodded and agreed, the Emperor delivered a devastating slash to Arlois, lopping off her wing. A powerful blow to her stomach followed, knocking her toward the ground.

Ember’s wings unfolded and she shouted, “Go!”

The four of them surged toward the fight.

The Emperor dived after Arlois, intent on impaling her with his weapon extended. Ember swooped in and caught the falling Demi.

Eziel continued his descent, plummeting toward the ground, tip first.

Lyra and Elysia launched their attack together, a vine sheathed in water whipping out from the charred black surface of the island and striking him. The impact didn’t knock him away, but it halted his dive.

He reached out and ripped the vine in half, only for the vine to explode in a puff of acid and stabbing ice shards.

More of the appendages replaced the shattered ones and began to whip at him from every direction. They multiplied as she smashed more and more of them.

Elania focused on Eziel, reaching out for his hilt.

Time seemed to slow down as the Sun Emperor’s voice reverberated through the air, commanding, “You are mine now. Kill them.”

Eziel flipped and halted his fall and flung itself toward the Emperor.

Elania’s heart skipped a beat as she shouted, “Eziel!”

The sword jerked, as if caught between two taut ropes.

The connection between her and Eziel turned into a tug-of-war. Her will pressed against and ironclad force threatening to sever them apart. “Eziel!”

He didn’t want to go with the stupid Emperor. She could feel how he hated the idea. She was just a tiny being compared to the massive one tugging him away from her.

[This is why I remained hidden.]

The message resonated through her, tinged with sadness and a sense of impending defeat.

Eziel slid closer to the Emperor, who began to laugh triumphantly as the sword reached his hand. He held it up in the air, and all the water vines wilted and died.

The cord connecting her to Eziel stretched to its limit, on the verge of snapping.

Elysia and Lyra appeared at her side, their hands resting reassuringly on her shoulders. The embrace of their power—no, their [Domain]—washed over her. Growth, Life, Nature. Water, Ice, Arcane Knowledge.

The cord thickened and tugged at the Emperor’s hand.

Ember arrived in front of her, holding a badly wounded Arlois. Blood leaked from a dozen fresh injuries, many of them overlapping the old.

Ember’s domain slid over her like a soft caress, despite its content: Fire, Change, and Metallurgy.

Arlois reached out and cupped Elania’s cheek.

Royalty, Home, Mother.

The cord pulled taut and thickened into a chain, yanking the hilt out of the Emperor’s grasp. Eziel streaked like a lightning bolt and with a crack landed perfectly in Elania’s hand, hilt first.

A mighty bellow of outrage erupted from above.

[Power] flooded Elania’s body, a surge of energy unlike anything she had ever experienced. She let out a tense breath and little golden light motes flowed with it.

A wry smile tugged at her lips. “I’m not normally excited by the power of friendship stories, but I’ll take it this time,” she quipped.

The Emperor raised his hand to the sky, a massive solar orb forming above them, eclipsing the ones before. With a menacing gesture, he directed the orb straight toward them—and the Celestial Engine.

Elania floated upward slightly and spread her wings.

“We need to beat this asshole,” she declared.

[I agree.]

Elania swung the sword twice, each strike sending a white crescent of [Power] up toward the orb. The energy struck, but only slowed the descent.

[You must add an element.]

Elania grunted and nodded. She focused on filtering her [Divine Power] into her favored form—raw [Power] and mana-tinged blue. The energy coalesced around Eziel as a blue flame. With two powerful cuts, she sent two more waves in a cross, hurtling them toward the descending solar orb.

They slammed into it, this time a net of smaller lines forming between the four major ones of the cross, creating a container that pushed the solar energy backwards, flinging it into orbit.

The Emperor dived at her as soon as he realized his attack was foiled. His own massive sword was poised to strike.

Elania raised Eziel just in time to block the incoming attack, blade points miraculously striking together and releasing a massive shockwave.

She wasn’t braced properly, and the impact knocked her backward, forcing her to spread her wings and fight the tumble.

[Focus!]

“How the fuck am I supposed to focus?” Elania hissed. She was like a ball being hit by a bat.

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to a stop. Her wings spread out further, trying to match the Sun Emperor’s own. He chased after her, swinging his sword in a downward arc again.

She pivoted, dodging out of the way of the strike, and retaliated with a swing of her own. He raised his sword, blocking the attack.

Realization dawned on her as she assessed the situation. This wasn’t a traditional sword fight; they were two giant [Power]-fueled entities slamming away at each other, burning away [Power] with each attack.

Unless one of them landed a lucky hit, the one with greater reserves would emerge victorious.

One thing was for sure…

That wasn’t her.

She blocked again, this time skidding to a stop after a few feet, allowing her to counter strike quickly.

Glancing at her HUD, each strike was costing her nearly five hundred to a thousand [Power]. She was going to run out of [Power] in less than a minute at this rate.

Her hands began to turn numb with the repeated impacts. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her muscles began to burn with the effort of keeping up with the Emperor’s blows.

Suddenly, he raised his sword high above his head, preparing for a powerful overhead swing aimed at her left wing.

Her left wing. Not her.

In a split-second decision, she sucked the [Power] out of her left wing and forced it into her right, bracing herself for the inevitable strike.

She moved to parry, then let his sword slip by.

The strike sliced through her wing like a sheet of paper, sending a searing pain throughout her entire body. Like something inside of her, a part of her had been torn away—permanently.

She fought back a scream, her vision blurring momentarily from the agony. She followed through with her lunge as her redoubled right wing thrust her forward.

Eziel plunged into his sternum, punching through the solar breastplate and sinking in. She gripped Eziel’s hilt with both hands and slammed another burst of [Power] into her wing, driving the blade home hard enough to pop out of the Emperor’s back.

She gripped the guard and twisted with all her strength, a sickening crunch filling the air. Instead of blood spewing out, yellow hot solar radiance escaped the wound.

It should have been over.

He raised his sword and swung down at her head. Her hand tightened around Eziel’s guard as she raised her free hand and detonated the rest of the mana shards Yolani had given her, the explosion engulfing them both and knocking the sword away.

Somehow, she maintained her grip on Eziel; the blade slipping out of the Sun Emperor as she fell.

The blast had broken something important, but her [Regeneration] kicked in, knitting the bones and tissue back together.

Except for her left wing. It didn’t come back.

She tumbled downward, unable to control her descent properly.

Above her, the Sun Emperor let out a deafening roar, his body expanding. His armor burst away like an overfilled pipe and then metal plates began to erupt out of his flesh, replacing his skin as his form morphed into a colossal golem, a dozen times larger than Elysia’s tree form.

An island shattering shake caused a loud shriek from the Celestial Engine as his metal feet stomped the island, threatening to tilt the floating rock towards the ground.

His size rivaled Contia’s tallest spires—not that any were still standing.

His right arm morphed into a massive cannon, while his left wielded a giant energy whip that snapped in the air high above.

The wings on his back had turned from solar fire into lines of runic steel. The artificial sun above them winked out, leaving a diffuse glow from the scattered fires and lingering light from magical discharges to light the scene.

The golem pointed its laser cannon directly at her as she fell, the Celestial Engine directly behind her.

And everything else that she cared about.

The lens of the weapon cackled as it sucked in turquoise lightning that promised a destruction the likes they hadn’t seen before.

Elania sucked in a pained breath and tried to force herself to move. She slowed as her remaining wing fought to act as an air brake.

But it was far to little, too late.

[He possesses an Avatar. It is my turn to take action.]

Eziel slipped from her grasp, this time of his own volition.

  *

Elania stared at the lens of the Sun Golem’s arm, her eyes widening as it charged with power.

[System Analysis] popped up with an unhelpful: [Error. System Device Detected.]

Whatever the fuck that meant, it wasn’t helping.

“Damn it,” Elania muttered. Why did the boss have to have a transformation with a second health bar? “Eziel!”

The sword continued forward, stopping in front of her and flipping horizontal, flat of its blade toward her.

[System Golem Detected. Opposition Ratio: One-Hundred Percent. Defensive Action required.]

Elania blinked—the taste of the message was distinctly not-Eziel, but somehow she knew the message had still come from the sword.

A golden circle of runes appeared in the air in front of Eziel, forming multiple layers of circles that grew in size, becoming larger and large with each ring. The intricate design shimmered with light, creating a mesmerizing display of arcane energy.

The Golem fired, a giant blue blast of arcane energy plunging toward them in slow motion. It smashed through the first layer of Eziel’s barrier, then the second. The deeper layers stretched as it pushed through them, the runed circles bending inwards like a stretching net.

Glittering light motes spewed into the air, forming dozens of auroras, while gouts of higher pressure energy shot out like released steam.

Eziel’s sword form morphed, flashing into a bright light that transformed into the Arch Seraph in his full winged form. His wings glinted gold and white, and the presence of divine power flared over her.

Elania stared as he reached out and placed his hand on the golden rune barrier as the arcane energy reached the last layer.

The Sun Golem’s attack, caught like a fish in at net, shot backwards, the golden light hauling it back to the Golem’s arm. It wrapped around the laser lens while energy escape over the arm, scorching the metal of its chassis black as the energy built up with nowhere to escape.

The laser arm exploded.

The rest of the Golem’s body was licked by the blue flame of its own attack, leaving it charred and damaged. As the runed light of the net disappeared, Eziel reached over his head and formed a giant lance that floated down into his hand.

Eziel flashed forward to strike the Sun Golem.

They clashed like two titans in a Kaiju-style film. She floated back, looking for the others.

She spotted them gathered around Arlois. She started to make her way over, but the Golem’s energy whip cracked in the air, sending out a violent shockwave.

Her aura shot out, forming a bubble around her that prevented her from being smashed into the ground.

The crackling tendril of energy snared Eziel’s seraph wing. Eziel stabbed the Golem’s torso, the divine lance carving off a huge chunk of stone and runed metal. The Golem tugged, ripping Eziel’s wing off and flinging it into the air, a rain of gold particles trailing down on the countryside.

Eziel roared.

The Arch-Seraph reached forward and grabbed the Golem’s stub of an arm and yanked it out of the socket, then slammed the chunk in the Golem’s face. That sent it stumbling backwards, but it raised its whip arm and the whip moved on its own, slicing through the few remaining spires of the city as if they were made of paper.

The crack of impact erupted on Eziel’s side, a massive blue burning lesion appearing on Eziel’s armor.

Elania winced and felt a surge of panic.

If Eziel couldn’t win, they were screwed.

He was their trump card, or, well, their last card.

Parts of the damaged spire began to fall straight for the Celestial Engine. Elania grunted and shot forward. If the Engine was damaged, they’d be fucked twice over.

She reached the Engine in time, slamming into the falling debris from the side, shoving the tumbling stonework away and out into the open air. A lightning crack of the Golem’s whip struck again, just overhead, and she was smashed into the Engine’s arcane barrier.

Eziel moved forward, grappling with the Golem and punching its side with his free hand while holding the whip arm at bay. Thunderous blows rained down, smashing parts of the Golem off and sending spews of stone and metal flying.

Despite the effort, the energy whip continued to lash out, striking Eziel repeatedly, along with Contia’s remains.

The two titans smashed and assaulted each other with no regard for defense, their battle a display of raw savagery.

Elania clenched her fists and then shot a surge of [Power] through her wing. She was getting used to flying with just the one.

She shot in dangerously close, repeated shockwaves of air buffeting her. She summoned her [Divine Power] and forced it into [Power] creating a mana sphere.

It was easy to release it all at once, and the Golem’s head was so large it made an easy target. The lance of blue light caused a minor explosion, digging a thin line through the stone.

The damage seemed tiny compared to the two behemoths’ struggle, but they had to do something.

Ember, Elysia, and Lyra seemed to agree, taking a cue from her. They flew up to join her and began to unleash their own attacks.

Flame gouts blinded its eyes. Vines wrapped around its feet, growths digging into the stone and metal to pry it apart. Water dug into cracks and then expanded, cracking the stone and weakening it.

The attacks were small, but they began to stack up as they attacked the Golem from various angles.

The whip flew at them, but they avoided it by flying erratically and close enough to its body that it couldn’t hit them without smashing itself.

Eziel punched the Sun Golem in the face, toppling it over. It staggered and let go of the energy whip, snagging Eziel’s side with its hand and pulling him down along with it. They rolled furiously over the charred husk of the city, crushing and pulverizing anything that wasn’t already flattened.

Elania glanced over at Arlois—Yolani was there, raising her wand.

At a massive fucking boulder.

Elania flung her wing back and punched forward. She hit it with her head, her Regalia crunching and taking the impact. It was enough to daze the shit out of her and she tumbled to the ground, rolling onto her back.

Yolani appeared overhead and shook her. Elania blinked and smiled.

She reached up and cupped the other girl’s cheek. Her partner had such a pretty face.

So she told her that.

Yolani helped her sit up. Elania blinked as she looked out in the distance.

The Golem had picked up Eziel and held him in the air with one arm, then slammed him into the ground.

A giant tidal wave of stone rushed forward toward them like a pyroclastic cloud.

Yolani stood up and put her hand on Elania’s head and then held out her hand. There was a powerful tug at her [Divine Power], enough to shock Elania out of her stupor.

A massive wall the width of the island began to form out of reconstituted brick, producing a giant wedge, launching the flow upwards and away from them.

Yolani turned to her. “Are you back?”

Elania nodded weakly.

“Go! I’ll tend to Arlois,” Yolani ordered.

Elania nodded again. Her wing tugged her upward. It didn’t work the same as before. She didn’t really need to flap much—it was just tugging her along.

It sort of hurt and sort of sucked.

The reverberation of a shockwave knocked her thoughts back into the fight and she homed in toward the battle. The other Demi were continuing to attack, but they had slowed down, allowing more space between them and the Golem. It had begun to crumble on its own.

But Eziel wasn’t in much better shape. His lance was gone, along with one of his wings, and ribs jutted out of his armor where his torso had been smashed. Golden liquid evaporated into the air like a swarm of fireflies.

The Golem’s hand clamped down on Eziel’s throat, metal digging into the Arch-Seraph’s flesh. It let out a massive roar loud enough to create a shockwave of its own, and Elania dipped, hiding behind Eziel’s body.

Eziel clutched at the Golem’s wrist with both hands, beating at it to no avail. They attacked the arm—but it wasn’t working.

Suddenly, Eziel’s hand lowered to his side. A sickening sensation filled her—they had come too far to fail now!

Eziel must have felt the same way, because a golden light began to form in Eziel’s palm.

A small dagger stretched out, replacing his lance. He raised his hand and then punched the blade into the Golem’s torso, right under the armpit, angled toward where a human heart would be.

The massive construct began to crumble faster, but then there was a sickening crack of bone and Eziel went limp. His form began to burn with golden fire, turning into a shimmering light that exploded outward, leaving behind only his sword form.

“Eziel!” Elania flew up and caught him by the hilt as he fell. She held him up, her voice laced with concern. “Eziel, are you okay?”

Silence greeted her, causing a knot of worry to form. She pulsed [Power] into the blade, and it glowed in response, but there was still no reply to her question.

A groan caught Elania’s attention, and she spotted the Sun Emperor crawling out of the rubble of the fallen Golem. Fear and alarm coursed through her.

Why wasn’t he fucking dead?

Her grip tightened on Eziel, and she launched forward toward him.

He noticed her at the last second, just as she swung for his head. He raised his own sword and blocked, but the blow knocked him off his feet and sent him into a roll.

He was still alive, but she could tell—he was weakened.

She couldn’t let him regain his strength.

Pressing her advantage, she rained down a flurry of strikes on him, determined to end him once and for all.

He dodged and blocked, his movement sluggish compared to before. A lash of heat smashed into her stomach, but it barely singed her skin.

“You’ll pay for this,” the Sun Emperor snarled, turning his gaze towards the Celestial Engine.

He leaped away from her and his solar wings pulsed with light as he flew.

She launched after him, her wing doing its best.

He threw a sun spear at the Engine, but it exploded against the arcane barrier. He flew through the flames of his own explosion and crossed into the threshold.

She passed through right behind him.

He threw another strike at the engine, but she moved faster—blocking it with Eziel’s blade and flinging the energy back at him. It smashed him out of the air.

She chased after him, their swords clashing. The impact reverberated through the chamber, shaking loose the already damaged stone. They pressed heavily against each other, their weapons locked in a battle of strength.

His sword began to crack under the immense pressure, and he backed away to avoid its shattering.

She didn’t let him go, sword arcing upward to clip his leg, sending a spray of blood and metal into the air. Flickers of light pulsed in the wound.

Her second swing came downward, but he ducked beneath her strike, causing Eziel to smash into a nearby column of marble, sending stone flying. He slashed at her with his wing, but she deftly blocked with her intact wing.

His other wing swinging in at her was the next obvious attack, and she was ready. Eziel flickered upward, severing the solar wing at its base, sending the shimmering energy into the air to diffuse harmlessly.

He followed up with a sword strike, but she parried it. His free hand gestured at the floor under her, and a sun spear exploded from the marble, aimed at her groin.

She side stepped the attack and countered with a horizontal slash. He jumped over the attack and her blade buried itself in the marble wall, causing the stone to explode from the impact.

A flare of light flickered in the corner of her eye and she raised Eziel into the air. The hovering sun spear flipped around, and instead of impaling her in the back it flared toward the Emperor.

He blocked it, but the explosion sent him tumbling backwards. He regained his balanced and skidded to a halt on one knee, his cracked sword digging into the stone.

They both panted heavily, a momentary lull in the exchange.

His wing attempted to glow, flickering weakly.

Elania’s lips broke into a smirk. “You’ll have to do better than glow at me if you want to kill me.”

“Stop resisting and hand over the Arch Seraph,” he demanded, his voice strained.

Elania scoffed, “I know a lot of other people who made those kinds of demands, right before I dealt with them.”

“I might be wounded, but you’re still a fledgling,” came the reply.

Elania readied Eziel and then jumped forward. He parried, the cracks on his blade becoming worse with each blow. Divine light seeped through suddenly and blinded her, the shattering steel digging into her skin and armor like tiny little bullets.

She couldn’t see, but she could somehow feel the light spear sweeping at her, and she jumped over it.

Wiping her face, [Regeneration] worked enough to clear her vision. Dozens of light weapons began to form in the air between them, and the Emperor retreated toward the Engine, rushing backwards toward it while watching her.

He was trying to do something to the Engine. Or he was trying to wear her down.

His [Divine Power] regeneration was probably a magnitude higher than hers. He’d get stronger, and she’d weaken.

She needed a decisive blow.

The wall of weapons assailed her as she chased. Her wing slashed through some. Eziel blocked others. A dagger jabbed into her side. A mace smashed into her leg.

Eziel raised up, and she pulsed a wave of [Power] into him and swung, a crescent flashing forward faster than she could ever move. He took the hit on his arm, a golden shield appearing on his arm. The attack dug into the floor and ceiling as it passed over him.

It had done enough of what she had wanted—it had forced him to pause.

The distance between them disappeared before he could jump away.

She turned her jump into a stumble toward the ground, and she tossed Eziel into the air.

The Emperor’s eyes widened at her mistake.

He jumped for it.

She rolled onto her back and converted as much of her [Divine Power] into [Power] as she could, forming a mana orb in the palm of her hands.

She passed by close enough to slam it into his chest, just as he gripped the sword.

He hung suspended in the air for a moment, the mana orb winking out of existence while time was stopped.

And then the surrounding stone shattered, creating a ripple of cracks and crumbling debris in an expanding outward circle. The wall behind him exploded outward as if struck by a massive hammer, and then he crumpled to the ground.

Broken and defeated.

Elania’s chest heaved as she sat up. Eziel hung in the air, floating. She caught him as she walked over to the Emperor. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she realized she had nearly burned through all her borrowed [Divine Power] with her last attack.

She looked down at his battered form. Blood—human, red, blood—leaked from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Even then, some of his wounds pulsed with light, a flicker that didn’t want to die.

He weakly raises his hand, gripping her ankle.

“End it, girl,” he croaked.

She kicked her ankle free, knocking him onto his back and knocking his shattered chest plate off. Eziel’s tip flipped downward, and she held the sword over his heart, ready to deliver the final blow.

A skittering nearby interrupted.

A flock of blue-eyed chickens emerged from a ruined corridor, and Elania blinked in disbelief.

Tessa emerged, running along with them on her feet and hands, her movements erratic and wild.

Elania looked down at the Emperor, then glanced back up.

“Tessa!” Elania called.

The wild demoness paused and stared at her, approaching hesitantly, tilting her head. “Bad men come. Wicked men hurt my babies. I only kill the ones who try to hurt!”

The demoness chattered wildly about all of it.

Elania praised her and patted her head. Then pointed at the Sun Emperor.

“He’s the one who hurt your babies, Tessa. He hurt all of us. He brought the evil men here. You… should make him pay,” Elania whispered.

The Emperor groaned and rolled over, his hand going out in an attempt to drag himself away.

Tessa’s eyes slid to the man, a hungry gleam in the blue.

Elania walked away, her pace quickening to a jog as she headed back toward where Arlois and Yolani were.

Behind her, the moans turned into screams.

Elania’s wing flickered and strained, finally pulling her into the air. She struggled against the injury and exhaustion.

Her throat tightened up as she spotted Yolani holding Arlois in her arms.

Ember, Lyra, and Elysia landed nearby, arriving at nearly the same time. Their faces were etched with grief and concern.

Flecks of Arlois’ body were slowly flickering into the air, purple motes of light melting into the sky.

Yolani looked up at Elania, blood smeared on her cheek and arm. Her voice trembled slightly. “Elania… Arlois is dying.”

The others gathered around, their eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Arlois opened her eyes, her gaze weak, but filled with affection as she looked at each of them. Elysia began to sob, her shoulders shaking.

“Please don’t cry, my daughters.” Arlois’ voice was barely above a whisper as the Demi-Divines moved closer to kneel beside her.

“Keep Contia safe. Protect the people.” Her gaze turned to Elania, and she beckoned her closer.

Elania knelt beside her, her heart racing. She forced a fit of [Power] into [Divine Mending] but the glow flickered out immediately.

Arlois reached up and took her hand. “I’m beyond that, dear. My core shattered.”

Elania’s eyes welled up. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Arlois’ hand went to her cheek, trembling slightly as she cupped it. “Mana, Protector, Savior,” she whispered, her eyes mixed with pride and sadness.

Elania frowned, confusion etched on her face.

Arlois smiled weakly, her body beginning to dissolve faster. “It’s a complex [Domain] and a harder path to walk than most,” she explained, her voice growing weaker.

A [System] panel opened in front of Elania, her eyes going wide with shock.

[Do you wish to absorb the lingering essence of Demi-Divine - Human - Lvl 1234?]

She nearly swatted the message away by reflex, but Arlois’ grip on her hand turned hard.

“Do it,” Arlois ordered.

Elania swallowed a lump in her throat. “Do what?”

“You know what to do. Hurry, I don’t want it to be lost. Please take care of them for me,” Arlois said, her voice becoming hoarse.

Tears welled up in Elania’s eyes. “Okay,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

Ember, Elysia, and Lyra began to cry, their sobs filling the air. Yolani looked at Elania, her expression filled with sadness and understanding.

Elania took a deep breath and triggered it.

Arlois’ body began to dissolve rapidly, turning into a purple mist of light that swirled around all of them, a feeling of warmth caressing each of the women’s skin.

They formed into a solid light and then flowed into Elania’s chest.

Power surged through her, and the sensation of a thousand—tens of thousands—of new connections settled on her shoulders.

She was surprised that there were any survivors, although she had known in the back of her mind—her own connections were still there.

Elania knew what they needed to do and stood up.

“We can’t rest. We need to search for survivors,” she ordered.