The Forsaken Hero

None of the gates from the night before were still there. The curse gate had collapsed after we crushed the gate core, and the other two were suspiciously missing. I glanced at Evla as we walked, but couldn’t read anything from her expression. She walked ahead of me next to Elise and R’lissea, talking and laughing like old friends.

Fable whined softly, and I put a hand on his shoulder, petting him as we walked.

”I’m alright. Just a little tired,” I admitted to him. ”Villie barely left me any mana at all.”

His worry deepened, oozing through our bond. I shook my head.

”No, probably not. But if I need to use my mana with Luke...I’d rather not fight at all.”

He stopped, swinging his massive head about to face me. His eyes were deep and stern. I took him in both hands, ruffling the fur around his neck.

”Thanks. I’ll always depend on you.” I snuck a side-eyed glare at R’lissea. ”Even if we can’t sleep together anymore.”

Just then, Borealis’s screech rang over the constant growls of the demons. He came down, making a pass for my head. I ducked, covering my horns with my hands. He circled once more and, in a flutter of clinking feathers, landed on my shoulder. His crystalline talons pressed against my skin, cool and smooth. I reached up, stroking his crest.

”However did you manage to tame a demon like that?” Evla asked, looking at us over her shoulder.

”I didn’t. He just likes me, I think,” I said.

”Demons don’t ’like’ people. He must be waiting till you die so he can have your soul,” she said.

”Maybe. But I think Fyren’s already in line.”

A low chuckle caused me to jump. I turned, seeing Fyren standing just a few paces away, arms folded across his chest.

”Are you offering?” he asked.

I flushed. ”N-no, just...trying.”

”It’s good you’re in high spirits. The path ahead of us is short, and there is much to do at its end,” he said.

”Is everything ready?” I asked.

He nodded. ”Incinderus and Zephyriss await only your command. I sent

I took a deep breath, looking at R’lissea.

She gave me a slight nod. ”We’re with you all the way.”

I returned my gaze to Fyren. ”Then give the command. We march for the infernal hordes.”

Fyren straightened, releasing a pulse of mana through the infernal mark. It warmed in my soul, bringing a sense of urgency and action. The sound of forty thousand demons bursting into motion rolled across the prairie, a cacophony of growls, the scrape of claws, and the grating of grinding scales.

”Will you come with us?” R’lissea asked Evla.

The apostle shrugged. ”Might as well, now that my mission’s kind of pointless and all.”

”What happened to the demons you marked?” Elise asked.

Fyren coughed, scratching his chin. ”I’m afraid allowing a horde unmarked by Xiviyah to travel with us was too dangerous. We made the decision to...send them back.”

”I just wish you had asked me first,” Evla muttered.

”It wasn’t up to you,” Fyren said.

She rolled her eyes. ”That much is obvious. I’ll be sure to explain that when they badger me about it.”

Within a few short minutes, we were on the move. I elected to ride Fable, keeping Borealis in my lap. Zephyriss floated nearby, doing lazy flips and loops in the air, but never straying far. While my friends chatted with Evla, she kept me entertained with stories of the many worlds she’d conquered. I was mostly interested in their magic, but there was little for her to say. Demons were far more interested in consuming mana than studying the differences in how each particular civilization used it.

At first, I thought she was merely bored and looking for entertainment, but as the hours passed, she alone never came or went, but always remained close by.

By noon, the Devoted grew restless, snapping and growling at every bump and jostle. Their unease became clear as thousands of infernal presences suddenly registered to my senses. By noon, we encountered the first roving groups of scions. Their souls seemed split between two marks of equal strength, both oozing filthy curse mana. I recognized one as Luke’s, the other sending chills down my spine. It could only be from Rash’alon himself.

A few light skirmishes broke out as we drew closer to the epicenter of the infernal horde. Occasional flickers of Fyren’s or Incinderus’s auras rose and fell, always accompanied by explosions on the horizon. Zephyriss began hanging out even closer from that point, always just a few beats of the wing away.

Things came to a head when a powerful aura swept over us, nearing the peak of the seventh level. I looked ahead, squinting as I made out a cloud of darkness rolling over the ground toward us. Wherever it passed, the ground yellowed and the vegetation wilted. It was, perhaps, a hundred feet long and a dozen wide, moving like a serpent.

I waited for Fyren or Incinderus to intercept it, but it moved too quickly. Zephyriss came to our side, hovering, a slight frown on her face.

”It bears Rash’alon’s mark,” she said.

The cloud reached us in only a few seconds, choking the life out of a handful of scions in its path. It stopped a dozen yards in front of our group, pushing the nearby demons back with its aura.

The cloud condensed into a tall, humanoid-shaped demon with shadowy wings. Writhing tendrils of darkness obscured its body beneath the waist and flowed over its shoulders like a mane. It held a long, slender spear with a thick, serrated head, twirling it effortlessly as it glided across the ground. Glowing red eyes passed over my friends and Zephyriss, coming to rest on me. Its lip curled, revealing tusk-like teeth.

”I thought I sensed something odd,” its voice scraped. ”You must be Rash’alon’s slave. To think you would come to him yourself.”

A shiver ran down my spine. I tightened my grip on Fable’s fur.

The demon started closer, but Zephyriss darted forward, placing herself between us. Evla, R’lissea, and Elise backed away, looking at me uncertainly.

”Slave?” Elise asked in a trembling voice. ”Xiviyah, what is he talking about?”

”Rackloss the Foul, is it?” Zephyriss asked.

The demon jerked, seeming to see the winged demon for the first time. Its red eyes widened, and it recoiled, striking a combat stance.

”Surprised?” Zephyriss said, grinning. ”I rather thought you might be. I got rather bored sitting around the demon realms and decided to stretch my wings.”

”By the emperors...you accepted its mark?” the curse demon gasped. ”A half-bloods?”

”She is only gaining power. Unlike your master, who can’t seem to keep hold of it. I heard he had a rather...abrupt fall from grace.”

The demon’s eyes hardened. ”A wrong he shall right tenfold. With screams, pain, and utter humiliation. No one crosses Rash’alon and survives except they are broken.”

Lightning crackled around Zephyriss’s eyes. The air was charged, smelling of ozone. She fluttered a few feet forward, her aura rising to pressure the curse demon. It retreated another step, adjusting its grip on its spear.

”Turn over the slave, and I can promise you a place in the invasion,” the demon said.

”I have words for those who insult the oracle, but I’m afraid Rash’alon will remain ignorant of them,” Zephyriss said. ”After all, you won’t have the chance to tell him.”

The curse demon lunged forward, spear darting at Zephryiss’s chest. She raised her hand, the pad of her finger coming up against the spear tip. The weapon froze, shuddering as it was caught between two tremendous forces. And then it shattered.

The exchange happened in a heartbeat, before I realized either had moved. The demon stumbled backward, staring at the broken haft. Sparks crawled along the weapon, jumping onto his arm. He hissed in pain and started casting a spell, summoning six magic circles.

”Please, don’t insult me,” Zephyriss said.

She waved her hand with a flourish, and the sky turned black overhead. A heavy raindrop struck my cheek, and I looked up, gasping. Currents of mana wound throughout the clouds, brewing a storm that stretched from horizon to horizon. Clouds formed, built, and filled with crackling lightning, all in the blink of an eye.

”Shadow Bolt!” the demon cried.

A bolt of pure curse magic rocketed out of his circles, striking Zephyriss on the chest. She moved back a single inch before her wings caught her, and her eyes narrowed. The curse demon shuddered, his hand falling to his side limply.

Zephyriss brought her hand down. All the power mustering in the storm above converged on a single point, and a crackling pillar of lightning descended. I screamed as it struck the ground, releasing a shockwave that carried rain and dancing sparks. Fable retreated a step, shielding me with his body.

When the blinding light receded, there was nothing but a pile of ash remaining. The storm began to clear, allowing the sun through again. Zephyriss sniffed and fluttered to the ground, tucking her wings as she turned toward me.

”Shall we keep going?”

I nodded, unable to find my voice. Never mind instantly summoning a storm, that pillar had been an attack on the peak of eighth-level, stronger even than her aura, yet the collateral damage was almost non-existent. Just how powerful was this demon lord?