The Forsaken Hero

Luke turned to face the remaining demon lords. He had sheathed his sword, but something in his gaze forced them back a step. All save Rash’alon. The curse demon smiled, cold and vicious.

”It is just as I foretold,” he said, a shadowy sword manifesting in his hand. ”The Apostle is weak of mind and body. He cannot be trusted to lead the horde.”

”Firemane, I have no quarrel with you,” Luke said, ignoring him. ”Step aside. Please.”

”Do not fear him. He has no power against us. Look at his soul, and his flesh. See how it trembles, consumed by darkness?” Rash’alon said.

Firemane knickered, taking an uneasy step back. Fyren shifted suddenly, giving a shallow dip of his head. Fires ignited across the horse’s mane, and he cantered over to Luke. I caught a glimmer of infernal magic, a subtle signal, and Luke seemed to relax, turning back to Rash’alon.

”You would betray us too?” Lord Bloodsteel asked, surprised.

”It doesn’t matter. I would not have made my move were I not confident in our strength,” Rash’alon said. ”This day, we bring the horde back to our control, and seize the offering that shall bring Enusia to its knees.”

Countless auras erupted across the hollow as demons reacted to their leaders’ fury. The apostles rushed to join Luke, bringing their hordes to bear against the demon lords. Luke and Evla had lost theirs entirely, but there were more on his side than Rash’alons.

There should have been, at least. But at that moment, my senses tingled, as the auras of millions of approaching souls pierced the smothering haze of infernal mana. Luke’s expression darkened, and his grip on his sword tightened lightly.

”You didn’t think I came alone, did you? While you’ve been breeding treachery, I have been working to see it rooted out. No longer shall you master the souls of demons, shackling their lives to your traitorous cause,” Rash’alon cried, spreading his arms. ”Soul Purge!”

Mana erupted from his soul, releasing an eight-level spell in the blink of an eye. It flowed like an ocean across the basin, encircling every scion, evolved demon, and demon lord in blazing tendrils of fire that stabbed into their souls, searching for their marks. Luke cried out as fire burned within his own soul, though the magic hadn’t gone near him. He dropped to his knee, clutching his sword for support, a hand pressed to his chest.

The fires went out as quickly as they had come, leaving the basin shrouded in night again. In every demon that followed Rash’alon, Luke’s mark had been burned from their souls, replaced by the back filth of the curse demon.

”Luke...”

I wrung my hands, fighting the urge to run to him and expose myself. I knew just how awful it was to have something so close and intimate torn away, but Luke had carried them for years. What would it feel like if Fable was ripped from my bosom? The hollowness in my soul, where Luke should have been, was my answer. It hadn’t filled when I pulled him from Oblivion, or warmed when he held me in my arms. Why? Why didn’t the Soul Binder react? Did I have to wait for every trace of darkness, of oblivion, to fade from our souls?

”So that’s how he did it,” Fyren muttered. ”What ancient monster did he drag up to learn how to replace Infernal Marks?”

Korra gasped, staring in the direction of the approaching horde. ”That’s impossible. Where did he find so many demons?”

Infernal Souls stretched across the horizon, numbering half as much as the entirety of the horde assembled at High Valley. Another demon lord, one I’d never seen, moved at their head. An ice demon shaped like a monstrous, crystalline bat with clawed wings and a draconic head, emanating cold so fierce it froze the winter ground hundreds of feet before it crawled over them.

”That’s gotta be close to ten million,” Gayron growled. ”Even with Hag’s traitors, there shouldn’t be more than three!”

Dread gathered in the pit of my stomach. I knew where those demons had come from, but I had no answer for their numbers. How could the church have let such a force muster unchallenged? Just how many gates had they let break within Radia and elsewhere to reinforce the poison the curse demon sewed within their own lands?

”This isn’t good,” Grace said. ”I wanted a fight, but the odds are a little far. Are you sure your boyfriend knows what he’s doing?”

I shook my head, clasping my hands. I had no idea what was going through Luke’s head. He’d barely said a word since returning, and his expressions had barely given anything away. He was reckless, and prone to lashing out, but something told me this move hadn’t been made in anger. Nothing he’d done since had, which scared me as much as the alternative.

Slowly, Luke rose to his feet, wiping a trail of blood from his lips with the back of his hand. He took his sword, pulling its tip from the ground, and pointed it at Rash’alon.

”You dare challenge me, mortal?” Rash’alon asked, flowing toward him, a grin revealing pointed teeth. ”You only won before because of cheap trickery, and the Oracle’s magic. What makes you think I’d condescend to meet you in combat myself?”

”You will,” Luke said softly. ”Even if I must cut through a million demons to bring this sword against your throat. I’ve fought arbiters and gods.”

”And lost.” Rash’alon’s cackle was scathing.

”You are no god.”

”Not yet,” Rash’alon hissed, his eyes flickering away, piercing the hordes. Landing on me.

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. The sound was surprising, cutting through the growls and roars.

”What’s so humorous, mortal? Have you realized the absurdity of your state? Did you finally comprehend the magnitude of your decisions? There is no winning for you. Even should you somehow survive to see the morning, you will never have the strength to overthrow Enusia without me. I have ensured it.”

Luke lifted his sword, letting his smile fade. If he had a response, he didn’t give it. But I couldn’t think what it might be. The united horde, with all of the Fatesworn and my friends, was stronger than the church, but without the demon lords? My grip tightened on R’lissea. Just what was Luke thinking?

They met before I realized they’d moved. Shockwaves rebounded from the clash, obliterating the scions and evolved demons that had crawled too close. It hit us a second later, crashing against my wards with the force of a seventh-circle spell. Fable shifted in front of me, blocking the next impact as Luke and Rash’alon exchanged another dozen moves.

Demons erupted into battle, throwing themselves at each other in reckless abandon. Rash’alon’s horde reached the flank of the apostles just as the battle began. The ice demon lord swept in with a rush of ice, summoning literal glaciers that rose from the ground, tipped with jagged spikes. Entire packs vanished in sheets of cold blue ice, paving the way for its horde to swarm over.

Between flashing teeth, scales, and spells, I made out the figures of the apostles in the thick of it. They outnumbered the demon lords, but I held little hope. That Luke had killed Aquaes in a single strike was beyond reason. The others were already leagues above mortal eighth-level warriors, much less the apostles with little experience with their power. They could even stand against ninth-level beings, albeit with great effort.

”Gayron, let’s go. Evla needs help,” Korra said, embracing her mana. The apostle of gravity was currently being chased around by Lord Bloodsteel, intent on keeping her from unleashing her magic on his horde. If that were to happen, his millions of demons might as well be thousands.

”I’ll go after that ice bat. It looks interesting,” Grace said.

”Wait,” I cried, coughing flecks of blood. ”Grand Nexus!”

The eighth-circle spell took a lot more strength than I calculated, and I sagged against R’lissea when it finished, breathing heavily. She slipped an arm under my shoulder, holding me as I shared my wards and ability around them.

”Finally, I’ve been wanting to try this out for a while now,” Grace said, looking at the stars glistening around her. This is why Korra beat me in the first place.”

Korra raised an eyebrow. ”The only reason?”

”Obviously.”

”And what about the other seven times we’ve sparred...this month?”

Grace tossed her hair. ”You got lucky.”

”Fine, we’re settling this now. Whoever kills their demon lord first wins.”

”But you’re fighting three against just me!”

Korar hesitated, glancing at me. I groaned and patted Fable’s flank. Even lifting my hand that much was exhausting.

”Go, help Grace, please. And protect Luke, if you can.”

Grace’s eyes lit up. ”Really? Are you giving me him? Heh, I don’t even care that we’re outnumbered still.”

”Is it too late to switch partners?” Korra muttered.

”Hey!” Gayron hit her playfully on the arm.

”You and Evla are great, but you’re not Fable.”