When Lilith got back to the dungeon, she immediately began towing Elenoa towards the entrance to the training plane. More than one instructor had requested a crack at her if she was captured, and Lilith was more than happy to oblige. Ignoring Elenoa’s incessant protesting, she opened up the portal and hopped in.

“Wow, what’s this place?” Isa asked, looking around curiously.

Lilith jumped. She had, in her disgruntled state, managed to completely forget the woman was there. “It’s where I’ve been training. There are some people here who want to have a…conversation with Elenoa.”

“What people?! If they wanted to talk with me, they should have sent an email or letter or something like a normal person!”

“Not exactly an option.” Lilith growled, placing her hand on the obelisk and putting on some Worship.

Immediately, both Tiamat and Solomon appeared. Of course, Raphael was interested in talking with Elenoa as well, but he had said he’d let the others get their say in first, for he’d likely dominate Elenoa’s attention once he appeared.

Solomon stormed forward, an uncharacteristically angry look on her face. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Have you had fun demonizing my people? How did your devilish plot work out for you?” She clicked her tongue in derision. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Elenoa, gave her a measured look. “I did what was necessary to preserve the peace of the world.”

Solomon glared back. “And marginalizing and making villains of an entire species was the best answer? That was completely unnecessary, and you know it. You and your ilk were just cutting down potential power of potential rivals at the expense of millions of innocents. Disgusting.”

“Innocents who had, by and large, chosen to condone the rampant expansionism of the humans. All we did was make sure humans wouldn’t listen to words of people who might try and spark war again.”

“That’s misconstruing our stance and you know it!” Solomon shouted. “We believed that there was a way to resolve the conflict without stripping a significant portion of the global population from what should be a basic right, and it was that that we were fighting for! Not to help the humans conquer all of you! The whole thing came to be because of resource issues, and when you all “linked us to Haven”, instead of, say, leaving access open and letting people claim easier resources than ones already owned by others, you decided to not only deny people those resources, but strip whole aspects of their culture and livelihood away! Do you know how many magic practices have died because of what you’ve done? Do you?!”

“No matter the size of the land they would have been given, the humans would eventually fill it all and turn to conquest again. Doing that would have simply delayed the inevitable.”

“That’s the point! You supposedly pulled off this ritual to link us to Haven, so why couldn’t you just…do it again, as needed?! Or, you know, use the however many thousands of years it would take for it to become an issue to figure out a more permanent solution? But noooo, instead you have to try something incredibly unethical, and then, to top it all off, you basically controlled human society and used all their advancements and innovations for yourself. You’re worse than the people who started the war. At least they were trying to ensure their families would have enough to live off of, instead of making naked power grabs, ruining the reputations of people who were just trying to do what was right, and then having the gall to pretend they didn’t!”

She spat on the ground in front of Elenoa, then turned around. “I’ve said my piece, and I know you’re too deluded to listen to reason, so I’m done. Maybe, just maybe you could think about what you’ve done for once in your life, but I’m not holding my breath. I’d beat you to a pulp if I thought it’d make me feel better, but unlike some people, I’m someone who learns from the past and realizes that sometimes, kicking someone when they’re down just makes you feel worse.” With that, she marched back to the obelisk and sat down with her back to it, glaring daggers over at Elenoa.

“Um, who was that?” Isa asked, a slight expression of bewilderment on her face. “She seems like she really had a stake in the war, but I’ve met most of the veterans at one point or another, and I’m certain I’d remember someone as…intense as her.”

“I can hear you!” Solomon said, voice raised slightly so it was more audible over the distance, “Go ahead and tell her, though, I don’t feel like explaining right now.”

“That was Solomon.” Lilith told Isa. “And she died before you were born, so there’s no way you could have met her.”

“Solomon as in the greatest mage-king to ever walk the face of the planet, Solomon?!” Isa replied, incredulous. “And what do you mean she died?! From my understanding we’ve only just discovered revival spells, and they only go back up to a day and have all sorts of side-effects!”

“We’re not really alive.” Tiamat answered. “We’re souls temporarily given corporeal form at the expense of Lilith’s resources, and we can only manifest in this plane. I’m Tiamat, by the way.”

“Like…Tiamat Tiamat or…?”

Tiamat smirked, then shifted into her dragon form. “That’s me. Perhaps you would better recognize me like this?”

“No way,” Isa breathed, looking Tiamat up and down hungrily. “Is it true that you fought Errus to a standstill?! Will you spar with me?! That would be awesome!”

Tiamat laughed. “He was already sort of winded, but yes, I did.” She turned back into her human form and looked at Elenoa, expression going dark. “And then Elenoa’s lackeys ended me. I’m not too upset about that, but what came afterward was past what I could tolerate.”

In response Elenoa…went feral. Lilith wasn’t exactly sure how else to describe it; her face had contorted into an expression of pure, unbridled malice, and she leapt at Tiamat, hands poised to claw at the woman’s face while sputtering wildly. Even while being dragged by Lilith, she hadn’t been this disturbed.

Tiamat grabbed Elenoa as the other woman ineffectually swung at her. “Why did you have to tarnish my reputation? I may have fought with the humans, but I was dead. There was no need to go on a slander campaign.” She said calmly.

“You killed him!” Elenoa screamed. “You killed Raphael! He was a far better person than you, and you killed him in cold blood! You deserved it!”

“We were simply soldiers on opposite sides of a conflict.” Tiamat replied. “In my position, he would have done the same thing. He knew what he was signing up for when he offered to hold me off, and I must say he put up an incredible fight. He understood this, so why can’t you?”

“Lies! There’s no way he would go out to die! He said he’d come back for sure! He didn’t “understand”, so stop with your nonsense!”

“I understand, Ela.” Raphael said, suddenly manifesting. “I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to assault my friend.”

Elenoa went rigid, head turning to look at Raphael. “Raph…? No, you’re just making illusions to get into my head.” She shook her head, then glared at Lilith. “Have you not tormented me enough, you foul woman!? To use the likeness of my dead husband like this…it’s unforgivable. You’re the lowest of the low, you know that?”

Raphael walked over, grabbing Elenoa’s head and turning it so she was looking at him. “She’s not doing that, Ela. Look at my magical signature. It’s me, Ela.”

Lilith tensed as Elenoa began to cast a spell, but Solomon raised her hand. “She’s just reading his signature. It’s harmless.”

As Elenoa finished the spell, Tiamat dropped her. Elenoa sat up, looking at Raphael, shaking. “N-no, it’s…just they just figured some way to spoof a signature. That has to be it.”

Raphael sighed. “On our wedding night, we had just returned home. You were about to fall down the stairs and I caught you. When you mentioned how happy you were that I did, I told you that I’d be there to catch you for the rest of our lives, and we both laughed at how cheesy it was. Unless you told someone else, there was no way for them to know about that without rooting around in your head specifically for things like it, which you know no one’s done. Give it up, Ela.”

Elenoa sniffed, tears running down her face. “Then…if you really are Raphael, shouldn’t you be telling that girl off for how poorly she’s treated me? You’re supposedly her teacher, so go scold her. Her behavior’s been completely unacceptable.”

He shook his head. “No can do. I’m afraid that she’s in the right here. I even told her to kill you if she had no other choice. You’re…not the same woman I fell in love with. You’ve become twisted over these long millennia, and it pains me to see you like this. You’re treating everyone around you like playthings, and you even emotionally abused your only grandkid. Please, Ela, come to your senses. I’m begging you. Find it in yourself to change for the better and let go of your grudges.”

 Elenoa wiped her tears, face once again a mask of rage. “That settles it. This is just an elaborate ploy to attack me. The Raphael I fell in love with would never even entertain the thought of me getting hurt, let alone telling someone to kill me. Get out of my sight, I won’t listen to your lies.”

Raphael sighed again. “If nothing else, think about what the “Raphael you fell in love with” would want you to do. Goodbye, Ela.”

He turned away from Elenoa and vanished, although he wasn’t quick enough to prevent Lilith from seeing the tears in his eyes as he did.

“Alright, everyone said their fill? Can I go lock her up now?”

“Go ahead.” Solomon said. “Saying more would be like bashing my head against a brick wall.”

Tiamat shrugged. “I was never as offended as Solomon was, I just wanted to hear her reasoning from her own mouth. Feel free.”

Lilith nodded, picking Elenoa up, creating a portal, then dragging her out.

“She…forgot to officially dismiss us. And forgot Isa. Again.” Solomon said, looking at the space where Lilith had been.

“Eh, cut her some slack. She’s had a traumatic day.” Tiamat replied.

“So…” Isa began, “About that spar…”

After safely locking Elenoa up, Lilith’s next order of business was to make sure Winston was OK. In her string of forgetfulness, she had left him lying on the floor of the entrance hall that was probably not in the most stable of states at the moment.

Does this mean you’re letting Isa have her spar, then? Mae asked.

“What? Oh, uh, sure, I guess.” Lilith replied absentmindedly. “She’s been a help so might as well.” She took a moment to open up a portal to right in front of the Council building, which was already swarming with law enforcement officers and curious civilians.

“Let me through.” She said calmly, shouldering her way through the crowd.

“Miss High Arbiter!” Someone holding a microphone cried. “Could you give us a statement on what happened today?”

“No. I will be giving no further comments until the day of the trial. I am here to help treat anyone who may be injured, and I’m afraid I don’t have any more time to waste.” Lilith replied, repeating the lines Mae was feeding her. She was grateful for Mae’s assistance, as she doubted she would be able to be this composed if she was completely alone.

The crowd, now aware of her presence, parted as she walked up to the police line.

“Officer,” She said, addressing the nearest uniformed person she saw, “I trust there will be no problems letting me in?”

The officer paled, eyes flicking around frantically. “U-um…”

“I’ll take it from here, officer.” Yamato said, walking out of the building. He gave Lilith a cursory look, then smiled. “Nice to see you again. I suppose I haven’t really had the chance to interact with you as much, but I trust Carmen filled you in on the little visit we had while you were away?” He motioned inside. “Come on in.”

Lilith nodded, carefully stepping over the barricade. “Mind if we save any further talk for inside? I’m sure some of our conversation will enter the territory of state secrets, and I doubt you want those discussed publicly.”

“Of course. You said you were here to treat the wounded? I’ll bring you to the bay where we’re keeping everyone and then we can talk more after you finish.” He retreated back into the building, and as Lilith followed, he filled her in on the state of the people. “I must say that I appreciate how you kept your methods mostly non-lethal. Most of the injuries came as a result of falling debris or from the tank’s pilots being knocked around after their tank went offline. There were a couple of deaths, but I don’t think anyone’s going to hold them against you; it was clear that you were making an effort to not kill anyone, and at the end of the day there was only so much you could do.” He ushered her through a door, closing it quietly behind them. “Our healers have already taken a look at most of them, so you shouldn’t have too much work.”

He was right. She went through and healed the assembled people with Kindness’ Kiss, which took around five minutes. There were only a couple dozen, and casting the Skill was instant, so it wasn’t even a big effort. Just a matter of walking over, assessing injuries, healing the person, having a brief conversation, and then moving on. After she finished, she walked back over to Yamato, who was waiting patiently at the door. “Where’s Winston?” She asked.

He frowned. “We’ve got him in a specialized ward. He was a little more heavily injured than the others thanks to…whatever it was you shot him with, and he still hasn’t woken up, so we’re monitoring him closely. Do you think you can do anything about it?”

Lilith shrugged. “Not sure. He should recover from my shots fairly quickly, but I’m pretty sure he’s unconscious due to the strain of such a long-held contract being broken as swiftly and forcefully as it was. Given how hardy he is, he should be back up within the day, so I wouldn’t worry unless he’s out for longer than that.”

“Ah, so you did break his contract. We weren’t sure, since it’s not exactly easy to detect a contract like that. Glad you did, though, it was appalling the state he he was living in.” He opened the door and, once again, began to guide her through the halls. “Out of curiosity, what did you shoot him with? Form what we saw on the recording, the bullets didn’t seem to be made of conventional materials, and no one around here can identify the make of the gun you used.”

“That’s because I made them myself using Eldritch Abomination. I would advise being careful around the bullets, though, the paralytic I used probably hasn’t worn off yet, and it only needs to touch the skin to take effect.”

“Yikes. I’ll let them know.” He led Lilith to a room a few doors down from the main med bay, had a brief talk with someone on the other side of the door, then let her in.

She stepped in and looked over Winston briefly. As she had guessed, he was mostly fine physically (and was healed rather quickly with Kindness’ Kiss), but he was out cold from his contract being broken, much like Vithi had been when she was freed. After confirming he would be fine, she stepped back out and had Yamato lead her to a room where they could speak privately.

“So,” She began, sitting down in one of the room’s chairs, “Did the rest of the Council know about this plot of Elenoa’s?”

Yamato sighed. “Yes, we did. She managed to convince each of us to let it go. I don’t know how she convinced the others, but for me, at least, she said that if you could not handle this trap, you would certainly not be up to the task of being a mediator for the entire world.”

He gave her a smile. “I am happy to say, however, that you passed, and that I wholeheartedly support the cause you are championing.”

Lilith gave him a weak smile in return. “Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment. Of course, this isn’t my only reason for wanting to talk to you. I’ve come to let you know that you’re going to be one of the jurors in Elenoa’s trial. The rest of the Council, save Baern, because he was an accomplice, will be as well. Do you have any questions?”

There was a short conversation, and then Lilith excused herself. She had to take Isa home, and then…wait, really. But she had to admit that, in a sense, she was relieved. In a week, this whole mess would be over with. Her family and friends would be free to leave the dungeon for extended periods of time, and they would all be able to relax, at least for a time.

Fighterman481

A quick reminder that the end of the arc is coming up in 2 chapters, and there will be 2 "in-between" chapters before the next arc starts, so if you want questions about the story answered in-character, submit them to me whatever way you feel is easiest and I'll put them in a Q&A before the next arc. If you want it answered by a specific character then specify and I will! If you want a question about the story answered from my perspective/out of character, then I'm always open to answer them in comments or on Discord, so ask away!

Anyway, the chapter itself:

This chapter is in a bit of a funky place, because originally I went straight from last chapter to the next one and this just...didn't exist. But, I had the first...thousandish words of the next chapter written and I realized that, wait, this should probably be a thing.

 

I'll ask that people forgive Lilith's rather scatterbrained behavior this chapter, since...well, as Tiamat says, she had a traumatic day, and it just didn't feel right having her firing on all cylinders right after what happened.

 

When talking about Solomon and beef with Elenoa, I considered bringing into the picture that Jewish people have gotten the short end of the stick for like...all of history, but in the end I decided to lay off the real-world politics and talk something that's more directly Elenoa's fault and also not in any way a sensitive subject for people. I hope.

 

Tiamat was also going to have a bit...more(?) beef with Elenoa, but when I was writing her I got the feeling she would be...chiller than I had planned, so she was.

 

Oh, and yeah, she killed Raphael and both of them are cool about it. They understand it wasn't anything personal, and they both were doing what they thought was best and acknowledge that, in the end, they both just want the world to be better. I mean, there were probably some hard feelings for a while, but they got over it.

 

Raphael tried a bit of shock therapy with Elenoa and, unsurprisingly, it didn't work out. At least this way he knows he...tried, I guess. To be honest, I'm not sure how much closure either of them got from that meeting. Elenoa, at the least, had old wounds ripped right open again, so she's coming out of it the worse for wear, but Raphael...well, I guess that'll depend on Elenoa and if she changes, really.

 

And, provided she doesn't get a death sentence, will she make a major change? I don't know. Within this series the answer is probably going to be no, but I believe that people can change, even if it takes a long time. So, 500, 1000 years down the line might she be different? Yeah, but I haven't sat down and decided that as it's not important to the series. So, I guess headcanon that as you will?

 

Then we've got the chat with Yamato. I was just going to have Lilith come in, grab Winston, and leave, but I realized that no, there would 100% be people there and she couldn't just do that. It had only been like, 5-10 minutes, sure, but they had teams on standby, since they knew this was going to be messy.

 

Why would Yamato just let her in? Well, for one, as he says, he likes her and her cause. Two...how could they stop her? She just demolished a trap that had been laid out specifically to ensnare her and took away a couple of the Council's biggest military assets. At least this way they had someone keeping an eye on her.

 

And yeah, that's about it. Next time is the trial, so look forward to it!

 

And, as always, thanks for reading!