*** 

--- City of Dalko, Great Plains Region ---

Date: August 26th, 2026

 

Listening over the radio, Lelei heard from Sharpe that Valker was approaching. Once the Demon God got into position, she would attempt to cast her containment spell, preventing Valker from phasing from this reality as well as keeping Valker and Zufmuut from de-merging. Hopefully, this would allow the Holy Spear to kill them once and for all.

“We will try to help you,” Tuka said. “Maybe Yao and my mana could help boost yours.”

“Try focusing your mana on me,” Lelei said.

Feeling drained, Lelei realized how smart Kagash was. In the past, she used her knowledge of Earth science and used it with her magic. With Frayen’s guidance, she defeated Valker the first time they met. She has also had an impact on him during Sadera by forcing him to retreat.

Kagash must have known what Lelei would do and planned accordingly. Deplete her mana to the point whatever NATO planned was would be fruitless. 

“I see Jackson coming,” Yao said.

“Let’s do this,” Lelei replied.

Placing her hands together, she began chanting as static appeared between her hands.

“Lelei!” Tuka yelled. “Incoming.”

Lelei forced herself to change spells and formed a barrier around them. It did not take long to figure out who could have attacked them. Kagash. “Damn her.”

“She really knows how to ruin everything,” Tuka said.

“You blue haired bitch!” Kagash yelled. Her face covered with tears; her eyes could be mistaken as dragon eyes with the sheer hate that was emitting from her soul. “You killed my husband! We were going to have a beautiful future together. He was going to be free but you…”

“You two destroyed my home,” Lelei furiously said. “My first father was killed because of you two. You almost took everything from me.”

“That’s your fault for siding with Hardy,” Kagash madly stated as her hands burned bright red.

She reached out towards Lelei as red whip-like appendages lashed out at her. She quickly reacted by hastily putting up another barrier but with little preparation, it quickly began to crack with each strike.

“Lelei!” Tuka shouted as she prepared to throw a huge blue scorching fireball at Kagash.

“Stay out of this!” The enraged mage spat as she motioned her fingers in her free hand that had earth spikes protruding out from underneath the elf.

Tuka quickly dove and rolled out of the way and took cover behind a nearby boulder. Yao tried to summon multiple sharp ice blocks in the air to strike the Dark witch. Kagash quickly threw her dark fire balls toward them, incinerating all the ice blocks before Yao can throw.  As Kagash is distracted with two of her Elven sisters, Lelei prepares to take the initiative before she heard something over the radio.

“Lelei!” Soredin shouted over the radio. “Galrik is still alive. Before I could engage him, he slipped away toward your location.”

Lelei couldn’t believe what she just heard. She threw everything she had at him and thought that he was finally dead. Half of his body was missing so this should be impossible.

Feeling a tremble on the ground, Galrik landed nearby. The hatred in Kagash's eyes quickly vanished and turned into pure joy. “My love! Did… did Valker bring you back to me?”

“What do we do?” Tuka whispered. “I do not think I can go another round against both of them.”

“Same here,” Lelei said. “And go up against Valker. I need Frayen.”

“My love,” Kagash said as she got in front of her husband. “Help me crush them once and for all. We are so close to the dream we-.”

To Lelei's shock, Galrik struck his wife to the side without a second thought and continued onward.

Everyone was shocked by what they saw.

“Look,” Yao said. “He looks different.”

The strike allowed Lelei to get a good view of Galrik. The open gaps in the armor showed blisters. The right arm is dark and demon-like with thick claws. Whatever man he was, it is now clear that he is more of a demon.

Kagash slowly stumbled up, but fell back down, dazed and struggling to get on her feet. She held her side as a prominent gash was visible. “What?” Kagash asked, shocked by what just happened and horrified by what her husband looked like now. She slowly stood up in hysteria, asking what happened to her love.

“He turned into one of them,” Lelei said. “He is a demon now and demons cannot love.”

“Hardy might have cursed him but at least he was still able to feel love,” Tuka said. “Now he is not even a man. You just sacrificed your husband for the demons. What did you expect would happen?”

“No.” Kagash’s eyes burned bright red. A red mist slowly emanated from them while her tears, tainted by her rage dripped down red.

“Ignore her,” Tuka said. “He is coming.”

Hearing the loud screech from the now demon-hybrid Galrik, a dark mist poured from his hands. Tuka summoned a powerful wind to deflect the gas; however, with how low her mana had become, the gas was quickly reaching them. Everything between them - creep infested trees, bushes, and the creep itself was falling dead from the poisonous gas.

“Lelei, Yao, run away before my mana collapses,” Tuka said.

“No,” Lelei responded as she gathered her breath. “We will figure this out.”

Galrik marched toward the three as he maintained the pressure. Lelei could see that their attacks were having little effect. Somehow, his mana had recovered or because he was already dead, he could ignore the stress on his body.

As he marched, a small glow appeared where his heart should’ve been. The flames spread around his body until they reached the gas that was coming from his hands. The gas burst into flames, igniting him before the flames could reach Tuka, destroying him into dozens of smoldering pieces.

Confused by what had just happened, Lelei saw Kagash standing with the glow from her hand disappearing. Tears continued to flow down her eyes, however her eyes showed nothing but rage.

“Did she just save us?” Tuka asked as she lowered her arms.

“I think so,” Lelei responded. “From the look of it, she just literally euthanized her own husband.”

“You three,” Kagash said. She cried as her hand shook from anger. “This is all your fault. All of you! We were going to live together as a family. Free from everything.”

“We did not turn your husband-.” Lelei tried to explain but was interrupted by a quick flame blast from Kagash.

“I do not care,” Kagash yelled before turning towards Valker’s direction. “You might have killed him, but he turned my love into a monster. He was my protector and a loving father to my child. Always protecting me and my son from the harshness of this world and paying the price multiple times. He deserved better than being turned into an abomination.” She then ran off before anyone else could respond.

“Kagash!” Lelei yelled before hearing a voice from behind.

“Leave her be, Lelei,” Frayen said. “Her mind has been lost to rage and grief. She has decided her fate and will seek revenge against Valker.”

Lelei turned to face her Apostle mentor and what she saw shocked her. Frayen was in bad shape. Blood flowed from his body from many slashes. Chunks of his shoulder and parts of his arms were missing, slowly being regenerated. His right ear was missing. It seemed the battle against the demons had been brutal.

“But she will die,” Tuka pointed out.

“I don’t feel sorry for her after what she has done to my people and my father,” Lelei said. “However, this might turn into our advantage.”

“What do you mean?” Frayen asked.

“Right now, Jackson, Rory, and Taylin are fighting Valker. Well, more like distracting him but anyway, I need you to transfer your mana to me like you did the first time we faced him.”

“I am already very depleted, and I informed you that would not be possible. However, there is a big problem. Valker will sense that and stop us before the transfer is complete.”

“Except, Kagash will be distracting him now. As the guys said, never underestimate a woman with a broken heart. Even if she only lasts a few minutes, her rage will buy us enough time to complete the plan.”

Frayen placed his hand on his chin as if his wounds were not bothering him. “It could work but we need to act fast. Inform your master quickly so we can get into position.”

 

--- 

 

Sharpe watched as Taylin was tossed into an Infantry Squad Vehicle like he was a bag of flour.

Rory leaped in front of Valker, stopping him in his tracks before he attacked another group of soldiers.

She slashed toward him, dancing around the Demon God as she tried to keep him off balance.

However, Valker grabbed and lifted her up before slamming her into the hill, sinking her deep into the ground.

He pulled her out of the hill and grabbed her arm. His hand turned blue as flames emerged from his grasp, incinerating Rory arm.

Sharpe realized that Valker was going to rip Rory apart and incinerate her wholly, killing her. Seeing a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle by the destroyed ISV, he rushed as fast as he could and slid on the creep, sliding farther than he intended and almost missed the rocket launcher. He hoped that the rocket would force Valker to phase out, dropping Rory.

As he got into position, he saw Valker already was prepared for his attack and launched a dark energy projectile, similar to Lelei signature spell coming toward him, forcing him to duck into the ground and use the creep to slide as far as he could. The dark void impacted the ISV and the vehicle exploded.

Being thrusted further away, dropping the rocket launcher, he felt his leg burning. Looking back, he saw that his legs were on fire and focused on patting them out as quickly as he could, however, felt the flames burning his skin. While the uniform is designed to be flame resistant, it couldn't withstand being engulfed in fire.

Sharpe was able to put out the flames but felt a sharp pain in his leg, noticing blood flowing out. This confused him at first as a burn shouldn't have caused this until he assumed something small from the vehicle must have impacted his leg. However, he heard Rory scream in pain as he realized he was helpless to do anything.

Noticing a blue reflecting from the blood pounds everywhere, he looked up and saw multiple lightning struck Valker.

From the sudden impact, Valker dropped Rory as he focused on creating a void to deflect the lightning.

At first, Sharpe thought it was Lelei who cast that spell. To his confusion, it was Kagash.

“You bastard!” Kagash screamed in rage. “We dedicated our life for Darlko and for you and this is what you repaid us! You will pay for what you did to my dear husband.”

Seeing Taylin slowly getting up from the wreckage of the ISV, the boy was covered in first degree burns. Realizing that the God was busy, Sharpe yelled, "Go grab Rory and get her out of here."

Taylin took off and grabbed Rory. Valker became distracted by Kagash as she attacked the Demon God with such furry.

Taylin landed by Sharpe, holding Rory in his arms. She looked in bad shape. Body twisted, and first-degree burns from the dark flame everywhere. Her arm was completely incinerated. Even with her regeneration abilities, it would still take a long time to recover from these wounds.

“Take her to Lelei's position,” Sharpe ordered.

“No,” Rory said. “Do not take me away Taylin, I just need a minute and I will be back.”

Taylin looked confused, as he did not know who to listen to. Rory was giving him the glare, not wanting to be taken away.

Seeing that Rory was in no shape to continue fighting, Sharpe stared directly at the boy in a calm but strong tone. “Taylin, I gave you a goddamn order so do it.” The tone scared Taylin and left, despite Rory's protests.

As the two Apostles left, Staff Sergeant Andrew Steele appeared. “What the hell just happened?”

“What are you doing here?” Sharpe asked, shocked, and annoyed that he was here in the open.

“You told me to watch your back,” Andrew said. “And you haven’t answered your radio.”

“It broke. Been kind of busy getting thrown around.” Sharpe said as he pulled out his knife and probed the small object out of his leg.

Andrew got on his knee and pulled out a bandage and a Bio-Gel syringe. "Do you have yours?"

"No, it is burnt to hell with everything else."

Once the small object was taken out of Sharpe's leg, Andrew thrusted the syringe into the wound. Small micro-sponges filled the wound, creating a hard, white surface. He felt a sharp pain ripple throughout his body as he felt his leg fill up with the sponges which forced him to let out a painful scream. Slowly, he felt the pain go away as the Bio-Gel took effect, slowly neutralizing the pain and allowing him to move his leg - for now. "Thank you. But what are you doing here?"

“Lelei has a message, she wants to use Kagash as a distraction long enough to complete the plan. She is with Frayen, recharging her mana and waiting for your call.”

Not fully understanding what is going on and why Valker and Kagash are fighting. However, he decided that he did not care and would take any opportunity he had.

Seeing the two fought, he found a gap between two hills, a perfect choking point. “Tell Lelei to set up there. Then grab another Carl Gustaf round and head to that opening there. I will get his attention.”

The two got into position, Andrew taking the rear while Sharpe stopped by a bolder. He got into the firing position and aimed the Carl Gustaf right at Valker's feet.

Kagash's fight with Valker had proven to be her downfall. While a powerful mage, she was no match against a Phantom Demon God, especially with pure rage consuming all logic.

The Demon God rammed his fist into her barrier, the sheer force pushing Kagash into the ground until his hand broke through the barrier. She quickly used another lightning spell to strike them both, but it did nothing to stop him as his hand grabbed Kagash’s burnt body, flames engulfed her, and she burst into ash. A few tears escaped her eyes at the very end before she too quickly disintegrated.

Sharped fired the rocket, causing a small crater and smoke. Valker emerged from the smoke, unharmed from the attack.

Seeing that he got the Demon God's full attention, he rushed toward Andrew's position as fast as he could, feeling his left leg dragging a bit from the wound. Once there, he got into the firing position again, ignoring the slight pain from the continuous strain he placed on it.

Andrew quickly reloaded the Carl Gustaf. “Ready.”

“Okay, go and take cover,” Sharpe said and then turned to Andrew with a serious look. “Do not leave your position until Lelei makes her move. Whatever happens to me, we only have one shot at this.”

He could tell that Andrew wanted to argue, however agreed to the order, the Staff Sergeant rushed away to get into cover.

Seeing Valker walking through an infested tree, Sharpe fired the second rocket round. The shot impacted the tree, causing it to collapse. Just like last time, the blast had no effect on the Demon God.

Seeing how quickly Valker was approaching, Sharpe quickly stood up and walked backward. He dropped the rocket launcher and pulled out his modified M17 and began loading it with the spear.

“It seems that you have found some kind of powerful magical weapon in order to defeat me,” Valker said. “Do not be foolish. The gods of this world or yours will not save you this time. The power of all the damned souls flows through my veins. No mortal weapons - technological or magical, can harm me.”

“Good point, I will take your advice.” Sharpe then turned and headed down the path as fast as he could.

Once he got around the corner, turned and aimed his pistol, waiting for Valker to come around.

However, he noticed a shadow of a large figure looming behind him. He turned around and saw the Demon God standing there, probably phased through the hill to outflank him, as he hoped Valker would do.

As the trap was set, Sharpe watched as Andrew broke from his cover earlier than planned. He was supposed to wait for Lelei to contain Valker before intervening.

However, besides getting into the firing position behind the Demon God as planned, the Staff Sergeant fled from a Demon that suddenly attacked, forcing him from his cover. He was forced to drop to the ground to avoid the attack. However, the Demon grabbing his foot with his claws.

Without hesitation, Valker grabbed Sharpe by the vest and lifted him five feet off the ground. On the other hand, the Demon God grabbed Sharpe's other hand and burnt it until he let go of his pistol and the spear, causing him to scream, leaving blisters and third-degree burns.

Moving his hand to his chest from the pain, he looked down at the Demon God. He could not help but feel fear gripping his body as Valker stood there silently and calmly. Only seeing the Demon God glowing eyes staring emotionlessly at him.

Watching as the dark god slowly looked toward the spear, analyzing it.

Once Valker finished studying the spear, the dark eyes glowed brightly with rage. His hand glowed as a large charge of energy jolted through Sharpe's body, causing much pain. “This is not a magical weapon, just a normal spear tip.”

Seeing that Valker was not amused and witnessing Andrew nearly being mauled by the Demon as he fought for his life. A loud scream could be heard as Alicia with her knife jumped off the rock and onto the back of the beast.

Valker started to turn to see what was happening and then Sharpe realized that he just had to buy more time. That he needed to keep the Demon God’s focus on him while his team helped Andrew.

The only reaction Sharpe could muster was a loud laugh, which got Valker's attention again. “What? Mister god all almighty does not know the difference between a common spear and an overhyped cliche paperweight? My wife has a book for dummies that explains the difference.”

Seeing that Valker was not amused with the sarcasm, he crushed his figures into the man and then rammed Sharpe into the hillside just hard enough not to be killed but to cause pain. His hand then glowed bright from mana, burning most of his vest off. “You have a plan, or you would have fled long ago. Tell me.”

Feeling his chest burning, Sharpe looked and spit blood on Valker’s helmet.

As the blood evaporated from the armor, Valker’s hand glowed bright, and then an intense heat was felt on his chest as the Demon God’s hand burnt through his vest and jacket.

Sharpe couldn’t tell that Valker was torturing him to gain information or for his own pleasure at this point. He had no idea how long he could last and hoped Lelei was almost ready. Having no radio, he could only have faith that she was nearly ready.

Seeing that the demon was trying to swing Alicia off his back, Scott and Frost charged forward and rammed the demon into the ground. Alicia was able to jump off beforehand as the two Rangers fired their rifle rounds into the beast, unloading most of their magazines. Jerry followed up behind to help Andrew as the rest of Vanguard-7 prepared to intervene against Valker.

More demons approached however it was killed by the rest of Vanguard-7 as they formed a protective formation. Randy quickly took control of the situation as they repelled the incoming demons.

Based on the interactions Sharpe could see, Andrew was telling everyone not to intervene as he struggled to pulled out the 1911 Colt sidearm. The one that Sharpe gave him before the battle at the airbase. Jerry helped him load the Holy Spear of Longinus into the .45 Colt pistol as Alicia grabbed her radio and spoke to someone, hoping that she was telling Lelei to spring the trap.

Seeing that Andrew was safe and that the rest of his team helping him aim the pistol, Sharpe turned to the Demon God and forced himself to say, “You know… I have noticed something about all of you supernatural bastards. You all… you all always work alone and think you all are… high and mighty. You really thought that I was really going to put the fate of the universe in a man-to-man death match?”

Sharpe then noticed a sudden bright blue glow beneath their feet. He saw Andrew as his friend and close teammate intent to shoot Valker in the back of the head once he was immobilized and stuck in this physical Realm.

Changing his glare to directly meet the Demon God's eyes he returned the death of horror look with an overconfident smirk. “That is why we always win. Checkmate you cliche mother fucker.”

A blue sphere enveloped the two. Their bodies felt heavier as gravity concentrated while static charge burst out. An eclectic charge from the ground impacted the sphere that was building around them.

Sharpe felt fuzzy as the electricity built up around them, all within moments from when he first saw the blue light. Unlike before, where Valker’s electric shock was concentrated to cause temporary pain, this feeling was across the body. A sharp pain was felt as he felt his body burning up.

Valker let out a loud screech as he took the brunt of the spell. The combination of gravity to keep him in place and the electric charge building up within the containment sphere.

Feeling parts of his body burning, Sharpe saw someone slice Valker's arm in half and then felt a strong tackle, being pushed from the sphere.

After hitting the ground, Sharpe lay there as he struggled to control his body from the burning pain. His body shook as smoke came off what is left of his uniform. His skin was red from burns as it felt like it was boiling. A continuous thumbing feeling from his vest as that was were most of the damage was located from Valker's grasp.

Looking over, to Sharpe confusion, he saw Taylin kneeling next to him. The boy was in a similar state as his body struggled to function. Looking down, he also saw Valker hand that was still attached to what was left of the army vest. He wanted to knock it away but struggled to summon the strength to do so.

Remembering what was going on, Sharpe looked back at Valker. To his pleasure, the trap seemed to be working as the Demon God had yet to leave the containment sphere. As he stood within the sphere, a mystical man tried to leave Valker's body but was forced back inside. This happened multiple times as someone was trying to escape but now was stuck in the Phantom Lord body, letting out loud screeches of pain.

He thrashed around, his body and shadowy figures slamming into the spherical prison. His loud screaming turned more into a beastly howl and roar. Like a caged animal, the god thrashed around to break free until he saw something that, for once in his life, brought fear into him. His eyes locked with a soldier’s but what terrified him the most was the amount of divine energy emanating from the weapon he wielded. 

Andrew got into position, locked eyes with his target and fired the pistol. The Holy Spear pierced the sphere wall and impacted Valker's head. A sudden but loud scream echoed throughout the valley, forcing everyone to cover their ears. A mystical ghostly form emerged from the body trying to escape. What looked like arms impacted the sphere walls but were trapped as parts of the ghostly form dissipated from the mere touch.

At the spot where the Holy Spear impacted, the armor cracked, and a bright light emerged. Cracks formed all around the armor until it started to spread along the ghostly figure.

The containment sphere burst apart from the sheer amount of energy that was coming from Valker and the ghostly figure as the energy disperses, Sharpe saw the ethereal body of the Wraith fades into nothingness while a naked old-looking man with an ethereal body appears next to Valker’s fading body.

“That is Zufmuut,” Taylin said. 

“I thought the spear would end both him and Valker at the same time,” Sharpe said.

“Zufmuut must have saved a portion of himself somehow,” Taylin said. “It seems that Valker is dead though.”

“The bastard looks almost dead,” Sharpe commented.

“Then he is weakened,” Taylin said. “We can finish him off before he recovers.”

Seeing the importance of the moment, Sharpe tried to get up but failed to. He felt his hand, still blistering from the pain. Jerry quickly appeared along with Alicia and Chapman. The medic quickly started treating the burns on his hand and chest.

As Zufmuut tried to crawl toward the Holy Spear, Rory dropped from the hillside and landed next to the Holy Spear. She stood, still missing an arm, much of her body still deformed from her fight against the Phantom Lord, however, she is still standing with her Halbert.

Rory picked up the Holy Spear and looked down at the formal God of Light and Order. A once powerful being now limping across the broken ground. She wanted the now mortal to retract his hand, slowly moving his hand onto the ground, feeling the steaming hot burnt dirt. As if he was feeling the ground for the very first time.

She gripped the Holy Spear and shoved it into his back. A small shockwave spread out as cracks around the spear appeared on Zufmuut's skin. A bright light peaked out from the cracks, expanding as more of the body broke down.

Noticing Mabel approaching Rory asked, “My lord, why?”

Zufmuut glanced around, witnessing how everyone was staring at him. Vanguard-7 aiming their weapons aimed at the ready as they surrounded the god, ready to finish him. He then looked back toward the ground.

“The story of starlight, stretching eons as the universe ticked away. As life comes and goes in the blink of an eye, unable to accumulate sight, feeling, praise, and sadness. From the darkest of days to the rising warmth of flare from the east. Having unlimited essence while limited to this sphere.”

Zufmuut looked up and stared into Rory’s eyes. “A star life of imprisonment - bearing the role of caretaker for their sanctuary. Gazing upon the stars as they slowly adventure away. I wanted to see everything. Feel everything. To touch… everything… I wished to be free….”

Rory took a deep breath. “You made a pact with hell to be free from your responsibilities? All the death and suffering for your own self-importance!?”

As the body was consumed by the divine power from the Spear, Zufmuut could only reply, “With death, stagnation shall finally be broken.” His entire body fully cracked into massive light until he faded away. 

“It is over!” Taylin said.

Sharpe took a deep breath of relief and tried to get up. Before he could do anything, he was suddenly tackled by Rory.

“You prick!” Rory yelled, sitting on his lap, and hugging him. “How could you be so brain-dead? Going up against a god without an Apostle? You are a stupid mortal, you could’ve died!”

Feeling nothing from pain, Sharpe slowly said, “Rory… my body hurts.”

Rory then lightly slapped Sharpe. “I do not care. You did not care about my feelings, so you deserve it. And I am going to tell your wife how reckless you were. You are in trouble.”

Sharpe stared into Rory's angry eyes. The eyes turned from frustration to pride as she hugged and kissed him on the cheek.

“You did good.” She then looked at Taylin, Andrew, and the rest of the team as they gathered together. "All of you did."

Slowly patting her on the head, Sharpe saw Frayen carrying Lelei as she was exhausted with Tuka and Yao right behind.

“Nice shot Andrew,” Sharpe said.

“Thanks,” Andrew replied. “I see why you are an officer, always taking the easy jobs.”

Sharpe tried to laugh. Frayen sat Lelei down next to him. Seeing Lelei staring at him, smiling as she felt a massive relief from her shoulders disappear, he gave her a fist bump. “Good job.”

“Body hurts,” Lelei mumbled. “I want to go to bed.”

The Grand High Witch rushed over to Lelei and gave her a hug. “Thank God almighty! You are alright! I was worried that you might perish but you have prevailed!”

“Thank you, teacher!” Lelei humbly said. “It was my dad and Andrew here who truly defeated the Dark God.”

“Don’t be so humble!” Soredin replied. “Without your magic, they wouldn’t have succeeded.”

“Well,” Lelei said. “I must thank Frayen a lot for that. All of you helped me to get to this point.”

Smiling, Sharpe looked at Taylin who seemed very different. All the times they had faced off the boy was always confident, determined, single-minded. Now, he seemed unsure, out of place. While the two had a strong history of being enemies and that feeling would not go away soon, he could respect that in the final moment, the Apostle did save his life when he didn’t have to. “Thank you.”

Taylin sat there, not knowing how to respond.

“No words needed for now,” Sharpe said. He then looked out to the battleground with the realization that now that Valker and Zufmuut were dead, the enemy army was still a threat. “Now, we need to deal with the demons. Contact-.”

“Too late,” Frayen said as he looked up.

Within the dark clouds, a bright orange and red light emerged. The clouds were pushed away as the flame beast - a Balrog - emerged, landing nearby. The giant demon's eyes stared at their location.

Once landed, its large hand reached down to their position to engulf them. Frayen and Soredin took the center position to protect everyone. As the hand got close, the fist started bursting into ash. The Balrog arm and the rest of the body burst into ash. Until there was nothing left.

“What just happened?” Tuka asked.

“It is raining ash,” Rory commented as she held her only hand up, letting the ash fall into her palm.

“That is because it is all over.”

Hearing that same strange voice that he had throughout the war, Sharpe saw a sign of relief on Rory's face. Turning around he saw a man with wings walking over the creep, which disappeared with every footstep. “Are you?”

“I am a friend who came to aid,” the winged man said. “That shall be enough.”

 

 

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