“Asger! Find a boat what will get us too Faerberg.” Jack commanded. “Gisbert, you’ll keep an eye out for Holy Knights.”

Jack had a commanding presence, showing a confidence like he knew what he was doing.

I approached Jack. “Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“Gisbert will keep an eye on you.”

Jack crouched down on all fours, pouncing up onto a wall, jumping from one wall to another, scaling upwards. He sat atop a rooftop, the bright moonlight silhouetting his physique, like a werewolf in a picture book.

I looked over to Gisbert. His arms were stretched out, tentacles spreading through the thin streets.

Jack landed on the ground. “Gisbert! Asger found us a boat.”

Gisbert’s tentacles retracted. He followed close behind Jack.

I joined them, following Jack towards the docks. Asger was on a boat, waving his hands above his head. Jack sighed as he saw him.

“Asger, this is a transport boat.” Gisbert berated Asger.

“I found a boat.” Asger stated proudly.

“Transport boats need a crew. We don’t have enough people to sail this boat. We need something like a cat boat or a cutter, something with one sail.”

“Unfortunately, it won’t be that simple.” Jack cut in. “The wind is working against us. It would be better to find a sloop or rowboat.”

All of the words they were saying escaped me. I knew very little about boats, only seeing them in old samurai movies.

“Did you meet any resistance?” Jack asked Asger.

“No one yet.”

“There she is! There are three more with her.”

I turned around to find out who was yelling, to see an angry mob holding fire lit torches. With them were two of the knights in full plate.

“Asger, delay them.” Jack commanded before getting on all fours, running through the dock.

Asger ran to block the mob’s warpath, roaring, intimidating most of them into approaching. There were a few who had enough courage to charge at him, but he quickly overwhelmed them, knocking most of them out with powerful punches. The knights in full plate drew their swords, charging Asger. Asger drew out a massive sword that looked nothing like the ones the knights were using, having a longer and overbearing guard that stretched up the back of the blade. The blade had notches in it, as if it was made of a chain of blades pieced together. Once drawn, the blades began to blur, looking somewhat like the blades the knights used. Once the knights drew close enough, Asger swung his sword at them, cleaving through their torsos like butter, blood spraying everywhere. I had never seen so much blood in my life, the sight of it all made me feel nauseous.

“Let’s go princess.” Gisbert picked me up, putting me over his shoulder like baggage.

“Hey! Let me go.”

“Stop struggling, lest I drop you.”

I reluctantly stopped wiggling.

Gisbert approached and got onto a boat that Jack found. “Jack, I believe this one is a Freig.” Gisbert said, putting me down on the boat.

Jack looked at me, his expression seemed a little hostile. “She’s not.”

“She can’t be an illegitimate child?”

“No illegitimate daughter has ever inherited the Freig’s blessing. All the Freig’s daughters are dead, I made sure of it.”

Gisbert bowed his head, a sombre look on his face.

Jack pulled on some ropes that operated the sails before calling out to Asger. “Asger! We’re ready to go.”

Asger ran up and jumped into the boat, the kinetic force pushing the boat out of dock.

“Ha ha ha, where are we off to now?” Asger laughed.

The boat ride was silent for a while as the boat weaved through the sea. As the mainland sunk behind the horizon, the land to the east came into view.

“So is the Freig family a touchy topic for Jack?” I asked Gisbert.

“It seems so.”

“Who are the Freig family?”

Gisbert looked at me with confusion. “They are a famous noble family who possess the blessings of Venus, giving abnormal strength, not unlike yourself, and other things, such as the immunity to most poisons, inability to contract sickness, and a longer lifespan.”

I remember depictions of poison and sickness, things that looked painful and a constant concern. High fevers due to exposure to the cold, vomiting after eating something even slightly rotten, cracking skin in dryer seasons, life destroying STDs, Influenza spreading through the colder months. I can’t imagine living a life where I had to be cautious of everything I did in order to prevent myself from getting sick. It’s already bad enough that I get nauseous over water.

“Get ready!” Jack called everyone to arms.

Asger pulled out his great sword, Gisbert pulled out the same type of sword Doom uses, and Jack had a sword that looked similar to the ones the knights in full plate use. I pulled out my Picsa, loading a clip into it.

“Ha!” Asger laughed. “Are you going to fight with that? It looks more useless than a dagger.”

While Asger laughed, Gisbert and Jack looked at the gun with curiosity.

As the boat hit land, Asger, Gisbert and Jack launched out of the boat, rushing into the town. I tried to follow, lagging behind a bit.

“Asger, take out the angel. Gisbert and I will assist by taking out any support.”

“Can I do anything to help?” I finally reached the others.

“Stay out of the way.”

“But-”

“I’m not letting a spoiled daughter of a noble fight, bringing danger to my men because she thinks she knows how to fight.”

That cut deep, even though I knew he had no idea about my upbringing. My big sister would always joke that I couldn’t throw a proper punch. I could never win a fight with her, but it doesn’t mean I can’t fight.

I reluctantly stayed back. As they left to deal with the knights and the angel alike, I used the opportunity to find an advantageous position. Most of the knight forces were focused on the ports leaving little resistance in the market districts. The market district was completely empty, leaving businesses evacuated. I scaled one of the buildings, nesting myself on its roof top. I observed for a while, watching as Gisbert used his sword in unconventional ways, keeping the knights on their toes, Jack fighting on all fours, staying mobile and hard to hit, and Asger slicing through the angel with only a small amount of resistance.

Doom’s robe was in tatters, revealing what she looked like underneath. Her body was completely covered in chitin, leaving nothing uncovered, like she already had her own natural armour. There were added chitin in some areas, like areas that had more vital organs, such as the chest, head, arms, and shins. Her body shape resembled that of a male, having no discernible female traits. Her knees were inverted, and her feet were made of two large toe like extremities.

Marching could be heard through the market district as reinforcements rushed to aid in the battle. Another angel attacked Asger, giving him no chance to attack. I could only shoot once, so I took my time and aimed carefully. I lined up the iron sights with the angel, before raising the gun so that the barrel lined up where I wanted the bullet to hit. The gun let out a deafening crack, the angel falling to the ground.

I took cover immediately, taking in a deep breath. I dropped down onto the street below, ready to find another vantage point to shoot from. I rushed through the streets, bumping into an angel. It let out a screech, grabbing me, making me unable to escape. I once at its head, once at its chest, and once more at its arm, freeing me from its grasp. It didn’t stay down for long, reactivating its primary functions. The angle chased me down the thin back streets.

“There’s on of them.” A knight alerted the others.

I was cornered, the angel behind me and knights in front.

I aimed the gun at the knights. “Stay back.”

I couldn’t pull the trigger as they got closer to me. I closed my eyes, waiting for my fate.

I heard clashing so I opened my eyes to see what it was. I was met with the closest soldier to me bleeding profusely from his neck, drowning in his own blood, Jack landing on all fours on the ground next to him.

“I told you too stay out of the way.” Jack scolded me. “Asger! Take her and run to the wall. I’ll cover anyone who might chase after us.”

Asger scooped me up in his arms, like I was fragile cargo. I jolted into his chest as the wind knocked me back as Asger started running. The speed at which he was running was faster than you would expect, given his size. One of Gisbert’s tentacles latched onto Asger, while the rest held onto Doom. After a while, Jack caught up to us, running on all fours before running bipedally to stay at pass with Asger.

Asger ran by farms and other small towns throughout the journey, nothing blocked the road during the journey. The further east we went, the overwhelming mass of the wall continued to return.

We ran through the first town I arrived at.

“Kill the demons” I hear from behind me.

“Brace yourself!” Gisbert warned.

Asger effortlessly smashed through the gates and into the wall. We continue through the tunnel and when I looked behind us, I saw that the knights were lagging behind, attempting to keep up.

When I looked to check on Gisbert, I saw that a few of his bones were broken.

“Are you ok?” I called out.

“I’m fine. I should be back to normal in a few seconds.” He said, not concerned with his state.

Muscle strands begun grabbing at his bone and flesh, pulling the bone back into its proper position.

“Brace yourself. We’re approaching the next gate.”

Crashing through the gate, I arrive back at the stormy hellscape.

I pointed out to where my ship should be. “My ship should be just up ahead.”