Booom!

Another explosion greeted him as soon as he crossed the threshold. Dust and debris billowed out from one side of the wall as the force of the blast sent shockwaves to every direction. It obscured Rayse’s vision, and caused him to stagger. He pushed his hand out to a nearby wall for support. He peered out to the caves, trying to discern what was happening. It was almost impossible. Flashes of blues and reds and whites were coming from everywhere, and with his mana sensitivity being out of sorts, he had no idea where anyone was.

Hey, guys? What’s going on? Is everybody okay? 

Rayse! Ray!

His mental transmission was quickly met with surprised and inquisitive responses from his master and Brandon. The sobbing halted.

…Ray? Lacey finally said.

Yeah, Lace. I’m here.

Where!?

Uhhh, I dunno. I can’t see anything with all this smoke.

As soon as he sent it, a shockwave of wind erupted from the opposite direction, blowing the dust away. With that gone, he immediately saw the state of the battle.

Conquest was in one corner, knitting himself back together as he stood in front of Rage. The herald was a bloody mess, scorched black and nearly cut in two. Most of the fireflies were down on the ground or splattered into the walls, but some still glowed that sinister red. Rayse looked to the other side where the winds came from, finally catching a glimpse of Carrack’s team.

They were in various states of injury. Most sat up against the walls, struggling to recover, while some lay flat on the ground, unmoving. Lacey, Brandon and Carrack huddled together with the few still able to fight, readying their own spells for another attack.

“Orion’s Belt!” Lacey struck again, sending a third star towards the clumped up heralds. 

“YOU BITCH!”

Conquest, still glowing, erupted in holy light. It pooled in the creature’s outstretched arm, which it threw out to intercept the attack that injured the demon king. Rayse shielded his eyes at the clash of energies almost by reflex. Being so close to where the energies clashed, it would have burned his retinas out. 

Crashhhhh!

The ground shook even more intensely than before. Massive rocks fell all around them, and the entire mountain seemed to shake. 

“Steel Curtain!”

Rayse held his ground with his eyes still shielded, hoping that a wayward boulder didn’t squish him. He surrounded himself in a wall of spears, hoping it’s enough to protect him. It did it’s job well, deflecting the relatively little debris that fell in his area. His shield had been useless for quite a while, the little shards he replenished lost in the first clash with Conquest.  He missed Siege mode dearly. It didn’t cover nearly as much ground in its current state.

The heat that followed was so intense that some of the fireflies on the ground disintegrated outright. He could feel his skin tingle, a slight upgrade from the numbness of before, but he didn’t like it regardless. He breathed in, drawing in the rest of the mana in the air to restore himself and his weapons, before daring to look at the aftermath.

“Whoah.”

The results were amazing. It seems that Conquest had barely managed to deflect the attack upwards, into the sky. The late afternoon sun shone through a gaping hole on the ceiling, letting them know how close to the peak they actually were. The ground shook ever more, and Rayse could just imagine the terrible rockslides that the attack had caused. Anyone hit by such an attack would have had no chance of survival.

Rayse’s hopes were instantly dashed upon looking at the remnants of his enemy. Conquest stood tall, looking even healthier than before. His arm from earlier dangled dead from his side, but it shone brighter than the rest of him, so Rayse could imagine what came next.

“Excellent! A fine attack indeed!” He threw out a commendation once again, this time towards Lacey. “I’ve been finding lots of good material lately! It’s no wonder you’ve pushed my brother this far. Right, Rage?”

He turned his head over to his brother at that last part, which caused his mood to finally dampen.

“Ohh dear. They really overdid it this time, didn’t they?”

Rayse looked on, hesitant on what to do. Carrack and the rest held their spells at the ready, but even they thought it was futile. Conquest’s healing ability was just too extreme. He’s also begun to use King Mios’ mana for something other than healing. If he learns to use it to attack…

“Lord Conquest!” Rayse yelled out, dropping down on one knee. “ I have arrived!”

His voice echoed out, causing everyone to look in his direction. 

“What is this, boy?” Carrack wondered aloud.

Rayse pretended to ignore him and ran to his ‘master’, but he did send a mental transmission to his friends while doing so.

Uhhh. I’m trying something. Pretend to act all betrayed. Haha.

He stepped up to Conquest, who crossed his arms, waiting on his arrival. He fell to his knees once again in fake reverence.

“My lord.”

Rayse stole a peek, trying to discern the herald’s condition. He seemed to be recovering still, which was a testament to Lacey’s spell. a blackened arm curled grotesquely across his chest, the same one that he used to deflect the final star. It still seemed unusable, but from the herald’s demeanor, its recovery wasn’t an issue.

“Took you long enough. Hold them off while I tend to my brother.” He commanded, before turning back around. 

“I will obey.”

Rayse said, making a show of brandishing his spear at his companions.

As soon as he did so, his back felt sweaty. Even he could feel the massive surge of mana that exuded the heralds. A black glow accompanied it, covering the entirety of Rayse’s vision even with his back turned, giving him even more of a sense of crisis. He turned back around immediately, lopping off Conquest’s head. It came flying across the ceiling, but he intercepted it with a scale shot.

“Arghhh! You idiot, what are you doing!?” Conquest’s disembodied head demanded. Rayse paid him no mind, though. He found something that was even more terrifying.

All the mana Conquest had exuded pooled around his uninjured hand. It stretched out menacingly towards Rage, black light showering upon his fallen brother. Rage, for his part, seemed reluctant to even make contact, trying to drag himself away from the hand. It occured 

So Rayse decided to circle around, delivering a littany of blows to Conquest’s headless body. 

“Shield Charge!”

He struck hard and fast, ending the series of blows with his shield, putting as much distance between him

“Commander, hit it! We have to stop him!”

Carrack didn’t even blink. He slashed the air, firing a brilliant white crescent towards Conquest’s body. The rest of the squad followed suit, showering it with a multitude of blows that could have caved them in twice over. Rayse turned around, spear in hand. He should take this opportunity, before–

Shwick!

A long, shining shape came from behind, narrowly missing his head. Rayse jumped out of his skin as soon as he heard the familiar sound, but that was a mistake. He threw himself forward, hoping he would make it.

“Valiant Thrust!”

The attack hit its mark, putting a massive, gaping hole into the creature. Such a sight would have caused Rayse to celebrate, if not for the long black arm that dangled mere inches from his face, sending a dark energy into the gravely wounded herald. The massive creature began to stir.

Rayse decided to escape, recovering his shield and standing in front of his friends. He tried all he could, but the worst has come to pass.

Rage had been Conquered.

__________________________________

Aleph lay dazed in a ruined section of the castle. He was surrounded by medical personnel, scribes, and random passerby. Theu hovering around him like the many busy servants of a bride about to marry.

“Sir, are you okay?” They asked once more, and once more they were promptly ignored. Aleph had almost fully recovered at this time. His sole injury lay in his ego.

“I lost again.” He sighed.

“No, friend.” Vaynard answered, startling him. When had he arrived? ”I caught some of the fight. You weren’t your best.” 

The prince personally looked him over, even electing to cast a powerful healing spell onto him before declaring him out of danger. The crowd began to disperse, making Aleph think that the whole healing thing was for their sakes rather than his own.

“Your mind was clearly elsewhere. What happened? Does it have anything to do with my father?”

Aleph held his tongue. He looked off in the distance, at the dragon who stared back at him calmly, and the mountains that lay beyond. He had been keeping tabs of the situation via his disciples’ mental transmissions, and the situation kept changing by the moment. Rayse pulled through, at least, so he was grateful for that much.

“?”

A jet of bright blue light erupted behind Betrayal at that moment. It came from the far off mountains where its master flew off to. It exploded in a shower of sparks, blanketing the area miles around in blue light. Everyone around the area stopped to stare in awe. Even the dauntless herald stopped his vigilance to steal a glance.

“Your father’s lost to us, sire.” He said, louder than he normally would. He finally noticed exactly how big a crowd it was that had surrounded him. Some had left, but most were still within earshot of Vaynard’s thoughtless words. There had been way too many rumors of King Mios turning traitor, especially after the Demon King controlled his soulless husk back at the capital. Vaynard swallowed his grief and nodded, giving his tacit approval. He knew his outburst would have had a negative effect if not for Aleph’s quick thinking.

“Conquest, the being that uses the late king’s skin, is currently in battle with Commander Carrack’s men. They have downed the Herald of Rage, but are still fit enough for battle.”

Vaynard nodded, tearing his eyes away from the awesome display of power and knelt beside him. He lowered his voice for the next question.

“I saw the Demon King retreat. Is she on her way to support the commander, then?”

Again, Aleph held his tongue. It was such an incomprehensible situation that in his mad rush, but of all the places to get encouragement from, it had to be from an enemy. Rayse spoke of her like a benefactor and a friend. Could he trust the words of a demon?

“...”

He stood, but shifted his eyes back to Betrayal. Its neck snapped right back to look him in the eye, as if sensing his hostility. Aleph briefly considered hunting it. The demon king was out of the picture, so this was his best chance. He looked at his gauntleted hand, seeing how his new exosuit was faring. It was repairing itself as he looked. Even with that function, it was an inferior copy of his suit back on earth. It 

was simply the best he could do with the materials on hand. Oblivion’s heart may have been comparable to a dragon’s, but the rest of him sure wasn’t.

I’m gonna try something. Haha.

It was Rayse’s upbeat words that got him to decide. He was literally minutes removed from the pearly gates and he’s already jumping right back into the devil’s maw. 

The kid’s audacity made Aleph smile. Then, it spurred him into action. He left the scene to return to his workshop. He might be able to beat that dragon, but even he and the combined might of the kingdom would not have assured the safety of this town. The dragon, and whoever else lurked around them, would have been expecting such a response.

‘The soul dictates the form’ was it? He remembered Marduk’s words as he walked, taking Oblivion’s heart in hand. He had some idea how soul manipulation would work, from his experiences with Erik and King Mios, but he was still apprehensive of making an attempt. He had technically already succeeded when he transmigrated into this world, but now he was risking such a valuable artifact. It was too much risk for what he perceived was too little gain. 

But the enemies were far too powerful. Powerful enough not just to battle him equally, but, as Lost had repeatedly shown him, overwhelm him in spurts. He needed power to match, or else all the resources he’d been keeping would be for naught. The month’s time he’d been given suddenly felt precious. Precious enough that he could not afford to waste it on gawking at some pretty lights in the sky.

He raced into the city, walking with purpose towards the workshop. What he’d be attempting was very likely to be far beyond any facility, much less this one. But as he learned, all magic stemmed from willpower, something Aleph had in spades. 

He stood before the furnace, chucking his entire exosuit back into the flames. The act pained him, but it was necessary. It was the most powerful artifact in the world, but he just scrapped it for materials. A certain amount of will was necessary in any form of magic, but this action required boldness. That boldness, along with countless precious things, he borrowed from the children.

Aleph spared them a thought as he went to work. He dared not send them a mental transmission, lest he disrupt them, but he knew that they would prevail. They were his disciples, after all. 

“Give them hell.” He uttered to himself, cheering on his disciples as they faced the biggest challenge they've ever encountered.