Ruinous Return

Lyn saw Gael crush the woman to death before dropping her corpse and retrieving his spear. She used one of her claws to help him clamber up onto her back, and then opened her mouth and felt her mana surge up her mana channels as a torrent of lava exuded from her maw and burned the ship down to the waterline. She took off and flew above the few infiltrators that were trying to swim away, and she dipped down to pull them out of the water before ripping them to pieces.

By the time the waters had stilled, none were left alive. She craned her head back, and Gael had a look of relief on his face. "You good?" she asked in Arinol.

"Yes, I'm happy that Bolvon is going to live. And that we got revenge for his injuries. Thank you, for letting me take some personal revenge."

Lyn nodded and flew over the city, relying on her vision to spot any more of the similarly dressed mercenaries, flying down as she spotted them and plucking them off the streets, screaming, into the skies before ripping them in half and dropping them to their doom. She landed on the roof of a building and shifted back to her Duskari form. She grabbed her communication amulet and willed some mana into it.

"Rashanna, are you safe?" she asked in Khrelardian.

"Empress Rivers? Yes. I am. We made it to the escape tunnel and are at the royal docks."

"I don't want to risk James's family being caught up again. Cecily might try for them again. I'm coming to you." She looked at Gael and opened the storage dimension Bolvon was in. "Alright, in you go," she told him in Arinol.

Gael nodded and went inside, sitting next to and holding Bolvon's hand. Lyn let the storage space shut behind him.

She closed her eyes and incanted her lightspeed travel spell, feeling her mana lower even more as she vanished and appeared in front of a shocked pair of king's guards, Rashanna, Maria, the blonde diplomat she had seen once before, and the two children. "We're going to Lynhold," she said in Khrelardian as she incanted yet another spell for a storage dimension. "Everyone get in."

The king's guards looked at her questioningly, but Maria pushed past them with her children and went into the empty extradimensional space. Soon enough the rest followed. Lyn allowed the dimension to close once more and incanted the lightspeed travel spell as her mana dwindled to near-empty from the constant travel spell.

She arrived in front of Trisha's hospital, opened the storage dimension, and directed Maria and her kids to the fortress along with her king's guards. Rashanna bowed and led the group, as Lyn helped Gael carry Bolvon inside the hospital. "We need help here!" she shouted in Triskol, and despite the late hour several doctors came out to help them with the Shadowstalker.

Looking back down at his body, the pink hue took over her eyes as she saw all of Bolvon's body laid out before her. The Healer core was able to focus on specific body parts and see through it as if she had x-ray vision, layer by layer, instantly identifying any injuries or maladies. Thankfully, her healing spell earlier had worked perfectly, and she could see the damage to his kidneys and spine slowly mending. "Keep him safe," she told them as she walked outside and grabbed her communication amulet.

Gael grabbed her arm and had tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered in Arinol.

"You're welcome." She focused on the amulet and spoke to the Duskari squadrons stationed at Kor's Hold. They had lost ten Duskari, and the rest had superficial injuries. So nothing immediately pressing. The loss of any Duskari was a massive blow due to their longevity and potential to serve the empire…but the losses were minimal, all things considered. She left the hospital and made a beeline for Chancellor Vehenna's quarters, knocking firmly on the door.

The older woman opened the door and bowed. "Empress Rivers, how may I serve you at this late hour?"

"Send message to King Marshall. Kor's Hold was attacked. The invaders were slain, and his family was relocated to Lynhold for safekeeping."

The woman bowed her head. "Right away, Your Mightiness."

Lyn nodded and went to her room, letting the door shut behind her as she collapsed onto the bed, utterly drained from the two days of constant cross-world travel and spell use.

Vael ran into the hospital. "Where is he?" she asked in Triskol as the physicians directed her to a room at the far end of the hospital. She opened the door and saw Gael sitting next to a laid-up in bed Bolvon. "You're alright?" she asked her brother in Arinol as she went in and hugged him.

"Yes," he said as his words choked him up. "Lyn…she kept him alive. He'll be back to normal in a few days." He took a shuddering breath and held his sister's hand. "I…he almost died. I didn't protect him."

"That wasn't your jo—"

"I didn't protect him!" Gael shouted. "He almost died because of me!"

Vael tried to calm her brother, but he just threw off her arms and went to the chair alongside the bed, holding Bolvon's hand as his tears flowed freely. She pulled a chair up alongside him and gently rubbed his back. "It's not your fault."

"I killed them," Gael said through the tears. "I killed the ones that hurt him. He's not built for guarding people." He turned to Vael, and she could see the hint of anger in his visage. "Why would Lyn assign him to guard someone? He's not made for that."

"She had her reasons, I'm sure. Who better to stop assassinations than an assassin? He did stop several attempts. Attempts that others might not have caught."

Gael sighed, exasperated. "No…you're right. There's no one to blame here." He put a hand to his eyes and wiped them. "I just…it feels better to blame someone."

"Bolvon made a mistake. He survived that mistake thanks to our empress. Our friend. Just…be thankful for what we do have. And that she dropped everything to come to you – that alone speaks volumes about her feelings towards us."

Gael squeezed her hand. "I know. I'm thankful." He gently brushed Bolvon's face with his hand, "I'm not leaving his side. No matter what."

"I don't think she'll have a problem with that."

"Will you stay here with me?"

Vael nodded and began to take off her armor to get comfortable, stacking it neatly alongside Gael's gear in the corner of the room. "Of course."

Lionel coughed. "Water…please…" he begged as he was thrown on the floor of the tent once more. His whole body was covered in deep, purple and red bruises.

Kory stood over him, waterskin in hand, and drank deeply before wiping his mouth and spitting in front of Lionel. "There's your water," the Berserker hero said in Shereldian. "Why the fuck would you think it was okay to take over my mercenary company?"

"You…left," Lionel said quietly. The previous evening, he and the rest of Kory's Killers went forth with the plan that the empress's war council had laid out. They were to go in, and side with Valagonia for the purpose of disabling the cannons before fleeing to the Azure Divide and returning to the Valley of the Volcano.

But Kory instantly arrested all of them on the spot, calling them 'traitors to Valagonia,' and executed them save for Lionel. Kory instead took him to his tent and had been using him as a punching bag all night, ensuring he didn't hit any vital organs. A silent night of torture, where Lionel's cries of pain and Kory's grunts of exertion were the only noises.

"I'm…sorry," Lionel whispered as he knew death awaited him. He did not know when, but he knew that Kory would not let him live.

The giant of a man knelt and grabbed Lionel's hair, pulling him up to face him. "You're sorry? For taking my men and fucking off to join this Destroyer? Who is she?"

Lionel grimaced and sucked in a breath. "Water…"

Kory growled and poured the waterskin over Lionel's head, and the mercenary captain tried to catch as much as he could in his mouth. "Tell me who it is?"

"Empress Rivers. A Duskari woman mixed with a dragon," Lionel said as he found his voice once more.

"Does she have a first name?"

"They sometimes called her Lyn."

"Spell it."

"L, Y, N. Lyn Rivers."

Kory's face drained of all its blood, and he let Lionel go before backing up slightly. He reached over to a mirror on a small table. Lionel recognized it as one of the communication mirrors that Valagonia gave to its highest-ranking commanders. There was some conversation that occurred, and he could only hear Kory's side of it. They spoke in Shereldian, so he could listen in to half of the conversation.

"Yes…he said she's someone called Lyn Rivers… You knew? The fuck, Cecily?! She's alive? Why didn't you…yes…" His demeanor shifted to one of sorrow. "You didn't trust me? How long have you known? I showed you the damn letter, and you told me it wasn't her! You said it was the Demonic Dragon that just absorbed her or some shit!" Again, his behavior shifted to one of rage. "That long! You knew who it was for that long?!" He screamed and threw the mirror across the room. It hit the tent wall and fell to the floor.

"Do you know her?" Lionel asked, genuinely curious despite being on death's doorstep.

Kory wheeled on him and kicked him in the jaw, breaking it as a burst of red-hot pain flared in his face. "Fuck!" Kory screamed out. "Why didn't she tell me?!" He looked to Lionel, gripped the mercenary by the hair once more, and lifted him up to his eye level. "Lyn Rivers was the fucking Scout hero that was summoned to Ghomar with me. She killed the Demonic Dragon…and now I learn she has its power? She's Empress Rivers?" He dropped Lionel in a heap. "I shouldn't have listened to Cecily. Fucking bitch knew that the letter I got wasn't a trick. She lied to me. Used me. Again!" He kicked the dirt floor. "If I knew she was real…I would've fucking gone to the valley myself. Joined her. Fucked up this fucking world! Fuck!"

The Scout hero? What is he talking about? Lionel had heard the stories of the heroes summoned to defeat the Demonic Dragon, and he tried to go through the different names and hero roles in his mind…but the Scout hero was a blur.

Kory laughed, gripping his sides and roaring with laughter. "I can tell you since you won't tell anyone else." He squatted next to Lionel and lowered his voice to a whisper. "We didn't kill the Demonic Dragon. Lyn, the Scout did. We took the credit for the kill." He chuckled and patted Lionel on the head. "It feels good being honest for once."

That doesn't make sense, Lionel thought. How can the hero that killed the Demonic Dragon – one that I've never heard of – be the Destroyer? Kory must be insane, there was no other explanation.

"Fuck!" he shouted as he kicked a wooden chair over. "I had a chance! A fucking shot I could've taken to team up with the strongest thing on Ghomar?" He looked to Lionel and cracked a smile, "Do you know why I went to join Cecily, despite her treating me like shit last time? It's because she's strong. She could protect me from the Demonic Dragon." He let out a mad chuckle. "Only now, I learn that this Demonic Dragon really is a chick I used to fuck."

He's gone crazy, Lionel thought. What Empress Rivers told those other heroes is coming to pass. He had overheard conversation between the empress and the Healer hero when he was visiting one of his men who suffered injury during training. Kory's mana core is driving him to madness. He couldn't speak, thanks to the broken jaw, and only watched as the Berserker hero muttered and mumbled to himself in the language of his home world.

Kory stomped over to the mirror and activated it again, speaking in Shereldian once more. "Yes… We attack tomorrow… No, it's too late, now. I've cast my lot with you. If I die, well, I know you'll die soon enough after me." He held the mirror in between both of his hands and crushed it into a fine metallic glass crumble that cascaded onto the floor. "Now…how to best use a traitorous mercenary captain…"

Cecily set down the mirror and took a deep breath. At least he will do what needs to be done. Kory would keep the Eternal Empire's forces occupied. She lifted another inscribed mirror and a few moments later saw the face of her commander on the front lines in Rist. "How are things along the western front?"

"They progress well, Your Highness. The Khrelardian dogs are arrayed on the other side of the Azure Divide. They appear to be content to wait for something."

"Use your superior weaponry to force a confrontation. Make them cross the river as you assault them with the cannons."

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"My lady, we've tried that. They just moved their camp back after suffering some casualties. They are beyond our range unless we cross the river."

Cecily frowned and clicked her tongue. "How many strong?"

"By our counts, approximately sixty-thousand. Our forces number much greater."

"Very well. I'm coming to the front."

"My lady, that is extremely dangerous."

Cecily looked aside at the mage who was finishing painting the Elenthir verses onto her backup body. "Not for me." She set the mirror down and walked over to the mage and her new body. She ran her fingers along the soft, smooth skin. "How much longer?"

The mage looked up as she pulled the stencil away from the body. "Any time. We simply need a healer present to force scarification once you make the cuts. I have sent for one. You can begin making the cuts at any time."

Cecily nodded and picked up a scalpel, setting to the grisly work of carving into a person that would soon be her backup vessel, their own persona and will suppressed by the inscriptions. The hours passed with ease as she utilized the familiar-to-her small blade. As evening came about, the body was completely scarred over with the Elenthian verses. She turned to the mage. "You're sure this will work."

"Everything indicates that it will."

Cecily nodded and heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. You will stay with my backup body, ready to pour mana into it at a moment's notice."

"Forgive me, Your Highness…how will I know if you have expired?"

Cecily reached into the storage dimension in her ring and pulled out a small, inscribed metal plate. "This will warm up if I die. That's your signal to pour mana into the body."

The mage took the plate and nodded. "Your will be done."

Cecily walked out of the chamber and called for her servants. "Bring me my armor and prepare my escort. I go to war."

Vinic breathed in the fresh, crisp morning air of early spring. His group of soldiers – only a small force of five hundred – made their way across the Azure Divide during the night on small fishing vessels. Now on the other side of the river, they stormed into Sonash, one of the richest farming regions.

His orders were to simply cause as much disruption as possible. He was given full authority of his regiment, and they were all fervent fanatics just like he was. Every person who was not of Valagonia would perish. None would be spared the wrath of Valagonia. A pure campaign of terror to keep the smallfolk from aiding Khrelardia's military in any capacity, and with luck draw off some of their forces from the main army to chase them north up through Pictal.

"Draw up!" he shouted as his men began to form ranks on the outskirts of a village. They had no mounts due to the river crossing. But that was fine. These new weapons would more than compensate. After the men had formed ranks, he leveled his hand. "Let's go!"

The group surged across the fields and slaughtered all the people they found who were sowing new crops. Men and women alike were cut down. Children and animals were not spared, either, as Vinic ordered his men to leave nothing alive. Empty buildings of the village were all that remained, and they set fire to every building after stripping them of valuables. The smoke would alert the Khrelardian army that something was wrong. "Alright, to the next!"

This same routine played itself out in village after village for two days. Vinic and his men would make camp just on the edge of a set of fields and in the morning surge into the village. Time and time again, they worked their way north.

Vinic was merciless. Ruthless. Even when faced with a mother holding her two children, he wasted no time in shooting them both and then using his lightning elementalism to kill the next family. No mercy for Valagonia's enemies. He was administering the will of his princess, she who was prophesied to rule the whole world. What was a family or ten compared to that righteous cause? Even Humans were not spared, but they were given quicker deaths.

The non-Humans? Those he ordered tortured to death through a variety of brutal methods. Flaying became popular very quickly, and soon enough they had plenty of Vharthon and Foskor pelts – future decorations and trophies of war. The carnage was exquisite, and Vinic felt immense satisfaction at destroying those the prophesied Princess Cecily deemed worthy of her wrath.

But on the third day…there was a problem. The next village they had set their sights on was quiet. No one was in the fields. All was empty. The fuck is going on? he thought. "Spread out and search the place!" he shouted.

Khrelardia's forces were somewhere to their south, and he had no clue if they were chasing the group of Valagonian raiders through their own lands. The screams of pain and agony brought him out of his rumination, and he looked toward the town center as a pillar of blue flame erupted skyward…and he trembled in pure terror.

No…she's here?

The village was leveled in an instant. The Duskari woman dressed in full, black plate armor walked out of the shattered landscape toward his arrayed forces. The same one that took his hand. The same one that he knew he would stand no chance against. Her voice bellowed across the field. The voice of the Demonic Dragon. And she spoke his language. "You dare harm my innocent subjects?"

Vinic raised his hand, and his troops leveled their rifles. "Open fire!" he shouted. The loud bangs echoed all around him, and the air became thick with smoke. He held his breath as he waited for the smoke to clear.

The woman was standing there, unharmed, as the rifle rounds floated in front of her, caught by some type of barrier spell that did not deflect. "I thought I recognized you." She vanished, he saw a flash of blue, and she reappeared right in front of him. She grabbed his neck and lifted him off the ground before he could move at all. He felt the world begin to dim and tried to incant a spell. All he heard was a faint voice, as if far off in a tunnel. "I will annihilate you."

There was a sharp pain in his neck…and then nothing.

Lyn harvested the man's mana core and willed her Destroyer core to obliterate the soul or consciousness within entirely. Her mana core responded to her desires, and she felt the man's essence rip in two. She threw the man's corpse to the ground, disgusted. Good. I can do that to Cecily as well, then.

She felt a slight twinge of regret as she had let him live not once, but twice. The first time was to just let this minor knight carry a message, but she had no reason to have let him live the second time except thinking he was not worth her time to kill, as he had tucked tail and run from the sight of her power. It still enraged her that innocents were being harmed in her empire, and she looked to the rest of the Valagonians. "None of you will leave alive!"

More gunshots echoed around her and were caught by her barrier, which she had worded to have the consistency of ballistic gel that would catch the bullets in midair. She carved her way through this Valagonian force, destroying every one of them even as they began to turn and flee, seeing that the fight against her was impossible to win. Leaving him alive did teach me one valuable lesson, she thought. And that's that I can't underestimate an enemy – even if they are incredibly weak in comparison.

His underhanded tactics of infiltrating the countryside to slay innocent civilians showed the depths of depravity that Cecily had sunk to. Ordering her soldiers to do something so vile meant she was beyond any type of redemption, and cemented more in Lyn's mind that she could not just be captured. She had to die for what she did. I could just go to Cecilaria, right now, and kill her, Lyn thought.

But that could be dangerous. Even with her immense power…she did not know what to expect. Her Newen diviners had learned that the main palace – doubtless where Cecily held up – was surrounded by wards upon layers of wards. No, it's better if I crush her forces and march on the capital with James's army. Safety in numbers. I'm not going to risk my own neck even if it's a small risk. No way.

She had been laid up at Lynhold recovering from the stress of using lightspeed travel spells constantly over the course of one day. A hidden downside she confirmed with James after experiencing the nauseating effects she could not end with spells.

"You can't just travel that fast all the time," he told her over the inscribed mirror. "It's why I never used that spell more than four times in a day. It's some built-in limiter the Paragon core has. Good thing you found out now before the war really got underway."

Lyn had been relying on that spell too much, and now she knew the price of going beyond – in her case – five uses in rapid succession. Zipping across the battlefield like she had planned wouldn't be feasible. She would have to rely on more mundane methods – running or flight.

She finished off the group of Valagonian soldiers down to the last man, then gathered their rifles and tossed those into a storage dimension. Looking off to the south she took a deep breath. Her communication amulet began to vibrate slightly, and she pulled it out as she willed mana into it, "Yes?"

"Empress Rivers, the Berserker hero is making his move," Marshal Remora said over the device.

"I'll be there shortly," Lyn replied as she put the amulet away. She was not far from the Dragon's Maw and wanted to save her mana. Kory was a strong opponent, and she had wanted to disable him so she could use the inscribed tube and remove his mana core. I'll be fighting with a handicap, she thought as she used the shifting spell to keep her hybrid-Duskari form and manifested wings that she used to propel herself up into the air.

Marshal Remora stood atop the Dragon's Maw. Their retrofitted ironside was slowly trundling across the battlefield; a small complement of Ari marines inside along with a Duskari squadron and some Newen archers were all aboard the ship-converted-to-tank. Guardian Ben stood next to her along with other members of the war council.

"The cannons are still intact," Ben muttered in Triskol.

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Remora nodded and leaned forward on the crenellation. "What happened?"

Ben pulled out a spyglass. "Son of a bitch!" He handed the device to Remora, and she saw what he had seen. Kory's forces had marched out Lionel, wrists bound. "They must have killed the rest," Ben muttered. "The infiltration failed. Cannons are still in play."

Remora gritted her teeth as she saw the Berserker hero, a giant of a man, dismount his war horse and raise an enormous hammer up high. He brought it down, and the man once known as Lionel was turned into paste. She pulled the spyglass away as she handed it back to Ben. "This changes the plan. We can't rely on that ironside to draw them in. They'll just pummel the wall."

Ben nodded and looked down behind them at the arrayed Duskari forces. "We won't be able to hide back here. Going out to meet them is our only option. Artillery will hit the troops, but we should be able to—" He glanced up, and Remora followed his gaze.

Empress Rivers landed on the wall, wings furling in behind her back as she put her hands on the crenellations. "Report."

Remora saluted. "The cannons are still in play. Lionel's mercenaries failed."

Lyn nodded and looked at Remora. "That does present a problem." She looked back to the battlefield before them. "We will have to meet them in open combat, and I won't be able to just wipe the army out with a spell. I have no clue how powerful the Berserker hero is at this point…I need to save my mana."

Ben turned to her and said something in the otherworld language, and Lyn replied in kind before Ben departed the wall and headed to Lynhold. "Forgive me, Empress…is it wise to dismiss the Guardian hero?" she asked in Arinol.

"No, but I made a deal with him. He would not be forced to fight. I'm keeping my word." She gripped the wall with her claws. "We can weather the cannons and force them to close in…we just need stronger walls." She closed her eyes, and Remora tried to hear what she said – but it was in Elenthir, and she could only make out the words for "metal" and "protect."

The entire structure of the Dragon's Maw turned to solid steel under their feet. There were gasps and shouts from up and down the lines both behind the wall proper and the soldiers stationed on top. Lyn sagged slightly before drawing up to her full height, the wings on her back absorbing back into her body. "All of the troops arrayed behind the wall, have them go to the mountains to the west. That will prevent casualties." She grinned and looked aside at Remora. "I'll carve a tunnel for us to approach from that side. Keep the Duskari squadrons here, to use those inscriptions and raise the dead."

"What of the ironside?"

"Recall it. It can join the sally-force." She stood up and walked down the stairs. "I leave the defense to you, Marshal. Oh, the metal won't heat up, either. It's non-conductive, so no need to worry about lightning elementalism or flame elementalism harming you."

Remora swallowed the bit of a lump in her throat, then saluted her empress. "All hail Empress Rivers!"

The shout was picked up by the various troops, and she led them off toward the west. Remora looked back to the front and grabbed her communication amulet, willing some mana into the device as she contacted the Ari aboard the ironside. "Back to the gate. Now." The ironside slowly turned around and returned. Remora then looked back to her Duskari squadrons. "Use the inscriptions!"

They all planted their hands on the inscriptions and willed mana into them. Remora looked forward as the Berserker hero's lines began to form up and cross the no-man's-land. Directly below her, hundreds of thousands of skeletons – corpses from bygone eras – lay hidden in the dirt. Even with the Duskari squadrons, they could only raise up ten thousand of the undead. More than enough to double the Berserker's forces. The bodies began to stand and form up ranks.

She saw the bright, red belch of flame, and the thunderous report of some explosion. An object slammed into the wall just above the gate. Looking over, she saw that an enormous iron ball had impacted and dented the wall before falling to the ground. It's holding, she thought with delight. This can work!

Fucking magic, Kory thought as he saw the enormous wall a little under a half mile away turn into solid metal. The cannons arrayed just behind his main force belched out their flaming projectiles, and they all impacted the wall with dull thuds, not doing any real damage. I have to break the fucking thing down.

He drew Krak'il'to and focused his mind on breathing calmly. Taking deep breaths, he incanted the unique Berserker spell that only he had access to. "En ethiel le / gorf min / thia bregen thand / bartho en / bari gwaur / ortha rhaw / gwain toltha lanta-nand."

His skin shifted colors to that of dull steel, preventing all physical harm as long as his mana held out. His muscles surged and bulged to their maximum possible, and his metallic skin shifted and peeled in places as his strength bypassed all natural limitations. A red hue coated his vision, and he felt no emotion save for anger and bloodlust. "Kill them all!" he shouted as he charged forward.

He was not alone in the charge. His five hundred fanatics immediately joined him as they ran over the open space with remarkable speed. They had all used the small supply of Stim – a combat drug that Brad had made before his escape – and were able to keep up with the Berserker hero's speed.

His prosthetic contributed to that lack of speed, as he would have already crossed the whole span to the wall if he was in peak shape. The artificial object was not subject to his internal spells, and whilst he could surge mana through it…the staggering gait was not something he could overcome with internal spells.

An army charged toward him. He heard clattering and rattling, and as he closed with the lines on the battlefield his hammer arced out in an enormous cleaving strike, propelled by his massive strength, and at the end of the swing he yelled out, "Down!" as he let the weapon go.

His men dropped down to their knees as he used the attached wire to swing the weapon, crackling with electricity around and around. The lines of the undead that these Ari had summoned up were no match for his inexorable might, and he smashed through thousands with the single swing.

He pulled the cord as the hammer returned to his grip, and the men got up and charged forward. The bellowing cannons coughed out from far behind him and he saw the flaming metal orbs soaring overhead before they plowed into the skeletal army's backline. Good, they saw the wall was pointless to target. He saw the rain of arrows coming in and charged into the undead horde, swinging with abandoned and laughing as he relished his power.

His full force arrived shortly after and formed a firing line, letting loose volleys at the two wings that threatened to close in and encircle Kory's main force of five hundred. And those men were vicious in their own right, swapping between firearm and melee weapon as they lost not a single man and carved a path of destruction alongside their leader. "I'll fucking tear the wall down!" Kory shouted as they broke through the back line of the undead and into line of sight of the wall once more. "Box up!"

His men assembled into a tight box formation as Kory ran forward, feeling the impact of arrows on his impenetrable skin as he closed distance with the massive fortification. He leaped up into the air and let his mana pour into the artifact, focusing all the thunderous sonic energy into a single point as he slammed it into the gate.

CRACK. He landed awkwardly as he looked up, expecting the wall to shatter. But it didn't. He had simply left a dent. The fuck is this made of? Arrows continued to pelt him from above to no effect. He ran up to the wall, heaved his hammer like a baseball bat, and dented it over and over. He had never come across a solid object he couldn't destroy. But this damned thing was completely stymying him.

And that's when he heard the noise. The sound of rocks shifting. Looking to the west, he saw an army – easily four times the size of his – charging toward the line. Fine! Kill my men. See if I care. He coiled his legs under himself and leaped up, clinging onto the spikes facing outward and slightly down that would impede any normal climber.

But he was no normal climber. He crested the top of the wall and saw a group of Duskari and Newen. The Newen did not flee as they normally did, instead loosing arrows at him. Kory ignored the projectiles and crushed several of the creatures with a single swing. He slaughtered two Duskari that came at him with spears, crushing their mana-charged weapons and sending them soaring off of the wall.

As he tracked the trajectory of one of the bodies, he saw the catapults and trebuchets below, unmanned. Glancing back to his own forces, he saw that the army that came from the now-revealed mountain sallyport had crashed into the back line, and an enormous, armored tank-boat-thing had made a beeline along with ram-riding Sloren cavalry to the cannon crews, slaughtering them. His men were about to be encircled completely and destroyed.

Kory gave no heed to that. He saw the dread fortress in the distance. I'm coming for you. He leaped off the wall, crashing into the ground below as a meteor from the heavens, the hundred-foot drop creating a crater as he slammed his hammer and sent reverberating waves of sound through the ground. He took off at a sprint toward the dread fortress. I kill Lyn, I win this war.

Remora gripped the wall, her heart pumping rapidly in her chest. What in the abyss? The Berserker hero had just clambered up the wall after trying to fell it, slaughtered soldiers, and then took off toward Lynhold. She picked up her amulet and was about to focus on Lyn but stopped. The Guardian hero was on his way back. She focused on him instead and spoke in broken Triskol. "Berserker coming. Past wall. Prepare."

She switched her focus to Lyn and spoke in Arinol. "The Berserker got past the wall and is headed to Lynhold."

"Fuck!" There was silence for a moment before she heard Lyn's voice again, but Remora knew that the message was being amplified to every communication amulet that had been created, as the Newen archers who had no further targets picked up their steel amulets from around their necks. "The Berserker hero is on his way to Lynhold. Get civilians into the fortress! All available forces, protect the fortress!"

Remora signaled to the Newen, and they descended the stairs. She led a full-on charge after the Berserker hero.

Lyn let the amulet go and rapidly incanted the shifting spell to give herself wings. Flying above the fray, she saw that the battle was a certain victory. The ironside had taken some damage and they had lost some of the ram rider cavalry, but the cannon crews were disabled. The ground troops were being crushed between a swathe of undead and the rest of her army. I can leave them to this. Minor losses, maybe a few hundred troops. Less, if she could get Trisha and her healers out to the battlefield.

She flew north, flapping high and muttering incantations to force the air in front of her into a pointed envelope, removing wind resistance as she lifted up before diving forward, gaining speed every time until she was akin to a rocket across the sky.

"Go! Now!" Ben shouted as he waved civilians into the fortress. Lawrence was on the other side of the massive door. Ben had put on his armor, his massive shield, and had his mace ready to go as soon as Lyn gave the warning. Kory was coming, and while Ben didn't want to fight – he had to defend his family.

Trisha and the kids ran past him, and his wife gave his hand a squeeze. He pulled her in for a kiss before parting.

Lawrence shouted over the din of people going inside, in English, "You're not going to fight him, are you?"

Ben frowned and he brushed Trisha's face. She shook her head. "No. You said you wouldn't fight!"

"I have to protect you," he replied.

Lawrence walked over and slapped Ben. "Get inside with your family." He turned to the rapidly emptying city. "I'll handle Kory."

"He'll kill you!" Trisha shouted. "We should go inside and wait for Lyn."

Lawrence laughed. "This is my city now. I'm going to protect it and the people here. After all…you all got to be heroes in the past. It's my turn now. Plus, I just have to buy time for Lyn to show up. I got this." He ran past the dwindling crowd and turned into a black and orange striped tiger the size of a semi-truck as he barreled off down the road.

Ben shook his head and looked to Trisha. I have to keep them safe…thanks, Lawrence. He ushered the rest of the civilians inside and shut the doors, barring them from within. He and Trisha immediately set to work layering verses upon verses of spells to strengthen the building around them. Thomas ran up and joined them, followed by Stellas and all her students.

We just have to hold out for Lyn. Ben knew Lawrence didn't stand a chance…but he could buy them valuable time.

Kory ran past a lake that wasn't in the Valley of the Volcano the last time he was here. He paid it little mind as he ran around the outside edge, but he was thrown to the ground as something hit him from the side. He rolled with the impact and sprang to his feet, barely keeping his footing with the new leg.

An enormous tiger circled him. A voice came from it. A blast from the past. Lawrence. "Hey, Kory."

Kory shook his head. Animals can't talk. And he's dead. The blood-haze from his spell somewhat suppressed higher-level thinking to focus on animalistic rage, and he charged at the creature, slamming his hammer down.

The tiger flashed, and in the blink of an eye Kory found his hammer missing as a tiny hummingbird flittered past the blow. "You fucker!" Kory shouted as he swung over and over at the small target but was unable to make contact.

"What's the matter? Still a dumb jock?"

"Shut up!" Kory shouted as he channeled mana into the artifact hammer and swung it rapidly overhead, creating a wailing, thunderous pulse that reverberated the entire area and disrupted the air enough that the creature fell to the ground and shifted forms once more. It turned into a badger and began to burrow. "You're not getting away!" Kory shouted as he finished the swing and brought the hammer into the ground, shouting the name of the hammer. "Krak'il'to!"

A unique property of his artifact was that, when wielded by the Berserker, it could shatter earth and stone in a huge radius. But the weapon would not be able to utilize lightning or sound until a few days had passed.

The earth exploded into a hail of shards as the badger was tossed aloft. "Batter up!" he shouted as he took a baseball swing at the small, furry creature, feeling the satisfying crunch as he sent it flying off into the sky.

As he watched the trajectory and laughed a deep, bellowing laugh…he saw a winged figure catch the animal and fly toward the fortress. Kory let out a war cry as he chased along the ground. Fucking Lyn!

"Fuck!" Lyn shouted as she caught the badger that was flung into the sky. She saw the orange and black coloration, and knew it was Lawrence. Her eyes were covered with the pink-hue shade as she assessed the lethal injuries. He was barely holding on. "Did you finish the clones?!" she shouted, knowing that even with the Healer core, she couldn't save him from this.

The small thing gave her a tiny thumbs-up. She landed in front of the fortress. "I'm sorry for this. I'll wake you up soon." She snapped his neck and extracted his mana core, forcing it down her mana channels and willing the Destroyer core to open all the possible doors for Lawrence to go through.

The badger turned to dust in her hands, and she felt the raw surge of power as the Shifter core was consumed. She knew what it could do. Internal shifting spells with thought alone, and they would have no mana cost.

Lyn turned to face the Berserker hero, who was charging down the main boulevard. She rapidly incanted her full suite of combat spells as she drew Cataclysm and willed her armor to cover her fully, letting her half-dragon form fully manifest – wings included, but tucked back. She pushed as much mana as she could into the blade. It surged and exploded with raw, blue mana before shifting through the full spectrum of all elementalism types, the different types of arcane might blending and surging.

She took up a ready stance, feet planted firmly on the ground, her greatsword held at eye level, pointing right at Kory. "Come on!" she shouted in English. "Come at me and fucking die!"

Ben heard Lyn yell outside and looked at the rest of the heroes. "We have to help."

Trisha shook her head. "No, we'll just get in her way."

Thomas nodded. "Agreed. But…we can do something." He looked at Stellas and her mages, "Everyone with enough mana to cast external spells – upstairs. Now! Second floor!"

Ben nodded and led the group up the stairs, pushing aside the civilians with his bulk as the whole group went to the second floor. Primarily dominated by a large hall, there were stained glass windows along one side.

Thomas placed his hands on a window and muttered a spell. Each one he touched cleared and became like regular glass, allowing line of sight to the duel that was about to fully engage. "Everyone! Repeat after me and focus on Lyn!"

He repeated the message in every language, and the heroes, minus Brad who no one had seen, the Duskari squadrons that were stationed in the city, and the Ari who were in Lynhold proper all ran over to the windows. The Newen population crowded together, and thanks to their slim forms were able to pack themselves together like sardines as everyone looked at Lyn.

Thomas incanted a spell, focusing on every single syllable in a slow, measured manner to ensure every person followed what he was saying perfectly. Ben got the gist of the spell as they got to the halfway point. Feeding Lyn mana. Smart. He doubted she needed it, but he felt an urge to help her – and this was the best way he could.

A whole city, joining together to support their leader. Their empress. Their goddess. Their savior.

But Ben saw the sheer, red aura around Kory that crackled like lightning and roared like thunder. He has so much mana…how?

"Fucking bitch!" Kory screamed as Lyn's body surged with blue light and he reached her. Their weapons collided in an enormous crash, her mana blade sparking with fury as his hammer crashed into the defense. She was forced to her knee from the blow, and he kicked forward trying to catch her off her guard.

But a set of wings flared from behind her, and she flew backward at incredible speed, his kick meeting naught but empty air. He growled and took a step forward, swinging his hammer in a dizzying flurry of blows. Every one of them, she deflected, and he saw a small, viridian light glowing along her wrist.

"Just die!" he yelled out.

He couldn't see her face, but the tone in her voice left no room for doubt that she had lethal intent. "You invade my capital, kill my subjects? I'll give you a single fucking chance. Surrender."

The voice broke through his battle-haze and he felt a chill down his spine. She sounded like Cecily did. Controlling and absolute in her desire. But Kory knew that surrender wasn't an option. He would never give up. The only reason he had run from the Demonic Dragon is because his spine had been shattered, and Trisha barely patched him up enough to run. "I'm not a coward!" he replied as he let himself be lost to the bloodlust.

He unleashed a brutal combination of attacks, and she slowly pivoted and turned the combat away from the fortress and down the main boulevard. Every strike of his she expertly deflected before attempting a riposte of her own. He would block with the massive hammer head or deflect with the haft of the weapon. He was pushing her back, and when she tried to lock up his hammer with her cross guard, he gripped the weapon. He felt the burning pain through his internal spell, and squeezed down.

She cried out as her hand was pulverized into dust, but he felt it jostling and re-forming under his palm. Her weapon shifted and vanished, replaced by a spear that jabbed into his bicep, digging a few inches in before he pulled away. "I'm taking that arm!" he shouted as he ripped with all of his might.

But nothing happened. She came along with him and slammed her helmeted head into his. "Think that hurts?" he cackled out as he slammed his knee into her over and over, right into her midsection. "This is pain!"

His arm went through her as she took on a spectral form. "Wha—" Kory fell forward and into a shoulder roll, coming up on his feet as he turned to face the jabbing point of the spear.

"I've got almost every hero core, and their special abilities," Lyn replied as she backed up slightly. "Including Elias's Revenant form." She floated toward him.

Kory knew that Elias couldn't be hurt by anything except spells and mana-charged weaponry. That meant Lyn was the same. But Krak'il'to was spent – he could mana-charge it, but not use the unique lightning or sound innate enhancements. He let his mana bubble up within – a gory whirlwind of blood and bone that churned up and limned his weapon in crimson.

Lyn approached, floating over the ground, and he swung out at her. She floated backward and laughed. "Still a fucking meathead."

Kory spotted the group of people up in the window of the building above and could make out the very faint stream of mana going from them into Lyn. Feeding her mana? He spun his hammer and threw it up toward the windows, holding the metal cord as it whipped up and shattered through the glass, causing a fragmentation effect on those inside.

"Rah!" Kory fully surrendered to the frenzy. The haze of rage fully overwhelmed him, and he knew nothing but the desire to destroy. Obliterate. Completely and utterly wreck everything.

"Hanath Perian Esgal!" Ben shouted as he saw the hammer arcing up toward them. The strongest barrier he could cast quickly that would protect everyone in the room from all harm. The hammer did not impact anyone – thankfully – but the rain of shattered glass drained his mana to near-empty as the barrier caught the shards.

Trisha knelt next to him and poured some of her mana into him using the mana transfer spell that Thomas had walked the people through. He felt his heartbeat steady. "I'm good."

Thomas shouted out in English. "Get everyone back! We can't risk everyone's lives. Lyn will have to make do." He repeated the first shouted phrase in every language, and the whole group scurried back.

Ben pushed himself to his legs and watched the combat play out below. Kory was taking wild swings at the ghostly form of Lyn, and she simply floated past or around them, taunting him with insults. Be careful. He backed off, not wanting to risk his life despite his desire to see Lyn finally put down Kory. The only person who rivaled and exceeded Ben in sports, and who flaunted it over him their whole lives.

Ben always came in second. Every race, every inning, every match, every game. The only thing that Ben beat Kory at was boxing.

"Fuck him up!" he shouted before retreating into the building, hoping for that catharsis by proxy.

Lyn heard Ben's exhortations and smiled. She was fully topped up on mana thanks to her citizens supporting her, and thanks to the wraith form from the Revenant core, she was extremely maneuverable. She felt the pain in her wrist, building and building, and dropped the wraith form as she jumped backward, stabbing forward with the spear. "Rus'os'glar Teitha!" she shouted as she activated the absorbed artifact's special ability – an amplified jab that used wind to carry the strike out past its normal reach. At the same time, she released all of the pent-up damage she had suffered and stored thanks to the Spellblade core, and unleashed the charged-up, reversal spell in the singular jab.

The world exploded in front of her in a rush of emerald wind. Kory was blown backward and went sailing thousands of feet into the distance, crashing through buildings and then into the tree line. A groove ten feet wide was carved five hundred feet ahead of her, and several buildings were destroyed and crashed to the ground as key structural supports were obliterated.

Lyn laughed at the sheer power she had and could manipulate. "Anno nin i gwelu en-galad." She flashed forward and arrived at Kory – who was a crumpled heap in the middle of a glade. The forest surrounded them on all sides, and Lyn recognized the space – the same place where she had first met Thomas and Volio when she summoned herself back. Fitting in a way, she thought.

Kory got to his feet – or tried to. His prosthetic leg was shattered, and he fell back to the ground. He was frothing at the mouth, and his eyes were naught but bloody red orbs. "You in there still?" Lyn asked.

A guttural scream of rage was all that she heard in response, and the Berserker hero crawled toward her, dragging himself with one arm as he swung his hammer at her. She deftly stepped backward and circled to the side, stabbing into his wrist and pinning it to the ground so he couldn't swing the hammer.

"Gwah!" Kory cried out, falling limp as his breathing calmed and his body shrank. The metallic hue vanished from his skin, and the areas where the skin had torn open began to seep blood. She shoved the spear the rest of the way through and into the ground.

"Tsk, ran out of mana." She grabbed the artifact hammer from him and tapped it to Cataclysm, absorbing the weapon. She shifted the spear to the new form, and an enormous, black adamantine hammer replaced it. The head burst with all the energies at her disposal, and she let the heavy head thud onto the ground next to Kory's head.

It seemed to jolt him to consciousness, and he looked up at Lyn with bloodshot eyes. "Fucking bitch," he growled as he spit.

Lyn shook her head, "I sent a letter telling you who I was. And you still tried to kill me and my people."

"Cecily lied."

"No shit. Why even trust her? Wait, no, I know. It's because she was your girlfriend. After Gina, I mean. She had you pussy-whipped. Pathetic."

Kory's demeanor darkened and he put his head down. "Just end it," he said.

"No." Lyn stood up and scanned him with the Healer core's eyes. He's exhausted all his mana and stamina, but he hasn't suffered a ton of injury…he can take more. She walked over to his cut-off leg and swapped her weapon to its dual knife configuration. She willed it to shift to flame and cut through just above the knee. He screamed out in pain before passing out. The wound instantly cauterized.

She went to his other side and took off one of his arms – right above the elbow, leaving him lopsided. She put Cataclysm away and placed a hand on his back. "En ethiel an le / thalion min / leithio nin mellon / a panno hain garan." His wounds healed over, and his breathing became steadier. He won't be a threat ever again. But I need to remove his mana core. She didn't want to just rip it out and lobotomize him, but she did not want to give him a dungeon core, either. Maybe a critter…

She looked over to her side and saw several sets of eyes watching her from the trees. She pointed at them and called upon the Beastmaster core. "Come here." Several squirrels ran up to her, their eyes glowing the same blue that her mana manifested as. She reached into her storage collar, pulled out the inscribed tube, and opened the "insert" pod. "Alright, get in."

One squirrel hopped in, and she closed the device. Sorry little guy. But I have to put something in him. I want him to be able to think, dread what is coming. The other squirrels scattered as she waved her hand dismissively.

She turned Kory over and ripped open his metal coat with her claw, revealing his chiseled chest. She placed the tube against it and activated the object. She heard a dull "squeak" noise before the familiar thump of the item told her the job was done. She opened the squirrel-side container – curious to see what had happened. The creature was dead, and there was a small hole where its heart was. The heart was still there, but the hole confirmed the location of the partially real, partially ethereal mana core. She picked it up gently and dug a small hole in the dirt, burying the critter.

She opened the other chamber and gripped the Berserker hero core. It looked like a ball of blood, constantly shifting and dripping down her clawed hand. She pushed it into her mana channels and fed it to the Destroyer core within. A rush surged through her as the core tried to fight but was overwhelmed by unstoppable power. Her vision pulsed red for a moment as she felt a surge of anger through her. Fuck, he was dealing with this all the time?

She looked at Kory with a newfound level of respect. If he was experiencing what she had just felt and could still feel simmering under the Destroyer core's control and wasn't a complete psychopath…he was way stronger mentally than she gave him credit for. "But in the end, you lost to it," she whispered. "You won't die here. You'll be judged by those you hurt."

She lifted him over her shoulder and headed to Lynhold. Pushing her way into the fortress, she made a beeline through the citizens and to the mana deprivation cells hidden away from everyone except Vael, Gael, Thomas, and the Duskari elders. There were three cells in total. She placed him in the far left one, shutting the barred door.

Thomas ran up behind her. "You let him live?"

She nodded and turned to him. "Yes…I have the Berserker core. And the Shifter core."

"Fuck," Thomas said as he looked remorseful for a moment. "We have to get Lawrence back."

"Right." Lyn followed the Knowledge hero out and into the city to revive their ally.

Lawrence gasped as he woke up. He was in a cool place, with a bright, white light above him from some magical source, and he was lying on a slab of metal.

"Welcome back," Thomas's voice said in English.

The experience of dying flashed through Lawrence's mind. He was in serious pain, and then heard Lyn's voice, and remembered moving his arm a bit before everything went dark. Then, he was in a room facing three doors. One was labeled earth, one ghomar, and one backup. He went through the backup door, and then was…floating. He had no idea for how long, but then he suddenly could see.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a trip," Thomas said as he patted his friend's shoulder. "But you're alive."

Lyn came into view. "Hey, how you doing?"

Lawrence felt weak, like he had done an intense workout and was on a recovery day. "I'm okay," he said. "Thirsty."

Lyn picked up a cup and muttered a spell before handing it to him, as he sipped from it, she spoke softly. "Kory is alive, but I took an arm and a leg. I replaced his hero core with a squirrel's. Since you died to him…you decide what happens to him."

Lawrence nodded and put the cup down, feeling rejuvenated but still sore. "Let him rot for a while. He'll think about what he did." He didn't hold anything in particular against Kory from the past…but that was the past. I don't owe him anything. He killed me…and he will pay. An idea wriggled its way into his head, and he looked at Lyn. "What would make Kory the most upset? Just living with the inability to do anything."

"Do what you want. You're in charge of him. He's your prisoner. Thomas will show you where he is." Lyn sighed. "We suffered some losses. But, silver lining, we also got a bunch of Valagonia's firearms and the cannons." She picked up her amulet and rapidly spoke in Arinol, which Lawrence was still trying to learn. After speaking into the obsidian object, she looked back at him and switched to his native tongue. "That's not your problem to deal with. Rest up."

Lawrence nodded and chuckled. "Was I brave or foolish?"

"A bit of both," Ben's voice said from the doorway. He walked over and leaned down, giving him a hug. "You bought us all time."

"Plus, I gave you an easy out for your honor," Lawrence quipped.

Ben stood up and frowned a bit. "You have a backup body. I don't."

Thomas laughed. "I can make you one."

"I'm good," Ben replied.

"I want another," Lawrence said as he chuckled.

Lyn cleared her throat. "If that's all, I've got some stuff to do."

Lawrence grabbed her hand. "Hey…thanks. For everything."

"Of course." She looked to Thomas. "Make sure we get him another backup in the works."

Lawrence laughed at the surrealness of the situation. I never imagined I'd be a body-swapping immortal.