'That's odd.' Zolgon thought. He rubbed his chin as he gazed down at the destroyed roof. 'The Demi-humans dragged a human away but in this idiotic kingdom, Demi-humans are treated as lesser beings. Right now, under the influence of demons, the Demi-humans should be rebelling.' Screams and death-gurgles rang out in the cool winter air. He took a deep breath, smiled, and stood. "Grand Shaman Branath, how long until you can fire another one of the Head Mage's spells?"

Branath didn't respond, nor did she lift her head. She lay face-first on the cloud. "Useless," he kicked her hard in the ribs. At least her face wouldn't be in the clouds like that. "Watch over her," he ordered the lead alchemist and his crew, all of whom had remained behind to dump the black powder.

"If I may be allowed to question your highness..." the lead alchemist bowed. "Where are you going without the Grand Shaman to protect you? Who will command the army if you leave?"

Zolgon stepped to the edge and smiled. "The bloodshed is a nice sight, but it's merely an excuse I told my brother. This is all the means to an end. Not just any end either. I mean to stop an endless cycle that's been going on since my soul was created." He saluted and let himself fall off the edge. "And hopefully I'll meet someone nice along the way."

…

Olpi opened her eyes and coughed up dusty air. A strange ringing in her ears muffled discordant screams from humans, Demi-humans, and demons alike, but slowly faded. She propped herself up on creaking limbs and dusted off her battered suit. The Demis had just descended through a hole in the roof but a sudden blast had sent them all flying in different directions.

Most of the Reach and third story were still intact but she barely recognized anything anymore. If it wasn't for the cold air and dimmed sunlight she would have thought she was standing in Mage's Shadow. Destroyed desks, broken white stone walls, and flickering light crystals; they were unnatural up here as they were in down there. Lance's tornadoes had brought an eerie mist from the swamp below, the Undead's domain.

She had spent years keeping the academy clean alongside her family, the Demis. The only reason she swept the floor now was because she needed to escape with as many as she could. "The Demis," She rubbed her throbbing head. "I need to…" She almost fell back down but someone caught her, Menla. The half-dwarf looked up at her with a weary smile. Her body was strangely cold. "Menla, you survived." Olpi smiled back.

"I protected him," Menla coughed. She pointed over her shoulder at Cerlius's unconscious figure. It wasn't just Menla's body that was cold, it was also her clothes. She was soaked in water. "The riptide shield is amazing."

"I bet," Olpi groaned. With a quick scan of the area she found an opening for them to leave, a doorway without a door. "Let's get out of here." She stepped forward, expecting Menla to follow, but the girl remained.

"And you want to know the best part?" Menla pointed to the other side of the classroom. With the dust settling, an unconscious figure was revealed, half-buried by the rubble. A strange twitch of the dwarf's eye paired itself with a joyless, foreign chuckle. Olpi swallowed her saliva as Menla said: "Instructor Jersin is down here with us. He was too weak to protect himself. I guess he was more used to hurting others than protecting."

A knot formed in Olpi's heart, enough to where a dizziness struck her. She kept leaning on Menla, no matter how much she didn't want to. "Menla, those students didn't hurt us. They didn't deserve to suffer a blast like that."

Menala was quiet, the realization kicking in that people were dead, people they knew for years. "We must have gotten separated from them." Olpi pulled towards the vacant doorway. "Let's hurry and go find the others. It's our best chance of getting out of here." With that second step something rolled out from under her foot, a rusty cane, Jersin's cane. She dropped it and reflexively flinched back along with Menla. There they remained for several moments before Menla cautiously picked the cane up and swung it in the open air.

"Wait I have an idea," Menla tightened her grip and glanced over to the trapped instructor. "Let's beat him to death," She stated with a smile brighter than she had ever worn before.

Olpi's dizziness only increased as she stared deep into the girl's eyes. Those eyes had long since been deprived of their innocence, leaving a gaping hole that had never been filled with anything other than her own tormented, fearful life. Olpi's mouth opened and closed yet no words came out.

Menla recognized her friend's hesitation. "He beat us Olpi, all of us." She rolled up her sleeves for the first time since Olpi had known her. Olpi's eyes widened. Every Demi had scar tissue. Olpi knew because she had stitched each and every Demi up. She knew the extent of Jersin's punishment, or so she had thought.

There was no semblance of care in the mess of scar tissue and poorly healed bone breaks in Menla's deformed forearms. "He knew you would treat us so he kept us locked in the Dimmer until you wouldn't get a chance to."

Olpi's mouth went dry. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Menla smacked the cane on the ground. "He threatened to kill us if we told you. He feared you because you kept us together."

"So you're telling me that all this time," Olpi gasped. "He's just been letting me heal most Demis while hiding a few away. You were part of that few, and that's why you were always so weak."

"He is a sick man," Menla cried but her voice held as firm as her resolve. "And now we'll be free of this cancer."