The Winged Serpent led the charge forward, moving immediately to meet the quick response of Naffur. The highest-ranking individual in the Order Ducis only below Randidly Ghosthound was certainly powerful and decisive; as soon as the Nemesai moved, he was already in motion to stop them. With fists raised, Naffur leapt lightly upward to block off their path. But the Winged Serpent’s eyes narrowed in amusement.

Did you mistake me for the type that likes to fight head-on…?

The situation on the field became increasingly chaotic as the dense cluster of Nemesai rushed forward. Alana’s image billowed outward, all heat and radiant holiness and light that was of a different shade of Mjolnir’s chilling energy. Most people were suppressed by the combined density of images, meaning that the Nemesai only had to contend with a few key individuals to reach Alana.

The light touched Alana’s body and the group of Nemesai accelerated even further.

As the blinding light of Mjolnir began to lash out to destroy the image of Alana above them, the Winged Serpent quickly conjured a formation in front of its body. Naffur’s fist smashed into the formation and all of the force of his attack was rebounded directly back at him. Which only stopped him dead and made him grimace, but gave the Grey Lich time to unleash a cloud of locusts that blasted him backward.

Roaring, the Obsidian Duke’s body bulged as he ignored the probing thrusts of the Jade Prince’s rapier and simply smashed his body against his destined opponent. The Bandit King slashed outward with his jagged blade and forced the man with the large iron back backward.

Thea and the Winged Serpent rushed forward in the opening. The other member of the Order Ducis materialized at the Nemesai’s side, but Thea was able to overpower him with just two heavy blows of her hammer. Flicking out its tongue, the Winged Serpent sensed the attacks coming in from the side. It paused in its rush upward and created a barrier that blocks the three shots Hank snapped off from his revolver.

The Winged Serpent swayed from the strain; because Hank limited his ammunition to six shots a battle, each one of Hank Howard’s revolver bullets packed a punch that was vastly more dangerous than his growing image would suggest. For the moment, the Winged Serpent had been stopped. Alana’s pearly white wings spread wide, accepting the vicious energy of Mjolnir without complaint. Wind howled around the group, swirling in a vortex of destiny.

We cannot miss this chance, the Winged Serpent thought as it glanced upward.

Something was happening at the point where Mjolnir met Alana’s Willpower that was ominous enough that the Winged Serpent sensed it. After being exposed to the image form of Randidly Ghosthound and now being shown an attack of pure energy, something was beginning to click for Alana Donal.

Such a reliably strong enemy…! The Winged Serpent hissed in pleasure as he looked upward into the light. Then, while maintaining the barrier against further interference from Hank Howard’s last bullet, it created a platform for Thea to use to ascend.

Alana’s silhouette could be barely seen due to the blinding light of Mjolnir. Her wings were easier to see, spreading larger than her body by quite a bit. And it was the perfect reference to know where to strike.

Riding on the back of a giant flaming bear, Thea raised her hammer above her head and spun the weapon in preparation. But before she could attack, the metal frame of Ghost interposed itself and swung its runic sword. Eyes flashing, Thea hopped up from a sitting position and stood on her flaming bear’s back. “Chrysanthemum!”

“ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!” Chrysanthemum enthusiastically rushed forward, ducking under the slash and smashing into the metal body of the larger foe.

The Winged Serpent had also been surprised by the noise, so it didn’t miss the split second of hesitation that Thea had after her companion roared. But then she leapt upward, raising her flaming hammer.

Bang.

The last bullet of Hank Howard slipped almost quietly out of his revolver, but the Winged Serpent had been waiting for it. It threw everything it could manage into its defensive image, and even then barely managed to withstand the piercing strike. Yet the bullet had been successfully deflected. The tendons along Thea’s arm stood out as she raised her hammer over her head.

The Jade Prince tried to shove the weaker Obsidian Duke away, but the Nemesis accepted the wounds in order to keep pinning the Jade Prince down. Naffur and his fellow member from the Order Ducis recovered, but they were standing too far away and the Winged Serpent blocked off their avenue to assist Alana.

The man with the huge iron ball and the other powerful guards from the Order Valorem were helpless before a cackling Bandit King.

The light of Mjolnir began to fade right as the Thea swung her vengeful image at Alana’s back with all of her strength.

“Divine Branch of Arbor!”

A tree branch ripped upward faster than the Winged Serpent could respond and smashed into Thea’s side. Cursing, she couldn’t help but be thrown away from her arc toward Alana’s exposed back. The other Nemesai immediately noticed the switch and disengaged from their individual battles to retreat some distance away.

The light above them completely faded, and suddenly the tables were turned. The Winged Serpent rapidly created a formation that would explode and cause a milder version of the collapse that would have resulted from Mjolnir descended, but a blast of orange fire forced it back before the formation had settled into the ground.

Her wings and eyes smoking with fury, Alana Donal floated down and touched the ground. She breathed out through her nose and two long plumes of smoke curled outward.

*****

When the Ogre Lord woke up after the fight against Randidly, he had indeed had a change of heart about his attitude toward Randidly which was a relief. But he did wake up and immediately voice a demand. “I am willing to be your subordinate… however, I demand the right to challenge Obyrn one year from today, to determine which of us is the superior ogre. If he is defeated, I will take his place as leader of the ogres on Earth.”

Randidly lips twitched. Certainly a demanding loser, even if a bit more respectful than he was previously…

The group was still on the Ogre World side of the portal, as they had been waiting next to the spot where the Ogre Lord had collapsed for him to recover. The thousands of soldier ogres ringed them in a wide circle, waiting for their wounded lord to recover before making even a peep. In addition to staying away from Randidly and his three companions, the ogres also seemed to possess a vast fear of Randidly’s island itself. Every time the strange dark lightning twisted around, the ogre soldiers took several nervous steps backward.

But to Randidly’s surprise, Obyrn stepped forward and nodded his agreement. “I would also like the chance to determine which of us is stronger.”

Which meant, for the most part, that the issue of the Ogre Gorge world was settled. There was now a duel planned for a year from now, but Randidly believed that whoever won would still consider themselves beneath him. When the Ogre Lord had recovered enough to move, Randidly led the group back to the base of his island and turned to look at the ogre lord. “Tell your army to follow, but to stay on this side of the portal for now. There is a lot to arrange.”

Despite the fact that he was covered in blood, the Ogre Lord lifted his chin in an officious posture with his hands behind his back, as though he were some mid-level bureaucrat. “Me giving them an order would not be appropriate. I am no longer their leader. You are”

Randidly’s mouth twisted. With the distraction of the fight that was just now finishing at the stadium in Zone 1 still on his mind, he was in no mood for this ogre to start being mouthy. “And I gave you an order. Are you disobeying me?”

The Ogre Lord’s eyes didn’t even flicker as he bowed his head. “Of course not. I’ll take care of it.”

Very quickly a few terse words from the Ogre Lord had the whole column of ogre soldiers formed up in sharp lines. There was some confusion as to whether the giant throne would be brought along, but the Ogre Lord stopped it from being brought without Randidly even having to intervene. A troublesome subordinate, Randidly reflected, but one who knows what lines he can and cannot cross.

If anything, that just made Randidly warier. But he at least knew that until the Ogre Lord grew more powerful, he would be loyal to Randidly as the victor in their confrontation. Especially until he fought against Obyrn.

And then again until he believed himself powerful enough to challenge Randidly.

With the addition of the Ogre Lord, the group got on Randidly’s island and flew back through the portal to Earth. Randidly released a small sigh as he finally closed the portal he had created with the Philosopher's Key, the strain of maintaining the portal lifted from his psyche. After glancing once to the South toward the scene of the battle today, Randidly steeled his expression and returned to Kharon.

When they landed, Randidly didn’t head directly to Kharon’s town hall, instead, he led the Ogre Lord through the bustling streets of Kharon. Even if Randidly had traveled here to make sure the Ogre Gorge wouldn’t become a problem for Earth, most of Kharon’s population was only distantly aware of that. Business continued as usual. And the increasingly opportunistic population of Kharon used this opportunity to create a huge exchange of goods as Kharon unloaded its wares and picked everything that the ogre settlement had to offer.

With platforms of their wares held aloft by moss spirits above their heads, ogre and human merchants created a cacophony of haggling in the streets. Both sides glanced up and nodded toward Randidly when he walked past, but the people of Earth didn’t give the three-headed ogre a second glance.

The ogres did give the three-headed Ogre Lord a profound look, perhaps having more context to understand who he likely was, but such was the spirit of Kharon that they were quickly dragged away from dwelling on the issue of a three-headed ogre and back to business.

It was in the middle of the walk back to town hall that the Grim Chimera finally returned to Randidly’s body, after wandering about the surrounding area a bit and killing some monsters to sate his thirst for blood. Randidly shook his head but didn’t say anything. As the umbrella personality over his images, he could understand the Grim Chimera’s disappointment. Staying on Earth for too long… would be difficult. There weren’t any foes that were truly challenging in a direct confrontation. Randidly might lose his edge if he remained for an extended period of time.

Plus, now that Straud had been taken care of, the only foe that made Randidly truly wary was the Creature. Which he would begin preparing to deal with as soon as he handed off the problem of the ogre group, but he somehow doubted that the confrontation with the Creature would end in a satisfying fight. That just wasn’t her M.O.

Randidly shook his head. That’s all for tomorrow. For today, there’s a lot to deal with. Including…

Randidly’s mouth twisted as he once more glanced to the South. Then he shook himself and continued the tour through Kharon.