“This is bad,” mutters Rose as she stares at the sixteen floating, purple, ectoplasmic pianos. . Eight player pianos were annoying and bad enough, but the naked [Mage] had just doubled the number to sixteen and changed the pianos into concert grand.

“He has too much mana,” Rathos cooly adds, “and he has only used maybe three spells.”

Rose gazes at the sixteen projectiles. Each one weighs as much as a carriage and gets thrown faster than an arrow.

“Do you know his class?” she asks.

Rathos shakes his head, “No, but he is some kind of [Mage] or [Bard]. Definitely over level two hundred.”

“I see. Then, if I make an opening, do you think you can kill him?”

“Probably, I just need to aim for his throat. I doubt he has any high-level healing skills. He would have used them otherwise.”

“Alright. When he attacks, I’ll use several skills to deal with the projectiles. You run in and take him out.”

The [General] grunts as he sheathes his sword, allowing the enchanted sheathe to activate its enchantment.

“Nice. Are you both done planning? I hope it’s a good one. Actually, let’s see how effective it really is.”

The [Mages] eyes begin to radiate a stronger purple as he raises his good hand. Once it is pointed directly into the air, a stream of mana extends upward; the eldritch piano plays on.

“Damn,” Rose exclaims as the sixteen glowing pianos double once again into thirty-two.

He then lowers his hand, creates a fist, and extends his index finger with his thumb standing up.

The [Mage] smiles, the piano strikes a chord.

“Bang.”

At his words, all thirty-two projections blast forward at triple their prior speed. The air shudders as they accelerate towards the two targets, who have only a moment to react.

“[Final Stand], [Instantaneous March], [Defense Formation],” Rathos yells as he moves behind the [Lady].

“[Muscle to Metal], [Impact Reduction], [Six-Arms Armistice],” Rose begins to add.

Rose’s entire body takes on a metallic sheen and four glowing arms of energy extend from her shoulders, each set mimicking the two she already has.

She feels Rathos’ skills enhance her, increasing her dexterity and endurance significantly for a short duration.

She braces herself to repel the incoming projectiles. Her arms flex, waiting to punch, divert, and withstand the incoming onslaught.

“[Grand Calling], [Multi Summon], [Summon Angel][Shield Archetype].”

______________________________________________________________

Space twists as humanoids phase into existence. Light glitters off their armaments, shields and lances, as well as their golden skin. Thirty-two symbols of divinity raise their bulwarks, blocking every missile with ease.

Once the offensive has ceased in its entirety, a silence descends onto the battlefield. None make a sound for several seconds as all eyes look up and stare at the winged beings.

Then those eyes turn towards a golden figure nearing the battle on horseback. The horse and figure stop, allowing a robed woman to jump off.

“Stop the fighting! Please, stop.”

Jessica yells as her Aura spreads out, allowing all to hear her words.

“This is a misunderstanding. Nobody needs to die,” she adds, saying the last few words with a glare directed at Quasi.

“[Lady] Rose, Rathos, please stop fighting. We can end this peacefully,” Scarlet dismounts right after and runs towards the two.

“Scarlet, what’s happening. Who is that?” Rathos asks as he beckons towards Jessica.

Rose looks to Jessica as she now glares at a naked figure with her hand at her hips and the [Angels] floating defensively above her.

“Quasi, what happened to not making a ruckus? What happened to being a [Gentleman] and following the rules? Aren’t you trying to level up the damn class?”

Quasi raises his good arm and points towards Rathos, “That man tried to kill me. I was defending myself!”

“There is nothing in this city that can kill you! Everyone is low level! And people don’t try to kill others for no reason.”

“People are illogical and crazy sometimes,” Quasi refutes.

“Yes, I know,” she answers back, staring at the most eccentric individual she had ever met.

Quasi sighs.

“Just move out of the way Jessica. Let me deal with this. We need the city anyways.”

“No. Nobody has to die for it. You can talk it out.”

Quasi shakes his head. “Jessica, just move out of the way. I need to deal with this.”

Jessica folds her arms across her breasts.

“No.”

Quasi frowns. “You think you can stop me? You don’t have anywhere near enough levels.”

Jessica smiles and raises her left hand, revealing a crystalline bracelet on her wrist. “No, I probably don’t, but I’m sure Mule does.”

The [Hero] and [Gentleman] stares at the bracelet that could very well summon something that he indeed would have a difficult time dealing with.

“Goddammit. That is so not fair.”

Quasi sulks.

“FINE,” he yells and then points towards Rathos, “but the [General] works for me now,” he then points towards his injured and dangling arm, “and heal this. It’s starting to itch.”

Jessica nods. She spread her arms. “[Grand Healing Pulse].”

Rose, Scarlet, and Rathos gaze in amazement as a golden light of mana spreads from the [Abbess] and a wave of healing mana pulses from her location, spreading around her and in every direction. Cuts, bruises, and even a damaged arm begin healing before everyone’s eyes.

But the pulse doesn’t stop, continuing on, it strikes the injured [Guards]... and it keeps growing past the [Guards], reaching even further than the blockade. The energy only halts after it has reached a good third of the city.

“Holy fuck. How… what?” The [Hero] stammers, trying to understand how a healing skill with such potency can travel such a long distance. Even the three others are left flabbergasted at what they have seen.

Jessica stares at Quasi, perplexed. She had closed her eyes when she cast the spell, so she never saw the distance it traveled.

He rolls his eyes as he tests his healed arm. He stops when he notices the divine wolf mark on his shoulder. Quasi groans, realizing the enchanted tattoo hiding it had been damaged.

“Ughhh, fuck. I’m going to have to live with this for now. Whatever.”

The [Hero] turns towards the destroyed prison and his frown deepens.

With a thought, a purple shadow extends from his feet. The shadow stretches ten meters in front of him, then widens twenty. A [Bone Behemoth], a monster the size of a house, grips the edge, slowly pulling itself out of the darkness it was contained in.

Scarlet, Rose, and Rathos gasp as they watch the [Level Ridiculous] undead shows up in their city. Jessica gives the [Hero] another glare.

“What? My throne is in that rubble! Somebody needs to get it.”

*************************************************************************************************

Rose, now clothed, though still in her muscular state, sits at a large table in a rarely used room; a room built for bargaining, planning, a room enchanted with spells to keep eavesdroppers away, a room to speak of deals and politics. It’s a room that, vacant for the past decade, has accumulated a thick layer of dust over every surface.

“My apologies, my [Lady], but since you refuse to ever use this room, I have never allowed the [Maids] to clean it since you prefer your meetings in your own room.”

“David, it’s fine. Our guest here doesn’t seem to care about a little dust.” She answers the standing Rat demihuman.

Quasi, now robed and clothed except for his mask takes a bite from a skewer he had purchased on his way to the castle. The remains of six other skewers that Quasi haphazardly tossed away litter the table.

“Mmmm, pork. It’s been a while,” he mumbles between bites.

Rathos, seated next to Rose, just stares at Quasi, doing his best to understand the man’s motive. On the opposite side of Rathos, Scarlet and Jessica chat with each other. Their conversation has wandered from the day’s happenings, to a very personal conversation regarding love.

“...Yes Jess, he carried me all the way home while I was drunk. He took me through the castle, into my room, and then had his way with me.”

Rathos glances at Scarlet, slightly annoyed at the divergent recounting of their first tryst. But his glance is only a glance, his gaze returns to the enigmatic man that had requested this meeting, apparently for the sake of his lunch. The irony goes unappreciated by Rose.

“Oh my! Was it love at first sight?” Jessica asks with a blush.

Scarlet giggles. “More like love at first thrust.”

Jessica’s face turns a crimson as the corners of Rose’s mouth quirk up in a small smile. Unlike Rathos, Rose can’t always be serious, even if the situation demands it.

Their conversation continues till the ninth skewer, at which point Rathos’ patience begins to thin.

“You have asked for this meeting, and you have gotten it. Why are you delaying?” Rathos asks.

“Two very important reasons,” Quasi holds up two skewers as he speaks between bites.

“First,” He waves a half eaten skewer, “and incidentally, I am creating a sense of superiority. By making you all wait here while I eat, I am slowly creating a sense of dread which will give me a better political standpoint.” Quasi consumes the rest of the skewer.

“But,” he takes a bite from the new skewer, “the most important reason is that I am very hungry because someone attacked me and ripped up my arm!” He exclaims around a mouthful of food.

“You were using magic within the cell. I stand by my choice.”

Quasi swallows the meat he was chewing. “And your choice was completely logical and sound.”

Jessica and Scarlet immediately go quiet at his words. All eyes now focus on Quasi, stunned by his admission.

The [Gentleman] looks around at everyone and raises an eyebrow.

“What? It’s true. I was using magic to summon my notes, but he didn’t know that. He has skills to know that I’m dangerous, but not in what way. So he took the safest route and tried to kill me.”

“So why are you angry at him?” Jessica asks.

Quasi shrugs. “Just because he is acting logically doesn’t mean I have to. Also, he cut my arm, and that hurt a lot. I’m still upset about that.”

Four of the five people around the table stare incredulously at the [Hero].

“What?” Quasi asks around another mouthful of food.

Rose sighs, “To what do we owe pleasure of your company?”

The [Hero] slowly chews, then swallows the meat.

“Well, I need an up to date map and a base of operations for my plan of world domination.”

“Your plan for what?” Rathos asks.

Quasi smiles as he takes a bite. He slowly and carefully chews while staring at the [General], his eyes never leaving Rathos’.

“You are insane,” Rathos states.

Quasi swallows and licks his lips.

“That’s a fair assessment. When you live as long as I do, you tend to get a bit bored with reality and logic. Things just get too predictable; eventually, it leads you to two paths. The first is suicide, because you get bored and shit with life and write angsty poems about it. You see everything, realize your poetry sucks, and then you just don’t want to live anymore. Or, you can be a mature adult like me, and go insane.” Quasi smiles.

Jessica sighs. “Can you please stop confusing them? Just tell them your plan.”

“But I did.”

“Quasi!”

“Fine.” The [Hero] rolls his eyes, “Alright. So, here’s the deal. This city will become my suzerain state, Rose will continue to be the [Lady] in charge, and Rathos will be the [General] of my army.”

Scarlet frowns. “What army?”

“The one arriving in three hours.”

“You already called them?” Jessica quickly asks.

“Yup, they’ll be here soon. Which means we need to leave.”

Jessica stands up, “We still need a map though.”

“Oh right. Shit. Do you guys have a map? A really detailed one?”

Rathos looks at Jessica and then at Quasi. He hesitates for a moment, hoping he misheard, but he needs to confirm it.

“Army?”

_________________________________________________________

South of Sanavil, the ground rumbles with the passage of beasts, monsters, and massive carriages. They traverse the ground, rending trees and flattening stones that block their path. They sing and they growl, they chant and they howl to the thunderous cadence of their feet and the beat of drums.

They have escaped. They are now free. For the first time in generations, they are under the open sky. Now, they follow their [Kings] summons.