“Wow,” Cleo said while blinking her eyes. “You two have been through a lot without me, huh?” She pouted. “That’s not really fair.”

“You’re the one who ran away when we met her parents,” Palan said and flicked Cleo’s forehead. Raea and Palan had finished telling Cleo everything that happened to them after they had been separated. Of course, Cleo told her side of the story also, embellishing here and there about the abuse she suffered under Linda and the headmaster.

“I guess that’s true,” Cleo said and pursed her lips. “But I would’ve died if I didn’t.” She nodded and placed her hands on her hips. “Definitely would’ve died.”

“I’m just happy you’re alright,” Raea said and pinched Cleo’s cheeks. She sighed. “It’s a shame about Owen and them. I hope they’re still alive. Owen’s not weak, but … he can’t really be called strong either. Not with everyone evolving like crazy.”

“Yeah,” Cleo said and cleared her throat. She had pushed all the blame of reporting Owen onto Linda. “He should be fine. The armies haven’t collided yet, right? I didn’t hear about anything like that and I’ve been out a lot.” Mostly stealing things in the market, but Raea didn’t need to know that. “Still, I can’t believe you two became the leaders of the rebel army. I remember back in the borderlands, Palan was trying to help you with promotions to get to the capital. Now you two are just going to charge in there, huh?” She scratched her head. “But … err, did you two see the black lightning thing?”

“We saw it,” Palan said. “And the black sky.”

“Oh,” Cleo said. “The black sky was the old man’s doing. If he drinks a lot of his special cocktail, he can use that super strong dark thing.” She wrinkled her nose. “It takes away your senses, and he can teleport inside of it.”

“He was that strong?” Palan asked and furrowed his brow. “It seems like my judgment of him was off.” It’d be a problem if he judged someone on their appearance and underestimated them. He rubbed his chin. He hadn’t really cared about his safety after evolving to an archdemon. Maybe he was becoming a bit too arrogant; no, he had the right to be cocky. He didn’t believe he’d lose to the headmaster.

Raea poked his side. “What are you thinking about?”

“What is Pyre building?” Palan asked, ignoring Raea’s question. The trio turned their attention to the construct in the distance. The base was completed, but scaffolds continued to block their view. The top of the invention had a few skeletal structures sticking out of it, but the workers were nearly finished.

“It’s a B.F.G.,” Cory said, swooping in to the conversation from above. She plopped down beside Cleo, nudging the lizardman away from Raea and claiming the spot next to the angel. She made shooing motions at Cleo before sticking her tongue out.

“A B.F.G.?” Raea asked.

“That’s what I heard some of the dwarves call it,” Cory said. She preened her feathers while fending Cleo off with her feet before pressing her wings against her sides. “I don’t know what it stands for though. He did say it’ll be done by the time we breech the first sector.”

“Breech the first sector?” Palan asked. The wall ahead of them was getting larger, but the mountain of earth towered over it. The mountain was a combined effort of every halfling and enslaved angel with diligence. Adding on Mathias, Pyre had told them that the mountain wouldn’t have to stop for any breaks. Palan squinted at the base of the mountain. The centaurs who had been running ahead were now ascending the base instead, making sure to arrive past the cannon with the lowest position. “Doesn’t it make more sense to use the B.F.G. to break down the walls to the first sector?”

Cory tilted her head. “I think we’re just going to ram it?”

“Like with battering rams?” Cleo asked. Battering rams were common siege weapons the lizardmen used while warring against different tribes. Of course, the rams were just fallen trees carried by a dozen people, but still.

Cory sighed, her body deflating. “You should work on your intelligence, child,” the harpy said and pat Cleo’s head with her wing. Cleo blinked as her mouth dropped open. “We’re going to ram the wall with the mountain and establish a base in the first sector. Then we use the B.F.G. to break down the capital’s walls.”

“Why does she know more than you?” Cleo asked Palan and Raea. “Weren’t you the leaders?”

“A good leader knows when to delegate his tasks to his underlings,” Palan said. “Her achievements are my achievements. You can attribute everything she knows and does to me instead.”

“Why does it feel like I’m being robbed?” Cory asked and furrowed her brow. Cleo’s face paled as she slid away from the harpy and hid her hands.

“Because Palan’s an achievement thief,” Cleo said and nodded. “I’ve known him longer than you have.” She stuck her tongue out at the red harpy.

“Well, they care about me more,” Cory said and folded her wings across her chest. “Everyone knows harpies are superior to lizardmen.”

“Harpies are superior to everything, aren’t they?” Raea asked and rolled her eyes.

“See,” Cory said. “Even the harbinger acknowledges it.”

Before Cleo could say anything, a web of blue light encompassed the mountain. A voice seemed to be coming out of the light. It was Pyre’s. “Attention passengers. Brace yourselves for impact. Diligence people, full speed ahead!”

The mountain picked up speed, approaching the red wall. A few crossbow bolts and ballistae flew towards the rushing earth, but there was no effect. The angels on the walls abandoned their posts and fled, searching for anywhere that seemed like it’d survive the impact. Most of them chose to hide inside of the wall, praying it wouldn’t fall. Their prayers were unanswered. The mountain collided against the wall, stopped for a brief moment, and continued forward, pushing the wall back and into the ground.