Casey was about to warn Cahaya of the two demonic figures streaking across the early evening sky, but before he could get a sound out, she buried him in the back of another attacker. He had no choice but to...

Cleave!

-20 SP.

Dammit. The woman pried him out of the fallen demon, who was quickly turning into dust. “Cahaya! Hold on a moment! The demon’s, they’re...”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. His wielder had let go of him, and he fell to the dusty ground. Another demon had latched on to Cahaya’s back, a muscular arm wrapped around her slender neck. She made gasping sounds as she clawed at the beast's flesh, but she found no purchase. A pink, forked tongue emerged from the rotting teeth that lined its maw like jagged rocks jutting from a putrid ocean. The slimey tongue probed into Cahaya’s ear.

Cahaya let her hands drop to her sides, and at first Casey thought she had passed out. Then, she started to pulse with white light. Casey glanced at her hands--both of which contorted into the shape of her sevel. An instant later, and she erupted into a miniature supernova, vaporizing the demon instantly. Cahaya fell to her knees.

Casey’s instinct was to rush over to her, tend to her, but he was powerless. It quickly became apparent, however, that she had no need of his services. Instead, it was her that rushed to him after spying him lying in the dirt.

She knelt next to him and picked him up, resting his blade on her knee. “Casey! Are you hurt?” Her face expressed actual worry, which surprised him. He had seen nothing on her features save for happiness and indifference in the short time he had known the woman. Then, it dawned on him that she had actually used his name.

“I’m okay. what about you?”

She ran a hand down his shaft, checking for injuries. Feel free to keep on checking.

“I am not hurt.” She stood up, Casey once again held in one hand by her side. She scanned the battlefield, looking for a target, but the battle was thinning and none presented itself.

“Cahaya! Listen! Those two, big, hovering demons just headed for the camp. For my friend!”

She pivoted and looked to the north, and picked out the rapidly dwindling forms of the two flying monstrosities. Recognition of the situation dawned in her eyes.

She turned to the nearest group of her sisters--the ones holding the sevel shield, and emitted a ululating cry. The women turned to face them, and Cahaya pointed at the quickly-shrinking figures, The trio nodded, dropping the shield they maintained and finishing off the one remaining demon that was still pestering them with a quick spear thrust.

"We have to get Merah, too," Casey said.

Cahaya scowled. She seemed about to protest, but stole one last glance to the north before turning to pick the Ibu leader out on the battlefield. The demon ground troops were severely thin now, and she spotted her at the southern end of the skirmish.

They picked their way across the battlefield, cleaving two more demons in the process. Both demon bodies decayed into the black, sand-like dust that was already ankle deep in some places. The Ibu leader, still mounted, launched her last remaining spear at a charging demon, skewering it in the eye socket. Seeing no other in her vicinity, she leapt down from her horse, put a boot on the rapidly-decomposing head, and wrenched her spear free. "The Goddess only knows where my other spear went to."

She stuck the point in the dirt and rested her hands on the butt as she regarded Cahaya. "I saw you fight, you and your axe friend. Impressive."

Cahaya ignored the compliment, instead just staring at the Ibu leader with no discernible expression.

Guess it's on me. "Merah. The two large demons are heading toward the camp. Toward Jamen."

Merah's head whipped to the north so fast Casey swore he heard it. The two beasts were mere specks now; they had to be over the camp, he was certain.

"Ibu!" Merah shouted as she jumped on her horse and reined it around. "On me! To the camp!"

Tua was the closest of the Ibu, a few meters to the east. On hearing her leader's cry, she grabbed the horn from her back, put it to her lips, and sent three quick bursts of sound over the battlefield. She galloped north after Merah, repeating the call after a few seconds. Soon, every Ibu and Tante on the battlefield were sprinting north.

A handful of demons, all that remained--perhaps twenty, pursued them, but their stumpy legs and wings were no match for the speed of the horses, or even the Tante.

The Ibu and Tante reached the village just as the two greater demons did, hurling spears airborne without breaking their stride. All the projectiles fell short--the demons were just too high. The archers dismounted and nocked arrows, sending volley after volley at the two beasts, but they might as well have been spit wads.

The demons didn't attack. Nobody on the ground was quite sure what to make of this, and shuffled aimlessly around the camp, looking skyward. Merah, however, charged directly at the center of camp, towards Jamen.

The demons circled each other lazily, high overhead, trailing tendrils of dark energy that merged together in a shape that reminded Casey of the hurricane symbol used in weather broadcasts back home. Where the eye should be, a pinpoint of purple took shape, so dark it was nearly invisible against the night sky.

"What are they doing?" Casey asked.

Cahaya's voice was quiet. "I do not know."

The spot of dark energy expanded, and the swirling center sank downward, narrowing to a point. As it did, the wind picked up around them, bringing with it the stench of sulfur. The finger thin point at the base plummeted to the earth, and the destruction began.

There was no defense against it. The Ibu continued shooting their arrows skyward at the circling hellspawn, but any that did find their mark were little more than an annoyance.

There was little to do but run from the now fully-formed tornado of dark, crackling energy, as it rampaged through the camp, tearing up tents and sending people and animals sprawling. Debris became projectiles as the vortex launched them in indiscriminate directions. Casey saw women from both tribes lying on the ground, impaled and bleeding, and it sickened him that there was nothing he could do for them.

But maybe Jamen can.

He had no way of knowing if the cleric’s spells would work on the people of this world, but he needed to get to his friend.

A tent stake hurled itself toward Cahaya, and Casey swung up to deflect it, much to the woman’s surprise.

-35 HP.

Damn. “We need to get to Jamen!” He willed her legs to run with the same method he used to get her to swing the axe, but he didn’t need to. She was already picking her way past debris, mangled canvas, and fallen warriors. Through the maelstrom, he saw Merah and Tua ahead of them, obviously with the same goal.

He’s my friend, but he’s their savior.

They got to the tent, still guarded by Susu and Darmi, as the now-enormous tornado grew closer, mere meters away. There was no pointed base anymore, rather, the part that scoured the ground was now as wide as the tent it targeted. It yanked at the lines and stakes that secured it to the ground, and seconds later, the canvas was ripped off the earth like a band-aid.

Merah and Tua dismounted, and their horses bolted away in a panic. Susu and Darmi rushed toward Jamen, who was trying to slide under the mattress.

One second, Darmi was there, her hands just inches from Jamen’s leg.

The next second, she was gone.

Susu remained focused on her target, stumbling forward, collapsing on Jamen and pinning him to the ground. Merah and Tua piled on them as well, for no other reason than to make a heavier target for the tornado to scoop up.

The wind raged, impossibly loud. Cahaya wasn’t scared, from looking at her, but she looked...

Helpless.

Then, more suddenly than it had begun, the tornado vanished. A few stray bits of canvas and refuse swirled around idly before coming to rest on the ruined ground. Cries of pain came from all directions.

The pile that had formed on Jamen shifted, and he sat up between the three women, looking dazed.

“Jamen, you okay?” Casey yelled. He didn’t need to.

“Yeah, just shaken.” The cleric got to his feet, followed by his three guards, who formed a rough triangle around him, Merah and Tua wielding salvaged spears. Susu looked up at the sky.

“Darmi! Darmi!”

The only response came from far above them. A haze of smoke now hung over the camp from a number of fires that had been set when torch met canvas. Two demonic, guttural roars answered the woman.

Then, a woman’s voice called from the south. “Cahaya! Daughter!”

Cahaya cupped her free hand to her mouth. “Mother! I am here!”

The figure of Wehweh appeared through the haze and debris, flanked by Daun and one of the women Casey remembered from their... session... in the cave. An expression of relief came over the matriarch’s face when she saw her daughter, but Casey had a suspicion that some of that relief was meant for him.

She approached her daughter, then turned so the Ibu could hear her as well. “The remaining demons approach. Be vigilant.”

Merah squinted at the haze that hung overhead. “It is not those accursed imps I am worried about.”

As if they had been waiting for their cue, the two greater demons plummeted through the smoke, each landing simultaneously to either side of them.

Tua blew her horn, one blast, then two... one blast, then two, then tossed it to the ground and drew her sword. The three Tante women summoned their sevel, and Cahaya followed their lead. A gauzy white dome of sparkling energy formed over the footprint of what was the tent. “Stay within this if you can,” Wehweh shouted.

Cahaya held Casey at the ready, turning left and right to see which way the attack was coming from. The demons, each nearly three times the height of anyone in their group, circled the dome, coming closer, but not making contact with it.

One of them laughed, then spoke with a voice like melting granite. “Your petty protections are useless against our numbers, you know this.” It pointed a crooked, clawed finger at Jamen. “It is him we want. The white-robed one. Give him to us, or all will die here.”

More women, Ibu and Tante alike, began entering the protective dome. The arriving Tante summoned their energies, adding them to the sphere. If this was everyone, Casey guessed their number to be less than a third of what it was.

“You will die here, Demon!” Merah spat.

Movement caught Casey’s eye. Jamen was walking among the women, laying glowing hands on them and muttering something under his breath.. A wound across the chest of one of the red-headed women closed up.

Well, I guess his Heal works here.

“Save some of your MP,” Casey called to his friend.

“Already ahead of you,” Jamen replied. “Still no idea how I can replenish it, aside from meditation.” He glanced at a circling demon. “Don’t think that’s going to cut it at the moment.”

The demons continued their circuit, biding their time. Casey could feel his non-existent heart thumping. This isn’t a game anymore. He glanced at Cahaya’s face, expressionless, yet still beautiful. The stakes are real. Aren’t they? He thought for a moment to his real body, lying in a hospital bed in Portland. They’re real enough. He glanced at one demon, then the other. What are they waiting for?

His answer came from the south. The foot soldiers had arrived. A demon, with a high-pitched yowl in his throat, threw himself at the dome. He instantly deteriorated into a cloud of black dust, which passed through the energy field and drifted onto the remains of the bed. The dome flickered, but held.

More demons, the remnants of the battle from before, followed the kamikaze tactics of their deceased kin, one and two at a time, to similar effect.

The dome was noticeably weakening now, and as the assault continued, the two greater demons stopped their circling. As one, they extended gnarled fists toward the dome, projecting bolts of oily dark energy at their protective field.

The Tante women struggled, some of them going to their knees with the effort of maintaining the force field. Cahaya went to one knee, using Casey, blade end to the ground, as a crutch while her right hand maintained the glowing sigil. She was visibly shaking, and Casey could hear her grinding her teeth.

One last stumpy demon threw himself at the barrier, and with a sputtering fizzle, it collapsed. Cahaya fell backward onto her rear as her sevel failed her, which was fortuitous. Unimpeded by the dome, the narrow beams of dark energy sliced through the camp, missing Cahaya by inches. One caught an Ibu in the chest, and the woman convulsed as she went down in a heap.

Then, the beams winked out, and the gargantuan demonspawn charged.

Cahaya leapt to her feet, rushing toward the nearest demon. The beast had an Ibu on one arm, slashing and stabbing with her sword, and a Tante at the other, who was attempting to get at the thing’s face with her spear. Both were achieving minimal damage, but it did distract the beast.

Casey kept his voice low enough so that only Cahaya would hear. “Circle around, we’ll go for the wings.”

The woman did as instructed, and Casey sighed. From behind, Casey observed that his targets, the base of the beast’s wings, were at least twice as high as Cahaya was tall. In previous battles, Casey cleaved what he focused on, and Cahaya had pretty much just hung on for dear life while he did, but as far as he could tell they still had to obey the laws of gravity.

A scream brought him out of his thoughts as the demon in front of him brought a clawed foot down on an unsuspecting Tante woman.

“We need to get at his wings!” Casey hissed to Cahaya.

She glanced to her left, where Daun was rushing at one of the demon’s legs, her spear raised. A quick whistle from Cahaya caused her to change course.

“Fly me,” Cahaya instructed, gesturing to the back of the demon with her chin. The cumbersome beast was still distracted by the attacking women, but was slowly circling around.

Daun nodded, and went into a crouch. Cahaya, with Casey held at her side, took five steps back, then sprinted toward her friend. She leapt to Daun’s shoulders, who stood as she did so, catapulting Cahaya toward the back of the beast’s head in a high arc. As they began to descend, Casey found his mark.

Cleave!

-20 SP.

His sharp blade cut deep into cartilage and flesh, and a useless, purple-grey wing fluttered to the ground like cardboard in a windstorm. The beast shrieked, spinning around quicker than Casey thought it should have been able to, sending Ibu and Tante flying. When it saw its attacker, it balled a fist, and sent a beam of the putrid energy toward them.

Cahaya was much too quick to be taken by an attack like that, and had already launched towards the beast’s legs in a roll.

Cleave!

Cleave!

-20 SP

-20 SP

Cahaya swung twice at the demon’s ankle, as if trying to fell a giant, stinking tree, but despite a true aim and Casey’s magical assistance, the attacks barely drew blood. The beast snarled down at them, raising a clawed, wart-covered foot to stomp them. Seeing an opening, Cahaya dove into a roll between the hellspawn’s legs, regaining her feet just behind him. During the roll, Casey had spotted a weak point. Low hanging fruit.

Cleave!

-20 SP

Casey rocketed upwards in an arc, taking the surprised Tante woman with him. Cahaya’s getting good at holding on. His blade sunk into the leathery skin of the demon’s testicles, splitting the sac in two. To Casey, it still felt as if he were using his own balls as a weapon, as odd as that sounded, but his scrote was forged of the purest titanium.

A rain of black, tar-like blood rained down on them, followed by a watermelon-sized black orb, which hit the ground at their feet with a sickening squelch. Cahaya darted out of the way just in time to avoid getting flattened by the enormous, shrieking demon collapsing to its knees.

More of their number were now focusing on the target, and multiple spears sunk into its flesh. Daun leapt at the face of the wailing creature, embedding her spear in an eyeball. As eye-juice dripped down its face, Cahaya ran at it, and Casey went for the throat, cleaving multiple times. His blade tore across sinew and flesh, turning the pained howling into a blood-spitting gurgle. Then, the demon fell face-first, and was still.

One down.

A voice sounded. Casey was unsure as to whether it was audible, or just in his head, but something told him it was the latter. It was a familiar voice, sultry, yet condescending.

"Congratulations, you've reached level two. For all the good it will do you. I really expected more from you. From both of you." Indah. The woman from the tree.

"Wait!" Casey blurted. "Where do we go from here? How..."

"Check your stat sheet for more information. That's why I gave them to you, ya know."

Then, the voice was gone. "Hello? Hello?"

"Hello?" said Cahaya, looking at him as if he had lost it. Hey, you're the one talking to a dick-handled battle axe, not me.

"Nevermind," said Casey. "Just... nevermind."

Casey had a moment to take stock of the situation. Injured women lay strewn about the encampment, at least a couple of them not moving at all, from what Casey could see. The remaining demon was about fifty meters away, knocking women out of his path, heading directly towards Jamen. The cleric wasn’t paying attention--he was bent over a black-haired women, laying golden, glowing hands on her thigh. A thick gash in the flesh was refusing to close, despite Jamen’s best efforts. As the got nearer, Casey recognized the woman. It was Wehweh.

“Mother!” Cahaya dropped Casey onto the blood-soaked dirt and knelt next to her mother across from Jamen. She took the woman’s head in her hands, and closed her eyes. Wehweh looked up at her daughter, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

Cahaya’s hands started to glow, not with the white of her sevel, but a deep, blood-red. They pulsed in time with a heartbeat, but Casey couldn’t tell if it was mother’s or daughter’s.

He glanced at the second demon, which had landed and was now barreling towards them. He started to shout a warning, but twin red-headed streaks launched toward the beast, one high and one low. As the figures landed, Casey breathed a sigh of relief. Merah and Tua. Good. Keep that bastard busy.

Cahaya gasped, then opened tear-filled eyes. She looked down at her mother, who coughed once, then uttered two words to her daughter. “Protect him.” Wehweh’s head went slack and rolled to one side. Cahaya looked to a defeated Jamen.

“I’m sorry. I did what I could.”

Cahaya closed her mother’s eyes, then set her head gently on the ground. She rose, bellowed a misery-filled challenge, then sprinted at the remaining demon, weaponless.

Casey wasn’t sure what happened next. He watched silently from the dirt as the girl streaked toward her target. The demon leapt high into the air with one flap of its wings, then curled into a ball. Then, with a woomph, everything went black.

For Casey, not being able to move and not being able to see was utterly terrifying. “Jamen! Jamen, can you hear me?”

“I hear you, Spoony! But I can’t see shit. Don’t move, keep talking, and I’ll find you.”

Casey sniffed. “Yeah, I won’t move. Don’t worry about that. Just follow my voice. I’m over here.”

He waited.

“Jamen? Jamen, where’d you go?”

Then, a shape. More shapes. His vision was returning.

He launched his point of view skyward as high as it would go, and what he saw rocked him.

The camp was in utter ruins. He counted a grand total of eighteen women standing, half from the Ibu and half from the Tante. There were a lot of injured, and probably more than a few dead. Jamen was nowhere to be seen.

All of the women looked to the south, where a nearly-full moon was just rising over the horizon. Silhouetted against the bright orb, Casey made out the figure of a demon, carrying a prone form beneath it.

Jamen.