A storm, wild winds howling and their echoes roared throughout the mountain fortress. Dark clouds surrounded the area and red lighting kept striking the two hundred pillars.

“Count, they are here… With elven reinforcements coming soon.”

“The elves are no problem, the Nephilims played too much with their existence, they are too weak.”

“You might already know, but the ones attacking are not the Nephilims.”

“I know, if Vesper were to lead them… My head might have been rolling already. It matters not who they are, this is my home and they will not leave this place alive.”

He rose from his throne, Severo threw a quick glance around.

“Ah, I want to see what we are dealing with.”

He proceeded towards the exit. As he opened the gates, he could see at the bottom of the mountain a great army.

“Numbers alone won’t save you puny humans. I gave my life away, I gave too much lives away to let it all end here. Dealer… Open the pits, let the demons out, I will instruct the guards to send the people and the goods to a safe place.”

“Hah, might as well. I’ll summon one of my friends as well, the Balrog king shall aid you.”

At the bottom of the mountain the Acolytes set up ballistae and siege towers. The purifier regiment was charging up their powers. Five hound squads were ready to go in at any given moment.

“Kana, take a hound squad and be ready. When I give the order, the siege will commence. One of the ballistae will shoot bolts deep into the walls to make a stair for you. Make sure you are unseen. Do not enter through the main gates as you go up, the gargoyles are some powerful golems, we will take them down as we advance.”

“Understood commander.”

She met up with one of the hound squads and prepared her weapons.

“Purifiers, is everything charged up?”

“Yes commander.”

“FIRE!”

As the commander gave their order the soldiers began the assault. The knights advanced towards the city with the shields up. The siege towers stared moving along with them. The purifiers released their energy into giant fireballs and bombed the city. Half of them walked slowly behind the knights.

The ballistae stared shooting the walls down. As soon as a few bolts were shot properly Kana’s squad moved first followed by the rest of the hounds.

The gargoyles at the entrance began to move. The giant statues were as big as the siege towers and moved toward the enemy army.

Demons on the walls began shooting arrows and blood nails towards them.

The knights were equipped with special armor and shields thus the nails were ineffective, but arrows still hit some of their weak spots.

A squad of hounds came from Kana’s side and climbed up the Gargoyles. They chipped one slowly, cutting its limbs. One of them fell, but the other one was further ahead.

It crushed hundreds of soldiers under his feet, and killed just as much with its claws. The blood dripping from his eyes fell on others and burned them alive.

The hounds quickly headed towards the other giant.

Kana and her squad quickly moved over the tower inside the city. Some demons observed them and followed. They moved fast towards the second level of the fortress. It was a second wall with the same gargoyles guarding it.

They went upon a taller building. Kana took out her spyglass and checked the rest of the levels as well.

“There are about… twenty-six levels. All the entrances guarded by those damned golems. Fourth squad, I want one of you to go and ask for reinforcements from the north ward. They are the closest and have most of the manpower. It would take too long for the south to come.”

One of the hounds nodded and followed her orders.

“Alright all we can do for now is destroy the supplies on this level. I saw multiple pits from where demons keep emerging, we will tear them apart. Second and third squad clear the walls. The first and fourth will help me stop their reinforcements.”

Everyone moved on. The two squads on the walls quickly got to work. They cut through the demons with ease. Some of them had enough lifeforce to get back together and keep fighting, but were quickly sliced back.

“I see these monsters are as annoying as they used to. They kill demons like it’s nothing, their armor can’t be even scratched. Dealer, we might be in trouble if they will keep pressing us.”

“Rest assured count, even if they reach this level you are more than enough to end them all. In the worst case you will give me your soul to deal with them.”

“I gave you my life, not my soul… That you will never have, it belongs to my love and only to her.”

“Then I hope you are prepared to see her in the afterlife, oh wait… Even if her soul will pass on someday, you will rot in hell with the rest of us. Isn’t that sweet.”

The sound of explosions echoed through the city. Rushing to the first wall hordes of demons kept emerging from their pits. Suddenly they stopped.

“What is this… What the actual fuck is happening AGAIN!”

“Shut up Cyrillus. The damn blood elves sold us, if only I could use my powers.”

“With all due respects Empress, no, Aurelie as you are just a slave like me right now, maybe we can escape! Let’s try to work together, find Roisin and get out of here.”

“How do you even plan to do that?”

“I stole the key, for the cage and for your handcuffs.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier you blockhead.”

A giant explosion razed half of the building and part of their cage. They looked once more at the open space with big eyes. The city was under siege. Demons were burned and pits destroyed. Someone came towards them.

“Here we were wondering where the empress could have fled. The tainted kind seems to have lost you.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means, we are your allies now. Sergeant, please escort Aurelie outside the city.”

“What about me, come on Aurelie!”

“I don’t know this man.”

“WHY!?!?!”

“Understood, take him as well. Before that, do you know where they keep the other slaves?”

“Uhm, what is your name again masked lady?”

“I’m called Kana.”

“Alright Kana, I am Cyrillus and we have no fucking idea.”

“I would like you to watch your tongue. Reinforcements will arrive in about a month, you can get back with the injured once they come. Alright hounds we move onwards, take some smoke bombs to signal the purifiers we might just get rid easier of those golems… What is that?!”

The battle stopped for a moment. A dark howl froze everyone in place.

♦ ♦ ♦

“Kojirou… What is the meaning of this?”

Tarex was shackled on his knees in front of Kojirou, Tanith and Nephogram.

“Ah the almighty Tarex, I haven’t seen you in quite a while… Rest assured your brother is safe…Hihihih.”

“Ah dear, dear Tarex I wonder how you will proceed now. You won’t. Kojirou please cut his head off.”

He moved towards the king and unsheathed his sword.

“It came to this… My dear, dear Kojirou, make it fast.”

“There is nothing else you want to say? You don’t feel betrayed!? You don’t want to kill me?! I WILL… kill you…”

“I know that very well, as well as your reason. Stop trembling and hold your sword thight.”

“Then… Is this the end for you?”

“Release me from my misery… If it’s by your hand. I will gladly accept it.”

Kojirou held back for a moment. He did hesitate, he was unsure of what to do. The person in front of him was kind enough to forgive him just like that… He grasped his sword with two hands and cut the kings head off.

“I guess that is the end of that.”

“Indeed Nephogram that is the end of him. You held your end of the bargain.”

“Now you two must do what I asked you to.”

For a second everyone froze in place. The headless body got up. It grasped the helmet and showed it was empty.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…. It is indeed my end in this era. You forgot I’m cursed haven’t you.”

He turned his back at them and looked to the horizon. He could see his city, his home as he once did. He could finally see what he actually wanted.

“You know Kojirou, even now I will consider you my friend… I am not a judge… My mind was corrupted by that miserable demon next to you since I was very young. I never managed to gather my thoughts. I never managed to talk about some things.”

He held the helmet, like it was his heart, it was one of the most precious things he had left. Slowly he sat down with the helmet on his legs.

“I can see fields of grain…. That golden color… A light so beautiful, yet so far away… I can see the past, the creation… I can see my father… my mother…my siblings I can finally see them… Of course I can’t, After all I am not allowed to be happy… Kojirou… We will not meet for a very long time, but do me a favor. If the white coffin ever opens, take care of them will you? Be kind to them… Show them a modest life. It was something I always wanted to give them, yet I never could. My end is here for the next hundred years, maybe a thousand, millenia? I…”

He stopped moving. A black mass of energy started to emerge from him. It was a howl that pierced the skies, a howl that echoed through the world.

Everyone was silent, Kojirou didn’t know what to do about everything he heard. He will keep his promise, the least he could do after his betrayal.

Nephogram knew his hold on Tarex would never last forever and what was to come would be much worse than he could think.

As for Tanith, it wasn’t the first time she saw Tarex being killed in such a manner, but this time it was the first time she felt something odd about it.

“Keep your promise, don’t make me regret my decision.”

“Of course, Kojirou, you will have your revenge and take back the East. Wasn’t that our deal? Ah poor Tarex, I will await you, this book of sorrow I wrote for you, it won’t end soon. You can take a break for now, but I will not stop… YOU SIMPLY BRING ME TOO MUCH JOY!”

“Nephogram, everything falls in place. Just as you said.”

“Ah the expedition to end Jackal, Cory joined the Acolytes and destroyed every last raider. Your children invaded the West and put an end to the order… Sanguinem Lapis, the city will not fall, for there are no more reinforcements for them. The elves are under my thumb and sold all the humans they captured to the demons. All that is left is the East and Kojirou will end them all as well. Let us march towards them.”

“The humans will fall and the monsters can finally take over, our time has finally come to be the rulers.”

That was their plan, but they underestimated the humans. The expedition sent after jackal turned into an alliance and Cory indeed joined them. Their forces united and returned in the West and exterminated every single monster with the order remaining intact. Sanguinem lapis did not fall, but the soldiers managed to return safe and seal the damned city back.

With the return of Aurelie the Acolytes agreed they were in the wrong, but she did not execute any of them, not only that but she took advantage of the new troops and went towards Sillacet. With heavy casualties she managed to secure it… Only the East fell down into chaos, most of the people were killed and their emperor ended up at the mercy of Kojirou.

“Yes, it seems this is the end of the second chapter. Kojirou, sing here.”

As he signed in the book his flesh started to melt and his armor turned black. Only his skeleton remained covered in blue fire. He was still alive, but this was the price he paid for the help of Nephogram and Tanith.

“Where are you going now dear Kojirou?”

“Don’t say it like that, also I have a promise to keep… Your plans will fail Nep, so will you.”