I retreated quickly as the crazed Zaccai charged towards me. His domain crashed against mine like a tidal wave. The red glow of his eyes shined brighter with each passing moment. I did not have much time to react as Zaccai barreled towards me in an almost animalistic lunge. Not wanting to get caught by the psychotic man, I deactivated my domain’s ability to keep me afloat and plummeted towards the ground. I caught myself just before hitting the ground and flew as low and fast as I could.

A few arrows pinged off my domain as I fell. Soldiers of the Ciel army had already noticed my presence when Zaccai first confronted me. Arrows and glyphs were already flying in my direction. I had to escape their range as quickly as I could or the attacks would overwhelm my domain armor and leave me defenseless. Flying closer to the soldiers might have seemed counterintuitive at first glance but soaring just over their heads meant that only a few soldiers could attack me at a time rather than hundreds. Ranged attackers had to be careful not to hit their allies while trying to strike me down.

Zaccai chased after me with much less consideration for his actions. He slammed down to the ground like a cannonball. His domain forced several hundred soldiers to their knees, unintentionally making my flight even easier. If Zaccai had been in his right mind, he could have used the army in conjunction with his domain to force me into a dangerous situation. As things stood, however, he was as much of a threat to the Ciel army as I was.

Zaccai tore up the ground as he flew after me, creating a dust storm in his wake. Screams rang out as soldiers were thrown aside by the shockwave created in his passing. Military formations were disrupted, allowing the defenders at the mouth of the plateau an opportunity to push back. A cacophony of shouts rang out as force of Kala soldiers tore into the Ciel forces in a bloody rampage.

Unfortunately for me though, Zaccai's increase in strength granted by eating the corrupted seeds was also an increase in flying speed. In just a few seconds, Zaccai had already caught up. His fist was wrapped in bright red energy as he slammed it into my domain armor. I was sent crashing into the ground amidst the Ciel army. I rolled through troops like a bowling ball for several seconds before sliding to a stop.

“Well, I definitely have his attention,” I grunted as I picked myself up out of the dirt, “Begin stage three.”

The soldiers around me reacted quickly as they moved to surround me with spears in hand. I could sense three of the pseudo-domain warriors mixed among the squads. Zaccai floated overhead with a murderous gaze and radiating dangerous red energy.

I looked over at one of the nearby soldiers with a grin. “Would you like to see something cool?”

Before the unfortunate soldier could respond, I raised my left hand over my head. On my arm, what looked like a blue stone bracelet began to squirm and fell to the ground. The nearby soldier’s confusion turned to horror as a small snake began to grow to unfathomable size.

Naga awoke with a fierce roar as she instantly forced back all the soldiers that had gathered around me. Dozens of soldiers were crushed by the rapidly growing snake. Just her presence alone was able to clear a large swath of empty land in a circle where no common soldier could bother me. The pseudo-domain warriors moved to intercept the giant snake causing a massive battle to break out as Naga thrashed across the army.

Zaccai roared wildly. Spittle sprayed from his mouth. In just the few seconds since our fight began, his body was already starting to show the adverse effects of eating more than one corrupted seed. The muscles on just the right side of his body had bulged to a sickening degree while the left side of his body was now withered thinner than a stick but at the same time, elongating to reach down past his knees. The man showed no concern for his rapidly deteriorating body, though. All that existed in his eyes was his hatred of me.

Using the space cleared by Naga, I leapt backwards just barely dodging another of Zaccai’s wild charges. A large plume of dust rose into the air as he slammed head first into the ground.

I shook my head with a sigh as the wild beast of a man picked himself up from his self-created crater. “I feel like I over-prepared for this,” I mumbled to myself.

Overhead, a shadow blocked out what little light could be seen from the moon. Dragon’s nest had once again moved into position, not to fall down this time, but to make use of the space Naga had cleared for me.

A horde of undead leapt from the floating island onto the clearing below. Many landed on Zaccai directly, attempting to bite him through the protection of his domain. A wild and corrupted domain radiated from the man and attempted to suppress the undead but energy from my own domain flowed through them and allowed the undead to move normally for a time.

It was a strain on my rapidly diminishing energy to use my domain like this but the effect was worth it. Zaccai was forced to shift his attention from me to the small army of swords and spears chipping away at his domain. He wildly swung his oversized fist against one of the undead. The red energy radiating from his body practically vaporized the corpse as well as three other undead standing behind it but there were always more to take their place.

More figures appeared on Dragon’s nest overhead. They were not undead but members of my new immortal guard. Specifically, they were the innate talents of the Empress’s Cult. Glowing green eyes stood out among the darkness of the night as innate talents began to activate. More than three dozen innate talents bombarded Zaccai all at once. The grass under his feet turned into living daggers, the air turned toxic, and patches of his skin looked as if it was rotting from the inside out. No single talent was strong enough to completely debilitate Zaccai or even break through his domain but the combination of all of them at once was more than his corruption-addled mind was prepared for.

I also added my own talent to the mix, focusing blue flames into my throat. I did not use the flame to burn away at the man’s soul and bring him nightmares but instead tried to use the soothing effect of the flame. “Is this really what you want Zaccai, to become nothing more than a monster and slave of the Demons?”

The red energy surrounding Zaccai wavered erratically as the man clutched his head in agony. A small yellow light struggled underneath the red in one of his eyes. “I have no other choice!” Zaccai screamed as he pounded his fist against his head. “The Demons will kill us all. We will all become their slaves in the end. Only by killing you will they spare my people.”

“There is always a choice,” I replied as I used the blue flame to its limit. The red energy that surrounded Zaccai became more unstable, allowing more of the innate talents being used against the man to slip past the defenses of his domain. His body instantly became a sickly green color as he slumped down to his knees.

Tears slipped down the old man’s face as my talent took hold of Zaccai’s mind. “I never wanted this,” He whispered in torment, “I had all but forgotten about my desire for revenge… My empire flourished. My family prospered. I was happy… But I have seen what is coming! I cannot run from it. You cannot fight it. We will all be consumed until nothing remains! Only by siding with the Demons can we survive. You must understand.”

“I understand,” I said as I closed my eyes, “You were scared. That does not excuse your actions. Traitors cannot be forgiven.”

A lash of golden flames whipped out from my hand and wrapped around Zaccai. The unstable red energy began to sizzle as the two forces came into contact. The corruptive force was eaten away by the golden flame little by little as the lash tightened.

Facing death, what little humanity Zaccai had managed to regain began to fade. He started roaring like a wild beast again as he burst free of the bindings holding him. He charged forwards madly. His one giant mutated arm reached for my throat.

I looked into Zaccai’s eyes as he approached. Despite once again losing his reason, tears still flowed freely down his face. I did not move away from his attack but instead stepped forwards.

Zaccai’s hand tightened around my neck as my own hand gently reached up and touched his chest. Monstrous strength gifted by the corrupted seed cracked my domain armor and I felt my airway close off. Golden fire appeared underneath my own fingertips and exploded a hole into the man’s chest.

Even weakened by three dozen talents and a hole in his chest, Zaccai still had the strength to kill me at this moment if he wanted to. I could feel the strength in his fingers as my chest screamed for air. Our eyes met and I could see the bloodlust in his gaze but beneath that, I saw something else. It was the reason I did not dodge his grip or enact one of my other plans to end this fight. In his eyes, I saw pain.

Zaccai’s grip loosened as the red began to fade from his eyes. Blood dribbled from his mouth and his breathing became ragged. “Do you really believe… you can fight them?”

“Perhaps not,” I replied as I laid the dying man down on the ground, “But I will never stop trying.”

“I wish… I could have been that brave.”

Zaccai coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell still as the light faded from his eyes.

“You might still have that chance,” I said as I manipulated the golden fire still burning at the hole in the man’s chest. “You are too valuable to simply rot in the ground.”

I motioned to one of the nearby undead to take the body as the golden fire began to work its magic and turned my attention to the rest of the battlefield. Naga was tough and her thick hide made it difficult for normal soldiers to hurt her but not all the soldiers present were normal. The pseudo-domain warriors were thrashing the poor snake around as glyphs pelted her scales.

I could hear more screams in the distance as the true force of stage three cut a path of blood towards the command tent. I had slain the general of the Ciel army. Now, all we needed to do was capture the remaining officers and tacticians that might attempt to take up his crusade and the entire army would crumble.

I was prepared to move, support Naga, and enact stage four of my plan when a voice echoed up from overhead.

“You have caused a real mess of things here. Berith will not be pleased.”

I turned to the source of the voice to see a Demon standing in the sky above me. I felt a nervous sweat run down my back as I recognized Seir, the teleporter Demon. His gaze locked with mine as a twisted grin spread across his face.

“I think we have allowed you to run free for far too long, Aurielle.”