Familiar faces sat around the remains of the broken camp, but far fewer faces than the first time the coalition had come together. Nearly half of the generals and representatives were gone. They had either fled with whatever remained of their forces or died facing the Demonkin. It was a somber sight as we gathered at what had once been the command center of the defensive fortifications. Without even a proper tent to meet in, we had simply gathered around a large boulder that acted as a crude table.

It was not just the commanders that were gone, almost all of the domain warriors we had left behind to protect the allied forces were either dead or severely injured. We may have succeeded in taking out Berith but it came at a high price.

However, with every dark cloud, there was a silver lining. Pushed past their limits by the onslaught of the Demonkin, several men and women had distinguished themselves from the masses with their actions. New leaders rose to fill the void left behind and heroes were born. There were even two that when faced with their own eminent death had actually broken through and awakened a domain of their own. One of these two was surprisingly General Arthur. The man had proven himself a true leader of the coalition in my absence. It was no longer a collection of loose sand grudgingly following an elected leader but rather a single unified army under the command of a capable general.

Seeing the mixed emotions brought by our pyrrhic victory, I addressed the leaders of the coalition. I decided to hold nothing back as I spoke. “Three of Envy’s seven generals are now dead. Berith’s death is an accomplishment everyone should feel proud of. In two hundred years, the Thirteen Divisions was never able to accomplish what everyone here has today. This marks a turning point in the war. Without Berith’s predictions, we will be able to act without fear of our enemy knowing our every move before we make it.” I paused as I looked at the proud faces of the warriors that had gathered. “However, our fight for survival is only just beginning. I will not hide the truth. That giant Demonkin that tore through your ranks is an offspring of the Leviathan, one of two I have already seen in the past couple days. If Envy is bringing them out this early in the war and not keeping them by his side, I expect he has at least several dozen of them under his command. You have all experienced this creature’s strength for yourself. Each one is born an Alpha and nearly as strong as the Demons we have faced. Worst of all, we suspect the Leviathan itself is under Envy’s control.”

Faces paled as those that understood the weight of my words came to terms with what I had just said. Several of the commanders, however, just looked around confused. “What is the Leviathan? How can its offspring be so powerful?” one of the men asked.

I hesitated slightly, wondering how much I should tell them. It was only when Dom cleared his throat that I decided to tell everything. “In the official records of the Thirteen Divisions, we have a list that keeps track of the most dangerous Demonkin we have encountered. The Leviathan ranks number six on that list. The threat it represents is no less than Envy himself after copying countless innate talents and abilities. Its size alone can match that of small kingdoms. If it simply lands on the ground it is worse than any natural disaster. The Leviathan is a monster that is quite literally capable of eating planets.”

“How… how do we fight something like that?” one of the generals muttered in disbelief.

“We don’t,” I replied simply, “If the Leviathan enters this realm, we will have lost. Even if we somehow managed to kill the creature, the destruction left in its wake would leave the entire continent uninhabitable.”

More faces started to pale now as everyone understood how serious the Leviathan truly was. “Is there really no hope? Are we all destined to die?”

“All is not lost yet,” I said firmly, “We do have a chance. The Leviathan’s size and power also means it is incredibly difficult for the creature to travel between realms. Even the most stable of portals will fall apart as it passes through. This leaves us a glimmer of hope. If we can gather our full force at the rift when it opens, we only have to push back the Leviathan until the door between our realms collapses.”

General Arthur rubbed his chin thoughtfully before speaking. “Ye know that would mean facin’ the full might of Envy and his forces as he enters our realm. We will have to hold the breach at any cost. He will not just sit there and watch us stop his most powerful weapon. Are ye prepared to face him on the open field without any tricks?”

I shook my head. “Not even at my best, but I know a way to control where the portal will open. If we can choose the battlefield, it will give us a great advantage but first, we need a location that can withstand the full might of Envy’s assault. We need to retake Ater-Albus.”

“It would be best if we can get rid of the remainin’ Demons as well,” General Arthur said in agreement, “I don’t want to get hit from behind durin’ our most important battle. Tell me about the city’s defenses. I am sure that our united forces can find a way to retake the city.”

I explained to General Arthur everything we faced beyond the blood mist in detail. Dom was right. Even just talking through the problems, we came up with a great many ideas to limit the city’s defenses. Some of the ideas were a bit lackluster but having access to an entire army gave us several options that had been impossible to me when we attacked in a small group. Our discussion lasted late into the evening and by the time we were all in agreement, I had little doubt we would be able to retake the city.

The only downside was waiting for the army. They took several grievous losses in the last battle. Countless men and women had been lost and the entire command needed to be restructured before a march into the blood mist. General Arthur asked me to give them five days to resupply and treat the wounded before our expedition. I knew how important it was not to push an army past its limits and agreed. All I wanted was to rush into the city so that I could save Lucia and my mom but I understood what was at stake. A reckless charge would not help anyone.

As the sun started to set, I found myself wandering through the remains of the military encampment. Much had been lost during Berith’s assault. Almost none of the fortifications remained and countless lives had been snuffed out. The Demonkin that had served under Berith had almost all been cut down in the confusion of her forced commands and only a tiny percentage had fled back into the blood mist to rejoin those just beyond our sight. This left the entire plateau covered in a sea of corpses and dried blood. It was so bad that rather than rebuild the old defenses most of the army was forced to camp further back to avoid the diseases that came along with countless dead bodies.

Soldiers moved slowly as they combed the battlefield for the corpses of their friends and comrades. There were more than a few times I saw grown men crying as they held the body of someone they cared for. Even after the countless years of war I had experienced, this was always the hardest sight.

The most industrious of the soldiers were those belonging to the Church of the Realms. Never ones to miss out on making a profit, their men had begun skinning Demonkin of their hides to make armor and draining them of their blood to make glyphs. Claws and fangs were plucked free to make spears and arrows. Even tendons and bones were used to make bowstrings and weapon hilts. There was not a single piece of the body that did not get put to use when the Fourth Division got involved. This type of work was their specialty and even raising the Demonkin as undead might not have as much effect in war as all they could do with the corpses.

As I wandered through the battlefield, I soon saw the flag of my Immortal Guard. I could not help but feel a little guilty about how little I had done for the new soldiers that pledged their loyalty to me. The men, Kadmos and Luther, had taken command of the force in my absence and from what I heard, they led them valiantly alongside General Arthur when the battle was at its bleakest moment.

Rows of corpses lined the ground in front of the small camp. More than half of those that had pledged themselves to my guard were dead. Those that remained sat on the dirt ground, dejectedly. Most being rookies, it was likely that man had also deserted the guard after seeing their losses. Now, only a few dozen remained, and yet, when I approached, they all hopped to their feet and saluted excitedly.

Steel Skin Luther stood at the forefront of the group. There was not a single inch of his skin that was not covered in bandages. From head to toe, the man looked like a mummy. From the blood seeping through the cloth, it was clear the bandages were not just there for comedic effect either. The man was likely seriously injured in the previous fight. He moved slowly as he stood but saluted my approach without complaint.

“I heard how well you did in the battle. General Arthur told me that without your unit defending his flank, he would have died several times over. Your father would truly be proud of you if he could see you now, Luther.”

The man rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he spoke. “I would hardly consider this an achievement. A good commander would have been able to protect the general as well as his own men. There are not many of us left now. We gathered the bodies of our comrades so that we can continue to serve you in death but I don’t think we have the numbers to continue acting as a separate unit.”

“Nonsense,” I replied with a dismissive wave of my hand, “I never had the intention of bringing any of you back as simple undead. I named you my Immortal Guard, and I meant it. All those that die in my service will be brought back, not just as undead but as true living and breathing beings.”

“You… You can do that?” Luther asked in disbelief.

“I can and I will,” I replied firmly as I walked up to the first of the corpses on the ground. A glyph formed in my hand and created a minuscule wisp of golden flame. I directed the golden spark into the body of the man lying in front of me and I felt it take root deep in his chest. Having done this quite a few times now, the process was much easier than before. I moved through the soldiers one by one and repeated the process for each of them. By the time the army was ready to march, nearly a hundred soldiers would be reborn into a true Immortal Guard.