Chapter 10: Battle of the Isles

The sundered city of Andromeda. Sunset

They hit the floor, wetly exploding like sacks of slaughtered pigs.

Like the humans she feasted on back home.

Riful withdrew her ribbons from the corpse of a dead Dragon. She glanced coldly at Pazuzu, who had lurched up, blood pouring from his mouth. He clutched at his side, throwing away the five rods that Dauf had shot him with. They did more damage than expected – pushing deep into his upper body and crushing what must have been his internal organs.

Good. "Welcome to your graveyard, doggie," she whispered, flat bands of black shooting towards him. Pazuzu swung his halberd, cutting four of them neatly in half. Another four sliced at his arms, inflicting sharp cuts that proceeded to bleed profusely. He roared in rage as Dauf shot ten metal poles at him. He lashed out with a wild fist, sending them spiraling away.

He was still a formidable foe. Clare and Raphaela dashed around him, waiting patiently for a chance to strike at the wounded Dragon. He glared in silence at the warriors who surrounded him. "Well, it seems you never learn anything new except bringing yet more allies to have me destroy," he smirked. "Dumuzi. Is that all your strategy consists of?"

Dumuzi raised his swords high, not replying. "Miria," he whispered, and she dashed along the ground with him, closing the distance between them and the Enchanter General.

"You wish to lose another of your beloved? Come! I'll send you both to an early grave!" He swung Pestilence, and Dumuzi intercepted it, pressing hard with his scimitars as Miria swung upwards, her Claymore aiming for his face. It grazed him, drawing blood, but he flung Dumuzi off in time to slap her out of the way. He turned to Riful. "Now, let's finish this. I'll kill you all, and this will be the end of any resistance to my triumph."

The neighing of a thousand horses interrupted his oratory. Looking over his shoulder, Riful sneered towards the mountains. "Well, well. If it isn't – "

The plateau pass was flooded with platinum. The rumbling grew louder, and voices of human men rose.

Pazuzu snarled. "More vermin."

The Knights had arrived, resplendent in the armour of the Isles. Led by Galk and Cid, they charged towards the city gates, roaring. Miria's eyes widened, and Clare and Raphaela looked no less surprised. Galk smiled. "You didn't expect to see us again, did you?" he shouted, as they neared each other. "Looks like your final farewell was for nothing."

"Why – why are you leading – "

"Does that really matter now?" cried Cid, astride his own warhorse. "Let's wipe them out!"

"Only kill the dog-headed Dragon!" cried Miria, as the Knights aimed their lances indiscriminately at Riful, Dauf, and Dumuzi. "Don't hurt the others!"

"Dicks," snorted Dauf.

Galk nodded, quickly taking control. "Knights! Encircle!" he roared, and the Army obeyed, their horses' trots accelerating into a gallop. They trapped Pazuzu within a circle of metal, the thundering of hooves deafening. "Attack now!" he urged Miria. Nodding at Riful, she leaped up –

"You think that's going to stop me?!" growled Pazuzu, his voice rising in outrage. His hand swept down and smashed into a crowd of charging Knights, flinging them and their steeds into the air. The formation was scattered as the men struggled to regroup. But as Pazuzu opened himself up to counterattack, Riful, Miria, Dauf and Dumuzi suddenly lunged. Miria stood on one of Riful's shooting ribbons, and as it pierced into Pazuzu's arm, she somersaulted and landed, stabbing her sword into the back his head. The piercing of bone and brain was audible. Staggering, he was not prepared for Raphaela and Clare's simultaneous attacks. Raphaela's sword carved a gruesome cut across his jowls, flaying open the side of his mouth, and Clare's Windcutter eviscerated his exposed face. "Damn – damn you," hissed the General. He swiped again, only to be caught by Dumuzi's scimitars. With one smooth stroke, the Crown Prince sliced off the end of his hand. Pazuzu reeled, his body weakened by every blow the coalition inflicted on him.

"Looks like he's nearing the end of his tether," observed Riful quietly. "Darling?"

"My turn," grinned Dauf. "Looks like he bit off more than he can chew, my love. Let me give him another mouthful." He lunged, raising a powerful fist. Pazuzu saw him and lurched against him. The two giants collided, and Dauf quickly grabbed hold of his throat. Roaring, the Awakened Being clenched his hand and punched the Dragon in the face. Pazuzu roared in hateful frustration. Dauf laughed and struck him again, his wild hook catching him in the jaw. A fang flew out of Pazuzu's mouth. A third time, and the Awakened Being's knuckles found softer bone and tissue. Pazuzu's skull cracked, and he fell, his remaining eye dimming. "And this is payback for last time's defeat," roared Dauf. In a maneouver that did not suit even him, he aimed his five fingers at Pazuzu's head and shot out five giant metal rods.

Point-blank.

Pazuzu's frontal face wordlessly exploded in a shambles of bone and teeth, splattering Dauf's face with Descendant blood. His titanic body slammed into the ruins of the city even as Dauf reloaded himself with five new poles. Clare had to roll away from the shower of blood that pattered down like torrential rain. The earth shook as the Enchanter General sighed, and stilled, his eyes closing.

Riful snorted, withdrawing her ribbons. "So crude. Still, that was easier than I expected."

Was he… dead?

One could not tell. The face was too messy.

A relieved silence settled on the allies. The Knights allowed themselves to breathe. This time, only a dozen or so casualties. A welcome change from the usual hundred or thousand body count.

Dumuzi gathered himself, setting aside his Crescent Hounds, and looked at the silent body. "You left me no choice, Pazuzu." Dumuzi circled him slowly, almost reluctantly. His slitted eyes shone. "My friend. My brother-in-arms." He lowered himself on one knee. "Why did you have to lose yourself?" he asked, his voice husky. "Your vision was grand, admirable. But you were ahead of your time, and you were cruel, slanderous, murderous. And now, your crimes have become irredeemable." He raised his eyes to the heavens.

For now, the threat to the Isles had been halted.

"And you are avenged now. Were you watching… my dearest Inanna?"

*

Miria was about to slump in exhausted respite when Raphaela's cold voice rang out. "Galatea has left. She has taken Cynthia with her."

Miria raised her head. "I noticed they weren't here. So they've left this area altogether? That's… unlike Galatea."

"Cynthia was captured and tortured by the enemy. It seemed to touch a nerve with Galatea. By now they might even be past the Western borders."

"Tortured?" Miria's eyes softened.

"We were too late."

"… I see." Miria turned away.

I don't blame you, God-Eye.

"Well, I can't go after them now. I had… my own issues while we were scattered and Cynthia was captured." She gave a sad smile. "I suppose we'll just have to tell them the good news of our victory when we return home."

*

Passing the fluttering banners of the Knights, Galk reined in his horse and approached Miria. "How are you?" he said, smiling. "I'm sorry to… surprise you."

Miria reciprocated with what could be nothing less than a fond grin. "How… how did you manage to do this? And what of the trouble on the Continent?"

"Firstly, I want to assure you that you've nothing left to fear from the Continent, nor from the Isles, for that matter. The Organization's long been crippled, and I've been elected as the Grand General. Naturally, the remnants of the Army are therefore no longer a threat to you."

She nodded. "I must admit, this is a surprise. You have become… the Grand General, after all. I… I never thought I would see the day when the Continent and the Isles completely united."

"It's all thanks to Father Vincent. With his help, you don't need to worry about home anymore, and focus your efforts entirely on the Descendants. And," he winked reluctantly, "hopefully you'll no longer see the Grand General as a threat to you, either."

Miria let out a genuine laugh, the first in many months. "Of course, Galk. Speaking of Dragons…" she gestured towards Dumuzi. "This is their Crown Prince."

Galk blanched, as the horned, bat-winged creature rrose at Miria's voice, and walked towards them. "I… didn't expect them to look like this…?" muttered the Grand General.

"I overheard Miria. So you are the new overlord of the human lands?" asked the thirteen-foot Crown Prince quietly. "Good health to you. I am Dumuzi, heir to the throne of the Royal House of Anu. I knew the previous Grand General and respected him deeply. Miria was the one who slew him, was it not? It seems the human realms nurture far more formidable wars than my father could ever have imagined."

Galk could only nod. "And why have you… allied with these… beings?" he asked, nodding his head at Riful and Dauf. "Weren't you and I… trying to destroy creatures like them?"

"Hear, hear," called Cid unhelpfully.

"Well, they are the last of their kind," sighed Miria. "And besides, it's… a long story. What say I explain to you while we march?"

"March where?"

"The Dragon Nations, noble human," said Dumuzi wearily. He looked to the East. "We shall go," he continued, "and eradicate the Imperial Court of Pazuzu's lackeys. We shall free my nation, and awaken my father from a slumber that has persisted for far too long."

"Good idea," said Miria slowly, "but you will need to lead the way to the traitors, because beginning from now, we're on truly foreign soil."

"Yes, my brave tigress," answered Dumuzi. "Please, stand beside me as a fellow commander. Together, we are an elemental force that no enemy can withstand."

She turned to Galk, who remained silent. "We're going to attack Mt. Sumeru itself," she declared quietly. "The Capital of the Dragons."

He hesitated momentarily. "Hold on a second. Who is Pazuzu? The creature we just took down? I don't even know what's going on between these… Dragons. And besides, you're truly expecting us to penetrate straight into the heart of their realm? The Army couldn't beat seven of you Ghosts with seven thousand troops. How do you expect us to defeat Dragons with just a thousand men – "

"It was different then," interrupted Miria. "As I said, I will explain everything to you, although it won't be brief."

Galk fell silent.

"You have my father's blessing," added Dumuzi. "Hopefully, when we defeat the last of the traitors, he will awaken from his Fimbulwinter sleep."

"Forgive my rudeness," said Galk, raising his eyebrow, "but exactly what do you intend to do once Miria has… helped you defeat all your remaining enemies? In all practicality…"

"I will convince my father to make peace with the humans. Nothing less."

"I don't wish to be rude, but… I do find that hard to believe. It is… awfully convenient for you, you do realize that."

"Perfectly understandable. I have always found my own father a difficult one to deal with. But then, why do you not come with me and see for yourself?" Dumuzi gestured with an open hand. "I have nothing to hide, noble human."

Miria awaited Galk's reply expectantly. Galk closed his eyes and shook his head, rubbing the ridge of his nose with his gauntlet. "Now I really don't know why I left Rabona to take part in this."

Dumuzi's voice was supremely reassuring. "I will take you to my home, and together, we will usher in a new era between human and Dragon. This is my promise. I swear upon the Ancestors."

Galk resisted the urge to look at Cid for advice. When his friends had allied with Awakened Beings and Dragons, launching an all-out assault on the Capital of the Descendants suddenly didn't seem so far fetched. He sighed. "I guess you know best, Miria. But if I ever see Father Vincent again, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind for doing this to me."

"Thank you for placing your trust in me again, Galk," she said apologetically, smiling. "I owe you many more than one."

Dumuzi raised his arm, holding one sword into the air.

To his right, Miria did the same and met his scimitar. The two blades glimmered together in the emerging moonlight.

To her left, Galk slowly drew his longsword and crossed it with the Crescent Hound and the Claymore.

The leader of the Ghosts.

The Crown Prince of the Dragon Nations.

The new Grand General of the human Army.

"This world shall know a new era of harmony, beginning with the three of us!" cried Dumuzi.

Clare and Raphaela remained silent, whilst the Knights, seeing their commander comply with Miria and Dumuzi, raised a warcry, lances pounding on the ground of the ruined city.

Riful placed her hands on her hips crossly as she glared at the trio. "Have they forgotten me already? I'm the one who came up with this stupid alliance."

"I'm sure they'll thank you later for giving them so many lovely ideas, dear," consoled Dauf, placing a gentle hand on her black shoulder.