As soon as he was finished recovering, Heinrich flew towards Gold Volcano at his full speed. Along the way, he passed over the same villages he'd seen during his previous visit to the volcano. All of them were completely deserted. Their former inhabitants, assuming they hadn't just been killed and enslaved by the invading army, must have fled to a safer location.
The sight of all this destruction no longer made Heinrich clench his teeth and swear to find the ones responsible. Over the past two months, he had seen the consequences of his battle with the dragon for Grangold. This had left him with a firm resolve to end this war… even if that meant going right to the source.
Heinrich arrived at the summit of the volcano, then flew straight down the vent. The surroundings heated up rapidly, but Heinrich's control over three elements allowed him to keep himself at a comfortable temperature despite wearing metal armour.
The base of the volcano consisted of a massive lake of magma, with a stone island in the middle. A narrow bridge of stone connected the island to the side of the vent – this was presumably for visitors who entered by climbing down. At first, there was no one else around, but then a large flame ignited in the middle of the island, despite the lack of any fuel. The flame dispersed after a few seconds, revealing the Spirit of Fire.
Salamander had some resemblance to a dark elf, with dark brown skin and pointed ears. Her body was slender but gave the impression of wiry strength, the build of a warrior who prized both strength and agility. A strange glowing pattern adorned her abdomen. She wore no clothes – instead, her body was surrounded by red-orange flames, constantly shifting between various shapes. Her hair consisted of the same kind of flames. But what truly stood out were her eyes – even though Heinrich had no trouble looking directly at the lava or the flames, he couldn't help but avert his gaze from those blazing eyes.
Heinrich cleared his throat. "Salamander, I've come here to – "
"No need to waste time with the formalities, kid," Salamander said. "I know why you're here, and you wouldn't be here if you weren't ready. Yes, I'm okay with letting you borrow the power of fire. Let's skip straight to the test of whether or not you're capable of using it."
Undine materialised. "Slow down, you foolish hothead. Your recklessness and impulsiveness will get you killed one of these days."
"The way this war is going, at least one person is dying every second," Salamander said. "If you're fine with that, then go ahead, but leave this to the adults."
"You – "
"Alright, let's start," Heinrich said.
"Quick and decisive, just the way I like it," Salamander said, ignoring Undine's look of protest. "Now, normally there's be two parts to this test – "
A dragon rose up from the lake of magma. She was just as large as the one that Heinrich had slain, except she had blue scales instead of green.
" – I'd get you to fight Ladon here first, but you've already defeated one dragon, so that's now pointless," Salamander continued. "So to save time, we'll skip right to you fighting me."
Heinrich drew his sword. Undine sighed in resignation and returned to Heinrich's head.
"Human, let me give you one piece of advice: as you are now, you won't pass this test," Ladon said, before slinking back into the magma.
What exactly did she mean? Heinrich wondered. It didn't sound like she was just talking about combat strength.
I'm not sure… none of us have ever cohabited with Salamander before, so we don't know the specifics of her test, Gnome replied.
I'll just have to find out through experiencing it, Heinrich decided.
Heinrich and Salamander spent several moments facing each other. Then they both attacked simultaneously. Salamander launched jets, spears and explosive balls of flame, while Heinrich counterattacked with gusts of wind and pillars of earth, and used a serene mind to guide his movements.
"You're pretty good with the other three elements! But still not good enough!" Salamander roared. She formed her flames into numerous dragon heads and shot them towards Heinrich. "If you can't even land a hit on me, how do you expect to win against the likes of the Monster Lord!"
Heinrich refused to give in to the bait. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, he produced a wind slash that covered the entire width of the island.
Salamander didn't bother dodging, instead redirecting her flame dragons to crash into the wind slash and disperse it. "You think you can handle the power of fire like this? Don't make me laugh!"
Heinrich manipulated the stone of the island, forming countless spikes. To avoid this attack, Salamander emitted intense flames from her feet to propel herself into the air.
"Is that really all you have?" Salamander continued, while shooting an endless barrage of fireballs. "No wonder you weren't able to take on a dragon by yourself! If you were stronger than this, you wouldn't have gotten so many people killed!"
Okay, now Mandy's starting to piss me off! Sylph grumbled.
She's crossed a line, Gnome agreed.
I am tempted to come out and extinguish her myself, Undine said.
Heinrich jumped and flew towards Salamander. Fireballs punched through his wind barrier and struck his body directly, but his armour kept him from suffering serious injury. He reached sword distance and slashed…
…only for Salamander to explode into sparks. Warned by a shift in the wind, Heinrich immediately whirled around, but he was still too late to avoid receiving a fire-infused punch. The sheer power forced Heinrich back to the ground, though he was able to land on his feet.
There was no time for Heinrich to relax. Salamander continued attacking him relentlessly, far more dangerous than before due to her newly revealed ability. However, Heinrich soon realised that this ability had a weakness: it didn't allow Salamander to transport herself just anywhere, only to places that were currently occupied by fire. He therefore used the wind to extinguish as much of the fire as possible to limit Salamander's movement.
The battle raged on for several minutes. Heinrich was able to learn Salamander's fighting style and this, coupled with his serene mind, allowed him to start landing hits on the fire spirit. However, these hits only left minor scratches, and Salamander only fought more ferociously the more she became injured. Furthermore, Salamander was definitely learning as well, as she was also landing hits more frequently. And as she fought, she never stopped the barrage of insults.
"What's the matter, given up?" Salamander asked mockingly.
"Of course not!" Heinrich shot back.
"Because it sure looks like you have! From what I heard, you're supposed to be some famous hero? But you can't even beat me, and I'm far from the strongest in the world!"
"It's not – that simple!"
"From the looks of you, you started out as a nobody, right? Probably from some tiny village that no one cares about? It's no wonder that you can't go any further from here. Give up. Someone like you only has so much potential, even with the power of the spirits."
Heinrich shook with anger. He'd tried to control himself to avoid seeming like a child, but these words had caused him to reach his limit.
"You're right, I'm just a nobody from a tiny village barely anyone cares about. But that doesn't matter one bit!"
Pointing his sword at Salamander, Heinrich shouted with all of his strength.
"You think I can't go any further? Well, there's at least three people who disagree with you, and that's just counting your fellow spirits. You think you know better than them? You think there's no point in me gaining your power? Fine, have it your way!"
Heinrich concentrated the wind to his feet in preparation to fly.
"I don't need the power of fire! I'll end this war using just the three elements I already have! If you don't think I'm worthy enough for you, then just sit here and watch me prove you wrong!"
Salamander laughed. "Don't make claims you can't live up to. You won't even make it to Hellgondo, let alone do anything like ending the war."
Walls of fire rose up from the magma surrounding the island, joining together to form a scorching dome. Even through his three-fold magical protection, Heinrich felt his body temperature rise.
"For your own good, it's better that your journey ends here," Salamander declared.
Heinrich closed his eyes and focused, ignoring the growing heat, ignoring Salamander's continued insults. He focused on a technique so difficult that he'd only recently mastered it: combining the power of two different elements.
After a few seconds, he finished it. Heinrich thrust his palms to either side, releasing an explosion of wind and water magic that slammed into the fiery dome, scattering and extinguishing it. The explosion was so powerful that it even blasted away most of the fire covering Salamander's body.
"Just to be clear, I've been holding back until now," Heinrich said. "After all, I have no intention of killing you. If I did, you'd already be dead."
"That's another big statement to make – killing a Great Spirit isn't nearly that easy," Salamander said, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, even if you somehow succeed in doing that, it would have serious consequences for the world."
"I know there would be consequences. That's one of the reasons why I have no intention of killing you," Heinrich said. "Anyway, if you're not planning on lending me your power, I have no reason to waste any more time here."
Salamander threw back her head and laughed. The flames around her returned to their usual intensity.
"I haven't met someone as brazen as you in years… you pass the test," Salamander said. She lowered her head and continued, in a genuinely apologetic tone, "Sorry for everything I said."
Heinrich let out the tension in his body. "The tests from Gnome and Undine also had secret meanings, so I figured out what you were planning halfway through – is what I'd like to say, but that's not what happened. I only figured it out once I'd already started ranting."
"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Salamander said cheerfully. "We all need to let out our anger sometimes. Anyway, to make things clear, the point of this test is to see if you have the spirit to defend your beliefs. If you try to wield fire half-heartedly, you'll only get yourself burned."
Undine appeared again. She glared at her elemental counterpart. "I deduced what you were planning, but – really, you stupid spark? I understand that you needed to test if he has what it takes to command fire, but were you really unable to think of anything better than childish insults?"
"Better than anything you come up with, you slimy puddle," Salamander retorted.
Undine's eyes twitched. "That's it – I don't care if the terrain is against me, I'm going to drown you until you – "
Heinrich quickly intervened. "There's no time for this. Can you two at least put your feud aside for now?"
"…Yes," Undine said.
"…Fine," Salamander said. "Though I think the best way to resolve this would be to let you, the person I actually insulted, get a chance to make things even."
"Wait, what are you suggesting?" Heinrich asked.
"I'll let you punch me once," Salamander said. "Or kick me, or whatever you want. I'm not picky."
Undine sighed. "Of course you would think of something so barbaric as a solution…"
Before the two spirits could start arguing again, Heinrich stepped forward and punched Salamander in the face. He put enough force into it that Salamander was knocked off the island entirely, skipping across the magma several times before coming to a stop.
…Huh, I guess I had more frustration built up than I thought.
"That was a decent punch – you should consider training more in martial arts," Salamander said casually as she returned to the island. "Anyway, I'll give you a quick lesson on how to use fire. It depends on you being able to ignite and maintain your fighting spirit, and keeping it under control in the middle of battle. You've probably gotten used to hearing this by now, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Imagine an experienced fire mage using concentrated heat to melt through even the toughest armour, then imagine an amateur swinging around a torch, more likely to burn themselves than the enemy. The first is what you need to aim for."
"Got it," Heinrich said.
"And fire's good for more than just offensive power – though that's obviously one of its advantages," Salamander continued. "It gives you incredible stamina, enough to fight dozens, even hundreds of enemies in a row – "
" – then you collapse, having recklessly burnt through your reserves of energy," Undine interrupted. "And while you use the power of fire, you cannot use many other techniques, especially those requiring actual thought."
"Only if you're still inexperienced," Salamander said. "I'll admit that none of my previous contractors were able to really master fire – only a few monsters have so far. But when you've mastered it, there are no drawbacks. No different from the other elements."
With the explanation complete, Salamander pointed her finger at Heinrich and vanished in a flash of light. Suddenly, Heinrich felt a searing heat, an intense wildfire that spread rapidly through his body.
This is what fire's like, Salamander said. Imagine the feeling from before if you want to keep it under control.
Heinrich did as instructed. Once he no longer felt like he was about to burst into flames, he took to the air and rose out of Gold Volcano.
That's all four of us! Sylph said. This is a hysteric – a historic moment. If things were more peaceful, we would have to put on a party to celebrate! It's a shame we have to put it on hold – but there's no reason we can't plan it now! Mandy, any ideas –
In Heinrich's mental space, Sylph suddenly had her hair burst into flames. She rushed about frantically, trying to put it out.
Not now, Sylph, Salamander said. We have enemies to burn.
Heinrich began flying towards the south. According to the information he'd heard in Grangold, some of it from its king, there was suspicious activity around Sabasa. The Monster Lord's forces around the city seemed to be withdrawing, but it was most likely a ruse, as Grangold's spies reported that a small group had flown from Hellgondo into the Safina region. Heinrich could only hope that he got there before Sabasa fell under attack.
-ooo-
During the flight to Sabasa, Gnome asked Heinrich to make a quick pass over her home of Safar to see its current condition. As the town was more or less along the route anyway, Heinrich had no reason to turn her down.
They arrived at Safar one day after leaving Gold Volcano. Or, more accurately, they arrived at what was left of Safar.
The once magnificent town was no more than ruins. Over two thirds of the buildings had been destroyed, and the few still standing looked as though they would collapse in a stiff wind. The statues, the works of art that had been the town's pride, were smashed to pieces. There was not a single person remaining – but there were plenty of bones.
Heinrich landed near Safar without saying a word. It was clear what fate had befallen this small desert town. The four spirits emerged from him.
Gnome walked slowly towards the ruins. She turned around, looking at each of the wrecked buildings. Then she fell to her knees and wailed.
"D-Don't cry, Gnomey!" Sylph said, buzzing around in panic. "Um, you just have to think happy thoughts – no, er…"
"The best we can do for Gnome is to be here for her," Undine said, laying a hand on Gnome's shoulder.
Salamander crouched down and hugged Gnome from the front. Sylph settled on Gnome's other shoulder and gently patted her cheek. Heinrich decided to stay back, as there didn't seem to be anything he could do to improve the situation.
After a minute or so, Gnome calmed down enough to speak. "I – I always knew this might happen someday, I've seen more than ten like this just in this war, but it's – " Gnome stopped for a moment, breathing heavily, " – it's only now that I feel this way. I – "
"And there's nothing wrong with that," Undine said. "People value the few that they know over the many that they do not."
"And if you still feel bad about this, then try and do everything you can to stop attacks like these from happening again," Salamander said. "That's how I used to… deal with grief."
Gnome nodded. The other spirits separated from her.
"Gnome, do you want to stay here for a while?" Heinrich asked.
"No… we have to move on," Gnome said, in a voice so quiet that it could barely be heard. "Although… first, I want to bury the remains."
Again, there was no reason to refuse this request. Gnome went around the town and buried the bones, in separate graves whenever individuals could be identified.
Heinrich and the other three spirits followed after Gnome. The destruction was even more horrifying up close. After all, it was difficult to tell if bones belonged to a child or an adult from a distance.
From the looks of things, the town was destroyed about a month ago, but I didn't hear anything about this, Heinrich thought. Perhaps news of the destruction never made it elsewhere… or it wasn't considered significant, with the many other towns and villages that have been destroyed.
While they were following Gnome around, Salamander said to Heinrich, "Hey, from what I've heard on the way here, you used to be in a relationship with the Monster Lord?"
"This is hardly the time to talk about such things," Undine said.
"No, it's fine," Heinrich said. "To answer your question… basically, we met by chance over a year ago, back before she became the Monster Lord. I was a random orphan in a small village in the Noah region, one day me and another villager came across bandits, and she ended up saving us. It turned out that she was travelling around the world, an assignment from her mother, to learn more about it. One thing led to another, and I ended up accompanying her on her journey."
"Sounds like the beginning to a legend," Salamander commented.
"It wasn't really like that," Heinrich said, though he couldn't help but smile. "Anyway, I started trying to form contracts with you spirits because I – well, because I wanted to be something more than a random orphan with no future. And, along the way… I started getting close to her, until we were… inseparable. But then the previous Monster Lord died, and she had to go back and take up the position."
Heinrich looked at his left hand, where the ring he'd received from Alice was. He hadn't taken it off, except when bathing… but now, he couldn't remember the feeling that had made him wear it in the first place.
"Hmm, it's definitely a complicated situation," Salamander said. "From the way you described her, it sounds like the Monster Lord wasn't the kind of person who would start this war. But people change when they get the burden of leadership forced on them, and having to deal with the loss of a parent can't help. And with all the anger and hatred that was building up before, on both sides, there'd be a war sooner or later… Unless we can somehow get to Hellgondo and talk to the Monster Lord in person, we won't know what's really going on."
Undine blinked. "That is… orders of magnitude more intellect than I was expecting from you."
"Only a true idiot would underestimate other people like that," Salamander said. "Hey, why don't you – "
Gnome finished her work and returned, putting a stop to the bickering between the two spirits.
"Gnome, are you sure you've done everything you need to do?" Heinrich asked.
"Yeah, you don't need to hurry because of us!" Sylph said.
Without saying a word, Gnome nodded and then returned to Heinrich's head.
While he still felt a sense of unease, Heinrich decided that it was time to move on. The other three spirits returned and Heinrich took flight.
-ooo-
After two more days, Heinrich spotted Sabasa in the distance. The desert city had changed greatly from when he last saw it. The city-spanning garden had shrunken to less than a quarter of its previous extent, due to insufficient maintenance, damage from battle, or both of these factors. Fortunately, there were no signs of any attacking army yet.
Heinrich slowed down as he approached, to give the city's defenders time to recognise him. He alighted near the front gate. A large group of guards rushed out to greet him.
"Welcome to Sabasa, Hero Heinrich," the captain of the guards said, bowing. "A messenger has already been sent to the castle, you'll be able to meet with the king shortly."
"Thank you," Heinrich said.
"And, speaking personally, I'm grateful beyond words that you've come to this city," the captain added. "With you here, we could fend off all of the Monster Lord's armies, even if she was here in person to lead them."
"…You expect too much from me," Heinrich said.
Heinrich passed through the gate and headed along the main street towards the castle. He was mobbed by the people of Sabasa, who begged him to shake their hands, marry them, name their children, or some combination of the three. Now used to dealing with the attention, he politely rejected the requests and continued to advance.
After about one minute, there was a commotion up ahead. Using his four magical senses – with the addition of Salamander, he could now sense heat as well – Heinrich determined that a group of five was approaching: four in armour, and one whom he recognised.
Zarak, king of Sabasa, emerged from the crowd, flanked by his guards.
"Welcome, Heinrich!" Zarak said. "If it weren't for our current situation, I'd give you a grander reception than this."
"I'm afraid that such a reception would be wasted on me, Your Majesty," Heinrich said.
"At the very least, you should join me in the castle for lunch," Zarak insisted.
Heinrich had no reason to refuse the king's invitation, so he followed him to Sabasa Castle.
-ooo-
" – And with their leader slain, most of the others broke and fled. But one remained, who proved to be a tough opponent – "
" – I was sleeping in an inn in Grand Noah, when I was woken up by a powerful magical energy. It turned out to be the city's barrier activating. I realised Grand Noah was under attack, so I went outside – "
Heinrich and Zarak were sitting in a dining room of Sabasa Castle, trading stories about their experiences. The lunch was much simpler than one might expect: hard bread, dried lizard meat, and cactus fruit. This was partly due to supply problems and partly due to Zarak's personal preferences. As the king explained, he preferred to eat such coarse fare to prevent himself from growing soft.
Towards the start of the meal, Heinrich had revealed Grangold's information about the movements of the Monster Lord's army. It turned out that Zarak already knew most of this from his own sources and he had already begun preparing for the expected attack.
"In the past few days, their scouts have been deliberately showing themselves, trying to unnerve us and make us lower our guard," Zarak said. "They might launch their attack tonight, tomorrow or a week from now."
Once the lunch was over, Heinrich was free to explore the castle and talk to its inhabitants. Even though he'd already been in two castles, the experience was still rewarding for him.
There were the training grounds for the soldiers. Sabasa was known for having the strongest military among the four nations of Sentora, and the soldiers here definitely lived up to that reputation. Heinrich watched them train to work as a team, humans with monsters, mages with archers and melee fighters.
Then there were the various methods the servants used to maintain the large castle. One of these was a network of pipes that extended throughout the castle and allowed people to talk to each other over long distances. Another was a system of magic-powered elevators that were used for transporting goods between floors without the hassle of climbing staircases.
At the apex of the castle was a natural wonder: a small tree that was over a thousand years old, meaning that it had been alive since the Great Monster Wars and had outlasted many civilisations. According to its caretakers, the tree originally came from a nearby oasis. When Sabasa was founded, the tree was transplanted to the rooftop garden of the castle to act as a symbol of Sabasan resilience. Even now, with most resources scarce, the tree was painstakingly cared for – that was the extent to which the people of Sabasa valued it.
After several hours of exploring, and dealing with the attentions of countless admirers, Heinrich retreated to his assigned room. He didn't try to sleep, however. The healing properties of water meant that he could stay awake for longer and also needed less sleep to begin with. He planned on spending the night training with the power of fire, then sleeping for a few hours in the day, since the attack would almost certainly take place at night. This proved to be the correct decision.
Two hours after nightfall, Heinrich heard a knock on the door. Judging from the rapid frequency of the knocks and the way the person on the other side was breathing, the matter was urgent. Heinrich opened the door to find a servant there.
"The attack is about to start – the Monster Lord's army has appeared outside the walls," the servant said. "The king requests your presence immediately."
Heinrich quickly took out his armour from his baggage and put it on, then followed the servant to the castle's entrance hall. King Zarak was already here, dressed in his own suit of armour and carrying a formidable greatsword, and so were over a hundred knights and other fighters.
"The enemy is to the north and south!" Zarak said, though without the boisterousness of earlier. "I'll go out to command the defence on the north wall! Heinrich, you go to the south!"
"Understood!" Heinrich replied, before rushing out the front door.
The city barrier was deployed, casting a golden light on everything. The sounds of explosions could be heard in the distance. Heinrich flew to the south wall, landing on the top amidst the guards.
There were at least five hundred monsters outside the wall. They comprised a mixture of desert monsters, such as insects, lamias and dragonkin, and plant monsters, such as alraunes and dryads. They fired arrows and spells towards the barrier, while using the sand dunes as cover from the attacks of the city's defenders.
The barrier's holding for now, Heinrich thought. That should give me enough time for this.
Heinrich held his hands forward and focused on the flow of the wind above the enemy army. After several seconds of focusing, he quickly raised his hands to the sky, removing the oxygen from the air around a tenth of the army.
Dozens of monsters collapsed to the ground. Those around them quickly realised what was going on, with some rushing into the affected area to pull their fellows out and some using wind magic to try to reverse the effect, but this opened them up to attacks from the Sabasans.
Heinrich moved along the wall, using attacks of wind and earth to disrupt the enemy army. He didn't bother using water, given the scarcity of it in this environment, and kept fire in reserve since he had little experience with it.
This place should hold, Heinrich thought. I'll stay here for one more minute, then go to the north wall and see how the king's doing.
-ooo-
While Zarak and his retinue rushed towards the north wall, one of them cried out. He was Metion, an elderly man dressed in blue robes, and the personal magical advisor to the king of Sabasa.
"Your Majesty, there's a concentration of dark energy near the east wall!"
"Dark energy near the east – wait, that matches the reports from Grangold!" Zarak said. "Then the two attacks from the north and south are decoys! They're planning to breach the barrier from the east!"
Zarak pointed at two winged insect monsters among the soldiers accompanying him. "You and you, carry me to the east wall! Anyone else capable of flying or otherwise moving quickly across the city, follow me!"
The two insects grabbed Zarak by the arms and carried him eastward, with more soldiers following close behind. They landed on top of the east wall.
In the outlying desert, three monsters stepped out from behind a dune – a succubus, a lamia and a vampire. They were surrounded by many others who projected a barrier of purple light around them. The city's defenders immediately focused on the prominent target, but the barrier withstood all of their attacks.
"They're going to breach the barrier!" Zarak shouted at the top of his voice. "All units, prepare for an assault – "
The purple barrier disappeared, and the trio of monsters launched a ball of dark energy. The ball struck the golden barrier of the city, causing it to shatter.
Giving triumphant battle-cries, the Monster Lord's army advanced, flying or climbing towards the top of the wall.
Zarak raised his greatsword. "Warriors of Sabasa! You can either flee as cowards, or stand with me and fight with everything you've got! Who will stand with me!"
With no exceptions, the soldiers raised their weapons and shouted their agreement.
The battle was joined. The ranged fighters focused on shooting down the flying monsters, but a few managed to slip through and invade the city. The rest of the defenders fought against the tide of monsters climbing up to them.
Zarak fought with a mighty combination of strength and finesse. His crystal greatsword, propelled by muscles that had been forged in true combat, cut through metal armour, magical barriers, insect exoskeletons and dragon hide with ease. His movements, the product of constant training, were fluid and with minimal openings. Within ten seconds, he had slain as many monsters.
A wind slash raced towards Zarak, who parried it with his sword. The warrior-king then swung his sword forwards to meet the fists of the succubus responsible for the attack. He recognised her from the intelligence reports he'd received.
"You really live up to your reputation, huh!" said Kokka, one of the Three Nobles of Black.
"As do you!" Zarak shouted, pushing the succubus back.
The two traded blows. While succubi normally weren't physical fighters, a few of them chose to train in martial arts. These channelled their prodigious magical ability into enhancing their strength, speed and the durability of their body's striking surfaces. Indeed, Kokka showed no signs of injury despite using her body to clash with Zarak's sword.
While fighting against Kokka, Zarak sensed an attack from another direction. He pushed Kokka back and then twisted his body to avoid a spear thrust. The newcomer was a lamia: Kokuja, another member of the Three Nobles, reputed for her skill with the spear.
"It would be best to give up," Kokuja said. "You can no longer win at this point."
If I was fighting alone, that would be true… Zarak thought.
Two soldiers of Grangold, a human and an elf, attacked Kokka. The succubus may have been more powerful than both of them combined, but they still provided a vital distraction.
…but I'm not fighting alone!
Zarak charged at Kokuja, his sword clashing against her spear and shield. Kokuja tried attacking by using her snake tail as a whip, but Zarak had experience in fighting lamias, allowing him to dodge.
The fight continued for over ten seconds, neither side gaining an advantage. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck Zarak in the side, delivering a shock that even he, a descendant of Sphinx, couldn't withstand. Zarak collapsed.
Kurobara, the vampire of the Three Nobles, landed on the wall. If the rumours were true, the only reason she wasn't Queen Vampire was because she had no interest in the position.
"My apologies for this, Your Majesty, but you really should have taken the offer to surrender," Kurobara said.
All around Zarak, the Sabasan soldiers were disheartened at the defeat of their king. The attacking monsters easily killed or captured them.
Kokka said to the king, "If it helps, you don't need to worry about your people. We'll be sure to treat them well."
From what Zarak had heard, these words were not a lie. Although Black Alice was infamous for her cruelty, not all of her subordinates were the same. However, he refused to surrender, for the simple reason that the battle was not over yet.
A powerful explosion shook the entire north wall. Zarak saw the hero Heinrich, clad in raging wind, reach out towards him. Unfortunately, Kokka quickly grabbed Zarak and pulled him away.
"Stay back!" Kokka ordered, holding Zarak's neck in a position that would allow her to easily break it.
Heinrich glared but remained still. Zarak could tell what he was thinking: even if he had the power of the spirit of wind itself, a high-ranking succubus would still be fast enough to kill Zarak first. And Zarak was still in no condition to struggle out of the hold.
But there's one other thing I can do. Haven't had the chance to use this in real combat for a while, but…
Zarak used earth magic to shake the ground beneath him. It was a simple spell, one that even a novice earth mage could easily cast, but it achieved its objective. Kokka staggered, creating an opportunity for Heinrich to grab Zarak and flee with him into the city.
Heinrich carefully set down Zarak among a group of Sabasan soldiers. "Are you alright, Your Majesty!?" he asked.
"I'm fine – so go back there and stop them!" Zarak said.
Heinrich nodded and flew off again. The soldiers helped Zarak into the relative safety of a nearby house.
To think I'd need to be saved by someone not half my age… I need more training.
-ooo-
Heinrich flew back towards the north wall. He didn't fly to the top again, however – his targets had already entered the city and were now standing in the middle of the main street.
So these are the Three Nobles of Black…the direct subordinates of Black Alice, Heinrich thought.
Y-Yeah… but, Heinrich, are you sure you're okay? Sylph asked.
I'm fine, Sylph, no need to worry.
The Three Nobles approached Heinrich. Their subordinates, as well as the soldiers of Sabasa, kept a careful distance.
"So you're Heinrich?" Kokka said. "I can see why she – I can see that you definitely live up to your reputation."
"I've been wanting to test my skills against you for a while," Kokuja said.
"Though perhaps it would be better for us to try and avoid fighting?" Kurobara said.
"It's a bit too late for that," Heinrich replied.
Wait… Undine said. It seems that they know about your relationship with –
Heinrich attacked the Three Nobles using a combination of wind and earth: a barrage of wind blades that flew in every direction, and a localised earthquake to destabilise their footing.
As expected, the Three Nobles dealt with these attacks easily. Kokka took to the air and used her own wind magic to negate the blades. Kokuja clung to the ground with her long tail and blocked the blades with her shield. Kurobara negated both the wind blades and the earthquake in the area around her, a formidable display of magical skill.
After that, Heinrich was forced on the defensive. The Three Nobles harried him from all directions, leaving him almost no opportunities to attack. They moved with perfect coordination, making up for each other's shortcomings: when one left herself open after an attack, the other two would keep the pressure on Heinrich to prevent him exploiting this. If Heinrich wasn't a master of three different elements, he would have lost within seconds.
I'll never get anywhere at this rate, Heinrich thought. With the amount of power we're slinging around, there's no way for any of the Sabasans to help. I'll have to take a risk.
Are you sure about this? Undine asked. If you activate the power of fire now, it will stop you from using water.
But there's no other choice, is there? Salamander retorted. The longer this goes on, the more the city gets smashed up. There's no battle without risk! Now, remember what I taught you…
Heinrich imagined every person he had saved so far, and every person he had failed. His body heated up immensely, all of his exhaustion vanished, and his sword was engulfed in raging flames.
There was no time to waste. Heinrich swung his sword, creating a gigantic wave of flame that rushed towards Kurobara. Unable to dodge in time, Kurobara screamed as she was hit by the natural weakness of a vampire.
"Damn you!" Kokuja said, as she charged towards Heinrich with her spear surrounded in dark energy.
Heinrich parried the spear thrust. "If you aren't prepared to get hurt, then don't go to war in the first place! Blame your Monster Lord for this!"
"You don't know anything about her!" Kokuja retorted. "You don't know why she's doing this!"
"I know that I can stop this war by killing her!" Heinrich shouted.
The hero and the lamia exchanged countless blows, each one powerful enough to demolish a building. Kokuja was both strong and skilled with her weapon, with several of her attacks piercing through even Heinrich's earth-reinforced body. However, the power of fire created a difference that could not be ignored. Heinrich eventually knocked Kokuja's spear out of her hands.
Suddenly, everything within Heinrich's sight vanished, replaced by a purple mist.
This is – succubus mental magic!? Heinrich thought.
Heinrich immediately focused on clearing his mind. He heard some rapidly spoken words, but dismissed these as a mental attack. His vision returned to normal.
Kokuja was now binding him with her long tail. Since his sword was lying a short distance away, Heinrich drew a dagger, imbued it with the power of fire, and stabbed it into the tail.
The lamia grit her teeth but did not release her hold. "Wait, you have to listen to – "
Heinrich broke free of the tail and charged forward, forcing Kokuja to raise her shield to avoid being stabbed in the abdomen. Immediately letting go of his dagger, Heinrich grabbed the lamia by her tail and swung her like a giant flail, slamming her face-first into the ground.
A heavy mass tackled Heinrich from behind and locked an arm around his neck. It was Kokka, who was now attempting to strangle him.
"For Founder's sake, just give up already!" Kokka shouted.
While keeping his mental defences up, Heinrich elbowed the succubus, hard enough that he heard a crack. It took five attempts, but eventually Kokka released him and flew away.
Heinrich used a small gust of wind to lift his sword into his hand, then surveyed the situation. Kokka was hovering in the air and gingerly holding her ribs. Kokuja was unsteadily lifting herself off the ground. Kurobara was in the worst condition, with her entire body covered in burns and her breathing faint.
At that moment, Heinrich felt a shift in the wind caused by someone exiting a building. He turned to see that it was none other than the king of Sabasa.
"If you value your lives, leave Sabasa at once!" Zarak boomed.
The soldiers of Sabasa raised their weapons and charged at the enemy. With bitter expressions, Kokka and Kokuja grabbed their unconscious ally and retreated, along with the rest of their army.
However, Heinrich was in no condition to pursue them. His body was covered in puncture wounds, which bled profusely, and his throat was bruised. Moreover, the power of fire chose this time to run out. A hammer of exhaustion, like that caused by running full speed for hours on end, slammed into his body. It took all of his effort just to remain standing.
A large hand grasped Heinrich by the arm and supported him. "It's alright, you may collapse now," Zarak said.
"It seems that I'm always doing that after a battle," Heinrich said.
Zarak laughed. "If you can hold on for a few minutes longer, I can find you a more comfortable place to lie down. But if you're fine with the hard ground, I won't stop you."
And so the Battle of Sabasa ended, with a king helping an unblessed hero back to the castle.
-ooo-
Sintiel was awoken by a knock on the door. She sat up, her body shaking with nervousness.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked the young man lying beside her in the small bed. "It's just some of the village boys playing pranks again, they always do that at this time of day."
"I know, Peter, it's just… I keep worrying about them finding out about what I'm doing. About us," Sintiel explained.
Peter sat up as well and rubbed his eyes. "You keep talking about that, but would it really be that bad? Surely your fellow angels wouldn't – "
"They would – Heaven is nothing like the stories," Sintiel said. She lowered her gaze. "I didn't tell you this before, since I didn't want you to be afraid of me. Everything and everyone there is under Ilias' control. If she tells us that fire burns because of her power, we have to pretend to agree with it. If she orders us to punish sinners by raping them for twenty thousand years non-stop, we have to obey."
"Twenty thousand – there's no way that's true," Peter said.
"It's true, I've seen dozens of angels doing it," Sintiel said.
There was another knock on the door. Sintiel decided that she might as well deal with it. Even if it was a prank, confirming this would allow her to calm down.
The lowly angel got out of bed and put on her clothes. After making sure that her wings and halo were hidden, she walked to the front door and opened it.
"Hi there. Having fun?" asked Lucifina, the angel whom Sintiel dreaded the most.
Sintiel immediately unleashed her holy power and tried to blast Lucifina in the face with a laser. This attack could have vaporised the head of the average monster, but it did absolutely nothing to the Seraph.
Lucifina punched Sintiel in the chest, sending her flying into the opposite wall of the small house.
"Come on, is that all you've got?" Lucifina asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "You ninth circle brats really need to get more training."
"Who – Who on earth are you!?" Peter shouted.
"Hm, not bad looking, I can see why she was interested in you," Lucifina said. "The other angels will be happy to have a new toy."
"Don't you dare touch him!" Sintiel shouted, despite the pain of her crushed ribs.
Lucifina reached down and lifted Sintiel up by her hair. "Do you really think you're in a position to be saying that? You know the rules, and you broke them."
Peter grabbed a shovel and made a futile attempt at attacking Lucifina, but was easily knocked aside. Enraged, Sintiel kicked and clawed at her superior, only to be silenced by a brutal punch to the face.
"Did you think you could lie on your reports forever?" Lucifina continued, as if nothing had happened. "Sure, 'thou must not have consensual intercourse with humans' is a weird and stupid rule, if I'm being honest, but I'm still bringing you in."
"You… have so much power… and you don't agree with Ilias… why do you still follow her?" Sintiel asked.
"Because apparently, angels these days are stupid as well as weak," Lucifina said mockingly. "Because that old hag is still far more powerful than I am, and that's not even including my older sister. I'm not going to get myself killed just because she doesn't let me do everything I want."
Lucifina produced a laser from one finger and swept it around, setting fire to the house. Sintiel watched in despair as five years of memories were reduced to ash.
A brilliant light surrounded the three of them, dispersing to reveal the fantastic scenery of Heaven. Hundreds of angels were gathered, many of them ninth circle angels like Sintiel, but not a single one of them was her ally.
"Welcome home," Lucifina said, with a terrifying smile.
AN: Heinrich fighting the Three Nobles of Black is a canonical event, though the details are my invention.
It occurred to me that I didn't have any sympathetic angel POVs yet, so here's one. Sintiel is inspired by the backstory of Experimental Organism A-3, though she isn't necessarily the same person.
