Chapter FORTY-EIGHT: Final Battle-Devin

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The queen's breaths grew shorter and shorter. She did not dare answer the door, yet alone speak or move. But, could it possibly be Devin? Alicia hoped, then again, why would he bother knocking? No, he wouldn't—not under these circumstances.

Scandalous chills ran all over her. Suddenly, the few candle lights that remained lit high up in the ceiling turned a deep scarlet, making the surrounding grey walls appear a bruised colored, with a few candles blowing out completely, almost leaving her in the dark. She averted her gaze quickly to the fountain area. The area was pitch darkness. However, coming from the opposite direction, a dim light gradually began to pulse from the throne room. Her instincts told her to head for the darkened room instead, but that would only make it obvious that there was something there. She could not risk leading the Demon to her daughter.

She looked behind her at the stairway, thinking it perhaps best to flee upstairs, but apparently the quaking had made the ceiling collapse, from what she could make out in the bleak darkness, there was no longer a way up.

"Ha ha ha ha—" A sudden burst of laughter came from somewhere, though quickly ceased as though it had been trying to contain itself, but couldn't anymore. Worst of all, the frightening laugh sounded as though it had come from inside of the castle—The throne room.

She was trapped. There was nowhere to go besides the throne room.

After all this torture: the murdering of her people and perhaps the death of her husband; deciding that there was no other choice, Alicia furiously charged forward, converting all her pain into unexpected courage. Her heavy steps became lighter as adrenaline filled her with a rush of unwanted fear and anticipation. She held her sword high like a spear and a shield in front of her, ready for confrontation; equipped with all the best equipment that suite her stealthy frame.

Upon entering, Queen Alicia stopped, froze, seething with rage at the despicable sight in the throne room in front of her. The Demon sat innocently on the king's throne.

"Ha ha ha ha!" the Demon heckled wickedly.

"Ahriman!" Alicia yelled.

The fiend looked slightly different than she remembered it from the first encounter years ago. The hideous monster no longer looked like a gargoyle's corpse with rubbery skin tinted mauve like a dead person rotting. Instead, he wore a cloak which concealed his oily black wings, almost giving him a human-like presence. Although he was covered up much more than when he was brought back from the dead, she could make out evident burns and scars all over his face, ones that they had given him years earlier. Perhaps, mostly due to Talia's fire spells and Frederick's fire-breathing raft as a dragon, which made her smirk as his disfigurement was gratifying.

"Is this how you treat all of your enemies, your highness ? Keep them waiting at your gates and not answering the door?" Ahriman said maliciously and shook his head disapprovingly. "Of course, I've decided to make myself comfortable while waiting for you to show up. I thought a throne would be most suitable."

Alicia remained silent, but sneered with disgust.

"Ha ha ha! Tsk, tsk. The Queen of Thais has no manners? Is this the kind of treatment you subjected the world to? An incompetent snobbish ruler who can't defend her kingdom? In my time, such contempt towards the Emperor of All would mean certain death," he said the last sharply.

Alicia tightened her grip on her sword; she took a step forward. She pursed her lips, resisting the urge to launch at him with all her fury.

"This is not your time, demon!" Alicia yelled. "Leave Thais and never return again. Be gone!"

Ahriman shrugged and slowly rose out of the throne.

"Now, now, I make it a point to offer my enemies a chance to serve me. Imagine! You can be a part of the greatest chapter ever known in all of history. The world will be made over into something great; something grand; something dark and wonderful of my own design! Of course, I shall be the ruler of all, and you shall be my servant. In return, you will have powers I alone can give you; powers that will make you anything you want to be. Take my offer, your majesty. There is, however, one condition—or two—you must accept. Take my offer..." he gasped the last, his demonic voice echoed sharply throughout.

His promise seemed strangely tempting, but she quickly pushed the idea out of her mind with thoughts of Devin and her daughter, who needed to survive.

"No!" she retorted, immediately breaking free of whatever was getting a hold of her. "Hah! You are mad! You despicable brute! I would like to tear you limb from limb and feed you to the monsters you have unleashed upon my land. YOU, not I, shall be the one agreeing to stipulations, Demon."

"Then, you choose to die. Pity...An excellent mistress of darkness you would have been. Of course, it wouldn't have lasted with your regal attitude," he exclaimed and jeered wildly. At the same time faint giggles echoed from all around. Along with the roar of the demon's laugh, the floor began to tremble. "Now tell me—where is the Child? I'm sure, you could say, she has been dying to meet me. Ha ha ha!"

"You appall me…"Alicia's throat constricted tightly from its question. "Dead," she answered simply. "You killed her. You also took the king and everyone else's life in Thais! YOU WRETCHED, VILE MONSTER!" Alicia screamed her lie with genuine bitterness, trying to stop from shaking with fear of being discovered to have fibbed. Fortunately, the trembling happening externally around them concealed her own nervousness; even more fortunate was that he had not spotted the carriage's wreckage on the trail outside the city, at least she hoped so. She forced her eyes to turn glassy with tears and waved her sword menacingly, hoping her plan to be convincing. Though a lie, the lie itself struck her with panic. Her shielded hand pressed over her heart with hope that it would not come true; that Devin would burst through the doors any moment.

"You lie! I demand the Child!" Ahriman hissed; however suddenly, the trembling became a vigorous tumult that increased by the second. "Do not worry about being candid of her whereabouts. No one can escape now—you shall see. Ha ha ha!"

"You killed them! And now I shall kill you!" Alicia shouted, charging forward, though, she was forced to stop. The force of gravity forced her knees to an unstable bend as though the land were being lifted from deep within and lifting out of the very ocean. The castle walls began to crumble; a force unforgiving to the strongest resistance. Beyond, she could hear the rumbling down of buildings collapsing. Suddenly, the windows decorating the surrounding throne room walls burst in one sudden swoosh of wind blowing towards the west. Alicia covered herself as much as she could with her shield as the shards of stained-colored glass from the left side of the room showered down throughout the room in one sweep.

Could it be that he is moving the whole main island? the incomprehensible possibility shocked Alicia. How...will they ever escape…her thoughts trailed off along with any glimmer of hope that anyone would survive on the land from whatever the demon had planned.

"How?!" Alicia gasped in an echoing, bewildered shout.

Then, suddenly, the land seemed to harden again. Outside the broken windows, she could see a red swelling moon, clouds drifting lower and lower going eastward. They were moving, she realized, feeling helplessly numb. There would be no ship waiting at the port any longer. The ship was surely left somewhere far in the sea.

"Time to die!" Ahriman heckled.

Alicia attempted to charge at the Demon again, but suddenly the castle doors behind her began to flap open and close. The temperature seemed to heighten all around creating a circulating heat wave around them. The heat wave condensed towards where Ahriman was standing, quickly forming two sets of identical spheres of blurry fury, all exploding simultaneously in a fast burst of light.

Ahriman's cackling sharpened as the double echoes of malicious giggling filled throne room. Suddenly, two small winged demons burst out of the spheres. The ghoulish creatures, dark reptile green with pulsating golden eyes, giggling and screeched loudly, waiting for orders. Their large heads covered with what looked to be hair, but was instead fleshy dreads with purplish flamed end-tips, and vile snake-like maroon tongues licking the air. They floated by their demon master.

"Imps..." Alicia gasped, having heard of the vile creatures existing only amongst other horrible demons. She charged forward. Ahriman continued to laugh.

"Enjoy my pets, your majesty! Ha ha ha!" Ahriman exclaimed coldly.

Alicia struck one of the vile creatures hard. It fell downward nearly touching the ground, but it quickly sprang upward. She attempted to strike it again, but it dodged her and it moved in an upward and downward partner. The other imp quickly struck her hard, nearly knocking her over. She shielded herself. The malevolent fiend roared in a demonic low screechy growl and attempted to strike her again.

Having now studied her, the two imps retreated. Each one took turns summoning spells. Alicia refrained from sword magic, not wanting to give away her abilities too quickly. She needed to make the Demon think her weak.

"Scorch"

"Annihilate"

The queen dodge one attack, but was struck by "Scorch". The terrible pain that came from the searing hot temperature immediately forced her back. She wished a healer were near to replenish her health, but took one of the few restorative she had, then making it a point to dodge as much as possible. She pointed her sword at them and waved it vigorously shooing them away. Noticing they did not want to take a direct hit, she now aimed to cut hard.

"Silence!" the queen shouted. Immediately, both demons were unable to utter more spells.

She continued attacking them. Hitting as hard as she could with her blade. What appeared to be blackish blood, oozed to the ground out of them, after several strikes. Once hitting the ground the blood quickly ignited.

The fiends swiftly started taking turns using their small bodies to strike her. Her health quickly went down even with her shield up. Another restorative used, she continued attacking them knowing magic would likely not work on the horrible dark magical creatures. She panted deeply, while trying to not lose sight of Ahriman, who continued to laugh, waiting for her to fall.

The imps continued to spill blood and seemed to become disoriented, knocking into each other, trying to break their "Silence". She quickly acted, striking each creature, each strike being its last. One by one, the imps bursts into nothing after her strongest blows.

The Demon's laugh ceased. Alicia took the opportunity to clean off her sword. Her glare instigating the Demon as she paced from one end of the room to the other, moving closer.

"...How?!" Ahriman bawled. "A large party can easily fall from just one imp attack...Perhaps, I've been too light. Ha ha ha ha."

Suddenly more giggling filled the room. Four more imps exploded out of the air beside their master. By now, Alicia had already restored herself again.

"Silence," she shouted again. This time Ahriman was silenced as well, but only three of the freshly spawned imps were affected. Ahriman seemed perplexed that her spell affected him and worked frantically to reverse it.

The imp that was still un-silenced quickly screeched out a spell as it giggled.

"Scorch Exura"

Alicia defense shield became hot. She let it go. Her sight became unfocused from the extreme heat. It permeated through her equipment, making her sweat heavily.

She gasped out a protection spell that helped partially restore her health, at the cost of using up a lot of mana.

The imps began to circle around and giggled evilly, each taking a strike at her. Their speed hastened as the queen tried to distinguish each one. Alicia continued to stealthily dodge each as they attempted to lash at her, quickly rolling under the circle and jumping to her feet.

An imp abruptly struck her as she tried to swing her sword, nearly losing her balance. With the one foul imp that scorched her with its horrible spell, in plain sight, she struck the fiend right in the chest, using her sword as though it were a rapier. It was a critical point of weakness, as the creature quickly burst into nothingness.

Ahriman's was no longer silenced. He commenced heckling again.

Alicia wasted no time reaching for another strong restorative. Even though her defense shield was still hot, and she could feel the scorching through her gloved hand, she picked it up and continued to battle. Her clothing singed as each of the vile creatures' blood splattered and momentarily ignited.

Down to the last imp, the creature was still silenced. Alicia continued with another restorative, but the foul creature knocked it out of her hands. It rolled away closer to the Demon. She quickly finished the imp with one last strike.

Panic setting in, she dare not look in her pouch to see how many restoratives she had left. She felt weak, but charged by the thrill of the battle. Years of training and preparing paid off, and the only reason she was still capable of battling on. However, the reality of nearly being out of restoratives, was quickly setting in. There was never a lack of anything in her whole life as a royal, but now was low on the restoratives she needed most, more than all the gold in the world. Only luck could save her. She no longer thought of anything but survival.

She needed to fight the Demon now, not wait for some other malevolent vile creature he felt like conjuring up on a whim just to watch her suffer more.

"It's over, Ahriman! You have underestimated me as Queen," Alicia gritted. "Battle me now! I do not have time to play games, Demon...I have funerals to plan."

"Ha ha ha. I never let a fair maiden wait. Prepare to die!" Ahriman's now with a dire tone, realizing he had a challenging opponent before him. He cautiously inched forward. It was obvious he was disappointed his imps were beat so easily.

"Scorch Extora!" Ahriman roared.

Alicia quickly dodged the spell. Even though she missed the spell, the room felt different. As though a heavy despair filled it's every stone and crevice.

"Kiss of Death!" Alicia cast as she charged forward finally using her sword magic. The Demon fell back towards the throne. Anger and astonishment filled his face. A deep rising shriek sounded from its deformed demonic mouth. Debris on the ruined castle floor pulled back towards the walls, possessed by the Demon's rage. Alicia quickly cast another shield spell. She knew deep down there was no way out now.

"Foolish girl, I will end you!" the Demon said in a deep enraged growl. His demon voice different than the earlier grossly optimistic tone. The Demon's wings suddenly spread from its back, ripping the cloak he bared. The rubbish on the ground became animated projectiles that he hurled to the walls, all becoming heated embers causing the room to appear a sickly red.

"Flame Melody!" Alicia yelled and agilely charged forward. The Demon shield itself, only half affected by her spell.

"Weevils!" he growled.

Alicia was stuck fully with the spell. The pain moved throughout her body as though she had small knives running through her flesh. With shaking hands, she took another restorative; this time taking one which would restore her mana as well as a cure her from her affliction; her hand barely finding any restoratives left in her pouch. After being cured, she quickly glanced behind her, still hoping Devin would burst through the door.

"Silence!" she shouted, but the demon dodged the spell. He batted his large wings and waved his staff manically, striking her shielded arm, causing her to lower it, but she did not let it go this time.

"Beserk," Alicia yelled, trying now to desperately buy time. The spell took a hold of the Demon quickly. Alicia glanced at her hand—the gloves and sleeves were scorched through—wounds also on her own arms and legs were scorched, blistering, and bleeding.

"Powerslice!" Alicia yelled. The demon was completely confused. The magic bursts out of her sword, striking him and weakening him instantly. "Trinity Fury," she belted out again, not wanting to give it a chance to recover.

She continued saying spell after spell, repeating many, trying her best to close in on the Demon to actually cut him with her sword. Alicia then charged full force towards the Demon, piercing it through in the its abdomen. The Demon screamed, but pulled out of "Berserk".

Alicia, completely depleted of her mana, took the last of her restoratives to restore her health.

"Annihilate," Ahriman screamed in agony, striking her full on. She moved forward ready to strike him, feeling his end close.

"...Just one more sword swing..." she whispered to herself as she approached. Her arms heavy from wear and the raft of the spell causing her so much pain, she wished for everything to end.

"Impossible!...How can one mortal possibly do so much damage and still be standing!?" Ahriman shouted enraged as she lunged forward.

Suddenly, the queen could hear the faint sound of what sounded like a baby's loud cries coming from somewhere in the throne room, or at least, she thought it was the cries of an infant. Alicia froze, thinking her daughter had been found. The brute smirked evilly. She realized it was all trickery to buy him time. At the same time, a light fog followed by a burst of lights, developed in the room; the sound of the wind hollowed now.

Right beside Ahriman, a familiar face appeared in the room.

Alicia gasped, "NO!"