Chapter FORTY-NINE: Untimely Demise-DEVIN

...

The Queen of Thais stepped back, horrified by the new presence in the room that was right beside the Demon. A woman she had seen only twice in her life. A priestess—a druid—stood right beside Ahriman. The druid's pale face and light yellow hair, giving her a seemingly innocent presence, seemed unchanged from before, was now before her—side by side with the wretched demon.

"Moon Priestess!...YOU Traitor!...MINION!" Alicia growled, deciding not to attack as she was too weak now. The priestess ignored her stance as though she were not there. Alicia gripped the hilt of her sword so tight the metal start cutting through her blistered hands.

"My Lord, are you not finished? I'm out of time. The moon is setting. Dawn is nearly upon us. You must end this now. I must set the land down," she said coldheartedly as she restored the Demon to full health and power. "You really should not exert yourself, Sire. You are not at your full might yet."

"My lovely servant! Just in time! Ha ha ha! I was about to end this, although I was having much amusement. You should mind to your silly moon duties then. But now that you are here, why not stay and watch the grand finale! Ha ha ha!"

"Did you find the Child, My Lord?" Leana inquired as she turned to open a portal, appearing nonchalant over the appalling scene in front of her: the Queen of Thais gasping and spitting out blood from her mouth, glaring at her with all the hate in the world in her eyes.

"Not yet, but surely she is as dead as her mother is soon to be," the Demon cackled.

Alicia filled with terror and rage. She was outnumbered and out of reach from the only restorative in the room.

"Chaos," Ahriman said suddenly. The queen finally fell to her knees in agony. Her thoughts went straight to her daughter and Devin. She whimpered loudly, finally caving in to her misery.

"Good. Now finish this, Sire. I must leave and will return for you soon," Leana retorted all while smiling. She stepped into her portal and disappeared in a blaze of lights and fog.

Alicia fell to the ground, unable to hold herself up even to get on her knees. The last of the restoratives now much closer, but still too far.

"At last, your majesty. You did not expect to win, did you now?" Ahriman said provokingly.

Alicia breathed heavily on her side. There was nothing else she could do, but pray to the sun gods it would not find Tailor and her princess in the under belly of the castle.

The queen closed her eyes knowing the end was imminent.

The sound of the large castle doors suddenly bursting open shook the room. Alicia opened her eyes, turning to her side, hoping for Devin, even if it was just to see him one last time. To her shock, a man slightly older than her stormed right through. A total stranger. He wore a dark cloak that wasn't really concealing him, as though he were a traveler. The man's striking green hair the color of fresh ivy leaves and his skin a slight glowy tan as though he were from the East. His fierce eyes, a piercing indescribable mysterious yellow-green. A large pendant with a polished red stone hung from his neck.

"Who are you?" she questioned weakly, barely audible.

The man smirked at the wretched Demon and then smiled slightly at her as he walked confidently towards her, "We are here to help you, Your Majesty."

Alicia suddenly felt faint as though suddenly having 'help' could give her a moment of reprieve she so needed. Her hearing began to go in and out—she just wanted to rest—but some hope was restored upon seeing the traveler; giving her time to plan what to do next.

The Demon and the man exchanged heated words. Alicia tried to listen, but coughed up blood as she tried to move. Still unable to hear and see well from the loss of strength, she pulled herself closer to her lost restorative. She noticed right away it would only be to restore some mana as she glanced at the brown liquid in the vial.

"Ha ha ha! Who are you supposed to be now?" Ahriman questioned and cackled at the same time, amused by the sudden presence of another battler who held an orbed staff—a magic wielder—the demon realized to his delight.

Suddenly, two others showed themselves near the traveler.

Alicia held the restorative still trying to muster strength, trying her best to stay alert. She noticed two young girls suddenly in the room. There was no light show as when the horrible Moon Priestess appeared. The two girls just simply appeared out of nowhere. They looked peculiar, she noticed right away. One had white hair, the other black, but their eyes were otherworldly—an unnatural brightness she had never seen before—thick auras surrounded both. They were hardly adolescents. Their hair short and they each seemed to be no more than mere presences in the room, unprepared to fight.

"Gate Extora!" the green-haired man shouted.

Ahriman was quickly pulled into a dark gateway that instantly appeared in the room. He shot out the other end, out of breath, hitting the castle wall behind the throne with such force it shatter some of the stoned wall. The Demon struggled to compose himself as he forced himself up.

"Time Tsunami," the man cast, ignoring the rules of turn-based battling. The Demon dodged the spell. A strong energy field washed over the throne room, washing over everything and putting out some of the small fires as it refracted through. "Does that answer your question, demon?!"

"Timemaster!" the demonic beast roared. "Maelstorm!"

The throne room trembled and became a heated inferno. The Timemaster shielded himself from the heat, but took a terrible hit from it. The other two followed and attempted desperately to shield the horrible heat, and quickly cast a shield spell on Alicia from the strong hellish fiery storm that ensued.

At the end of the monster's spell, Alicia realizing it her only chance, took the last of the restorative, and got up. She realized now that her chest plate was entirely covered in blood.

She charged forward and yelled, "Songbird!"

Ahriman screamed again. The blast from her magic caused intense flashes of light to burst throughout the throne room. Her sword plunged deep in the middle of it's chest. To her shock, the Demon's life did not end.

He sneered wickedly.

"Absolute Zero," the demon cast.

Alicia fell again. She felt cold—so cold—the pain left her body and became a weak numbness. Her lips turned blue and she toppled to the ground.

"NO!" the man yelled, "Your Highness!"

The two young girls stepped beside the green-haired man. They began to chant different incantations at the same time.

"Time Loop!" the Timemaster shouted.

"No!" the Demon wailed.

A large wave-like vortex phenomena opened. Ahriman stiffened to a standstill, frozen stiff. As soon as the vortex faded, the demon was locked inside the anomaly, then suddenly gone.

Alicia lay on the ruined castle ground. Her eyes trying to stay open, fully aware that what she had done was suicide.

The man ran over to her. The other two young girls stayed back. They looked down with forlorn expressions.

"Lars! We need to leave! We do not belong here!" the black-haired girl cried.

"Yes, we must leave NOW!" the white-haired girl affirmed, also trying to contain her sadness.

"Nox, Uma—please! Wait!..Just wait outside," Lars ordered as it seemed too much for them to handle.

Alicia watched as the two young girls apparate without effort.

Lars went over to the queen, "Your Majesty, you do not have to worry. He'll be gone a very long time...And she...your daughter, will turn out just fine..."

Alicia tried to say thank you. Only blood came out. Her eyes stared deeply into the stranger's astonishing eyes, knowing now he truly meant what he said about what would come to pass. As outlandish and unreal that he even existed at all, the fact that he came all this way to help from only knows where, gave her hope and relief.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty...I...I can never save you. I have gone back so many times...to stop this. Your fate is always the same...Just as my own fate is unchangeable...and your daughter's...I must go. I do not belong here," Lars revealed as a tear rolled down. "You did well, Queen Alicia...I'm sorry I cannot stay...I must go."

Alicia sighed heavily. A deep sense of serenity washed over her. It was not all in vain, she reflected.

"Hey you, down there! You need to leave now!" Lars yelled loudly towards the fountains. Alicia closed her eyes from his sudden loud callout, when she opened them again, he was gone.

..

After what felt like an eternity, but was only a matter of minutes after hearing a strange man shouting, Tailor suddenly found himself and the child in his arms on the opposite fountain. There was no water left in the fountain as it had all been evaporated away from battle.

"How? How are we up here, lass?" Tailor uttered to the sleeping baby in his arms. He quickly hopped out of the empty fountain, unsure of his surroundings. The wind beat hard within the castle walls, howling. "Alicia!" he said, having spotted her on the ground in the throne room steps away. He ran to her and fell on his knees as he approached.

Alicia breathed shallowly. Her mind now wondering if the evil priestess would be returning soon. The sight of her daughter and her friend overwhelmed her with deep sorrow. She tried to move, but she had no strength. There would be no time to explain all that had happened. Her palm curled into a tight fist. A tear ran down her face.

"Tailor..." she managed to say while gasping. "Run...Run...Take her far from here...Do not look back."

Tailor went to her side. He took in the sight of the throne room as it was unrecognizable and completely destroyed. He looked over everything wondering how she was still in one piece.

"Queen Alicia, what happened?! I could not hear much down there..." he said, disbelief setting in as he looked around again. A view of the moon setting out of the now broken windows. It appeared to be pulling back fast, he noticed, feeling alarm. "You're coming with us, Your Majesty. You MUST!" Tailor began to choke up. He fumbled around for a restorative he could use on her, but there was nothing strong enough. He knew too well that there was nothing he could do having seen so many die in the battlefield. Even the very best healer or restorative would do nothing.

"Please Tailor...Please, leave...please," her speech became a whisper that trailed off. Tailor's hand grabbed her fist. Immediately, her grasp loosened. A ring fell into his hands. "The Pendragon Sigma...Take it...The kingdom is hers with this."

"Please, Alicia, come with us!" Tailor cried out loud. "I can't do this! I should be the one dying, not you!"

"You'll be fine...knight...Devin and I trust you," Alicia voice rasped, weakly managing a smile. Her daughter slightly opened her eyes. Her beautiful lilac eyes catching hers briefly, before closing, falling sound asleep again. The queen wished Devin would finally walk in the castle, but knew that would never be.

The room began to shake again.

"I do not know where to go, Alicia...Heck, I...I don't even know what to call her," Tailor said suddenly through tears, at last, realizing he could not hold back waiting any longer.

"It's a...Her...Ren...Rhen..." Alicia gasped as she looked up at her daughter.

The Queen became still.

"What kind of name is that? Tailor asked, but then saw his friend and beloved Queen gone. Her stunning blue eyes glazed over. She lay motionless. "Farewell, My Queen..." he uttered, throat constricting and new despair setting over him.

Tailor immediately shot up. His grip tightened around the girl. The shaking had stopped, but he assumed the Demon was close again. He had no idea how he would leave the miserable kingdom.

He wandered through the demolished Thail streets, avoiding every possible danger in their way, before exiting the castle gates for good.