Part Seven

Protect HQ!

Holy Army Forces: 10,000

Liberation Army Forces: 7,000 and skyship

Victory: Defeat all units or defeat Sloan Faakhir's unit

Failure: Daunte's unit falls or any enemy units reach HQ

The midnight sky was crystal clear, full of glittering stars and a full moon. Quite unfortunately the deceptive serenity served as an ominous backdrop for what was to come.

By the time Daunte reached his unit they could see that the Holy Army had thrown off their monster skins and were charging at them. Sloan Faakhir, Keha Hale, and Imbuka Liger each had six units in their vanguard, but Daunte saw that many more units framed the horizon behind them.

But he forced himself to remain outwardly calm. I can't let anyone see me be anything but confident. They will only believe that we will win if I display confidence that we will win!

"The Holy Army has been listening to our conversations via the pipes?" Caesar asked thoughtfully as Daunte gave him a quick recap of what had happened earlier.

"I think so," Daunte said. "Futch said the pipe we saw underground stretched for the entire length of the tunnel until it turn towards the west into the wall. We severed the connection."

"Interesting," Caesar responded. "So it wasn't a traitor but our own carelessness that exposed us to the enemy."

"If they've been listening to our plans this whole time, then why choose NOW to move against us?" Felicity demanded.

Caesar shrugged. "I imagine it would expose their hand if they did it sooner. Of course since we planned such a monumental campaign against their most powerful Sheikh, they had to take action against us now."

"Yeah," Roen said savagely. "On a holy holiday of all days!"

"Do we have an estimated time of when Hero and Öt will be arriving to assist us?" Surya called over to them.

"Hero should be here any minute!" Daunte called back to him. "I don't know where Öt is, but we'll be okay!"

"Incoming!" Umeko suddenly shouted from the top of HQ's walls. "The forces of the south are 300 meters away!"

"Leave them to Allise and Keiran," Caesar said reassuringly. "They'll know what to do."

Keha Hale's unit was serving as the rearguard, but the unit leading the vanguard was a calvary unit. "I've got this!" Allise called over to Keiran's unit. She directed her unit to move forward, standing at the front as she spread her arms. "Pale Passage!" she shouted, activating the Pale Gate Rune.

Keha Hale snapped his teeth when he saw the slender white dragon rise up into the air and rain massive ice chunks upon his units. The screams of his soldiers added to his anger. That bitch! Using the Rune she refuses to give back to me against me! I'll KILL HER for this!

"My turn!" Keiran shouted, unsheathing his sword. "Soldiers! Forward march!"

"So far so good," Daunte said, hearing the sounds of battle from the south. He looked between the forces advancing from the east and north. "Imbuka Liger's forces are going to reach us first. Is everyone ready?"

"Lord Daunte!" Shou shouted from the walls. He pointed towards the north. "Look!"

Daunte had to squint, but in the moonlight he movement across the sky. Hero!

James pulled the switch that opened the skyship's mouth, and he squinted before gasping in horror. "Grandpa!" he shouted. "Do you see that?!"

"It looks like the Holy Army ruined our ambush!" Hero called back to him. "Get ready, James! We only have enough juice for two blasts, and then we have to get the skyship out of here!"

"Understood, Grandpa!" he aimed the control towards the massive grouping of soldiers below them. "Why aren't they advancing?" he wondered out loud.

"They're the reserves!" Hero told him. "They'll advance when the first wave either finishes or fails! We'll need to stop them before they move out, or else they'll kill everyone at HQ!"

"Got it!" James saw the soldiers below them shift and begin spread out and he yanked on his controls back as hard as he could. "HAA!"

The aeolipile hummed loudly and began to glow red. From the beak of the ship beneath James's feet, fire erupted from the "mouth" and spewed down upon three reserve units in a long, horrifying blast. The units screamed in shock, fear, and agony as they became engulfed in one felled swoop. Most of the units quickly fled as the fire spread across the grass, the night sky turning hazy orange-red.

"…Whoa," Daunte breathed as they long stream of fire that shot out from the mouth of the skyship lit up the horizon.

"That should take care of the reserves," Caesar said.

"W-WHAT IS THAT?!" Adalgiso hollered, halting in his advance. The units around him also stopped and gaped in horror as screams filled the night air.

"It's of no concern to us!" Sloan shouted. "Keep advancing!"

"Lady Sheikh, the reserves!" one of the soldiers shouted. "T-They're under attack!"

"I don't care," Imbuka said dully. "Keep moving."

"Good job, James!" Hero praised, thumping his fist on his console pleased. "That just saved many lives at HQ!"

"See?!" Xi An pointed out. "Just like a dragon!"

"We have one more shot right?" James asked, ignoring Xi An as he glanced towards the aeolipile warily. "Should we attack one of the units attacking HQ?"

"Of course!" the skyship dipped to the right as Hero made a wide turn. "We're closest to the units advancing from the south, so we'll target them! Give a more controlled blast from the controls!"

"Will do!" James took aim with his controls. His eyes widened in shock though at what he saw below. "Grandfather! That banner—the unit right at the end is a Sheikh!"

"Attack now!" Hero shouted.

"Sheikh!" one soldier in Hale's unit shouted, pointing up towards the skyship. "Is th—" the soldier turned, but the spot where the Sheikh had sat on his horse was empty. The Sheikh was gone. "W-Where's the Sheikh?!" The soldier shrieked.

James gripped his controls, but Xi An suddenly slammed into him and grabbed his hands holding the controls. "THIS IS FOR MY PARENTS!" she shrieked, and yanked the controls back.

"Whoa!" Allise shouted when fire erupted from the skyship and ignited the land where Keha Hale's unit had been. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart started pounding against the wall of her chest. Did…Is that it? Is he dead?

"RETREAT!" one of the calvary soldiers shouted. "The Sheikh called for the retreat!"

"Damn it!" Allise shouted.

"…That was Keha Hale's unit that was directly attacked," Mihr said softly. "But he called the retreat? Did he—abandon his men to save himself?!"

"What a damn coward!" Keiran cursed, sheathing his sword. Hale's soldiers were already fleeing so further fighting was pointless. "A disgrace to the name of Sheikh!"

"Yeah!" Lanny shouted after Hale's retreating units. "You'll NEVER be as great as Lord Umed!"

"…This wasn't exactly what I meant," Keiran said softly.

"But he speaks the truth," Mihr said quietly.

"What are you doing?!" James snapped, shoving Xi An off of him. "We weren't supposed to use that much power!"

"Keha Hale killed my parents and sent me to the Dark Chasm!" Xi An snapped. "I wanted to make him pay!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?!"

"We're done!" Hero announced. "We have to get out of here and home before the aeolipile gives out!"

The skyship rose high into the sky again and took off for the north. "That took care of Keha Hale's units and the reserves!" Caesar shouted, though his eyes were on the enemy units about to clash with them. "Now get ready!"

"Follow me!" Daunte shouted. He raised his hand. "Berate!"

Sloan Faakhir's unit had paused in their advance briefly. The Wingers and Lorik's unit held position in defense of HQ, but they were ready for battle. From their position they could see Imbuka's Liger's forces engaging Daunte and Surya's units, but most importantly they saw the fires from the skyship still burning on the horizon. The power from the Fire Rune had left a wall of flames that stretched in a crescent moon shape for what seemed like kilometers. "It will be very difficult to call a retreat with that fire burning," Adalgiso said softly.

"Who said anything about retreating?!" Sloan snapped. He swiftly dismounted his horse and rubbed a hand over the back of his right hand. "We've only gotten started."

He held his hand horizontal over the ground, and his hand glowed. There a loud popping noise, and soldiers in their unit screamed in shock as a Chimera suddenly appeared out of thin air under his hand. Sloan smiled underneath his hood as he turned to face the monster. "Do you know my command?"

The lion's head, the eagle's head, and the goat's head turned towards him. The three pairs of eyes glared at him but did not move to attack him. The snake tail hissed but only swayed and did not strike. "Good," Sloan said. "You know who's in charge."

Adalgiso was about to say something, but his heart dropped into his stomach when he felt a familiar tremble. He was on horseback but he could feel the tremors in his horse's body, and the horse began to shift in panic. "Sheikh!" He exclaimed. "It's another earthquake!"

"It's no earthquake," Sloan said harshly. His horse shifted in panic and Sloan punched it in the face. Adalgiso didn't know if he meant to calm the horse or if Sloan was annoyed, but the horse swayed on its feet for a few moments before it collapsed. Adalgiso wanted to check on the horse to make sure that it was okay, but his own horse was panicking from the tremors. As he soothed his mount the lion's head of the Chimera turned and began feasting upon the unconscious horse.

Adalgiso froze in horror, gaping at the monster eating the horse he had seen Sloan ride into battle so many times over the years. Sloan did nothing to stop the monster.

That animal was loyal. He cared about Sloan! You couldn't have asked for a more loyal horse, and the Sheikh just sacrificed it for no reason?! He exhaled sharply. So…we are all then completely expendable to him!

"W-What do we do?!" One of the soldiers shouted. Everyone was horrified at the sight of the Chimera eating Sloan's horse, but the tremors were becoming more violent. "The earthquake—"

"I said it wasn't an earthquake, you moron!" Sloan shouted at him. He pointed towards the east. "It's that!"

Imbuka Liger was neither in the rearguard or the vanguard, but she was surrounded on all sides but a thick wall of soldiers while her units battled Daunte and Surya's units. She felt her usually calm horse shift in discomfort, before she felt the violent tremors. It rattled her vision. She turned to one of her soldiers. "What's going on?"

"I-I don't know," the soldier responded. "Is this an Earth Rune?"

"This doesn't feel like a rune," Imbuka responded. "It feels—"

The earth opened up directed underneath the rearguard. Two dozen soldiers immediately fell into the chasm created, their screams drowned out by the sounds of battle. Öt rose from the earth, the backdrop of the fires making the Death Worm look almost demonic. Imbuka's soldiers shrieked, and scrambled to get out of the way as Öt lunged towards them. He slammed into the ground with a deafening 'BOOM', crushing several soldiers while his ravenous mouth swallowed three more.

"My goodness," Georg said with wide eyes. "I'm glad he's on our side."

"Öt!" Daunte called, striking an enemy soldier in the face. "Be careful!"

"Where is the butcher? I cannot smell him."

Öt's voice rumbled loudly in Daunte's head through the crystal. Daunte shook his head to clear it. "Sloan Faakhir is with the forces to the north!"

"Then I—" Öt's voice cut off when one of Imbuka's soldiers stabbed him deep along his right side. Öt swung his body, slamming it into several more soldiers and sending them flying.

Daunte could see limbs sticking out of Öt's mouth and he dry-heaved. He's a carnivorous Death Worm. You knew what you were getting into when you recruited him. At least those limbs belong to enemy forces and not allies.

"That's a Death Worm," Adalgiso said quietly, lowering his spyglass. He looked at Sloan. "D…Didn't we exterminate the last of them?"

Sloan scoffed. "Clearly we were not diligent in our task."

"W-Won't it attack us?!" Another soldier squeaked. "I-I mean, WE did attack it last time!"

"It probably can't smell me since I'm standing next to a Chimera," Sloan said bluntly, glancing at the monster in question. It was still eating Sloan's horse, both eagle's head and goat's head having joined in. The snake tail hissed in jealousy. He chuckled darkly and humorlessly as he raised his right hand again. "This is turning out to be very fun!"

How?! Adalgiso thought to himself.

"Öt, you're bleeding!" Daunte shouted, fighting his way to Öt's side.

"I will not unti—" Öt grunted loudly in Daunte's head as five more soldiers began stabbing him with swords and spears.

"BERATE!" Daunte shouted, using his True Rune to attack the soldiers attacking Öt. By the time he reached Öt's side, the Death Worm was covered in cuts and deep stabs wounds. His breathing sounded labored. "Howl!" Daunte strained to include his other allies in the healing spell.

"A Death Worm!" One of Imbuka's soldiers shouted in horror. "Aren't those supposed to be extinct?!"

"It's eating our men!" another shouted.

"This is divine retribution!" a third shrieked. "Nagar is punishing us for fighting on the calm before Blood Fest!"

Imbuka watched Daunte and his allies fend off the Death Worm from her forces. The Death Worm closed its mouth fully, and the crunching sounds of the people inside its mouth filled the air. A surge of annoyance filled her body and she scoffed as she grabbed the reins of her horse. "This is stupid," she snapped. "I did not agree to fight a Death Worm, or a fire-breathing bird from the sky. I'm leaving."

"Lady Sheikh, we are retreating?!" One of her subordinates exclaimed.

"If you want to keep fighting go ahead," Imbuka said sharply. "You're on your own."

"B-But what about Sheikh Faakhir?!" the more hysterical soldier shouted.

"He can kill the Liberation Army just fine on his own. He's been trained very well."

"But how can we escape with the fire—"

Imbuka pulled out a dagger and stabbed the soldier in the throat. Several soldiers around her shifted in horror as she yanked the dagger loose, his blood spraying onto her sleeve. "Does anyone else feel like questioning my orders?!" she shouted. "I said that we are done here so we are done!"

"You're still injured, Öt," Daunte said, stroking his side comfortingly. "My healing spell wasn't enough to take care of your injuries. Please go to ground and rest. Dr. Yulin or Clara will come to see you later."

"I will not leave until I kill the human who killed my mate!" Öt snapped at him.

"Öt, if you charge Sloan right now he will kill you!" Daunte snapped back at him. "In your current condition you will die before you see him die!"

"I…must—"

"Öt," Daunte said more calmly. "I will take care of Sloan. Now go and rest yourself."

Öt shifted, and Daunte heard a hiss of anger in his head. "I will want to see his corpse after this battle."

Before Daunte could say anything more he slowly sank into the dirt and disappeared. Due to his injuries his departure caused fewer tremors than his arrival had.

"Are they retreating?" Mokuren asked in genuine confusion.

"They appear to be," Surya said. "The Sheikh unit and two others are retreating. The others are still fighting. This all appears to be very confusing."

"That woman didn't call for the retreat," Georg said grimly. "She's leaving her own soldiers to die because they don't know to retreat." A soldier tried to engage him, but Georg shoved him away roughly with his shoulder. "Your commander is leaving, do you not see that?"

"Wha—WAIT!" The Holy Army soldier shrieked. "Wait, don't leave!" he took off running after the retreating units. The rest of the Holy Army soldiers realized that their Sheikh had fled the battlefield and also made hasty retreats.

"That's three down," Daunte said as the soldiers cheered around them. "Just one more Sheikh to go."

"And it happens to be the very Sheikh we were going to ambush," Caesar said with a smile. "Funny how that works out."

"They haven't moved for a long time now," Lorik said, his tone sharp as he glared in the direction of Sloan's units. "What exactly are they doing?"

"T-They have a Chimera!" Rafe shouted. He was hovering in the air, shielding a hand over his eyes as he squinted to see.

"A Chimera?!" Oisin repeated incredulously. "Why would a monster be around humans?!"

"Hey, that IS a Chimera!" Dahlia cried out, rising up into the air beside Rafe. Her face twisted in horror. "Oh spirits—it's eating someone!"

"Oh fantastic, the butcher fed one of his men to the monster," Oisin scoffed.

Lorik turned to look over his shoulder. "Zander, go back to HQ."

"Lord Lorik, I can't leave!" Zander protested. "I want to fight at your side!"

"That's an order," Lorik snapped. "Go back into HQ and help with the defenses in there!"

Zander looked furious, but he made no further protests and stomped away. "I'm not leaving my Lord," Tala told him.

"I appreciate it," Lorik said. "I'm not very good with combat. But please be careful."

"There are forces coming up from the south," Adalgiso said, pointing to Daunte and Surya's forces moving to join Lorik and Oisin's forces.

"I know," Sloan said. "I'm going to give them a distraction." He raised his right hand high into the air, which began to glow once more.

Daunte stopped dead in his tracks when he heard screams coming from inside the walls of HQ! He quickly turned to face Caesar and Surya. "I'll go!" He shouted. "Please assist Lorik and Oisin!"

"Got it!" Surya shouted, waving to his unit to keep charging.

"I'm almost reluctant to leave you in Chinmaya's hands, but I have no choice," Caesar said, nodding. "Hurry and assist our forces inside HQ!"

"Lord Daunte!" Zander raced over to him, his eyes wide. "Lord Lorik dismissed me, b-but what's going on?!"

"We're about to find out," Daunte said, waving him over. He looked at Roen and Felicity. "Let's go!"

"L-Lord Sheikh," Adalgiso said quietly. "Did you—summon monsters to invade their headquarters?!" Your wife and daughters are inside there! he added silently.

"I'm not finished yet," Sloan said, looking at the Chimera. "I'll bring your brothers and sisters here. I have big plans for all of you."

The Chimera obviously did not respond as Sloan's hand glowed again.

"WHOA!" Surya shouted as numerous Chimera appeared out of thin air in front of them. The Army could see at least 20 of them. "H-He's summoning monsters!"

The Chimeras roared in unison and began charging towards the Liberation Army. Sloan's forces shouted battle cries and races after the Chimeras, their weapons raised ready to attack.

Oisin raised his spear and rose into the air to hover beside Dahlia and Rafe. "I smell the blood of my people on their hands. I'm going to enjoy killing them!"

"Let's go!" Lorik shouted.

"I suppose it's pointless to keep calling the Code A when you're all still fighting," Sanji announced nonchalantly. "Well, you all seem to be doing a good job. Three Sheikhs have fled already! Keep it up!"

Daunte and his unit charges back through the gates of HQ, but he couldn't believe his eyes. "W-WHAT THE—?!" Zander shouted.

The courtyard was filled with Liberation Army soldiers and…frogs. Giant frogs almost the size of men. There had to be at least 40 enemy frogs in the courtyard, and many more were climbing up from the cliffs and attacking the soldiers.

"Savage Frogs!" Chinmaya shouted as she raced over to them. She was definitely calmer than she had been before the battle. "I read about them in an old book of monsters, but this is the wrong terrain for them!"

"Sloan must have summoned them!" Daunte shouted. He saw Keiran's unit re-entering HQ behind him and he waved his hand. "We should attack with our units! There's enough of these monsters to count for war units!"

"Good idea!" Keiran shouted to him.

"Zander, keep a close eye on Chinmaya!" Daunte said. "Make sure nothing happens to her!"

"Yes, Lord Daunte!" Zander said, saluting.

"Tamara! Varnaz!" Chinmaya shouted. "Attack the Savage Frogs as war units!"

By the time the last Savage Frog climbed over the cliffside, there were nearly 300 crammed into the courtyard. There wasn't a lot of room to maneuver in the courtyard, but Daunte, Keiran, Varnaz, and Tamara somehow managed to surrounded and assist their soldiers in battling the Frogs. Thankfully they fell easily, but it was still a difficult battle because there was so many of them! After killing half of them the soldiers were tripping over their bodies as they tried to continue fighting.

"DIE!" Oisin shrieked, stabbing one of Sloan's men.

"For Agameru!" Lorik shouted as Tala took down another soldier.

"Where is the Sheikh?!" Caesar shouted. Three of the Chimeras had been killed by the Liberation Army (and they proved VERY difficult to kill) but the remaining eighteen suddenly took off from the ground and rose high into the air. One of the Wingers dove skyward towards one of them with his spear pointing forward. "STOP!" Georg shouted.

Too late. The goat's head in the center reared back and quickly lunged forward, spewing fire upon the unfortunate Winger.

"Damn!" Oisin shouted as the Winger fell to the ground. Surya rushed over to heal him. "Keep your distance! They breathe fire!"

The eighteen Chimera suddenly shot forward, flying straight over HQ's walls and disappearing out of sight. "Lord Daunte will take care of them!" Caesar shouted. He pointed towards the remaining soldiers. "Don't let them get away!"

"LORD DAUNTE!" Umeko shouted from the walls. Daunte was near the southwest building overseeing the piling of dead Savage Frogs when he heard Umeko's shout. He quickly turned and his eyes widened as he saw numerous Chimeras fly over the wall and enter the property. "LOOK OUT!" Daunte shouted.

One of the Chimeras sailed directly overhead and let loose a stream of fire from the goat's head. While it didn't have the level of damage that the skyship had caused, the grass still erupted into flames and some of the soldier's clothes caught fire. "ARCHERS!" Daunte shouted, racing towards the Chimeras circling overhead.

"I SURRENDER!" One soldier quickly shrieked, throwing his sword onto the ground. He dropped to his knees and clasped his hands in front of him, trembling. "P-Please don't kill me!"

"You killed my people!" Oisin shouted, striking him across the face with the end of his spear. "I'll not rest until ALL of you are dead!"

"I-I-I surrender too!" Another soldier shouted, throwing his spear to the ground and also dropping to his knees. "I ask mercy! I-I-I had no choice! If I didn't follow the Sheikh's orders, they would've killed me! A-A-A-And Original Sin would've killed my children! P-Please forgive me!"

Right before their eyes the remaining soldiers of Sloan's army (roughly 200 or more men and women) disarmed and immediately surrendered. Many of them were crying and begging for mercy.

"I'm so sorry!"

"I never wanted to do any of this!"

"I had to protect my family!"

"Wha…" Lorik gaped at them as anger surged through his body. "How dare—my people begged for their lives!" He hollered. "My people begged for mercy, and what did you do?! You killed them! You murdered men! Women! Children! Little babies! YOU did all of that!"

"So we're in agreement," Oisin said, hoisting up his spear. "They all die."

"Everyone, wait!" Caesar shouted, rushing forward. "They surrendered, so their fate is up to Lord Daunte!"

"They should no such courtesy to my people!" Lorik hollered. Tala nodded in agreement behind him.

"We will wait!" Caesar said. "Faakhir's soldiers have surrendered, so we—"

"WAIT!" Allise shouted, pushing herself to the front. "Where is Faakhir?!"

It took a moment for everyone to realize that the soldiers had surrendered with no input from Sloan. Caesar quickly looked at one of the Holy Army soldiers kneeling in front of him. "Where is the Sheikh?!"

"There!" The soldier shouted, pointing towards HQ. "H-He went over the walls with Sir Adalgiso and several other soldiers! H-He—They wanted us to scale the walls after them! B-But we just want to get out of here!"

"How did they go over the walls?!" Surya shouted as everyone quickly turned to face the walls. "I only saw the Chimeras fly over!"

Caesar stiffened as a cold stab of fear filled his body. "…Oh no…"

Seven of the Chimeras became grounded from arrows and Wind Rune attacks, but all eighteen were still alive. One of the Chimeras circled the central building, and Daunte saw the goat's head ready to let loose fire upon the building. "BERATE!" he shouted. The spell struck the Chimera before it could spew fire, and it struck three other Chimeras as well. The Chimera drifted down to six meters above the ground before it as struck by a Cyclone Rune spell.

It was then that Daunte saw…movement in the underside of the Chimera. After a moment he realized he saw a human arm jerking against the Chimera's belly. "HEY!" he shouted.

Rope fell away from the Chimera and suddenly Sloan Faakhir was free-falling from the Chimera. He landed on his feet with a loud 'THUD' sound as the Chimera collapsed to the to the ground. In that instant, several other bodies fell from the Chimeras and landed on the ground with weapons ready. Adalgiso fell alone from another one, while the remaining sixteen Chimeras had two or three soldiers either falling or rolling out from beneath the Chimera.

They tied themselves to the Chimera to sneak into HQ!

A dozen Liberation Army soldiers immediately charged Sloan before Daunte could shout any orders. Sloan swung his Khanda sword and effortlessly took the soldiers down. Daunte charged forward, his heart hammering in his throat. "SLOAN FAAKHIR!" he hollered. He raised his hand. "Howl!" He made sure to heal the fallen soldiers (those that were still alive) before jumping between Sloan and a Liberation Army soldier. "Your fight is with me," he snapped, taking a fighting stance.

"Pesky little brat," Sloan spat, his eyes wide and almost manic as he raised his sword. "I will enjoy killing you!"

"AAGH!" A Holy Army soldier screamed when Sierra jumped onto his back. She sank her teeth into his neck and he tried bucking her off. "GET OFF! GET OFF!"

"Blegh!" Sierra gagged, jumping away and scrubbing at her mouth frantically with the back of her hand. "Your blood is putrid! Where have you been?!"

"You should watch what you eat, Old Girl," Nash teased her.

Adalgiso gaped in horror at the couple, but quickly deflected a blow from Gunther. "What's wrong, Old Man?" Gunther teased him darkly. "Distracted during a battle? Maybe you oughta take a nap?"

"Be quiet!" Adalgiso snapped. He glanced towards the walls of HQ. Where are the soldiers?! They were supposed to follow behind us!

"Are you looking for your soldiers?" Allise called out as she hurried over to them. "Don't bother. They all turned on you."

"What?!" Adalgiso shouted.

"Aww Allise, are you looking out for me?" Gunther said in a cooing tone. "I knew you loved me!"

"Bye," Allise said, swiftly running away.

"Wait, get back here!" Adalgiso shouted. "What do you mean they all turned on us?!"

"I think it's pretty straight forward," Gunther said nonchalantly. "You're on your own."

"We're good to go!" Shou shouted down to Caesar from the walls. "No other forces are advancing!"

"Those fires are still burning though!" Umeko added.

"We'll worry about that later!" Caesar responded. "Priorities, everyone!"

The Wingers flew over the wall and wasted no time fighting the remaining forces in there and the Chimeras. "Why are there dead frogs everywhere?" Rafe wondered.

"Forget the frogs!" Oisin shouted. "I want that bastard's head!"

"Roen! Felicity!"

"EH?!" Both shouted, and turned to see Arin running towards them. He was holding Kibbeh in his arms. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Roen hollered, grabbing and yanking him close. "Why aren't you hiding?!"

"I f-feel sick!" Arin cried out, tears running down his cheeks. "Something bad is going to happen! Where's Brother?!"

"He's personally fighting the Sheikh," Felicity said, shielding the child from the combat around them.

Daunte had known that dueling Sloan would be difficult, and not just because of Keiran's warning from having dueled Sloan before. Sloan did not mince words, and usually responded in grunts before he made a move. Daunte found himself making many mistakes trying to gauge Sloan's movements, and Sloan did not adhere to duel etiquette and sometimes attacked in repeated succession.

If he won't abide to duel etiquette, then neither will I! Daunte yanked a potion out of his pocket and drank it down, throwing the bottle at Sloan before charging. The motion did distract Sloan and he swatted the bottle away, but Daunte was able to land a few good strikes to his abdomen before jumping back.

"Useless coward!" Sloan snapped, hugging his middle. "Resorting to trickery to try and beat me?! It won't work!"

Their duel continued and they moved across the courtyard, nearing the cliff's edge. All around them battles were finishing. The Chimeras were dead, as were most of the Holy Army soldiers who had snuck into HQ, but those left offered surrender.

Only Adalgiso was the sole holdout, but the older gentleman was tired and wounded. He could barely keep a grip on his sword as he swayed on his feet. "You should stop and surrender, Adalgiso," Keiran said. "I know you to be a good man. Don't waste your life here."

Adalgiso gritted his teeth and tried to raise his sword. "I—have no life," he rasped, glaring at Keiran. "I have nothing without the Sheikh! I-If he…If he tells me to die here, I will—"

"Stop it, Adalgiso."

Adalgiso's head snapped up and he looked over his shoulder. Tidur was standing at the front of the crowd, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Please, stop," she said softly. "Enough is enough."

Adalgiso stared at her for a long moment, his mouth hanging open in shock. He swallowed thickly and squeezed his eyes shut. After another long moment he let the sword slip from his hand and he collapsed to his knees. "…Forgive me, Sloan," he said quietly. "I have…failed you."

Angrier forces of the Liberation Army did not seem keen on accepting the surrender of Sloan's second-in-command, but Tidur surged forward and hugged him from behind. This caused everyone to stop in their tracks. "It will be okay," she murmured. "Everything will be okay."

"All that's left is Faakhir," Caesar said grimly, looking towards Daunte and Sloan dueling.

"I'll kill him while he's distracted," Oisin said, starting to rise into the air.

"Wait," Lorik said sharply, though his face was also twisted in rage. "They are dueling. We can't interfere."

"What?!" Oisin snapped. "Why not?!"

"Because it's a duel," Chinmaya told him. "Interfering with a duel violates duel etiquette. We must rely on Lord Daunte to win."

"What does "duel etiquette" matter?! He's distracted right now, we can kill him!"

"We can't," Varnaz said. "This is Lord Daunte's battle alone!"

"That—That is so STUPID!" Oisin hollered. "We're about to win this battle! There's an entire Army ready to kill that one guy! And we can't do anything but stand on the sidelines and watch those two fight?! I've never heard anything so stupid in my life!"

"For the sake of this battle it is stupid," Lorik said bitterly. "I want to see that monster die terribly. But we can do nothing but wait."

"Brother!" Arin shouted, pushing his way to the front of the group. Caesar grabbed his shoulders to stop him and Kibbeh squirmed in his arms. "Brother, be careful!"

Daunte was surprised to hear Arin's voice, but he didn't falter in his steps. They had reached the cliff's edge. He was tired but he could see that Sloan was getting tired too, his breathing guttural and inhuman. "This…is boring," Sloan said. "I'm not even having fun. Let's change that!"

That sounded like a Deathblow, so Daunte threw his guard up. Sloan charged at him full-speed and stabbed at him, but Daunte jumped to the right and threw a punch at Sloan's head. The blow caught him in the temple and he stumbled backwards violently. Sloan roared in rage and lunged forward again, but Daunte saw from his erratic movements that he was attempting another Deathblow. He threw up his guard again and this time the sword nicked his arm, but he didn't notice. He planted his foot on Sloan's wrist, using it as leverage to jump up high and punch him four more times on the top of Sloan's head. He pull all of his strength into the blows, and Sloan flew backwards, landing hard on his back with his sword lip in his hand. He growled one more time, his glazed eyes half-lidded before they slammed shut.

"YEEEAH!" Felicity shouted, and cheers rose up among the Liberation Army. Tidur pressed her hands over her mouth as she began to cry again, but she made no sound. Adalgiso remained kneeling on the ground, his breathing labored as he stared at Sloan's prone form.

Daunte felt weak in the knees and his heart was slamming, but he exhilarated. He saw his allies waving their arms and hurrying over to approach him. He nodded to him and smiled, waving before turning his attention back to Sloan. The man in question was lying very still on the ground. He did not appear to be breathing. Daunte saw that his sword was still in his hand, and he knelt down beside Sloan. He reached over and tried to pry the fingers off the hilt—

In that moment Sloan's eyes snapped open and he lunged with his left hand, slamming it tight around Daunte's throat.

"LORD DAUNTE!" Caesar shouted Sloan swiftly sat up and climbed to his feet, holding Daunte by his neck as he hoisted him up.

"BROTHER, NO!" Arin wailed.

The soldiers of the Liberation Army were screaming and panicking. Barō rushed to the front of the group with his gun ready, but before he could pull the trigger Sloan swung Daunte's body over the side of the cliff, leaving him hanging over the crashing waters. "Damn!" he cursed. "If I fire now, he'll drop him!"

"B-But won't he survive the fall?" Chinmaya asked. "He has a True Rune!"

"True Rune users can still die," Sierra said grimly. "A fall from this height, and in the physical condition he's in, will surely kill him."

Bright patches filled Daunte's vision as he struggled to breathe. He held Sloan's wrist with both hands but his grip was unwavering. He tried to kick with his legs but he didn't have the strength to lift them very far. He saw Sloan lift his sword with his other hand and he squeezed his eyes shut as he frantically tried to focus. Need help! I need help! I don't have any Berate left, I need help—

Daunte heard two thuds, but the voices that followed sent chills down his spine. "STOP IT, DADDY!"

His eyes flew open. Sloan was still holding him by his throat over the cliffs, and he still held his sword in his right hand. But clinging to his arms was Esther and Ciana!

What—NO! What are they doing out here?!

"DADDY!" Esther shrieked, hanging onto his sword arm for dear life. "STOP IT, PLEASE!"

"DADDY, STOP!" Ciana yelled, hanging onto the arm that held Daunte. It was the first time Daunte had ever heard her raise her voice.

"ESTHER! CIANA!" Tidur shrieked from the crowd. She began to race towards them, but Adalgiso caught her and held her still. "NO, LET ME GO!"

Both Liberation Army soldiers and surviving Holy Army soldiers had abruptly fallen silent, and were gaping in shock and horror as Sloan's two daughters tried to restrain their father's arms and save Daunte. Daunte chanced a look at Sloan's face and he went still. There was still no emotion on his eyes. His were still hard, unfeeling…

Sloan didn't say a word, didn't acknowledge his children. Suddenly he swung his right arm back violently, but not in strike against Daunte. He began swinging his arm back and forth, and Esther shrieked. H-He's trying to shake her off! Daunte thought in horror.

Esther nearly lost her grip but she held on tightly. After a moment Sloan stopped moving his right arm. He continued to hold Daunte's gaze as he then swung his left arm back, and left Daunte go.

The Liberation Army screamed as Daunte skidded across the grass, dangerously close to falling over the edge of the cliff, but Daunte didn't feel his own impact on the ground. His eyes were frozen on the Ciana; the little girl hadn't been able to hold on to Sloan as Esther had. Her body went flying a short distance backwards until it impacted into the ground two meters away. Head first.

"Ciana!" Daunte shrieked, forgetting Sloan and scrambling across the grass towards the girl.

"NO, CIANA!" Esther wailed. She burst into her hysterical sobs as she let Sloan go and ran towards her little sister. Both Daunte and Esther reached her at the same time. Esther's hands were shaking violently as they hovered over Ciana. She was crying so hard she was babbling nonsense. Ciana was unconscious, and Daunte saw a pool of blood already starting to form under her head. "HOWL!" Daunte shouted.

Adalgiso was so horrified by the attack on Ciana that he didn't notice his own loose grip on Tidur. She broke away from him and raced towards the scene.

"Ciana, hang in there!" Esther wailed, clinging to arm. Daunte examined her head and was relieved to no longer see blood. "H—" She looked up and her voice broke off in a wheezing gasp. Daunte looked up as well and tried to stand, but his vision swam and he couldn't make it.

Sloan had moved closer and was standing over them, still wielding his khanda.

"Daddy, WHY?!" Esther shrieked. "You hurt Ciana! Why did you do that?!"

Sloan raised his sword, and several people screamed. "Daddy, no!" Esther whimpered, her tone softening. "P-Please don't hurt her again! Please!"

Before Daunte could react he was siezed from behind and pushed back. Tidur jumped in front of Daunte and Esther, her arms spread wide as she knelt on the ground with them shielding them from Sloan. "Esther, take your sister and run!" Tidur said sharply.

"Mother, I can't leave you!" Esther shrieked.

"Do as I say!" Tidur shouted, her eyes on Sloan.

"Tidur—" Daunte said.

"Sloan," Tidur said, looking up at her estranged husband. "You've killed enough people today. If you want to kill anyone else today…you'll have to kill me to do it."

"Mommy, NO!" Esther screamed.

"Tidur, move!" Daunte snapped.

"I won't move," Tidur said, still looking at Sloan. "I'll protect you both with my life. Now run!"

Esther and Daunte did not move. Tidur continued to shield them. She held Sloan's gaze unflinchingly as the man swung his sword up high over his head—

And went still.

Daunte gasped briefly as Sloan's entire body froze as though he had turned to stone. Tidur still didn't move from her spot, but Daunte could hear murmurs of confusion from both their allies and Sloan's soldiers. After a long moment, the sword slipped from Sloan's hand and clattered to the dirt.

Sloan gasped softly, and Daunte saw the cloth in front of his mouth shake, but the noise was swallowed up by the battle cries of his allies as they charged towards them, obviously targeting the now unarmed Sheikh. Daunte didn't move from his spot, his body also frozen as he finally watched Sloan move. His left hovered over his right, but then suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"DIE YOU PIG!" Oisin shouted from above them, swinging his spear.

A burst of white light suddenly erupted from Sloan's right hand—"AAAAAAUGH!" Sloan shrieked, throwing his head back. The light was uncomfortably bright and hot, and Sloan stumbled back almost over the cliff's edge. The light and Sloan's screaming caused everyone to stop dead in their tracks. "HUUGH—THE PAIN!" Sloan ripped the glove off his right hand and Tidur and Esther screamed. Daunte's mouth hung open in shock at what he saw.

In the light he saw a dark rune embedded onto the back of his hand. Daunte saw the skin around the rune bubble violently and liqudify as though it were hot wax. The skin slid off Sloan's hand and dripped onto the ground as he continued screaming. "IT HURTS, GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Unable to help himself, Daunte pushed past Tidur and lunged for Sloan. The heat from the light was painful to him so he knew that it had to be VERY painful for Sloan. Not knowing what else to do, Daunte slammed his right hand over the rune, and he screamed from the horrible pain it caused. Tears immediately formed in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks and he felt like vomiting—

"DAUNTE!" Arin shrieked behind him.

Daunte snapped back into himself and grabbed Sloan's elbow with his left hand. "RUNE OF RESTORATION, STOP THIS!" He yelled.

The Rune of Restoration responded to his command, its symbol rising into the air as Daunte, Sloan, and the white light were consumed by the yellow-green light of the True Rune.

Mlkwt Alsmwat

The Matron lowered her hand. She noted that her arm was unsteady. How curious.

But she could not deny the twinge of regret she felt in her being and she slowly shook her head. "What a pity…"

"You did it?" Takefute asked, his tone calm but low. "You released him?"

"That I did," the Matron responded, turning around to face the High Clerics. "It was a necessity after all…"

"That means Sloan Faakhir is now lost to us," Kayanu said grimly.

"My Lady, I hope you realize what you have done," Yuuto said sternly. "You have cost us yet another Sheikh! We cannot afford to lose another Sheikh!"

"On the contrary," the Matron said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I just won your war for you."