The wind felt differently on Cter's face as the rapid, controlled descent the griffon that carried her dove down among the other two carrying their own Monster Mage on their winged backs. The feathers too were different on the subordinate that had let Cter mount up on. Her feathers were more...spiky, in a strange way. The slight itch when wearing a new set of clothes for the first time, somewhat. Similarly, the magical protection to shield her from the wind was weaker too.

A large part of the reason she could assume was from the Griffon Captain being tired, however the magic that she did feel was different from Aajja's. It was softer, yet more tingly. Less refined than Aajja, as if it had been taught and not discovered.

Maybe Kry and Kurant's barrier magic would have felt the same had they been taught it rather than forced it? It felt too much like it had been magic Cter had forgotten she had conjured when she stood next to theirs.

She had done her best in trying to make it be theirs, but the more she changed the more she had to add her own to the change to make it work. The more she forced their souls to stray from the Monster Royals the more she had to pad that distance with her own magic. The more she changed the more she made them as her.

Hopefully not too much like her as what the three griffons and Monster Mages were diving quickly through the air towards needed someone else than her.

The human squad arranged from a marching square to a protective triangle pointing towards the large cloud of sand and dirt that the three griffons tossed high and thick as they landed hard and intimidating. It was as if they acted as the large boulders they had dropped down onto the humans just a day before, and many, many days before that as well.

Just according to plan.

"It is quite the unorthodox tactic, I gotta say," was Kry's take on it after Aajja had explained his idea to him with a rather childish excitement to the ruffle of his feathers. The long stretch to his floppy neck and his locked knees had him standing as if in honor, but with his eyes and aura shining as if he was getting a slice of freshly baked pie from his mother. "But I do have to admit that it is a rather intriguing idea."

"It's not something they would expect," Kurant had then chimed in with a glance of her head over to the human squad in the distance behind the thickened barrier magic of Cter's making. "And facing them outside the walls at a distance would show them that we do intend to keep them away at all costs. They dare to march upon us, and we will respond in kind." Her glance then turned to Aajja. "I suspect this is something you're also suggesting for you and your subordinates sake too, isn't it, commander?"

While Aajja's neck bent slightly his eyes did not lose any sparkle and luster. "Tertiary, yes," he had admitted with a small nod. "I still feel like I have done wrong and allowed the humans to build their siege engines. Instead of lingering on that feeling though I would like to turn that against them, if you would allow me? My subordinates would want that too, I'm sure. Let us carry you to meet the humans face to face, Monster Mages. Allow us once more to assist you in keeping Jarasevo safe!"

The silhouettes of the human squad faded into view from the dissipating cloud of sandy dust, and before the cloud could fully fade, Aajja lifted his wings high up in the air. With all that he could muster he beat his wings forwards, pushing the cloud of sand against the humans.

Like a wave against a beach it broke against the rigid discipline of the humans, but that was not all he had planned for them. Once the aggressive cloud had been tossed Aajja spread his wing span as wide as he could, covering the view of Jarasevo with his feathers. His subordinates joined their wings with his, forming a wall of wings that would not budge for anything.

In front of it stood the Monster Mages, similarly in a triangle like the humans, with Kry as the point and Kry and Kurant on either side behind him. He lifted his glowing sleeve up, conjuring a sphere of barrier magic which flowed viciously within it. Together the griffons and the Monster Mages formed the Delta Rune. Together they had come to meet the humans.

Together they stood against the humans!

Aajja and his subordinates let out a joint screech that seemed to echo all the way beyond the rolling hills in the far distance. A screech that would have deafened the Monster Mages had they not plugged their ears with barrier magic. A screech that was the same that they had intimidated the humans with before dropping the boulders from high up. A screech that finally had the human squad flinch.

And forced their leader to step out from within their protective formation.

His weathered appearance had not gotten any smoother since the last time Cter had seen him. The colorless tabard which he and his squad hid their arms from view within fluttered as he walked up to the front. He made a show of his hidden arms as he then folded them over his chest, but the rest of his squad returned their arms within the fabric that hang loosely from their shoulders to hide their arms and intent. Their hair were all the same hanging down over their eyes to hide the windows to their soul.

Their soul that they had all been cursed with from the Second Fusion.

So perhaps it too was to hide them from it as well?

"I take it you're here to meet us, Monster Mages?" asked the Hero of Xoff in a confident tone. His hair he had not let grow out to the length that the humans in his squad had. Instead he wore it short, barely long enough to cover up a faded scar across his forehead. "To negotiate from the weaker position?"

The tension in the griffons' wings changed, but Kurant eased them with a calming hand along with a push of her aura. It wasn't enough to fully keep them from reacting, but it slowed their anger down enough. She felt the same anger, and that she showed in her aura. She wanted to blast away the humans just as much as the griffons wanted, but they had to be calm and collected. There was a chance that words could prevail, and that they had to take, no matter how small it was.

As Kry eased away his sphere of magic the squint from the Hero of Xoff stopped, and instead his eyes took on a secure and furrowed appearance which he challenged against Kry. The First Monster Mage only adjusted his glasses in response, and took a first step in order to meet the Hero fo Xoff halfway. It didn't take long before the two were but a few arms lengths between each other. Their presence reached past them though, with the Hero of Xoff's large, weathered, and strong form rising above Kry.

His wise, collected, and almost kingly aura he let radiate from himself as much as possible as he knew that it would touch at both the soul of the Hero of Xoff's as well as the humans in his squad. They wouldn't want to feel it, but they had no choice. Kry was setting the rules, and that the Hero of Xoff noticed.

"That so?" he let drip from his tongue like poison. "You're not gonna meet me halfway in your way then? That seems unfair as I have come here to meet you halfway in my way." With a slow unfold the Hero of Xoff motioned behind him with his arm. "I came here to have a talk similar to that of the Council of Three Countries where we could all still use words even though the air between us was tense. This is what I had in mind, but if you're not going to honor it..."

Kry pondered for a long second before shaking his head slowly and deliberately. "We already chose to meet you more on your side than on our side when King Asgore agreed to the terms of the Final Battle," he replied with a calm voice that hid his real anger quite well. "So if you are still to argue that we should meet you halfway then please leave for the location of the Final Battle. We Monster Mages would be happy to follow you to it."

He too motioned behind him with his glowing sleeve pointing at the barrier magic that glowed softly. From the distance they were at it all looked like one continuous piece rather than sections built by three different mages. The harsh light was useful for that, it seemed. Good to know. "Jarasevo will be safe even without our presence."

The Hero of Xoff peered over the Monster Mages and the combined wings of the griffon monsters for a few, contemplative seconds. "For one day," he stated factually, returning his arms into a lopsided fold with his left arm angling up with an opened hand. "It will be safe for one day at the most without your presence." His raised hand collected down three fingers. "Two if Cter is left behind per the agreement of the Final Battle."

Shuuja was steadfast in his brief assessment, giving no hint on his visage nor in his faint, neigh-detectable aura that he was bluffing and or did not believe fully in what he said. "Your magical defenses are impressive, and that I say without any means to the contrary. However," he added quickly with a confident close to his eyes, "it is only that of magical defense. They will come down eventually, leaving the capital exposed with only its physical walls to protect. With only those protecting it will as easy for us to ascend above them as it is for you hate me in this very moment."

He sure was correct with that last part…

"You would leave and Jarasevo would still be in danger?" Kry challenged with his brow raising behind the rim of his glasses. He swept towards the human squad that had escorted the Hero of Xoff. One of the soldiers flinched, but stepped back into line with hard looks from the two humans stood next to him. "When we ask you to leave it means the royal you and not the singular you, I hope you understand? A royal understanding, that is."

Kry then pointed his opened hand over the human squad towards the rest of their contingency working on the siege buildings at the mouth of the forest that they had widened more into a pained roar than before. "Take your betraying humans and leave the Monster Capital. You have until the end of the day to leave everything you have done here and return to your human countries. If you do so I will assure that you can march unimpeded."

There was a slight air of disappointment that rolled out of the Hero of Xoff's mouth as he heaved a hummed sigh which had his strong shoulders easing down for just a moment. "Surrender the Monster Capital to me, Monster Mages," came a startling statement that was as clear as it was direct. "Surrender the city to me and I will keep it safe."

A row of confused, zig-zagging looks were traded between the Monster Mages and the three griffons, flicking between each other with increasingly confusing blinks, escalating until Cter felt that her head became faint.

"What?" she uttered with a mixed bend of vile and utter bewilderment tugging at her expression wildly. "What do you..." If his plan was to make the barrier magic surrounding the city disappear due to the souls of the Monster Mages being confused enough to function properly then he certainly took a good first step towards that. "What the hell do you mean by that?" She didn't mean to be so confrontational with her words, believe it or not. It just felt...necessary to add it to her question. Otherwise it wouldn't have gotten through how utterly ridiculous the situation was!

Why would the Monster Mages give up the Monster Capital to the humans to make it safe?

"Ex..." Kry had to push up his glasses as the wrinkles on his nose had carried them halfway down. "Explain yourself, Shuuja." He wanted so much to yell, but managed to keep himself composed.

But only just.

The Hero of Xoff turned on his heels to the north west where far, far away the Final Battle was taking place. "How do you think that the Final Battle is progressing, Monster Mages?" he posed without moving his head from the horizon beyond the horizon he was looking towards. The slight wind played with his short hair, but not as much as it did the fringes of the humans in the squad behind him. There was a shimmer to their eyes. It was faint. Faint enough to not have Cter see it.

But her soul did.

As did her colleagues' as well.

"Because it is already over."

The reaction from the three Monster Mages was delayed, but it was as strong as it should have been.

Not from the terrifying news that the Hero of Xoff had shared.

But from them realizing that it didn't surprise them in the slightest.

"The Final Battle lasted for only a day, and ended after that day of direct combat between you and us. The outcome was already decided, but even with it there was still fierce fighting. The Monster Army held for longer than expected, and have earned my respect." The Hero of Xoff looked at his hand. "However though, that respect was nowhere to be found in that ravaged field which was painted white with dust the last I saw it. Drops of blood in places like stains on an old table in a commoner's tavern, but covered over by the fluttering dust."

His hand closed hard, clenching as if grabbing an invisible hilt. "How much of that dust I am responsible for I do not know." Cter followed the invisible blade as it slipped out of the Hero of Xoff's hand. "And neither do any of those that are now marching towards here with the few monsters that survived the battle." It didn't feel right for the Hero of Xoff to say it like that. "From that...slaughter."

His words were carried with the wind, despite their weight. Like chains they wrapped around the Monster Mages, gripping them tight and forcing out the air out of them. His soul, ever so faint and buried deep within him, was as bright as their own in that moment. He did not lie. He spoke the truth, and radiated it as well. Desperately the Monster Mages gasped for the air that had escaped them, with Kurant falling down on her bad leg with a shaky imbalance. Kry's glowing hand pushed at the rim of his glasses, hiding his face from view. If he was holding back or holding together was impossible to tell.

Cter could only stumble a shaky step to try and regain the balance that escaped her. She braced her wrist for the ground that she almost fell down on, but a large, soft wing caught her in the last second. She felt her weight settle on the thick layers of feathers. They were soft.

But she wanted for nothing but to fall right through them.

"It was a mistake," continued the weathered hero with a forlorn expression that. "The Final Battle was a mistake. Something happened with us, those that have a soul." His hand grabbed at his chest, wanting to rip something out. "Something ignited within us as the dust began to spread. With each monster that was cut down the next one fell even easier." His grab hardened, tensing the fabric he held enough for it to start cracking around his fingers.

"With each monster that became dust by my hand I felt myself become less and less worried about the next. The magic that was cast against me hurt less and less. Their weapons broke against mine. Their armor shattered with increasing ease. It wasn't a battle. It wasn't a last confrontation. It was...slaughter. It was more than slaughter."

The Hero of Xoff let the wind wash through him, but it did naught to wash off him.

"Why wasn't I disgusted by what I saw? Why wasn't I disgusted by what I did?" His eyes closed hard in shame with his hand weakening on his chest. "I've stopped battles before when the outcome was clearer than glass, yet there I kept going. I kept killing, and I did it more and more with less and less thought to my actions. They became as if their own, cutting and slashing."

The Hero of Xoff mimicked the motions for a short while before realizing that he did. He recoiled his hand, following the invisible sword that he held as it tumbled down into the ground. He took a step back from it, daring not to touch his chest again. "What has become of me?" His gaze looked over the horizon. "What has become of us?"

One of the humans from the squad approached the Hero of Xoff with worry in his step and outreached hand. He was swatted away, stepping back with a wide, startled step. "Don't be near me!" the Hero of Xoff warned. "I ordered you to keep your distance!" His breathing heaved his body up and down with each deep inhale and exhale. "You're still not affected. You're still not like us!"

A few quiet seconds passed by with nothing but the Hero of Xoff's strained breathing filling the tense air. Eventually he had to swallow some of the tension as he realized that he had to compose himself. His shoulders were shaky as he tried to straighten his back, failing in it. There was a difference in his eyes as he turned to the Monster Mages.

"You need me to take over Jarasevo." There was pleading. "If the victorious humans arrive here and face resistance then..." There was a flash within his eyes, and he recoiled with a deep grunt. From the depths of his throat he harked fiercely, spitting out onto the ground a thick, viscous glob that by no means should have been looked at, however what was within it had the full attention of the three Monster Mages.

Black like soot and swirling the same as the White Flesh on Cter's left arm. It moved for only a few seconds before its swirls faded away, leaving just a darkened hue to the mucus that surrounded it.

"We'll kill you all," said the Hero of Xoff without emotion. "We're cursed, all of us. If you monsters resist when the human army arrives then the same will happen as did at the Final Battle." With a desperate throw of his arm he motioned behind him. "These humans were not present at the Final Battle. These were sent by Rasliela. They haven't had their curse take them over. If you allow us to take control of the city for when the human army arrives with the monster prisoners they were lucid enough to keep then there might still be a chance!"

The Monster Mages stood still.

"I only approached you like I did so that it would reignite within me." The Hero of Xoff gritted his teeth. "You wouldn't believe my words, but my soul you would. You feel it, don't you? You feel what it wants. You feel what is has done!"

They did.

But…

"We can't."

"You have to!"

Kry looked behind him, over his colleagues and the combined wings of the griffons. He looked at the glowing white of the barrier magic he and his colleagues had raised for the monsters within. "We can't." He shook his head. "We will defend monsterkind, and..."

The breadth of a large wing brushed past him, with a similar white glow filtered through the soft feathers.

"Cter?"

She didn't hear Kry's voice.

"Cter..."

Nor did she the Hero of Xoff's who she was holding up her left hand towards. He stepped back, but not enough for her to meet him halfway on his terms. His arm was rugged where she grabbed at it with her left hand. There was dust still on his arm. Dust of those he had slayed as per his own words.

Dust of those she would avenge.

The approaching humans flinched as they collided with the barrier magic she raised around her and the Hero of Xoff.

"You want us to believe you?" she asked. "We won't believe in your words when you tell us!"

Without an answer.

"So show me instead!"