· · · · · · ·

Xelloss was bored, on the backburner because of injury and in need of a victim. He found one high in the sky of Kataart.

Buried in a thick wingchair, Grau fiddled with his thumbs. He bathed in the sunrise, so high the clouds drifted by him. Xelloss could have mistaken him for one to enjoy the scenery to go out of his way so much, but up close Grau only tasted of sour emotions.

Quite the invitation for Xelloss, so he he joined his fellow priest by leaning over the backside of the chair in the most mismatched, nonchalant way possible. For extra spice, he put on a voice he's knew was a most grating kind of carefree.

"What are you so anxious about?"

"Hggnnh."

"You have fiddled for five hours, mister Graush—Oops, almost mispronounced your name. Mister Grau, you can't help what you were, but you can help what you become. Try something more creative."

Grau sneered at the last word and pulled his robes higher around him, a gesture treacherously human. Unlike his lord, he didn't forget to add sound to the fabric. Exactly that irked Xelloss, because why not go further?

"If you can bother to project a chair all the way out here, you could choose to do something more conductive to our mission?"

"It gives me focus," Grau grumbled. "I have no orders to fulfill, so that is all I can do."

That kind of thinking was never enough for Xelloss. With a location like this, they had a good view of the war.

The first wave of devils had been sent in the break of dusk to the expected effects : annihilation merely by the guards. The allegiance of dragons from all four corners of the globe, coupled with forced recruits of the Sailoon Zenaffa wielders and fusion vessels on top proved more than bargained for. Teleporters had figured out the devious trick of grabbing legions and teleporting them near a firing team. The injury sustained from teleportation slowed them down, they never had a chance to retaliate.

Off course, now the devils knew what to expect. This was Metalliumese for Xelloss being bored. He didn't hate battle or the miasma to produced, but it wasn't exactly his hobby. Give him a harvesting game in society any day over this stale procedure.

There wasn't a real game in this either. The gods blinded and unable to interfere, the seal weakened due to the distorting pillar ... busting Lei Shabranigdu out was a safe, casual move. Xelloss would have preferred babysitting duties over this, as Deep Sea Dolphin did right now. After turning on the pillar, they had found three reincarnated pieces of Shabranigdu; one the new Knight of Shabranigdu, useless to them in the form of baby, and two young hosts.

Dolphin had concluded that the first ray must have faltered because of a failed incubation, set on the summoning coupled with the Knight's inherent instability. If a fetus died or was dying in the womb, the soul drifted into Megiddo without ever entering hell since there was no spirit to ground it. With this in mind, Dolphin believed she could solve their new problem : the other hosts were fetuses too and could not muster the hatred to awaken Shabranigdu. Under her breath, Dolphin had expressed the hope Lei Shabranigdu could do something.

In short, the world destruction plot was officially activated. What a drag.

No, beyond a drag. Having met the alleged Sage of Siephied and learning what she truly was only made it clearer that when it came to the whims of the Lord of Nightmares, they stuck for a bit. Like, a few thousands or so. Maybe more.

Lord Beastmaster was incapable of realizing who Leyunso really was. How many ideas had Leyunso planted in his lord before ensuring she could not believe this or that? "Create a devil who won't lie" might just stem from that time. The implications were massive. Xelloss itched to ash her whether she'd chosen his lord for a reason, or whether it all was an accident. Not that it mattered in the grand game. The Lord of Nightmares had made her intent clear. More so than ever, Xelloss knew the world had to change.

Leyunso's state appeared to be a curse on first sight, but it could be turned to power. She could plant disbelief, Xelloss would give to play with such a thing. His usual methods ... perhaps they were a bit lacking. Right now, being able to make the devils disbelieve freeing Lei Magnus was the right move would solve so much.

Though, maybe he could plant a seed of distrust?

In the name of experimentation, he leaned further over Grau's chair and said, "Mister Grau, don't you think it is very strange that when a devil is sealed in a human soul, they can take over this soul to the point of all their personality, power and appearance returning to former glory, yet they will inevitably be stuck with a survival instinct?"

Grau's sting of discomfort was the only reply.

"After all, that was the price Gaav paid for resurfacing. I understand why lord Shabranigdu will not do it with his human hosts, but I am very curious why it works this way."

"It's just a complication of the way gods and the flow work. Off course they would rig it that way!" Grau shouted.

Xelloss opened both of his eyes, but only briefly. That was a more aggressive response than expected from the whimpering little fool.

"Off course, off course. I wonder why Gaav played along, then," Xelloss said slowly. "Why could he at all? In fact, how come the parts divided by Siephied are still pure and monotone, yet the devils created by Shabranigdu so ... diverse?"

"You know as well as anyone that we need to differentiate to solidify the foul fact we must exist to end the world."

"Ah, yes. He who fights a monster may become one, and lo, the abyss stares back." Xelloss rapped his fingers on Grau's miter. He waited a few seconds, allowing no sound but the wind around. He didn't breathe, didn't let his projection make noise. Then he spoke slow and deliberated, "What if Her dream is biased towards existence?"

"That is not for us to question! You should work that serpent tongue on our enemies," Grau snapped.

The temptation to say but that's what I'm doing right now tickled behind his lips.

Xelloss chose wiser words, "Oh, you think this is work? I'm merely killing the time with polite conversation and here I am, accused of foul play against my own allies. So unfair. Then again, you are lord Dynast's servant."

"Don't play that game! You have no right to infer anything about ... about ... Her."

Grau tasted of doubt, affront, worry, embarrassment : all whipping on the icecream. "I didn't infer anything, mister Grau. Have I said a single question about the reason we fight? It is you who takes my perfectly legitimate theory about the gods trying to make us doubt our purpose all the wrong ways."

"You ... you were talking about Gaav, and ... "

"About Gaav mingled with mortal souls. And?"

"I heard you mention Her dream!"

"And not Her nightmare that is this world. My, did you think I was?"

"I ... ehm ... just ... off course I know what you meant all along! Don't be ridiculous. I was just messing with you. You're not the only one who can do that!"

And the fox on the plains didn't see the wolf anymore, though the wolf made a splash catching two fish at once and prancing over the ice to showcase it.

Now he needed something else to kill time.

· · · · · · ·

He should have thought of betting on which dragons die first earlier. Never play cards with Grau again.

· · · · · · ·

The reports of the enemy range flooded in just when the sun has risen entirely above the horizon on the vintage point of Xelloss and Grau. Midranked devils brought the reports and Xelloss did his best to listen, if only because lord Beastmaster had told him to. Even as he was damaged from the battle with Rangort, he doubted he'd die at dragon claws.

They needed help getting rid of the fusion magic vessels first. Being one of the creators of the vessels, Xelloss could trace each of them by their magical signature. As long as it wasn't too obvious he was familiar with them, the vessels should pose no problem.

The three retainers themselves had begun carving through the barrier around the mountain sealing Lei Magnus. Xelloss, Grau and Rashat were to keep the flies off.

"Well then, mister Grau, let's head in."

The first worthwhile enemy to catch his eye was a group of five Zenaffa armored elves down a valley. He descended and projected. Just as they noticed him, he smiled and set the air around them on fire. Only one of themselves got himself encased by the Zenaffa's giant form quick enough to survive, but even a pocket of air inside would run out eventually. Xelloss kept the blue inferno on, dodged all the laserbreath and blocked its attempts to grab him physically.

It took about five minutes before this one died.

A flock of wind dragons approached close across the mountains, he pointed his finger and blew them up. Dull. He went to find some more Zenaffa wielders to play with.

Mindless mass slaughter wasn't Xelloss's preference. You never knew what kind of useful, fun people you killed. Granted, with dragons this risk was low. Still, who knew how many more like Filia were tucked away? On the other hand, Milgazia needed to die.

He killed another legion, yawned and sat back in midair. "Want to take over, mister Grau? Surely you can deal with the next legion."

Without complaint but much anxiety, the little pope went ahead, flanked by a swarm of lesser demons. Pffft. With a quarter of Xelloss's power, Grau was still a threat to the dragons, but his insecurity hindered him.

Boring, boring, boring.

He decided kill more slowly, just to drive away time. Pinch here, pinch there, piece some necks, snap some spines, and for diversity, manually hop around a little and whack things with his staff or poke them with a magical charge. Sometimes he'd let them nearly hit him. The real game was guessing what legion they belonged to.

He ignored the earth dragons for the most part; he had a hunch reconciliation with Rangort was on the schedule. Somehow. To cover for this, he placed particular focus on the fire dragons. If anyone asked, he could pass that off as personal distaste.

While fighting, he caught traces of dragon settlements within the mountains, but ignored them. Killing civilians was not in his orders, not useful, not a challenge, and might cause him to run into Lyos and Filia. He didn't doubt Sylphiel would get them out, righteous little priestess that she was, but Lyos and Filia had a heroic streak that might make them stay. Hmm ... Claire would probably persuade Lyos to leave and Filia was without a doubt anxious to return to family. He hadn't seen them so far, so they were probably gone.

By the time the howl of Zelas Metallium rang across the mountains, he and the others had taken down a quarter of the dragon army. Their strategic organization had been scattered and their leaders separated. Xelloss had caught sight of Milgazia a few times, and was a little miffed he had to retreat before getting a chance to kill him.

The dragons could play with the rest of the devil legions.

The mountain sealing Lei Magnus looked ordinary on the physical plane, but astrally it stood out like a solid, pulsing blue flesh. Arteries of light and hexagon membrane covering a skeleton wrought in a crude sphere. Firm roots anchored it to the planet's spirit, the so called mother earth. Despite Shabranigdu's struggle, the barrier would never have broken with earth feeding the god's corpse new energy.

At least, as long as the prison was healthy. It didn't stand out at a distance, but up close the imploded hexagons and bleeding muscles reeked of pain. The drum of a human heartbeat vibrated softly through it — Lei Magnus as enhanced by Shabranigdu's power.

The hole carved by Zelas, Dolphin and Dynast bore through a broken bone at the foot of the mountain, where the god's power had torn away in its attempt to follow the pillar. Earth had kept it, but with effort.

Something wasn't right. When he had seen Luna the other day, Siephied's power had settled closer to her than ever, nestled into her human soul. This holy power did not such thing. While he couldn't feel the flow's direction, he could guess : Lyos pulled it.

This could be a problem.

"Is something wrong?" Rashat asked.

"I'm wondering whether this will affect my injury," Xelloss said a second after reminding himself this was a legitimate concern.

They passed through the mountains without projection, since the physical space remained untouched. The mountain was hollow, they projected against at the closest opportunity. Any of them would imply it was to communicate more easily, but the truth was their blindness. The holy power scraped at their astral skin, the murk of their home plane more impenetrable than ever. The faint, physical blue glow at least allowed them to move ahead by watching the rocks go by.

Zelas howled again, providing their only beacon to a cave deeper into the mountain. Cold, dark and stereotypically gloomy, if not for the most epic popsicle at its center. Xelloss liked to teach little kids to freeze insects in icecream and give it to their playground enemies or hated adults. Ragradia's work here trumped it by a few miles, he needed to bring this up with her next time.

The three retainers stood before it, waiting for their subjects to join them. Hairline cracks were in the ice before them, but not much else.

"Ah, you're here. Come help us," Dynast said. "This is more difficult than we expected."

Xelloss turned to his true form and together with his lord wielding both her swords, he attacked. Dynast's power took the chill of deep winter, Dolphin's attack flowed as water and Zelas's light broke into threads. They never got perfect harmony, but the attacks converged close enough to turn that hairline crack into a network.

Neither human form nor devil's true self stirred just yet. He didn't look like much now, but he'd been glorious even before becoming a so called ultimate evil. In the world of humans, those of greater skills yet lesser presentableness stood poor chances. Lei possessed both the beauty of a young human man and the great skill of a wiseman. No wonder it had been this host whom they found and broken, yet none of the others all across the world.

Xelloss had only interacted with Lei Shabranigdu once, when rewarded for his tactical prowess against the dragons. Some last vestige of humanity must have been in him, that Lei found value in reward and physical tokens.

From then on, he was a bland mutant crab thing. Xelloss had been a tad disappointed to learn that yes, the real Shabranigdu was eldritch chaos and he'd probably never get to see him. This here had none of the numerous eyes, half jaws pushing out of skin or skinless flesh that the whole Shabranigdu had possessed. That Shabranigdu would never be a sitting duck. He would have gone straight north instead of chasing random adventurers. Gathered his armies.

How much influence had Lezo possessed to dumb down Shabranigdu? Perhaps Shabranigdu wasn't that bright to begin with. He'd never needed to be, primitive force of nature that he was. Xelloss could believe such a simple mind to be restrained by the complexity of even such a thing as a humans in their shortlived mess. Still, a dark lord stopped by mere mortal emotions? What worth existed in serving one such as that? The Lord of Nightmares respected a strong desire, but this was an entirely different matter than being inconvenienced by them.

Even if he and his lord hadn't been on a mission from the Lord of Nightmares herself, he would have been repulsed to serve him He wished for a chimera to step out for more than one reason, not just to have a reason to turn against him without jeopardizing his creator's plans, but also because Lei was probably smarter than Shabranigdu. If the Lord of Nightmares did wish for the world to end, he didn't want to be led to it by an idiot.

The ice crystal broke in a bright flash. Pieces ringed through the cave and scattered against the walls, leaving behind a limp dark lord and a staggering human body. All of the devils took a knee and turned their eyes down.

Dolphin raised her head slightly, asking, "My lord, do you require aid?"

He nodded, wordless, and she offered her hand in the same silence. Lei Magnus let her lead him to more even ground, all the while using his force to restore his ill human body. The kind of healing of an immortality pledge : nothing but substitution, rather than true restoration.

"I hope you'll soon be able to withdraw to the astral plane, lord Shabranigdu," Dynast said. "We have a glorious war going on outside! Surely you'll be able to feed and restore yourself. Not only is there an army of dragons, humans and elves outside, we also have the beginning of invasions in every country in the ex-barrier's region."

"Excellent," Lei said with a great calmness. He looked at Zelas, then briefly at Xelloss. Scrutinizing, critical. He smiled at either, but there was no more kindness in it than Dolphin's own smile.

Dolphin led him to a place away from the holy cluster, where he did the human thing of taking in a breath of fresh air.

"I am not well," he said. "We must retreat before any gods arrive."

"We need not worry for the gods, they are all disabled," Dolphin said. "We have stolen the mist precious thing from them, and turned it against them! Oh, you will see soon. Please, stay and feast on the war."

"Yes, it'll be a fitting farewell to this prison!" Dynast said, kicking the remnant of the crystal prison.

"No, we must retreat. I see Zelas and Xelloss have taken damage and no sign of your priest and general. Hellmaster Fibrizo, Demon Dragon Gaav and Raltaak are missing too. I will not take risks."

"Oh, they're not gone because of the dragons or gods. That's just the fault of Lina Inverse. Well, not Gaav, but she was involved in luring him out, so ..."

Lei Magnus held up his hand, silencing him.

"Will someone more coherent run this by me again? Lina Inverse. She better be the Knight of Siephied with the Blast Sword."

"She's a human woman with a great magical capacity. She's the Knight of Siephied's sister, but carries no god or devil part herself. Her companion wielded Gorun Nova and later the Blast Sword, but the destruction lies with her and the Giga Slave spell," Zelas said. "The good news is that she has not been seen for three years, my lord. I don't think you—"

"We will leave now. I cannot withdraw yet, so you will carve me an exit," he said. The compulsion of Shabranigdu's entire being lay behind the words. Zelas stiffened up just a moment, repulsed by the power's pull on her mind, then she and Dolphin moved.

Dynast didn't, since his foot had frozen solid to the crystal, curtsy of the holy magic grabbing anything devilish.

Hmm ... Lei had stepped out just a little too easily, hadn't he?

He didn't look quite like Luna's chimeraism, but the smoothness of power despite the inability to lose the organic form was similar to hers. This kind subtlety wasn't something one would notice unless one knew what to look for, however. All the chimeras crafted rather than pulled had a different power integration.

Most importantly, unlike with Luke, whose feelings remained separate from Shabranigdu, there was no clear emotional conflict. He felt something dangerously close to genuine happiness.

The others hadn't noticed this yet. It was poor form to feed on their lord, they probably all had their consumption channels off. There had to be a way to use that.

Xelloss scribbled something on his hand.

Zelas worked on a physical way out, using her more solid projection to carve into the rock directly. Dolphin had gone outside, working inward from there. Rashat accompanied her to carry orders to the troops.

That left Dynast with his foot stuck, and Grau hovering around on the edge.

He approached his own lord and asked, louder than necessary, "How are you doing, lord Beastmaster?"

"I regret we won't stay to feed," she said with the same loudness. "The damage I took from Rangort left be starving."

"I feel fairly miserable too, perhaps I can be of assistance?"

"It will have to do," she said as she switched her miasma channels open. Almost immediately, she gagged. Unlike Xelloss, she had a stronger knack for acting. Eyes wide and jaws agape, she looked over her shoulder for a second, then back.

Xelloss held up his hand just for Zelas to see, allowing her to read a rather shocking but irrelevant truth : some time after Lina's defeat of mutant crab 3, Luna had dragged him and Filia on an adventure that had resulted in them overthrowing a corrupt monarchy. Coupled with some embarrassing and juicy details on how that had unfolded, Zelas felt a reasonable amount of shock just in time to be credible for Grau's newly opened miasma channels.

As expected, Grau noticed. Xelloss could almost see the gears spinning back to when he'd suggested the gods rigged their spells to turn devils into pro-existence chimeras.

Grau took a sip of emotions, covertly and found not just Zelas's shock but also Lei's incriminating emotional scenery. Wasting no time to shuffle to Dynast, he whispered, "Lord Dynast Grausherra?"

Lei Magnus, with his humans ears, heard nothing. Xelloss and Zelas poured a little wolf in their projections, however. Zelas and Xelloss allowed themselves to smirk as long as their faces were to the wall.

Grau wasted very little words on the actual suspicion of chimerahood, but when this wasn't received well.

"Oh, but lord Dynast, I mean no offense. Off course you would be the first to notice a problem! I merely suggested because as I stood closer, I noticed lord Zelas's discomfort. I guessed correctly she had eaten something bad and took a taste of the emotions around. Not that I doubt lord Shabranigdu's power in any way, but ... lord Dynast, ehm, I don't think our king stands before us. That figure over there is really, really happy to be free."

"Nonsense. Our lord has every reason to be thrilled to be free. You are mistaken enthusiasm for the imminent end of the world for joy to be alive," Dynast said. He almost had his foot loose. With one final pull, he staggered back. He almost bumped into Lei Magnus, who cast him an irritated glance and zapped him away.

Somewhere in there Dynast must have taken a sip, because he backed off in the way animals feared a top predator. Forcing composure onto himself, he stood straight, dusted off and said, "Are you really lord Shabranigdu?"

Lei Magnus squinted his eyes and said, "Bow."

Dynast obeyed. "Does that answer your question?"

The order had been to Dynast directly, or at least interpretable in such a manner. Zelas grabbed Dynast and Xelloss went for Grau. They bolted out of the hole. Once outside, Zelas and Xelloss projected again, Dynast and Grau followed suit.

"Why'd you do that?" Dynast asked, stomping his foot.

"Just because he can command you does not mean he is lord Shabranigdu," Zelas said. "Do remember Gaav and his creations."

"I knew that! I talked about your assumption I needed saving."

"My apologies, I panicked," Zelas said. She didn't even need to lie or trick about that.

Dolphin spotted them and abandoned her work.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Lord Shabranigdu has unfortunately become a chimera," Zelas said. "Seeing he sought to deceive us, we thought it a wise choice to flee."

"How would you get the idea he is a chimera?" Dolphin asked, eyes fixed on Zelas. "I was closer to him than anyone and did not see the signs. He looked as ever, not even like Luke Shabranigdu."

"I did not, lord Dolphin," Zelas said. "It was lord Dynast who revealed it. Might I add in the most inconvenient way possible. He confronted Lei Magnus, I barely managed to drag him away before Lei could give a command worse than bow."

Dolphin's black gaze stayed, but then she sweetly asked Dynast, "How ever did you realize it?"

"He tasted happy. Too happy. I remembered that Gaav turned into a chimera when exposed to Ragradia's power and realized what happened. It was a trap all along!"

"Ragradia wasted a thousand years of our time as we kept up that barrier to shield our sealed lord, only to spring another chimera on us," Zelas said.

"It may very well be," Dolphin said. "After all, what other reason would there be you'd assume he is a chimera? You wouldn't have seen another like him, would you?"

"Are you questioning my intellect?" Dynast demanded.

"No, why ever would we?" Zelas and Dolphin said, as part of their ancient injoke about Dynast's intelligence. After six thousand years, Dynast still hadn't caught on.

As always, they went on to dismiss every stupid suggestion he had on dealing with the situation. The consensus of Zelas and Dolphin was that they'd retreat and spread news of Lei Magnus being a threat, as to avoid devils swearing allegiance to him. From there on ... what? Zelas, Dolphin and Dynast could not approach him without risk of being commanded into servitude.

At the very least, in this situation neither he nor Zelas needed to trick themselves into any emotions. Lei Magnus being a chimera set yet another wild piece onto the board.

Zelas sent Xelloss to the east, telling him to focus on the retreat of the troops and not the enemy.

Just as he rounded a mountain to find the last battalion, a familiar voice called out.

"Beast priest!" He'd heard it before, yet at the same time couldn't place it.

In the cold blue shadow of a low mountain stood a woman in bright orange robes, calling for him and waving. Leyunso. By some magic, her voice left no echo.

After making sure no other devils were around to see him, he landed.

"Hello, miss Leyunso. How on earth did you end up here?"

"I let myself be caught, for lo and behold, perhaps it matters to me the world is not plunged into war. What a mess you've made! Why are Lyos and Filia here?" she asked.

Xelloss scratched the back of his head. "They are? Well, ehm ... I thought they'd have escaped by now."

"Teleporters can hitch hike on other teleporter's power when close enough and Lyos has no resilience against sleep spells," she said as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "You and Zelas aren't handling this disaster well."

More so than the holy touch of her aura, her straightforward statement jarred his mind. The curse compelled him to disbelieve her, but the first statement was something he'd suspected before and the second something he'd seen, while the third was a fact he wallowed in already. His mind switched to trying to convince him he's misheard or she'd misunderstood something, anything to dispel her words from belief. There it ran into his identity itself, which included the Do Not Do False Statements or direct deception.

As a devil, he had no organic brain so as long as accepting it required sacrificing his identity, it faded away like an echo. The compulsion could change logic but not emotions or identity. He shivered, his projection faltered again, but he remained himself and believed her.

"That was foul, miss Leyunso. Would you mind speaking indirectly?"

She rolled her eyes.

"What?" he asked, just a little miffed.

"You insisting on politeness is a tasteless kind of irony, beast priest. I have a bone to pick with Claire's attitude too, in case you're wondering, but right now I will help salvage this disaster. I'll confirm you that Lei Magnus became a chimera for the same reasons as Lyos and Luna, and I suspect he knows more than he lets on. Lyos will soon begin to draw in Ragradia's power. He and Filia need to be away from Kataart before Lei Magnus catches on."

"If you could just point me towards mister Lyos and miss Filia, I'll let them know."

Leyunso pinched her forehead. "You are honest to goodness clueless about the flow, aren't you? The magical landscape has been altered by the pillar's summon, by the release of Lei Magnus and the flow towards the Aqualord's Knight. There's no navigating a changing magical field. I know for a fact that Filia taught you about beacons seven years ago. This place is the kind of distortion like around the spot where I fought Shabranigdu. Teleport into a distortion and flesh goes poof."

She pointed to the opposing mountain, which sported a gory smear still surrounded by a dying glow, a stew of rock, metal and pieces of dragon limbs.

Oh. Well then.

"Does she know she cannot teleport?"

"She's seen the results. Now listen. I know we agree Lei can't remain free. All he needs to do is take one walk in town, and he'll learn about funky business in the demon sea. Zelas and you need to stop playing it safe for yourself. Propose a truce with the dragons, corner Lei using the Zenaffa armors. In Ragradia's old temple, Lyos, Filia and the Sailoon soldiers that were forcibly recruited have organized. Ask them for help."

"We were planning to retreat, actually. It's far too great a risk to be here, Lei Magnus clearly intends to employ the retainers for something."

"Will you quit being so arrogant, you damned devils? You're not the secret masters of the game anymore! Even Claire's caught a clue by now."

"Well, if you have any better idea—"

"I hate how you derail everything, Xelloss," she said.

"Hmmph. Let's say we manage to retrain him. What will follow?"

Leyunso ran a hand over her hair. "I don't know. It will buy Lyos some time to integrate with Ragradia's power. That's unavoidable at this point. If that happens and he has some time to learn to control his new power, he could reseal Lei Magnus."

"Point taken," Xelloss aid. "I'll tell lord Beastmaster what you suggested, but can not make a guarantee."

"I'll be around."

Xelloss couldn't technically disobey his lord, but he could take a break from an order if he intended to return to it later. Zelas had explicitly given him this permission, both for his safety and because dexterity with plans could prove useful. He might have taken a few liberties or two that made her furious, but overall the system worked. Like right now. He warned every devil on the way back to his lord, and that was enough.

Zelas oversaw the retreat from the clouds, her pale colors blending with the sunrise colors. If his eyes hadn't been so good, he might have missed her altogether.

Lacking any smooth ground, he took a knee in mid air, level to her feet. "Lord Beastmaster, I've just met the one known as the Sage of Siephied. She is here to aid us."

He told her for as far as she could believe.

"What exactly does miss Leyunso think Lei Magnus knows?" Zelas asked.

"I'm sure miss Leyunso can enlighten us later. She intends to be around."

Zelas didn't say anything for several minutes, Xelloss waited. After a while she said, "What do you think?"

"I think I cannot take miss Filia and mister Lyos out of Kataart without being seen now that there is an army. When I was here last time, Claire's constant directions and the lesser population kept me busy. Now, teleportation isn't even an option."

More silence followed, filled only with her gnashing teeth and whipping tail.

"Wait here. I'll talk to Dolphin," she said at last. "Your petty anxiety doesn't match this scenario, try to stop worrying about your pets."

He didn't have an answer for that. Not that he didn't know, but he'd told her many times. She hadn't outright condemned him for his fixation on interesting lifeforms, but it puzzled her. He had to fill time with something, though. Burning Claire Bible manuscripts only offered so much diversity.

Zelas left him in the clouds, and he was back to waiting. While occupied with nothing, a small flock of ruby dragons moved towards Lei's prison. He couldn't see the side where the retainers had begun carving the exit, and the surrounding area was yet untouched by the sun. After a little while, a short battle erupted in the dark, and the dragons didn't return.

Curious. If Lei Magnus had already freed himself and fought, this meant two things : he had superior control of his powers, and he was not interested in allying with the dragons. That, or his poor human eyesight had seen enemies. Either way, it was a small benefit to the situation. A chimera Lei with all of Shabranigdu's power allied to the dragons was about as big a problem as the gods regaining sanity.

It took Zelas a long time to return, but when she did, it was with a tentative grin.

"They have agreed to forming an allegiance with the dragons," she said. "We shall keep our distance, you will approach the dragons and are to use your reputation to force cooperation."

He bowed with a smile, and took off without another word, despite his curiosity to how that conversation with Dolphin and Dynast had gone.

Ragradia's old temple hadn't been broken by the invasion. Signs of combat were limited, as this wasn't a strategically important location.

A few of Sailoon's soldiers stood guard at the entrances. It wasn't a far fetched guess that Filia and Lyos had joined up with the forced recruits to create a save haven. Actually, he ought to not be surprised by that.

Ever the master of tact (or rather, servant to the secret understanding he had no tact), Xelloss pulled a handkerchief from his bag and tied it to his staff. Waving it, he landed near a random Sailoon brand chimera.

"Hello! I'm here under a cease fire, no need to be upset."

Proving he hadn't listened at all, the soldier became upset and ran inside, shouting that Xelloss had arrived.

"No need for drama either," he muttered.

Another Sailoon soldier down the slope still stood there, watching. Xelloss waved the flag at him, but got no approach. The soldier shouted something, and an elf hesitantly flew to her, then left again.

Maybe they didn't take him serious.

Maybe there shouldn't have been flowers on the handkerchief.

"That's my handkerchief, you thief!"

Maybe he should have borrowed it from someone other than Filia.

He turned his eyes back to the ruin and yes, there she stood. Her stance was defiant, but he tasted anxiety, fear and horror below her strength. Blood marred her dress and cloak. Out of the floor crawlspace she's come from, Sylphiel's head peaked.

"I didn't steal it! I fully acknowledge you as the owner of it," he said as he pulled it loose. "You handed it over yourself after you insisted I was too weak to go a whole week without turning my scent off around inconvenient places. Surely it wasn't my fault I got a cold."

She marched over and snatched it from his hand. "That was five years ago, cockroach! Handkerchiefs are given on the understanding they are returned once used! Oh, and it was your fault! You could have projected more durable lungs!"

Xelloss had a retort ready, but never got to use it because Sylphiel caught up and proved herself as a true follower of Lina Inverse : she backhanding him so hard his projection almost lost balance. He eve felt it in his astral body; she must have added a Visfarank.

Befuddled, Xelloss opened an eye at her. "Oh dear, once you pick up something, you pick it up well."

Filia stared wide eyed at Sylphiel. "He lets you hit him? Do it again!"

Sylphiel ignored Xelloss, turning to Filia instead. "Half an hour ago, he slaughtered your kind! How can you act like this?"

Filia's mock rage replaced itself with drawn lines. To hide it, she drew her handkerchief across her face, wiping away grime and blood.

"He can't disobey orders as a devil. I hate what he did, I do, but what can I do against it?" she spoke in a monotone whisper, before resuming her lively voice. "But this he has a choice in, unless mister cockroach has a secret order to rid the world of handkerchiefs?"

"Oh come now, aren't you overreacting a little?" he said lightly, hoping to tempt her away from that brink she teetered on. She just combined the brink with her frustration.

"Overreacting? I've been abducted, I have no idea whether my family is safe and I'm in the middle of a war! I have a right to be upset, you filthy trash!"

Xelloss smiled a little wider. "If I'm trash, what does that make the one who, ahem, brought you here under the guise of law?"

"I wouldn't know, Claire hasn't told us anything," she said, now in a whisper. "Neither have you."

"Miss Claire did try to arrange for your and mister Lyos's liberty," Sylphiel said, thick with doubt herself. "She sent me along for that reason."

"I am grateful for your help, miss Sylphiel, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have done things far better."

"This isn't the time, miss Filia. We're in the middle of a disaster," Xelloss said through clenched teeth. He did not take well to insinuations of failure when they might be right.

"And whose fault is that? I'd like to know, so I can avoid more disaster. I can't trust Zelas with that, obviously. Miss Claire isn't as helpful as she ought to be either."

"Hmm, must be because she's under Val's shield. Anyway, w—" Xelloss started, but Filia's hand shot out and grabbed for his cloak. She jerked him off balance.

"Then you tell me!" she hissed.

He removed her hand from his cloak. "Later. We have a little crisis, miss Filia. You see, our lord has—"

"Become a chimera like miss Luna and mister Lyos," Filia said. "Common enemy, etcetera."

"We suspected this would happen as soon as that pillar bent to Kataart," Sylphiel said.

"Ehm ... right. Now, if you'd kindly let me in and introduce me to the leaders, it would be a great help."

"Tell me straight : will you kill, harm or deceive anyone of us if we cooperate?" Filia asked.

"I do not intend to."

"No word tricks. Say no."

He crunched his face, irritated. "Fine. No."

Sylphiel called down the hole, "Mister Lyos, you can stand down. We're letting him in."

"You sure?"

"Mostly."

Xelloss followed them in silence. Filia and Sylphiel went ahead, while Lyos remained close behind him.

The interior of the temple had been changed from factory to medical ward. Clay had been thrown into useless chambers, while a cursory glance into the central hall revealed it full of the injured and their healers. A line was before the entrance, the lesser injured waiting for help.

Filia and Sylphiel led them past this, into smaller rooms. Xelloss began to spot familiar faces : higher ranked dragons, elven lieutenants. A few more of Sailoon's chimeras.

The rooms Milgazia and Azonge had used as office were filled to the brink with dragons in human form. Milgazia and Azonge he recognized, but the cluster of green haired ones were unfamiliar. Another bland golden with his hair pulled back stood up first, putting on bravado out of pride and zeal.

The room filled with fear, yet not a single interesting face here, only cowering.

"Fallen priestess, human, what possessed you to bring him here?" mister bland bravado said. Reeking of indulgent grandeur and selfimportance, the dragon only slightly inclined his head at the humanoids below him.

"He would have come in anyway," Filia bit at him.

Xelloss tried not to speculate on what fun conflicts there had been since her arrest, it would distract him too much. Scraping his throat, he addressed the dragon.

"Hello, my name is Xelloss, and with whom do I have the honor?"

"Ospirias."

Xelloss had expected a long chain of titles, but this one word was spoken with so much force and importance, the tone itself carried all that weight. Too bad it was wasted on anyone not in his shivering tribe.

"Well, mister Ospirias, surely it has come to your attention that all the devils fled abruptly? It appears that Lei Magnus has become the dominant personality. For the beginning of his arising, he—

"We are aware of the situation, devil," Ospirias said, oozing impatience. "Those two blasphemers have voiced their opinion, and we have confirmed enough.

"Well then, what will you do? Try to strike an alliance with him, or contain him? We will aid you in the latter, and in the former I'm afraid we can't let it go so far."

Ospirias took giddy pride in his ability to stay calm. "I am aware of what you can do to us, but just as much as what fate will occur when a rogue chimera goes free. Your bitch and her kind cannot disobey him, can they?"

"As true is it is that my lord is a bitch, I'm fairly certain you meant it as an insult. Mind your language, mister Ospirias," Xelloss said, now with his eyes open.

"I shall mind what outcome is holiest," he said.

"Will you shut up?" Lyos said, kicking the wall. A little dust came down, reminding the dragons they were the weaker here. He turned to Xelloss. "You. What kind of a person was Lei Magnus before Shabranigdu took over?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," Xelloss said, but his words drowned in the roar Ospirias let go.

"Mind your tongue, human. A devil is no worthier source of information than my own people!"

Lyos muttered something about not being a human anymore, but it drowned in Filia's growl. She'd never done that before having a child to take care of, and even then sparsely. He must have missed something interesting between her and Ospirias.

"Your kind of source got people killed when they didn't need to!" she said, every word underscored with dragon voice.

"If we'd go by your standards, fallen priestess, there would be no people in this world who deserved to die." The way Ospirias tilted his head up and to the side, subtly nodding at Xelloss but looking at her, it belied the kind of person who would take joy in death had they been raised in another culture. Xelloss had seen many a person like this, but rarely with dragons.

"Standards? At least I have them, unlike the gods."

Such a simple little phrase, unlike the gods. Such massive implications that all the dragons in the room forgot Xelloss was there for a few seconds.

See, this is when you pulled out a chair to watch. Preferably with popcorn.

"Oh, I assure you, lord," Filia hissed, "that the gods care nothing for a little air vibration up north. In fact, they will not and cannot do anything right now. Get it through your thick skull that we're on our own! We have people to protect!"

As always, she kept her attachments in her heart no matter what cold logic said and then topped it off with something rebellious. All in the name of doing the right thing, code be damned. Eccentricity and dedication at its finest deserved applause, which he was happy to provide.

"I've been in your radius for five minutes and damn, I suddenly have a lot more confidence about those pro-existence claims Lina made," Lyos said as he leaned in. "Zelas just tasted sick, but hey, she was stomaching Luna. You really are happy."

"Do try to keep your voice down," Xelloss said with one eye open. "I have a reputation to preserve."

"What, you mean the others devils haven't noticed yet? You're not exactly a closed scroll here," Lyos snickered. "I bet you have to avoid Deep Sea Dolphin a lot, don't you?"

Xelloss was about to quip something perhaps about Lyos' fashion choices when something passed through the door. Leyunso's dim but ancient holiness preceded her by a few meters. Through the muck of the astral plane, he just saw the outline of elves blocking her way. Xelloss sharpened his ears.

They knew she was the sage of Siephied, but there was no getting them to understand she could help. Just because someone believed something didn't mean they actually acted on it, so her statements that she couldn't help at all got her nowhere. They read her as sarcastic and just followed their orders.

Her curse was a great power in a sense, but off course she could nary say a sentence without people disbelieving her. Those who didn't know of her situation heard sarcasm at best, and a liar at worst. She'd never be fully trusted.

He stopped projecting in the office and returned outside, right between Leyunso and the elves.

"What seems to be the problem?"

The elves shrunk away without a word. Xelloss savored their fright before saying, "You went through so much trouble to find her, yet when she offers help you won't let her? Tsstss."

He doubted they heard him better than they heard her. Boring.

Xelloss led her in just as Milgazia and Azonge put a stop to the debate between Filia and Ospirias, much to Xelloss's disappointment.

"Ahem, may I introduce miss Leyunso?" he said. "Assuming you've not done so already."

"Oh, they actually tried to lock her up," Lyos said. "How'd you know her name? She wouldn't tell us."

"Miss Leyunso has a mystical speech impediment, let us leave it at that. Now, I want you all to listen to her as we plan our move against Lei Magnus. Understood?"

Like they could deny him.

Filia tried to strike up a conversation with Leyunso, only to get an apologetic smile.

"Speech impediment?" she asked Xelloss.

He just shrugged, and she pouted.

From then on Xelloss leaned back against a pillar while the dragons argued with one another. Now given levity and ears, Leyunso broke their beliefs into something more convenient to her.

Here, one said they should flee to the edge of Kataart and travel south, to build a stronghold there until Rangort was better. Leyunso claimed this was an excellent idea, that would result in safety and victory. Only one actually disbelieved that this was the right course off the bat, the others disbelieved she gave honest advice and suspected she had ulterior motives.

She couldn't sway the belief in things that were known already, apparently. Claiming the sky was blue on a blue sky day would likely result in the listener believing her to be a deranged before questioning the color. They did not disbelieve what she said, but what she as a person claimed. Her greatest sway was over abstract things, like assumptions, theories and suspicions.

When she said, "Lei Magnus is worthy of your trust", she reaped the most. This was a claim about another mind in a situation where none had much facts to go on and that was dependent on their actions too. All new beliefs were fresh to be planted.

Off course, such a blunt statement that everyone idisbelieved resulted in her seen as a traitor, who tried to persuade them to the wrong cause of action. They almost kicked her out, but Xelloss stopped them and gave his own spiel of her uses.

From there on, Xelloss chose to speak on her behalf, she did not seem to mind he got credit for some tricks of her own.

As long as Shabranigdu was fully tied to a host, he could not withdraw to the astral plane. Placing a Zenaffa armor on him was a strong possibility. Perhaps multiples even, so he couldn't just will them to work for him. Choose the most loyal armors, not bent easily by will. They could use fusion magic to shield against possible attacks.

Details on the organization, feigns and tricks could be left to the dragons. Nobody quite said it, but Xelloss was better at disrupting their order than making it. Disrupting it in the most messy way possible.

He couldn't blame them for their disgust and loathing at working with him. The sentiment was mutual. With some mental teeth pulling, Xelloss had to admit to himself that Milgazia wasn't even the worst of this sorry bunch of bland elders — he once miled when Memphis burst in. The other dragons never even moved facial muscles.

· · · · · · ·

After the planning stages completed and the armies reorganized, Xelloss and Leyunso went outside. Having taken the top exit, they had enough shelter from the ruins, yet could look out far if they wished; not that Leyunso needed that.

Rows of water ran down their exit tunnel and they arrived in pouring rain. Not snow, as it ought to be at this altitude. Xelloss held up his hand to the warm drops, finding residue of magic within them.

"How long do you believe it will take for Ragradia's power to attach to Lyos?"

"Maybe a few days," she said. "Plenty of time for you to tell him and Filia about me and about Tel al-Metallium's purpose, or at least explain my curse so I can communicate more clearly."

"My lord forbade me."

"Then argue with her," Leyunso said. "I know you're allowed to do that."

"We have bigger problems right now. You can take it to lord Beastmaster yourself later, she understands enough of your curse."

Leyunso groaned, running a hand over her hair again. "She's coming."

A minute or so later, Filia peeked out of the floor. The rain baffled her, then she pulled her cloak over her head. She still hadn't gotten herself a new, ridiculous hat. Xelloss was disappointed, he'd hoped it would surface at some point.

Ignoring Xelloss, she walked up to Leyunso and said, "Miss Leyunso, if you could please help me improve my Holy Rezast, I would appreciate it a lot. Xelloss and I do somewhat better fusion magic if I'm not actively loathing him."

"Yes, I planned to rely on your fusion magic rather than that of someone else I am not summoning as I speak."

"Why do you always speak like that?" she asked with a frown. "I get the feeling you lie, but not out of malice. The conclusions the others draw are exactly what you want, right?"

Leyunso gave her a curious head tilt.

"Seven years with Xelloss. I picked up a few things about double play," she said in a light tone.

Leyunso grabbed Xelloss's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Tell her about how exactly my curse works. Do you really want me to try and mess up her mind? Something as simple as saying her magic's great can result in her never being able to believe her work on it is right, but I think she can handle my power if she gets the details."

"I'd much rather you didn't try at all," Xelloss said before turning to Filia. "She can help you with whatever flow related spell you wish, just don't expect her to talk. The real question is, why do you need that spell at all?"

Filia looked like she wanted to shout so many things at the same time that she could not choose, her lips twitching. She pressed her lips together, took her cloak off and tossed it before him. "I've been here the entire time, Xelloss. I saw you. You don't need to ask this."

What a disappointing response. He thought she overreacted. She'd always known he was a killer and had dealt with that just fine before.

Filia begin her spell. Under Leyunso's guidance, the circle's unseen four points converged from Filia's crossed eye shapes to a simpler cross. Like a flame, her emotions sizzled out. Not just her loathing, but also her anxiety, sorrow and rage. It wasn't Filia anymore who stood before him.

This was true mind control, not the flimsiness that Lezo, Eris, Huraker or Hellmaster Fibrizo had employed. All they did was cancel out the mind so they could control the body, a basic trick by hijacking the organ that mediated between soul and flesh.

As fascinating and terrifying as this power was, Xelloss hated it above all. In a while, all her ire would regrow the moment she recalled it, but until then she would be this mockery of her lively self. He didn't mind times they didn't snipe : it was natural to be practical during a truce, neither stopped being themselves. This was different.

Did she not understand how disturbing it was, to deny one's own emotions? Just cast them aside like a discarded piece of clothing. To a devil, it'd hurt like denying one's own identity.

"You need to figure out some other way," he said, both eyes open so she got how serious this was. "This isn't natural."

"Something just I should do? See, that is exactly why I need this spell." She resolutely turned her back to him and resumed her prayed pose. After the spell finished, a blank slate remained. Having barely any positive emotions to fill the void, it disturbed Xelloss all the more. The fragments of sorrow and rage boiled back the moment she saw her bloodstained cloak, but it was dim and she forced her mind away. After thanking Leyunso for her help and ignoring Xelloss some more, she went back inside.

"How could you help her with this? It's self mutilation," he asked once she was gone.

Leyunso laughed. Of all response, she laughed.

"That's what it looks like from an astral point of view, doesn't it?"

"You're saying you changed by becoming organic?"

"No, I'm not that human. I just have a better idea of why they think the way they do," she said. Lacing her fingers together, she stretched her arms up into the rain. "Enough of an idea to know you can't last this way, beast priest."

"Last what way?"

"Let me put it this way. Did you ever wonder how we wiped out the center of the continent in our constant battle, yet never moved to the borders? We did not start out as those super powers that leveled continents. That only happened after feeding for millenniums on end. We were always cautious for ensuring we had a food source as we fought. It's always the Phied who is fed up with the fight and puts an end to it. I suggested we go all out one day, not care for how much power we lost because we could rebuild it. We gambled the world and fought on and on, till most of our food had been wiped out. This did not matter to me. I was to protect existence, not life. Somewhere while we fought, I realized I didn't care to live myself. I don't even know what exactly pushed me to realize it. Maybe the thousands of prayers for salvation and forgiveness, or the weakness creeping up on, or the voices of Volphied and the others in their own struggle.

I killed myself and returned to Her because I realized I had nothing to want. When I broke Shabranigdu apart and truly believed Megiddo would cleanse him away, I thought I had fulfilled my purpose. When the Lord of Nightmares spat me back into the world, she did not say anything and I still don't know why exactly. Nothing had changed about me, save that I could not cease to exist and had no purpose. The curse on my speech was barely the topping of the joke.

I can die, though. I can suffer and hunger and be slung through Megiddo, save that Megiddo will take me even if I recall my past. I've lost my body many times until I had to develop the will to live, just to avoid the pain. I'd been told I'd never get away, but I could work to make it easier. The way to do that was to understand the others around me as people. Not just food, or enemy, or moving characters in Her game. There was no plan to live by. I've had to rely on them, or had to predict who would betray me, or who would break, and I had to know how to restore things. I had to see and understand them as people, or I died."

"I fully acknowledge people and respect their choices as far as it's necessary," he huffed. "If you are getting at lord Beastmaster and I being amateurs, then—"

"Not good enough, beast priest. That just makes it worse when you still act like everyone's a characters on your playboard."

She stood up and tapped his shoulder, which was dry. He hadn't bothered simulating the effect of rain on himself, everyone knew what he was. Leyunso on the other hand was soaked, only avoiding to shiver by magic around her.

"This right here is a problem. You're much smaller than you see yourself."

"Compared to you, I'm not the one in dire need for advice."

She laughed again. "Oh, but you are. I will always come back as myself, even despite Megiddo and Hell. I'm the one true immortal in this world because nothing can touch my mind or soul. You on the other hand are so weak you can barely use another's power without harming yourself. If you're destroyed, you're gone."

"I know that," he said, but he couldn't make it sound as carefree as he wanted. He remembered exactly how Zelas had felt when Lei commanded her. Even before Fibrizo she hadn't felt this way, perhaps because then she'd already had a solid plan. If she didn't have a plan, he didn't either.

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