"Rise and Shine, Izuku! We have Daemons to roast today," he stretched, getting out of bed. Putting on his armor almost instantly. "The rest should be at the King's Dragon."
"If someone told me back then that I'd one day put on magical armor so I could fight demons, I wouldn't have believed them," he muttered. "Nor if they told me I'd be married to the most wonderful wife, with a harem of gorgeous girls. All things considered, having to destroy a few Daemons is totally worth it," he smiled.
His morning ritual finished, he stepped out of his room, finding Ochaco sitting on the Throne. "I take it you are leaving, Husband?" she looked at him with worry.
"Yeah. I need to pick up the rest of the crew at the King's Dragon, then take the Paths up to Lancaster Glade."
"I...It is a hard thing, to watch you ride off alone. I wish I could go with you. Keep you safe," she stood, stepping closer.
"I'll be surrounded by Clan, and have Nana at my side. I'll be fine. It's just a clean-up raid," he assured her.
"Just...be safe, My Heart. Come back to me."
"Always."
She sighed, reaching up to caress his cheek, the gesture soft. "Then go, My Love...and hurry home once you are done," she whispered.
"I will."
He gave her a kiss, her hands running through his hair, before breaking away and saying their farewells. Ochaco watched as Izuku's back became smaller, then listened as his footsteps became faint, and his Spark became a distant flame. All for a few more moments of sensing him.
She exhaled, her shoulders shaking, before she standing tall, her face composed.
Meanwhile, Izuku left with a heavy heart, finding it hard to leave her behind. But a Daemon fortress wasn't a place he'd intend to bring his pregnant wife.
"Let's find the rest," he breathed, stepping out of the castle and towards the King's Dragon.
"Welcome, Daddy! Ready to go hunting?" Mina chirped, waving at him from the entrance together with Itsuka. The sorceress wore a rather femme-fatale suit; a black, tight-fitting latex bodysuit, with a pink belt wrapped around her waist.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"We await for you, Danna-sama," Momo emerged from the building, with Kitsune in tow. Yui also just arrived as this happened.
"We're meeting Nana at Lancaster glade. Mina and Itsuka, you're with me. Yui, Momo, and Kitsune; you're backing up Nana. We're picking up a contingent of Clan as well."
"Looks like Gran and Andy will be joining us. Likely some others from the Clan, as well."
"It's only the beginning, Itsuka. This is war," Izuku sighed, shaking his head. "Let's go, guys. Time is against us."
They traveled the Paths, arriving at Lancaster Glade. The moment they did, he was hit by a wave of nostalgia. As if he'd been here before a dozen times. But that couldn't...be true. Could it?
He was snapped back from his thoughts by Kath, followed by a dozen Weres. "Welcome to Lancaster, Sir. I mean, Izuku."
"Morning, Kath. I didn't expect you here."
"She's with me," Keith appeared.
"And I also didn't expect you, Keith. I thought we were just meeting Akari and Nana."
"Aye, they're around. Somewhere. Corporal, can you see if ye can sniff Her Grace out? Tell her she's got visitors. When I heard about yer little expedition, I decided to come along for the ride."
"Thanks, Keith."
"The Clan's been busy, huh?" Itsuka muttered, looking at the now fortress city. "It looks like everyone's setting up permanent quarters here."
"The Lancaster's never been much of a military center," Keith replied. "Mostly craftsmen and petty nobles. It was a seat of The Traitor's family since the days of Arthur. The Clan's changing that. Must be close to three hundred of us here now."
"Morning, Izuku!" Nana called out, wearing Arthur's, or more recently, Erec's armor.
"Good morning, Your Grace," Izuku teased, performing a perfect court bow which he didn't know where he learned from.
"Kiss me noble ass, Your Highness. I get enough of that sheit from the rest of the feckin' Clan; dun need it from ye as well. Especially since I'm a mere Duchess, while ye..."
"Point taken," Izuku raised his hands, smirking. "I'll stop calling you Duchess if you don't call me King."
"Deal," she nodded. "Ready to roast some Demons?"
"Very much so. Is Akari here yet?"
"Aye, the rest of them are around. Glade ye could make it, Aniki," she told Keith. "Wouldnae have been the same without ye."
"That's the armor Ochaco gave you?"
"Aye...I still kinda miss me old gear, but this is kinda swanky."
"How did that fit you?"
Nana was no small woman, sure, but Erec still had a larger build than her. Yet it fit like it was tailored for her.
"Dunno. First time I tried it, it changed shape. It likely adjusts to its wearer. Yer wife's crazy to be givin' it to a stray like me. Not that she's gettin' it back, mind ye; looking at the footage out of Mexico, I dunnae mind a couple of extra layers of armor between me and the beasties."
"Yeah. Evokers will be prize targets in the field."
"Which is why ye have a Fist to watch yer back," Akari emerged from the trees. She, too, was dressed in battle-hardened armor. Unlike the others, hers were worn, the metal covered with scratches and scorch marks. On her hip was a rapier with golden armguard.
"I almost feel underdressed here."
"Ye look just fine, Izuku. Women love a man in armor, after all. My grankids ye already know. And here's Andy, my son."
The man was a large guy with dark hair, muscles buried under layers of armor made him look bulkier than ripped. On his arm was a sleeve tribal tattoo. He looked like someone in their 40s, but for an Evoker he couldn't be anywhere near that young.
"Pleasure to meet you, Andy," Izuku shook his hand.
"So...yer the young man me niece's tied her fortunes to, are ye. Hmm. Strong hands. Good work on breakin' her out; Mom was cursing like a sailor when she discovered ye'd waltzed past her wards as if it were nae there."
"Sorcery tends to do that, yeah. So you're taking the third Fist?"
"Plans adjusted a bit. ye and Nana here take a Fist each. Ah'll take a third. Keith the fourth."
"Four Evokers. That's a lot of firepower."
"Five," Booker said. "If the Demons have joined forces with the Outsiders, this just became Paladin business."
"Booker! Good to see you again. Taking a Fist as well?"
"I work best alone, lad. Easier to move, less people to worry about."
"Not happening, Willie," Akari spoke up. "Wartime protocols, same as back in '45. Evokers on the battlefield travel with full escort, nae exceptions. Yer short enough without some assassins lopping another 10 inches off ye."
Izuku chuckled, shaking his head. It was easy to forget that the bite-sized Enchanter in front of them was older than everyone around here. Probably older than all their ages combined. "So, five Fists. Most led by a Power. Are we really expecting anything that's going to need that kind of firepower?"
Izuku could probably take it on by himself, but while nowhere near his level, an Evoker Power is still a pinnacle of mortal strength. And while Akari was an Enchanter, her experience would've made her a force to be reckoned with.
"Overkill's something only the other guy complains about. Shouldnae be anything that bad down there, but we've all been itchin' to get back on the offensive. Sitting on our asses watching the news gets old. It's about time we strike back."
"Indeed. Time to start giving them some payback."
With the Clan, who knew where the Sept was, leading the way, they went further to the west, towards the Sept's location. If one would map it on the mundane world's map, it'd be on the North Atlantic sea. Thankfully, both landmasses weren't a one-to-one copy, with Elsewhere being an older one, if only slightly.
They walked through the woods, with the air becoming more and more humid as they progressed. Eventually, the smell of salt and sea filled their noses.
What they saw surprised them. Instead of a settlement no bigger than a village they were expecting, with leather tents at most, it was a full-fledged city. With enchanted stone buildings that would make Mitburgh seem a straw house in comparison.
"What in the name of Odin's left fecking testicles happened here? This ain't a demon fort, it's a fecking city," Akari cursed, her eyes wide.
"Not what you're expecting?"
"Nah, lad...it ain't," Booker crouched and pulled out a binocular. "Demons ain't known for their organization or skill at building. Their fort is usually some old ruins that they're squatting in, surrounded by hovels an' entrails. This...ain't it."
"No, it's an actual fortress."
"Someone's been helping out. Ain't the only thing I really dunnae like. See the stockade to the north?" he handed the binocular to Izuku. "Slave pens. But at a scale I ain't never seen before; must be at least a few thousand people there."
"Humans?"
"Likely," Akari said. "The fence ain't solid enough to hold Orcs, and ain't likely to be Fae, on account of nobody having turned the whole place into a smoking hole in the ground."
"Yet."
"Aye," Nana smiled. "Ready to go remedy that? The slaves do make the Mitburgh option understandable."
"Indeed. Okay, change of plans. Free the prisoners, kill all the demons, then burn the place down. And see if we can't get some information while we're at it. Booker?"
"I'll take my Fist, see if we cannae find a back-entrance to the place. I want to find out who's helping Sept Malgraleth rise to greatness."
"A bit of backdoor exploration, as it were?" Izuku chuckled, which made Itsuka and Momo do a double-take.
"Very funny, lad. We're off...happy hunting to the rest of ye."
"See you later, Booker."
"That leaves the rest of us...thoughts?" Akari asked.
"I don't have time to play poker with these guys. We're nuking the keep and the main gate, then going in hot."
"Aye," Nana clenched her fists. "Find the biggest threat, set it on fire. Even stone burns, with enough magic."
"Keith?"
"Sounds fun; ain't often we get a full battery of Evokers together. Nae to mention the literal wrath of god. Might as well make good use of it."
"Let's do it. Nana?"
"Aye. Just a wee bit of control than at Mitburgh; we're deep inside the blast zone of whatever the feck ye used there."
"I'll try. X, ready for showtime?"
'No?'
'Come on, X. Don't be like that. It'll be fun.'
'Last time you unleashed something in the Foe range, at least. You're more than capable of fucking up that poor castle without drawing the Mantle.'
'Yes, but I need to learn to master it. Can't really see a better place than here, and now. We've got a nice big target, nobody's going to miss the place. And there's another three Evokers to backstop me if I screwed up.'
'Just...be careful.'
"Let's do it," he grinned. Izuku and the other Evokers raised their hands, letting out their magic as the ground around him cracked and shook.
Nana blasted black liquid fire along with Keith's and Andy's Lightning focused on the Enchanted gate. For a moment, it tried to push back, groaning under the stress. But against the might of three Evokers, nothing could resist.
The gate crumbled into ash, setting the guards around alight, before the wave of Black Flame consumed them, turning the Demons into a pile of black dust.
Izuku, meanwhile, focused on the fort itself. The enchantments woven into its walls were strong, but not enough. Not against him.
His goal wasn't to release as much Power as possible—that would've vaporized reality. Instead, he forced it under his control, bent it to his will. He was the Master in this, and the Mantle, and reality itself, will obey.
One moment, there was a fortress, the next it was a smoking ruin. There were no rays of Fire, Ice, or Lightning. Not even a resistance from the Enchantments. Simply a wave of energy, not even visible, that sub-atomized the middle portion of the fort, and turned the rest into a smoldering ruin, the upper portion crashed onto the ground, making the whole thing collapse on itself.
"Let's go," Izuku growled, his eyes glowing emerald.
"Nae bad, Izuku," Akari gleefully said, her eyes looking at him like a predator in front of a meal. "A little sloppy on the technique, but ye've got the brute power to do it. Reminds me a bit of yer da, actually...the easy arrogance of cutting corners normal mortals have to obey. Though with old Horney, that arrogance is a statement in its own right; when he wants to, he's got a touch as deft as any Enchanter."
"Do you know him well?"
"Nobody knows him well; the closest would be the gods of the Fae. Ah've seen him in action once or twice; recognizing patterns in magic's just a skill of mine."
"When raiding a Sept?"
"Nah, no Sept around could make him rouse himself. But it happens on other things, from time to time. Always good to be behind 'im when he does."
"Likely a good idea."
"Speaking of which, we've got some enemies coming up," she nodded towards a Daemon Prince. A towering creature, certainly. At one point, Izuku, Nana, Itsuka, Midnight, and Keith fought one. But right now...
"Nana, feeling bored?"
"Aye?"
"He's all yours. Take him out. Fan out, we'll meet back here once we've smashed the resistance."
She grinned widely, floating in the air before blasting towards the creature, grabbing one of its wings and launching it to the horizon and launching a massive, black-hot Fireball at its chest while laughing maniacally.
Izuku, meanwhile, drew from One for All, the surge of energy crackling through his body. He didn't think he'd need the Mantle for this and throwing his spells this close would've been far too destructive, especially since there were others being rescued.
Electricity snapped in the air, the scent of ozone sharp in his nose.
The others fanned out, each taking a Fist. Shouts and explosions rang out as they tore through the Daemon ranks.
Izuku jumped, his first kick obliterating a Daemon on impact. Then his sword cut through the air—a horizontal arc that erased dozens.
They died without even knowing it.
He adapted quickly, moving like a blur. A wave of his hand, and the air became a raging storm, blasting a group apart. A swing of his sword, and a dozen Daemon vanished.
Then the ground shook, a large mushroom cloud looming in the distance.
"Look at Nana go...never happier than when setting poor demons on fire."
Izuku did a roundhouse kick to the Daemon, launching it to the horizon, and kneed the other one in the face. "We should probably talk, Akari."
"Aye?" she dodged the slash of a Daemon, and stabbed it through the chest.
"You know I have an...issue...with Eindridi. With Thor?"
"A bloodfeud, aye. Happens."
"And yet, he's your..." One of the demons moved faster than expected. Not fast enough. Izuku sidestepped, grabbed its arm, and crushed it like brittle glass before slashing off its head.
"My?" she narrowed her eyes as she slashed another, drawing a makeshift circle on its skin.
"The father of your children?" Izuku backhanded a Daemon.
"Aye. Damned good genes, as well," she palmed something towards the circle and it twisted, before the creature bursted apart. "But he ain't the first god I screwed, and hopefully won't be the last," her eyes lingered on Izuku's ass before turning serious. "Though he made one wee mistake."
"Which is?" A Daemon smashed a morningstar on Izuku's head, only for it to shatter.
"James and Andy are my kids. Nae his. Nana is my granddaughter. Nae his. In attacking her, he attacked me. And the Clan."
"And the Icebox?"
"To let her cool down a wee bit. She runs hot, and she was nae pleased. I dunnae want to see her get herself killed, fighting a War God."
"So you're okay with me breaking her out?" Izuku glanced behind him, seeing Itsuka having taken care of the Daemon. He gestured to Akari to move somewhere, without getting interrupted.
"Aye? You calmed her dawn, when nothin' I could say would do. And the Enchanter ain't been born yet that can make Wards a Sorceress can't cheat."
They moved to a corner, where Izuku leaned on the stone wall and Akari sat on one of the platform.
"But?"
"But if ye'd gotten her killed, this would be a less friendly conversation. My Family. My Clan. My Granddaughter."
"I can understand. I protect what is mine. No matter what."
"Good...good. Ye ken what, Izuku? Ah think we can see eye to eye. And yer a handsome lad, if a wee bit younger than Ah prefer 'em. But ye need to work things out with Nana first."
"Uh...what do you mean?"
"She's in love with ye. Badly."
"I'm married."
"Aye? Since when that ever stopped anyone?"
"I'm actually in love with my wife?"
"Good for ye. And has that made ye faithful?" When Izuku couldn't say anything back, she snickered. "Look, an Evoker's love life ain't ever goin' to be easy. The gods knows I've fucked enough of them, and mothered two. But Nana...she's special."
Izuku nodded his head.
"All I'm saying, Izuku, is that if ye're close to Nana, ye need to resolve this. Evokers are terrible at emotional relationships...not because ye don't make 'em, but because ye make 'em too easily, and too deeply."
"I can't give her what she wants."
"Why not let her be the judge of that?"
"And how does that end up well? Nana doesn't do half-measures. And I won't ever leave Ochaco. In this world, or the next."
"The Clan has a long history of dealing with shit like this," she smirked, though a memory of being forgotten for a century for the golden-haired goddess came to mind. "Nana knows the score. And I imagine your wife will handle Nana better than Sif did Thor's fling with me. Things will work out."
"She's my friend."
"And friends cannae fuck?"
"They can. And have. But..."
"Nae buts, lad. Though ye do have a rather nice one," she slapped his shoulder before sensing the approaching figures. "Time's up. Remember what I said, though...ye cannae kick this down the road much longer," she jumped down the platform.
"I know..." Izuku muttered under his breath.
Booker, with his eyes glowing, walked towards him. "Even by Evoker's notably unsubtle standards, Izuku, this was somewhat excessive."
"Going to hell, finding demons, and kicking asses. I would say mission accomplished."
"Yer not supposed to be kicking ass while I'm in the fucking building yer kicking. We nearly got drowned 'neath a hundred-ton magma.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Werewolves are tough; they're all slightly singed, and a wee bit pissed. Ye owe 'em all a round or three at the pub."
"Will do. Did you find the info you're looking for?"
"Not as much as I'd hoped. Daemons ain't known for their record-keeping. There was a letter, referencing some Necromancer called Oleg; evidently the local contact. Says he brought in the slaves."
Oleg...a name that seemed familiar. An unforgivable name of someone that took one of His. And more importantly...
But he couldn't remember. Only the burning rage wanting to let loose, wanting to crush the Soul of the offending entity. He bit his lower-lip, slowly exhaling. Without that person here, it would be counterproductive for him to lash out. He calmed down, if only a bit. Though his heel was tapping impatiently.
"What's the status there?"
"It's a goddamned mess. Daemons ain't smart; they'll smash and grab an outlying village, or take the unwary on the Paths. This is something different. We've right now got something like five thousand people, thought the camp's had up to twenty thousand at one point. High turnover, to say the least."
"And the Daemon King? Mr. Malgraleth, or whatever his name is?"
"Dead. Yer stunt took the central keep down. I was hoping to reach him first...ask 'im questions. Thanks for reminding him why I work alone."
"Sorry."
He shrugged. "Ah, don't be. I wouldn't have stumbled over this on my own. And I sure as hell wouldn't have tried to infiltrate it. Sometimes stealth is the right approach, and sometimes, nuke works better."
"Hey, this was subtle. Mitburgh was a nuke."
"Indeed. Thanks for bringing me along, lad. I needed to see this. The whole slaving operation...it's worse than I thought. Worse than I've seen. I only wish I had reached him sooner."
"What can you tell me about them? Where are they from?"
"Not the usual places. Which is worrying. They're runaway kids. Economic migrants delivered by the truckload via traffickers. An entire neo-Christian cult, kidnapped en masse. Someone knew who was likely to be missed. Whoever put this together understands our world in ways no demon ever did."
"So...Twenty thousand. Fifteen thousand dead," he grew thoughtful, a dark scowl on his face.
"Likely much more than that; they've been feeding people through this for years, and hundreds, if not thousands, die each week."
"Crap."
"Aye. They've prioritized collecting women; most of them would have died screaming as the Cambions clawed their way out. Someone's been building an army; most of which was not here."
"So a missing batch of Cambions somewhere. How many are we talking about?"
"A Cambion grows to maturity in about a year. How many...a few thousand? Ten?"
"So there's a horde of these guys out there?"
"From Sept Malgraleth alone, yeah. We'll see who else has been signing up for the Necromancer's guide to family planning. I'll be keeping these Hunters, Akari. We need to do a full recon sweep on the other Septs. Find out how deep the rot goes."
"Call me if you need something nuked," Izuku said. "This feels as integral to the war as fighting the Outsiders."
"Aye, lad...I will. Speaking of the War; I hear the Queen is building an industry to supply arms?"
"Yeah. Someone needs to do it and Camelot's the best option."
"As a friendly tip from an old teacher...these camps tend to be full of magical resources. You may want to look into reclaiming those for your purposes."
"Thanks. I'll let her know."
"Alright. Enough lollygagging. Clean up the last pockets, then we head out," Akari called out.
"Sure..." Izuku glanced back at the smoldering ruins. The air was thick with the scent of charred stone and burnt flesh, though most of the bodies had already been reduced to dust. The slave pens were empty now, their occupants either dead or freed. Too late for too many.
He exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the weight of it all. No time to dwell on it now. There was always another battle ahead.
Akari's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "And Izuku..." she whispered inconspicuously. "...dun forget what we talked about. Ye need to fix this. Soon. My advice? A bottle of a good scotch, a quick kiss, and a hard buggering. Does wonders for constipated relationships," she winked and gave him a thumbs-up.
"And constipation in general, I imagine."
"Take care Izuku! It's been fun to see ye in action."
"I'll see you later. We're returning to Camelot."
He nodded to the others before heading back. Someday, he'd move between places more efficiently, but for now, his control wasn't precise enough to risk it.
The weight of what they'd discovered, with thousands dead, an army of Cambions being raised somewhere, pressed heavily on his mind as he made his way back to Camelot. But as the castle's familiar walls rose before him, some of that burden lifted. Here was something worth protecting, something to fight for.
The castle was quiet at this hour, the distant echoes of guards on patrol the only sounds. Izuku went straight to the throne room. When he didn't find Ochaco there, he checked their chambers instead.
There, Ochaco was waiting for him, behind the bed's canopy, the silhouette of her naked form could be seen.
"You have returned, My Love," a delighted voice purred, her hand reaching out from the blankets to touch him, fingers running down his armor.
"Don't tell me you doubted that," he immediately removed his armor, the sound of it clanking the floor.
"The heart does what it wills, and fears as it likes," she smiled, pulling him close, and kissing him. "You are more than able to protect yourself, but my heart was still heavy with worry."
"You know I'd return to you, Ochaco. Even if hell itself stood between us."
She giggled. "That seems an overly long commute. Let us avoid is as long as we can. Come to bed, My Love. I need to feel you alive and next to me."
"With pleasure," he said, and kissed her again, this time more fiercely, hungrily.
"Yes," she whispered, pulling him into the sheets, his hands running along her skin. They enjoyed each other's warmth throughout the night.
Thanks for reading this chapter!
The fact that there's an army of Cambions around somewhere were concerning, to say the least. The Outsiders. The Necros. And now Daemons. Enemies on a lot of fronts. He needed some more allies with him. But before that...
Next up: The Dice Thrown Through Time