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  Last time, Xharomor had come to them. Marshall's death had sealed Xharomor's immortality, and he'd had to time everything to Dr. Nathaniel's betrayal. This time, he'd have no reason not to trust in his hordes to do the job for him, and keep him out of reach of the sword. They'd have to go to him, no matter what they had to fight through to get there. And throughout, they'd have to guard Yodit with their lives. The young woman had picked up on the sword training quickly, but it was still a matter of hours of training, not weeks. She had every enchantment and blessing on her they could muster. Of course, so had Marshall.

  Noriko tried to chase the latter thought from her mind and focus on duty.

  They'd given her the best honor-guard they could, with Noriko acting as her bodyguard, while Hobie and Kaida were tasked with leading the counter-charge, and clearing a path to the Otherlord. For the first time she could recall, she was grateful for the gallows humor the pair were exchanging. She was still glad she couldn't hear what they were actually saying to one another, but the casual way they were taking the life-and-probable-death situation seemed to ease the tension in a lot of the inexperienced combatants around them.

  Based on previous conflicts, they'd guessed that Xharomor would expect them to stay behind the walls and gates as long as possible.

  Which hasn't worked so well for us

  So they'd come up with a new plan this time, focused entirely getting Yodit to Xharomor. Waiting in hiding gave them next to no chance. There were just too many daemons and too much power arrayed on the other side.

  The gates held against the initial magical bombardment, and all the while, from inside the walls, they could hear the daemonic army closing in.

  The signal came down from the walls when the daemons were close enough that a charge wouldn't leave them in a wide killing field. The gates opened all at once, and the fighters of the last standing tower rushed Xharomor's army.

  Unfortunately, despite all of their preparation and warnings, half of the forces still hesitated as a pair of truly massive daemons, Xharomor's gatecrashers, loomed ahead of the enemy ranks, coming directly at the now-open gates.

  Noriko's own hesitation was out of habit, waiting for Nils to take over one of the massive, but weak-willed giants. Of course, he wasn't there.

  Hobie, of course, didn't hesitate for a moment. He roared a challenge, and charged. Kaida rushed alongside. That fervor caught on, and the ranks surged forward. As they did, she gained a sense, for a few moments, of how truly massive Xharomor's army had become, and how many ranks stood between them and the Otherlord.

  Their mad rush hit the front ranks of the daemonic horde, forcing the unearthly creatures back at first. Kaida's wide sweeps with her chain cleared many of the lesser things at once, while Hobie, with his brand new enchanted axe, proceeded to go over or through the more imposing obstacles. Both took their scratches and glancing blows in return, but both were still standing and fighting.

  The further they went, the easier of a time Noriko had in coordinating with Yodit. Focusing her tactical perceptions through the power of Hachiman's katana, she picked up on the rhythms of Yodit's battle-dance as the woman weaved, spun, and darted through enemy ranks, striking time and again before leaping back out of reach. The rapid, agile fighting style suited Noriko's abilities fine.

  Comfortable as she was fighting with that crew, she was quickly becoming aware that even as they made progress, fewer and fewer people were able to keep up, having to either fall back to the walls, or spend their lives dearly in helping the small crew reach Xharomor.

  A time or two, she nearly hesitated, all of her own tactical sense and the aid of the sword telling her they'd live longer if they fell back. There was just too many daemons, and they could protect some of these lives around them.

  She steeled herself each time and kept going. Living longer couldn't be the goal. It would be, at most, a matter of hours, if that. There were just too many daemons, too many cultists, too many of everything, and too few of them. It made the army that had assaulted the Horizonte Academy look small, and that had been a disaster.

  Their only chance was to reach—and kill—Xharomor. Anything short of that, and they'd be overrun. Without his power, no army this size could remain even in the border realms. She leapt when Yodit did, keeping pace with their chosen champion, fending off more attacks, and adding to their offense when she could.

  They were losing most of their escort. The daemons started closing in around them. "Kaida, now!"

  The shorter girl leapt high, and came down swinging the meteor hammer, slamming it into the rocky ground. The quake radiated out from her. Prepared, Noriko and Yodit leapt as one, launching themselves further into the ranks. Noriko beheaded a daemon as she came down, Yodit dropped another. Hobie, expecting the signal, crouched and slammed his axe down, riding out the quake as daemons were thrown around him. As soon as it stilled, he was off again, charging past Noriko and Yodit again, climbing one of the towering daemons while it was still off-balance and burying the axe in its neck.

  Amid the disarray, more warriors surged forward from behind them, keeping the daemons off of them and killing those that had fallen. Spells rained down around them from the tower walls, trying to buy them time and clear their path.

  And then she could finally see Xharomor, paying them no attention. He stood in the midst of the horde, exhorting the daemons onward, with a small honor guard around him. With a few syllables and a raised hand, he fired back at the casters on the walls.

  The screams and sound of cracking stone pulled her attention backwards, to where, despite all of their defenses, and all the reinforcing and blessing of those still within, the wall cracked. A second blast shattered a portion of the wall, and daemons began swarming for the weak point, in addition to the gates.

  His attention lay there. Best chance we're going to get.

  She nodded and, as Kaida and Hobie occupied the daemons still in the way, leapt. She took aim at Xharomor's sword arm, trusting Yodit would be right behind her.

  28

  Now for Ruin

  Celeste Manoucheka LeRoux

  Celeste tried to stay focused on her prayers, occasionally letting Mr. Gebramlak's, which seemed familiar enough aside from being in Ge'ez instead of Latin, waft over her awareness, or hearing snatches of Dagny's songs. The majority of their forces had poured out of the gates, leaving the remainder to protect the civilians and the Seal from those who would take advantage. And Celeste knew who would love that advantage.

  She managed to not look up from her candles until people around her had started dying. Once she did, the litter borne on the backs of four massive, hunched daemons, which was surrounded by even more daemons holding off their remaining warriors, was hard to miss.

  Rhalissa's ragged black-and-silver curls blew in the breeze. Her unhealthily pale skin glistened between the tattooed lines. Wider swathes of smoke than had ever surrounded the Soul Witch before lashed out like tendrils at some of the nearby priestesses. Celeste realized the reasoning behind the immediate, relentless, focus on the seasoned practitioners most familiar with certain workings, as the warriors were left to the hordes. Rhalissa didn't like competition in her niche. Her dearest wish had been clear about that.

  Celeste wasn't as much a target. She was just a young healer, not even particularly calling on the Queen of Graves right now. But she was certainly aware. Celeste had more experience with Rhalissa than anyone there. She knew the sinking feeling of her draining spells. In times past, she'd been able to protect Marshall and the rest of the small group, though it was always a test. Now, it took the combined effort of all present just to slow her down. The warriors continued to hold the daemons at bay. Dagny's battle-song continued to carry above the fray. Celeste was glad for that, but couldn't spare the melee a glance, just having to trust they'd hold a while longer.

  As the people around her gave their all, Celeste knelt over her plain candles. Her gradually falling colleagues mostly succeeded in taking down daemons, un
til Rhalissa had to walk towards them as she suffocated her supposed rivals and added their fuel to her fire.

  As she approached, more smoke whirled around the witch. Rhalissa shrugged aside spells and kept chanting her own, while her guardians protected her from physical assault. Celeste could feel the encroaching draining, trying to worm its way past her defenses, trying to seize her breath and stop her heart. She clutched her rosary and pushed back, keeping her focus inward, continuing her ritual no matter what.

  Dagny's battle-song grew louder, somewhere out in the field. Celeste forced herself not to look for the woman, not to look around herself, just hoping the sound was intensifying the call to action and not a sign the daemons were pushing the warriors back. Hope was what she had, what they all had. And so Celeste hoped, trusted, and continued to pray.

  Mr. Gebramlak had been doing some of his prayer-dancing until he'd been weakened to his knees, simply clutching his amulets as he gasped out the words. When Celeste looked up and met his eyes, she felt certain, despite not knowing the words, that he was no longer praying for any strength against the attack. He was praying for her.

  ***

  Edwin Vincent Nathaniel

  It surprised him that Nils hadn't kept more bodyguards about, but that was the end of the surprises. If the boy had thought that the tower's defenses were going to be enough to slow Edwin Nathaniel down, or perhaps wear him down for a final confrontation, he was about to see how badly mistaken he was.

  Edwin gestured, trying to sweep away the magic of the invisible runes carved in the air. To his surprise, Nils's protections held.

  "Using the sarcophagus to enhance your runes. Good, very good. Your protections were always weak."

  "I never had much reason to work on them, when I had Celeste,” Nils said. “When it comes to protection, Othermagic has nothing on her saints," Nils said. He then began reciting in Othertongue. Edwin wasn't about to wait to analyze what was being said, instead chanting obscene syllables of his own, working on destroying the enchantments Nils had laid to buy himself time.

  Despite the threat, Nils kept chanting the repetitive words of his ritual over Xharomor's sarcophagus, not deviating to reinforce the defenses. "Foolish," Edwin scolded, between spells. Nils's magic had improved, but it was still breaking, rune by rune.

  "Better than dooming the world," Nils said, before picking up the next phase of the chant, hurrying his words a little.

  "Ah-ah. Don't rush. That way lies mistakes," he chided his student. Former student, he reminded himself. Another protection fell away before his words and gestures.

  Nils ignored the advice and kept chanting, channeling more of the sarcophagus's power into his ritual. Edwin was beginning to sense Nils's life force past the barriers. Not quite enough to latch onto in order to target him directly, but it was getting close. He started to unweave another defensive rune. The defenses were weakening, and Nils wasn't even trying to reinforce them, utterly focused on his ritual.

  "It will do you no good, you know." Edwin pronounced a few more words as the rune pattern he was unweaving became clearer in his mind. "Even if you complete the ritual to prepare the sarcophagus to contain Xharomor, I'm just going to undo it."

  Nils didn't answer, continuing to chant. Edwin could still see the effort, and the toll it was taking. The boy was sweating profusely, and his legs were unsteady. His twisted hand was shaking in the efforts to draw the precise symbols correctly along the surface of the sarcophagus. With a few more syllables, another rune came undone.

  "Don't do this, Nils," Edwin said, working on one of the final defenses in his way. "Don't throw everything away on some meaningless show. Surrender now, and I'll see if I can save your girlfriend... if it's not already too late."

  Nils closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, exhalation coming in a loud hiss, then another breath. With great focus, he pronounced a last few syllables, as his finger traced over the surface of the sarcophagus.

  "I'm sorry to disappoint you, sir, but if I betrayed the world to Xharomor, she'd kill me herself. If it's too late, at least I die on the right side. I'm not you."

  Edwin gritted his teeth, this last rune taking more effort, and taking more out of him. He pushed the anger back, forcing himself to concentrate, and the defensive enchantment shattered under his counterspell. "There's nothing left to betray, Nils. The papers were signed on the world more than a month ago. This is just the ink drying. Let it happen.”

  Nils started to chant again, gesturing towards Edwin, but, out of breath, his voice wavered, and his hand shook. Edwin gestured towards his former star pupil, breathing a few more of the obscene syllables of Othertongue as his spell latched on to Nils's frail form.

  Nils screamed as his muscles seized, and his good arm snapped, as his defenses broke fully.

  "Did you really think you ever stood a chance?" The question led to more chants, as Edwin gestured, wincing a little at soreness from the exertion. Even so, it had the desired effect, pulling Nils forcibly away from the sarcophagus.

  ***

  Igarashi Noriko

  More of the tower's forces swept in behind them, occupying the daemons and cultists, trying to keep them off of the small group going after Xharomor. Noriko could hear the screams amid the sounds of battle as more good men and women gave their lives to buy them time.

  With Yodit coming in right behind her, she brought the sword down. At the last moment, Xharomor side-stepped her blow entirely. When Yodit swung Fragarach, he was ready for her, deflecting the sword away with a casual flick of his own blade. Only Yodit's preternatural reflexes saved her, as the Otherlord launched his own counterattack. A shockwave radiated out from where his blow struck the ground, throwing both girls back and away from him. Noriko managed to land on her feet, Yodit wasn't as lucky, and she went tumbling into the ranks of daemons.

  Kaida corrected course, going after her. She wrapped her chain around a daemon's neck, pulled the hapless creature off its feet, and whirled the chain and daemon alike around to smash into three others, knocking them away from Yodit as she shook off the cobwebs.

  Xharomor gestured at Noriko, his hand glowing brighter. Still recovering her balance, all she could do was get the fan up, hoping it would be enough.

  Thankfully, the defense was unnecessary, as Hobie charged Xharomor, smashing the axe into the Otherlord's wrist. While it didn't make even the slightest mark on Xharomor's skin, it did throw his aim off, and the blast beheaded one of the truly massive daemons, instead.

  Before Noriko could get to them, she heard the Otherlord snarl at the bear-sark. "Whelp!" As the Otherlord brought his sword down, Hobie met it with the shield. There was a thunderous crack, as wood and enchantment alike shattered, and Hobie was sent flying.

  Noriko fought back the urge to rush after him, and instead, on noticing Yodit kicking back to her feet, Noriko lunged back into the fight with Xharomor. This time, her blow struck home. The katana proved more effective than Hobie's axe, but only barely. Her best cut left only a shallow nick, a single streak of dark ichor standing out against the radiance emanating from his skin.

  Her attack also failed to turn his attention away from Kaida and Yodit. The chain struck first. He got his free arm up in time to block it, the chain wrapping itself around his wrist. Kaida pulled back against it, trying to throw him off balance, but the Otherlord didn't move, as if rooted in place. His sword came up in time to deflect Yodit's attack in turn, metal ringing on metal. Her second, then third strikes were just as ineffective, though at least she was fast enough to avoid his strikes in response.

  Noriko leapt, trying to put more power into her own attack, coming down swinging. This time, he did move. Not even looking back at her, Xharomor shifted out of the way, faster than she'd remembered him ever moving, evading both Noriko and Yodit's attacks at once.

  Noriko recovered her balance and turned in time to see Xharomor grab Kaida's chain.

  With a two-syllable utterance, energy radiated down the length of the weapon be
fore Noriko could shout any warning. Link by link, the enchanted chain shattered. The shock hit Kaida, and Noriko could swear she smelled burning flesh as the earth-blessed Little Mountain of the Storm's Light hit the ground, unmoving.

  Well, almost unmoving. Kaida's chest still rose and fell, but it was weak and shallow.

  To her relief, in her peripheral vision, Hobie was starting to rise, but unsteadily. It was up to them. She renewed her attack on Xharomor, while Yodit came at him from the other side. The pair whirled and jumped in and out of his reach. Noriko managed to duck under one of his blasts, and scored another shallow hit. She only made it that far, though, because it was clear Xharomor's focus was much more on Yodit and defending himself from Fragarach. Unlike Noriko, the other girl couldn't get an attack through. Fragarach rang off of Xharomor's blade again and again.

  After the fourth such exchange, Noriko noticed it: the tears in Yodit's eyes, her hands shaking. She struggled to keep her grip. On her next attack, it was clearly harder to hold onto the sword as bits of burnt goatskin flaked away.

  The next time Noriko swung her sword, Xharomor deflected it away bare-handed, causing her to almost lose her grip on her weapon. He parried Fragarach, catching Yodit's attack with his sword and pressing back against her attack. This time, Noriko could hear the hiss as flesh burned.

  Yodit screamed, losing her grip as Xharomor disarmed her. She was quick enough to roll with the force of his blow when he struck her with his free hand, but the impact still tossed her away. When she landed this time, she didn't get back up.

  Noriko searched for any sign of help as Xharomor finally turned his attention on her, grinning. There were far fewer allies keeping the daemons at bay now, and plenty of daemons. The tower's defenders were still fighting, but in a failing effort.