Heroine Creation: All My Summons Are Custom Made

Lancet and his heroines stood together in the cratered courtyard, watching the town finally rid itself of the evil redness. Wind came after, washing over them, and in its scent was the promise of the rain.

Deathrock was silent. A place finally allowed to rest.

”This is a good thing we have done here,” Astensia spoke first. She looked calmer now, relieved now that the forces of evil had been vanquished. ”The just thing. The Second World never held up their end of the truce. They never intended to.”

”What do you expect from Demons?” Thor said, then cast a glance at Spectra. Her expression softened a bit. ”We fought well. All of us,” she remarked with dignity. ”Let us not let recent discoveries taint what we did here. The people of this town can now return to their normal lives.”

Espel looked around at the ruined buildings, the crumbling walls. She bit her lip. ”I don’t have enough Grace to revitalize the entire town,” she said, a note of apology in her voice. ”The damage is too extensive. It would take weeks.”

Lancet shook his head. ”That’s fine, Es. You’ve done a lot already.” His eyes moved past her, settling on Spectra.

The Mother of Demons stood slightly apart from the group, her arms folded tightly below her breasts, her head bowed just enough that her white hair fell forward and obscured her face.

Unlike her, she had not spoken since Braavas died. She had not smiled, not teased, not made a single one of her usual sharp remarks. She simply stood there, still and quiet, lost in a silence that felt heavier than any words.

Kestrel broke the quiet. Her eyes swept across the battlefield and then up at the citadel tower.

”The Demon Scouts,” she said measuredly. ”The Purgatory Demons. That shrine. And Baal.” She paused. ”This wasn’t just a Demon Citadel. Everything points to a big plan the Second World had for this place. It feels like a large secret invasion.”

Astensia agreed with her. ”We have to warn the authorities.”

Lancet was still looking at Spectra. She had not reacted to Kestrel’s words, had not moved from her distant pose. He watched her for a moment longer, then spoke to the others.

”The Demon Scout corpses. Let’s gather them. We’ll show them as proof.”

The others nodded. Astensia, Thor, Kestrel, and Espel moved away from the crater, heading back toward the ridge where they had rendezvoused and kept the corpses of the Demon Scouts.

Lancet did not follow. He remained where he was, a few feet from Spectra, the silence stretching between them like a fragile thread.

”Are you okay?” he asked her.

Spectra was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, her lips curved into a smirk. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

”I didn’t take you for an emotional one,” she said, flipping her hair behind her ear.

Lancet sighed. Of course she would act like this.

”I just wanted to know how you were doing,” he said quietly. ”If you were alright after...”

He did not finish the sentence.

Spectra’s eyes widened slightly, then she narrowed them and looked away, her jaw tightening.

The silence returned, heavier than before. The distant voices of the other Heroines drifted across the courtyard as they gathered the Demon Scout corpses.

Then Spectra turned back to him. Her crimson eyes met his, and she smiled at again, a very playful, teasing smile.

”And if I wasn’t?” she asked.

She rounded and walked towards him, closing the distance with small steps until she stood face to face with him, close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body.

Her voice dropped to a kitten’s purr.

”What would you do to make me feel better?”

Lancet’s eyes popped wide and he drew his head backwards already drawing red on his cheeks. ”Spectra? What are you doing?”

She leaned in. The scent of her — death and roses — filled his senses. She looked deep into his eyes with her crimson ones and her smile sharpened with playful intent.

”Well, you wanted to get intimate. So come on then, Master.” She moved closer still, her body nearly pressed against his, her voice a velvet whisper. ”Let’s get intimate.”

Lancet gulped, and he found himself suddenly very interested in the sky, the ground, the distant crater. Anything that was not Spectra’s eyes or Spectra’s smile or her large breasts pressing into him.

”Spectra? I don’t think this is the right time for this.”

She studied his face for a long moment, her smile now only a half-smile. Then she pulled away.

”Coward,” she accused.

Then she turned and began walking toward the others, her hips swaying gracefully. Her white hair caught the sunlight, and for just a moment, the weight she had been carrying seemed to lift from her shoulders.

Lancet stared after her, his face still burning. ”Coward?!” he called back.

Spectra did not turn around. ”Let’s better get a move on,” she jeered. ”You don’t want the golden knight thinking we’re up to something, do we?”

Lancet froze. His face was so red it would have made tomatoes jealous. He stood there for a moment, mouth opening and closing wordlessly, before finally shaking his head and following after her.

******

After regrouping with the others, they made their way through the cleansed streets of Deathrock until the town gates loomed ahead.

Well, what was left of the town gates after Thor had shattered it with Lightning Storm Singularity.

Once they stepped out of the town, a big change was there to welcome them.

First of all, the Thunder Barrier was gone. But more worryingly, the open ground was filled with soldiers.

Brigadiers in full combat gear stood in disciplined rows, their Graceblasters held at the ready. Behind them, Kingdom Rangers in their distinctive green-and-grey cloaks formed a second line, their weapons drawn, their expressions hard.

The perimeter had been completely transformed from the bored, scattered camp they had left behind into a full military cordon.

And at the front of it all stood a Head Commander, and beside that Head Commander was Post Commander Halden Vey.

His face was a mask of cold fury, all traces of the tired, television-watching officer gone. Beside him stood four figures that made even Thor’s eyes narrow.

They were older Awakeners, each one radiating an aura of immense power. The first was a tall man with a grey beard and eyes like chips of ice, his armour etched with the symbols of a veteran warrior.

The second was a woman with sharp features and hair pulled back in a severe bun, her hands crackling with a cold blue energy. The third was a broad-shouldered man with a scarred face and a massive greatsword strapped across his back. The fourth was a wise-looking woman leaning on a staff of twisted oak, her eyes milky white but her gaze somehow piercing nonetheless.

Lancet pouted. ”Looks like they brought out the big guns.”

The Head Commander’s voice rang out across the space between them, hard and commanding.

”Lancet Leogardt! By order of the Kingdom Council, you and your Summons are to stand down immediately!”

Lancet stood still, arms at his sides, making sure to show that he wasn’t being threatening. His heroines did the same.

”You have disobeyed direct orders,” the Commander continued. ”You have violated an outer-political truce agreement between Earth and the Second World. Your actions could have severe repercussions for the ongoing war effort and for the safety of every citizen within the world’s borders.”

The grey-bearded Awakener stepped forward, his icy eyes fixed on Lancet. ”The truce with Gehenna is not a matter of convenience. It is a carefully negotiated agreement that prevents open warfare on multiple fronts. By breaking it, you have endangered not only yourselves but the entire region.”

The woman with the crackling blue energy spoke next, her voice sharp and clipped. ”We do not know what chain of events you may have set in motion. Retaliation. Escalation. The Second World does not take breaches lightly.”

Halden’s jaw was tight. He had warned them. He had tried to stop them. But they abused his leniency and did whatever they wanted anyway. He wanted that boy punished severely.

”Please do not resist,” the Head Commander said, and his voice softened just slightly, because he knew he was speaking to people he did not truly wish to treat as enemies. ”We will be detaining you and taking you to the Kingdom Council Hall.”

The scarred Awakener with the greatsword stepped forward, his eyes set on Lancet in particular.

”You must answer for your crimes.”

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A/N: End of the Deathrock mini arc. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it as well. But look at this, the Kingdom Council Hall???? What’s about to happen?