The Forsaken Hero

Elise stood from her seat, gripping the edge of the obsidian table so hard that her knuckles turned white. Tears welled up in her eyes, the rest of the room tensing.

”Trusting the gods cost me everything,” she whispered. ”My soul, my freedom, my purity...my family. Now, they want you to sacrifice the same. Don’t let them. Don’t try and fight the demons.”

Undill exchanged a look with Father Ithris, who gave a slight shake of his head.

”Your case was...regretful, but the king of Brithlite was within his rights. Your family promised you to his son, and with his untimely death, it became incumbent on him to fulfill the treaty. However, don’t try to play your lascivious nature on the church. The gods don’t care if you sleep with one, or a hundred, so long as you do their will,” Undill said.

Her voice could have frozen fire. Elise squeezed her eyes shut, quivering uncontrollably. I reached out, placing a hand over hers. It was cold, sucking the warmth from my body.

”You know nothing of which you speak,” I said softly. ”Who was it that gave Brithlite the soul crest? Who was it that carried on their work after the kingdom fell?”

”You have no place to speak here, filthblood,” Undill spat. ”We are speaking of the empire, not Brithlite. Save your emotional rhetoric for a more unprofessional setting.”

”I-It’s okay,” Elise said, catching her breath. She gave me a tight smile. ”I got this.”

I hesitated, chewing on my lip, but sank back down. She also returned to her seat, but kept a tight hold of my hand under the table.

”Forgive my lapse,” she said, inclining her head to Grand Duke Barther. ”As the representatives of the church have pointed out, I am still inexperienced in these matters.”

Barther raised his hand, eyes searching her intently. ”It’s alright. I believe I understand something of what afflicts you. But please, continue. I sense there is something more you have to tell us. I will make my decision then.”

Elise took a shaky breath. ”Yes, thank you. The truth is, the demons didn’t kill your people.”

The room was so quiet I heard the startled gasp of the Grand Duke’s retainers. The ninth-level mage leaned forward, eyes glinting with interest for the first time. Surprisingly, he was looking at me.

”I’m afraid I need more to go on than a claim like that,” Barther said, stroking his neatly trimmed beard.

”Truly an outrageous claim!” Undill burst out. The father gave her a sharp look, brow creased with worry, but she ignored it and said, ”Who else would burn thirty thousand innocents? There were children among them!”

”Interesting how the demons didn’t leave a single survivor,” Elise said, meeting her gaze.

”Of course they wouldn’t. They’re bloodthirsty beasts!”

Elise raised her eyebrow. ”Bloodthirsty? It’s odd for a representative of the divine to know so little about demons. Anyone even a little familiar with their nature could tell you demons thirst for power, not blood. That power comes from infernal mana, not killing.”

”You’re saying...” Barther’s hand paused on his chin, fingers tugging on his beard. ”No, to claim such a thing...’

She nodded. ”It is as you surmise. The demons hunt the strongest souls but leave the weakest to flee. Those refugees spread fear amongst people everywhere, releasing infernal mana. It’s a horrifying practice, but I’ve seen it happen over and over. So I ask you, Undill: If the demons really attacked the refugees, why would they leave none alive?”

”I can’t know the mind of a monster, only that it wishes to destroy everything we hold dear,” she replied. ”But you should speak more carefully, Hero,” she emphasized that last word with a derisive snort. ”You say it wasn’t the demons. But if not them, then who? Are you accusing the empire of killing their own? Perhaps you think they’re reducing the number of mouths to feed, or they’re cutting the dead weight of refugees.”

The temperature of the room lowered several degrees, sending a chill down my spine. Hostile stares came at us like knives, as though Elise herself had been the one to lay that crime at the empire’s feet.

I looked at Undill, a pit forming in my stomach. Everything Elise said, she found a way to turn back on us. Grand Duke Barther seemed to have a keen mind, but our case was no stronger than the church’s. If it came down to a decision between two choices with equal evidence, our word against theirs, it wasn’t hard to imagine him taking the safer option and siding with the church.

”Do you have proof?” Brother asked.

Elise hesitated, eyeing me from the corner of her eye. I shrugged helplessly.

”We...don’t. Yet,” Elise mumbled, looking down.

”Hah, another baseless accusation,” Undill scoffed. ”Just the kind of thing we’d expect from a slut siding with demons.”

”Grand Duke, there is no need to maintain this farce any longer,” Father Ithris said. ”The demons have proven unreliable. No rational man can trust them in this treaty. But even if you must fight, we will not let you fight alone. Speaking on behalf of the church, we pledge our utmost to your cause. The Empire will not fall easily, nor will it go quietly into the night.”

”But it will fall,” I said, ”And it will go into the night. I tried to save the people of...um, Corzinth, and saw them safely away with Verity. Where is she, now? She would vouch for our integrity.”

”The Fate Hero has returned to the Southern Continent. The strain of battle was great on her, and she needed a chance to recuperate,” Father Ithris said.

It was understandable, but something in my gut told me there was more to the story. But for us, right now, it just meant another piece was off the board.

”I thought I told you to shut up! Stop asking such pointless questions,” Undill said, glaring at me.

”Yeah, you definitely did,” Jessia said, nodding in agreement. ”Xiviyah, that was very rude of you. Please, apologize.”

”Thank you. Now, if we could get this damned meeting–”

Undill started to nod, but froze, her eyes widening. She wasn’t alone. The moment Jessia spoke, several auras were released at once. The strongest was the ninth-level mage, who was no longer leaning casually against the wall. His mana radiated from his soul in a thick cloud, visible as a wavering distortion in the air around him. He held a pitch-black staff, cracks of lava running up the haft. His aura was suffocating, weighing on my shoulders and restricting my breathing. Were it not for R’lissea’s wards, it would have forced me to my knees, just as it did to the rest of the diplomatic team.

Jessia, for her part, leaned against the wall, looking completely unconcerned with the commotion her presence caused. As the room reacted, and the guards pointed swords at her, she straightened and swaggered to the table. Two clerks rushed out of her way, allowing her to toss a fist-sized chunk of purple crystal on the obsidian table. I gasped as I recognized the unique mana signature. There’d been a god with that same magic in my realm just a week ago.

”What is this?” the ninth-level mage asked, eyes narrowed.

Jessia jerked a thumb at the church’s delegation. ”Why don’t you ask them? I found it in their quarters. Awfully sloppy, don’t you think?”

The Undill frowned, tilting her head in confusion. The rest of their party seemed equally confused, all except for Father Ithris. The blood drained from his face, and his lower lip trembled, struggling to suck in a breath.

The mage waved his hand and the crystal flew into his palm. He examined it for a second, then cast a fifth-circle spell, summoning magic circles in front of his eyes like glowing spectacles. After a moment, he stiffened and recoiled like the crystal bit him.

”You didn’t...” he growled, turning to stare at Father Ithris.

The Father’s Adam’s Apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. ”I assure you, my Lord, there is an explanation. It was recovered from the refugee camp.”

”What is it?” Elise whispered to me.

I shook my head, rubbing my horn in disbelief. ”It’s the core of the crystal enchantment. They actually kept it!”

”You say it was recovered from the refugee camp?” Grand Duke Barther asked. ”That’s curious. It was a team of our soldiers who first found the camp. Your inquisitors didn’t come until afterward, in case the demons returned. I don’t recall the mage in the search party recording the finding of such a treasure. Or are you saying they simply overlooked the aura of a ninth-level magic item?”

Undill looked around, trembling from the force of the auras around her. ”W-what are they talking about, Father? This wasn’t part of the arrangement.”

Father Ithris laid a hand on her shoulder, but he didn’t relax. ”It’s nothing of consequence. Mages make mistakes, especially in the horror of discovering so many of their kinsman dead. I can only imagine the pain and darkness that must have weighed on their hearts as they searched for survivors. It wouldn’t be right to blame them for missing something like this.”

”True, but the core belonged to us. Why would you have found it but not returned it?” Barther asked.

”I’m certain there was a misunderstanding. I had a very powerful inquisitor looking after it with instructions to return it as soon as we guaranteed there was no trap or hidden enchantment,” Father Ithris said.

”That’s impossible!” Elise said. ”The demons would have taken it!”

”No, they must have left it behind for this exact scenario! Then, that treacherous girl snuck into our place to retrieve it, knowing it would drive us apart!” Undill said, glaring at Jessia.

When Barther or the ninth-level mage didn’t immediately speak, her lip curved in a slight triumphant smile. My heart sank in my chest, my tail falling limp. It looked like the empire believed them. Was this really as far as we went?