by Virlyce
Lindyss furrowed her brow but let go of his arm, leaving behind a bloodstain. The blood didn’t belong to her or Vur. She passed Vur and continued down the path until she reached Stella’s chambers.
“Friend, huh?” Stella said to herself and smiled as Vur vanished around the corner. “There’s just one more person I have to get rid of to avenge my children.” She glared at Lindyss who appeared at the entrance to the room. “You.”
***
Vur sat with his back against the tunnel wall. His body shook as vibrations ran from the rocky surface into his body as explosions and crashes resounded in the room behind him. He raised his head at the sound of approaching footsteps. Charon was walking towards him with Rella and Bella sitting on his shoulders. Tafel was further behind, dragging her feet with her gazed locked on the floor ahead of her.
“Hmm.” Charon hummed and rubbed his chin. “We’ve accomplished the tasks we set out for. Why do you two look like we lost?”
Rella and Bella flew off of Charon’s shoulders and hovered in front of Vur. “Is that—?” Rella asked and stared at Bella with wide eyes. The flower blooming on Vur’s chest seemed to wave at them, its petals swaying even though there was no wind.
“It is,” Bella said and gasped. She clutched her chest. “He feels like how Mom used to before she got taken away.”
Vur ignored the fairies and frowned at Tafel. She had taken a seat across from him, her back pressed against the wall of the tunnel. Her knees were bent in front of her chest, and her head was buried in her knees with her arms hugging her shins. Vur stood up and brushed past the fairies before sitting down beside Tafel. He placed a hand on her head and smoothed out the tangles in her hair.
The two fairies exchanged glances before tugging on Charon’s sleeve. He shrugged. “I’m going to watch the battle,” he said as he took a step towards the chamber’s entrance. A flood of lava rushed out and nearly engulfed him. He cleared his throat. “Never mind then. I will not be spectating.”
The group waited in silence as the ground continued to tremble and the walls continued to shake. Dust sprinkled from the ceiling. Rella and Bella had draped themselves over Vur’s shoulders, admiring the rose on his chest, but not daring to touch it. Vur’s hand was still in Tafel’s hair. Neither of them had said anything. Charon worked on clearing the hardening lava away.
An hour passed in this fashion. The rose on Vur’s chest shone with a golden light before dimming. The rumbling in the tunnels stopped. Lindyss walked out of the chamber’s entrance with her hair frayed and charred, the clothes she wore in tatters and dried blood caking her body. There was no expression on her face.
“Is it over?” Charon asked as he peeked his head into the entrance. There was nothing to see. A pile of rubble had blocked off the opening to Stella’s room.
“Yes,” Lindyss said. She glanced at Vur and Tafel before walking away. “It’s over.”
39
“Exactly what is this?” Grimmy asked as he flew through the sky. Lindyss and Vur were sitting on his head with Rella and Bella sitting on Vur’s shoulders. A swarm of fairies flew behind Grimmy, blotting out the sun for the people on the ground. “I feel like a mother duck with her chicks in tow.”
Lindyss snorted. “Blame the new fairy king over here,” she said and placed her hand on Vur’s head. “They’ll be following him like moths to a flame until the queen is born.”
Vur scratched his cheek. “At least there’s plenty of space for them in Konigreich, but we’ll have to defeat the guardian for their birthflowers first.”
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Lindyss said. “It’s probably disabled if it’s a construct, or it’ll submit to you if it’s biological. I do wish Charon teleported the room somewhere more convenient though.” A vein appeared on her forehead.
“Where’d he put it?” Bella asked, peeling her eyes away from the rose.
“On top of his tower in Konigreich. Literally.” Lindyss sighed. “I just hope a breeze doesn’t tip it over. My skeletons have been telling me about the panic it induces every time it wobbles.”
“Ah,” Bella said and lowered her gaze. “And here I was thinking he looked pretty cool when he teleported the whole room away.”
Silence fell over the group save for the chatter of the swarm behind them.
“I should’ve gone with Tafel,” Vur said as he looked up at the sky.
“And bring this many fairies back to Niffle?” Lindyss asked as she gestured behind herself. “Not happening. I have a feeling she doesn’t want to see any fairies for a long time.”
***
“What does it mean to be the demon lord?” Tafel asked. She was sitting on the edge of her bed with her hands clenched into fists on her lap. Her head hung as she stared at the floor, dark circles underneath her eyes. Dustin and Mina were sitting on chairs across from her.
Dustin frowned. “Tafel? What happene—”
“Answer me!” Tafel’s voice cracked when she yelled. She raised her head and glared at the duo across from her. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
“Calm down, Tafel” Mina said. “We’re just worried about—”
“It’s just one question. If you’re not going to answer it,” Tafel said in a low voice as her horns glowed silver. She shouted as a circle appeared underneath Dustin and Mina, “Then get out!” Their bodies disappeared along with the chairs and carpet.
Tafel panted, glaring at the exposed marble floor in the center of the room. She threw her body across her bed and buried her face in her pillow. A minute passed before the door to her room creaked open by an inch.
“Excuse me,” Retter said and rubbed his nose. “I couldn’t help but overhear—” He shut his mouth when Tafel raised her head and glared through the crack in the door with puffy eyes. “A demon lord is the demon who holds the respect of the people.” Retter gulped and pushed the door open further. “Whether by power or charisma.”
Tafel sat up and pointed at her desk’s chair. “Sit.”
Retter nodded and took a seat. “The demon lord is the one who guides the direction of the kingdom. She is the one who makes the important choices: to go to war or seek an armistice, to abolish laws or to create new ones. Everything a demon lord does is to ensure the continuation of the demon race. I don’t know what happened to you to make you—”
“I killed people,” Tafel said. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Thousands of people. Humans. Demons. Men. Women. Children.” Her voice cracked as her tears dripped from her chin.
Retter’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “That—”
“I’m a monster.” Tafel lowered her head and stared at her palms. The setting sun colored her hands red. Like blood. “Aren’t I?”
“No,” Retter said. His armor clanked as he kneeled by the side of the bed. “I’ve fought in too many battles to keep track of before I became a sentry in the royal castle. I’ve seen my fair share of monsters—you’re not one of them. All I see in front of me is a scared child who feels remorse for what she’s done. Monsters don’t feel remorse.”
Tafel sniffled and raised her head. She turned her head away from Retter’s sincere gaze. “I’d like to be left alone.”
“Understood,” Retter said and saluted as he stood up. “Let me know if you need anything.” He left the room and closed the door. He sighed as soft sobs echoed in the room behind him.
***
Michelle and her mother were standing over an open white sarcophagus. They were wearing black dresses, uncharacteristic of the pope’s family. “This isn’t real, right?” Michelle asked. “Tell me it’s not true.” She grabbed her mother’s hand. “Mom?”
“I’m sorry, Michelle,” Marissa said and hugged her daughter. Lines streaked down her face where her tears had ruined her makeup. “I’m sorry.”
Michelle’s body trembled. “How?” Her arms hung by her side. Inside the sarcophagus, there was a blanket. The top was peeled back, revealing the pope’s mostly burnt face. “Dad’s the strongest. He
’s blessed by the spirits. He talked to me just a few hours ago. He can’t be dead.” Michelle broke out of her mother’s embrace and kneeled beside the side of the sarcophagus, clasping her hands together while chanting. A white light enveloped the burnt corpse but dispersed without any effect. She chanted again and again to no avail as tears sprang to her eyes while her mother cried silently behind her. “I promise I won’t be bad anymore: I won’t drink. I won’t run off and disobey you. I’ll pray twice as much without complaining.” Her voice quavered, and her hands turned white from gripping the side of the sarcophagus. “So please, Dad. Get up. Please, get up.”
“Michelle…” Her mother hiccupped and placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder.
Michelle flinched as her mother’s hand made contact. “Who did it?” she asked and gritted her teeth as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hands. “Who?”
“It was me.”
Michelle whirled around and glared at the doorway. The human king was leaning against the door’s frame with his shoulders slouched, his crown lopsided. “I gave the order to have him killed. If you want to blame someone, then blame me. It is my duty to protect the people as the king, and I did what had to be done.” Forgive me, Rudolph.
***
“It’s been a month since the last worm outbreak,” Gale said. He was standing in front of an altar dressed in the white robe that represented the pope’s station. “I think it’s safe to say we have fully exterminated them, Your Majesty.”
“Good. But we must maintain vigilance,” Randel said with a sigh. After seeing Michelle and her mother in the basement of the temple crying over their lost family member, his own loss felt even greater. His purple robes had grease stains decorating the sleeves and belly. Dark circles surrounded his eyes while wrinkles lined his forehead. Bits of food were entangled in his beard by the corner of his mouth. “And how are your duties as the pope? Are you able to handle them?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Gale said and nodded his head once. “However, I think making Michelle a bishop may be a bit too much for her to handle. Her father just passed away and she—”
“Work conquers sorrow,” Randel said and waved his hand. “It’s best to keep her busy to distract her from her loss.”
Gale swept his gaze over the king’s unkempt body. Are you really one to say that? “Pardon my abruptness,” he said and lowered his head, “but how are you doing now that Rudolph is gone? Isn’t it about time we hold a proper funeral for him?”
“I’m fine, Gale,” Randel said as his eyes narrowed. “The country requires me to be strong. Holding a funeral at this moment, after our people have been terrorized by the worms, would be inappropriate. When we recover, we’ll hold a national holiday to honor the dead. We know that the worms can lie dormant for up to two months from our sources in Fuselage. We’ll construct a memorial as a reminder of our resilience then.”
“I understand.”
“More importantly,” Randel said as he leaned against his scepter, using it like a cane, “have you figured out the effects of the formation?”
Gale shook his head. “It seems like something that only the popes have knowledge of, but unfortunately, the knowledge wasn’t passed on to me. I think it’s best to leave it alone; however, I have noticed a marked decrease in the amount of mana surrounding it. It’s most likely due to us burning the crystals from the vault to aid us in eliminating the worm-infested hosts. Let’s hope nothing too catastrophic occurs when the formation runs out of energy.”
***
Vur was sitting on top of the head of a giant purple spider facing Lindyss who was sitting on its butt. The two were surrounded by the fairies’ birthflowers in the room Charon had teleported back to Konigreich. The purple spheres illuminating the room were now golden and splotches of gold decorated the purple leaves of the flowers.
The spider’s body tensed as the walls around them trembled and the floor wobbled. Faint screams could be heard outside of the room, coming in from the newly added windows. Lindyss sighed and channeled her mana as a whirlwind swirled around the earthen block, stabilizing its position above the narrow tower.
“That’s the third earthquake in a month,” Lindyss said and looked out a window. People were running about, ducking underneath shelters made of bear skeletons. “We’re really going to have to figure out what to do about this room.”
Vur didn’t respond as he played with the hairs near the spider’s eyes. It was furry like a tarantula. He raised his head. “You said that you were going to tell me why once I beat Mr. Skelly in a war,” he said and crossed his arms over his chest. “I won.”
Lindyss raised an eyebrow. “You really beat him? Let me ask.” She closed her eyes and an image of the undead skeleton leader appeared in her head. Did Vur beat you in a mock war? A moment passed, and Lindyss chuckled. “Sorry, Vur. Mr. Skelly says, ‘he technically didn’t beat me. He used his soldiers to win against my soldiers, so it can’t be said that he, as a person, beat me. I did not lose. Skeletons never lose.’” Lindyss smirked. “You’ll have to try again next time.”
“That’s not fair,” Vur said and pouted.
“Skeletons never fight fair,” Lindyss said and laughed. “And stop pouting. You’ve been hanging around the fairies too much.”
“Then how am I supposed to make you tell me?” Vur asked and knit his brows. Why had Lindyss betrayed Stella?
“You don’t,” Lindyss said and brushed her hair behind her ear as she stood up, “so stop asking. It’s a boring story anyway and a certain dragon would probably kill me if I told you.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
Vur tilted his head. “Grimmy?”
Lindyss burst out laughing before she walked away, careful not to step on the flowers on her way out.
***
“The nightmares again?”
Tafel nodded and plopped herself down onto her grandmother’s bed. Her grandmother sat up with a groan and wrapped her arms around Tafel.
“You poor child,” her grandmother said and rubbed her granddaughter’s back. “Maybe you should take that strange creature for a walk.”
“Strange creature?” Tafel asked and broke away from her grandmother’s embrace.
“Yes,” her grandmother said and pointed at a winged creature sitting on Tafel’s head. “That one. The thing on your head. Have you not noticed?”
“On my head…?” Tafel asked as she raised her hand. She squeezed something soft. The creature squealed before hissing and ruffling her hair with its hooves. “Floofykins? How did you—, I don’t understand. What? When did this happen?” Tafel sighed and held Floofykins in front of her face. “Well, you’re Vur’s granddaughter after all, so I can’t really judge you by normal standards.”
Floofykins stuck her tongue out before waving her hooves at Tafel. “Alright,” Tafel said. “I’ll walk you. Do you want to come, Grandma?”
Her grandmother shook her head. “I’m getting too old for midnight strolls with winged pigs.”
Floofykins coughed once. Then she coughed again. And again. When Tafel thought she was done, Floofykins hacked up a hairball with a piece of paper sticking out of it. Tafel wrinkled her nose as she brushed away the stiff fur and read the letter:
Dear Tafel,
Don’t be sad.
Love,
Vur
“Ah, young love,” her grandmother said, peeking over Tafel’s shoulder. “You should clean that up before you store it, or it’ll stink up all your other love letters.”
“Grandma!” Tafel said as her face heated up. “This isn’t a love letter!” She paused. “I think…”
“Mhm.” Her grandmother lay back down. “And I’m an elf. Now go walk that pig before it pees on my bed.”
Floofykins stuck her nose into the air and snorted.
40
In the royal gardens, two figures walked side by side: one demon, one winged pig. Tafel wore a silken bathrobe along with fuzzy, pink kitte
n-slippers. A cold breeze blew past, causing her to sigh and pull the bathrobe around her body tighter. A full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the plants and flowers decorating the road. Floofykins stopped next to a metal fence and raised one leg. The metal hissed and corroded as she marked her territory. Tafel’s eyes widened as the metal bubbled, and the fence collapsed in on itself.
“You’re pathetic.”
Tafel whirled around as Floofykins stopped mid-stream and turned her head towards the sound. Gabriel was standing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest. The moonlight glinted off of his light-blue armor, made from actual mithril instead of the fake armor Chad had given him last time. An orange morning star hung by his waist. The prince glanced at Floofykins and sneered before tilting his head up to look down on Tafel.
“Gabriel,” Tafel said and crossed her arms.
“Didn’t you hear what I said? You’re pathetic. A loser. How could someone like you become the demon lord?”
Tafel snorted and turned around. “Let’s go, Floofykins,” she said to the snarling birdpig. “Trash like him isn’t worth the effort.”
“Oh?” Gabriel asked and chuckled. “And I suppose those thousands of innocent people were? I guess the demon lord only knows how to slaughter the weak and helpless.”
Tafel froze mid-step. Floofykins tilted her head and nipped at Tafel’s fingertips.
“You thought nobody would know? What a joke. You left too many survivors.” Gabriel sauntered towards his sister. “It was easy for me to find out and that’s after Dustin tried to hide it. I imagine it wouldn’t be too hard for your dragon-boy lover to find out since the humans aren’t trying to defend you at all. I wonder what he would think about a girl who slaughtered thousands of people in cold blood. It’s like a match made in heaven—a monster falling in love with another monster.” Gabriel grinned.
Tafel’s body trembled. Her sword materialized in the air in front of her. “Shut up.”
Gabriel breathed down the back of her neck. “Make me.”
