Lemmy froze as her mouth went agape. “Is that… him?”

  Lemania shook her head. “Not yet, it is too early. Something else is here.” She stood up from her throne and summoned a staff from out of nowhere. It was an elegant one, although it radiated an unspeakable amount of power.

  “We must defend the city,” Lemania said. “I am afraid our meeting must be cut short, traveler. I know you have already assisted us, but I ask that you help us once again.”

  Eliam nodded, partly because he didn’t really have a choice.

  “Good,” Lemania said. She moved out, and they followed.

  As soon as they left the palace to see what the noise was, Eliam instantly felt a wave of pressure hit him. He stumbled back, barely managing to keep himself from falling. Lemmy started to fall out of the air, unconscious from the pressure. Eliam ensured he caught her before she struck the ground.

  This feeling was clearly an aura, yet the source was so far away. Can they really get this powerful?

  Lemania was still standing, although the look on her face was one of defeat. It was then that Eliam knew something was terribly wrong.

  “That should be impossible,” Lemania muttered.

  Eliam focused on the source of the presence, and when he did, he gasped. In the center of the city was a fiend, but not just any fiend. Dark horns sprouted all over its head, accompanying the thick black hair that ran down the creature’s shoulders. Its skin was a dark green, pulsing with that same green energy that Eliam had seen in previous fiends. The only difference was that it was stronger at a seemingly impossible level.

  A wide smile spread across the creature’s face as it focused on various warriors surrounding it. With a flick of its hand, large spears of green energy shot out in multiple directions, each one shooting into one of the soldiers. Upon impact, the warriors disintegrated, leaving nothing behind.

  “What the fuck is that?” Eliam wondered aloud.

  “A Nircozonian… an extinct… previously extinct species of fiends. Perhaps, the strongest fiends of all. To see one now must mean that things really are more dire than I presumed.

  A Nircozonian? As in the Nircozonian Domain? I can tell there is obviously some sort of connection, but what exactly?

  “I’m afraid that Fantamaia will be no more. We will not be able to stop that beast,” Lemania muttered.

  “What?” Eliam asked. “You’re just going to give up?”

  “We should have been better prepared,” Lemania sighed. “We have allowed ourselves to become weak. Much of our resources were doled out to containing inner conflicts and that damned Harpy Mother. The Ancient Woods is one of the few places we can use to travel to the surface. Other than that, we felt safe down here, in our own world. It was only recently that I had a team investigate what was happening on the surface, and what I found was… disturbing.”

  So, this powerful kingdom became so distracted that they failed to realize that Quarlak was upon them? Something doesn’t make sense. There’s something Lemania definitely isn’t telling me, but it’s looking like I am not going to have time to find out.

  The Nircozonian turned in their direction, its smirk somehow deepening. It smashed the final warrior in its way and rocketed toward them at a speed akin to a sports car.

  Lemania was still pale, but her staff was raised, an aura of power coming off it. Lemmy was still out cold, and it was clear she would not awaken any time soon.

  Having no other choice, Eliam unsheathed Frostlight and narrowed his eyes. He would fight until the end.

  The Nircozonian paused before them, its aura intensifying as it neared. Just as Eliam felt as if he were about to faint, a wave of frost came over him. Frostlight was glowing in his hands, empowering him against the aura.

  “I must thank you,” the Nircozonian spoke. “For making my life easier. Not only do I get to crush this puny city, but I also get to present the hero’s katana to my master.”

  Eliam stood his ground, ready to go down fighting. He knew there would be no winning against this thing, but damn if he didn’t try.

  He watched Lemania grit her teeth from the corner of his eye. She had no weapon to protect her against the aura. She must have been powerful to be standing against it herself.

  “And you, Lemania Titus, the fairy queen. Nothing but an overgrown bug, waiting to be crushed. Your power has waned.”

  “You speak as if you know me… have we crossed paths before?” she asked.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Ah, you don’t remember? It was you who ended my life all those years ago. I go by the name of Xephesatious Miquelex.”

  Lemania narrowed her eyes, her hand gripping her staff tightly. “I see.”

  Xephesatious laughed and suddenly appeared right in front of Lemania as if he had teleported.

  She jumped back, but not before Xephesatious’s hands grasped her throat. He slammed her into the ground and threw her into the distance.

  Eliam took advantage of this moment to rush him. He knew that he would have no time to sprint, so he used blink and instantly arrived right behind the fiend.

  He swung Frostlight straight at Xephestatious’s neck. He only hit air. A second later, an extreme force slammed into him from behind, sending him flying into the palace walls. He slammed into them, the air being forced out of his lungs.

  Thankfully, Lemania rose back from the ground, her eyes radiating a golden light. She snapped, and her staff floated next to her.

  “Oooh, this is going to be fun,” Xephestatious said.

  Seconds later, they both flashed forward, a loud clash emanating from the encounter. This time, it was Xephestatious who was sent flying backward.

  He ran his hands over the floor, ripping the purple bricks to shreds as he slowed his speed. A wild grin formed on his face as his hands pulsated with power.

  He whipped himself forward, jabbing his hand toward Lemania at an incredible speed. A golden shield appeared around her, stopping the hand in its tracks.

  Lemania waved her hand, her staff following its movement. A spark started at the top, growing into what seemed to be a small sun. Seconds later, she launched it at Xephestatious.

  He growled as he made some weird movements with his hands, summoning a large translucent hammer. The sun’s velocity sped up, and the hammer fell.

  In a brilliant flash of green and yellow, the world burned as an incredible explosion took place. Eliam was flung backward as he slammed Frostlight into the ground, attempting to slow down his movement. Once he did, he glanced back at the fight to see glimpses of Lemania and Xephestatious flashing around.

  I can’t even see their attacks. What sort of level must these two be on to be able to fight like this? And how old is Lemania for her to have fought this Xephestatious person before? What happened in this world?

  Suddenly, the dynamic of the fight changed as Xephestatious groaned in pain. There was a large burn mark on his chest. His face contorted into one of rage as a bright green spear formed in his hand. It solidified into a weapon. He was only barely becoming serious.

  A roar shouted as he jammed the spear into the ground, dozens of green tentacles ripping free of the ground in its wake.

  In response, Lemania staff started to spin, dozens of orbs of light appearing all around her. Each projectile collided with one of the tentacles, mitigating the other. Except Eliam had a problem. One of the tentacles focused on him.

  He prepared Frostlight, but it was of no use. The tentacle shot toward his body. He knew that if that thing touched him, he would likely be dead.

  He swung Frostlight at it, hoping that it would manage to cut through. The tentacle clashed against his weapon, clearly at a standstill. Eliam knew that if he had any other weapon, he would be dead.

  Eliam groaned as the weight of the tentacle began to overpower him. Frostlight started to glow, frost building up in its blade. He felt a sort of presence in the blade, one stronger than he ever had before. Moments later, a tear sounded out from the tentacle as it flapped back in anguish. There was green blood dripping from it, a testament to the weapon’s strength.

  Eliam was about to slash at it again when the entire ground shook. He turned his attention toward the battle between Xephestatious and Lemania. Unfortunately, it had taken a turn for the worse.

  Lemania looked badly wounded as blood leaked out of countless wounds. One of her eyes was pulverized, and her arms were mangled. She would not last much longer. On the other hand, Xephestatious was injured, but not nearly as badly as she was.

  “You’ve stagnated, Lemania!” the fiend cried. He shot his spear toward her, and she rebounded it with her golden shield. Lemania did not respond.

  Xephestatious growled as he dispersed the spear. The tentacle near Eliam fell away, and everything went still. Something was coming.

  “This ends now,” Xephestatious roared.

  Lemania nodded, her staff suddenly emanating a brilliant light, much greater than anything Eliam had seen before.

  Above Xephestatious appeared a green spear, with hints of black floating about it. It began to morph and grow in size, matching Lemania’s own attack.

  “I fear this is the end,” Lemania said, looking straight at Eliam. “I apologize for failing everyone.”

  Xephestatious roared as the power of the spear grew even faster. Lemania matched his speed as he orb of light grew as well.

  Whatever was about to occur, Eliam knew he would likely not live through it. Hell, none of the city would.

  He felt a brief presence in Frostlight, as if it were bidding him farewell. He clutched the katana tightly in response.

  The space around the fight began to melt, as their attacks grew in power. After going through everything, it was going to end here. This was the end of the road.

  Each of their attacks’ growth slowed as both Xephestatious and Lemania looked at each other gravely. They knew they wouldn’t survive this either. Nobody would.

  A chuckle escaped Xephestatious as he brought back his hand. “To think an ancient relic such as yourself would still be hiding away this much power,”

  Lemania grinned. “To think a weakling such as yourself would come to take my life. How pitiful.”

  Xephestatious growled as he waved his hand. Lemania did the same. Eliam watched as the two attacks collided.

  Aw, shit.

  And the world went white.