The battle between Sharazz and Banshee changed the landscape of the entire battlefield. The quaking of giant golems against a colossal fleshy wretch was a disaster for the mortals, who had to pull back as far as they could manage. Even the standoff between Auror and Priscilla turned into a tense cautionary tale, where neither side could heavily commit to striking the other.

  Auror kept edging his steps toward Banshee, but Priscilla moved to deter him, striking with ice and flame and blocking his path. "Are you becoming worried about your delicate 'Lady' over there?" Priscilla asked with a smile.

  Flames danced around Priscilla's fingers, and she sent a curtain of fire across the sand, blocking Auror's path further as she moved toward him. "You should submit, Auror. Give up on Divala's foolishness and do something useful with your life. You could live a nice, happy life with your little lady, maybe even have some deformed little children."

  Auror huffed icily and punched the ground in front of him, causing an eruption of sand and stone to fly toward Priscilla. "You're too obvious, witch. You're trying to waste time so the other can kill Banshee. Do you think life's so simple? Naive wretch."

  "You have no understanding of what we're capable of or why we were sent to destroy this wretched sandy wasteland and the witch spawn that turned it into her rathole," Auror said. "Even you. You scurry around more than anything. Do you think we fear the likes of you for your ratlike tendencies? Foolish wench. Regret your actions as you watch all you fight for crumble into ash."

  Unexpectedly, Auror stomped and vanished.

  Priscilla's vision dulled against the billowing cloud of sand and dust that rose from his powerful stomp. She looked all around, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes darted across the battlefield, from where Sharazz fought to the warriors cleaning up the straggling demons. Priscilla's breaths hastened, and she leaped into the air with the wind beneath her wind. She had to at least get a glimpse of the man's shadow somewhere on this vast battlefield.

  The wind blew, and the sand danced, and then Priscilla felt a force slam into her back, catapulting her across the ground. She coughed up blood and sand as she picked herself up, head darting left to right to no avail. A loud groan escaped her lips as once more she felt the force slam into her, sending her body flying across the sand. Dizziness assaulted her senses, but Priscilla gritted her teeth and slammed her palm against the sand, causing the wind and earth to spin around her.

  Auror's form halted as the sand and wind battered his body, but he stood in the air with an open-grinning maw. His bulky body had shrunk into a sleek form with elongated limbs and thin membrane-like wings. His blocky face became an elongated shell spiraling out from his beady eyes. The sand drew blood as it swirled around the bestial man's body, but he didn't so much as wince.

  "Your trifling sand cannot harm me, witch. Your distractions are meaningless. Neither I nor Banshee are foes you can contend with." Auror said as he licked his lips with a snake-like tongue. "You're but a bird with your wings clipped off. A cruel fate worse than death, so why don't I put you out of your misery?"

  Priscilla's face sank momentarily, hands cradled against her bruised sides. "Living up to your name, aren't you, Arrogance? You think too much of yourselves. We can beat you. And we will." She gathered her strength, the markings across her body glimmering like stars in the sky. Her eyes shined bright as the ground shook. Priscilla raised herself despite the pain and waved her hand, causing flames to roil through the sandy cyclone that Auror was enveloped by.

  As the flames billowed into the sky, Sharazz's heart sank. The other side of the battle seemed far more tense than what was happening on her end. She could see the blazing sky and feel the trembling earth beneath the sand resonating through the golem's colossal bodies. The golem clashed with the frenzied Banshee, whose limbs entwined around the sandy arm and crushed it into a rain of sand and debris. Two more golems leaped out and slammed down onto Banshee's head, but the fleshy abomination cackled and plowed through it.

  Sharazz pushed the golem underneath her toward Banshee, ignoring the threat. The construct wrapped its arms around the titan-like woman and thrust with all the strength it could muster, pushing her down onto the ground. Sharazz braced herself as the golem sat atop the demonic woman and began battering her with closed fists.

  Banshee wailed, her fleshy tendrils undulating with every strike. The golems dogpiled on top of her, burying her in a mountain of sand. Sharazz jumped off and flew back, creating distance. She watched from afar, controlling the golems to destroy Banshee before things became problematic on Priscilla's side. The force of Banshee's struggle vibrated into Sharazz through the sand golems like a violent onslaught. The beast thrashed underneath their weight, her maw-lined tendrils biting and tearing at the sand.

  "Give in!" Sharazz said. "There's nowhere for you to flee or squirm off to. You've thought too highly of yourself. This is my kingdom, not a place for demonic worms like yourself to proliferate."

  There was no response, not a verbal one, at least.

  Sharazz didn't know whether Banshee even retained the rationality to speak. She seemed far more irrational, an irate beast with power but no intellect. But the power was nothing to scoff at. Every thrashing strike against the sand caused Sharazz to tremble inside. Using the sand like this was a toll on her body that she could not keep up with forever.

  But Banshee did respond with ferocity and precision. Her tendrils knit together into a close prodding force of flesh and malice and burrowed out from the sand golems, blooming like a flower of death. Her eyes writhed with a bloodied mist that drowned out her pupils as they all turned toward Sharazz.

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  "Dammit," Sharazz cursed as she spurred the golems to intensify their assault. Her hands quivered as the weight of the sand magnified, putting strain on her mental control. "You won't have your way. Your kind are not welcome here!"

  She focused all her strength on Banshee, but her focus drifted. A sense of powerlessness assaulted Sharazz's senses, and her legs went numb as she fell onto her knees. The golems began dissolving as the sand piled up, Banshee raised herself and cackled, but a shrill shriek echoed across the battlefield, pulling her attention away from Sharazz.

  It started mere moments before, Priscilla stood proud, but her body lay tattered and bloodied. Her skirt was torn to pieces, the brown fabric and leather bindings strewn across, blending in with the brown sand. All the elements she could throw at the beast proved naught more than a child's tantrum. Auror truly was the vanguard of Divala's forces. But Priscilla bit back, struggling with all she had. Her body glowed like the brightest star in the sky, the markings slithering across her limbs with serpentine patterns.

  Her power condensed, but the man toyed with her as if she were a child. Priscilla felt the despair encroach upon her. What had she fought for all this time? Would one demon bring her to ruin when she still had so much to do?

  Auror laughed, his jagged teeth clamoring with every bellyful. "Naive, young witch. I told you that you were nothing compared to our might. You will perish, and so too will your little sand witch friend and everyone else you care for."

  "You will do no such thing, you foul demonic wretch!" Priscilla spat and glared with blood dripping down her face. "Even if it kills me, I'll end you and your kind."

  "With what power, witch? Naive, childish, and impudent. What unfortunate black star did you cross to become a witch with such incurable intellect?" Auror mocked. "Maybe if it were the Fallen Star herself, we'd have something to worry about, but you? Mere rabble, the lowest among the lows."

  "You don't frighten me, Auror," Priscilla said resolutely. "You're not a God. You're just a man corrupted by one. You call me rabble, yet you're the one who hides in the underbelly of the empire, slaving away like a dog. Even now, you're frightened of what I could do. Why else would you avoid confronting me directly?"

  "Admit it, Auror. You're just a dog. You call yourself the vanguard, but if I wasn't young, as you put it, would you dare face me?" Priscilla laughed, showing a blood-covered grin. "I rose from the ashes of my father's betrayal. Climbed through the pits of purgatory. And fought off evils before you. While you cower, I stand here, waiting. Will you strike, Auror?"

  "What did you say?" Auror questioned, his laughter cutting off. "You...Who the hell are you?"

  "State your name, wench." Auror snarled, his expression turning serious as he evaluated Priscilla.

  Priscilla chuckled with a starry-eyed smile, "Why is that the one thing that's making you curious? Do you want to know so desperately? Listen closely, then. My name's Priscilla Valentine, and it'll be the last name you hear in your life."

  "No, that's not possible!" Auror muttered, confusion painting his face. "Valentine!" He howled, "What have you done?"

  Auror vanished, appearing directly in front of Priscilla. His arm reached out and grabbed her by the head with a powerful grip that caused her to cry out. The man's eyes narrowed, and teeth gnashed, grip tightening with every hasty breath that escaped his lips.

  Priscilla screamed, her shrill voice erupting as the dimly lit marking on her back erupted into a blazing surge of power. Her voice spread across the sand, resonating with every grain as the world trembled beneath its might. A surging, blinding white light overpowered Auror's senses and pushed him away.

  Auror clenched his fists, his eyes flinching as he witnessed the change. Instinctively, he took a step back, which caused another stone to pile atop his shoulders, the unbearable weight of fear consuming him. His thoughts came full circle as the unbelievable thought that graced his mind earlier seemed to be coming to fruition.

  "BANSHEE, FLEE!" Auror roared as he lunged toward Priscilla.

  Priscilla quietly smiled, her hands crossing at the wrist in front of her. The white light surrounded Auror and the golems like a blazing beacon of purity. It disrupted the battles—the noise—and everything that existed within the battlefield's scope. It was all-consuming and all-seeing, as nothing escaped its grasp. Beneath the light, the sand wrapped around Auror, constricting around his body, strengthening and shrinking.

  The weight of the sand compounded onto itself, magnifying with every pulsing strike of the white light. It ground Auror's bones and minced his flesh, snuffing out the struggle before it could even realize itself.

  It was an abrupt change and a noticeable one. As Auror's body vanished beneath Priscilla's might, her golems scattered, causing the sand to rain down upon the battlefield. Priscilla remained in the air, with the majestic wings of power fluttering softly behind her back. Blood decorated her body, but it only made her seem more mighty as she came out on top against a monstrous foe. Her chest heaved in a soft rhythm, raising and lowering with every breath, but after a few moments, the light began to fade, and her body spiraled toward the ground, limp.

  The surviving lesser demons shrieked and abandoned their battles in a mad dash toward her. Their crazed state caused the clash to erupt once again into a desperate free-for-all.

  Banshee also struggled, rising desperately as her body changed to a humanoid form once again.

  Seeing that, Sharazz knew this was the final stretch. "Protect the little Valentine girl!" Sharazz shouted, commanding her warriors to strike. She turned around and struck at Banshee, ignoring the weakness in her limbs and the blurriness in her eyes.

  Banshee narrowly dodged each impending strike. Her fatigue was visible, but her speed was undeniable. Banshee's eyes bounced from one place to the next, scanning the area. Countless thoughts raced through her mind, but a smile spread across her plump lips before a terrible screech escaped them.

  The demons began howling with a more unnatural tone, and as soon as their bodies came in contact with the warriors, they burst, causing the warrior's flesh to bubble and burn. Each and every last demon rushed toward Priscilla, who lay unconscious, and the warriors desperately battled them despite the damage they received.

  "Go, sand witch. It's either you kill me, your people, and the girl, or you let me go and save them." Banshee beamed an innocent smile and crossed her arms seductively around her bosom.

  Sharazz hesitated, but the pained screams of her people thundered across the sand, snapping her out of it. Coldness filled her eyes as she turned away from Banshee and rushed toward the surviving demons.

  Banshee's laughter echoed, fading off into the distance with every step Sharazz leaped against the sand.