'If I leave even a crumb behind, the Kingdom will appropriate it and I can kiss my loot goodbye.' Lith thought.
'That's not very patriotic of you, young man.' Locrias scolded him. 'If not for everything that the Kingdom has done for you, you would still live in your backwater village.'
'Locrias?' Lith was flabbergasted.
While the rest of the Demons had disappeared after venting their anger and vanquishing the enemy at hand, Locrias had remained. His body was reduced to flickering shadow, but his will was as strong as ever.
'Nice to meet you again, too.' The Captain replied with a sneer. 'I always knew you were a jackass, but this is too much. How can you worry about your loot instead of about your country and even forget about your partner?'
'Solus!' Lith suddenly remembered that she was still on the battlefield, pretending to be him.
'Yeah, her.' Locrias said. 'That poor girl risked her life for you and-'
'Shut up! I need to think.' Lith sighed in relief when Syrook's corpse disappeared inside the pocket dimension and immediately opened a Warp Steps back to Solus.
'I'm not done with you, young man, but I agree that this conversation can wait.' Locrias' defiance reminded Lith of the reason why he had given up on the idea of creating higher undead.
There was no such a convenient thing as a being with free will who was also blindly loyal for no good reason.
'I'm sorry for taking so long. How do you feel?' Lith said via the mind link.
'Like crap. Thank you for asking.' Her legs had already started to disappear, making it impossible for Solus to stand up. 'The pain is unbearable. Please, get your ass back inside this armor as soon as possible and me inside my ring.'
'On it.' Lith took her on his hand.
"Stop right there!" Lith recognized Captain Eman's voice and admired him for his bravery. "Where are you taking Major Verhen?"
Eman and the other soldiers had come to help as soon as they had stabilized the condition of the wounded. They had barely any strength left, their equipment was almost depowered, and their spells would amount to a mosquito bite and they knew it.
Yet they stood against the Tiamat as if he needed more than lifting his foot to squash them like bugs.
"Verhen needs urgent treatment. After that, we must discuss how to share the Dragon's corpse." In that form, Lith's voice sounded like a howl coming from an abyss that somehow had learned how to form words.
"There's nothing to discuss." Eman didn't budge. "You'll take half of it and the Kingdom will take the other half."
"Half?" The Tiamat laughed, sending a shiver down the spine of those who heard it, no matter the distance. "Then I demand also half of the items that the human and the undead wore."
"Quaron is Major Verhen's kill, not yours."
"I can say the same about the Dragon." Lith snarled.
"As for the undead's equipment, we are grateful for your assistance, but it didn't belong to the Dragon. It was stolen from the Kingdom and if you take even a single piece, you'd become a criminal as well." Eman said.
Lith admired his guts and loyalty, wishing that his Demons were all like him.
'You wish.' Locrias scoffed. 'People like me and that lad took an oath because we believe in a cause, not to become puppets.'
The Tiamat's seven eyes brimmed with fury and greed at the thought of losing even a single scale of the Dragon.
'Please, I need help.' Solus said, making his anger fade.
Lith Blinked high in the sky and then he flew away. Solus promptly returned inside her ring and her pain stopped.
'I need time to recover, maybe even a mana geyser.' She said.
'What's that?' Locrias asked.
'Seriously, why are you still here?' Lith checked War and noticed how desperately the Captain clung to the strands of mana he had left.
'I'm not ready to move on.' The Captain sighed. 'I can't just die while the Kingdom is sieged by people like Thrud or the undead. On top of that, I can't forgive the Balkor copycat.
'That bastard took everything from me, killed a lot of good people, and yet they are still somewhere, enjoying life. Before I go, I want to see them dead.'
'That makes the two of us.' Lith replied. 'Yet I still don't understand what you want from me. I'm not going to keep a Demon always active just for you. It takes too much energy and it would drive you insane.'
'I'm not asking anything from you, I'm offering you my help.' Locrias replied.
His body was made of Lith's mana and because of that forming a proper mind link came to him as natural as breathing.
Locrias showed Lith how the Demons rarely worked together, each one only focused on venting the anger or resentment that still bound them to the world of the living. He also revealed to Lith that Demons inherited his knowledge, making them able to use most of his spells.
Yet the majority of them hadn't been mages in life so they stuck to what they knew or used their powers clumsily. On top of that, the fact that they shared the same energy signature made them immune to each other's spells and created countless tactical advantages.
'I see what you mean.' Lith nodded. 'I'm already working on giving my Demons some leaders but I could use more than two. I don't care how you do it. You can stick around me as long as you promise to keep my secrets.'
'Don't worry, kid.' Locrias replied. 'I won't share your secrets with anyone just like I won't share the secrets of the Kingdom with you. It's a fair deal.'
'Wait, what secrets is the Kingdom keeping from me?'
Locrias ignored Lith's words and let go of the energy that comprised the last spark of his Demon form. The shadow disappeared, leaving behind a small sphere of light the size of an apple.
Lith expected it to dart toward the sky, like it always happened when a soul moved on, yet Locrias' sphere of light charged at the Tiamat instead. Or better, at his only feathered wing.
The red veins on one of them turned from a random pattern to a rune that closely reminded Lith that of Locrias' communication amulet. Lith and Solus could sense the presence of the Captain within the feather and tried to talk to him, yet instead of words came visions.
Locrias was at peace, in a state similar to a deep slumber where he re-experienced the happiest and the saddest moments of his life. The former dreams reminded him of what he was fighting for and kept him from becoming insane.
The latter nightmares reminded him of what he was fighting against and rekindled the flames of hate that kept him bound to Lith.
'I guess this explains what my feathers are for. Each one of them can store one soul.' Lith pondered.
'I'm sad for Locrias.' Solus said. 'The dreams give him the illusion of being still alive and of going back to his family.. Once he wakes up, the pain will blind him.'
'A layman might think that Quaron is being overpowered, but I know that in his place all of us would be already dead. The fact that he's still alive proves that he's not an opponent I can take.' Pelan thought.
When the violet Origin Flames engulfed Quaron, they burned away the defensive barrier of his artifacts and his skin alike. Darkness fusion couldn't protect him from the pain since the mystical fire consumed even the magic flowing through his veins.
His agonizing screams coupled with the smell of cooked meat and fat typical of barbeque broke the hopes of the citizens of Zeska.
Lith rode the shockwave until he was safe from the Flames. Then he followed Solus's advice and conjured a golden platform to resume his attack. The construct shattered from the sheer strength of his leg muscles, leaving behind a luminous trail that betrayed his trajectory.
Quaron inwardly thanked the gods and took what looked like a small baton out of his belt. The stick shapeshifted into a long pole ending at both sides with a curved blade that resembled a short scimitar.
At the same time, he activated one of the enchantments of his armor, releasing a pillar of high-density ice magic from the violet crystal on his chest. The spell was a mix of frozen air and razor-sharp icicles that would push the enemy away while the cold would weaken them.
'It's far from a deadly shot, but I need to recover-' Quaron inwardly cursed the gods for their trickery when Lith conjured more floating platforms in every direction.
Not only did he effortlessly dodge the pillar but by bouncing around like a pinball, Lith also turned the stardust from the broken constructs into a blinding curtain of light that hid him from both regular and mystical sight.
"Hi, Quaron." Lith appeared in front of him in a downward slash with War aimed at the traitorous Ranger's head.
He raised his polearm, blocking the blade with the staff.
A noise halfway between the crunch of cereals and the breaking of wood filled the air when Quaron's arms broke at the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Without Gravity Fusion, Lith weighed several tons and the slash carried them all.
"Bye, Quaron." Lith pivoted with War on the enemy's staff, moving the momentum of the clash from his hands to his legs and kicking the hapless Ranger with both feet.
The impact overpowered the protective enchantments of the city walls, opening a deep crater behind Quaron while he coughed out blood. The Adamant armor had kept the hit from being lethal, but his internal organs had taken heavy damage.
Even the best enchanted armor was weak against blunt hits because a perfect kinetic shield would also paralyze its wearer.
The enchantment had no way to distinguish friendly from hostile energy and blocking kinetic energy also meant that the person wearing the armor would be incapable of performing high speed-movements of any kind.
'One breath of Invigoration. All I need is one-' War cut Quaron's head off and him short.
Lith also pierced his heart, just to stay on the safe side. The Adamant of the blade and that of the armor clashed along with their respective enchantments, producing white-hot sparks.
Yet even though they were made of the same material, one was a masterpiece wielded by a titan whereas the other was a high-end artifact worn by a limp body. It took War a second to short circuit the armor's mystical defenses and plunge hilt-deep into its mark.
The angry blade screamed with inhuman joy, making both Lith's allies and enemies take a step back.
"Open the gates. Now!" The blood rain produced by the severed neck of his fallen enemy didn't bother Lith yet it gave him a savage appearance.
Driven by fear and by the killing intent he emitted, the guards obeyed his command with the discipline of trained dogs.
'Quaron is still alive! Don't drop your guard.' Solus had never stopped looking at the enemy with mana sense in the attempt to understand the secret of his strength.
So, the moment the blood that still spurted from the fatal wound started to flow in reverse she noticed it immediately.
Lith had no idea what was happening but he opened his palm at point-blank range from Quaron and activated two of his tier five holding rings, combining two Final Sunset into one.
Fire and darkness weren't blocked by the arrays so they hit the fallen Ranger with their full might.
Or at least they were supposed to.
"Don't falter, my children! Not even the full power of the Kingdom can compare to that of a god!" A booming voice said, giving new hope to the citizens of Zeska.
Strong gales came out of nowhere, bringing with them black clouds that amassed above the city and formed a swirling maelstrom. Bolts of lightning coursed through the thunderclouds like angry golden snakes that emitted flashes of light with their every move.
At the same time, an emerald sphere enveloped Quaron's body. It protected him from the Final Sunsets and generated a pulse of pure mana that sent Lith flying.
Everyone could see the blood flowing back inside the traitorous Ranger, even carrying his head and reattaching it to the neck.
'Okay, that's not a god, just a Spirit Magic user.' Lith thought. 'Any idea how did Quaron survive?'
'You never killed him in the first place.' Solus said. 'The violet energy in his core kept his body alive after the decapitation and made his blood flow even with a punctured heart.
'Right now, that very energy is being consumed to heal his wounds. Quaron's mana core is turning into bright blue so unless he gets another infusion of that strange power, the next time you kill him will also be the last.'
"Who dares to threaten the children of Syrook and kill their champion?" A colossal figure descended from the eye of the thunderstorm.
It was a majestic Dragon covered by pitch-black scales, about 25 meters (82 feet) tall. A 12 meters (40 feet) long tail came out from the small of his back and every flap of his membranous wings produced gales so strong that the army's mages were pushed back despite the distance and the air shields protecting them.
The violet light coming from Syrook's eyes and the flames bursting from his mouth made the resurrection of Quaron look insignificant in comparison. Even the people that called him their hero had forgotten about his existence.
Yet while the citizens of Zeska kneeled in front of their god, feeling his presence breathe new strength and determination in their bodies, the soldiers surrounding the city kneeled in terror as the aura of fear of the Dragon broke their spirit.
Such was the raw power that coursed through Syrook's body that watching at him was akin to looking at an incoming tidal wave hundreds of meters high. Awe and fear made almost no one doubt his words, treating his descent like that of a god among mortals.
Almost.
"That's it? A Dragon?" Lith slow clapped the enemy's performance. "If it wasn't sad enough calling yourself a god you even talk about yourself in the third person.. I met countless arrogant Emperor Beasts but you get the cake."
