From the south of the Firekeep's lands, the horizon began to shift.
A cart, pulled by a single horse, rolled toward Aldric's circle. A white flag fluttered from its side. At first, the soldiers laughed, thinking it was gesture of peace.
But as the cart passed through the ranks, the laughter died.
Inside were the decapitated bodies of what appeared to be Aldric's spies. The stench of rot hit the soldiers before the sight did, flesh swollen and eyes clouded, long dead and stiff. Birds lay among them, their feet still tied to the scrolls of messages they had carried. The horror pressed heavy in the air and no one could look away.
Aldric's eyes narrowed as he turned to his advisors. "These... are our spies..."
The advisors hesitated, then shook their heads. "Yes, my lord. They've been dead for some time."
Aldric's gaze darkened. "Then... who has been sending us the messages?" Confusion and suspicion tightened his chest. Someone else was feeding them information, someone clever enough to make it seem like his own spies were still at work.
His gaze shifted upward to the highest tower of Firekeep, where the black-and-red emblem of the Bandit Kingdom flew. His eyes narrowed. "Who's coming up with these schemes?" he asked Calderon.
Calderon's voice was calm, almost rehearsed. "As I've always said, my lord, the queen has remained hidden in her quarters. Vera is the one giving the commands. But neither of them is known for cunning. When it comes to plans, they are more brute than smart."
Aldric's frown deepened. "And the generals?"
Isolde spoke up, her tone measured. "Her army is as brutish as her. They fight with strength, with minimal strategy."
Aldric let the words hang for a moment, then brushed them aside. "Whoever is truly pulling the strings... if that person survives this siege, I will see to it they have a seat in my kingdom. Bring him to me once all this is done."
Calderon inclined his head in a deep bow.
****
From the direction where the cart came, a thick line rose through the heat and dust, spreading wider with every passing moment.
Then came the banners, one after another, cutting through the haze.
Not the mark of the queens.
First came the crest of the Tenzan Skyhold Emperor, followed by the banner of the Abyssal Tides King. Then rose the standard of the Molten Anvil King, and after it, the emblem of the Sylvan Dominion Matriarch.
Last came the black insignias of Ferisglaive and Ebonwake, whipping high in the wind. Tales once spoke of those kingdoms buried deep within the demonic lands, and few had ever believed they were real. Yet here they were and they were marching toward Firekeep.
***
A tremor passed through Aldric's army. Those who recognized the sigils froze in place. Their formation wavered.
Whispers ran through the ranks.
"This can't be real," a soldier muttered.
"They were only in the legends," another said with trembling voice.
"What are they doing here?" a third asked while looking toward the banners.
An archer leaned toward a comrade with wide eyes. "I told you... they're real," he whispered.
A nearby officer tightened his grip on his spear. "Hold your ground!" he barked, trying to restore order.
Aldric drew his circle of generals closer. "Hold positions. Prepare for attack from any direction." He knew the truth of it.
***
Confusion rippled across the plain. Vera chuckled softly, then motioned to a nearby guard. Leaning close, she whispered a short message.
The guard bowed. "Yes, Lady Vera."
He hurried through the halls to the sealed quarters. Knocking once, he spoke through the heavy door. "Your Highness, your lover is here."
A pause. Then a voice from within, rough from silence, a sound unheard for a long time. "What did you say?"
"Lady Vera told me to tell you that, Your Highness."
"Repeat it."
"Your lover is here?"
Armor clanked sharply from inside the Queen's quarters, the scrape of metal and the hurried sound of movement. Ignia was rushing into her plates, fastening each piece.
From a chair nearby, her mother's voice cut through the noise. "Go now, my child. Don't let him die again."
Ignia paused for a heartbeat, looking back at her mother, but said nothing. Then she planted her foot firmly and kicked the door.
The door swung open on its hinges.
The guard froze, shock and disbelief etched across his face. He hadn't seen the queen in a while. And now, before him, stood the same brutish, fearsome Queen.
Ignia stepped into the corridor, fully armored. "Follow me," she commanded.
She strode through the hallways with fast, direct steps, leaving no room for hesitation. When she reached the tower, Vera stood waiting, hands clasped behind her back, watching the queen approach.
Ignia stopped at her side. "What did you say?"
Vera's eyes stayed on the horizon. "Look south."
Ignia turned and when she saw the banners, a sharp grin spread across her face.
Without another word, she turned and descended the tower steps.
***
In the main hall, soldiers lay scattered, wounded, exhausted, some being treated. None noticed the queen's entrance as she walked toward the display table.
Balmung lay there, wrapped in the king's banner. She grabbed it.
Then she walked to her throne. Behind it rested Dragonslayer. She lifted the greatsword with one arm and placed it on her back.
She faced the resting soldiers gathered in the hall. Her voice carried clearly through the hall.
"On me," she said. "Rally on me."
The soldiers froze for a moment. Their tired faces brightened with surprise at seeing their queen again. Slowly, they stood, gripped their weapons, and moved to gather around her.
They rushed toward the gates to join the skirmish.
Ignia leapt behind the enemy frontline, landing just ahead of her own soldiers. They were locked in formation, shields raised and spears pressed against the advancing foes.
Ignia's gigantic sword swept out. A line of enemies fell. Their limbs shredded. Their armor splintered. Blood sprayed in crimson arcs, painting the ground red.
Ignia grinned and shouted over the carnage.
"Is that all you've got?"
She swung again, cleaving a soldier in two, his spine snapped with a sickening crack as his body collapsed in a heap.
"I've seen grandmothers parry better than that!"
She stomped on a fallen man's chest, crushing his ribs, then sent his head rolling with a flick of her sword.
"You call this a push?"
She jabbed her blade through an attacker's helmet, driving it into his skull. The soldier's screams gurgled into silence.
"My maids push furniture faster!"
She twisted her sword, tearing an arm from a man mid-swing, his hand flopped uselessly as she laughed.
Another strike sent an enemy flying back, body torn open by the force.
"Come on then!"
"You wanted Firekeep?"
"Earn it!"
She surged forward, each swing leaving shattered bones and shredded flesh in her wake.
The soldiers nearby saw her, heard her. It was their queen, fighting again, alive and fierce.
The rest of the soldiers rallied on her, shouting and striking with renewed strength.
Together, they pressed forward, forcing the enemy back toward the gates.
***
Aerion raised his hand.
From the edge of the distant woods near the stronghold, hidden archers drew in silence.
The first volley left the trees without warning. Arrows cut through the smoke, striking the enemy ranks gathered outside Firekeep's gates.
Aldric's soldiers fell one after another, and confusion spread as they turned toward the unseen threat.
Before they could recover, a new formation moved at the southern field. The samurai lines stepped forward beneath the banners of Tenzan Skyhold. They switched from blades to bows and loosed their arrows into the crowd.
The air was filled with the sound of flight and impact. Drakhelm's front ranks broke, the once-solid formation thinned with every second.
Rage, stood among the vanguard. His eyes stayed fixed on the gate ahead, waiting for the call.
Nothing came.
Rage turned his head slightly, glancing back toward the open-topped carriages where the queens now stood with their eyes fixed on the battlefield.
"What are we waiting for?" he muttered.
Beside him, Talwyn, already on a horse this time, adjusted her grip on the reins, her voice was dry. "Yes. What are we waiting for?"
Rage blinked. "What?"
She tilted her head, half-smiling. "You expect us, the queens, to lead the charge?"
He stared at her for a moment. "Yeah?" He hadn't seen anyone do it. The generals and shoguns could have, but they remained silent as well.
"No... you do it," Talwyn said.
Rage swallowed, nodded slowly. "Okay?" he said, uncertain.
He moved to the front of the lines, still unsure.
He glanced back.
Officers from different kingdoms nodded at him, silent approval was in their eyes. The ones who had fought side by side with him gave him nods and faint smiles of encouragement.
The bunny maids, Kazumi's girls, and the dwarves he had seen working in the forges multiple times all gave him small gestures of support. Even the queens themselves watched him with steady, approving eyes.
"Go for it, boy!" Kyle called.
One stout dwarf leaned forward, his voice rough and hearty. "Go at it, lad! We've been itching for a fight!"
Rage raised his fist.
The army behind him roared in response, a thunder of voices filling the air.
"To death!" he screamed.
The soldiers repeated it, shouting back in unison, their voices rose as one. Weapons banged against shields, and boots stomped the ground, creating a thunderous rhythm that shook the battlefield.
He drew his katana, pointing it forward.
"To Firekeep!" he shouted, his voice boomed across the battlefield, rallying the army behind him for the fight ahead.
The ground shook as they charged forward. Boots and hooves pounded the earth.
Rage led the front line, flanked by the kazumi's girls and the bunny maids, all mounted and armed.
The enemy cavalry broke formation to meet them head-on.
Steel met steel in a deafening surge, but the impact did not go as Aldric's riders expected.
The maids moved fast, cutting down mounted soldiers, their coordination was flawless. Kazumi's girls slipped through gaps in the line, their weapons flashed and their movements were too sharp to follow.
At the center of it, Rage vanished.
His ability, Digital Renegade, was already active. He blinked through the chaos, appearing and disappearing between enemies. Each reappearance ended in a stab or a slash, and when the distance was too close, he drove the hilt of his sword into their armor. Those who faltered or hesitated collapsed before realizing they'd been struck.
When his sword wasn't enough, he used Murder Mitten.
One strike at a time, each enemy he touched fell lifeless, collapsing mid-step. The field around him grew quiet in small patches, where no enemy stood upright.
The fight was no longer even. It was a dismantling.
***
From a distance, King Aldric watched the carnage unfold. His brow tensed. "Report," he said.
One of his high sages stepped forward. His eyes were glowing as he scanned the battlefield.
Moments later, the sage's eyes widened.
"An expert Enchanter among them. Unlike anything I've seen," he said.
"His magic isn't like ours," the sage said. "I've only read about it in books. The methods are too complex. Few have tried, and all of them failed."
One of Aldric's champions, already gripping the hilt of his sword, leaned closer. "Magic user, my lord? Something worth killing at last."
"Not yet, Roland," Aldric said. "You will have your time."
He turned to another of his mages. "Study our new enemies. Focus especially on their enchanter. Learn his power, and learn it fast."
***
Aldric's officers shouted orders through the chaos, urging the remaining soldiers to fall back and regroup. Their casualties were too many. Not a single soldier among the reinforcements had fallen, their dwarven and elven-forged weapons and armor were proven unmatched in the land.
The reinforcements on foot advanced behind the main charge, stepping carefully through the aftermath.
Behind them, the carriages of the queens rolled forward.
Any enemy soldiers still breathing were finished quickly. Not out of anger, but mercy. Limbs were cut off, heads smashed or chopped, and guts spilled onto the ground. Broken armor lay among blood and bodies.
From the walls above, banners shifted. The defenders could finally see the open plain. Firekeep's walls stood clear of enemies for the first time that day.
The reinforcements took formation before the fortress gates. Humans, elves, and dwarves stood shoulder to shoulder, shields raised, weapons drawn. Their line was facing the full weight of Aldric's army.
Aldric's army still held the numbers and his best soldiers still stood around him, many of his forces had yet to join the fight. Even so, hesitation rippled through the ranks. The sight of the reinforcements cut through his advance and made them falter, unwilling to face another clash.
At the edges of the field, the elven archers who had fired from the woods drew their daggers instead. They slipped through the trees and shadows, scouting the fortress perimeter and the rear plains. They searched for flanking troops, ambushes, any hidden move that could strike from behind.
***
The day ended in a standstill. Aldric's forces could not risk attacking the well-lit fortress, and moving across the dark fields would leave them open to ambush. The defenders of Firekeep faced the same problem. Striking into the darkness would leave their own lines vulnerable.
Both sides would have to wait until first light.
Still, guards remained at their posts. Soldiers on both sides stayed in formation with their eyes scanning the dark, anticipating any sudden attack.
Families carried torches as they picked their way through the area where the fight had raged, stepping over shattered weapons and the bodies of the dead.
When they found the faces they knew, soft, broken cries rose. Some knelt and wept. Others could not speak at all.
Soldiers moved through the battlefield, dragging the dead toward a rising pyre. There was no time to mourn. Each gave a final, silent glance at their fallen comrades before tossing them into the fire. Others carefully laid bodies on carts, covering them with cloth and taking them away for a proper burial, honoring them in quiet defiance of the chaos around.
Inside the walls, the fortress stayed active. The dwarves worked at the forges, repairing weapons and armors. Other soldiers carried supplies or handled minor fixes. A few sat against the walls, eating what they could. The exhausted slept where they fell.
Rage sat on the edge of a stone well, head tilted back, eyes half closed.
Without warning, Deltia appeared beside him, silent as ever. She leaned in slightly, sniffed the air around him.
"Oh hey, Deltia. Long time no—" Rage started, then stopped as she cut him off.
"Where's my mother?" she asked. "What did she do to you?"
"What?"
"She marked you."
"I can't recall."
Her eyes narrowed. "Where is she?"
Rage opened his mouth to answer, but she was already sniffing the air again. Her gaze turned toward the other direction.
Then came a voice.
"You idiot rat! Where are you?"
Rage froze. His eyes widened slightly. "Ah. That voice."
A figure stormed into view.
Ignia.
"You idiot!" she shouted again, swinging her fist straight into his gut.
Rage bent forward with a cough, one knee to the ground. "Oh. Hello, Your Majesty."
"You finally show up, so I can personally kill you!"
"Good to see you too, Your Majesty."
She turned to the guards nearby. "Send him to the hole."
Rage raised his hand weakly. "Please no. Just got here."
Ignia's expression shifted, her grin was sharp, mocking.
She held the sword out to him with one hand. Balmung. Wrapped in the Firekeep king's banner.
Rage took it carefully. Its weight settled into his hands. He looked at the blade for a moment, then scanned it again after a long time.
The interface appeared, but not as he expected. It wasn't the familiar display he had seen on other weapons.
[SYSTEM] Balmung Lv. 218
[SYSTEM] Forge: Very Very Strong Wind
[SYSTEM] Prefix: Double Critical
[SYSTEM] Suffix: of Double Berserk
[SYSTEM] Refine: +15
[SYSTEM] Class: Divine Weapon
[SYSTEM] Rarity: Godly
The sword's surface rippled. Then the metal coiled upward, wrapping around his arms and molding into a solid gauntlet that locked into place from wrist to elbow, just as it always used to be.
Rage flexed his fingers, watching the metal shift perfectly with his movements. He muttered under his breath, "One day... I'll give you a proper name. You deserve that."
"Come with me to the grand hall," Ignia ordered, her voice cut through Rage's focus.
He shook his head, snapping back from the numbers. Rage met her stare and nodded.
Without another word, he followed.
***
At the grand hall of Firekeep, the air was filled with noise and movement.
The long tables were set in lines beneath the high arches. Candles and torches were burning low to chase away the night. The queens and generals took their places first, joined by Kazumi's girls, the bunny maids, and the soldiers who had chosen to stay within the walls. Others remained outside watching the pyres, guarding the gates, resting, or patrolling the grounds.
Food and drink were provided throughout the hall and outside, enough for everyone present. Conversation carried softly between the clatter of plates.
Near the entrance, Deltia moved through the crowd. Her eyes were fixed on a woman seated in shadow. Serida, her mother.
"Mother," Deltia said. "What did you do to him?"
Serida's tone was calm. "It couldn't be helped."
"You marked him."
Serida looked up with a faint smile. "Yes."
"Your mark is still on him."
"I know."
"Remove it," Deltia said, her voice was sharp. "He's only mine."
Serida's smile grew softer. "As you wish, daughter. Too bad you don't like to share your mate."
Deltia said nothing more. The two women's eyes held each other for a moment, something unspoken passed between them, before Deltia turned away.
The doors opened again. Vera entered, her arm draped over a soldier's shoulder for support. She moved slowly, exhaustion was plain in her face.
Rage noticed first. "What happened to you?"
The soldier guiding her bowed slightly. "She hasn't slept for days, sir. She's been overlooking everything."
Rage looked at her. "Has she overlooked her health too?"
Vera lifted her head, pale and drawn, but her lips carried a faint smile. "We still have the morning to plan," she said quietly.
She took a seat among the others, her posture was straight despite the fatigue.
Talwyn sat beside her, flanked by her two dwarven officials. Kazumi took her place with her shoguns and the three girls. Mariselle was accompanied by five veteran adventurers. Vaelith settled with her generals and the four bunny maids beside Vera. Serida found her spot nearby, while Ignia claimed the far end of the table. Rage took the opposite end.
Vaelith leaned toward Vera. "Can we sneak toward the enemy tonight? We're most effective in the dark. There's only the few of us, but we can quickly and quietly cut through large numbers. Serida's daughter might join us as well."
Hearing her name, Serida tilted her head and listened to the conversation with quiet interest.
Vera shook her head gently. "Your presence is enough. Besides, your soldiers are already fighting another battle."
Vaelith leaned back in her chair, her smirk was sharp but not unkind. "You'll be paying for the casualties in my ranks, won't you?"
Vera gave a faint smile. "I no longer have a kingdom to pay from. I'm only Ignia's advisor now."
Vaelith chuckled quietly, the sound was low and amused.
Serida's eyes narrowed slightly. "How many steps ahead are you in your grand plan?"
Vera only smiled, letting the question hang unanswered, then sipped her tea.
Soon after, a war council was called.
Vera opened the discussion, presenting her plans for the coming battle at first light. At first, there were signs of disagreement among the officers, voices rose in quiet opposition. Ignia intervened in her own civil way, slamming a cup onto the table. The sound cut through the room, and her glare silenced the rest. Vera continued then, outlining the preparations and strategies in calm, steady detail.
***
Deltia's assassins patrolled the nearby forest perimeter. The elves kept watch from the ramparts, with eyes sharp against the dark. From their vantage points, all they could see was the distant glow of Aldric's camp.
So far, there were no movements.
[SYSTEM] Corruption : 56.2%
[SYSTEM] Queen Ignia: Loyalty 100%