Gundolf Eisenhauer's next target of attack. Before reinforcements could be sent, Afallan was moving against Deranna several days after the destruction of the Eudronian crown city.
Calling themselves the «Axiom's Hand of Judgement», the Afallan military converged at Almerry Fortress, on the Derannian borders. In retaliation, Deranna sent Commander Alvin Von Eudron to organize a defence at Almerry. The Imperial military outnumbered them by this point; three to one.
Alvin addressed his army on the majestic stage of the Derannian cetidal. Almost thirty thousand knight and subordinate lined before him at sunset.
"My homeland has been destroyed!" yelled Alvin. "Who is the Empire's next target?"
"DERANNA!!" yelled back the soldier.
"To stop this tyranny of the Empire, we must unite!" Alvin raised his sword up. "MY LIFE! I ENTREAT IT TO YOU!"
"JUSTICE IS ON OUR SIDE!!" the entire army shouted in unison.
Princess Ashilda kept watching from the balcony in silence. The scene wasn't pleasant after all. Most of those, if not all of them, are heading to a probable demise. The Empire of Afallan was not a formidable foe.
After sparking the fire in the hearts of his troops, Lord Alvin was walking back to the palace with Captain Svyen.
"That was a splendid speech." said Captain Svyen. "It will sure hearten those who were ready to flee in the face of the Empire."
Alvin, on the other hand, didn't respond with words. He just gritted his teeth and stopped walking.
"Lord Alvin..?" he tried to give him a hand, but Alvin stopped him.
"Sorry, General." Alvin uttered. "It is truely difficult to keep my composure with all this rage in my heart."
"Is it because of the report, my Lord?" Captain Svyen asked.
"When I heard that the crown city and the areas around it are consumed in a storm of Mana. Even the survivors are consumed in despair." Alvin punched a nearby wall. "It's an atrocity! All that pride, majesty, and beauty—gone! That's not something one does in war!"
In devestation, Lord Alvin covered his face on the wall. "All I can think of in the evenings is how I wish to somehow retaliate against Gundolf Eisenhauer." he said. "Even if it meant throwing this life, I wouldn't mind."
"Lord Alvin.." sighed Svyen as he walked passed him. "Even so, you and I still have so much to protect."
When Alvin pulled his face away from the wall, he saw her. "Ashe.."
"Please, think about what you would leave behind.." finished Svyen as he went.
"Alvin..!" Ashe uttered. "Um.."
"Uhh..!" Alvin fidgeted. "If you'd like, would you like to take a walk with me?"
"Ahh—yes.." she muttered.
Alvin took Ashe with him to the palace garden, where they decided to rest for some time. The trees and plants surrounded them on either side.
"We're still not very comfortable with each other, are we?" he chuckled awkwardly.
"It's only been less than a month, that would be impossible." she replied. "Between the ceremony and the meetings, we've been too busy to talk as I would like.."
"I would like to learn more about you." Alvin said, but noticed his wife spacing out. "Uhh, Ashe!"
"Oh! Sorry, I—just have this bad feeling. Like you would not come back.." she replied with a timid look on her face.
"Don't worry. I will definitely come back to you." Alvin put his hand on her shoulder. "When I return from Almerry, we can talk more."
"I—I too, want to learn more about you, Alvin." Ashe said as her lips got closer to his.
She pulled Alvin closer, and kissed him hard. Alvin embraced his wife in his arms.
"Would you promise me.." she muttered as their lips detached.
"Of course, if it's a promise with you, it will give me the power to do anything." replied Alvin.
That's right, he thought to himself. I have to return home——for Ashe..
When the night came, the Imperial soldiers were patrolling around their conqurred territories near the borders.
"So, the main force of Deranna's army has been moving into Almerry all day?" a soldier asked.
"Aren't we going to move, as well?" another soldier asked. "Is it going to be a siege, then."
The captain of the patrol troop decided to clarify. "We have three times their number. But Almerry itself is an advantage to them." he said. "All the physical attacks are useless against their grand Mystic Art, the Palling!"
The captain looked through binoculars to see how a dom-shaped force-field, known as the Palling, was enveloping the fortress before them.
"Captain!" a soldier hurried towards him. "There's an airship hasting forth!"
Dumbfound, the captain shouted "IMPOSSIBLE! So, they intended on having an aerial battle?!"
"Sir, what do we do?" Panicked one soldier.
"Send word to the 8th armada immediately!" answered the captain. "Deranna has sent air—!"
Unbeknownst to him, another ship appeared right above his head. The captain witnessed the ship crashing down onto their watch tower.
~GRRRRAAAH!!
"They sent us an unmaned ship!" the captain said his knees failed to hold him standing. "Too bad that they missed.."
Then, the captain and his troops noticed something leaking out of the smashed airship. But after rubbing his fingers with that liquid, the captain realized that the ambush wasn't random.
"This, is—oil..!" he gritted his teeth.
At that moment, burning arrows started rainning on the Afallan soldiers from the still approaching ship.
"FIRE!!" yelled the soldiers.
"TAKE COVER!"
"ALL TROOPS, REMAIN IN FORMATION!"
The entirety of the Afallanian camp was ablaze. Lord Alvin watched the scene painted in glowing flames as he was giving orders from the top the ship.
"Open fire! Don't give them a chance to escape!" he ordered.
"Sir, we lost the first line troops!" said an Afallanian soldier.
"Ugh! We stand our ground! They can't approach us on foot."
Captain, look!" another soldier pointed. "Deranna's calvary!"
Troops of Deranna's knights were gallopping towards them like the flood from three different directions.
"CHARGE!!"
"Wh—when did they..?"
The two armies clashed with Deranna's element of surprise managed to successfully take upper hand. With the patrolling soldiers still out of formation, taking them down was simple. The Afallanian army was very overwhelmed that it lost most of it ground, and began to retreat.
"YOU LOT! DON'T DARE TO RUN!" yelled the Afallanian captain. "Fighting in this battle will get us out of the lower class! Don't you want to become true citizens?! THEN FIGHT!!"
"YES!!!"
The battle continued to wage on since the Afallanian army had restored its stamina. At that heated moment, the ship that was hovering above the field landed. Lord Alvin, along with two more troops, led by Captain Svyen Helsem, had emerged to join in on the fight. They dispressed, surrounding the zone from multitude of directions.
"ATTACK!!" yelled Alvin while colliding with enemy forces. His horse dashed forward like the wind with Afallanian soldier falling injured on the ground.
"Time to meet your end!" Svyen dropped five soldiers with one swing of his axe, breaking through their formation. "LONG LIVES DERANNA!!"
"HAAA!!" the rest of the Derannian army pushed even further against the enemy forces.
"Do not chase them far!" Alvin ordered. "Let those who flee do so. Rout the rest before the main force arrives!"
"That went surprisingly well." Olin remarked.
"Yes. The oil burnt fast!" Svyen replied as he was parrying enemies attacks. "Since the Empire has three times our strength, we cannot fight them head on."
~Clank!
"If we hold the fortress, will Rulia move?" asked Svyen. "At this rate, we will just wait for Afallan's senate to weary off war."
~Clank! Slam!
"It would be good if we have some cease-fire talk soon.." Olin replied while covering Svyen's back. He took down two swordsmen.
"Afallan's aware of it. That is why they want this to be a decisive battle.." said Svyen while his eyes darted towards Alvin.
—We have to take advantage of this, Lord Alvin..
Alvin's final blow managed to push the Derannian forces forward as they conqurred most of the area. He stood in the middle and raised his sword to the sky; signaling for the remaining troops to come forth.
"We will hold this fortress until the end!" he announced. "We fight, so we can return home alive!"
"It's no good. They're routing us!" said one of the Afallanian soldiers while trying to regroup and leave the spot. "It's better if we retreat. We can't win a land battle against them!"
~BLOW!
The fleeting soldier received a punch from a dark armored man that dropped him instantly unconscious.
"Uhh..!" the remaining men stood in shock.
"You're a disgrace if you flee from this place alive.." said the black armored man. "WE SHALL NOT RETREAT!!"
Few minutes later, the tides of the battle started to shift. The once were fleeting forces of Afallan were pushing aggressively forward. They adopted a new strategy that enabled them to regain some of the spots they had lost.
What is this?, Alvin wondered. Their morale is returning. They are pushing us back!
"The left wing has begun to fall!" yelled one the Derannian soldiers.
"Lord Alvin, this is far enough. Let's cut our losses, and give the order to retreat." said Svyen. But then—
~BLAST!
"UGHHHAAHH!!" some of the Derannian soldiers were caught in an explosive attack.
"That is—?!" Alvin's eyes widened when he saw him in the black armor.
"Those who guard the Empire's law.." Svyen muttered in discomfort.
"Svyen, this is no good.." Olin yelled. "We lost a lot of our archers!"
"This man is monstrously strong!" another soldier yelled. "Is he an Imperial knight?!"
Alvin gritted his teeth. "Not just an ordinary knight—"
That black armor—obsecured face, he thought. It belongs to an executioner..
"He is a Executioner!" Alvin yelled as his face was beading sweats. "He is dangerous; increase defenses!"
Right at that very moment, the Executioner drew a dual-sided blade. He span it diagonally, and a tornado blew hard, tossing most of the left flank soldiers away.
"GUAAHH!!"
"Go for their weakened flank! Hurry!" the Executioner ordered. "Destroy it!"
"YES, SIRE!" the Afallanian soldiers charged in a spear formation.
~Clang! Slash!
Ugh..!" Lord Alvin paved his way through the strengthened Afallan's forces.
They only sent one Executioner, and we're already over-powered, he thought. But I must turn this around!
"I must defeat them all and win this!" he shouted.
"Lord Alvin, don't be rash! We have already achieved our goal." said Svyen.
"I know that!' Alvin shouted back, but his loud voice drew attention to him.
"Oh, were running away, Prince?!" the Executioner approached with his weapon ready to attack.
"Huh!" Alvin glared back at him, and swing his sword in an instant.
~Clank!
"Ha ha ha! I suppose all Eudronians are cowards!" said the Executioner with a voice full of contempt. "I even heard your father cried and begged for his life during the siege!"
Both Alvin and the Executioner were pushing their blades against each other. Then, Alvin took out another sword, and swang at his spiteful enemy. But he ended up missing.
"Ha ha ha! You become soft at times of peace. What a foolish lineage!"
"Ugh—shut up!" Alvin went after him.
"It's fine, Lord Alvin." yelled Svyen. "He is trying to provoke you. You mustn't let him!"
"Even if that's so, I cannot turn a blind eye to him slandering my late father!" Alvin prepare his dual wielded swords, and dash against the Executioner. "I'll have him apologize to him in the next world!"
~DASH! SLASH!
~MISS!
Captain Svyen's hand kept stretched in mid-air, but Alvin did not look back. "No, Lord Alvin—we must fall back!" he yelled helplessly.
"KILL HIM!! HE'S WIDE OPEN!"
"Huh—?" Svyen turned back and countered the troops coming his way.
~Slash!
"Not so fast!" he marched onward, defeating the attacking soldiers.
"COME ON! ATTACK THE BLACK ARMORED EMEMY!" the Derannian knights marched forward as well. "AID LORD Alvin!"
Alvin was still crossing blades with the Executioner. But the latter became blurry to spot, and avoided all of Alvin's attacks.
"You won't get away!" Alvin got closer to him, and raised his in a swift. The Executioner then, emitted a force field around that pushed the prince away.
~Bam!
"Ugh!"
"Humph, soft! Weak! Slow!" said the Executioner. "Is that all Deranna have?!"
"MONSTER!" trembled one of the soldiers.
"Ugh.." Alvin struggled to get back on his feet. "SQUADRON 3 TO 5, GO FROM THE LEFT! SURROUND HIM!"
By the moment Lord Alvin changed his tactics, an unexpected occured.
~Blow!
"Huh?!" Alvin spotted smoke coming out of Almerry fortress. "That explosion just now—!"
"Ha ha ha ha! What are you surprised at?" shouted the Executioner. "Did you think we did not have some sort of plan?"
Inside the fortress, the explosion dropped most of attendants dead. Among the survivors, an injured guard who witnessed as the Imperial forces take over.
"..Impossible..This is a nightmare.." he spat blood on the floor. "..Imperial Exceutioners..!"
A black armored knight with a face covered behind a helmet, walked by him. "Don't underestimate the power of the Empire."
"Lord Executioner, everything appears operational." reported an Afallanian soldier.
"Excellent. Destroy the Palling before the Derannian forces return." he replied.
Down on the battlefield, Alvin's stiffened face gazed helplessly at the fortress.
Another unit?!, he thought. Their aim from the beginning was the Palling. If it falls, the ground troops will be unprotected. And I walked right into their trap.
"But, with such insults towards my ancestors.." he tightens the grip on his white sword. "If we withdraw now—after all of this..."
.
.
"..Please, think about what you would leave behind.."
.
.
"Would you——promise me.."
.
.
That's right, he closed his eyes. I still haven't..
"All forces—" he began. "ALL FORCES, FALL BACK TO Almerry!"
Captain Svyen caught up to Alvin and they both, along with the entire army began to retreat gradually. But that didn't end the fight.
"Now that the Derannians are in retreat," ordered the Executioner. "ALL AFALLANIAN FORCES, MOVE OUT!!!"
And in less than few minutes afterwards, large fleets of Afallan's airships swarmed the sky above the fortress.
"Oh! How is that possible?!" Olin exclaimed. "They deployed too fast!"
"Were we in Gundolf's hand all this time?!" Svyen clenched his fist as he looked upward.
At this rate, the Palling will fall, Alvin gritted his teeth. This battle..We'll lose!
One of the airships landed harshly on the ground. Right before the impact, troops of Afallan's soldiers jumped out, and overpowered the guards of the fortress.
"Ha ha ha!" they roared. "KILL THEM ALL!!"
~Slash! Splatter!
~Clank!
"Lord Alvin!" shouted Olin.
"General, they're after the Palling!" Alvin replied while desperately charging forward on his white horse.
Right behind the prince, Captain Svyen aimed his arrow towards the emerging enemies. His shot were mostly hit or miss, but he managed to pave the way for both him and Lord Alvin.
"I won't be able to hold in much longer.." he whispered as his arrows became only handful. "It's no use. There's too many of them.."
"My Lord, Almerry has fallen. We must withdraw!" Olin shouted.
"Not yet!!" Alvin protested. "There's still the Palling—!"
When he just gazed towards it, the transparent force field known as the palling was already fading out.
"—No!" Alvin muttered in sorrow.
Svyen halted his horse to watch the Palling disappear. "So, this is where it ends.." he said whistfully.
"No—we cannot surrender.." Alvin refused to face the situation. "This battle—MY FATHER'S ENEMIES!!"
"You mustn't! It's useless!" Svyen tried to stop him from charging again. But at the heat of those chaotic moments, his eye caught one Afallanian archer.
From a great distance, the soldier was aimming at none other than Alvin. His bow was already fully stretched, and he was about to set the arrow flying. On that same time, and he was trying to catch up to Lord Alvin, Svyen readied an arrow to hit that soldier before he manages to shoot.
"Lord Alvin, look out!" in an abrupt motion, Captain Svyen shot the arrow as the enemy did as well.
~THWIP!
Svyen witnessed his arrow hit the mark, and that soldier was dropped down. But when his eyes gazed back at Alvin, his face turned pale.
"Ahh..!" Alvin looked down on his chest. There was an arrow in the middle of it.
My blood—is hot! his body felt heavy. I can't breathe! Am I dying?! From this little arrow..
"LORD Alvin!!" Svyen shouted, grabbing Alvin on his horse, and fled.
"...I made a..promise with Ashe.." Alvin struggled to utter the words. "I need to..return...alive.."
Svyen marched through the fire to get injured Alvin to safety. "Don't worry, it barely missed your vitals!"
Laying limp on Svyen's horse, Alvin was losing his consciousness. "I...promi—" he mumbled very faintly.
"Stay with me, my Lord!" Svyen shouted. "You're not bleeding much. I'm on my way to a healer!"
But when he went as farther away from the battlefield as possible, Svyen stopped his horse in the middle of the desert.
"...Lord Alvin.." he noticed that Alvin's breath had ceased.
• 8th day of the Fourth Month, Year 664. Capital of Deranna.
Princess Ashilda, dressed in a black gown, embraced her husband's coffin.
"Coming home like this.. why is this—" she cried out loud. "Alvin..!"
After their defeat at Almerry, Deranna's resistance continued for several months, until exhausted. They were overwhelmed.
The same year, the Empire offered entirely unreasonable terms of peace. Deranna accepted with no further conditions.
To sign the treaty, King Gregorio Liv Deranna had to travel to the Capital of Afallan. But the night before the signing, he was found killed. It was reported that he was assassinated by none other than General Svyen Helsem. With these events steering the negotiations, the peace talks collapsed, and the Empire restarted their invasion, and successfully took over the Capital of Deranna. Both the sovereignty of royal family and the freedom of the people were taken away. And thus, the ancient kingdom of the desert, Deranna, was no more. But there was something else that was the source of the people' grieving.
Later that year, it was announced that the last survivor of the royal family, Princess Ashilda Liv Deranna—after losing her loved ones and her kingdom, had taken her own life. And with her death, all hope for the people of Deranna was lost with no return.
Sparks of rebellion would rise every once in a while, but they were powerless against the might of the Empire of Afallan. All signs of opposition were crushed. Whoever tried to raise their voice, were slaughtered mercilessly. And so, Deranna became a territory of the Empire. Proving that fairytales were never true, and happy endings were only written by the victors.