Lucius held out the ornamental horn in his hand in front of Lillian. "For a long time, my family held onto three horns similar to this for as long as I could remember. They were told to possess the souls of very dangerous beings, the very ones that served your God."
Lillian's eyes lit with familiarity. "I think… I remember something being written in the scriptures about these horns." Lillian's epiphany struck. "That's right. It was said that five angels were said to have descended from the heavens to help mankind, three were sent to wage war and the last two stayed in heaven to serve God."
Lillian forced herself up, leaning her back against the wall. Lucius held out the horn and she reached out, grabbing from him out of pure curiosity.
"To think… that one of the generals had such a holy artifact in hand. And to think… that an angel would be such a frightening thing to face off against…" Lillian stared intensely at the horn, noticing some strange writing on the side.
"Is that what it was?"
"Yes." she affirmed.
"If that's the case it's possible that the General that summoned it, meant to use it as a last resort to wipe out our army." Lucius stated.
"Yes but… that angel really didn't seem interested in fighting the army… Instead it seemed more focused on me… It even referred to me as the Light holder."
Lucius became intrigued. "Hmmm…That's not surprising, Perhaps it was a first coined phrase before being given a different name."
"Perhaps…" Lillian gripped the horn much more tightly. She then smiled more fondly. "I'm glad some things don't change at least." She silently said.
"And when all this is over, things will go back to normal.. even if in a Demon." Lillian thought.
"Hmm?" Lucius glance curiously at Lillian
"O-oh. Nothing." Lillian turned her attention back to the horn. "Have you tried destroying these?"
"If we could we would've done so already." Lucius held his hand over the horn. Concentrating his fire magic onto it to burn the horn to as. And as expected, it came out unscathed. "Since we can't destroy these horns we've opted to lock them away."
"So you have three more of these horns. So that leaves another four more out there."
"Six if we're counting the two that are supposedly with God… But yes. And given that we now have practically half of the horns I doubt that any other will be coming around. As far as I'm aware the other four are likely on other continents and countries far from here. Leaving the only issue with those piped weapons. But we'll talk about that later."
Lucius grabbed the horn. "If you don't mind. We should keep this locked away."
"Right." Lillian obliged, he then placed the horn inside of a chest, locking it. A servant came along, grabbing the chest to escort it along with some guards.
"By the way, where's Jala?"
Lucius laid himself back on the bed. "Jala? right now he's scouting out the last fortified city along with Azar."
"The last?" Lillian questioned.
"I've had the opportunity to send out some of my helpers to the port city further east from here as well as that Kiden city at the border. By the time we're done resting the city of Gralin will be the last one standing."
"I see… so you used that power again." Lillian started laying herself into the bed too. She turned herself away from Lucius.
The room becomes silent for a moment. "You know… If you're not careful… That could kill you…"
"Years off my life mean nothing. Especially if it means paving a new path for my kind."
"Still… Even if demons live a long time… I…"
Lillian becomes silent once again.
"My offer is still on the table. If you'd like, we can still marry when this war is done."
"I don't know… I don't think… I don't think I'm ready yet…" Lillian felt a hand touch her shoulder.
"That's fine Lillian. Take your time."
Lillian smiled bittersweetly. "Thank you…Lucius"
Lillian turned herself over, lying her head on his chest. All the while Lucius held her close to him.
********
Elsewhere in the dead of night inside of a forest, two red demons flew past tree after tree, without rest.
"Hold it Jala," Azar said.
Azar looked back. "I think we're far enough away."
They both slowed down, coming to a halt. Jala found himself a tree to lean on. "Finally," Jala said.
Azar circled herself around the tree, content.
"I can see you're still grieving."
"Spare me the chit chat. Those two were never gonna cut it, even if they didn't betray Rakon." Azar traced her finger across the tree. "Speaking of which. I've been hearing that some strange monster almost killed our… Beloved queen." Azar gave a hint of sarcasm, rolling her eyes.
Azar narrowed her eyes. "If I were in your position I would've ended her there, and no one would've been any wiser."
Jala glared back. "We stick to the plan Azar."
"Oh. Did Rakon already tell you?"
"...Yes..."
"Don't be so disappointed Jala. As exciting as it sounds to kill them ourselves, we wouldn't be able to hold a candle to them. Even right now as they are."
"I know… Reminds me a little of that time that Daji tried poisoning the queen to kill her. Even at the edge of death the queen utterly defeated her along with your other blood sisters."
Azar became amused. "Oh right they did try to kill her too, didn't they. I think that was around the same time her little toy escaped too." she smiled. "Hmph. Served her right."
Azar started to ski[ past Jala. "And to think… All these years later and we still don't know where that woman came from along with that girl. It's still a mystery to me why the King is so infatuated with her to begin with. I Bet if she wasn't around, we would've won this ward ten times by now." she sighed.
"I have to agree. Ever since the queen came in, he started to become much more lenient to humans." he said.
"Still on about the human stuff? Even after fighting those Heroes of Prophecy. From what I heard from the queen and Kel, They were quite formidable opponents."
"They were the exception not the rule. Humans are and will always be weak."
Azar approached Jala "True. True. That toy was probably part of the exception too until her memories were wiped."
"What do you mean? As far as I could tell, she's a cowardly and selfish woman. And one that wouldn't mind killing her own allies if it means she could reach her goals. I doubt that she'd even hold a candle to us."
"Haven't you heard? "Azar chuckled. "The queen and her little Toy actually got into a fight before those Heroes arrived. A lot of people say they were evenly matched, but I'm highly doubtful. I think it's much more likely that the queen held back."
"Your jokes aren't amusing Azar??" Jala questions.
"Who said I was joking?" she playfully responded. "But considering that all you do is work, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you haven't heard much.
Jala is about to say something when another voice sounds out. "That's enough Idle chatter from you two."
They both turned to find a blood clone of Rakon. They both kneel before him.
"Everything is in place," Azar Says
"Good, That just leaves one thing." Rakon revealed an unlocked secured chest. "Make sure they receive this. And if everything goes well… Both my brother and that woman will be dead."
Jala is given the box.
"How they receive it doesn't matter. As long as they get it and know how to use it, everything will just fall into place."
"What is this?" Jala asked.
"Just think of it as a weapon, with a blinding hatred." Rakon gave a smile before turning into a puddle and dissolving.
With Rakon now gone, Jala opens the chest. Azar peeks alongside the Jala to find a Black Horn with a golden unrecognizable inscription on it.
********
Kalika is stabbed in the gut by Maverick once again, followed by a slice in the neck.
"
"Looks like luck is on your side." Maverick along with his men starts to leave. "We'll be seeing you tomorrow."
Kalika resurrected, Glaring at the man in fury. "If that Demon didn't catch me I would've had a peaceful evening!"
Kalika wobbled herself up, and like all those other times she was completely exhausted from all the running and hiding. "I Wonder where Tilus went. I don't think I've seen him for a while either. But maybe Rhonda will be waiting for me this time…"
After a while of pacing herself through the Prisoner corridors she finally came across her Prisoner cell. Peeking inside, still no Rhonda. But on her bed lay a bowl of food.
Re-energized Kalika rushed and almost tripped getting to the food. "Thank you, New guy!" Kalika grabbed the spoon, immediately putting it in her mouth. She immediately became depressed. "Itsh cold…" Kalika looked at the bowl finding that there wasn't any vegetable in it. "Huh?"
Despite the disappointment Kalika felt like she couldn't refuse. She continued to eat the meat porridge, enjoying the stringy meat.
"OW!" She bit her tongue.
"That was sharp. What was that?" Kalika felt her tongue to find it was now bleeding. She moved her spoon around to check for any unwanted bits of food. She tried to continue to eat but felt something in her mouth.
Fed up, she checked her mouth again, she felt something sharp at the side of her teeth "What is… wait… is this my teeth?"
"That's weird… Was my teeth always this sharp? Hmmm…"
"Good evening"
"O-o-oh. Rakon." Kalika quickly looked away upon seeing Rakon's arrival. "What are you doing here?"
"It's been over a week so I thought it would be a good Idea to say hi."
"O..Oh…"
Rakon turned his gaze to the bowl in Kalika's lap. "It looks like you found some sustenance."
"If you mean food, then yes."
"Good for you. And you must be very excited. Only a couple more weeks until the game ends and then you'll have that fight."
"Ugh. Finally. By the way, you wouldn't know where Rhonda would be by chance, would you?"
"That Maid. she's been stripped of her title and barred from entering the prison."
Kalika became shocked. "Wait! What do you mean she's been barred from the Prison."
"The Warden's found your little maid bleeding other prisoners to death, she tried to be sly and hid their bodies. But in the end she was found out."
"Liar! She would never do that!"
Rakon entered her open cell. "There's still so much you don't know about us demons Kalika. If you want to know the truth you can ask your so-called maid the next time you see her."
Rakon grabbed Kalika's cheeks, forcefully opening her mouth with his one hand, he looked curiously in her mouth. He then busted out in laughter. "You're a very cheeky girl." he let go of her leaving to feel her cheek.
Kalika reached out her hands. "Wait-!"
"You'll see that maid when your second match is done. Until then, just do your best…" Rakon waved himself goodbye, leaving with a chuckle.
Kalika relaxed herself back on the bed. She looked back at her bowl unsure what to believe. "What was that about...?" she felt back at her cheeks again, keeping it on there for a few moments.
"Argh. There's no point thinking about it now. I have to be ready for tomorrow! This time I'll avoid that demon woman for sure!"