Samael, who still took on the form of Princess Minne, turned gray as though he’d been turned to stone. His dry skin cracked and crumbled away. Mr. Julius pulled his spear out and prepared to hack off the demon’s wings.
Just before Mr. Julius could swing down, ominous, dark flames engulfed his weapon.
“Mr. Julius!” I warned, sensing a terrifying presence.
I tried to rush to his side but almost collapsed onto the desert and grabbed the fine grains of sand. The dark flames stretched out from Samael’s feet like an arm as a large, eye-shaped magic circle appeared below him, emitting a purple glow. A certain, slimy figure slowly emerged, surfacing from the water.
He was a burly man donning silver armor, his scarlet cape fluttering in the wind. Peeking between his golden locks were a pair of clear, blue eyes, reminding me of a hawk’s fierce gaze. He had deep wrinkles that hinted at his age, and around his mouth was a well-groomed beard. The man looked to be in his late thirties to forties. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was older, but he was brimming with vitality and his confident, overwhelming aura made him seem younger.
“Oswald Dystiana!” Mr. Julius spat, swinging his spear to get rid of the flames.
I was familiar with the name—Oswald Dystiana was none other than the emperor of the Dystiana Empire.
“Long time no see, Julius,” Oswald said, easily carrying a limp Samael in one arm.
Mr. Julius’s father had been restrained and executed on suspicion of treason. His mother had committed suicide to chase after her beloved, and Mr. Julius was left at the whims of Oswald, forced to do the emperor’s bidding. And so, he was sent to the war zone with Helios. The emperor must’ve surely been the very figure that had wronged Mr. Julius’s parents.
But why’s he here?
“It’s been three years, hasn’t it?” Oswald asked. “I believe we gouged out your right eye, but what do I see here? A prosthetic, perhaps? A counterfeit?”
“Why are you here, you bastard?” Mr. Julius demanded.
“Three years ago, your skills were polished like a quality hunting dog. You were demoted to a slave swordsman in Astria, and I expected you to look rather interesting, but I see you’ve become quite the coward.”
“I knew it! You had a demon with you too!” Mr. Julius hissed. “Then you killed my father because—”
“Jeanius was an excellent man indeed. Thanks to him, the Dystiana Empire will surely be able to rule the world. Samael and Mephisto seemed to have placed their hope in you, but you’re no longer necessary. If you choose to live a humiliating life with that cowardly face of yours despite the deaths of Jeanius and Citrin, I suggest you die here.”
Oswald raised his arm in the air, creating a colossal, pitch-black fireball above him. I’d never felt such intense heat before, as a black sun appeared before our eyes. It descended upon us, determined to swallow us whole.
“Chloe, Julius, run!” Ms. Natalia yelled, gazing up at the sky.
I stood back up, using my staff as support while Mr. Julius pounced on Oswald. The menacing, black flames had stolen the white glow of his weapon, which had reverted into the usual, dark spear. Oswald, having finished creating his fireball, summoned a thin, fiery snake to wrap around Mr. Julius’s spear. Fire traveled up his weapon and enveloped his body, but he paid no heed to his burning arm. He swiftly swung his spear back and thrust it forward, gouging out the armor on Oswald’s side.
“You’ve turned into a coward,” Oswald taunted. “You can’t win against me.”
Mr. Julius managed to tear Oswald’s skin under the armor and blood started to flow, but the wound quickly healed. An eye-shaped magic circle, similar to what I saw before, appeared by the emperor’s feet. He was swallowed whole, descending into the magic circle as though he’d fallen into quicksand.
“Get back here!” Mr. Julius roared, trying to chase after Oswald before he froze in place and looked up.
An enormous fireball was falling above our heads. As it slowly inched closer, I felt like I was being burned alive. The sand kicked up and formed a tornado as it headed for the ball of fire. I knew that I had to run, but I couldn’t escape in time. Helios gave a loud, “Rawr!” and called out to his master while poking me with his snout, encouraging me to ride on his back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t put any strength into my arms, and my vision started to blur.
“The time has come. The king who breaks logic and rules over all shall manifest once more and the world shall become mine. You may have become a coward, but you’re still quite powerful, I see. Perhaps you can become a worthy sacrifice, Julius. If you survive, let us meet again,” Oswald said. With that, he fully disappeared into the magic circle along with Samael, leaving not a trace behind.
Mr. Julius rushed over to me as I heard his usual scolding. “Don’t sleep, Chloe, you idiot!”
He placed an arm around my waist and carried me as he jumped onto Helios. The dragon glided close to the ground and picked up Ms. Eliza and Mr. Coldman with his mouth. Ms. Natalia flew on her broom to collect the remaining boy. As the fireball drew closer, Helios and Ms. Natalia’s broom flew full speed ahead, searching for an exit from this narrow labyrinth. Pillars of fire rained upon the desert, forcing them to weave through the dangers as the gigantic fireball drew closer still. We were still a good distance away from the exit where light spilled out.
It felt like we were swimming through a pool of lava. Helios’s wings were subject to the flames, but he didn’t seem at all burned, likely because Oswald’s fireball was created from magic. Mr. Julius did say that dragons are immune to magic… But the same logic doesn’t apply to us.
Mr. Julius tried to protect me, wrapping my body in his as he gripped Helios’s reins. His Ariadne Mantle was resistant to fire, but it was only a matter of time before his back turned into cinders. His hands that gripped the reins were burnt black. I wanted to tend to his wounds, but I currently didn’t possess enough energy to cast healing magic.
“We won’t make it!” Ms. Natalia cried frantically. “We need to buy as much time as we can!”
She raised her arm into the empty space, summoning a silver whistle in her palm. She blew on it, and a very shrill sound echoed throughout the area. As though that was their call, the ground started to shake.
The desert began to shift and rise before the level terrain suddenly collapsed in. A waterfall of sand fell into the depths below, creating a giant hole. Thanks to that, Helios was able to fly lower to the ground, buying a few more seconds away from the fireball. Ms. Natalia also commanded her broom to descend toward the opening that she had made.
When I glanced back, I saw a pod of bone whales that had no flesh or organs dig through the desert and head straight for the fireball. When we finally made our escape, Ms. Natalia flew right beside Helios under the blue sky.
“Fire doesn’t work on sand whales,” Ms. Natalia said with a wink. “They’re made of bone.”
Parts of her glossy tresses were singed. Mr. Julius and I were covered in wounds, but we were alive. And because we still clung to our lives, we probably won this battle. The fireball sank into the desert, its intense heat burning the sand around it. Amid the sea of flames, I saw a pod of sand whales leisurely swimming through.
In the distance was a crimson dragon headed straight for us—Ares and Prince Faisal. In his arms was an unconscious King Shesif.
It’s finally over. I breathed a sigh of relief within Mr. Julius’s arms and as my tension started to ease, a wave of drowsiness rushed over me. Even if I clonked out here, I doubt Mr. Julius would be angry with me. I worked so hard this time around.
When I closed my eyes, I thought I saw the image of my smiling mother standing beside another woman with four beautiful, white wings—Gabriel.