Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

105. Defence of Batavia III

"King-!"

"Arkh!" King Arthur shields Princess Seira with his own body. Sharp daggers pierce his frail chest, drawing blood. His knees fall to the ground. A shaken Princess Seira collapses.

"Your Majesty! Lita, evacuate them. I'll hold them off here!" I order. Lita hurriedly does so as Lord Luke pierces Madam Fron and Grandma's loose defence, coming straight at me.

"Blood Shield!" I scream, using what remains of my strength to conjure a barrier. I swing my blades, briefly repelling him.

"Erghh!" Lita is caught by Lord Elliot'$ vines, her defenceless body thrown against a wall. 

"Lita!" 

"Too slow." With a mere flicker, Lord Luke dashes forward, lacerating my right arm. I fall to the ground, writhing in pain. My head feels dizzy and all I can see is a blurry pool of blood and Lord Luke's poleaxe in front of me.

Is this ... the end?

"Away from her!" A faint stick swings in the air, forcing Lord Luke back. A gentle hand caresses my hair, rejuvenating me. I rise up, still somewhat dizzy. I see Darryl's back as he points his staff at the demonic duo. Sir Surya and Dame Luna flanks him. 

"Darryl?" I mutter softly.

"Rest well, Vio. We'll handle this," he says gently. He places his soft hands on my head, channeling healing energy into my body.

"I'm glad." Lita has also been healed and she continues her evacuation mission. 

"It's finished," Dame Luna taunts. "Lunar Crescent!" Crescent shaped energy disks are unleashed from her sleeves, forcing Lord Luke to cast a powerful tornado to repel it. 

"Solar Inferno!"

"Tiger's Roar!" Seas of fire clash with one another; only the powerful enchantments encasing the palace prevent it from collapsing.

"Quintuple Flamethrower!" With the last of her mana reserves, Madam Fron unleashes more flames into the blazing battlefield. Steadily, she and Sir Surya are gaining ground.

"Water Wave!" Lord Luke changes his strategy, setting loose a wave of water to extinguish his foes' fiery attacks. He enchants it further with thunder.

"Lunar Shield!" A series of barriers is raised, repelling Lord Luke's spell.

Lord Elliot summons more trees and vegetation, only to be halted by Sir Surya pelting solar bombs snd Dame Luna firing lunar arrows. "Lord Luke! We're not going to keep up at this rate!"

"Then all that is left is to trust her. Lightning Mist!" A thick fog descends, obscuring all. Grandma retreats a little, standing in front of me. 

Out of nowhere, Lady Sakurako teleports into the chaos. She grabs Grandma by the neck. "Break Seal!" she screams. A steady stream of energy is pushed out of Grandma, condensing into a yellow topaz.

As the commotion fades only confused faces remain. Hastily, we are evacuated and treated. For me, another secret bubbles up to the surface. We move to an isolated wing of the Imperial Palace.

"Grandma, so you do keep the Yellow Gem." Grandma quietly nods as an Order healer bandages her. Lita glances at me uncomfortably.

I sigh. "You two really don't trust me–or us, for that matter, huh?" I ask Grandma and Madam Fronica. At this point, I'm not even angry anymore–perhaps only a little disappointment lingers in my heart.

"You need to understand the gravity of the situation," Grandma explains. "If even only one of you goes renegade, the secret will be revealed."

"I understand," I say blankly.

"And speaking of that," Madam Fron hisses, fire bursting from her nostrils. "Felicia suspects that Crown is behind this. I swear, if I meet them I'll slice their head clean!"

"They're truly dangerous," Grandma says. "On the flip side, we can certainly cross some names that we suspect to be Crown."

"Right. All the Imperial Guards are clear," Madam Fron says.

"You have our names?" Remi and I gasp.

"What have we ever done?" Aelita asks.

"Nothing, really," Madam Fron says. "Chill a bit, even Vanya, King Arthur, and I are on the list. Heck even Felicia is. Okay, let's see, King Darryl is out."

"Why bring him into the mix?" I bark.

"Well, he was on their side for some time," John suggests.

"Okay, wait a minute," Remi interferes. "I'm getting the sense that now the Empire can reactivate their reality-tearing machine with the Yellow Gem and can bring in their whole army from their homeland. So why the hell are we chatting here?"

"It'll take a few weeks before the machine could be properly wired to work," Madam Fron assures us. "We have communicated this to the Joint High Command. They should be taking a more offensive role now."

"Especially with Lady Jessica on bed for at least some time," I add.

"That attack was a gamble," Grandma notes. "And, fortunately for us, it failed."

"What concerns me more is King Arthur. I didn't expect him to throw himself in front of Seira like that," Madam Fron says. "If he dies, we're in some deep trouble. He's the only central figure strong enough to hold Irvine together." She bites her lips, her eyes looking at Grandma's.

Dr Nawal enters the room with a faint smile. "King Arthur is safe," he declares. "He'll need time to recover, though." We all sigh in relief.

"Small comfort," Grandma says. "But that is enough. We must push on."

For a couple days the farmlands in front of Batavia are stained with blood. Furious assaults and counterattacks happen one after another. No side can prevail in this slugging match.

Yet it will change soon.