Chapter 18: Settling the Score

“And that’s the deal,” said Alexis, explaining everything that happened at the palace. “Galvin let me come back here so I could tell you all and collect my things, but I have to return quickly. I’m going to be living in the palace from now on.”

“We can’t let this stand. We have to get you out of here,” said Sophia.

“If I leave, my family will suffer and die, and then Galvin will come after all of you.”

“Then we’ll all leave and return after Seraph arrives and deposes Galvin,” Cyrilo suggested.

“That won’t work. My family is being kept under lock and key and personally guarded by Gradius until the wedding. I can’t leave them behind. If we leave, they die. If we rebel, they die. If we do anything, they die.”

“In an enclosed space, with no way to escape the heat, Gradius is unbeatable,” Aithorn muttered.

“There has to be something we can do!” Sophia tearfully exclaimed.

“There isn’t. In three days, Galvin and I are to be wed, and for the sake of all of you and my family, I must meet him at the altar.”

Sophia grasped Alexis’s hands. “I won’t let you marry him! I’ll stop this myself if I have to!”

“If you try to intervene, you’ll just end up getting you and everyone else killed. This isn’t something you can save me from. I must deal with this myself, and I need you to trust me. I love you, and if you love me too, you’ll stay out of this. I already have enough deaths on my conscience.”

She placed her knight ring on Cyrilo’s desk and left without another word, and as the door closed behind her, fresh tears poured from Sophia’s eyes. She then turned to Noah’s projection, silent throughout the exchange. “Noah, say something! There has to be a way to fix this! To put a stop to this madness!”

“My group is still too far from Colbrand to help. Besides, Alexis said to trust her, and that’s what I’ll do. She doesn’t want you involved, and if you go against her wishes, it’ll lead to nothing but tragedy. Alexis wants to bear this herself, so I will let her.”

Sophia was left stunned by his words. “You can’t be serious!” she shrieked.

“Sophia, trust me and trust Alexis. You heard her: her family is at stake, and if you do anything to fight what’s happening, they will die, as will all of you. You can’t help them or Alexis, but there are still more refugees to evacuate from Colbrand. They need you more than Alexis does. The best thing you can do is stay away.” Noah then turned to Cyrilo. “I need to speak with Elyot. Would you mind bringing the gem to him?” The scowl on Cyrilo’s face was her response.

“I’ll do it,” said Aithorn, picking up the gem and walking out of her study.

Sophia dropped to her knees, feeling like her bones had become jelly. This couldn’t be happening. Alexis was condemned to a horrible fate, and not only was she doing nothing to fight it, but Noah was arguing against helping her. Had the world been turned on its head? She didn’t know what to believe anymore.

The next three days brought a new fervor to Colbrand. Everyone was abuzz about the upcoming royal wedding, and preparations were being made as quickly as possible. Galvin was sparing no expense, continuing to drain wealth from the nobles and commoners alike to pay for the event. No one knew the details of Alexis being coerced; they were too focused on the absurdity of it all. For the controversial king to marry the woman who had called him a devil in front of the entire city was just the newest addition to the long list of outrageous events that plagued Colbrand. However, like all royal marriages, there was the hope for a sense of normality afterward, that the union could calm the climate of the nation.

At the Knight’s Sheath, Cyrilo tried to continue her plan of ferrying beastmen and refugees out of the country, but found her efforts hindered by the sudden staffing issue. Lucius was dead, Alexis was in the castle, and Sophia had gone silent since the news. She sat locked in her room, the room she and Alexis shared, staring out the window with eyes left red from crying. Just getting her to eat was a trial.

In the palace, Alexis was in much the same condition. She was locked up in a bedroom looking over the city and spent her time gazing out the window. Maids brought her whatever she needed, but it was hard to eat while she felt sick to her stomach. At the very least, Galvin wasn’t paying her any visits. Just as he had with Sophia, he wanted to build the anticipation and suspense, letting her stew in her dread.

Finally, the day arrived, and a grand festival was held in the streets to celebrate. Nobles were coming in droves to attend the ceremony, even if they were all complaining about how Galvin had screwed them. Not only were they paying for the wedding and the festival after being gouged with raised taxes, but they had yet to see a single return. All of the beastmen slaves they had been promised were used to entertain the crowds in the arena. Still, they had to attend, lest they end up being punished for disloyalty. Rumors had spread of the clergy’s demise.

After a grandiose day of celebration and debauchery, the wedding would take place in the arena at sunset, giving Galvin the audience he so craved. At the castle, Alexis spent the whole day being manhandled by the assistants charged with preparing her for the ceremony. After being rinsed, soaped, and scrubbed harder than a greasy pan, she was fitted into her wedding dress, with several women working on her hair, pancaking her with makeup, and doing her nails.

She endured the humiliation silently, thinking about what was at stake. Then, once everything was done, the maids left, and she sat in front of a mirror, staring at herself. She had finally become the pretty little doll her father always wanted her to be. The door opened behind her, and one of the last people she wanted to see entered.

“Come to wish your future daughter-in-law good luck?” she asked, speaking to Ziradith’s reflection.

Ziradith approached, sneering as always, and rested her hands on Alexis’s shoulders. “This is all your fault. Everything that has happened has all been because of you.”

“This coming from the grand architect of Uther’s current nightmare. Just like Galvin, you’re incapable of accepting fault for your actions.”

Ziradith grabbed Alexis by the hair and pulled hard. “Don’t give me any lip, you little bitch.” Alexis withstood the pain without a sound, not wanting to grant Ziradith the satisfaction. Ziradith then picked up a brush and began fixing the broken hairdo. “If you had just agreed to marry my son years ago, none of this would have happened. But no, you had to make it all about you.”

“Per your example.”

“Silence. Because you threw a fit and refused to be a good pawn, I had to settle for your pathetic cousin, leading to that catastrophe at the academy. My plan was perfect, elegant, but you blew a hole in it big enough for that fucker Noah to step in, and now it’s all a giant mess. Do you have any idea how much I’ve suffered because of you?”

“Your failures are your own, you miserable hag. You’re just as much of a plague on this country as your son. How many people have you hurt and victimized because you wanted power? How many lives have been ruined because poor little Zira could never be happy with what she had? You set all this in motion, and all the pain you’ve suffered is barely a fraction of what you deserve.”

Ziradith leaned her head over Alexis’s shoulder, staring into her eyes through the mirror.

“I don’t know what Galvin is trying to pull with this insanity, and he’s long since stopped listening to reason or telling me his plans, but I’m going to enjoy watching him crush your spirit and finally put you in your place.”

“Spoken by the wonderful mother who made him this way. Tell me something, all the times Galvin screwed up, all the times he raped and murdered innocent people, all the times he released that psychotic little laugh like everything was a game, did you see yourself in him? Did you see your own degenerate blood put on display for all the world to gawk at? Did you see your rotten reflection in his crazed eyes, realizing how much he’s like you? Or did you see your utter ineptitude as a mother, how you failed so badly as a parent as to cultivate a monster like him and let him loose on the world?”

“Say whatever you want, I have what I need.”

As the day grew late, everyone, including Alexis and Galvin, moved to the arena. They rode in an open carriage, Galvin waving to the crowds with his smarmy grin and basking in the attention, while Alexis sat with bleak eyes.

“Why aren’t you smiling? Are you picturing your little sisters getting ripped inside out by ogre cocks? Because if you don’t want that to happen, you’d better start acting like a proper trophy.”

Alexis glared at him with limitless hatred, but he just giggled, overjoyed by her suffering. She put on a fake smile and waved to the crowd like he was, all the while fighting the urge to vomit. They arrived at the arena with everyone in the city sitting in the stands. Among them were Cyrilo, Sophia, and Daniel, with Cyrilo bringing Noah’s harkonen gem so he could observe.

“Are you sure you want to be here?” Cyrilo asked Sophia.

“No matter what Alexis says, I will not let her go through this alone. The moment Galvin does anything to hurt her, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Noah.

Sophia glared at him, still overcome with a sense of betrayal. The man she thought she could trust, the man she loved, telling her not to save Alexis, burned her like nothing else. How could he be so calm while this was happening?

Down in the ring, musicians played their instruments, doves and confetti were released, and bursts of magic were launched into the sky, all to entertain the crowd and give Galvin the extravagance and pageantry he loved. He stood at the altar, and beside him was the leader of the church, spared by Gradius after slaughtering his friends. The smirk on his face projected his certainty that all was right with the world. And as always, the Wassengel manacle was secured on his arm. Braziers burned throughout the arena like the final match of the tournament, and security was raised to its maximum.

Finally, the music changed, and a set of doors opened at the edge of the ring. Alexis stepped out, looking stunning in her white gown and veil, holding a bouquet. However, her beauty was dimmed by her misery. She looked at Galvin at the altar, and past him, to the other end of the ring. Her family was there, bound in chains held by Gradius, ready to be executed if she deviated from the plan. She slowly approached the altar, feeling more like she was stepping up to the gallows. She stood before Galvin and the nervous priest, feeling all eyes in the arena on her.

The priest began to speak. “Almighty gods above, bless us this day, upon the union of this man and this woman!”

And so, he went through the marriage boilerplate, and Galvin, typically impatient and demanding, stood with a silent grin. As always, he savored the anticipation, soaking in the despair on Alexis’s face as she counted down to the exchange of vows. Up in the stands, Sophia was trying to be brave, hoping that Alexis would look up at her and she could offer her some measure of comfort, but all she wanted to do was stare at her feet and hold her stomach, feeling sick with dread. This couldn’t be happening, after everything they had been through. She kept looking at Noah, silently begging him to do something. He was just an illusion, but she prayed with all of her heart that he would prove himself the man she needed him to be.

“King Galvin Herald, do you forswear to accept this woman as your wife?”

“I do,” he said with a malicious smirk.

“And Lady Alexis Veres, do you take this man to be your husband?”

Alexis looked over to her family, gripped by terror. She gazed at her father, speaking with only her eyes. ‘Are you happy now? You finally get what you always wanted,’ she silently asked. Meeting her gaze, hearing that accusation echo through his soul, he looked away in shame.

“I do,” she then said softly.

“Then here, by the witness of the gods and our fellow servants, I unite thee as husband and wife.”

Alexis dared one last look around the arena, finally spotting Noah and the others. Cyrilo looked like she wanted to chew her nails off, the same with Daniel, and Sophia was on the verge of tears. It pained her to see her like that, knowing exactly how it felt, having sat where she had back at the academy, forced to watch her one true love getting crushed under Galvin’s thumb.

Then she spotted Noah, and though the distance between them was vast, she saw him, of all things, smiling. It was similar to Galvin’s smirk, the smile of anticipation, but unlike Galvin, he wasn’t mocking her. Instead, there was encouragement in his eyes, and she could imagine what he was saying so clearly that he might as well have whispered it in her ear.

‘Show me. Show me the spark that caught my eye the day we met. Show me the destiny of promise I saw back then. Show me destiny fulfilled.’

As Galvin lifted her veil, Alexis finally smiled. The instinct she had suppressed for the past three days could no longer be contained.

“Ready, my blushing bride?” Galvin sneered.

“I’m ready.”

Alexis then dropped her bouquet, yanked out the pin holding her hair together, and stabbed Galvin in the eye. He staggered back, howling in pain, but Alexis gave him no time to recover and rained attacks down upon him. Her white dress billowing, she hammered him with punches and kicks, all while the crowd panicked in shock. On cue, Elyot jumped into the ring and aimed his hand at Galvin. A series of blue magic circles appeared around him, courtesy of knowledge given to him from Noah’s angel encounter, and the manacle on Galvin’s arm fell off. Soldiers and knights rushed into the ring to apprehend Alexis and Elyot, but were knocked off their feet by a barrage of exploding arrows from Aithorn.

“TRAITORS AND WEAKLINGS!” Gradius howled, about to go on a rampage.

His fury was interrupted by Berholm sprinting towards him, the elderly dwarf zooming like a cannonball before jumping into the air and punching Gradius in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. Even with his armor, such a hit couldn’t be easily shaken off. Elyot then cast an earth spell, and the ground beneath Gradius opened up like a pair of jaws, swallowing him and dropping the executioner down into its earthen gullet.

Throughout the arena, knights and soldiers of the rival factions fought each other, one side aiming to intervene and save Galvin, while the other side was letting Alexis have her way. As all this was going on, the audience was panicking, trying to make sense of what was going on, with Alexis continuing to beat Galvin to within an inch of his life, unleashing years of pent-up hatred and resentment.

“You wanted to know why I wouldn’t do anything to save Alexis from this wedding, why I told you not to do anything to save her,” Noah said to Sophia. “It’s because she didn’t need to be saved. She can handle Galvin on her own. That said, I wanted to make sure to clear the board of everyone and everything that would get in the way of their bloody divorce, so I reached out to Aithorn and Elyot. I doubt she knew or even assumed they would be ready to assist her, but regardless, she could only play the martyr for so long before her true self burst forth. I couldn’t tell you because you’re both under surveillance. If you sat here with anything other than a look of abject hopelessness, it would give away Alexis’s real intentions, even if she didn’t know what they were.”

Down below, Galvin staggered back, his face a bruised and bloody mess. Alexis paused the beating to catch her breath. “What’s wrong, Galvin? I thought you liked it rough!”

But to her surprise, he laughed and yanked the hairpin out of his eye. “I don’t know why I expected anything different from you. A mouthy, disobedient, nasty whore who doesn’t know her place! You need to be put down like the rabid bitch you are!”

“I know my place, Galvin; it’s me standing with my heel on your throat. This is the only way it could ever end between us.”

“You really think it’ll be that easy?!” Galvin then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a Profane parasite. “My new friends gave me this so I could kill Noah, but I suppose you’ll be good practice!” He applied it to his neck, and the parasite woke up, feasting on his blood and replacing it with venom. Galvin’s skin and veins darkened as unholy power swept through him. “Bit of a shame, really! I wanted to violate you as my final act as a human!”

Galvin could use both water and earth spells, and now black ooze was rising up from the ground like oil as his magic was corrupted, soon to fill the ring. Seeing this, Alexis turned away from Galvin and ran towards her family, grabbing a soldier’s dropped sword. Gradius was out of the way, but Berholm was busy fighting off another knight. Reaching them, she coated her sword in mana and began breaking their chains.

“You all need to get as far away from this place as possible.”

“Alexis, I—” her father began.

“Silence. I did this for them, not for you. You disowned me, remember?”

“Yes, my greatest mistake,” he murmured.

Hearing him, Alexis paused and then resumed breaking the chains. “Hurry up and get out of the city.”

Once her family was free, she sent them running out of the ring, and not a moment too soon, as Galvin’s tar was spreading across the ground. In the center of the bubbling mess, Galvin was ripping his hair out and laughing like a madman. Alexis climbed out of the ring, perching herself on the wall surrounding it with the stands behind her clearing of spectators.

“I’m shocked, Galvin! You actually managed to find a new low!” Alexis taunted, brandishing her sword. “The last time we fought was on Knight’s Day at the academy. I remember knocking you out again and again, but the administrators kept letting you stay. This time, there is no one to save you from me.”

“Try it, bitch!” he laughed while swinging his arms.

Tendrils of black muck were launched towards her like striking snakes, and she dodged and beheaded them with her sword as though they were the real thing. However, the muck continued to expand and grow like a fungus, and she was forced to escape, lest she be ensnared.

“Alexis!” Sophia exclaimed, running towards her.

“Sophia, don’t!” Alexis shouted, trying to ward her off.

Sophia reached her as another tendril from Galvin lunged for them, but Sophia shoved her way past Alexis and held out her hand, projecting a burst of holy mana. The tendril collided against it like a shield and was reduced to ash.

Sophia turned to Alexis and kissed her. “I should slap you instead for shutting me out like that ... yet again.”

“I love you too. Now get out of here; it’s too dangerous.”

“No, we finish this together.” Sophia then handed Alexis her knight ring. “Because we’re in this together.”

Alexis smiled and kissed her. “Fine, but at least hang back.”

“Not just yet.” She then held up her palm to Alexis. “Blessing of Advanced Thought! Blessing of Agility! Blessing of Stamina! Blessing of Strength! Blessing of Resilience!”

Power surged through Alexis as Sophia granted her every boost she could, enhancing her reflexes, speed, fortitude, and magic. A volley of tendrils was hurtling towards the two of them, but Galvin, laughing at the thought of them being devoured by the darkness, lost his grin as the apparitions were eviscerated, reduced to mist by the onslaught of enchanted arrows Alexis was firing, courtesy of her knight bow. Alexis took off in a sprint, running around the ring with her white dress billowing and her legs moving with inhuman speed.

Galvin screamed in frustration and launched globs of muck from the ground around him, trying to take her down, but not only was she moving too fast to be hit, she was shooting arrows like bullets from a machine gun, conjuring the bolts straight from her ring and imbuing them with enough explosive mana to raise them to Aithorn’s level. They hit Galvin and the ground around him, exploding like mortar rounds.

His flesh was eviscerated, and his limbs were mangled with black blood pouring from the wounds, but howling in fury, he retaliated with a tidal wave of tar. Alexis jumped high into the air as the wave hit the wall around the ring and washed across the stands. The arena was still far from evacuated, and numerous people stuck in the stands were swallowed by the muck. The flesh melted off their bones as if they were devoured by Scyler’s slimes.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the knights and soldiers, preoccupied with fighting each other just moments ago, sprang into action to get the people out of the arena. Those who specialized in warrior and monk magic focused on guiding them to the exits, while mages like Elyot erected magic barriers to try and slow the expanse. Alexis continued raining exploding arrows upon Galvin and his unholy clay, chipping away at the expanding mass. Each time Galvin was hit, muck would flow from the wounds and imitate new flesh and limbs.

“That’s a good look for you, Galvin!” she shouted. “You finally look like the disgusting toxic mess you truly are! Now everyone can see just how ugly you are on the inside!”

“I’ll kill you all! If I can’t have this city, I’ll devour it! I’ll devour this whole world and anyone who dares defy me! I am the one true king, blessed by the gods and—”

He was cut off as he lurched forward, vomiting muck onto the ground in an endless stream, unable to stop himself. His powers were going out of control, and muck was expelled from every orifice, plus his wounds, and expanding like foam, swallowing him up. Elyot, Aithorn, Cyrilo, and every other magic user available were launching everything they had into the expanding mass, but it was growing faster than it could be destroyed.

“Fall back! Everyone, fall back! We can’t contain it!” Elyot shouted.

Alexis and the others were forced to retreat, dashing through the arena corridors while being pursued by the expanding muck. They made it outside, though many people didn’t, ending up swallowed by Galvin’s evil. The area around the arena was flooded with civilians, not knowing what to do or where to go. Were they safe? Or was there nowhere safe to go? They then screamed in terror as the muck, having filled the entire arena, began to overflow and pour down the sides, while tentacles reached out of the top, looking for more people to devour. Profane energy was strengthened by madness, hatred, and other negative emotions, and Galvin had enough negativity to swallow the entire world.

“Noah, isn’t this what happened with Kaisen?” Sophia asked worriedly, holding the harkonen gem.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said before his projection vanished.

“Noah? Noah?!” Sophia shrieked, shaking the gem and trying to get him back as the tentacles lunged for her and the rest of the citizens.

She and everyone else then looked up as a beam of holy energy shot over their heads and obliterated the tentacles. A scream of agony was released from deep within the muck, and a single word echoed.

“SERRAAAAAAPH!” Galvin howled.

All eyes were turned to the source of the blast, where Noah’s group stood, and Seraph, wrapped in a brilliant aura of light, had his hand outstretched. Shannon and the horses were all wearing unusual blankets, almost resembling cavalry armor made of cloth, but what made it unique was the runic inscriptions, the same ones Noah used to make his anti-paladin cloak. It gave Shannon and the horses physical boosts, granting them greater speed, strength, and stamina when supplied with holy energy, which, thanks to Seraph and his restored powers, allowed them to reach Colbrand ahead of schedule. The crowds parted to let them pass, all eyes glued to the luminous Seraph, and immediately, a chant began to boom.

“To the king!”

“To the king!”

“To the king!”

Seraph gazed at the arena, and the muck overflowing as Galvin recovered from the attack. “I wish I could have spoken to you one last time, Brother, but I see it was not meant to be. Now I must take responsibility as the last of our family and put an end to you.”

“Not so fast,” said Alexis. “Today is my wedding day, and I won’t let you steal my thunder.”

Seraph gave a mournful smile. “Then let me be so kind as to clear a path for you. Consider it my apology for our duel at the academy.”

“Fair enough. Sir Elyot, Madam Cyrilo, can you get us up there?”

“Leave it to us, dear,” Cyrilo said as she pulled out her grimoire. She and Elyot cast earth spells, causing pillars of stone and floating boulders to rise up and form a path to the top of the arena.

“Let’s go!” Alexis shouted, running and jumping from pillar to pillar. Seraph followed her, the two moving with augmented physical abilities thanks to holy magic.

A furious scream erupted from the arena, and massive muck tendrils surged towards the two warriors, trying to keep them at bay. Seraph and Alexis countered with holy blasts and exploding arrows, annihilating the conjurations, but there were too many to stop. They were forced to leap as the pillars beneath their feet were destroyed by the hurled muck, but their way was cleared, courtesy of arrows from Aithorn. Continuing to scream from within the toxic mountain, Galvin turned his attention to the crowds, bombarding them with blasts of muck, but the knights and mages stepped forward and threw up every barrier and hurled every spell they could conjure, protecting the people and holding Galvin’s evil at bay. The citizens could only watch in shock and awe as countless spells exploded over their heads.

Finally, Seraph and Alexis reached the very top of the arena, looking out across a lake of bubbling evil. “Get ready, and try not to look directly at me.” Seraph then clasped his hands together and roared at the top of his lungs, dredging up his power until he was burning with an impenetrable aura of holy flames. All the muck exposed to his light was instantly incinerated, with black fire streaming across the surface.

Seraph then leaped towards the middle of the arena, and a massive crater instantly opened up as the muck was destroyed, unable to exist within his presence. He fell, his light banishing the muck and pushing it to the sides like clay on a spinning wheel being shaped into a pot. The arena, overflowing with Galvin’s evil, became a swirling maelstrom as Seraph cleared the way for Alexis, who jumped after him. The two landed in the ring, and before them, they could see Galvin, struggling to endure being in Seraph’s light with the muck being burned off his body as quickly as it was created.

“Seraph, you traitor!” he shrieked.

“You betrayed me first, Galvin. You betrayed all of us long ago. I love you, Brother. I always have and always will, but this is the end.”

Alexis sprinted towards Galvin with her sword in hand. “Say goodbye!”

“No! Stay away!”

Galvin tried to ward her off by flinging more muck, but Seraph cleared the way again, and Alexis got in close. “Till death do us part!” she shouted as she swung her blade, beheading Galvin and killing the parasite on his neck.

She then jumped to the side, and Seraph unleashed every last bit of magic he had, annihilating Galvin so that what happened in Welindar couldn’t repeat itself. Galvin and every trace of him was annihilated, and all the remaining muck was reduced to wisps of black clouds. The nightmare was finally over.

As Alexis and Seraph left the arena, they were met by the deafening cheers of all of Colbrand. Everyone who had survived the evacuation was waiting for them, tens of thousands of people celebrating their victory. They returned to Noah and the others, where Sophia threw her arms around Alexis and wildly kissed her.

“How do you feel?” Noah asked Seraph.

Seraph sighed. “Heavy. For all of his faults, all of his evil, Galvin was my brother and my best friend. I don’t know if he ever was truly there for me, but now I can’t help but feel ... alone. Still, I also feel liberated. Our family has been purged of his wickedness, as has my soul. My path to redemption now seems much less steep.”

“Hold onto that hope. You’ll need your courage at your coronation.”

“So, is it over?” Aithorn asked.

“Not just yet. We still have to worry about— Oh, never mind.” All eyes were turned to the arrival of Holmes, approaching with Ziradith in shackles. “Hey there, sweet cheeks.”

“I caught her trying to escape once the fighting started,” Holmes said.

“There is no running away, Ziradith. It’s time for you to own up to your crimes,” said Noah. “No more tricks, no more plans, you’re done. No matter what card you have to play, Uther will forever be out of your reach.”

“Mark my words, you son of a bitch,” she hissed through gritted teeth, “this is far from over. I will have my revenge on you, on this entire country, if it’s the last thing I do. I swear this to every god and devil who can hear me. You will all suffer for this. I WILL DESTROY THIS WORLD!”