Okay, I forgot what day it was and haven't edited the next chapter of The Magistrate, so I'll try to get that done before Monday. My bad. I was just too interested in finally getting some writing done.Just a heads-up, there are still 40k to 60k left in this book. I hope you enjoy the chapter. The next one is about a week away.
Chapter 43
The Enemy is at the Gate
Farentine had done everything she could to secure the area around the hotel, and Quilly had done everything she could to secure the rooms inside it, but none of that mattered unless we had a way to escape the city. I got Jeric up to speed on what was about to go down, then dashed out of the building and used Lowheart's Lung to draw Farentine's attention. Salem wanted me to drop everything and leave, but I couldn't. I needed to give my friends a chance to escape.
Farentine found me in under ten seconds and stayed by my side the entire way to the western gate. I told exactly what we needed to do, and she left the moment she'd finished clearing the street and surrounding buildings. She didn't know what Salem had planned, but she trusted his judgment. When I asked why, she told me there wasn't a champion who hadn't trained under Alistrin the Tyrant and been thankful for the experience.
It was a reminder that Salem had lived a long life without me and that I really didn't know his story. He wasn't a cat or my familiar, but one of the most respected members of Radian's society. Someone they had worked with for centuries.
As Farentine raced off in the distance, I tried to ignore my surroundings. The western gate was a mess.
Mounds of feral corpses surrounded the entrance, stacked so high that they reached the second floor of the nearby buildings. Thousands had fled for the gate, hoping to escape, only to be charmed and turned against one another. Then someone powerful enough to put an end to it all had shown up.
Something told me that someone was Salem, and these mounds were his way of telling me the price of failure.
The smell of blood and flesh mingled with the smoke from the burning city. It made it look and feel as if I were standing in Hell. There were streams of blood trickling away from the corpse mounds, running into the gutters, and disappearing into the sewers. It was death on a scale I'd only seen after the orc cull, but without the human decency to pretty it up.
I'd known things were bad. I'd known people were dying. But this was far worse than I imagined.
I swallowed the bile building in my throat and used my charisma to quash my emotional reaction. It wouldn't help me here. My actions reduced what I could do to keep my sense of invincibility in check, and I suddenly felt like I could take on the world. That I could end whatever or whoever had killed these people if only I could find them.
"Did you leave these mounds to remind me what's at stake?" I asked Salem telepathically.
"No."
"But you did this, didn't you?"
"I did."
"Why?"
"Once upon a time, I wouldn't have been able to answer that question, but you have uncovered more about the system without my interference than I suspected you would."
"So, you were intentionally misdirecting me?"
"Yes, Arnold."
"Why?"
"These people aren't ready for what you know. Their way of life isn't ready for what you know. They were centuries away from being ready for their kingdom to level. Centuries they needed to build their understanding of the world around them for what comes next. I was trying to prevent this outcome from happening long enough for your society's understanding of science and technology to spread, to give them a chance to face the problems that will arise, but I failed. I always seem to fail when it matters."
Salem sounded more morose than I'd ever heard him, but my feeling of invincibility allowed me to cut through his bullshit and get to the truth.
I realised he was stalling. "You're stalling. Why am I looking at mounds of corpses?"
"You already know why. Blood magic is the most powerful form of magic there is. It can allow you to achieve results you couldn't possibly achieve alone. The system utilises this magic to grow, but this ability isn't exclusive to it. The feral people you see were fuel I needed to perform the spells that will end the threat I've unleashed on this world."
I glanced behind me at the barrier. It had formed a perfect circle, leaving some of the outer neighbours outside its influence while sitting in front of each entrance. Farentine had said powering a barrier this large would have been impossible, but that wasn't true if blood magic had been used to create it.
"Can all the parasites use blood magic?"
"No. The Gods of the system restrict its use, so my enemy couldn't pass that knowledge along to its offspring."
"Good. Now, what do you need me to do?"
"You see the mound of corpses furthest from the gate?"
"I'm not going to like this, am I?"
Salem ignored my comment. "Directly opposite the mound is a red door. Go through the door and take the staircase to the top. Enter the door you see there. In front of you will be a table. Tell me when you're there."
I followed his directions, dashing through the street to the door, up the staircase, and through the door at the top. The only furniture in the room was the table and a ladder which led to an open trapdoor in the roof. On the table sat a plain crossbow. The string was already drawn back, and a bolt was loaded.
"I'm in the room. Now what do I do?"
"Take the crossbow and climb to the roof as fast as you can. There is a platform on the roof. I want you to climb on it."
I did as he said, grabbing the crossbow and racing to the rooftop, using a double jump to leap through the opening, before jumping onto the platform. It was taller than the surrounding buildings, giving me an impressive view of the city. "Am I going to one shot the big bad?"
"No. This is more like Episode 5 of Dragon Ball Z, 16 minutes and 45 seconds into the episode."
Salem used pop culture references so rarely that my mind immediately went into overdrive trying to piece together exactly what he was referencing. Salem knew how high my attributes were and how my mind worked better than I did. The moment I realised what he wanted me to do, he hit me with the only words that would make me go through with it.
"Arnold, remember that everything worked out in the end."
"Fine. I'll be Piccolo to your Goku."
"That's all I'm asking."
Salem stopped hiding his presence and somehow enhanced his presence in a way that let me know exactly where he was. I turned in his direction to see him floating in the air above the city in the distance. He was in his angel form, holding a pitch-black orb in his right hand.
My wisdom let me make out most of the details, but I couldn't read the expression on his face.
He spun in place until the orb released a beam of red light that crossed the city in a flash. The lance of light seemed to lock Salem in place, and his expression grew strained.
A hobgoblin appeared at the other end of the beam, hurtling towards Salem as fast as a bullet. It looked like it was trapped by the beam, just like Salem was, but that wasn't what concerned me.
What concerned me was the fact that it was carrying its own set of orbs. Magically missiles began to streak towards Salem. They faded before they were even halfway to him, which made me think Salem had the upper hand.
Then the hobgoblin dropped an orb and waved its hand at the city below. I watched as entire neighbourhoods turned to dust, dispelling the delusion that Salem could win this without help.
Salem had once told me that his enemies could kill me with a wave of their hand. I had long since figured out he wasn't exaggeration, but I never considered he was downplaying what they could do.
"Do something!" I screamed at him as I witnessed the carnage.
"If only I could, Arnold. If only I could."
The sorrow in his voice told me he meant it, and the carnage washed away my delusions of invincibility.
I raised the crossbow to my shoulder, pointing it at Salem, and then muttered the words that would help end this nightmare. "One shot."
Waves of yellow flames surrounded me, lighting up the rooftop, as I used my link to Salem to guide my aim. I didn't need to look. I didn't need to see. I knew where he was as if he was standing next to me and could instinctively tell I wasn't going to miss.
He'd laid everything out for me.
All I had to do was play my part.
The hobgoblin might have been moving as fast as a bullet, but a bullet still takes seconds to cross a city. Those seconds left a wave of destruction in their wake, creating a scar the city would never forget.
Then the hobgoblin's chest slammed into the orb in Salem's hand.
Salem turned his body so the hobgoblin's back was to me, accepting the blows that were raining down across his body to prevent his enemy from seeing what would happen next.
I squeezed the trigger.
There was no recoil. There was no sound. The crossbow simply dissolved in my hands as bolt launch across the city like a hypersonic missile. The hobgoblin and Salem vanished in a magical explosion so fast and violent that I didn't even have time to register that I wasn't flying backwards.
A series of notifications appeared and disappeared in less time than it took me to blink, but I somehow knew exactly what they said.
Your familiar has attempted to forcefully disconnect two entities from the system and banish them from this reality.
Disconnection successful.
Banishment attempt was prevented by the destruction of your familiar and the two entities.
Congratulations, you have killed General Bloodstone, a low-ranking member of Northern Wind Horde.
You have earned 10,000 War Points for your contribution.
War Points have automatically been spent to upgrade your interface to a Captain's War Interface.
Your Familiar's Mark has been removed.
I continued to stare at the explosion. Only a fraction of a second had passed, and it still hadn't expanded to its full size. Yet, I understood everything my notifications had said and what they meant.
I'd killed Salem.
***
There wasn't time to think. There wasn't time to consider. I had a job to do. And I was the only one who could do it. I braked orders to the soldiers who had charged through the gate, only to fall in line the moment they saw my champion title. I briefed them on everything they would face inside the city, what their objective needed to be, and how they could survive the day.
Then I waved them through and started barking order as the next group. I was loud. I was angry. And I was mad at the world for so many reasons.
But I had a job to do.
As the second group raced off, Champion Vander stayed behind and approached me. Champion Vander wore a wizard's robe, but stood nearly seven feet tall, and carried a staff that looked like it belonged in a national collection for crown jewels. "Have the other gates been informed of what we will face, Crown's Champion Arnold?"
"Champion Farentine is overseeing the other gates. I'm sure she has the situation under control. Now get moving."
Champion Vander hesitated. "My abilities and class options make me more suited to remaining at the rear."
I turned to the third group, who had fallen into line, taking charge of the situation. I didn't have time to waste, and I had other used for his skills if he didn't want to fight alone. "I need three offensive and three defensive wizards, six ranged combatants, and twenty-four frontline fighters to assist Champion Vander in clearing and demolishing the surrounding buildings. Those closest to the front with the necessary capabilities will step forward and accept your assignment."
Champion Vander frowned. "You want me to demolish buildings?"
"I want you to demolish every building directly along the main road. Monster can spawn in any of them, and if we're going to make a safe path out of the city, we are going to need a corridor that the monsters can't hide in."
Champion Vander looked at the buildings and the corpses filling the street and gave a grim nod. "I'll get to work clearing the area so you can brief larger units."
The nearest pile of corpses began to levitate off the ground and float down the wall to make space for more soldiers to gather. Several gemstones on his staff crumbled to dust during the process, suggesting they weren't just for show.
I turned to the third group and started shouting instructions. There were soldiers outside the city who had been there as an extra layer of defence, but most of those I was shouting at had used the teleportation circles to reach nearby cities and run here. They were the strongest warriors the kingdom had outside the capital, and they had come to do their duty.
I dismissed the third group, and an old enemy led the fourth group into the city. Regent Katella was decked out in the finest armour money could buy, no happier to see me than I was to see her.
"Regent Katella, you are not authorised to be here. Step to the side and await instructions."
I'd learnt a lot about champions, and how they were supposed to react in different situations, so I knew exactly how much authority I had right now. Regents were not allowed to respond to threats that could end the king's life. It concentrated too much of the kingdom's power in one place, risking more than just the chance of losing the king.
Regent Katella stepped out of line as I began briefing the others, but remained at attention and listened to everything I said. I waved the fourth group on and turned to her as the fifth moved into the vacated space.
"Regent Katella, please explain to me why you are here?"
Regent Katella rushed towards me and stopped only a few inches away. She didn't look me in the eye. She remained staring straight ahead, back straight like she was standing before a drill sergeant. "My granddaughter is in the capital, Crown's Champion Arnold. I came to rescue her."
"A convenient excuse, one most couldn't confirm or deny, unless they had spoken to her a few days ago. I know for a fact that Cassandra left the city two days ago, so I must assume you meant to say your daughter."
The regent blinked. It was the only sign I'd got under her skin "Yes, I meant my daughter."
"I have no idea where your daughter is, but I wish you the best of luck in finding her. I suggest you follow the others to the front. She's most likely somewhere around the palace."
I wasn't trying to get Katella killed, even though I wouldn't shed a tear if she died. The city needed every able-bodied fighter it could find, and the rules were never designed for this situation. If the parasites won today, there wouldn't be a tomorrow. An army of beings capable of charming their enemies was something humanity was prepared for, especially when they had those orbs. And especially if they had humanity's strongest warriors under their control.
Katella raced off after the fourth group, and I turned to the fifth. "Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once-"
***
There had been over a thousand elites waiting to enter the western gate, which amounted to eight groups I needed to brief. After they were through, the generals and the officers of the army arrived. I briefed them the way I'd briefed the others, and then General Doth stepped forward.
He had a scar down the right side of his face, which had cost him an eye, but he had gone to a cleric to have the eye fixed. "Crown's Champion Arnold, you are relieved of your command. I will take it from here."
"I have been relieved. Now, is there anything else you need to know? I've got friends in the city."
General Doth nodded. "Who informed you of the parasite's plans?"
A lump formed in my throat. "Deputy Headmaster Alistrin."
"Where is he now?"
The lump grew larger, and the words didn't come easily. "He held the demon lord in place so I could take it out with my One Shot ability. The system announced his death."
His face hardened. "He was your familiar."
I nodded.
"You're sure he's dead."
"I no longer carry his mark, and the system informed me I killed him, the demon lord, and the third entity it possessed."
"Good. We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for him and his original master."
"He didn't mean for this to happen."
The words were out of my mouth before I thought about who I was speaking to.
General Doth scowled. "Do you think that matters to the families he's ruined?"
I wanted to shout that it did, but didn't because I knew it wasn't true. Instead, I said something far more honest than I wanted to. Not because it didn't defend him, but because it painted too many parallels between the things I'd done to create my trap method and the things Salem had done to save his father.
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
General Doth's scowl deepened. "I don't know what that means, but you can move along if all you're going to do is spout nonsense."
I turned to go, and a hand landed on my shoulder.
"Thank you for giving us a chance."
The hand holding me back let go, and I started running. There were people I cared about who needed me. I'd done my duty. Now it was time to do what I needed to sleep at night.