Two days after their victory at Colrisa, Kai's army approached the outskirts of Helverton. The mood among the troops was confident, almost cheerful. They'd proven that stealth tactics could work, that they could save lives without massive casualties.
Maybe we're finally getting the hang of this whole demon-fighting thing.
"Your Highness," Commander Thorne said, riding up with his usual professional demeanor. "Advance scouts report Helverton appears similar to Colrisa. Demon presence, but scattered. No organized defenses visible."
Scattered demons. Just like before. This could be another clean victory.
"How many civilians do we estimate?" Kai asked.
"Approximately three hundred trapped in the city center. The demons seem to be the same newly-transformed type we faced before."
Naris frowned, studying his map. "Something feels different about this place. The scouts' reports are almost... too similar to Colrisa."
Naris has good instincts. But what could be different? The intelligence seems solid.
"Different how?" Kai asked.
"I can't put my finger on it. Just a feeling that things might not be as straightforward as they appear."
Kai looked toward Helverton in the distance. The city looked abandoned, just like Colrisa had. Smoke rose from a few buildings, suggesting demon presence, but nothing that seemed dramatically more dangerous than what they'd already faced.
We have a proven strategy. Stealth infiltration worked perfectly last time.
"We'll use the same approach," Kai decided. "Four teams, stealth infiltration, rescue the civilians. What worked at Colrisa should work here."
Famous last words, probably. But we saved 237 people without losing a single soldier. That's a record worth repeating.
Thorne nodded approvingly. "I'll prepare the distraction force again. Same tactics as before."
"Good. Let's set up camp here and begin infiltration at nightfall."
Another rescue mission. Another chance to save lives without massive casualties. Maybe this war isn't impossible after all.
As the sun set, Kai found himself checking his daggers again. The curved blades felt familiar now, comfortable in a way that still surprised him. The stealth approach had worked so well at Colrisa that he was actually looking forward to this mission.
Confidence. That's what good leadership feels like.
"All teams ready, Your Highness," Darek reported. His Air Whisper ability was prepared to coordinate the assault just like before.
"Overwatch positions secured," Althea added, her fire arrows gleaming in the moonlight.
"Underground routes mapped," Yeldvi confirmed. "Easy extraction through the old sewers."
Same plan, same team, same confidence. What could go wrong?
Kai looked toward Helverton, where faint torchlight suggested the presence of trapped civilians. Three hundred people waiting for rescue, just like at Colrisa.
Time to save some more lives.
"Begin infiltration," Kai ordered.
The four teams moved toward the city in practiced silence, each taking their assigned routes. Through Darek's Air Whisper, Kai could hear position reports as everyone moved into place.
This is going to work. I can feel it.
But as Kai crept through the outer buildings of Helverton, something felt wrong. The city was too quiet, too empty. Even the demon patrols seemed different, more purposeful, less random than at Colrisa.
Naris was right. Something's different here.
That's when he heard Thorne's voice through the Air Whisper network: "Beginning distraction. Eastern approach."
The sounds of combat erupted from the east side of the city, just like planned. But instead of drawing demon attention away from the infiltration routes, something else happened.
Why aren't the demons moving toward the distraction? They should be…
The sky exploded.
What the fuck?
Thousands of arrows materialized in the air above the army's main force, appearing as if summoned from nothing. But these weren't normal arrows; they fell with impossible speed and force, as if the very weight of the world was pulling them down.
Gravity magic. Someone's using gravity magic.
The arrows struck like divine punishment. Four thousand soldiers who'd survived the road ambush, who'd celebrated their victory at Colrisa were crushed and pierced in the first thirty seconds. Bodies crumpled under impossible weight as gravity-enhanced projectiles turned armor into paper.
Four thousand dead. In thirty seconds. How is that possible?
Through Darek's panicked Air Whisper, Kai could hear screaming from every direction. But not just screams of pain screams of rage and confusion.
"Darek, report!" Kai shouted. "What's happening to the main force?"
"They're fighting each other!" Darek's voice was frantic. "Our own soldiers are attacking each other! Some kind of curse magic!"
Curse magic making our people kill each other. This isn't a demon ambush. This is a coordinated assault by high-level enemies.
Then the melody began.
It was beautiful and terrible, a woman's voice singing something that made his skin crawl. The song seemed to reach into his mind, tugging at his thoughts, trying to turn his anger toward his own people.
Resist it. Don't listen. Focus on…
Roars erupted from the forest around Helverton. Not a demon's roar, it's something else. Creatures he'd never heard before, answering the woman's call.
Magical beasts. She's summoning magical beasts to add to the chaos.
Stone walls erupted from the ground around the main force, trapping soldiers in a killing field. Someone was using earth magic to prevent retreat, to keep the army contained while the gravity mage, curse mage, and summoned beasts did their work.
We walked into the perfect trap. And I led us right into it.
"All teams, abort the mission!" Kai shouted into the Air Whisper network. "Return to the main force immediately!"
But when he tried to move toward his army, his path was blocked by a figure that made his blood freeze.
The man stood nearly seven feet tall, with gravity bending around him in visible distortions. His eyes held intelligence and cruelty in equal measure, and although he looked human, darkness seemed to radiate from his very presence.
Fourth Star. He's a Fourth Star magician. With demonic enhancement.
"Prince Kai-Zebrin Rotenberg," the man said, his voice carrying easily across the distance. "I am Kabrikaze..... And you have walked your army into annihilation."
Fourth Star. We're fighting a Fourth Star gravity mage. No wonder the arrows fell like that.
Kai tried to move, but gravity itself seemed to resist him. Kabrikaze raised his hand, preparing another devastating attack.
I need to get back to my people. They need me.
Using his shadow powers, Kai melted into darkness just as more gravity-enhanced arrows fell where he'd been standing. The shadow allowed him to move despite the crushing gravitational field, slipping away from Kabrikaze's immediate presence.
Have to reach the main force. Have to help them fight.
But what Kai saw when he emerged from the shadows made his heart stop.
The army wasn't fighting, it was being systematically destroyed.
This isn't a battle. This is a slaughter.
Soldiers were killing each other with savage intensity, their eyes blank with curse magic. A captain Kai recognized was hacking at his own sergeant with mindless fury. Entire units had turned on themselves, creating pockets of civil war across the battlefield.
The curse. It's making them attack each other.
Strange beasts with glowing eyes and unnatural abilities moved through the chaos creatures summoned by that haunting melody. A wolf-like beast with acid breath was dissolving soldiers' armor while they were too busy fighting each other to defend themselves. A massive bird with lightning crackling around its talons was swooping down to electrocute anyone who tried to organize a defense.
Magical beasts. She's controlling magical beasts too.
Earth walls had risen around the entire battlefield, trapping everyone in a killing field. No retreat, no escape, just systematic elimination.
"Althea!" Kai shouted, spotting her on a rooftop. She was firing arrows frantically, but half her targets were their own cursed soldiers.
"Your Highness!" she called back. "I can't tell who's friend or foe anymore! The curse magic…"
A massive stone spike erupted from the building she was standing on, forcing her to leap to another roof. The giant earth mage was targeting their archers specifically.
They're not just killing randomly. They're being tactical about eliminating our advantages.
Kai drew his daggers and rushed toward a group of cursed soldiers who were attacking Yeldvi. His friend was trying to use earth magic defensively, but he was being overwhelmed by his own comrades.
I can help. I can make a difference.
Kai's shadow-enhanced daggers cut through the cursed soldiers efficiently, dropping them before they could kill Yeldvi. For a moment, he felt hope.
We can fight this. We can…
The gravity field slammed him into the ground so hard his ribs cracked. Kabrikaze had found him again.
"Did you think you could hide from me, Prince?" The Fourth Star mage walked through the battlefield like he owned it, soldiers and beasts alike giving him a wide berth. "Watch your army die."
I can't even stand up. The gravity is too strong.
From his position on the ground, Kai watched his magician knight's, his elite forces being systematically eliminated. A Second Star knight tried to attack the cloaked woman singing the beast-summoning melody, but the curse magic turned him around mid-charge to attack his own allies instead.
Even our Second Star knights are helpless against this.
Darek was using wind magic to try to clear the curse's effects, but every time he got close to the woman, stone walls blocked his path. The giant earth mage easily 3 feet tall with muscles like tree trunks was protecting her while she worked her magic.
Three of them. Three high-level enemies coordinating perfectly. We never had a chance.
"Yeldvi!" Kai shouted as his friend was overwhelmed by a pack of summoned beasts. The earth magic warrior was fighting valiantly, but claws and fangs were finding gaps in his defense.
He's going to die. They're all going to die.
Commander Thorne and Naris appeared together near the command area, their Third Star energy blazing as they tried to coordinate a counter-attack.
"We need to take out the curse mage first!" Thorne shouted, his sword glowing with blue energy.
"Agreed!" Naris replied, wind and steel magic swirling around him. "I'll handle the earth mage, you go for the woman!"
Finally, Our Third Star commanders worked together. If anyone can turn this around...
The two most experienced officers in Kai's army launched simultaneous attacks on different targets. Thorne's blade cut through cursed soldiers like paper as he charged toward the cloaked woman, while Naris used his full Third Star power to break through the earth barriers protecting her.
This is it. Third Star versus Third Star. We might actually have a chance.
For a moment, it looked like it might work. Thorne reached the curse mage, his enhanced sword striking at her defenses. Naris was holding his own against the giant earth mage, trading magical blows that shook the ground.
They're matching them. Our Third Stars are actually matching theirs.
But then Kabrikaze stepped in.
The Fourth Star gravity mage didn't even move from his position. He simply raised one hand, and both Thorne and Naris were slammed into the ground by crushing gravitational force.
No. Even our strongest officers can't handle Fourth Star power.
"Did you think Third Star knights could challenge me?" Kabrikaze called out, his voice carrying easily across the battlefield. "Watch them break."
With a gesture, he increased the gravity around both commanders. Kai watched in horror as his two most capable officers, men who'd seemed invincible, were pressed face-first into the dirt, unable to even lift their weapons.
If Thorne and Naris can't fight back, no one can.
The cloaked woman pointed at the helpless commanders, and immediately their weapons turned toward the soldiers they'd been trying to save. Even Third Star knights weren't immune to her curse magic when they couldn't move to resist.
That's it. We're finished. If our best can't even stand up to them...
The battle had been going for twenty minutes, and Kai could see the true scope of the disaster. Bodies covered the ground not just regular soldiers, but magician knights too. First Star, Second Star, even some Third Star knights had fallen to the coordinated assault.
Fifteen thousand. We've lost fifteen thousand people in twenty minutes.
Althea's position was overrun by flying beasts with razor wings. Yeldvi was down, bleeding from multiple wounds while trying to shield civilian refugees. Darek's wind magic was failing against the earth barriers that kept sprouting wherever he tried to move.
This is my fault. I led them into this trap. I believed we were ready for anything.
Through the chaos, Kai could see the cloaked woman more clearly now. Her face was hidden, but her voice carried across the battlefield as she sang her terrible melody. Every note seemed to twist the minds of his soldiers, turning friends into enemies.
She's not just summoning beasts. She's destroying our ability to fight as an army.
The giant earth mage was methodically crushing groups of soldiers with stone walls and spikes, working with mechanical precision to eliminate pockets of resistance. His massive hands moved like a conductor directing an orchestra of death.
And the gravity mage... is barely even trying. He's just standing there watching us die.
Kai tried again to stand, to help, but the gravity magic kept him pinned. He could only watch as his army and his friends died around him.
We can't win. There's no way to win this.
The reality of their situation crashed down on him like Kabrikaze's gravity magic. They weren't fighting demons or rebels, they were fighting forces beyond their ability to comprehend or resist.
Fourth Star power. This is what real magical strength looks like.
A scream cut through the battlefield Althea's voice. Kai turned to see her falling from a rooftop, her bow broken, blood streaming from claw marks across her face.
Althea. No.
Yeldvi wasn't moving anymore. Darek was trapped under a collapsed stone wall. Even Naris and Thorne, still pinned by gravity, were being attacked by their own cursed soldiers.
Everyone I care about is dying. And I'm helpless to stop it.
The weight of fifteen thousand deaths, of his complete failure as a leader, pressed down on him harder than any gravity magic.
I was supposed to protect them. I was supposed to save the empire. Instead, I led them all to die.
That's when the familiar voice whispered in his mind.
"Now do you understand? This is what happens when you're too weak to protect what matters."
Not now. I don't have time for whatever this is.
"Look around you, Prince. Your friends are dying. Your army is destroyed. And you're lying in the dirt, helpless."
I can see that. I don't need you to tell me how badly I've failed.
"I can give you the power to save them. The power to fight back."
What?
"Fourth Star strength. Enough to match that gravity mage and turn this massacre around. Enough to save what's left of your people."
Kai's heart jumped. You can do that?
"I can make you strong enough to crush Kabrikaze like he's crushing you now. Strong enough to break the curse magic and kill the beast summoner. Strong enough to save your friends' lives."
What's the cost?
"Control. I take over completely. You become the passenger, and I become the driver. But your people live."
Kai looked around the battlefield. Fifteen thousand dead. Althea is injured and barely alive. Yeldvi is unconscious and bleeding. Darek trapped. His two best commanders are helpless under gravity magic.
Take over completely. Lose myself to save my army!
"Every second you hesitate, more of them die. How many more deaths can you live with, Prince? How many more because you're too selfish to give up control?"
Through the chaos, Kai could see more of his soldiers falling. The magical beasts were running rampant. The curse magic was spreading. The earth mage was methodically crushing every organized group that tried to form.
If I don't do something, everyone dies. Every single person who trusted me.
"Last chance. Accept my power and save them, or watch them all die because you were too proud to make the hard choice."
The gravity around Kai intensified, crushing him deeper into the ground. Kabrikaze was walking closer, preparing to finish him off. Around him, the screams of his dying army filled the air.
If I accept, I lose myself. If I don't, everyone dies.
"Choose now. Their lives, or your control."