Glyn stands opposite a rampaging Mila as she glares up at the Demon in the middle of the airship, controlling the vessel as it flies forward. Mila roars out in a rage, but the Demon ignores her as the black mass forms across the surface of the airship, forming into humanoid figures. The newly formed servants stomp ahead towards the pair.
“Pepper!”
Pepper flies up. “On it!” She yells, flying off of Glyn and sending a blast of wind out at the monsters. “Can you handle Mila?”
“Trust me, even if I can’t, I’ll do whatever I can to pull her back from this nightmare.” He says to himself. “The only question is how to do it.”
Mila turns her gaze towards him, her eyes burning red as he holds out the Queen Piece. He smirks and pulls back his arm.
“So, you're sensing this thing. The shards still in your body are still pulling you to me. If you can feel this, then I have a rough idea about what to do now. I have to put this back into your body, and then I’ll drain away that fire burning inside you!”
He rushes ahead, charging towards Mila as she leaps above him, dodging his thrust. “Damn it.”
She roars but lands without attacking, turning her gaze back towards the Demon. The flames across her body grow stronger, burning bright as a wave of heat spreads across the top of the airship. With a smile, he rushes ahead and lunges at Mila, only for her to smack him away with her tails. He goes flying before Pepper flies in and uses a current of wind to catch him.
“She’s ignoring me.” He says.
“Seems like it. But why?”
“She’s going after what she senses as the biggest threat. So, someone like me barely registers on her radar.” Glyn smirks. “I get what’s going on.”
“What?”
“You’ve heard of a Fight or Flight response. It’s an instinct nearly every living being has encoded into their bodies. When in danger, they can either flee and hide or fight to survive. Demons trigger this in sentient beings naturally just by their sheer presence. So, being around the Demon for so long has her stuck in a fight response, but she already knows she can’t kill it on her own as she is now.”
“So, why is she just yelling at it?”
“In a way, she’s trying to scare it off. But the Demon doesn’t see her as a threat, so it's ignoring her just like she’s ignoring me. It’s kind of funny. But it sucks that I’m not able to catch her like this.”
“Then what can we do?” Pepper fires off a fireball at the still-forming monstrosities around them.
Glyn clenches his teeth. “We just need something to get that damned thing's attention. Once it does, it can’t keep forming these annoying flesh puppets.”
“I think we won’t have to worry about needing to distract the Demon for too long.”
“Huh?”
“If we’re close to that island. Then, an ally of ours has a way of getting a Demon’s attention and even weakening them.”
“Huh!?”
On the ship, the Captain sits watching as the Demon slowly approaches, as he clenches his fist and struggles to contain his anxiety. His crew also watch as some beg someone to move the ship, and others stand paralyzed with fear. As everyone stands about, Quila walks onto the ship and smiles, planting a barrel down on the deck, getting everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, let’s get a move on; we have work to do!” She declares.
“Quila, you crazy elf, what’re you doing?” The Captain asks, rushing down towards her.
“Now’s the time to get my revenge. My poison’s good and ready to go. I even used it to help our people when those armor things came down from the skies. Why do you think none of your crew got scooped up by those Demon things swarming around everywhere?”
He shakes his head. “So, this stuff is keeping those smaller things away?”
“Yup. But enough about that, you got any cannons on this thing?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Load up some of this stuff and fire it out at that thing. It’s close enough, so it’ll help slow it down.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Of course!”
“You're just blinded by your vengeance.”
She punches him on the head. “Just do it! Weren’t you pirates once!? Where did your spine go!?”
He scowls. “Fine.” He turns away from her and looks at his crew. “Someone get the cannons ready and prepare this junk for firing. We’re going to shoot at that damned thing. If we’re going to die, we might as well go down fighting!”
The crew cheers as Quila turns her gaze up towards the Demon approaching.
“Oh, we’re not gonna die. We’re gonna survive and kill that thing. We’re gonna save the world!”
On the surface of the airship, Glyn stares off into the distance as something flies towards the ship. Pepper signals him, and he turns his attention towards Mila as she roars at the Demon, gathering flames into a giant fireball to attack. As the objects get closer, Pepper flies up and spots the barrels flying towards the airship. With a flick of her finger, she fires off a small pair of flames that strike the barrels and make them explode.
A thick fog emerges from the barrels and spreads across the surface of the airship, blinding everyone. Amid this fog, the Demon roars out in pain as Glyn takes his chance and rushes ahead. He spots Mila’s flaming body within the fog and rushes to her side. Before she can react to his sudden appearance, he thrusts his hand forward, shoving his palm into her chest as the shards of the Queen Piece go into Mila’s chest.
A bright light envelops the area as Mila screams out in a rage, her flames burning wildly as she struggles against the Queen Piece reforming inside her body. Glyn holds her and brings his face closer to her own.
“Sorry about this, Mila.” He whispers as he leans forward and kisses her.
The sudden kiss stuns her for a moment as the Queen Piece reforms inside her body. With Piece reformed, the connection between Glyn and Mila returns, and a rush of Mana flows out of Mila through her Queen Piece and into Glyn’s King Piece. Mila falls unconscious, and her body goes limp, with Glyn holding her up as the surrounding fog slowly fades.
“Sorry. I’ll apologize for that when this is over. Assuming we survive that, is.” Glyn looks up to see the Demon’s head staring down at them.
“
Tainted One!
” The Demon’s voice echoes through Glyn’s mind. “
You have been touched by our Lord. To think I would encounter one such as you so quickly.
”
Glyn smirks. “Well, keep waiting because I’ll say we’ve never met.”
The Demon reaches out for Glyn, only for Pepper to fly in and form her humanoid body. She forms a barrier and then uses the wind to slice the metal under Glyn’s feet. Glyn and Mila fall into the hole, with Pepper following behind the pair. The Leech Lord glares at the hole and reaches inside of himself.
“
Leech. Find the Tainted One. Bring it here to me and prepare it as a feast.
” It speaks to the Leech, formerly known as Sebastian.
Sebastian laughs, forming a humanoid body with the dark flesh, and stares ahead. “Of course, My Lord. I will prepare a banquet befitting someone of your status!”
Glyn crashes through the ceiling, carrying Mila as Pepper flies down to join them. She sends out a burst of wind, sending away the Miasma and forming a barrier over the three to filter the air. She sighs and shrinks, floating over to Glyn and sits on his head.
“Thanks, Pepper.”
She nods. “Welcome. I’m going to lie here for a minute. Sorry, but I’m exhausted, and maintaining this barrier is taking a lot out of me.”
“That’s more than fine.”
The pair stare at Mila. “Is she okay?”
“She should be okay. The Queen Piece is draining the excess Mana from her body, and my King Piece is taking it and spreading it between the other Pieces, the same as before.”
She nods. “I felt a sudden rush of Mana. I never noticed it before now, though.”
“Before, it was only a slight drain. Something to help, but normally wouldn’t be noticeable. But now it’s an emergency, so I’m draining a ton of Mana from her body.”
“What’s the plan now?”
“For now, she can rest.” Glyn picks her up. “We have to head to the command room. That’s the only place where we can set up the ritual. With Mila’s Mana, we actually have a shot at this.”
“Are you sure this will work?”
“It has to. It’s the only way to kill the Demon.”
Glyn carries Mila on his back. “Old airships like this one normally have their command rooms towards the front. We should be close to where we fell, I believe.”
“I’ll do my best to keep the bubble up.”
“Right. Let’s all do our best!”
Glyn walks forward carrying Mila as Pepper rests on his head. As he trudges along, Mila stirs, shaking on his back as in the shadows a fleshy mass follows behind them. The creature laughs, scratching its claws against the sides of the ship as it stalks the group.
“Let’s see. What exactly are you planning here, tainted one?” It asks.