Arthur's Point of View

The Royal Dwarven Baths

“The Queen is coming!” One of the guards said in desperation as we ignored them while we had been bathing. “Please get out!”

Instead, I dunked Typhon’s head under the water. He popped up quickly and jumped on me as the Dwarven boy shied away to the other side of the baths. However, I stopped moving entirely when I felt something strange.

You ever get that feeling you’re being watched?

“Arthur!” Elincia’s voice suddenly called out as we looked over to see the Priestess, Kheri, and Ventari appear. “What are you doing!?”

And I don’t mean by the obvious offenders. This wasn’t the Demons, Elincia, or any of the Dwarves. It was new and strong enough to get me to be on edge. My fingers twitched for a second before throwing Typhon back into the water and turning to the newcomers to pretend I didn’t notice.

“Ladies!” I greeted them. “Would you care to join us? The water is just right.” Typhon popped back to the surface. “Some of us think it’s a little warm, but they’re wrong.”

“Arthur, you ca-“ Ventari began, but I immediately stopped her as I jumped from the bath.

Elincia's Point of View

Capital of Vithari - Dwardew

Arthur leapt from the water as Ventari was speaking and opened a portal. His sword dropped into his hands as he seemed to phase into his armor. All of us were confused until we suddenly heard a deafening explosion echo around the entirety of the city. The sounds of massive cracks forming on the city’s defensive barrier quickly filled our ears.

Jumping into the air, Arthur was at the ready in less than a second before the first parts of the cavern began to collapse. Chunks began to fall from the ceiling as screams of terror could be heard. They were dealt with quickly as Arthur destroyed them while floated in the air. Reduced to dust that was simply blown away. He quickly spread his arms out, and the rest of the cavern stopped from collapsing as it glowed.

However, the Wraith from before could be seen floating there from the hole that was made. Looking down at us, my arm throbbed for a moment before I tried to summon some magic. It quickly faded as it always did. To my surprise, a horn sounded throughout the city, which quickly resonated with others.

Instantly, some manner of projectiles were all launched into the air, directly where the compromise was. Arthur darted out of the way while explosions rang out above the barrier. A barrage of some manner of runic defenses filled the hole. While I wasn’t convinced it would work on that Demon, Arthur did float down and out of the way.

Arthur's Point of View

Capital of Vithari - Dwardew

The hole was taken care of for the moment, but that didn’t feel entirely like Demonic magic. Plus, whatever I felt earlier was still here, and I knew it wasn’t the Demon. Whatever that Wraith’s purpose, this felt more straightforward. Almost like there was a lust, or yearning, behind the gaze I felt on me.

“One thing at a time, I suppose.” I mumbled to myself as I knew their defenses weren’t doing anything to the Demon.

The Wraith teleported inside the barrier through the opening, and we floated above the city. Fighting here would be a problem. Somehow, I needed to get the Wraith to follow me. Although given it was ignoring everything else as the barrage slowly came to an end, I didn’t think it was going to be too hard. Imagine my surprise when it ignored me entirely as well.

To my surprise, the Demon moved away, and I moved to give chase, but it quickly came to a halt. However, I quickly realized why. A powerful magic signature just appeared inside the cavern. My eyes started to dart around to identify who it might be from. It disappeared after a moment.

Not a moment later, I felt a piercing sensation and looked down. From my stomach was a bloodied arm. Blood started to pour down my lower half as I quickly puked up some from my lips. My body shook as magic ignited throughout the entirety of the arm, and I started to increase mine to transform. Defiance had energy shoot across it as well, but I wasn’t quick enough. He sent a pulse of magic through my body to stop me.

Gritting my teeth, I looked over my shoulder to see a new brown cloaked figure. The only facial feature I could see were below his nose. As I stared at him with wide eyes and the power he would need to get the drop on me, I saw his lips curl into a maddening smile. He had a pink goatee which surprised me, but he almost seemed to be savoring the moment. Along with a pinkish white magic aura, his facial hair, and one other discerning factor made my eyes widen.

“Wings?” I barely coughed out as blood streamed down my chin and neck.