Pantsu looked at the sky and smirked.

“Looks like Nix knows we’re here,” she chuckled darkly. “Oh, F10w3rchy1d,” she called out in a sing-song voice.

“I told you to not use that…” F10w3rchy1d hissed as she teleported next to Pantsu and then fell silent as she looked around. “…Oh.”

“What’s that you said about Nix running?”

“Then he’s as stupid as­—”

F10w3rchy1d disappeared.

“Shit,” Pantsu said as countless demons descended in a cloud so thick it blocked out the burning night sky.

“Boss?” a handmaiden asked with a faint quiver.

“Time to go,” Pantsu said.

“What about F10w3rchy1d?”

“If she can’t take Nix, what the hell are we going to do?” Pantsu replied. “Time to get the fuck out of Dodge.”

“You’re abandoning us?” a little faerie squeaked.

“This world is done,” Pantsu shrugged. “You guys are welcome to come along if you want, but there is no way we’re…”

Pantsu sighed.

“No,” she said as a comically massive great sword appeared in her dainty hands. “We will not abandon you in this dark hour. It is because we have courage and honor and totally not because we can’t leave.”

“We can’t?!?” the handmaiden exclaimed as the cloud of demons got closer.

“Nope,” Pantsu grinned, “Ready to party for real?”

“Guess so,” the handmaiden replied with a grim smile, drawing her arming sword.

“Spread the word,” Pantsu said, “Escape isn’t an option. We fight.”

“What’s the plan?” the Handmaiden asked.

“Kill. Kill until we can’t.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about having to respawn,” the handmaiden replied with a grin and sprinted towards their headquarters, moving so fast that she was barely a blur.

“What about us?” the faerie asked fearfully.

“Take your people and run if you can,” Pantsu said as her eyes started to glow, “Fight if you can’t… Wait.”

She closed her eyes briefly and smiled.

“Zvaxus.”

“Who?”

“The lizard guy who has been training the troops,” Pantsu said. “He’s preparing a defense. He’s probably your best bet… our best bet.”

Pantsu smiled at something only she could hear.

“All units,” she proclaimed with a voice that came from everywhere and nowhere. “Zvaxus, the war god, is leading the locals. We form up on them. We have an honest to war god military genius with us. Let’s use him. Follow his lead unless I tell you otherwise.”

Pantsu looked over at the faerie and smiled an ancient and wicked smile.

“Ready to party?”

“Um…”

“Doesn’t matter one way or the other,” Pantsu laughed. “Time to rock and motherfucking roll!”

***

“I’m out of mana!” Hildegard Moonbeam cried as she stumbled backwards, exhausted as her last wall of flame petered out, and demons started pouring over the wall of their fallen brethren.

“Any potions left?” Jevard Ironsword shouted as he stood protectively in front of the few huddled commoners they had managed to gather.

“I’m out,” Illadraia snarled as she loosed her final arrow. It flew in a twisting turning path, piercing the heads of a dozen demons...

…but another score replaced them almost immediately.

She drew her slim mithril elven saber.

“I’m… sorry,” she said, sparing a glance at the terrified townsfolk. “I believe… We’re… I’m sorry.”

She stepped forward to stand beside Jevard, her long-time friend. She looked at him fondly.

He smiled back.

“I…”

He was cut short by the first of the charging demons.

They fought. They fought with everything they had…

But it wasn’t enough. The demons kept coming.

Jervard fell as something hit his head from behind.

As he hit the ground, he heard Illandria scream and saw her glittering saber fall.

As a demon loomed above him, he saw Hildegard, her robes torn, but still standing laying about with her gilded staff. While it was completely drained, it was still heavy and strong, heavy and strong enough to cave in a demon’s skull.

You go, Hilde, he thought with a blood-spattered smile as something splashed across his face.

He looked up.

It was drool from a gaping maw descending toward his face.

They were going to die here…

…eventually.

He grinned.

”Fist of God!!!” he shouted as his right hand burst into holy flames, and he slammed it into the demon’s fanged mouth.

The demon’s head exploded a fraction of a second later.

“Enraged Bull!!!” he yelled as he charged with the speed and force of several annoyed bovines, crashing into the demons crowding around Illandria, scattering their broken bodies like chaff.

Wasting no time, Illandria, battered and bleeding but not yet defeated, rolled to seize her saber and then sprang up in a single fluid movement, bisecting another demon from crotch to head.

Jevard, continuing his charge, careened into the demons surrounding Hildegard, scattering many of them before stumbling over a fallen foe, his skill suddenly exhausted.

He yelled as one of the remaining demons grabbed his shoulder with its talons only to spray Jevard with blood and viscera as Hildegard’s staff struck home, shattering the demon’s skull.

“Staff skill is a waste of points, huh?” Hildegard grinned at him, blood streaming down her face.

“You’re going to be bringing that up for the rest of our lives, aren’t you?” he replied as he cut down a demon trying to blindside the mage.

She laughed ruefully as her staff broke the knee of yet another foe, sending it sprawling.

“Asshole,” she gasped as she barely managed to block a wickedly serrated blade and spun to plant the end of her staff firmly into the abdomen of her last attacker, causing it to double over just in time for Jevard to slice off its head.

“Nature’s Wrath!!!” Illandria screamed as her eyes and blade glowed a baleful green.

Moments later, all of her attackers fell as well.

For a blessed moment, silence fell.

“Did… Did we…” Jevard gasped.

Dark chuckling all around them answered his question as hundreds more landed on the rooftops and on the streets all around him.

“Shit.”

***

Kalar! a tiny voice echoed through the ether. As a little fairy hid in a cloud alongside a giant blue serpent.

Kalar, where are you? You need to return to Mother, now!!!

No! a dragon’s voice petulantly replied. My mate and her people are in danger! I won’t abandon them!

Did you say “mate”? the little fairy telepathically moaned.

I did! Kalar the dragon exclaimed, absolutely delighted. We’re together!!! Isn’t it fantastic! I didn’t think I had a chance, but I did! We’re in love, and we’re going to have babies!!!

“Oh, fuck me with an eggplant,” the fairy grumbled as she performed the cutest facepalm ever.

“What?” the serpent asked.

“You know that golden dragon Kalar was chasing?”

“Oh, no. Did he catch her?”

“Yup.”

The serpent let out a long sizzling sigh.

“Now that he has had his chestnuts roasted, we’ll never drag that idiot out of here,” the serpent said as they dodged yet another demon plummeting towards the surface.

“It gets better.”

“Of course, it does,” the serpent said.

“He’s going to be a daddy,” the fairy groaned. “The golden skinkskank is full of little Kalars.”

“As if this world isn’t doomed enough already,” the serpent chuckled ruefully.

“What are we going to do?” the fairy wailed. “There is no way he’s coming in, now.”

“There is still someone who can make him.”

“Who?”

The serpent let out a darkly amused hiss.

“Mom.”

“Nothing for it, I suppose,” the fairy said. “Let’s go get her and then get the hell out of…”

She looked down at the city beneath them.

“…of…”

The serpent followed her gaze down to where a trio of doomed champions was making their final stand in front of a handful of terrified innocent townsfolk.

“Faundammit…” the serpent said as she looked into the eyes of the fairy. “…Don’t…”

The fairy narrowed her cute little eyes determinedly.

“Please,” the serpent said, “I’m begging…”

The fairy was gone, replaced by the sharp crack of something breaking the sound barrier.

“By the pretty pink nose,” the serpent grumbled before hurtling downward herself.

***

“Hilde!” Jevard screamed as she stiffened and looked at the blade protruding from her abdomen with dazed confusion.

“…waste of points…” she snickered as the light started to fade from her eyes and she began to fall.

“No!” Illandria shouted as she tried to close the gap between them only to be knocked flat by the meaty taloned fist of a huge demonic creature.

It picked her up with its massive claws and brought her towards his gaping mouth as she struggled, helpless in its grasp.

Jevard charged the brute.

He wasn’t going to get there in time.

As the demon drooled in expectation of elven blood, his head suddenly exploded as there was a crack and a streak of light shot straight through him appearing like a tracer round from the champion’s homeworld…

…except this tracer then turned and landed a headshot on the next demon…

…and the next… and the next…

As Jevard tried to process exactly what just happened, he was blinded by brilliant blue light and the crashing of thunder as dozens of forked lightning bolts shot down from above, turning all of the nearby demons to ash.

As he staggered, trying to regain his sight and hearing, he sensed something big above them.

With a loud thud, it landed around them.

As his vision started to clear, he saw a blue wall in front of them.

The wall moved.

“Climb on!” the wall shouted. “We have to leave, NOW!”

As he tried to stumble to Hilde, he heard a much higher-pitched voice.

“Are there any other survivors?”

“Let me taste,” the giant serpent replied, “…No. This is it.”

“Faun’s tail,” the higher voice said as something lifted him off his feet and carried him to the serpent, where he stuck fast.

“H-Hilde…” he gasped.

“We got her,” the little voice replied, “Hurry up!” it yelled at the townspeople. “We… Darn!”

There was another supersonic crack.

“There’s no end to them!” the giant blue thing he was adhered to rumbled as there was another blinding and deafening flash. “Don’t just stand there!” it shouted at the stunned townspeople, “Climb!”

Another crack.

“I think I cut us an opening,” the little voice yelled. “Let’s go!”

Suddenly, Jevard felt as if he was flying.

He shook his head and his vision cleared just enough to see…

Scales?

Wounded, and completely exhausted. Jevard decided not to worry about it. As he tried to crawl towards the blur that most resembled Hilde, he finally and mercifully lost consciousness.

***

At roughly the same time, Geelvara, the queen of the dragons, and her new mate stood beside each other on a high mountaintop looking out over Geelvara’s doomed world.

“What?” she asked, her voice breaking, “What…”

Kalar closed his eyes as a tear rolled down his scaly face. He thought he had seen all the cruelty and horror that could ever exist when the usurper gods’ forces tried to take Faun’s forests after they wounded her.

He was wrong.

He shook his head as the screams and pleading of countless beings echoed out across time and space as they were being cut down, quickly if they were lucky…

…most weren’t.

“I promised myself that I would never…” he said quietly.

“You…” Geelvara said as she started to silently weep, “You should go.”

“What?!?”

“Save yourself,” she said. “If anyone can get out of this, your mother…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kalar said quietly as heat started radiating from his body, causing the air to shimmer around him and the rocks to steam. “You are my mate and are carrying my children. We go together, or we stay together. I’m not abandoning you… or our people.”

He stretched his massive wings.

“Long ago I made a promise to Faun herself,” he said, “I swore that I would never use my power to cause harm…”

Acrid black smoke started to billow from his nostrils filling the air with the scent of sulfur and raw chaotic magic.

He looked at the love of his life and smiled as flames started to lick from between his teeth.

She smiled back.

“I promised that I would do no harm,” he said, “but turning away from this world and from you would be the most harmful thing I would ever do. If you fight, so will I.”

“Thank you,” Geelvara said quietly. “I don’t know what we can do, but…”

She trailed off as her eyes flashed.

“They are attacking The Clutch!” she shouted.

“What’s that?”

“Where we keep our eggs!” Geelvara shouted as she rose into the air and streaked across the sky.

With an earth-shaking roar, Kalar followed.

***

Miles away, there was a clearing.

In that clearing, there was a Faun-sized mound.

With a snarling, bleating hiss, the mound split open.

“Kalar,” Faun said as she stood, “you are so much trouble, young man.”

Her tail twitched in agitation as a small fairy and a giant serpent covered with humans landed in front of her.

“Harmony!” Faun exclaimed, quite angrily, “Sshabeel! What—”

“Mother!” the fairy exclaimed frantically, “She’s dying! Help!”

Her anger momentarily forgotten, Faun rushed to Hilde’s nearly lifeless body.

As Faun reached the mortally wounded wizard, Hilde’s heart finally gave out.

Faun took a deep breath, summoned as much power as she could, and raised her hands…

***

F10w3rchy1d blinked.

She was no longer standing beside Pantsu.

She was in a vast chamber whose walls were covered with strange machinery and arcane devices all interwoven into some abomination of both technology and magic.

“Hello,” a fiendish voice chuckled. “Long time no see.”

“Nix,” F10w3rchy1d snarled, drawing her sword.

“Is that the way to greet an old friend?” Nix asked as he calmly started to amble over to her.

“There’s nobody to stop me this time,” F10w3rchy1d smirked.

“Oh dear,” Nix replied, “However will I survive?”

“You won’t,” F10w3rchy1d hissed as she sprang forward, her body and sword breaking the sound barrier as she turned into a blur.

Nix just stood there, wiggling his pedipalps with amusement.

She raised her sword and unleashed a mighty, soul-destroying blow…

…and missed!

She stumbled, tumbling end over end before crashing into the far wall.

“Problem?” Nix asked with an evil chuckle.