It was outright shocking how little the initial strike affected the rest of the battle. Dallion would have thought that the near devastation of the flagship—along with an allied copyette emperor—would have quickly caused the enemy forces to retreat. He couldn’t have been further from the truth. By the time Euryale’s forces poured into the center of the battlefield, the enemy’s shock was largely over. All survivors who found themselves on the newly formed patch of land quickly charged in attack, while the surrounding ships provided support fire.

Dallion’s main focus quickly shifted from attacking to preventing ballista bolts from striking the armies. Mountain ranges rose and fell, shielding the gorgon soldiers when needed and opening up when it was their turn to fight. Doing it against a few opponents was easy, against so many—not so much, especially since Dallion had to be careful not to harm any of his own troops by accident.

An intense ray of magic appeared. Originating from a ship, it easily blasted through the mountains that Dallion erected along its path, striking the city.

INHABITANT DEAD

The city of ALLIANCE has lost 1 inhabitant!

INHABITANT DEAD

The city of ALLIANCE has lost 1 inhabitant!

INHABITANT DEAD

The city of ALLIANCE has lost 1 inhabitant!

Thousands of rectangles appeared around Dallion, flashing in and out of existence. The domain was making him aware of the casualties. There was no indication who the people were or how they had died, just that they were no longer part of the city. That was the purpose of the rectangles, after all—to allow Dallion to keep track of the settlement’s population at all times. If they would pass beneath a certain threshold, Alliance would be reduced to a city, and then to a mere town, if things continued.

If this were a game, Dallion would have outright ignored it. One of the common complaints he had back on Earth was that his notification log was cluttered with useless information. A few hundred—or even thousands—people were hardly significant for a city of millions. It was only when casualties reached the six-figure range that he’d start paying attention. Here, they were people. There was a chance that he knew several of them. Yet, it wasn’t only the people he’d have to think of, ten times more item guardians had likely perished as well.

Ignore them, Vihrogon said. There’s nothing you could do. They’re gone.

That was easier said than done. Dallion felt his heart tighten. Fighting had become normal for him, he knew that entities died every day. This was the first time he suffered losses as a domain ruler, though. The deaths felt a lot more personal.

Focus on what you can do, Vihrogon urged.

“What I can do,” Dallion whispered, attempting to use his music skills on himself.

In the past it had helped, making him faster, lighter, even stronger. He could well do that here—sing a song that would increase the morale of his troops. Maybe that would be worth it? No. The best solution was to take out the battlemage. Everything else was secondary.

Dallion focused on the ship. It was too far to be affected by his domain, but not for long. Venturing into the domain, Dallion quickly challenged the equine guardian in quick succession. His domain quickly reached the limit of a village, at which point Dallion decided to get creative.

At present, over ten thousand people had set foot on his new settlement. That meant that they were technically part of it. From there, it was only a matter of transferring them from one of his settlements to the other, to make it grow. It was a risky endeavor. Should too many of them get killed or flee, the domain would be forced to shrink again. However, that didn’t matter so much—the benefits would be instant.

INHABITANTS LOST

10000 inhabitants removed from ALLIANCE.

10000 inhabitants have been added to SINKHOLE.

So far, so good. “Nox, let’s continue,” Dallion said.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

GUARDIAN CHALLENGE!

Nox has challenged the guardian of SINKHOLE on your behalf!

The guardian has no choice but to respond to the challenge.

The rectangle popped up as he was speaking. Defeating the guardian didn’t take much longer. Surrender didn’t seem like an option, so Dallion used a succession of three point attacks to deal with the matter.

COMBAT INITIATED

TERMINAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 1000%

The obligatory red rectangles appeared. When it came to guardians, it was rare that someone other than Dallion would initiate the attack. Then again, that was single player. Against the opponents he had in mind, things remained different.

SINKHOLE Level increased

The VILLAGE has been improved to a Level 5 TOWN.

The area of the realm increased. Dallion could feel the new ships that had entered his territory—or rather, the territory that had moved to include them. If he concentrated, he could feel every person and every guardian. The mage ship wasn’t in, though already it was a lot closer than before. With a bit of effort, once in the real world, he could distract it for long enough to fly there and deal with the matter personally.

“Dal,” Harp said, a hundred feet away.

She was clad in highly elaborate nymph armor made entirely of water. There was something to be said about the advantages such armor brought. As long as one had adequate control, water could be as hard as solid metal but move as freely as fabric. Little wonder that the nymphs were a force to be reckoned with, especially at present.

Grains of fear still filled the harpsisword guardian’s body, like seeds in a drink. They were completely overshadowed by the grapes of sadness that had spread throughout her like a vine.

“It’s alright, Harp.” Dallion forced a smile. “I won’t force you to fight.”

The nymph’s expression didn’t change.

“It’ll be fine,” he continued. “Trust me for once.”

“It’s not about that,” she said at last. “I’ve not come to hide. I’m here to challenge you.”

After everything Dallion had experienced in the last half hour, nothing came as a greater shock than this. Thinking back, he hadn’t even heard of a guardian challenging its owner. They could rebel, they could hinder him in real life, but challenge—never. He wasn’t even sure it was possible.

“The Moons’ laws don’t allow me to do it outright, so I’m asking you to challenge me.”

“Did someone set you up to this?” Dallion asked. “A spell I’m unfamiliar with?”

“You caught a glimpse of my past,” she said. “There was a time when I was very different from what I am now. I hated the world and everyone in it. I had so much hatred and resentment that the only way to keep a grain of sanity was to fight everything and everyone. I didn’t care what my owners were, not what they did. The only thing that mattered was that they were willing to fight and kill.”

“Yes, I know.”

“No,” she said firmly. “You only experienced a glimpse. I wasn’t blessed with the empathy trait, but I know that empathy insight only lets you see a few days. It probably seemed like centuries to you, or even millennia, but all you saw was a few days spread throughout that time. You couldn’t feel emotions build but just their final state. And it’s the buildup that breaks you.”

Dallion remained silent.

“The second empress changed that. She removed the pain with her music skills and earned my respect with her fighting abilities. In effect, she banished the person that I was, giving birth to what you’ve come to know as me. Now that my sister found a way to escape banishment, she also brought my past self with her.”

So that’s what you were afraid of, Dallion thought. It wasn’t that she couldn’t bear fighting her own; it was her fear that she would join them.

Few things were certain in this world, and for a while, banishment was considered one of them. There were rumors of entities who had managed to find a way out—like Pan, for example—but they were keeping low, living in constant fear that any action might bring the Moons to react. That had changed when Dallion had learned of the Order’s copyette network. Now, an entire race had been brought back into the world.

“Even after everything she has done, Tiallia remains my sister,” Harp said. “I feel that I must be by her side. I can convince her to spare you and your domain as long as you join her. There will be no controlling echoes, no tributes, no punishment. You’ll live in your part of the world like an archduke and do whatever you wish.”

“As long as it doesn’t go against her,” Dallion said. He could plainly see the conflict flickering within the nymph.

“I also feel loyalty to you,” she said. “Not just because of the promise to your grandmother. You’re doing things that shouldn’t be done, more than any otherworlder I’ve seen… except for my sister. If I’m to side with you, I have to know you have the strength to see it through.”

Logically, Dallion agreed. In all honesty, he had plans to challenge her, just not this soon. The Order of the Twelve Suns had boosted him considerably, as had Euryale’s decision to grant him her domain. Yet, when it came to combat, Harp was stronger. In her real body, she was powerful enough to be preferred for empress over her sister. The chains of guardianship limited her, no doubt, but was it enough?

“What happens if I fail?” he asked.

“No matter what happens, I’ll give you a chance,” she said. “If you win, I’ll stay by you and give you a chance at becoming a Moon. If you lose, I’ll have my sister pull back, giving you a chance to form an alliance with the emperor. Maybe you’ll even be able to achieve your goal, only it would be without me.”

“And next time we meet, we’ll meet as enemies,” Dallion added.

“If we meet, yes.” The nymph nodded. “There’s no way around that.”

As the two spoke, all inhabitants of Dallion’s personal realm gathered around them. Echoes, familiars, and other guardians were there watching silently. All of them knew the significance of what would happen, just as that they would be of little help.

“I’ll fight you alone,” Dallion said.

“You can use familiars. They are part of your skills.”

“If I do, you’ll never be certain whether it was them who defeated you or not. This way, there will be no doubt.” He glanced at Adzorg and Vihrogon. Both of them nodded. “I’ll use magic, though,” Dallion added. “That is part of me now.”

A faint smile appeared on Harp’s face.

“That’s what my sister said a long time ago.” Two rapiers of water formed on both sides of her body. Nothing held them to the nymph’s waist—since she could control water, nothing had to. “Will you let me choose the battlefield?” she asked. “You can use your powers to change it later.”

“You’d consider that fair?”

“Domain rulers fight with their domains. As long as we start on water, I’ll be able to do so as well.”

Domain ruler against domain rulers; an approximation, without a doubt, but still it balanced the scales somewhat. Harp’s control over water versus Dallion’s magic and domain ruler powers.

“Where do you choose?” Dallion asked. “Your tower?”

“The open sea,” she said. “It’ll give us both the freedom to change it as we choose.”

“The open sea…” Dallion repeated.

“Don’t worry, dear boy,” Adzorg said in semi-whisper. “I know a few spells that will help us follow the fight.”

“Thanks.” The word dripped with sarcasm. “So thoughtful of you.” He looked back at the nymph. “I challenge you,” he said firmly.

GIACCIA has accepted your challenge.