Until This World Ends

Ch19: Man is Weak

Regis made his way to the knot of knights he usually fought beside. Triss' missing right eye roved the battlefield, as it was fake and had a habit of wandering. He kept that side to the crown prince because he felt weaker and needed help. Min's wings flickered in and out on Regis' right, but her claws took up half her reach. She rarely needed anyone, except one of the rare times her wings caught and lifted her up over the battlefield. The number of times she damn near landed on him was countless.

How he became wedged between this married couple baffled him. They could have made up for their own weaknesses in each other, but instead, they flanked him. But battle was one of the few times the king wanted anonymity. If they were the price to pay for that, he'd stay with them.

Personally, he thought Gareth put them up to it. Mostly because their son was now old enough to be on the field, and Bassalt was a giant of a knight. He towered behind them, guard enough for 10, forget one grumpy king that hadn't quite made it to his 40s. Gareth couldn't protect him when they were worlds apart on a battlefield.

Regis had enough time to roll his shoulders from the weight of his armor when the rift opened. It felt like a river of Gibbeys, and the taller ones with tusks and a whip-nose like an elephant poured out. Some had riders, many didn't. Breaknecks, Saurops, and things that didn't match a creature he understood to be real followed. The knights slaughtered them, holding back their energy because they had been warned it would turn nasty.

They didn't need to be told. The field felt off, by any measure.

Gareth blew a horn. Moments later, tears lit up the failing skyline. Lord Tollfee pulled those who flew out of their own pocket rifts to ride the backs of dragons to the ground as they bled to death.

It was chaotic, but well executed. Regis didn't bother to look up at them, as there were plenty of demons on the ground. He caught a spear intended for Triss as Min leaped on top of the Rider. The king took the head of some snakish thing that slithered under the maelstrom before whacking the ribs of the rather tall demon that nearly rolled on top of him. He didn't know how much longer he could tolerate being grounded. The beasts started to get sloppy with where they fell.

Bassalt caught a Leoric-wrought sword that nearly pinned the king's left side. He tossed it back to its user, just in time for the man to catch it and behead his enemy. Regis had no time for the exchange. He shoved his sword down the maw of the monster in front of him, damaging its spine.

A double blast sounded. Immediately, the rift widened as demonic claws tore it open. A monstrous head the size of a mountain began to emerge. This giant was what the Goddess feared. Those grounded who could fly flitted upwards, into the heavens. Archers focused on pissing the creature off. It began to pull itself through the rift at a faster pace. That gave it room to swat at the barbed tips that stuck in its face. Eventually it stood, and the world went silent.

No, not silent; the world ceased to move. This included Regis.

Ashera turned time back and forth, but never caused it to stop. The demon—no, this God of demons held a power like Ashera's. She feared him because he was better at it. The Goddess could have saved her people many times over if she wielded timelessness.

It. No, now that it was free, it was a he—it had none of the bearing of Th'Thee. He was going to kill them all because he could stop them so easily.

But he didn't. He searched the ground, looking for someone.

But why go for the Goddess and ignore her defenders? If he could stop them, couldn't he end them, as well?

Perhaps he didn't have that power. Regis frowned ever so slowly, until it dawned on him what he had done.

She never had that power over him, and she created him. She was hoping that something she couldn't control was also outside of this monster's stubborn will. His grip on his sword and the scepter tightened.

The demon may have frozen time, but couldn't freeze him. He possibly couldn't freeze any of them, not without consent. Regis had not believed her taunts until now.

That was the difference between him and the rest of the knights. Each wanted this world to end when all hope was lost. Now, they thought the same way in this one terrified moment.

But that hadn't been Valentine's plan. Regis died for Ashera any time she asked him to, but the rapture had never been a request. It had always upset him, both to be left behind and to not let them have that fight to the bitter end.

So he took a leap of faith and stepped outside time, one breath after another. His grip on the Goddess' scepter tightened as it shifted to a more javelin form. Regis had one shot before the monster caught on, perhaps more if others could follow him. This first needed to be a serious blow. In a way, it was just like the dragons.

With whatever force he could muster, without regard to time or space, he raced toward the god. Regis aimed to run through the back of the being that had finally lifted her cage from the ground. Soon, he would have it open. They would learn what the consequences of letting this thing touch their Goddess would be.

His cry of rage was silent, for there was no time to send it forward. But it made him feel like he put more effort into charging right as he met the demon's spine.

The scepter tunneled through, and Regis found himself clutching to the side of the cage in the monster's hands. It felt no different than piercing her. He had expected a shell, like the dragons, but it wasn't there.

The demonic god wasn't dead, despite the hole in his chest. Like each piercing of the Goddess brought forth power, so did this monster's wound. Regis grew horns and lit on fire, becoming a smoldering, sulfurous mess that melted the bars of her cage. It burned the god's hands, and he dropped her.

Slowly, the faith that surrounded them all burned. Paladins shook free of the monster's grip while stealing his lifeforce. They redoubled their attack, with the power of two gods backing them. And they tore him to shreds as best they could.

Unfortunately, they couldn't kill him, otherwise, Loric would have ended Ashera's life all those years ago. It would be a war of eternal attrition if something didn't give. No wonder she feared him.

The scepter never killed the Goddess. Their weapons were never designed to kill a foreign god. Not on their own. If Loric knew how he made it, perhaps it could hold that power. Perhaps a new one would be made. But that would be a futile hope, one that should have retreated like Ashera asked.

Regis turned to figure out where the cage and Goddess went. It had landed haphazardly, not far behind him. Gareth had caught it and slumped against the wreckage, smoldering.

Regis landed beside him. "Are you ok?"

The old man winced and took a second look at the demon that was the enemy's king before chuckling sourly. "Put an end to that—that's an abomination if I ever saw one."

Regis bowed and opened the cage, pulling out the exhausted and terrified Goddess. She looked more like a scared little girl than the mother of all the living. He cradled her to him as he took off to face the Lord of Demons. He was toppling over from the zeal of the faithful. He landed, face down, in the Cradle of Man.

The king alighted on the being's neck and stood the Goddess upright, placing her scepter in her hand. "We can't kill him, but we've driven him as close to death as mere mortals can. You can end this if you wish."

Ashera shuddered but shifted the scepter through its different modes. Spear, arrow, mace, and a long-handled sword—all weapons of the fighter's but never her's.

She chose the scepter and simply placed it against the skull before addressing the monster. "Goodbye, Assur."

Divine light poured out the weapon and devoured the god. Power surged back into Ashera, and she shook from the strength of it against Regis' side. Surely, it was the last thing she had hidden from them about Loric's work.

But it was done, and the silence ended. Most of the host turned towards clearing out the remaining monsters before they, too, were attacked from behind.

As for the two at the heart of the fight, things flowed around them while the Goddess regained her strength. She snuggled in tighter against the flaming star that was her shield, and she kissed his jawline. "Thanks."

Gruffly, he let go of his newfound power. What was the point of holding on when the whole battlefield ignored his presence? "What for? We're not done yet."

"You aren't, but I am, and you'll be done soon enough, savior." She laughed quietly.

Whether that last word was the truth or a joke, Regis didn't know.

Ashera disappeared as sparkling dust in the wind.

That left the king to refocus on the demons that had not left their realm. He took off, soaring on wings, as he was tired of fighting on land.

But he didn't expect her to return to him, soon.

After all, Ashera did deliver on her promises, but it took her many lifetimes to fulfill her word. She wasn't a being to rest his future on.