Forgotten Question

Smoke and flames choked the city. Civilians abandoned the safety of their homes in a desperate attempt to reach safety. Staying in place would not keep them safe. As a result, roads were blocked because too many people were trying to use them at once.

The demon merely laughed as it watched its prey attempt to escape. The struggles of insects were extremely amusing, but that was all. They would all burn eventually. Though, the insects currently pestering it were extremely annoying.

Stallesso and his elite team occupied the demon's attention. The battle was in the demon's favor, but slowly became more lopsided as allies perished and the demon's strength returned. They could not afford to help the rescue efforts on the ground below.

The demon's flames quickly spread throughout the inner rings. The flames seemed to come alive and attack the fleeing civilians. Normal water and magic couldn't put out the flames, which would tightly cling to and jump from person to person.

Eventually, the flames would take on a human or animal form to attack. Hundreds of flame monsters swept through the streets. They burned everything in their path while accelerating the fall of the city. No one could hide from the sadistic minions of the demon.

Sarrasak was becoming hell on Tellus. Even the True Order agents weren't spared. The insurgents had protective formations set up, but those not taking shelter could be turned to ashes at any second. Their magical beast army began to collapse in the middle city.

Fortunately, the flames had only spread into the inner city and middle ring. The military had time to evacuate the outer city, though the magical beasts continued their attack there. The invading army was forced back to stave off collapse.

Ignored by the demon flying above, a large team of wizards made their move. Formerly imprisoned in the middle city, they rushed the inner walls. The defenders were too busy saving themselves to stop them. As soon as they broke through the walls, the team split into pieces.

A small team of some of the most powerful wizards joined the fight against the demon. The lopsided fight became almost fair for the time being. Headmaster Marin led the team. The demon didn't really care. However, the continued resistance was beginning to annoy it.

Most of them headed towards the City Lord's manor, the town hall or the main federal government buildings. They had to find the core of the defense network. That was the only way to turn the situation around. The battle against the demon would turn to the humans' favor with the aid of the city's defenses.

Aayla ran around the city with her godmother and the rest of her team towards the City Lord's manor. The defense network of the city was well hidden. No one had seen the City Lord and his family for a very long time. Who knows what happened to them?

Without the City Lord, they would have to search manually. House by house if they had to. However, the True Order wouldn't leave the defense network unguarded. So, Ramona decided to send teams to places where True Order agents had gathered. The City Lord's manor was one of the densest areas.

Before anyone could react, Ramona blasted down the gate to the City Lord's manor. Wizards battled with flaming monsters on the lawn. No True Order agents were insight. Pushing her worry aside, Ramona pressed forward with great difficulty.

The flames were the definition of persistent. They just wouldn't die. Only a few spells seemed to have some effect. Without much of a choice, most of the wizards stayed behind to handle the flame monsters. There was no time to dawdle outside of the City Lord's manor.

Ramona and the team heaved sighs of relief after they forced their way into the building. There were few True Order agents on guard, and absolutely no flame monsters. The guards didn't stand a chance. The team quickly made a beeline for the inner sanctums of the City Lord's manor.

A large hole had been blasted through the central part of the manor. Sunlight seeped in from the broken roof. Magical barriers prevented the team from getting close, but Aayla could feel the demonic mana radiating out from that hole. The magic formation controlling the demon must be nearby.

The team was forced to make a detour around the hole. A solid hour of fighting passed before the team finally found and broke into the City Lord's private office. The office was one of the most heavily guarded rooms in the manor.

An enemy wizard was discovered with the City Lord's seal. He desperately tried to control the city's defense network to attack. Unfortunately for him, he was not the City Lord nor his heir. The manor's response was delayed and sluggish. Caught by surprise, the enemy was shown no mercy.

Within minutes, the situation changed for the better. The city's internal defenses came alive. Water magic ferociously battled the demonic flames and monsters. True Order agents were impeded every step they took while obstacles moved out of the way for the military.

The City Lord's manor was soon secured with the help of the manor's defenses. Though exhausted, the team and their allies were thrilled. This was a major victory in the battle for the country's fate. Elation soon turned to determination.

The enemy leaders and the magic controlling the demon haven't been captured yet. Through the manor's own magical systems, they were found in a hidden basement level of the manor. The other teams were urgently recalled to the manor.

There was no way the True Order wouldn't notice that they lost the main defense network. A large battle was brewing on the horizon. The loyal wizards couldn't let the True Order retake the City Lord's manor. After handing over the City Lord's seal to a trustworthy wizard, Ramona decided to end the battle.

Guards were left behind at the City Lord's office, but other than that Ramona grabbed every warm body still breathing. They marched quietly toward the secret room. Heavy resistance met them as soon as they stepped into the basement.

The True Order had entrenched themselves in the basement. They were so close to success! They wouldn't let anyone ruin their plans. Any price was acceptable as long as their enemies were stopped here. The True Order had gone beyond the point of no return months ago.

Sacrificing lives for progress, the infiltrating team hardened their hearts. The fight to the main control room was paved in blood. When the team finally stood before the sealed doors, over half of the team had fallen. All of the True Order guards had been wiped out.

Aayla could feel the thrumming of demonic mana behind the closed doors. The magic formation was definitely behind them. She had flashbacks to nearly a year before, when she had been thrown into this crazy world. The energy in the air easily rivaled that time.

The team took a few minutes to rest. They would need all of their strength for the final battle. Ramona quietly pulled Aayla aside. There was one tiny detail that Aayla needed to know before they most likely faced the Prophets.

"Aayla, you've heard about the Prophet of Terra, right?"

"How could I not? Rumors are flying everywhere about him right now."

"Well…" A strange look appeared on Ramona's face. "You should probably keep your face hidden. The Prophet of Terra is Dr. van Brakke."

Aayla's eyes bulged in surprise. "That lunatic is still alive?!"

"Unfortunately, yes. And he's even crazier than before. He didn't recognize me, but that's not surprising since I never talked with him face to face on Terra. However, he could recognize you. That could be very, very bad. I'd honestly rather leave you out of this, but…"

"You can't. We need all hands-on deck for this."

Ramona slowly nodded. Leaving her goddaughter behind somewhere wasn't safe either. The city was just too dangerous. She sighed. Why did her goddaughter have to sneak into the city? She would be much less worried if Aayla was somewhere safe.

"Right. Just keep your face hidden and don't confront Dr. van Brakke. If we survive this, having your identity exposed will complicate things. This type of secret is just too exciting for any wizard to keep to themselves. We're exceptionally gossipy creatures in some ways."

Aayla and Ramona's hushed conversation was observed by Daren. Jacki and Chris were lost scheming in their own world. Ramona looked incredibly worried. A strange feeling bubbled up in Daren's chest as a long-forgotten memory popped back into his mind.

He had been running and fighting for so long that he had forgotten his research into Aayla's identity. Daren pulled a book about Terra out of his spatial artifact. This was one of the books from Nafriton University's archives.

Was Aayla really from another world? His instincts told him that he would get his answer soon.