Our Side

The remaining imps were, to put it succinctly, royally outclassed.

Every time Fate's group neared a scene of battle, the imps were either dead or close to it.

By the time morning came – or what Fate believed to be morning, anyway. The red clouds still blanketed the sky and cast everything in red light – there were no more sounds of battle barring the skirmishes of the Tier IV and Tier V aesh against the humans.

But those sounded more like natural disasters than battles, so Fate wasn't counting them.

"Is that it? Are we done?" he asked the Guard, finding it hard to believe.

"Let me check," the Guard replied, pressing an unassuming part of his gauntlet in.

A line of Mana raced up his arm and into his head, and he turned to the fight in the sky as he exchanged mental words with someone unseen.

With a nod, the connection broke and he turned to the teenagers. "Looks like we're done here. The imps are dead, and the Office is telling me that the Arch-Mages took care of the Tier IV. Return to your homes."

"About that…" Fate said, glancing toward the part of the city the Academy used to sit in.

"Will they let us teleport in this time of war?" Venden asked. "If not, then none of us have a place to go."

The Guard scratched his head. "Then head to the Office of the Imperial Guard and tell them you need shelter. Other than that, there's not much I can do for you. I live in the barracks."

"What's going to happen to our studies?" Samantha asked worriedly.

"Chances are they're done for the next year or so while it's being rebuilt. But since we're in the middle of a war, the Academy isn't exactly a high priority right now."

Fate sighed sadly. The peace was nice while it lasted.

"I'm going to go check on Old Man Travis," he said. He was confident the old man could hold his own, but Travis would give him an earful if Fate didn't let him know he was all right.

He parted ways with Samantha, Venden, and the Guard, Kravoss matching his brisk pace.

Cait and Pospo silently joined the two, and together they cut through the bloody streets filled with the dead to Gratham's Shoes and More.

Fate was relieved to see that the building was relatively intact, with only some minor damage to the door.

It swung open easily enough, the sound of a bell playing through the store as Fate and Cait made their presence known.

Old Man Travis walked out of the back of the store wielding a sledgehammer and an angry glare, which eased as he saw who it was who had entered his store.

"Good. You two are safe," he said, lowering his weapon. "And you knew to tell me about it. After I finished bashing in the heads of a few imps, I came back here in case you decided to visit me."

"We didn't feel like being yelled at," Fate smirked. "Or being hunted down by an old man with a hammer."

"I'm not old," Travis said with a scowl. "Come to think of it, maybe you're an imp in disguise. Perhaps I should give you a tap with my hammer to be sure."

"Please, don't," Fate insisted.

'Would you even feel it?' Kravoss asked.

'I'd rather not test it,' Fate replied.

"Mind telling me what the hell happened?" Old Man Travis asked. "I know imps. They're too lazy, too weak, and too clever to attack like this for no reason. Someone lit the fuse."

"It was the aesh, uncle," Cait explained. "Seven of them attacked the city, and me and Fate, along with a few dozen others, killed them."

"The aesh?" Old Man Travis blinked in surprise. "That would make sense. The history books said the aesh's tyrannical methods were one of the few things that could motivate those lazy red freaks to do anything remotely resembling work.

"I don't know how they managed to stay hidden for a hundred thousand years, but that's not important. You said there were only seven of them?"

"Yes," Fate said. "Six Tier IIIs and a Tier IV. Though there's a seventh one in the sky battling the Empress right now."

"So, they have a Tier V…" The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully. "It's a damn good thing the Empress broke through when she did, then.

"If the church's scripture is anything to go by, that Tier V aesh could wipe our nation off the map with a wave of their hand should they wish to do so. But with an Ascended on our side, we might just have a chance.

"As for the seven you fought, I'm certain that's just scratching the surface. Though they like our human creativity, the aesh are anything but unintelligent. There'd be hundreds, maybe thousands waiting for a chance to strike. This was nothing more than a display," he concluded solemnly.

"They somehow have Imprints that they can use as well," Fate informed his master. "The Tier IV used a Berserk Imprint, and Cait got hit with a Perpetual Pain enchantment, though we got that fixed up."

Old Man Travis looked at the door to his shop with a grave expression. "That explains why they only sent seven aesh. They were confident that the Tier V could handle our Arch-Mages while the Tier IIIs and Tier IV slaughtered us like sheep."

Without warning, a grin broke the heavy air around him as he turned to the sky. It was as if he could see the Empress' brilliant light even through the roof of the building.

"The Empress breaking through to the level of a god must not have been in their plans," he laughed. "What I'd give to see the look on their leader's face!"

"Speaking of which, old man," Fate asked, "do you know why the Empress didn't ascend? That's what is supposed to happen when you become an Ascended, isn't it?"

"I'm only an Adept, Fate," the old man said sagely. "That kind of knowledge is a long way away for me. My guess? She chose to stay behind to protect us from the Tier V. But does it matter? Just be happy she's on our side."