A familiar roar of thunder marked the beginning.

  I watched the wall of the elven settlement come crashing down as Zorrack bounded forward, sweeping his blade and sending a crowd of soldiers flying into the air. In his wake was a platoon of skeleton warriors, led by the skeleton captain with its massive war axe.

  “Are you ready?” I whispered to the small demon beside me, who observed the battlefield with his keen eyes. As I spoke, a second crack of thunder rang out, bringing with it a flash of blue light as lightning struck from the sky.

  Cedric didn’t speak, nodding his head in response. After a moment, he pointed towards the female elf captain, who was charging forward to assist her fellow soldiers.

  “I’ve got that one,” he muttered, vanishing from sight with his invisibility ring. Iseldrynn covered her blades in ice, readying to activate her Frost Step ability, but she was interrupted by a dagger suddenly crashing into her blade.

  The roar of battle came in torrents, assaulting my senses with an overwhelming sound. I watched as elves fell one by one to the sudden attack, each one ripped apart by Fang’s warg summons or Viressa’s skeletal warriors.

  I crouched in the grass, waiting.

  [You always just stand around. You’re so boring.]

  I’m waiting for the leader.

  [He’ll come out faster if you actually fight.] Joshua complained.

  I ignored the bloodthirsty urges of the parasite in my head. My companions were each powerful enough to handle themselves.

  Finally, an elf with black armour entered the fray, wielding a long, double-bladed spear with two curved points on either end. He had the signature pointy ears and long blonde hair of the other elves I had met, but his eyes glowed with an unnatural blue light, like two glaciers set deep within his skull.

  There he is.

  I ran forward, slipping past my companions in a blur of motion. Each step propelled me with increasing force, and I could barely feel my muscles straining as they carried me with ease.

  The elf widened his eyes at my approaching figure, then raised his weapon. “So it is you, demon. The King warned me to be wary of you, but I see no reason to fear—”

  His sentence came to an abrupt end as he hurriedly spun his spear, deflecting the two blood lances that came dangerously close to impaling him through the chest. “You will regret the day you challenged the commander of the Frostguard!” he roared in anger.

  But my blood lances weren’t finished yet, turning in the air and magically hurtling themselves towards the elf for a second time. A wall of ice appeared, and my blood lances dug deep into the frigid structure, no longer able to continue moving.

  He probably has similar skills to Iseldrynn, should be easy enough for Signeir to deal with.

  With a thought, the fire spirit snapped into existence in a burst of flames, blowing apart the surrounding environment with his entrance. The elven soldiers surrounding us recoiled in shock, staring fearfully at my powerful summon.

  “More elves, huh? I will never tire of destroying you lot!” Signeir proclaimed with giddiness.

  The black-armored elf gritted his teeth, then began to charge forward, wreathing his weapon in a thin sheet of ice.

  “Valthir! We should take that demon on together!” another elven captain shouted. He was dressed in similar silver armor to Iseldrynn, but wielded a white bow and arrow rather than dual blades. However, he was unable to offer his promised assistance, as Zorrack ran forward, slamming Stormcaller into the ground beside the elf. A crater formed from the impact as the elf leapt backwards, firing two arrows formed from ice at my companion.

  “You should pay attention to who you’re fighting, Elf!” Zorrack shouted, deflecting the arrows with a wave of his sword. Fang lunged forward, biting at the captain with his jaw, letting an arrow bounce harmlessly off his armor.

  I momentarily took note of my other companions' statuses. Cedric was gradually gaining ground against Iseldrynn, who was struggling to keep up with his nimble movements. Viressa fought against the main horde of elven soldiers who were streaming out from the beautiful homes in the heart of their settlement, but they were being assaulted by a combination of wind and fire magic while skeletons tore through their numbers.

  [They’ll be fine, Carter. Focus on that guy.] Joshua berated.

  Snapping to attention, I noticed Signeir and Valthir slamming their blades together, ice hissing as it clashed with the flames of the fire spirit’s four katanas.

  I ran forward, disappearing behind the elf commander and slashing at his back while Signeir occupied his attention. However, the elf was ready.

  [Ice Clone]

  A second figure, formed entirely from blue ice, suddenly appeared, deflecting my attack with an icy copy of his original weapon.

  “Nice trick,” I said cockily. With a single thought, Joshua and Finnlen appeared from thin air, to the elf’s surprise, and this time the attack was successful as Joshua's claw dug deep into Valthir's shoulder.

  A splatter of blood was all I needed.

  [Hell Chain]

  The red chain, now encapsulated by black fire, ripped through the air and dug deep into the wound in the elf’s shoulder. He roared in pain, and the effects of the new debuff, “Aura of Despair,” were immediately apparent as the elf glowed with a sickly green hue.

  Signeir channeled Hellfire Draw, disappearing behind Valthir in a blur of blue flames. The grass beneath the fire spirit ignited all at once, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  But the Commander was gone, replaced by a block of melting ice.

  Where did he go?

  I didn’t have time to think as the ice clone’s spear clashed with my claws, sending fragments of frost careening towards the surrounding foliage.

  “Be careful!” I warned. “He is at least as strong as the prince!”

  “Stronger,” a chilling voice spat from behind me.

  My ribs cracked as the Commander's spear thrust deep into my sternum.

  Stronger? Seriously?

  I roared in anger, but Joshua acted first, transforming with a flash of flames as he activated Spirit Unity.

  “How interesting! The Prince told me of such a thing!” Valthir exclaimed, pulling his blade from my chest and whirling around to counter the attack from Joshua.

  But the parasite was too fast.

  His long dagger flashed red, breaking through the layer of ice clinging to Valthir’s weapon. Finnlen attacked as well, blinding the Elf with Radiant Burst. Without hesitating, I cut into the elf’s back, drawing a stream of blood that spilled onto my bare chest.

  [Runic Hellfire]

  Joshua and I both dashed backwards as a barrage of flaming blue spheres crashed into the elf. A cloud of smog emanated from the impact, obscuring my vision of the commander. I didn’t waste time waiting for it to clear, however, and summoned two Hell Chains from the bleeding wound in the Elf’s back.

  “Don’t underestimate me, demon!” Valthir roared, activating a skill.

  [Ice Armor]

  My chains bounced off harmlessly as the elf clad his body in sleek, icy armor. Then, he summoned three more ice clones, outnumbering me and my allies, who were now gathered beside me.

  It was quiet for a moment as both sides observed each other. I could only hear the cries of pain from the dying elves surrounding me as I met Valthir’s eyes.

  This is what they deserve.

  We all charged forward simultaneously, meeting Valthir and his clones with a flurry of motion. Signeir activated Hellfire Draw, leaving behind a trail of blue flames and instantly severing one of the clone's heads, causing it to melt into a puddle. A barrage of needle-like formations of blood appeared above us as Joshua and I attacked together, sending them careening towards Valthir. The elf commander darted through the battlefield, allowing the blood lances to lodge themselves into the rubble while he deflected those that continued to track him, but a single lance managed to land, piercing through the Elf’s ice armor and drawing blood from his leg.

  With a swing of my claws, I shattered one clone into an icy mist, then watched as Joshua summoned a Hell Chain from Valthir’s wound. He pulled hard, swinging the Elf through the air and forcing him to crash into his final ice clone, which shattered into an explosion of frost.

  “Give it up, I don’t want to kill you,” I said calmly, slowly approaching the fallen Elf.

  I need you for information.

  “As if I would go so far as to become your prisoner!” Valthir raged, digging his spear into the ground and flipping himself into the air.

  A golden glaive stabbed deep into his chest, and the Elf Commander coughed blood onto its hilt.

  “Finnlen?!” I shouted, both in confusion and anger.

  “Huh,” Joshua grunted. “The spear may be more useful than I thought.”

  “Glaive!” Finnlen yelled indignantly. “I am a Glaive!”

  “I need him alive! What the hell are you doing?” I screamed in frustration.

  “Oh!” the glaive yelped, flying backwards and exiting the elf’s chest with a sickening squelch.

  Valthir smiled, meeting my eyes with an unreadable gaze. “That’s too bad.”

  He fell, death already claiming him before he even met the ground.

  “Damnit!” I cursed, but Joshua and Signeir didn’t waste time listening to me complain, instead joining the battlefield along with my companions and their summons.

  Cries of pain assaulted my senses as hordes of elves fell at the hands of the two beings wreathed in flames.

  “I’m sorry, Lucivar. Please don’t stick me in the ground again,” Finnlen apologized profusely.

  I sighed. “It’s alright. I realize that I never explained to you what the plan was anyway. Just from now on, try not to kill any of the stronger elves. I need them for information.”

  “Aye aye, captain!” Finnlen shouted, then disappeared in a flash of golden light, reappearing at Joshua’s side and tearing into an elven soldier.

  How are the rest of them doing?

  The thought was answered with a roar of thunder. The elven captain that Zorrack was fighting convulsed, then fell to the ground, completely lifeless.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of motion, and I noticed Cedric still fighting Iseldrynn. However, the elven woman had fallen to the ground, staring fearfully at the elf who held his dagger with two hands, preparing to finish off his opponent.

  “Cedric, wait!” I yelled desperately, and the small demon hesitated.

  Iseldrynn scurried backwards, scrambling to her feet and desperately screaming a command. “Retreat! Pull back now!”

  Cedric’s dagger appeared beside me, followed shortly by his cloak flying up as he teleported to his weapon. “What’s wrong, Lucivar?”

  “We don’t need to kill her yet. Let’s follow her and figure out where their home base is,” I answered determinedly.

  The battle for the first elven settlement came to a close, and it was rather successful. None of my companions had even sustained any major injuries, and even the losses to their temporary summons were minimal.

  It was almost… too easy.

  [Maybe they're just pathetic.] Joshua replied.

  I had no time to contemplate the relative weakness of the elves, however, as Cedric suddenly stuck out an arm, halting me in my tracks.

  “There,” he whispered, silently pointing towards the direction that Iseldrynn and the other fleeing elves had gone. It was difficult convincing Signeir and Joshua to allow them to escape, but a promise that they would have many more elves to kill if they did seemed to satisfy them momentarily.

  [I’m gonna hold you to that.] The parasite reminded me.

  We crept forward, pushing past the dense foliage of the forests directly surrounding the territory before us. We had made our way far east, tracking the fleeing elves for the last hour and finding ourselves in a separate forest from Ossara’s. It was dense, filled with tall, hulking bodies of white wood. They had an elegance to them, like they had been rooted to the ground for a countless number of years, unchanging and unyielding.

  Finally, I saw it. A massive white fortress towering above me like a tsunami of perfectly carved stone. A commotion rang out from the top of the outer wall as the guards spotted the injured Iseldrynn, who was hobbling along with a group of around twenty soldiers behind her.

  The massive iron gate opened up, and I was immediately confused by the person who greeted her.

  It was Valthir, who seemed completely unbothered.

  “How is that possible?” I questioned breathlessly, remembering how I had watched the Elf die with my own two eyes only moments before.

  “Maybe he survived somehow?” Zorrack offered, unsure of himself. “But how does he have no injuries?”

  Viressa stroked her chin, then slowly inched closer to me. “Is it possible he was never even there in the first place?”

  My heart sank as I imagined the possibility.

  But how? He has the ability to create clones of himself, sure, but they were made entirely from ice. And I had even watched him die…

  [It’s fine. We’ll just kill him again.] Joshua said with cruel intent.

  But my thoughts were interrupted as a second figure stepped out from behind the elf commander, and I suddenly realized that there was still so much to this world that I did not know.

  “Is that…?” Cedric began.

  The man’s blackened wings unfurled with a majestic shimmer, and I fearfully observed the overwhelmingly powerful figure of Isarion, the Aspect of Chaos.

  [Don't be fooled, he's doing this because he's lazy!]