Chapter 32: Shatter

MARCUS

"I see." That's the only response he gets. Patrick spent half an hour explaining everything that happened, from the betrayal of Ozymandias, to the liberation of the devils, to the disappearance of our king, and that's all she has to say to him? I'd pegged her for a cool customer from the go, but I didn't exactly expect none of this to faze her. "Was that all?"

Pat just stands there, clearly perplexed, if the amount of blinking he's doing is any indicator. "Er... yes?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you?" The woman gives him a cold look, finally peeling her gaze away from the paperwork on her desk. The Apostle clears his throat, and sticks his chest out, trying to seem as manly as possible. "T-Telling you." I can't help but snort at the stutter, to which he responds by poking me with his elbow.

"Look, lady," I start, taking a step forward. The two men flanking her put their hands on their daggers, so I immediately step right back. "Look, ma'am, I realize this story sounds far-fetched, but your country is in danger. Ours might have already fallen. At the very least, the capital was destroyed, and that's not something just anyone can do. All of the Apostles were present, and they couldn't do anything about it. Just one of them came close to killing six of us, only failing because a literal angel fell from Heaven and saved our asses. You need to take this seriously."

"It doesn't," she replies quietly. Excuse me?

"Beg your pardon?"

"It doesn't sound far-fetched. In fact, it reaffirms the story we've already been given."

"Someone else was here?" Patrick asks abruptly, ignoring the glares the two guards are giving him. "Who was it? Did he look like me?" Ah, so that's it. Definitely doubt that. If Dex and the others were going to come here, they would've come out of the Doorway after us. Unless they're able to cause temporal distortion, I mean. Hope not. That would really mess up the whole "we need to hurry up or the world will forever belong to the most evil being who ever lived" thing we've got going on.

"No," the woman answers, bringing Pat's hopes crashing down.

"Who was here, then?" I ask. "Only someone from Valhalla would've known." I think. I mean, I guess it could've spread to the other countries, but that would be a big downer, and I refuse to be negative in this situation. It's bad for your health.

"Classified," the woman says. "You've given us no information of value. You will be permitted to stay here as citizens, but you will not be given accommodations or jobs. Finding jobs will be your responsibility."

"We don't want to live here," Snow hurriedly says. "Can you find Jonah?"

God damn it, kid. At least let us keep some secrets for ourselves.

"Jonah?" the woman echoes, looking at the kid with mild interest. "Who is Jonah?"

"No one," Patrick says.

"A friend," I lie.

"He's so cool," whispers Snow with stars in his eyes.

The woman stands up, presumably to seem more imposing, but actually just reveals how short and frail-looking she is. I bet we could take her and her guards. "Shall I have you questioned separately?"

"Jonah was supposed to come with us," I tell her. "But we were under attack at the time, so something must've gone wrong." I wonder if they're even alive.

"And where exactly were you when this happened?"

"A village of djinn," I reply. A hint of honesty tends to lower people's guards down. "The attack happened right in front of a Doorway."

"And you did not think to mention this until now?" Oh, boy, did we fuck up. The look she's giving me actually reminds me of Risk's, making me feel like a little worm, dangling from a hook. "You are revealing information only when it suits you, as your king did."

"Luck was here?" Snow blurts out, and I smack his shoulder. Don't speak further, little dude. Come on.

"Indeed," the woman tells him, still sizing us up. "His choice to lie earned him a day in the interrogation chamber."

I tense up at that, but probably not for the reason you're thinking. Torture is bad, yes, but the truly terrifying thing will be telling Jonah we let something bad happen to Snow. I'd sooner face a thousand pyres than that. "The friend we mentioned," I reply, trying to look a hell of a lot calmer than I am, "happens to be the most powerful mage in Valhalla. He undoubtedly survived the attack, and you don't want to know what he'll do to you if he learns you've hurt us."

The next thing I know, we're locked in a cell again.

"You just had to threaten her," Patrick tells me, glaring at me all murderously. "Next time, let me do the talking."

"Why? So you can give her the marvelous lie of, "Oh, he's no one," again? You're not exactly the most diplomatic Apostle."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That your brother's smarter than you. Now shut up. I'm trying to work something out." Try as I might to create an illusion that might allow us to escape, I can't seem to use a lick of magic.

"You've just now noticed?" Snow asks.

"What?"

"We can't use magic."

The realization comes to Patrick a moment earlier than me, and I immediately glance at the stone in my cuffs. "They're somehow able to stop mana from leaving our bodies," he says. "These stones – they aren't made from lumina crystals. This is something else entirely."

Not good. If I can't use magic, then my disguise will disappear as soon as the spell wears off. I don't have a lot of mana in the first place. Ironically, I used to think I was one of the best in that department, but then I met monsters like the Apostles, who were leagues above me. The djinn are above even them, and I won't even get into Jonah and the devils. Shit. They're gonna see me for the faker I am.

Calm down. Deep Breaths. Remember what mom taught you; Never lose your cool. If you lose your cool, you lose your head. You have to be calm. Nothing is unexpected. Every unforeseen event is just a reason to tweak your plans a bit. Alright. Calm down. Stay focused, and think things through.

What's my biggest problem? The fact that I'm going to be revealed as a liar in front of the only two people around me I can even remotely trust.

What's the cause of this problem? The black stone in my handcuffs.

Solution? I slam my hands against the walls of the cell, stone-first. I repeat this a few more times, but not a scratch appears on it.

"If it were that easy, they wouldn't be using them," Patrick says. "We're stuck until they decide what to do."

"Well, what do you suggest, then? That we sit around doing nothing?" There's no way I can do that, even if it's what I'm best at. I don't really have a lot of people I'm close to, and I'd hate to imagine what the gang will think of me should they find out what a faker I am. Please, Sol, or Weiss, or whoever else might be out there, listen to me, and get us the hell out of here!

To my shock, an explosion occurs outside our cell, knocking the bars down. Smoke and dust fill the building, and Patrick and I do our best to push Snow behind us.

"Thank you, great gods," I whisper.

"What?" Patrick snaps, switching between glaring at me and glaring at the person approaching us.

"Nevermind. Let's just run." We need to get these things off of us. If they refuse to cooperate, there's nothing we can do. They'll just have to taste the power of the devils firsthand, then start fighting back. A preemptive strike would have been ideal, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

The person steps outside the smoke, revealing himself to be the thing we really should have been worried about more – a fact that only occurs to me now. Standing there, calmly looking at us, I am reminded of the fact that we cannot use magic to defend ourselves, and we also seem incapable of sensing it. Had it not been for the latter, I would've shit myself by now.

"You're already trapped. How lucky." Risk says, licking his lips. His eyes twitch in an almost playful manner as he takes another step forward. Snow bursts out from behind our backs, running toward the devil with little taught given to, well, anything. He throws a punch at the devil, who allows himself to be hit in the chest. He doesn't budge, and just glances down at the dumb kid, almost amused. "You've got guts. However, I swear your attacks packer more of a punch before. That's what Toby claims, anyway." Poking Snow in the forehead, Risk sends him flying backwards, and Patrick just barely manages to catch him. "All of you were stronger, yes? What happened to your mana?"

Before I could even notice her, the stern woman from before appears at Risk's side, intent on delivering a kick to his head. The devil dodges it, but he's no longer smiling. Did she sneak up on him, too?

She's dressed differently from before – wearing similar armor to the one Ms. Captain was wearing. Both gantlets around her arms have a black stone in them, and she's radiating electricity. What type of magic is this? We don't have something like that back in Valhalla.

"I don't recognize that spell," Risk says, eyeing the woman. "What is it?"

Ignoring his words, the woman jumps at him with remarkably speed, sending a flurry of punches his way. Risk clearly struggles to avoid some of them, even having to block a few, before he finally strikes back, pushing the woman a few feet away from him with a swipe of his paw.

"We can make you talk," he tells her, pouncing forward, even faster than she is.

Shit. Of course it's ending like that. Why'd I even relax in the first place? A human can't beat a devil; It's simply not possible.

"You need help!" I yell at her as she fires a few bolts of lightning at her opponent, who gracefully jumps around the hallway, not bothered at all. Not bothered, but not relaxed, either. "We can beat him together! We've fought him before!"

"He's out," Patrick tells me, holding Snow up. "One flick shouldn't have done that. He's gotten stronger."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I curse, realizing the woman has no intention of letting us free. She's slowly but steadily being pushed back, and is clearly growing tired. Of course she is. Humans don't have nearly enough mana to outlast a devil. The only way we can win is through teamwork – or if we get lucky and get an angel to help us. Wouldn't count on that one, though. Sammael has been MIA ever since Polaris fell. "Stop being stubborn and release us!"

"Run," the woman replies, indicating the empty space next to her and Risk. "Send reinforcements." With that, she charges forward once more. Risk pretends he will meet her head on, then disappears into a portal and jumps on her from behind, tearing her armor with his claws. The woman screams as blood starts to come out, showing that he managed to get through to her skin, too.

"Let's go," I tell Patrick, then help him carry Snow as the woman watches our backs, taking a few hits in the attempt to stop Risk from advancing. Now that I'm in the hallway, I'm able to see creatures similar to the things that came after us in the forest of the djinn. Abominations resembling dogs, birds and bears are fighting the people working here, all of whom have those black stones embedded into one piece of equipment or another. They seem to be fighting the monsters – and I say that since they don't seem to have mana the way devils do – on equal footing. Some of them are losing, and some are winning.

"Are these the infected from the capital?" I ask, and Patrick shakes his head.

"Grendels."

"What now?"

"They're monsters who can be made to obey through willpower. The practice was banned about a century ago, since people kept getting weaker and weaker as time went on, making the grendels harder to control. On their own, they're bloodthirsty and aggressive, so they were mostly rounded up and slaughtered."

"Mostly," I repeat. "Where'd he get these ones? And how do you know so much about them?"

"We've encountered them before," the man tells me, glaring at the stone in his shackles. Must suck to be a sworn protector of the people, yet unable to lift a finger. "Dex and I, I mean. A bunch of them rampaged through our village when we were kids."

"Sorry," I tell him, but he doesn't seem to register my words.

"Let's just get out of here. We're helpless like this."

As we climb up the staircase, I can't help but get an uneasy feeling. Risk is busy – for now – and so are the things he hunts with. That should mean they're all accounted for. Unless he's got someone else here with him...

The person on the top stair is Ms. Captain, but there's something wrong with her. Instead of her regular eyes, they are now green – almost reptilian. I think I've seen those eyes before.

"The little Apostle again," she says, her voice nothing like what it was before. She's holding a golden staff, on top of which are three of those black stones. "Wonderful, isn't it?" she says, smiling at me. "The magitech these people use really is splendid."

"Magitech?"

Laughing heartily, she takes a step down. "A combination of technology and magic. Since they possess no mana of their own, they rely on that to function as a country. It seems to be doing them more good than magic ever did you. Well, I did help spread the corruption, but still."

"What are you babbling about?" snaps Patrick, trying to seem fearless. I can sort of tell when he's hiding his real feelings right now, and even without that I'd be able to tell he was scared. "Who are you?"

"I looked a bit different the last time, didn't I?" the woman replies, shrugging. "I am Juno, the Lady of Pain of the demonic royalty." She raises the staff above her head, then swings it at us. A giant explosion occurs overhead, shaking the entire building. The walls start crumbling apart as the devil looks around, inspecting her work. "It would appear I will need some practice. Oh, well. Be dears and indulge me for a moment." Smiling from ear-to-ear, she raises the staff again, and starts drawing wind toward herself. "Be sure to last, and feel free to scream." Bringing the staff down, she blasts the three of us back down the stairs with what I can only call a hurricane. My clothes get torn to shreds, and several cuts appear throughout my body as I roll across the stairs, landing on my back.

What the hell is that staff made of? And how did Juno get here, anyway? Was she in there the entire time? Can't be. She would've killed us by now.

When I look down, I realize the shackles have been torn from my wrists, and immediately start forming an illusion. It's a simple type of magic, though it does require attention to details to be pulled off right. I need to get people's features just right if I want to fool anyone. In the middle of combat, it's usually hectic enough for mistakes to slip past my enemy, but I don't want to take the chance with this crazy bitch.

Forming three clones – one of each of us – I have them run toward her. Laughing madly, Juno blasts my clone with a ball of fire, and I show him screaming. Illusions aren't just sight-based. I have to make his screams seem real, and get the stench of burned flesh just right. Sadly, I'm quite familiar with both.

"Let's go," I tell Patrick, and he quickly helps me get around the devil. We carry Snow beside her while she's busy blasting wind forward, and we manage to escape. This is where it gets hard. I can't see what's being done to the illusions from here, so they're gonna be easy to see through. Luckily, she won't be able to detect us as long as I keep our camouflage going. It's not as good as Yukiji's, but it can cover more people. "We have a few minutes," I explain as we run for the exit of the building, glancing up at the collapsing roof every now and then.

Come on, Marcus, You're doing great. Don't fuck up now. You can't afford to. One slip up around those monsters, and you're all dead. Wait, that's right.

Enforcing my fist with some magic, I reach for Patrick's wrist, and manage to snap the chains binding his magic. "Anti-magic cuffs are... weak to magic," I reason as arrows start appearing all around us, pushing us forward. We move faster and faster, to the point of it being hard for my senses to keep up. The world around becomes a blur, until we finally stop, having left the building.

"HELP!" I scream immediately. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Several knights – if that's what they are – are already pushing past us, rushing inside the institution. Hey won't be enough. With just Risk, it might have been possible to win, but since he has Juno's help...

"They're going to die," Patrick tells me.

"Probably."

"Go," he then adds, pushing Snow into my arms.

"W-What the. Where are you going!?" He's running back inside. That damned fool! "You won't make a difference!"

"I can fucking try!"

Shit! What a moron! He's so fucked. There's no fucking way he'll survive that. Oh, fuck me. What do I do!? I'm not used to being in charge. I can't look after a kid, and I sure as hell can't convince a country to be on our side!

"H-Help," the boy I'm holding mutters, groggily opening his eyes. I reach for his shackles and break them.

"No, little man. You're not going in there."

"'M strong," he whispers, climbing down from my grasp. "I can help."

"I know you're tough. No one's denying that. But you can't take on the people inside. There's too many of them."

"Patrick's in there."

"He chose to enter." Fuck. How do I explain to him that our team leader is a moron? "You're not responsible for him."

The boy looks up at me with his big, teary eyes, taking in shallow breaths. "I'm not scared." Though he may be saying that, he's trembling, and clutching my hand tightly enough to make it hurt. "W-Where's Jonah?"

God fucking damn it. I'm really pathetic. This kid in front of me has the balls to go in there and help, and all I can think of is bailing. No wonder he's still expecting Jonah to swoop in and rescue him. After all, it's not like he can rely on me. I couldn't keep a flower alive if I tried.

The ground beneath us starts to shake again, more roughly this time, and I feel someone closing in on us from under it. Snap out of it, Marcus. Don't be a coward. Don't freeze up. MOVE!

I bite down on my tongue hard enough to make it bleed, then grab Snow and jump out of the way, leaving illusions of us back where we were just standing. The ground opens up beneath them, and Juno comes flying out of it, slashing the copies to shreds with the staff, which she wields like a spear.

"Hit her," I tell the kid. "She can't see us now. Hit her as hard as you can."

Giving me a faint nod, Snow thrusts his palms out toward the devil, sending dozens of giant icicles at her. Each one is bigger than a sword, and the speed with which they move surprises me. Just when it seems like they're going to skewer her, the devil propels herself out of the way, riding the wind current to do so, and turns toward us, still in the air, upside-down. The grin on her face chills me to the bone, so I don't move as she swings the staff. Hurling a wall of fire at us, she quickly forces Snow on the defensive, and a massive block of ice appears between us. Hot and cold meet, resulting in steam being blown everywhere. I hear Juno hiss as she lands in the middle of it.

"I thought the fairy boy was the only problem. Maybe even his djinn pal. Now, however, I am force to grovel at your feet," she says, to my surprise. Begrudgingly, Juno bows her head. "It never even occurred to me that humans would be this difficult to deal with. For treating you like cattle, I apologize." Once she holds her head back up, murderous intent starts pooling off her, freezing me all over again. "From now on, we will treat you with the respect you deserve, and come at you with everything we've got. Thank you for teaching me this lesson."

She takes a step forward, but so does Snow, punching the steam before him. Juno's eyes widen in realization just a moment too late, and the steam freezes all around her, freezing her solid. The cold radiating from the ice makes my lungs hurt, and I'm forced to turn my eyes away, fearing they might get frozen, too.

"Holy shit, kid. How much mana did you put into that?" I hiss, feeling frost appear on my tongue from that short exposure alone.

"A lot," the little dude replies, and his eyes roll to the back of his head. I reach out to catch him, but he falls next to me, hitting the ground face-first. The ice shatters as he loses consciousness, and I jump between him and Juno. Fuck it. If we're dying, we can do it together.

To my surprise, it doesn't look like she'll be doing much fighting. For one, her armor and staff – including the stones it bore – shattered with the ice. Her skin is mostly blue now, with some bits of it being peeled off by extreme frostbite. As she crashes to the ground, I see the snakelike woman she was before emerge from the body, though she's just a shadow, giving off no presence to speak of.

"When next we meet, you will not be prey to play with," the shadow tells us as another joins it, this one resembling a cat. "We will be opponents, fighting on equal ground. Consider this a declaration of war, human, and give the message to the others."

"Lord Nyar is gonna be pissed," Risk's shadow whines as they both ascend toward the sky, vanishing out of sight.

My legs finally give out, and I fall down on my knees. I stay there for Sol knows how long, until some of the knights finally come out of the building, which promptly implodes. Looking down at Snow, I weakly shake him until I hear him moan, then turn my eyes toward the person closest to us. It's the woman from before – the one with the lightning magic. She's somberly looking back, bruised and beaten, clearly struggling to stand.

"Believe us now?" I ask with a grin, and then my mana runs out. I've never been good at enchantment, so this was expected. Took more out of me than it should've, and I can barely stay awake.

And then the illusion on my appearance breaks.