Chapter 13
"What now?" Almeria asked, turning to me as the demon’s goo dripped off my blade while its body was absorbed by the system.
"As soon as the demons are dead, we wait." I shifted my focus back to the First Garden disciples. "How are they? Anything to worry about if we let them continue the instance on their own?"
"They should be fine," Almeria answered.
I squinted for a small moment, then shrugged, focusing instead on the First Garden group and speaking to them.
"I'm going to let you go on without me. I'd like Almeria and me to guard the entrance for now.
" The best thing to do would be to leave the demons outside in limbo. Unsure of the state of their people, they’d be most prone to mistakes.
The leader of the instance group snapped a quick salute. "We'll be fine. The sect master sent our group because we can handle it." She puffed up her chest, and I supposed I had little option but to trust her. But between her and Almeria both saying they could manage, then it meant they could.
And it gave me Almeria to sit and watch the portal with because the next time the demons pushed through the portal, it was going to be much harder.
Had she been here from the very beginning, there was a good chance I could have slaughtered the demons as they flowed through, rather than deal with the mess I'd ended up handling.
"Of course. We'll return to our work." The First Garden disciples bowed out, leaving me with Almeria. I turned and smiled at the Atlantean princess.
"You've been doing well lately," I offered, and the woman's head bobbed, her short blue horns making the motion even more pronounced.
"Yes, I feel I've earned a considerable amount of respect from the others ever since I was able to bring my people to bear at the tournament," she told me.
"Their respect is important to you?" I asked carefully.
"Not as important as yours," she answered.
"No, I'm talking about the respect of Simone and Gloria, mostly. Nyx is a sweetheart, and while you might think Circe would be difficult as well…" I said.
"I think she's lazy." The princess just shrugged.
I gasped and put a hand to my chest. "Circe might flay you if she heard that."
Almeria laughed. "I doubt it. But I'm glad you have that much confidence in her."
"Not sure if I should be worried that I have more confidence in her than you, but I suppose that's neither here nor there.
I guess I'm simply happy that you're working to improve your relationship with the rest of my harem.
Just don't all work together too much and rise up against me.
" I chuckled. It had been a joke, but I could see the way she was scandalized by me voicing the concept.
"We would never," Almeria said with a tone that left little room to do more than smile and accept that I'd apparently touched on a sensitive subject.
"We've talked a little about your people in the past," I said, making conversation. "Anything I need to know, beyond your worship of the strong?"
"It's not worship, it's respect," she clarified. "And the strong must lead. Otherwise, who could command them?"
"In many cultures, people specialize. Some become great tacticians, while others are great warriors," I offered.
"One can't be a great warrior without fully understanding the flow of battle. To me, they are one and the same. To be a good fighter but without the expertise to understand the flow of battle, you might as well just be a brute fighting over mugs of ale, and not a true warrior." Almeria shrugged.
"Brutal evaluation," I said.
"I would call it a fair one. But I suppose those who might have a different view on the purpose of combat might not appreciate the difference," she stated.
"And what is that difference?" I asked, lacing my fingers and leaning forward.
Almeria paused, drumming her fingers on her forearm. "We don't fight for many of the same reasons that you do. Remember, my people have always trained to one day rise out of the sea and defeat the demons above."
I nodded along with her words. "So you've always thought of fighting as preparation for that?" I paused and corrected myself. "Preparation for a grand-scale war."
"Yes, perhaps that's a better way to explain it. It's not that we necessarily need to fight every moment as if it's war, but we're constantly working in that direction," she told me.
"Then what do you think of my own tactics? If you're thinking about everything as preparation for war, what would you do differently from what I've been doing?" I could use more perspective. Even with my vague knowledge of the future, a sharp mind was always welcome to look over my plans.
Almeria went to speak, then paused, hesitating, which only made me lift my eyebrow.
"Is there something wrong?" I hedged.
Almeria bit her tongue and looked away, unable to meet my eyes. "It's not that you've done anything wrong, but more that I'm unsure if my compliments would come through as sincere or overly biased."
"I'm flattered, but I do want your opinion."
"Your strategies are largely sound," she said, drawing out the words with a glance in my direction before continuing. "If I had any criticism, it would be the level of caution you show."
Given that on one hand I was being called reckless by my mother, I found that interesting. "Caution?" I asked.
"You're not the kind of leader to take very risky gambles. Take our present situation, for example." She gestured to the side. "You could use the First Garden and this instance-diving group as a lure, while spending minimal resources to keep them protected."
"I do have to keep from upsetting Eve," I said, but even I could admit that was an excuse.
“She could easily be pacified other ways,” Almeria said.
I cleared my throat. “Not happening because I’m not the kind of person to use troops disposably.”
“There’s a difference between not using them disposably and guarding them personally.” She lifted an eyebrow.
I didn’t have much to say to that one and awkwardly glanced to the side.
"So," Almeria said, squinting at me, "when do you think you'll take on the Demon Lord entirely? The only other worry is that you're being too slow, especially if the Demon Lord really is progressing at a higher speed than you. Quite frankly, it sounds ridiculous to even consider."
I chuckled and shook my head. "You'd think so, but with knowledge of the future, as well as multiple bodies and an army to assist him, it's not that wild of an idea.
" Though we had tried to plug several of the Hellgates, I was certain there were millions of demons on Earth, and all of them reported up to the Demon Lord.
Almeria hummed. "Will killing these fragments slow him down significantly?"
"Yes. In fact, they'll even set him back." That caused Almeria's brow to rise in surprise.
"They'll set him back?" she asked.
"The fragment here has been collecting power in order to remain in control of this area.
It's not as if he can siphon it all off to his main body.
Demons are still demons, and they respect little else other than strength.
Which means it has to be powerful. And if it dies, that portion of his strength dies with it. "
Almeria perked up, now suddenly far more interested, "It does?"
"That's why this is the safest way to go about trying to weaken him while bolstering myself. Perhaps I am too careful," I repeated her earlier words with a chuckle.
"Perhaps," she agreed. "But there's something to be said for looking out for your followers. After all, I can assume the Demon Lord is powerful enough that there would be a great number of lost lives should we go after him with our present strength."
I grimaced. "That's an understatement. Most likely, if we went and fought him now, there would be a significant loss of life, and I couldn't guarantee our victory." I shook my head, hating the words even as I said them.
But Almeria wasn't fazed. Instead, she simply smiled. "Anyone who guarantees victory is a fool."
Chuckling, I had underestimated her with that statement. “I suppose you're right." I nodded towards her with a small smile. "I'll do my best not to be a fool."
"That would be preferable." She laughed. "But even if you let it slip now and then, I won't fault you. After all, you've done enough. I suppose you deserve the reputation…and the collateral to let a few mistakes slip in."
"Between you and me," I offered, "I would prefer not to make any mistakes.
I'm well aware how deep this is all going.
Mistakes will cost lives, and there are simply too many people I care about involved in this war.
" I leaned over and kissed Almeria on the cheek.
The woman's face became a brilliant red as a result.
I could only chuckle that I could still make the Atlantean warrior blush like that despite her ferocity.
Almeria seemed the type to be content to sit in silence, which was unusual. Many of the women in my life were uncomfortable in silence, often filling it with the kind of relationship questions that were often asked. And now I found myself the one asking them.
"What do you intend to do after all of this, Almeria?"
Her answer surprised me. "No clue. And I don't particularly care to have a plan until it's all done."
I lifted an eyebrow, unease stirring in my gut. "Careful. That makes you sound like you won't be around after."
She quickly shook her head. "Oh no, I will be.
But I don't think it matters much to me what happens then.
I mean, sure, you mentioned that humans will go after each other, and I'm sure that will be a great tragedy.
I suspect I'll end up supporting you in that endeavor.
But you must understand, my people and I have not thought past the end of the demons.
Not that theirs will also be our end, but so many of us know the war with the demons will claim many of our own.
In that way, we've been trained not to look past it but instead to keep our focus on that which we can control. "
I nodded and glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. "That's sad, in a way. But I’m sure you know that."
"I do. But in the same way you find it sad, many of my people find it freeing.
I'm sure many of them will face that question quite uncomfortably when the time comes.
" She chuckled. "But that's something they'll have to deal with then, and not a moment before.
Until then, we'll be warriors against the Demon Lord and his armies—as we've trained our whole lives to be. "
"I suspect if you end up being the one to lead them into that battle, that afterward they'll lean on you for what comes next," I told her, nodding in understanding.
I'd seen plenty of similar situations. After the first Demon War, there were soldiers who found themselves holding a sword without an obvious body to stick it into—myself included.
In some ways, people were more lost after the fighting stopped.
It made sense. The fight against the demons was simple.
They were trying to kill you, and so you fought back. It was fairly black and white.
"We'll transition your people after it's all done," I promised. "And I'll marry you.” I went to kiss her again on the cheek, but she moved quickly. Using her full agility, she twisted and caught my lips on hers instead, a large grin of satisfaction greeting my shocked expression.
"Are you upset?" she asked suddenly, staring up at me.
"No. Why would I be upset that a beautiful woman kissed me? You surprised me is all." I grinned back at her.
"Good. I'm not sure it would be worth the pleasure if it had upset you." She chuckled.
"Are you saying I'm not a good kisser?"
My question left Almeria stunned for a second, unsure how to answer, only for me to grin at her stumbling over trying to find the right answer.
"Now that was worth it," I said with a smile, and she shook her head.
"I suppose I deserved that."
"Only in the sense that turnabout is fair play," I replied.