by Max Jager
"Or will it?" Kaden grinned. "My portals allow me to travel great distances pretty easily. I've been all over the place. This continent and others. You dunno where I found it."
"I'll find it." Mendelen stated. "I have my ways. Now you also promised to call off your armies."
Kaden nodded. "Yeah, I did. Hang on." He said, then took a deep breath. "Oh great hero! You have defeated me!" Kaden shouted out loudly enough for the betas who were watching on the sidelines to hear. "My armies must retreat! The Moderators have been defeated!... For now." He grinned and fell backwards, falling through a portal and disappearing.
Once Kaden left the battlefield, the surviving Moderators all pulled back. All except Damion. They didn't need a message from Kaden to know that it was time to cease fighting, this was clearly planned out in advance. Damion didn't move though, he turned back to the others, itching to keep fighting. But George picked him up, slinging Damion over his shoulder and carrying him away. "Come on Damion, you can finish killing them later." He stated.
After the Moderators walked a short distance a portal opened up for them to leave.
Mendelen untied the man Kaden had brought back. "Is he telling the truth?" He asked.
"I have no idea." The man answered. "I remember Damion slashing my throat and I thought I died, next thing I remember is waking up in a strange cave, and I remember nothing else between those two points."
Mendelen nodded. "Alright, lets head back and get you checked out by a doctor." He said as he returned to the his group, they were all quickly rushing to treat their wounded. He sat down in a pile of rubble and opened his virtual keyboard. He sent a message to Estellese and Zanath. "I need a status update, what's going on? -Mendelen"
"City is secured, enemy is retreading. Casualties are minimal. -Zanath"
"We secured the city, then we got pinned down. Now suddenly they are all backing off, I'm sure they are up to something. What about you? -Estellese."
"They aren't up to anything. It's over, I won. -Mendelen."
"So then… Kaden…"
"Kaden is being an asshole. As usual. I did not kill him, yet, he is really trying my patience. -Mendelen"
"What happened? -Estellese"
"It's a long story. In short, he found a way to bring back the dead, and promised to pull his forces off the battlefield and concede victory to us if I beat him. Which I did. He also says he plans to bring back everyone who died due to his actions. He won't tell me where this revival alter is, so I can't kill him. -Mendelen."
"Typical Kaden. Can't say I'm not relieved that he's alive though. Thanks, for handling it well. What do we do now? -Estellese"
"I'm going to get Zanath to meet us in Oline city, center of town, so we can figure out how to rebuild. Also we need to give Era city back to its previous owners anyways. So I'll meet you there. -Mendelen."
"Alright, see you then."
Mendelen looked over his small army, once they were all healed and ready to go he stepped up. "Nice work today, all of you."
"We lost." Elliott stated.
"We won." Mendelen corrected. "All I needed was for you guys to keep them off me, and you did. I defeated Kaden, and this battle has been won. You completed your goal."
When nobody spoke up, Mendelen took the lead again. "The war isn't over, Kaden said we only won for now before fleeing. So you'll get other chances to take Damion out. But for now the battle has been won and I couldn't have done that without you guys, we won't his together even if we didn't fight side by side. Let's take the victory and head back to Oline. We will rebuild this village, we'll make it bigger and better than before."
Everyone nodded a little, but still looked discouraged. They got up and followed him back to Oline city.
After a few hours of walking, the group finally returned to Oline city. Mendelen brought them to the inn to rest, then went alone to meet up with Estellese and Zanath. The three of them met up in the center of town, then walked into a vacant building nearby to sit at a table and talk.
"We all know this isn't over, right?" Mendelen asked, and the other two nodded.
"So, was he telling the truth? About the revival alter?" Zanath asked.
"I believe he was, he did bring back someone I thought was dead." Mendelen stated.
"So what do we do now?" Estellese replied.
"Well, I'm assuming that since the battle has been won we are going to lose a lot of Spartans. Many of them joined because they felt like they needed to, they will leave now that things have calmed down. But even with that we'll still have a pretty big army." Mendelen explained. "So I say we get to work on rebuilding the village. Kaden wanted to send a message to everyone by destroying the village, he wanted to leave the ruins there to let everyone know what happens when you think you're safe." He started. "So let's rebuild it. Let's use it to send our own message to the world. We're going to rebuild it, and fortify it so well that even Kaden can't touch it. We'll make it into a symbol of safety for the world. And with the manpower we currently have we can do that."
"Kaden would be pissed if we did that." Estellese pointed out. "But regardless, I like the idea."
"I know. Let him be pissed." Mendelen stated. "I think he deserves it at this point, especially after he tried rubbing that defeat in our faces the first time around. It's about time we throw something back into his face."
Next Chapter: The Alpha Wars
(And with that, this story moves on to the fourth and final Arc.)
Chapter 28: The Alpha Wars
Chapter 28: The Alpha Wars
With Kaden defeated and the Moderators scurrying off into hiding, Mendelen and Estellese spent the next two weeks rebuilding Belle village. They hired three times as many fairies to help build the city faster, and had a few humans who learned magic assist. Within a few days the houses were rebuilt, stronger than ever. By the end of the first week Mendelen had specifically ordered a massive tower to be built in the center of the city, right on top of the hill he had fought Kaden on. By the end of the second week the city was completely rebuilt, it was bigger than ever, and it was heavily fortified with walls and that one massive tower in the center. It looked like the tower reached above the clouds.
The Spartans who remained in the army Mendelen had made now patrolled the streets, they each had free housing inside the tower, and a large group of them worked in the upper floors of the tower. The ones who worked inside the tower used magic to watch and listen to everyone in the city, directing the Spartans on the ground to stop any crime they detected within the city. Mendelen also banned weapons and most offensive magic within the city, working alongside the fairies to create a generator that disabled any spells or magic Mendelen deemed to be too dangerous, and it automatically send the weapons of anyone who entered into their stash. His Spartan guards however, had equipment that made them immune to the effects of this generator. The guards were fully armed and capable of using all of their magic. Criminals in the city, or would-be attackers, didn't stand a chance when they were forced to be unarmed and magic-less.
A lot of people came back to the city after they saw how fortified and safe it now was. The knowledge that nobody in the city could use dangerous magic, or could have weapons, and knowing the guards were always watching and always nearby to protect them, it made a lot of the people who couldn't defend themselves feel much safer.
By the end of the two weeks, Mendelen stood beside Estellese on the hill, just outside the Spartan Tower. He stood in front of a large crowd of people who had gathered to see the official meeting in the center of town.
"Good afternoon everyone!" Mendelen called out, with Estellese's magic helping to amplify his voice again. "I'd like to officially announce that this city is now finished. We have built it up and fortified it to ensure everyone's safety. We did not rebuild Belle village, despite building this village where it used to be. We've built an entirely new city, this is Belesara City now. Belesara city will be owned and lead by me, and the Spartans." He announced, and as he a
nnounced that last part Estellese gave him a questioning look. "Us Spartans, were the heroes who drove the Moderators back. We defeated them once, and we can do it as many times as we need to to kick them out of whatever hole they've decided to hide in."
Mendelen paused for a moment to breathe, then resumed talking. "We have also added an anti-teleportation spell to the barrier protecting this city. It will prevent people from teleporting into the city, which cuts off the Moderator's main form of attack. This city is now a safe haven for everyone in this world, with the Spartans living and actively guarding Belesara city, the Moderators will never be able to take a single step into this city again." He explained.
As soon as he finished talking a portal opened right next to him and Kaden stepped one foot out of the portal. "Step." Kaden taunted him before pulling his foot back and closing the portal.
Mendelen did not look amused. "And, clearly, that needs a little more work." He sighed.
Another portal opened up beside him and Kaden walked out of this one. "Well of course it doesn't work on me. I use portals, I don't teleport. Duh." He stated very bluntly. "And they aren't technically magic, they are my signet skill."
"Must you go so far out of your way to prove everything I say wrong?" Mendelen stated.
"Well, me and my army are waiting for you to get everything set up before we keep fighting. So yes, I'm bored and got nothin' better to do." Kaden pointed out. He looked up at the Spartan Tower. "Ooh, I haven't been in there yet." He immediately opened another portal and walked through.
"Kaden no!" Mendelen started, but he was already gone. Kaden closed the portal behind himself once he had gone through.
Mendelen looked a little agitated, frustrated with how Kaden insisted on trying to damage his reputation. "Anyways," He tried to continue. "Kaden aside, nobody else can teleport into the city. We will work on blocking Kaden out shortly. Regardless, from now on I will be the leader and owner of Belesara city-"
Estellese again gave him a confused look, but didn't interrupt his speech.
"Estellese is going to be second in command for this city, if I'm ever not around she is in charge. And the Spartans will be the ones protecting us all, so we know we are safe from the Moderators and whatever else may come to attack us. The city may be finished, but it will continue to grow as people open up shops and as we get more and more technology available to us, so let's go make this city the bright, safe haven we all know it can be." Mendelen finished.
Another portal opened behind Mendelen and Kaden walked out with a plate that had a half eaten cake on it. His helmet was off and it was clear he had eaten some of the cake. "You had this really good cake on the table in there." Kaden commented
"That was a trap, for you, the cake is poisoned." Mendelen shook his head and looked agitated again.
"What!? That's my trick you can't do that!" Kaden protested and looked a little panicked. He immediately dropped the plate, but Mendelen quickly caught it.
"I can and I did. I gotcha this time." Mendelen taunted him.
Kaden swore loudly and immediately opened a portal. He quickly dashed through it and closed it behind himself.
"You seriously left a poisoned cake on the table where anyone could get it?" Estellese questioned.
"Of course not, I have no clue who the cake belongs to." Mendelen shrugged. "I wasn't gonna fight him in front of the crowd, it gets him outta our hair for a little, at least until he catches on."
The crowd had mostly dispersed by now, aside from a few people who stayed behind to watch the interaction.
"So you're taking over Belle village?" Estellese questioned.
"Belesara City." Mendelen corrected. "And yeah, I'm going to take charge here. It'll be a lot easier that way since I own and lead the Spartan army, and they are the main defense force here. If I control both the city and the army guarding it things just go a lot smoother."
"But you control Oline city… You're going to control both?" Estellese questioned again.
"Yeah I can handle it." Mendelen replied. "Plus it takes a lot of stress off your shoulders. As second in command you can still run the city, without all of the stress since they'll send any problems to me. You'll have all the time you need to do the things you enjoy, you didn't have a chance to do that before. Trust me this way is better and easier on everyone. You'll still be in charge but will have less stress on your shoulders."
"If you say so." Estellese unsurely replied.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It's still your city, I'm just stepping in as a figurehead, basically." Mendelen reassured her.
The two of them resumed working on the city for the rest of the day, it was finished but they needed to convince shopkeepers to come and open up businesses and still needed to make some space for those businesses. The city was much bigger than before, it had expanded so much that the mansion Zanath owned was now inside the city instead of being a short distance away. So there was plenty of space for businesses to come and open up.
At the end of the day everyone went to sleep, only to be awoken early the next morning by a few alarms going off. Mendelen and Estellese quickly rushed out of their rooms in the Spartan Tower, spotting numerous Spartans also rushing through the halls to grab their weapons and prepare for whatever tripped the alarm.
"That has to be Kaden again." Estellese said as she and Mendelen ran out of the tower and began looking around.
"I didn't think he'd attack again so soon, it's only been a couple weeks." Mendelen replied. The two of them ran to the source of the alarm, and as they approached they saw what was probably the most unexpected thing they could have come across. A giant stone wall.
The massive stone wall was going from the northern end of the city, all the way across to the southern end, cutting off everyone on the western side from the rest of the city. Etched on the wall in big letters for everyone to read was:
"Hey Spartans and Mendelen! Your anti-magic barrier over the city stops working after this point. Ya might wanna fix that.
-With love, Kaden"
Mendelen sighed and shook his head. "Thank you Kaden, that was clearly the best way to convey that message." He sarcastically murmured.
"I got it." Estellese spoke up. She focused and grabbed control of the stone wall, it was such a massive wall that it was taking a lot of her focus and energy to control. Once she had control over it, she made the stone crumble into dust and the stone wall fell apart. Inside the stone wall, was a wooden wall with another message:
"P.S. That cake wasn't poisoned! You lied to me Mendelen! :( "
Estellese sighed in frustration as she switched her element to wood, then just like she did with the stone wall she grabbed control of the entire wooden wall, then broke it apart into splinters. Inside the wooden wall, was another stone wall., with yet another message.
"P.S.S. I'm sorry Estellese, this was not meant for you but I know you're the one who's gonna have to fix this. Just remember, it's Mendelen's fault, hate him not me. -Kaden"
"Kaden this isn't funny!" Estellese furiously shouted, knowing he was somewhere listening in. She switched her primary elements to both wood and stone, and immediately tore down the stone wall again. And underneath it was another wooden wall. "Damnit Kaden!" Estellese growled. The wall had another message on it.
"P.S.S.S? Do I add another S? I dunno I'm adding another S. Don't blame the guards on watch Mendelen. The wall was built outside the city, then I used a portal trick to drop it into the city in segments. Last wall, I promise Estellese. :) "
Estellese was exhausted already, it took so much effort to break down these walls due to their sheer size. She grabbed control of the wooden wall again and splintered the wood, revealing another stone wall underneath it. Estellese took a deep breath and clenched her fists, taking a moment to try and calm herself down. This wall read:
"I lied. There was one more. But that's because Mendelen lied about the cake, and you didn't say anything about it. Which makes you an accomplice to that lie! That's
my revenge :P "
Estellese tore down the stone wall, and this one actually was the last one. With all the walls destroyed there was just a big pile of rubble left behind, the two sides of the city were once again connected. All the Spartans and civilians in the area were standing around, watching and wondering what they were supposed to do now.
Mendelen went and turned off the alarm. "It's safe everyone, let's go back to sleep for now." He instructed. He and Estellese turned and began heading back to the Spartan tower, once they returned Estellese immediately went back to sleep, she was exhausted.
"Fate." Mendelen spoke up. "I need two of your teleportation cards." Mendelen instructed as he passed by Fate. "Meet me in the lobby in twenty minutes, I need to go get the others."