by Billy Wong
"I barely harmed anybody in the first place. I didn't kill anyone, just hurt a few and scared the rest enough into obeying. And I don't have any reason to continue now that Rexxon's gone, do I?"
Lowering his mace at last, Finn sighed. "I guess that makes sense. We'll explain things to Sierra, and after that you can probably leave."
The couple turned to leave, but Justin didn't follow. "What about my body?"
"There are plenty of freaks in the world, it won't hurt much to have one more running around."
Rose slapped the back of his head, and winced. "Finn! I'm sorry, Justin, but I don't know how we could help you with that." Neither of them had a level of arcane proficiency to even think about reversing such a transformation, and Finn really shouldn't use any magic. "Unless... maybe we could draw the magic out of you and that would change you back?"
For a moment, Justin seemed to stiffen as with fear, but he agreed, "Yes, let's try that."
She chanted the spell she had used to extract the energies from her once-magical sword Thorn and tried to pull whatever magic there was out of Justin, but nothing happened. There didn't even seem to be a continuing magical effect present, and perhaps the change was more like a fundamental alteration of his form. "Whatever he did to you, it's well beyond my ability to comprehend. Just like I'd expect from the first dragon... dammit, we beat it, but we can't beat its magic."
"It's alright," Justin said. "You did your best. Wait, though, don't you have magic texts at the Center, which must contain knowledge you haven't memorized? Maybe if you take me back with you, we could find something that can help me."
"I don't know... even if we learned what needed to be done, I doubt we're strong enough magically to do it."
He looked pleadingly into her eyes. "But maybe after identifying something that can help me, I could go look for it elsewhere instead of relying on your spellcasting ability."
"You don't even know how to read Old Script, do you?" Finn asked. "So after the way you've treated Rose, you want us to spend hours and hours combing through books just to help you?"
"Finn," she said, "it's okay. We don't have to do it all ourselves. We could let other scholars who are willing to volunteer take turns—this should be a pretty interesting subject to study, after all."
Justin's voice grew hopeful. "So you'll help me?"
"There's no guarantee we'll be able to do anything. But we'll try."
"Then that's all I ask."
They walked outside, and after telling Sierra that Justin meant no harm she reluctantly allowed him to leave with them. He kept his hood up all the way, leaving the soldiers to mumble amongst themselves about what his cloak might hide. Throwing her arms around Finn before reaching their horses, Rose said wearily, "So it's over just like that, huh? I'm glad... hearing a title like 'King of Kings,' I was afraid our country might be at war again, and we would have to fight another army."
"We still have Justin here to deal with," he said edgily.
"Yeah, but that shouldn't require fighting at least."
"True enough. I guess one could say considering we already gave up our good looks trying to do the right thing, we shouldn't be too stingy about sacrificing just a bit of our time to help somebody."
Rose gave him a thumbs up. "That's the spirit. Right now though, I could seriously use some rest... but Finn, did you just say I'm not pretty anymore?"
He started with the realization of what had slipped his tongue, then chuckled. "Hey, you know you're still the most beautiful woman in the world in my eyes. But not everyone would agree. We've certainly... changed due to our profession, haven't we?"
She leaned lazily against him, grinning. "Yeah, we're covered in scars! I don't mind what you said... I know how I look, and I'm fine with it as long as you are. And I sure don't think you're ugly either, big guy."
"I'll always love you no matter how you look," he said gently.
"You hardly needed to say that. If you actually minded my scars, you would've been gone years ago! Now let's go home and let our wounds actually heal into scars."
#
The couple arrived back in Gustrone to find an unexpected visitor waiting in the tower lobby. Seeing Evan's anxious expression, Finn sent Justin ahead and asked, "What happened? Did you run out of money, or do you need help with something else?"
"No, I'm fine. It's just that I had a vision-"
Rose interrupted. "You had a vision?! How did you manage that? Did you go back to the island?"
"Yeah I went back, but I also have my own dirty foresight room in Kayland now, just like in Victor's house."
"And I thought you actually meant to give up being a seer." She shook her head. "I guess we're all too stuck in our ways to change for long..."
"Maybe so, Rose. Mainly, I wanted to help you, though. Anyway, I dreamed the dark power has already awakened in a man's body, and nurses its strength right here in Kayland."
Finn groaned. "So much for a break. You know where this thing is, exactly?"
"No, visions are not generally the most precise things."
"Well, did you at least see what this thing looks like in your vision?"
His dread grew as Evan described the monster. "It's man-like, but with blue skin that looks like it's made of rock."
"Oh, gods," Rose breathed. "Don't tell me Rexxon implanted Justin with..."
"The demon's power," Finn said, smacking his head. He and Rose took off running. "How the hell did Rexxon get a hold of the Devil's Horn?"
"He was an ancient dragon, he must know a lot about magical things..."
"Where are you going?" Evan shouted after them.
"We'll tell you later!"
As they sprinted up flight after flight of stairs towards their children's room, fearing above all else that Justin would go after them, Finn felt a hot surge of fury and glowered at Rose. "We should've never trusted a monster that easily just because you felt sorry for him," he snapped. "Now our kids might be in danger."
Remorseful tears welled up in her eyes as she cringed beneath his anger, but Rose muttered, "How was I supposed to know that Justin had become the demon lord? When he said he'd been changed by Rexxon, I never thought-"
"He was dark blue just like everything else we've seen demon lord-related, and a lot of those things were stony to boot."
"Yeah, but you didn't draw the connection there either, so it was both of us who made the oversight. Why should I be the one you take your frustration out on?"
Finn exhaled, recognizing he was being too harsh. He'd always been temperamental, but to be so critical of his love when she bore terrible wounds and no doubt felt terrible about their mistake wasn't right. She already panted heavily while they ran, which would never have happened had she been healthy. "Yeah, well, you're supposed to be the smart one."
"I wasn't exactly at my best there. Neither of us was."
He could understand she probably hadn't had much energy left in her for a fight at that point, and subconsciously wanted to trust Justin so she wouldn't have to battle him. Honestly, he might have been the same way. "In any case, arguing isn't going to do us any good. Let's just hope we catch up to him before..."
Careening into the hall which contained the door to their children's room, they spotted Justin dashing similarly into view at the opposite end. Thankfully he didn't know the tower as well as them, thus negating his head start. "So you are after our kids!" Finn bellowed. "What you do want with them?"
The now-naked blue being, who really only resembled Justin in the face given the bulk and stony protrusions from various body parts he had gained, slowed. At last the couple stood face to face with the embodiment of the force that had directly or indirectly caused all the calamities in their lives for the last half year. Stomping deliberately towards them, he said, "I've come to save the world, from myself."
A glance at Rose told Finn that Justin's words mortified her more than any of the typical threats they'd grown used to. "I suppose that doesn't mean you came here to d
ie, does it?" he asked. But he knew what the demon actually intended was to kill their children, to prevent them from leading him on the path of destruction.
"No. Look at it this way—whichever side wins here, they'll have saved the world from the same dire prophecy. By the way, I asked Rexxon to stop you knowing the outcome could only help me no matter who prevailed. If you died, it would be easier to avert the prophecy, and he died, I would be free of my unwanted master."
"That's so manipulative," Rose said. "Is this really what you want yourself to be like?"
He hesitated, but replied, "What makes you so much better? You've used your strength to enforce your will on others before."
"Who? You mean the people I fought to protect those they would harm? I don't try to make anyone do anything unless they're hurting others."
"Maybe so. Yet how do you know you haven't harmed the people of other lands more than you've helped ours?"
Her voice grew shaky. "I-I don't know. But I judged as best I could what the right thing to do was and tried to do it—or what was I going to do, nothing? I know I've shed more blood than would be ideal. But what else do I have but my strong arm, with which to prevent undeserved suffering?"
"Besides," Finn said to Justin, "we're the heroes and you're the villain. So you should stop trying to make my wife feel bad and shut the hell up!" Rose stared at him, and he added, "What? We've been the heroes in enough stories to justify that."
He felt her hand grip his own, and she said with restored confidence to Justin, "You go about this the wrong way! I don't want to kill you. If you stop, there's still hope to find another solution. We still have more than a decade before our kids are grown."
"Another solution? Who knows if that'll take? This is the only sure way."
"No," Finn growled, "the other sure way is to kill you." He began forward, mace raised. Justin spoke a few words and stomped the floor, and a bubble-shaped wave of force blew out around him. Finn and Rose covered up with their shields, resisting the push against them while the energy crashed into the walls and ceiling as well. The tower shook and pieces of masonry sprinkled down, some landing on the couple's upraised shields, others atop Justin making him duck.
"So perhaps I should use more precise attacks," Justin said. Lightning flashed at his fingertips that he pointed at the charging Finn, but Finn ran through a bolt that sent spasms through his body and drove his shoulder into Justin's gut. His momentum slammed Justin against the wall at the end of the hall, cracking the stone. Following up as Finn fell stunned to all fours, Rose cut at Justin's neck. The demon caught the blade in a stony hand though a bit of black blood welled forth and punched her in the face, sending her sprawling.
"You're still hurt," he observed when he saw Rose gasp for breath, clutching her chest though she hadn't been hit there. "Give up your children, and I'll let you live."
"Never," she snarled. "You'll die before I let you touch a hair on their heads!" She stood angrily, showing no sign of her injuries now, and rushed him together with Finn. Her sword just missed touching his torso as he jumped deftly aside, and caught Finn's mace mid-swing in his long claws. He smiled to bare teeth like jagged rocks, exuberant with the knowledge of his might.
A flick of the demon's wrist sent Finn stumbling away holding his torn cheek, and a spray of icy shards formed from moisture in the air drove Rose back while she raised her shield to defend her face. Gashes appeared on her legs, but she ignored the pain and thrust at Justin's gut. He sidestepped easily, but she turned her blow into a horizontal swipe that cut into his flank. Dark ichor gushed forth and he fell to one knee, grimacing in pain.
"You're not invincible after all," she said.
"No," he agreed in a strained voice, "but I'm not a quitter, either." Rolling aside from a downward chop, he shot a roaring lance of flame into her chest which made her reel back with a wail of pain. Ignoring the flap of flesh hanging off his face, Finn sprang forward to take his wife's place and smashed his mace down hard into the side of Justin's neck. He heard bone crack and muscle tear beneath the heavy blow. Justin dropped to his knees, and Finn raised his mace again.
"No!" Rose said, and he looked back to see her holding up a hand in a gesture to stop.
"Why? He's trying to kill our family, he deserves to die!"
She shook her head. Before Finn could decide whether to heed her wishes, Justin recovered and stood, swinging claws at his neck. He ducked and hit Justin in the face with his mace, causing him to take a few unsteady steps backward before bumping into a windowsill with the small of his back and toppling over it.
Unable to believe the demon lord would die that easily, Finn ran to the window to check on Justin's fate, and looking down saw a blue shape flying erratically away over Gustrone. Even injured as he must be, he moved far too fast for Finn to imagine catching. Turning to Rose, who lay curled around herself but still trying to get up, he knelt and looked worriedly at the smoking crater the firebolt had left in her chest.
"Is it bad?" he asked, hugging her close.
"Not too much... well, it is, but I'll survive. Did you kill him, Finn?"
He shook his head sadly. "He got away. Let's hope he dies from the wounds we gave him before he can make any more trouble for us, but I doubt we're so lucky."
"That was scary—my armor did nothing. He was so powerful..."
Meeting her frightened eyes, he flashed her a reassuring smile. "And yet he still flew away like a coward. We'll be okay."
"I guess we'll have to stay close by our kids' side from now on, huh? Until we settle things with him for good... we can't let him get his hands on them."
"And we won't," Finn promised as he helped Rose to her feet. Escorting her to their room, though, he couldn't help thinking he should have just ignored her plea for mercy in order to assure their children's safety.
#
Flying away from Gustrone, Justin felt dizziness blanket his mind as he cleared the city walls. Blood dripped from his face, in which he felt broken bones shift. Dipping too low while he struggled in his weakness to stay aloft, he saw a tall fir appear in his path. He tried to veer away from the approaching trunk, but couldn't make his body obey, his mind feeling detached from his muscles... He slammed into the thick tree with a crunch, and a brief falling sensation ended with a thump which preceded unfeeling darkness.
He opened his eyes as his senses exploded with incredible pain, and realized he was being carried in a litter by two men dressed in armor colored similarly to his own skin. "What is going on?" he asked groggily, before realizing his rescuers to be among The Lost with a start.
The Lost closer to his head looked down at him and smiled with his eyes. "Ever since hearing the rumor of a blue skinned man traveling with Rose and Finn, we've been waiting to meet you. And here you are, ready to take your place as our leader."
"What? But don't you know who I am?"
"Of course we do. You are the one who holds the power of the demon lord. With it, we together can destroy this unjust world. Is that not so?"
His first instinct was of course to say "no" to these insane sadists, but knowing he wasn't in any condition to save himself if they turned on him, he played along. "Yes."
"Lord Steel was getting discouraged," the Lost in front of his feet said. "But now he's going to be pleased!"
Justin closed his eyes, thinking about how he was going to kill these fiends once he regained his strength, and shortly fell asleep to dreams of destruction which somehow sickened and delighted him at the same time. Awakening, he hated himself for the latter emotion, but attributed it to the demonic energies within him. He resolved to maintain control over them and never allow that dark side to drive his behavior. He was his own man, and would not yield to an outside force that had invaded his body, no matter how powerful. But even now he began to doubt his ability to resist it.
Already he'd attempted to kill Rose and Finn's children, complete innocents who bore not the slightest shred of responsibility for anything that might hap
pen in the future. It would have been an abominable act, a monstrous deed his old morality would never have allowed, and selfish of him too. But he was also aware of all the good he could someday accomplish with his newfound power, which the nobler route of averting the prophecy through the sacrifice of his own life would prevent. Thus one could not fault him for choosing instead to destroy the ones who would bring about the world's end at his hands, however blameless they might be.
The Lost eventually brought him into a shack where they placed him before an eyepatched man in a long blue cloak, who looked contently down at his broken form. "Who are you?" Justin asked.
He smiled sadly. "I am a man of many names. John Silk, Jack Slant... Lord Steel. I once went by a different name until I lost everything that made me what I was—but in turn, built this organization that makes all of us what we are. Though the man I allowed to take over The Lost from me is gone—poor Irving, how I expected better of you—the dream lives on. The dream always lives on!
"Oh, in case you're wondering, I know who you were. You're that loyal dog of a soldier who wound up impaling himself and gaining the power that should rightly be ours. But it doesn't matter. Now you're the demon lord, and your very nature demands you seek the same goals as us."
He wanted to deny it, to tell them he wasn't and never would be what they wanted him to be. Yet he realized that they could help him. If he couldn't defeat Rose and Finn solely with his mastery or lack thereof of his powers, maybe he could with their aid. Murdering a family that had done no wrong should suit The Lost well. "As your silver-armored ally might have told you, I'm no friend of Rose in spite of having traveled with her. In fact I hate her, for the deaths in my family she caused in the past. So if I'm to join, the first thing I want us to do is kill her and her family in retribution for them."
"That is a start," John Silk or whatever he was called said. "I can see this is something you truly want. But I can also tell you still think you are a good man, who will strive to hold onto your morals beyond this. Yet don't you realize, by doing this you hasten your slide towards fully embracing glorious destruction?"