A Nation Razed

It wasn't long after Barion and Manyu began their hunt for the Fiend of Fire that they encountered a troop of Demons patrolling along the highway leading towards the city of Shukora. Beneath their heavy pacing, the half-cobbled roads shook with earthen fury as the two men observed the group from what little remained of the surrounding forests.

"You see. They aren't entirely foolish." Manyu's voice was low, "They use roads to travel quickly, and stay together to maximise their survivability. Barrel Demons and others of their ilk with clear weaknesses are kept to the back line, whereas Hounds and Ropers are treated like shock troops, launching ahead during battles to sow chaos."

"I don't see any Emitters…" Barion remarked, "But there's a Chimera near the front. I haven't seen one of those since the last war."

"As more biomass is made available to Demonic facilities, more complex types of Demons can be birthed." He hypothesised, "Hounds are muscular and vicious, much like the beasts that were no doubt sacrificed to create them. Abominations, on the other hand, are abstractions of mankind, with elongated limbs and despairing, puppeteered expressions. Ropers seem to be the result of Slimes being used as biomass."

"So the situation will only grow more dire as the war carries on…" Barion muttered, "In any case, it isn't a good sign to see Demons so close to Anjima. Do you think this may be why we haven't received any correspondence from them?"

"I certainly wouldn't want to be the messenger responsible for travelling through the countryside when it's in a state like this."

As Barion stood up fully, Manyu looked his way with a bored expression.

"Planning to exterminate them?" He wondered.

"Do you have a better idea? Assuming it doesn't have anything to do with trying to control them."

"We could just as easily wait for them to pass." He suggested, "Killing a handful of Demons might be heroic, but it would really cost us more time than anything else. Considering Atroma appears to be making for Shukora, wouldn't it be more strategic to make our way there as soon as possible?"

"Mm…" Considering his words, Barion lowered his stance yet again, "You're right."

"Eh… I'm right?" Manyu blinked, "That's not what I expected to hear."

"War is about more than just fighting every battle." He replied, "An undefeatable army may emerge victorious from any encounter, but how likely is it to split its forces to attack two areas at once? By developing a taste for overwhelming strength, it could very well be outmanoeuvred by a weaker but more mobile force. If we trouble ourselves with minor skirmishes, we only give the enemy time to carry out their plans in secret."

"I'm sorry, but you appear to be an impersonator." Manyu joked, "The Barion I've come to know would rather die than devote even a second of his time to strategy."

"You should know better than anyone else that we're well beyond busying ourselves with Demons." He replied, "As long as they stay away from populated settlements, the threat they pose is minor. If we can afford to turn our attention towards Black Luna, then we shouldn't hesitate to."

"I suppose you really have learned a thing or two." Manyu leaned forward to watch the Demon group marching towards the east, "We'd best hurry, in that case. The fact that they're wandering away from Shukora is cause for concern."

Once the coast was clear, the two men didn't waste any time in stealing down the road. It would have been far more useful if the Gate had teleported them straight to Shukora, but even Dorma would have required a few hours to prepare translocation magic of such potency. An agreement was made for the Gate to be dispelled if Barion and Manyu didn't return within the hour, meaning the best chance they'd have of returning would be to request another from the court sorcerers of Shukora.

As the two of them proceeded further into the mountain valleys, following after Atroma's smouldering footfalls, the abundance of charred foliage increased until just about every square inch of grass around them had been burned to husks. Neither Barion nor Manyu admitted it, but it was seeming more and more likely that the Fiend of Fire was well on its way to the western capital, and may have already reached it, if the creature's aged tracks were anything to go by.

"How likely is it that a city of spear-wielding guardsmen managed to repel a Heavenly King?" Manyu asked.

"We should have sent a diplomat at the same time Pale set off for the Lunar Dominion…" Barion lowered his head, "I thought we'd secured the safety of Shukora with the death of the earth spirit, but if Atroma has already reached it…"

"We'll find out in a moment whether our efforts were in vain or not."

The situation only deteriorated as they travelled through the valley, keeping their eyes peeled for the lofty capital built into the mountainside. Entire swathes of woodland had been razed to the ground, leaving nothing but labyrinths of twisting, anaemic roots. Atroma's tracks, too, became alive with embers as they ventured on--the great, sunken steps of an otherworldly creature touched by endless fire.

Barion didn't need to see Shukora for himself to validate his claims. The swelling plumes of smoke ascending to the clouds in the distance told him all he needed to know. As the two men broke into a sprint to round the hillside blocking their view, the sight they beheld upon a cobbled crest which overlooked the divine mountain valleys was a bittersweet one indeed. Barion's memories of the capital were still fresh, but the fallen city he saw on that day bore no resemblance to the resplendent settlement in his memories

Flames rose from the city in surging tides. Its grand walls, renowned for their ability to repel any threat, had been thoroughly demolished by some kind of overwhelming force. The auspicious royal palace, which rose into the skies as if to challenge the very heavens, was but a shell of its former self. Great holes torn in its walls left the pagoda barely standing, like it could have been blown over by a stiff breeze.

"We were too late…" Barion cursed under his breath, "Atroma has already departed. We need to call his hunt off and send word to Gria immediately."

"Just how quickly do you expect an entire school of healers and alchemists to make it here, precisely? And without even knowing if there are any survivors?" Manyu argued, "Anjima is lost, Barion. Without a central government, its pledge to the Holy Alliance is worth less than nothing."

"We'll see. The Emperor could still be alive." He hoped, "Damn it… I can't believe this…"

"Pull yourself together, won't you? I know this isn't the first razed city you've ever seen."

"Do you think that makes this any easier?" He countered, "This is a tragedy I could have prevented! But I was too slow and preoccupied to consider Shukora's wellbeing! Every death is another life that could have been saved, if I had only acted sooner!"

"I see you haven't completely abandoned that old self of yours." Manyu noticed, "You know it as well as I do, Barion--that not everyone can be saved. Not when Demons spread across the word like locusts. Continue blaming yourself for every tragedy, and you will soon find yourself incapable of action."

"...I know that." Barion sighed, "But how ready is this world to exist without us if it can't protect itself?"

"Once Black Luna is removed from the equation, humanity can return its gaze to war and civil conflict. We cannot erase strife from this world. It is in the nature of those who dominate their environment to seek out new troubles."

"But that conflict at least arises from a place of authenticity. Whether out of desire or emotion, we can at least fight for our own beliefs, rather than plain survival."

"Would you claim that those who fight on the losing side aren't doing so for the sake of survival?"

"That… it depends on the circumstances."

"I do wonder…" Manyu returned his attention to Atroma's tracks, "In any case, we have an important task to be dealing with whether the young Emperor is alive or not. We'd best put the Fiend down lest it double back as we waste time in Shukora."

"It can't have gotten far. Not if the city is still burning."

"Hah… we really should have pushed a few horses through the Gate…"

"Can you caste a hastening spell?"

"I could, but shouldn't a Hero abhor the idea of dark magic?"

"If it's effective, then why forbid it? I even use it myself, on occasion."

"Now you're really starting to sound like a strategist."

Manyu's comprehension of dark magic was far more sophisticated than most sorcerers' understanding of it. It was once thought that only certain individuals could make use of the art, but recent advances in the understanding of magical particles suggested that it was merely a product of consistent dedication. Manyu's own body was comparable to the kind of foci only seen by world-class sorcerers when he made use of it as a magical conduit.

Hastening spells were incredibly useful, but also one of the more dangerous types of spells to cast. By directly interfering with an individual's body, there were a multitude of ways they could be incorrectly or catastrophically incanted. When used correctly, however, a man could find himself running and leaping orders of magnitude faster and further than he could ever dream. Masters of the spell were renowned for their surprising effectiveness in close combat, even when lightly armoured and challenged in the martial arts.

Barion didn't resist as he felt the magical particles interfering with his internal chemistry. Manyu could have easily used the opportunity to kill him, but as the former Demon King's incantation concluded, no such tragedy occurred. The two of them were suddenly lighter on their feet than ever before, aided by the cerulean clouds dancing within their bodies.

"Let's get to following these tracks." Barion resolved, "I'd like to return home before night falls."

As Manyu opened his mouth to respond, he found himself staring at thin air as Barion's form became a suggestion in the distance--his heavy footfalls sending gravel and dirt spitting into the air.

"...Very well." He blinked, before stealing after the man at a similarly blistering pace.

Atroma was not a difficult creature to track. If the smouldering remains of whatever forests it happened to encounter along the way weren't obvious enough, the sulphurous stench which lingered in the air was almost unbearable. Barion recalled the feeling well--sprinting through the countryside on the trail of a beast that no man could ever hope to face. He, Dorma and Shilahi had spent the better part of a decade hunting the Heavenly Kings 500 years ago. The four-coloured lights rising from the Demon King's Castle to the north had always been a grim reminder of his trials, but also a spot of hope whenever one disappeared after they emerged victorious from a battle with one of the fiends.

Only two remained then, and just over a month after the war began. The blue-and-red columns which represented Lilith and Atroma. Not only that, but Barion hadn't even participated in the slaying of Tiamat or Leviathan. The progress they had made was undeniable, and yet the sight of Shukora falling to pieces before his very eyes reminded him that Heavenly Kings were not the only problem plaguing the world.

Once, he had transparently lost all hope at repelling yet another Demonic invasion. But through sheer perseverance, he had not only stepped beyond the moniker of the man he used to be, but unveiled his true enemy. That which dangled from the stars like a steel dreamcatcher, playing the part of an all-powerful observer and spreading disorder wherever it pleased. As he ran, Barion's gaze rose to the endless skyline, knowing that the enigmatic Black Luna was the key to bringing the cycle to its final end.