Renya Rown and Sol Rown duked it out inside the Elusis encampment. Soldiers in way over their heads were caught in the crossfire trying to help. Whenever aid came to the minotaur, Renya cut them down with her arcane blades. But Sol had been infused with an ice elemental. He didn't need their help to begin with. She dove into an officer's tent when he fired icicles at her.

The large spacious interior was furnished with lavish accommodations. Well, as lavish as one could get in a tent. Renya picked up a half-full glass of wine sitting unfinished at the far desk.

"Don't mind if I do!" Renya tipped the glass into her mouth.

A sudden chill washed over her. Many silhouettes appeared on the tent ceiling. Renya side-stepped dozens of falling icicles and leaped back outside— right where Sol was waiting. The wet ground beneath her feet turned to ice. She slipped and skidded, struggling to maintain balance.

Ice spikes sprung from the ground, only for Renya to clone herself to shove her the other way. Sol clicked his tongue and fired spears of ice to destroy them.

The distant clamor of magic and steel distracted him. They both glanced south west in the direction of a gargantuan undead gwarm, then north where the rumble of edirashem wagons were rolling in.

"You hear that, Sol? That's the sound of defeat. The Harpy King is toast, and so are you. Make this easier on yourself and get down on your knees for me, so I can fuck you in the ass while you still have some dignity left," Renya said.

"You're mistaken if you think this is over." Sol whistled sharply.

Goons wearing the Rown crest poured in to join the minotaur's side. They boxed Renya in from all directions. There must be a hundred or so of them, which sounded about right going off Thedia's count of deserters.

"Why don't you make it easier for yourself and get down on your knees for me. The horns of Rown Company are a heavy burden you aren't strong enough to carry. But I am. Even if the Harpy King loses here, I can take my business elsewhere. To Ortesia, for example," Sol said thoughtfully.

"Tch. Our old man was right about abandoning you here. Even he knew you're liable to get burned doing business with the imperials." Renya scoffed.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. But he was short-sighted. And that isn't something for you to worry about anymore. Come now, Renya. At the very least, we both share a common desire— the prosperity of Rown Company. You can die easily knowing I will do right by Father's legacy," he said.

Renya sighed. She tossed her cutlasses to the ground and fell to her knees. Sol was taken aback. He motioned for two thugs to restrain her. They ran in to grab an arm each.

"I'm glad you see it my way. I'll even spare that beastman secretary of yours, as long as she works hard." With pride in his gait, Sol strutted up to her amidst applause.

When Renya looked up slightly, both flintlocks were hanging on his waistband.

"I won't make the same mistake I did last time. Any last words before I put you six feet under?" Sol asked, creating a single icicle above her.

"Yeah. It's going to be a bitch and a half to wipe your greasy handstains off my lovelies." Renya headbutted one man, freeing her right arm to throw a haymaker at the other. She charged at Sol until the icicle plunged into her chest. Momentum carried her a few more steps for a vain tackle, but he hardly moved. He was a minotaur after all, and she was only a dark elf.

"A pitiful attempt. What were you even hoping to achieve?" He laughed.

With her last ounce of strength, Renya wrenched both guns from Sol's belt and flung it back into the tent she had entered earlier.

"Bleeggghhh! You fucking idiot! Hahahaha!" Renya stuck her tongue out and flipped him the bird before vanishing.

"What?!" Sol gawked at the empty space in front of himself, then snapped to the tent.

"Hope you enjoyed yapping at my clone the entire time. Now say night-night!" The real Renya stepped out with ten other duplicates, their flintlocks raised, and fired a barrage of arcane bolts.

Scores of Rown goons fell in the first wave, and the rest dropped after the second. Renya and her clones continued firing until Sol was the last one standing, his ice barrier repeatedly blown to smithereens and remade.

"Coward! You were hiding in there the entire time, bitch?" Sol growled.

"Oh, nooo. A coward outsmarted you. I didn't get to where I am by taking the high road all the time, and I ain't afraid of punching below the belt!" Renya cackled.

The volley stopped when more Rown men rushed in from behind Sol. Renya held her fire.

"Perfect! Where the hells have you fools been? Get her!" Sol screamed, but none of them moved.

"This is why you never would have won. There are more than enough of us in Rown who would have resisted your takeover, Sol." Thedia stepped forward and offered a bow to Renya. "My lady."

"No…" Defeated, Sol stopped channeling his ice barrier and dropped to all fours. A blank expression stared at the muddy ground.

Renya walked up to the minotaur and pressed a flintlock to his head.

"Hmm. You know what?" Renya retracted her weapon and shrugged. "I'm going to keep you alive. Throw you into the same prison as Liradell, so you both can rot together. I'll come down to the dungeons every once in a while with a bottle of wine. Tell you all about how my Rown Company is doing just to remind you who's better."

The furious Sol roared and leaped at Renya, who fired a single point-blank shot into his face. He fell backwards, smoke rising from the impact of searing arcane energy.

"Dear old dad clearly didn't discipline you enough. Should've just behaved like a good boy. Now you're going to wake up with the worst headache of your life. Put Sol and the rest of these traitors in chains! We still have a war to fight!" Renya boomed, and everyone shouted back in turn.

In his fury, the Harpy King let loose a guttural war cry of pure frustration and wrath. The flames that wreathed grew more intense. His felmetal wings unfurled, and he flew straight for Kanae. She shoved Seven out of the way and activated Coat of Conflagration. He slammed into her with such force that it knocked the wind from her lungs.

But Titan's dreadmourn-specific skill was working. Kanae didn't burn. What would have seared her skin and singed her hair felt more like an uncomfortable heat instead. The Harpy King realized, too, and separated from her. He spun in place with his wings flared out.

Kanae leaned back enough to avoid getting decapitated. Uzazzsa, however, breathed fire at her. The flames didn't hurt, but the weight behind her breath knocked Kanae away. Snaking flames surged forward and snatched her wrists like actual lassos.

"Amethyst!" Archbishop Patrice severed the fiery restraints with a blade conjured at the tip of her staff.

"Grr. Dryoak!" The Harpy King shouted.

Riley was nowhere to be seen, and the same was true of the consortium.

"Your allies abandoned you. Your loyal Dervishes are gone. You're alone with no one to help you now. It's time to answer for your crimes," Kanae said.

"And who will be my judge? You? A god answers to no one!" he snarled.

"You're too full of yourself. Having an elemental lord in you might make you stronger than me and the archbishop. But you aren't the only one who can boast about having one." She directed his attention to the sky.

Praijya crashed to the earth, leaving behind a crater that was a few feet wide. Her wings were bent at nasty angles, and the felmetal claws had slipped from both hands.

"My… king…" Praijya muttered before falling unconscious.

"Nasiri's gone. Praijya's beaten. Both of your talons are chipped and broken. It's time to pay," Sivvy said, slowly descending to the surface.

"Oh?" Elirashj leaned forward and sneered. "Is it just me, or are your flames waning, Uzazzsa?"

"Elirashj. Savir is mine. Find somewhere else to blow air out of your ass!" Uzazzsa hissed from the Harpy King's back.

Everyone exchanged awkward glances at the elemental lords. There definitely seemed to be some grudges between them. Or maybe all elementals of their status were like that?

Kanae wanted to get another word in, but Sivvy had only violence in mind. She bolted forward and swung at the Harpy King's head. He dashed back. Her maul came within centimeters of his nose. The felmetal wings batted violent flames so hot they turned blue.

On the Knight of Red's back, Elirashj breathed deeply and expelled a gust of wind. The elemental lord's gales fed the flames, creating an inferno between them. Kanae put herself in front of Sivvy to block the fire.

"Kanae!" Sivvy gasped.

"I can handle the flames. Let's clip his wings at last!" Kanae exclaimed.

"Haha! Maybe there's actually a fire elemental in me, because I'm feeling the heat fighting with you, sister!" The harpy grinned.

Amethyst and Red pursued the Harpy King into the sky. Everytime and Uzazzsa attacked them with fire, Kanae shielded Sivvy. They bore down on him with unrelenting blows. Between the felmetal maul, Cockcalibur, and Elirashj battering them using her winds, their combined strikes were too much for a single harpy and his elemental to handle.

However, Kanae realized too late that the higher and higher the Harpy King went wasn't to escape them. He positioned himself in front of the sun, his outstretched wings cradling the fiery star, and the world suddenly felt much hotter. They were baited to climb with him.

"Did you truly think I was trying to fly away?" The Harpy King sneered.

"Not good. You must retreat!" Elirashj warned.

"Burn, Elirashj. Or try to fuel me with your winds!" Uzazzsa cackled aloud.

Kanae distinctly remembered the elemental lord of wind's words. The sun… it was a giant ball of fire peeking into this world from the elemental plane. She shielded Sivvy. But was the Coat of Conflagration even enough to protect her from the heat of the sun itself?

At that moment, a shadow draped over all of them. Including the Harpy King. Behind him, Seven had snuck up with a broken wooden post— and struck his father over the head.

"Irritable boy!" the Harpy King yelled.

Uzazzsa blasted Seven with brutal flames.

"Seven, no!" Kanae cried.

But that distraction was all Sivvy needed. She was on top of the Harpy King in an instant, and Elirashj lent her gales into the maul. The felmetal weapon broke the sound barrier in an explosive blast. He twisted to avoid the fatal blow, but her maul smashed into the left wing and sent him plummeting.

Kanae switched off Coat of Conflagration and dove to catch Seven. He was badly burned but still breathing. She casted Flash Heal multiple times, and he snapped back to consciousness.

"Kanae?! Did I do it?" Seven asked.

"You did good. We were toast if it wasn't for you. Now, can you fly? I'm going down to finish what you started," Kanae said.

"Yeah!" He spread his wings and grinned. "It's because of you that I was brave enough to confront my old man. I won't feel an ounce of remorse if you beat the shit out of him. So, show me how a high ranked adventurer deals with monsters like the Harpy King!"

"Quest accepted!" She rocketed down to join Sivvy.

The Harpy King suffered a harsh landing. When he tried to push himself up, Archbishop Patrice fired Empowered Penance and restrained him. Uzazzsa retaliated, creating flaming whips to defend her vessel.

Kanae and Sivvy attacked hard, fast, and without mercy. They were so fast with Heightened Haste buffing them, neither the Harpy King nor Uzazzsa could react. Every strike chipped away at his remaining left wing. Felmetal plumes went flying.

"No, stop! My wings… my ascension… I am owed the world… I…!" The Harpy King flexed his wings and moved nothing but the stubs that remained.

"Just shut the fuck up!" Sivvy elbowed the defeated man in the face and knocked him out.

"Hah! What a pathetic vessel you have. Mine is so much stronger." Elirashj embraced her from behind.

"You… I'll show you, Elirashj!" Uzazzsa did the unthinkable— she wrenched herself out of the unconscious Harpy King.

The elemental lord of fire turned to Seven who had just touched down and smirked.

"Not good! Seven, run!" Kanae cried.

"Huh?" Seven had no chance to react.

Uzazzsa threw herself straight into the harpy's body until not even a single streak of smoke was visible. However, Seven fell to his knees and clutched his stomach. His entire body steamed. He scratched himself and drew blood. His skin began to blister and form boils.

"What's happening… I'm… burning up…" Seven whimpered.

Kanae, Patrice, and Sivvy raced to his aid. They tried to pick him up, only to have their hands and fingers burned.

"Ow!" Kanae winced.

"It's Uzazzsa. She's trying to fuse with him. There's no guarantee the boy will survive," Elirashj warned.

Kanae switched Coat of Conflagration back on and held him.

"There's gotta be a way to get Uzazzsa out of the kid, right? Spit it out, Breezy!" Sivvy exclaimed.

"I'm running out of mana… I can't keep him healed forever. If there is a way, it must be done soon!" Archbishop Patrice implored, sacrificing her hands to channel healing magic on him.

"The boy must reject her with all his might. He can still achieve this while Uzazzsa's grasp is weak," she explained.

But how?

Just as Kanae thought that, Kara and Theena came running over.

"Kanae, what happened? We heard Seven screaming!" Theena rushed up to them and gasped at the sight of her suffering friend.

"Seven… Is there anything we can do?" Kara asked desperately.

"I don't know. But it seems like something Seven has to fight on his own," Kanae answered.

Theena squeezed a tear from her eye and grabbed his hand. Her own sizzled.

"What are you doing? You're hurting yourself!" Sivvy warned.

"It's not… so bad. I have an elemental in me, too… Seven, if you can hear me… Kara and I are right here. Don't give up. We're fighting right alongside you!" Theena cried as a tear slipped down to him and evaporated instantly.

"I…" Seven murmured and took everyone by surprise. "I'm… strong enough… I don't need… a shortcut… like my… stupid old man!"

A burst of flames erupted from Seven's chest, and Uzazzsa came flying out.

"Impossible!" Uzazzsa screeched.

"Second rate elemental." Elirashj enveloped the elemental lord of fire with a powerful tornado that swelled in size.

The silhouette of Uzazzsa thrashed and flailed in an attempt to escape. Her flames ignited the tornado into an enormous fire devil, spewing an inferno into the sky like a geyser. Eventually, the blaze grew weaker and weaker until only the cyclone was no longer on fire.

Elirashj snapped her fingers. The tornado absorbed back into her and nothing remained inside it. Uzazzsa was no longer there.

"Gods, what did you just do?" Archbishop Patrice asked.

"The hotter something is, the faster it will consume fuel. I continued to feed Uzazzsa until she could no longer contain her flames. It's back to the elemental plane for her. Oh, did that feel good~" Elirashj shuddered in what looked like an orgasm.

"Seven? Seven!" Theena and Kara's worried voices cut through as they shook their friend.

"Hey, guys… Not too loud. Everything hurts…" Seven offered a weak smile.

They didn't listen. The girls threw their arms around him, even butting Archbishop Patrice away when she was still healing him.

"Thank the gods." Sivvy chuckled, then stood upright. "Wait, where's the Harpy King?"

Everyone turned around, and his body wasn't where it was lying earlier.

"I got 'em!" Camilla, pipe between her lips, was dragging the Harpy King back to them by the scruff of his neck. "He tried taking off while your backs were turned. Lucky you, I was keeping tabs on my little sis, so I tracked her scent to you guys!"

The battle was won. Elusis' forces just hadn't realized it yet. Hundreds of Edina's undead stampeded past Petyr, slamming into the western flank. Harpies desperately fought off the two undead dragons and berinath to little success. At the border, the edirashems of Avanesse punched a hole through the back of the camp.

Arenade and Delayn went ahead to regroup with the Commonwealth army. Meanwhile, Petyr kept her eyes peeled for the Dryoak Consortium. They must be here.

A few foolish Elusis soldiers thought to cut Petyr down, but she introduced them to the blunt side of her warhammer. One went flying, and the others dropped their weapons to make a run for it.

"Where are you, Riley?" Petyr muttered.

As if the Supreme One had answered her, someone wearing a consortium tabard rode away from battle on a ronoa. They were headed where the fighting was the most sparse. Much farther away in the southeast, a larger group was trying to escape. The rider must be trying to rejoin them.

"Edina! I need a ride!" Petyr shouted to Asa Mareer.

"My sympathies to whoever you're trying to catch up to!" Edina summoned an undead griffon, whose body was stripped of skin and fur except for its feathered wings.

Petyr jumped on as soon as it came down and lifted off to give chase. The griffon didn't take long. Very soon, they were on top of the guild and Riley, who looked up and locked eyes with her. She steered the beast ahead and landed far in front of them. The whole of the Dryoak Consortium was bearing down on her, and they weren't backing down.

"Will you just stop for one fucking minute!" Petyr hoisted her warhammer high above her head, infused it with Divine Smite, and brought it crashing down on the ground.

The impact sent earthquakes across the desert. Cracks and fissures opened. Members of the consortium lost balance and fell off their mounts. Riley leaped off her ronoa, firing off bolts from each of her hand crossbows. Infused with a fire elemental, they ignited mid-air and exploded against Petyr's chestplate.

"How many times do I have to tell you before it gets through to your thick skull? I don't want to talk, Petyr! This is your fault. Yours and that stupid succubus!" Riley flung a fan of shivs.

They plunged into the gaps of Petyr's armor with pin-point precision and burned. She plucked them, wincing after every one.

"Who said I was here to talk? I'm done talking, too. I'm here to beat sense into you instead!" Petyr raced in and took a swing.

Riley ducked, stepped behind Petyr, and fired two bolts behind the cuisse. She drew two daggers and shanked her underneath the pauldrons.

"Tch. Lay on Hands!" Petyr healed away her wounds and imbued her words with power. "Kneel!"

Compelled to fall to her knees, Riley obeyed. Fire expelled from her mouth, but Petyr braved the flames and grabbed her by the throat. She discarded the warhammer, ripped off the hand crossbows and daggers away, and shoved her down.

One punch connected with Riley's right cheek. A tooth went flying. She continued glaring. Petyr laid a beating of a lifetime on her childhood friend even as her gauntlets turned red.

"It's not over yet!" Petyr washed Riley with healing magic.

"Fuck you!" Riley spat blood in Petyr's face and turned them around.

They traded blow after blow even after both of them had exhausted their mana. The fires that wreathed Riley weakened to a pitiable burning wick of a candle. Whenever any of the consortium tried to intervene, a swift punch from Petyr gave the rest second thoughts.

Riley and Petyr only stopped when they couldn't lift their arms any longer. Their breaths, hoarse. Dried blood caked their faces and fresh blood trickled down their chins. Unable to stand, they fell flat on their asses.

"Why?" Riley asked.

"Why what?" Petyr glanced up.

"The necromancer, the succubus… You have all those people to call friends, but here you are… trying to make amends with me? We haven't seen each other in years either. What makes me so special?"

"Because I'm selfish. If I want something, I'll damn well get it. You're my friend, Riley. Always have been," she said.

Riley laughed. Or, tried to. Blood sputtered from her mouth. She retrieved a waterskin from her belt and poured it over her face.

"There's going to be a revolution in Ortesia," Riley started, much to Petyr's utter surprise. "Can't say when it's going to happen. No one knows for sure. But one thing I do know is that we need power and influence. The Harpy King was going to give us just that, and his influence as Grand Sultan of Savir would have been immense."

"I'll come back with you and join the fight!" Petyr insisted.

She shook her head. "No. Your place is here. Besides, the ones behind the revolution won't appreciate you being friendly with a succubus. We're trying to eliminate succubus influence from the Lord Council after all. The best you can do… is let me go."

Petyr squeezed her eyes shut. The last time they went their separate ways, Riley's house burned down…

Succubus influence?

"Exactly how deep does that influence run?" Petyr asked.

"We suspect some members of the greater and lesser houses in the Lord Council are under succubi sway… and that Lord Guillaume Pyrelle and House Pyrelle are conspiring with the Cult of Lust and Depravity. What happened in Avanesse and Sultan's Wake all but proved it. Maybe I'll even find out if it was the cult that had ordered my family to burn," Riley explained.

The Pyrelles and DeSalles were one thing. But the other greater houses and lesser houses, too? Petyr felt more dizzy from thinking than from the fight. She could just as easily have been a victim. If Kanae hadn't defeated her in the Commonwealth, the Lord Council might have given her to the cult as a reward.

Riley whistled. The Dryoak Consortium was getting back on their ronoas again. One member brought a beast up to the guildmaster.

"I'm begging you here, Petyr. If you really do consider me your friend, let me go. Don't follow," Riley pleaded.

"Fine. I'll let you go. But whether or not you want my help, you better be damned sure I'm going to follow you back to Ortesia," Petyr said.

"You're such an idiot." She sighed, climbing onto the ronoa and stopping when a thought gave her pause

Riley fished something out of her pocket and extended a closed fist to Petyr. She reached out with an open palm, and a tarnished golden crest dropped into it. The Dryoak family crest, charred from and in need of a good polishing.

"Since I can't stop you from coming to look for me, you're going to want to hang onto that. You ever find yourself in Ortesia, start at my family's burned down orchard. Try not to get yourself killed, alright?" Riley scoffed.

"That's my line. I'm not so easy to kill." Petyr smiled.

Riley didn't turn back, but she did tip her hat before riding off with the Dryoak Consortium.