Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 49

After the battle with the dragon and the lich, it was like a spell was broken across the land. Word spread and everyone from peasant to king knew that the tides had changed in the war against the Demon King.

High Priestess Calista clung close to my side, healing my wounds and casting spells whenever I fought. Truthfully, she’d have been more help with the knights than with me, since I could heal myself just fine. But I didn’t have the heart to order her away.

Her presence seemed to repel Prince Eowyn though, and since the battle with the dragon, I hadn’t seen the prince at all. Though he was on the front lines often enough, slaying enemies left and right with a ferocity unseen in any other. The reckless way he fought seemed like he wished for death, but his power grew faster than his enemies could contend against.

He was progressing rapidly through the D-Grade, and was now over 75, making him by far the closest to C-Grade. Even the strongest elite knights were hardly level 50 after days of constant fighting. Interestingly, the levels seemed to mean nothing to most people when I mentioned them.

Only High Priestess Calista seemed to understand what I was saying when I talked about levels, and even then she could only sense levels when looking through a holy artifact of her order. They did have a simpler technique that they could use to get a general impression of an enemy though. It was more like an instinctual feeling that someone was weaker or stronger than another though, and without numbers it was tough to see who stood where without some sort of tournament, which these knights had plenty of before the end of the world. That ability was what they used on me when I first arrived. If it was a poor copy of examine, I wasn't surprised it was easily blocked by my examine resistance proficiency.

Prince Eowyn's rapid leveling concerned me though. Were this Earth, or even somewhere I was going to spend more time on, I would have gone to speak with the wayward prince. Fighting like that usually led to death. But victory was growing closer by the day, and I could sense the final battle on the horizon. I wouldn’t be here much longer, and soon, everything I’d done would cease to matter besides the rewards I gained from the quest.

So I let things lie as they were and focused on the mission at hand. Sharky had died the previous night, likely due to the necromancer and the demon lord working together. No doubt they’d expended considerable resources to kill him. They would be terribly disappointed to find that I’d just summoned him again a few hours later, and his hunger had only grown all the greater for his temporary death.

With him carving a path of destruction and me leaving each night to follow in his wake, another of the Demon Generals was dead before my forces even had to confront him on the field. Despite all the levels my knights had gained, they were still no match for those blessed by the Chaos Gods in open combat. This world was simply too weak compared to most of the Arcadia Multiverse.

But poor and weak as they were, these were still people, and it was hard to keep my distance when they acted so warmly toward me.

“Hero, oh hero, which unstoppable foe shall you vanquish today? Or are all the Demon King’s forces no longer a challenge for you?” High Priestess Calista sashayed up to me with a sway of her hips that had to be deliberate. When I first arrived, the robes she wore had been very conservative, and roughly about what I would have expected from a religious woman from the middle ages.

But day by day, the cut of her blouse had gotten lower, and the slit on her dress had crept higher. When questioned, she claimed she was merely getting more comfortable for a life on the road, but I was fairly certain the changes to her outfit were for my benefit.

Most heroes probably wouldn't have minded. A brief visit to another world would be the perfect time for a secret affair, since when all this was over, we would likely never meet again. That was likely what the High Priestess had in mind.

But such an arrangement seemed uninteresting to me. Not when Bridget, Sakura, and Myrina were waiting for me. And especially not with Cyra still on my mind. It seemed wrong to pursue another woman until I knew how things stood with her. Besides, I didn’t like hiding things from my companions. If I had another lover, they would know and approve of her.

So when she threw an arm around my waist and pushed herself up against my side, I shrugged her hand off with a gentle but firm push.

“There’s much to do. We both need to focus,” I said as I turned to the map before. One of the demon generals I killed had a rather nice collection of maps to help with his initial invasion, and now these same maps would serve us well in liberating those same territories.

“Of course, hero. But we should really find time to relax at some point. It isn’t healthy to run from one crisis to the next for weeks on end.” She shot me a coy and sultry wink. A few of the younger knights by my side grew weak-kneed just seeing it from afar. I paid it little mind, which just seemed to interest the High Priestess all the more for my aloofness.

I cleared my throat, regaining the attention of all the young men distracted by the High Priestess’ sultry looks and skimpy dress. It took a few attempts.

“As I was saying, the time to strike is now while the enemy is off guard. If the number we have for total demon generals is right, only two more remain, and both lay on a direct path to the Demon King. We have food and supplies, so the villages can wait until the Demon King is slain.”

I happened to know both their armies were already crippled, thanks to Sharky, and one of them had been killed outright. The rest of the army would discover that when we arrived. That was the only reason I was willing to move so fast.

“As expected of our hero! He goes straight for the dragon’s throat!” High Priestess Calista applauded me, and others joined with her, delighted more with the idea of marching alongside the hero than with actually planning out a campaign.

Perhaps I’d played the role of a hero too well. Looking around at my gathered commanders. All of them hung on my every word. Even a woman as beautiful as the High Priestess couldn’t distract them for long. They didn’t follow me like a commander, they worshiped me like a living god.

I found I preferred my comrades in Crownhill. They were their own men and women with ideas to contribute and skills to bring to the table. Sure, I could have fixed things as some of these knights gained more levels. I could have raised a few of them up into heroes in their own right. But why bother? I’d be gone soon enough.

Slaying the next general went surprisingly smoothly. I caught him trying to sneak out the back of his castle while his men defended the walls. After exposing his cowardice to his men, he died an ignoble death, and the knights put his corpse on a pike.

Meanwhile, I went straight to his office and poured over his belongings.

“I need something that looks like orders...” I muttered, searching through piles of doodles and wasted ink. The demon general had apparently been some sort of playwright before taking up arms for the Demon King and transforming himself into a hideous monstrosity.

“What a lousy writer. No wonder this fellow gave up writing plays to become a demon and terrorize his fellow man...” I muttered as I leafed through page after page of junk, tossing most of them straight into the fireplace.

Then, at last, I found something.

‘Standing Orders for Demon General Marvin,‘ I read. That must have been the lousy playwright’s name before he went and got himself blessed by a Chaos God.

Most of the list was pretty basic. Take the castle, hold the castle, take goods from the villages and pass them along to the front lines to continue the war effort. That was all the sort of thing any conquering force would do. Then I came across something interesting.

The second half of the orders involved the acquisition of huge quantities of stone and precious metals, as well as the gathering of talented builders and craftsmen. This area was to be the sight of a grand cathedral, twice the size of the one I had arrived in and many times as grand.

And according to the orders, the objects of devotion that would be on display throughout the cathedral were already here, in this very castle.

I set the orders aside to find them, and after a bit more searching, I uncovered several boxes, each of which was enchanted to protect the cargo within. Strange, considering there were no enchanters here, and even the richest knight bore weapons of plain steel. The best they could manage was an occasional blessing by a priestess.

I cracked the lids open, breaking the seals to find the body-sized container held a statue of incredibly fine craftsmanship. Like the enchantments, such skill was beyond what this world possessed.

The statue itself depicted a scholarly man, who stood with a book in one hand and a wand in the other. The otherwise ordinary statue was made much more disturbing by the snake crawling out of the man’s eye. It draped itself around his shoulders and neck, and it rested its head against his cheek. Outlined on the back of the serpent’s head was a pattern of scales that resembled the man from whom the snake emerged.

I was uncertain of the significance of the statue, but I knew at a glance that this was an object of religious devotion. With the senses of an Aethersmith, I could tell this thing was meant to gather the energy of some sort and siphon it off to a higher dimension.

This had to be the Chaos Serpent, I realized. And this had to be what he wanted here. They planned to gather the faith of all those who inhabited this realm, and appointing a Demon King was merely the best way to make it happen quickly.

I would have to do more research into what beings like the Chaos Gods could do with faith. Reluna ought to know.

With a wave of my hand, I shattered the statue. The Chaos Serpent was no friend to me. Then, I bent low and picked up the fragments of crystal jade. This was some of the highest quality stuff I’d ever seen, and it would make good recording crystals or other magical components.

A few knights found me in the cellars smashing evil-looking statues, and they joined in without question. With their help, we made short work of the remaining artifacts, and soon, any hope for an evil cathedral to the Chaos Gods was well and truly destroyed.

***

By the time my second week in the pocket realm passed, the Demon King had lost all his territory and was restricted to a small bastion in the far corner of the realm. It was quite the inversion of fortunes, considering how swiftly it came to pass.

I gathered my greatest warriors, seeing Prince Eowyn for the first time in several days. I nodded toward him, but he didn’t meet my gaze and instead took cover behind the brawnier knights nearby.

“The final battle is close at hand.” I declared once all were gathered. Before us all lay a map of the surrounding region. A sinister red castle marked our target, a single day’s march away. We were deep in enemy lands already, piercing straight through the heart of the Demon King’s territory to eliminate the problem at the source. And allow me to finish my quest and return to Earth as soon as possible.

Prince Eowyn’s eyes widened at my announcement, and we locked eyes for the first time since the fight with the dragon.

“Already?” the prince asked. He seemed afraid, a trait some in the crowd shared.

High Priestess Calista wrapped an arm around my waist. “Don’t doubt the hero, Prince Eowyn! All foes have fallen to his blade. The Demon King shall as well!”

There was a loud cheer then, and it took nearly a minute to get everyone to calm down again.

“I will leave clearing up the rest of the countryside to all of you after I am gone. Once the Demon King is slain, any remaining organization they have should collapse with relative ease. You’ll have to be careful dealing with anyone bearing a Chaos God blessing who might have survived the war.”

“Blessing?” Prince Eowyn asked. Others looked at me in confusion.

“Demons, as you call them. Where I come from, there are a lot of different kinds of demons, but here, it’s a decent enough term. Anyway, you knights are more than capable of dealing with all that remains, and I suspect no more shall appear once the Demon Lord is slain and his castle is destroyed.”

High Priestess Calista bowed her head. “Rest assured, hero, that if the Demon King is slain, the remaining lords of the land will fight to restore the rightful nations and fiefdoms of the realm and bring order to this chaos. We’ve imposed upon one as talented as you long enough. I’m sure ours is not the only world you need to save.”

I chuckled. “You’re right about that.”

Crownhill seemed to face an apocalyptic threat every few weeks or so, and would until the integration was over. I’d helped save the Samhain lands from undead and monsters too, and their territories on Themyscira were only slightly smaller than the combined feudal kingdoms of this realm.

I saw looks of longing on faces all around. As much as these people worshiped me, I had no doubt that they’d all gladly send me home if it meant getting their old lives back. My eyes roamed Prince Eowyn’s troubled face, and I realized there was one exception to that.

“We march at dawn. Sleep well, all of you. The final battle awaits.”

***

I planned to stay up most of the night, expecting an ambush. If I were the Demon King, I knew I’d be desperate for any sort of delaying action I could make happen. A small fire to the tents or a few dozen horses cut loose was all it would take to stop this army in its tracks.

I couldn’t allow such a delay. Not when my path home was so close at hand. If there was a sneak attack, I would be ready to stop it before it began. I’d even recalled Sharky a bit and had him circling the camp just out of sight to give me that much extra warning before something happened.

So I stayed at my workbench in my personal tent, working on a few enchantments that would turn ordinary rocks into explosive weapons and trying to puzzle through a few of the pages of the strange new book I found. I still had Morgathor’s camping tent in my satchel, the very same one I’d spent those nights with Cyra in. It was loaded with magical equivalents to most of the modern comforts I knew and loved, and I wasn’t about to sleep on the ground surrounded by damp medieval cloth. I’d even made a few improvements to the tent with regard to lighting. Now that I knew the trick, I could probably expand the extradimensional space a bit as well.

Anyone entering my tent late at night couldn’t help but be blinded by the sudden shift from dark to light. Candlelights and torches just didn’t cut it for my workbench. I’d installed track lighting and a ceiling fan in the tent in place of wall sconces and a heap of candles.

When the cloth rustled and someone entered, I had time to pull myself away from my work while they blinked away the sudden brightness.

“Hero... you’re still awake? I thought you might be. I was worried I would disturb you,” Prince Eowyn said. He wore his hair longer than normal and wore a baggy tunic I’d never seen before. He had one arm held tight over his chest.

I set my current project aside. It was a newer, larger version of my rapier. I’d just finished working on my armor, which now had some of the strength enhancement features I was used to despite me not having access to servos and other crucial parts. When I combined this armor with what I had back home, I would make something far superior to my old prototype.

“Hello, Eowyn. I sense something’s on your mind. Come and join me.”

I waved to a couch nearby. High Priestess Calista usually arrived to sit in it around now. She’d been paying me a lot of nighttime visits, which didn’t help the rumors circulating about the two of us at all. But I was certain that was by design, and she seemed content to watch me enchant or just sit alone in my tent while I snuck off to deal with a demon general. I would have to make sure she didn’t show up while Eowyn was here, though.

Communicating with Sharky from afar was difficult, but he seemed to always have some sense of my intent, regardless of whether I voiced it. Hopefully he would get my message and circle the camp a bit too close on the side opposite to me. It would scare the sentries enough to summon the High Priestess, but not enough to summon me.

I turned my attention to Prince Eowyn, who worked his hands at the knots of his tunic.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. Honestly, I really should have told you this a while back. But if you defeated the Demon King and left, I wouldn’t have ever forgiven myself for not giving voice to these feelings. You see, I’m not who I said I am...”

The prince’s hands tugged at the knots once more, and soon the entire tunic came loose. Bare, womanly breasts revealed themselves in the light of my tent. The sight revealed beyond doubt that Prince Eowyn was no prince at all, but rather a princess.


<Note>
Yeah, a lot of you guys called it already. Prince Eowyn is actually princess Eowyn. I was suprirsed how early many of you guys spotted it.

Also, my self-insert character ended up dying off-screen! Sad. I thought about giving him a battle, but we do need to get through this arc with some haste.