Sea of Glass ✔️

Chapter 29 - Last Stand

All of the boxes that stored Ezra's body parts caught on fire. The blue flames ate up the wooden panels despite Elio's best efforts to redirect the heat. The severed limbs of the other Demons flew through the air, whirling around in a copper frenzy.

I gave the prince a look of despair which was mirrored in his face. There were so many men dead already. I scarcely had an ounce of fight left in me.

Tired, I pulled Carmine into my lap, holding his body close as the Demons around me regenerated. I prayed for my God to send help, for anyone that could fight beside Elio since he was the last of us who could still stand.

Speaking of the prince, there was pity in his expression as he met my eyes again. Somehow, he knew I tried my hardest and failed nonetheless. For all of the blessings I was given, the Demons would not stop coming.

A circle of fire appeared around us, creating a shield from the enemy. Elio stood between us and the horde, a blazing idol of fury. Some of the Demons outside the circle also wielded fire, white flames they no doubt stole from his dragons.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I couldn't protect anyone."

He didn't respond, sending out a wave of fire to engulf the army. Even though it didn't seem to hurt the Demons, it did slow them down for a moment.

"Evelyn," he said. "The problem isn't that you're an incompetent warrior. Clearly, the issue is that they can't stay dead. Their flesh regenerates quickly before we can even land our next blow. Our solution, therefore, is to make it so that they can't regenerate."

"That's impossible. I've killed them ten times over and they keep coming back."

"Even if I turn them to ashes?"

I shook my head, remembering the way he set fire to the Demons in the hatchery. They still stood, skeletons and all, among the flames like it was water.

"Let me try," he insisted. "How can their bodies recreate themselves when they turn to dust?"

He pointed to the Demon closest to them, incinerating its body with much effort. Sweat beaded on his brow, tricking down the side of his face. After a few minutes, the creature was reduced to ashes.

The somber gray pile twitched, shifting like a tangle of centipedes landed in the middle of it. It slithered away, not quite dead but certainly no longer alive.

Perhaps Elio's solution had some merit. A swirling pile of dust wouldn't kill them the same way that a Demon would. But it was difficult enough to cremate one of them. Vaporizing the whole army was going to take hours. He was going to need a distraction if we were going to stand a chance against them.

I stood, pain shooting up my legs. Curse my weak mortal body. I would have preferred to be a real God at the moment, armed with a physical form that could fight forever.

"You can leave this to me," Elio said. "I don't expect you to sacrifice yourself. This is my kingdom and my duty."

"It is not your duty alone," I countered. I couldn't return to Myrania knowing that I failed in my first quest. It was one thing to disappoint my family, but I couldn't risk the devastation of disappointing my God.

"Hurting yourself won't help me." He set another Demon aflame, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh.

"I don't recall my pain ever being your concern," I spat. "Or the pain of my family."

He gave me a weird look. "This is hardly the time to bring up your cousins. And you know I did what I had to do in the Trials. If I showed you kindness, I would have never gained this power."