A moment of wordlessness filled the room with panting breaths as the spell circle's glow faded. Heartbeats pulsed through ears, about to overflow. Was it their own or another's?
"B-bring the king quickly to the anti-magic cell," Vrona instructed through a shaky voice as her knees met with the ground. Immediately, the medics came forward, bandaging Vrona's open wounds. Breathlessly, she finally announced:
"We've won."
Cheers rushed forward all around in unison, blasting through eardrums. Demons hugged and rested with relief. The second heir, Tahgaryn, who crept along the sidelines as much as he could, sighed and slowly walked away from the commotion. Or so was the plan, but a few demons on his way noticed his departure and swung an arm over him, forcing him into the celebration.
However, the celebration did not last as much as it nearly should have. For as soon as they relaxed from the influence of the battle and the king's magic, they noticed the odd buzzing in the air that lifted their hairs and sent chills down their spines.
"Why are you all looking like that? What happened?" Vrona questioned between breaths, noticing the sudden quietness and concerned gazes.
"There's an ominous air of magic," one of the rebels nearby stated, "And it's growing. What's going on?"
Suddenly, everyone turned their heads towards a vague sound of an explosion in the distance. At that moment, K'ra came forward and looked into Vrona's eyes, speaking in silence. K'ra had so far taken a passive role as a medic in this operation, tending to the other injured demons. And now, they stared at Vrona, communicating the possible familiarity of the explosion.
Closing her eyes and drawing her head back, Vrona shuffled her hair in frustration. She groaned and grumbled before a "Now?!" She was ready for a nap to say the least, and the thought of more exertion made her more fumed than anything else.
Her thoughts soon connected to Eial's sudden disappearance. Of course, the only reason he would have left was for the only other thing that caught his curiosity, the only other main thing that posed a threat to others. Was Drokn with him, too?
At the worst of her fears, the thought of a potential worst of an encounter, Vrona bit her lip. Luckily or unluckily, however, her pain that seared through her body masked any sort of anxiety she could have felt. In the case of the worst, she had to be there and see for herself.
What horrid timing. Taking and opening a vial from her belt, she steadily gulped down a green, thick liquid before smashing the glass on the floor in a fit. "FUCK! That's fucking awful!" she swore, shakily standing up with the help of the medics around her. Wiping her lips with the clean bandage around her knuckles, she commanded, "Whoever can still stand, follow me! We have one more bullshit of a situation to deal with."
It took a moment for the rebels to move, unaccustomed to the current mood of the former queen's. The rebels had only witnessed the side of Vrona that was cheery, confident, playful, intelligent, virtuous. Watching this Vrona, sloppy with her words, her unruly emotions, short tempered in sort of a juvenile way, it was quite a show to watch.
"I'll explain on the way, let's stop wasting fucking time and go," she groaned, and with the help of a rebel guard to hold her, she and many of the rebellion left the palace in flight.
K'ra inaudibly giggled at their friend's behavior while the rest took a moment to process after Vrona's departure. K'ra and several other medics stayed behind, tending to the injured. Explaining the situation of the explosion in the outer town to those who stayed back, K'ra wrote on a parchment for a nearby demon to read aloud.
After the explanation, K'ra glanced up and happened to make eye contact with Vrona's second son. Tilting their head, they saw the second heir caught off guard from the stare before he finally, quietly sneaked away from all the commotion and demons.
~~~
"Didn't you fuckers hear him? He's the heir to the fucking throne. How dare you shitheads ignore him?"
The demons around Eial and Drokn, watching from their homes, looking out door cracks, looking out windows, now turned their attention to the scornful voice.
"I am Vrona for you dimwits who don't know," the demoness announced, the well known name creating glances from demon to demon. "As the queen to the land, I command you to heed to his demands."
Murmurs finally caressed the neighboring demons' lips as a horde of injured demons walked by, some still landing from their flight. Vrona led the pack, her weight being held by other demons.
To find the elf was not a difficult task by the odd behavior and stares which circulated the area. But the attitude the surrounding demons had towards them, towards Drokn's request— only scalded Vrona's temper more. As much as Drokn's pride could benefit from being tamed, he should not lower his head for these kinds of demons.
Out of breath, the demoness was guided in front of the elf. Ignoring the elf's worried gaze at her bandaged wounds, Vrona asked, "They're saying there's some weird magic in the air, and we heard an explosion. Is it what I think it is? How can we help?"
Saving Eial the energy, Drokn explained the situation as well as he could understand, followed by a "Fuck!" by the demoness.
"What fucking timing." Vrona's patience grew close to non-existent as a consequence of all the pain, and her words became sharper and more blunt. "Alright. So you need dark magic right now to neutralize the light magic. And these lazy fucks are still standing here like fucking trees."
The demon and the elf had not heard the demoness swear as much as she did in that moment. Behind the elf's focus, he briefly pondered if the demoness is where his demon had gotten his temper from.
"Any troops here who have magic left, fly to the farther cities and let the demons know to spread dark magic to the ground where there's a high concentration of magic. If there's not enough help, station yourself and help out." Vrona ordered the rebels and immediately, they set off. "The rest of you, follow me. We'll help spread the word at least."
The rebellion listened to her commands without question. Some glanced at the elf before they flapped their wings and whisked away, retaining their questions for another time.
Soon, no one the demon and the elf recognized were around them again, as if their meeting may have been a hallucination. But the magic Eial could feel through his own showed that it was anything but. Slowly, the magic around him became easier to control as the dark magic neutralized the light magic he could not manipulate. In a wave like a water droplet rippling a steady stream, he was able to relinquish any need for control of the magic near him, and continued spreading his magic even farther.
But as his magic touched more land, he noticed more explosions making their way out. He tried to contain them yet again, but this time there was a sudden influx. Word of mouth and demon wings did not travel as fast as his magic. As the circumference of impact grew wider, it became clear that they would not be able to contain all of the explosions that seemed to cover the entirety of the territory in time.
Was this it? Was there no way but to have some demons hurt in the end? These demons were his demon's people. He thought of the demons stuck in the outer towns. Of the cheery demons who drank away their sorrows at the tavern. Of the quirky doctor, Bluhn, who tirelessly tended to the ailing demons. Of all the patients in the hospital who Eial had met and assisted with. Of Gru, the elder demon who showed Eial an infectious kindness despite knowing he was an elf.
He didn't want any of them hurt. He wanted to protect them.
If only he had more magic. If only...
A warm feeling burst within the elf's body. It was the feeling of sunlight touching the skin against a field of flowers. Of water flowing in a stream nearby. The smile of a loved one.
His hands glowed a pale yellow and a new force rushed to where his magic had been fizzing. In an instant, the places where his magic resided were felt with complete control. He could feel another form of magic he couldn't sense before. Before he knew it, he expanded his magic, instantly controlling, morphing, and settling the magic throughout..
Amplified even further with his bond's touch, Eial's magic extended past the borders of the demon territory. Within just moments after, the elf could feel no more of the bustling, irregular magic through the vibrations against his palms.
A check. Double check.
And nothing left.
As if to cool off the plains, a light rain sprinkled from the clouds above and washed off the heat in the elf. Finally, after hours, Eial looked to his trembling palms with a rushing pulse, the pale yellow glow slowly fading from his fingertips. This is... light magic, right? Do I have light magic?
Leaning his weight against the elf's back, Drokn folded forward. Perhaps Drokn wants to see, Eial thought. But as he shifted his weight slightly and turned, the heavy weight on his shoulder slid off with a soft thud to the elf's side.
Heart beating through his chest now for a different reason, Eial glanced at the figure below.
His demon, eyes closed, unconscious under the splattering rain.