The war could only end until every man on the opposing side was dead. The Zionittes refused to retreat, and Kohtaro’s men had no choice but to fight onwards. Even after the last remaining bullet was fired, Kohtaro called for the infantry and cavalry to finish the remaining soldiers. He tried to gather the enemies as prisoners of wars, yet they were too strong to pin down. Audrey bowed her head low as more men continued to die.
Audrey watched with remorse, scouring the fields for the concubine, who was nowhere to be found.
“I think I found her!” The young soldier was impaled by a spear as Debbie attacked relentlessly.
Debbie was burning. Literally. Her body was turning black and blue, and her eye sockets bulged out. The bullets in her body were still implanted, however she didn’t seem to care. Her aura was strong, shaking the hearts of the soldiers in fear. It seemed that the monster in Debbie’s body was taking out all of her energy until she turned into a rotting corpse.
“This is your end.” Audrey narrowed her eyes at the dying figure. The death of Emperor August was heavy on her heart, and she slowly felt numb as she laid eyes on the person who had once destroyed the universe. She climbed down from Caleb’s back and walked towards Debbie, who stood defenselessly. She felt a chill run down her back as Debbie suddenly smiled again.
However, just as Kohtaro was about to approach her, a man from their side began to scream.
The young soldier was a part of their infantry. He was slightly isolated from the army as he was scouting the field for Debbie. He was returning to their side when he felt a hard, invisible force knock him over. He was pressed to the floor, feeling as if he was going to be squashed.
He screamed in alarm, alerting the rest of the soldiers.
“Help!” He muttered, but it was too late. His head suddenly seemed to explode as if an animal had crushed his body.
Audrey and the rest of the soldiers widened their eyes at such a disturbing occurrence. They could barely register what had caused the soldier to die in such a way when they too felt an invisible force knock them over.
“Agh!”
It was as if someone was pinning her to the floor, trying to smash her head against the floor.
She heard Debbie’s high pitched laugh ringing into her ears. “Did you really think a helmet or one of your toys would stop me?”
Audrey’s stomach filled with fear as she realized an invisible army was attacking them. She didn’t want to know what kind of army it was, but anxiety filled her heart once again as she didn’t know where to aim.
Caleb seemingly kicked something from her back and the force was suddenly gone. Before she could raise herself, another stronger force kicked her stomach hard. Audrey bent over in pain, and Caleb released a dangerous growl towards whatever was in front of her. She couldn’t see what was happening between the two, but Caleb had successfully scared it away with its tail.
“Get on Caleb’s back! They’re scared of our familiars!” Kohtaro yelled.
Without sparing any more thoughts she immediately clung to Caleb and climbed, while soldiers ran over to them. She looked back to see Kohtaro struggling to fight off invisible forces, appearing ridiculous as if he was fighting air. However, he seemed as if he knew exactly where to aim and move, for he didn’t struggle as much as her own comrades. Audrey realized that Kohtaro might be able to see the invisible armies too.
“Caleb! Can you see it?” She asked, and her familiar nodded its head in response. She didn’t want to ask if they were human, and instead came up with a plan.
“Then can you scare whatever’s attacking them away? Can you hurt them?”
Without a response, Caleb sprang into action and seemed to have flung some of the invisible soldiers away from her comrades. She spotted Eli and Aaron in the far back, struggling to escape their grasp.
“Save them!” She beckoned Caleb to fly towards the boys, motioning them to climb onto Caleb. She couldn’t fit everyone on to Caleb’s back, but she would help the soldiers as much as she could until Kohtaro defeated Debbie. Audrey gave Kohtaro a final look, and he nodded in understanding. She trusted the emperor, for Audrey believed that only he could kill Debbie now.
*****
Only Emperor Kohtaro could see the monstrous, invisible force of armies attacking his men. Seeing their deformed, rotting appearance, it was rather a blessing that his men and Audrey couldn’t witness their terrifying form.
It was impossible to kill them, for they were already dead. Debbie had tampered with black magic and the evil spirits. Whatever human being Debbie once was had completely disappeared. There was not a single trace of the original soul within the body. Perhaps she had already passed into the next life if she was forgiven by the gods. It was just an empty shell.
He had to stop whatever was in Debbie’s body in order to end the war. He was worried for Audrey, knowing that she would reach her limit soon. Already, the dead continued to grow in numbers, some becoming rather curious and attempting to climb on top of her familiar, although it was crushed under Caleb’s powerful stomp.
As the dead continued to jump on Kohtaro, he merely tossed them to the ground. Red blew fire around them, keeping them at bay. Some screeched in terror and abandoned Debbie, who stared at the emperor spitefully. He stood tall, unphased by the surrounding cries of war. He approached Debbie calmly, each step growing increasingly more powerful and regal.
“You can’t feel pain inflicted by humans, but surely you will feel pain inflicted by the gods’ blessings.” Kohtaro spit out, watching as Debbie cowered from his light. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “The light can wipe out your existence. I should’ve done this many years ago.”
Then, he took her head and nearly smashed it to the floor. Red circled between them both, breathing out smoke.
“You think this will end once you reduce me to ashes?” Debbie’s smile faltered as the fire began to burn against her skin. It was too bright. She attempted to hide her nervousness and intimidate the young emperor. “I am immortal, child. I will return when you are withered and old. You will never know what form I may come in when I kill you and your little lover.”
“Oh, you think I’m going to kill you?” He laughed darkly.