Tulip

  I appeared, nude, in the church I had set up to Water in the encampment outside the castle. I stood numb for a very long moment. Then, even as the priestess rushed over bringing me my backup armor, I screamed in pure, unfiltered rage and heartbreak. I screamed so loud that glass shattered and the ground shook slightly. Rage filled me and I punched the altar, causing it to shatter. The priestess fell back, terrified. I ignored her, grabbing my armor and quickly putting it on as I stormed out of the tent, tears still fresh in my eyes.

  Kemura was dead, and it was that bitch's fault. It was true we weren't strong enough to kill her. But I would be damned if I let her exist another day unchecked. I went to my tent and dug into my bag—deep under all of my clothes and relics lay a single cube. It emanated immense holy energy. It would not be enough by itself, but I had no intention of leaving anyway.

  Tucking the cube in my bag, I turned and stormed up to the floral castle, and this time, I ignored the army of orcs. I slashed through them, ignored their swings as my divine shield simply blocked them. I reached the gate that was still shattered and walked through it, past a small dead vampire child that Reggie had stabbed with a literal garlic clove directly into his heart with a wooden dagger. Past the mistresses that had once served the vampire, all with wooden stakes through their chests. The large double doors to the interior were also shattered. I clenched my teeth as fury and grief threatened to overcome me.

  Her voice echoed in my head: "Ah, coming back again? Your friends are gone—they fled. I would suggest you do the same, little girl."

  I slammed my foot down, causing the doorway to collapse on me. I shrugged it off and forced my way inside. I made a beeline to the top where the bitch was taunting me, killing spirits and anyone who stood even in my radius with a swing. Finally, I reached the already once-again pristine double doors to her throne room. I smashed them open with a kick and stormed inside.

  The bitch Sarah, self-proclaimed demon queen, sat on her piece-of-void throne and smirked at me. She opened her mouth to speak, but I never gave her the chance. I immolated myself and launched at her with full force. She casually dodged me as I hit her throne, shattering it into pieces. She appeared behind me and I felt as her sword pierced through my armor directly into my back and heart. I coughed up blood and smiled.

  Pulling the cube out, I forced all of the energy from it into her through the sword she had stabbed me with. She screamed in agony and let go. I turned without removing the sword and grabbed Sarah by the throat. I lifted her small frame from the ground and began to chant: "The power of the divine, a gift above all."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Sarah began to screech louder and began clawing at me, each lash cutting through armor and breaking bone. I did not let go. I continued the chant: "I hereby give my power, my life, and my existence, forevermore bound to this location, no more than a vessel of what must be done!"

  Sarah at this point was desperate and sliced my arm off with claws. But it was too late and I simply smiled as my vision dulled. My divine might left me and the last vestige of my Paladin aura faded. All of it for one single spell.

  Sarah screeched and grabbed her head. She looked up at me with intense rage and said, "You won't be able to hold me forever, you fucking bitch! I will escape, and when I do, you will all pay!"

  I smiled at her as I felt my heart begin to give out finally and spoke quietly: "Then it seems it was you who was not prepared." And I activated the final word: "Fire."

  Sarah was forcefully pulled into the air as every ounce of divine energy from the cube and all that had left me coalesced around her and slammed her into the nearest object—her throne. The throne was instantly repaired as Sarah was pulled into it and made incorporeal, trapped forevermore in a state between life and death, unable to move, breathe, or even exist. Total and utter banishment.

  I smiled weakly at the now silent room before my heart finally gave out and I died again. The darkness consumed me even as I spoke my final words: "I'll... be... back."

  I awoke again inside the church, naked, but this time, I was smiling. I turned to the priestess who looked at me worriedly before I spoke: "We invade the castle and claim it as a fort. Tell the others."

  With that, I turned and walked out of the tent naked. The men had learned long ago that looking at me naked caused them to go blind—divine attributes. So when they saw me naked and didn't go blind, they all stared at me, looking at me in a way that made me roll my eyes. It wasn't lust or desire, no. They looked scared.

  Reggie had told me I was pretty but I wasn't his type. I grabbed my chest as my heart hurt. Reggie hadn't come back with me—that meant he had survived. But where had he gone? Where was Talia? It didn't matter. I would keep vigil over this keep for the rest of my days. As long as I was alive, Sarah would never be free, and Kemura would never be forgotten.

  I looked out to the remains of the war camp and with one last wistful sigh, I activated the only ability I had now. A few seconds later I stood in the throne room, right next to the very throne Sarah and I were now bound to forever. A stupid chair in a floral castle. I looked over at Kemura's dead body. With tears in my eyes I whispered, "You will never be free for this, Sarah... Never."

  Chapter 103: Jiggle Returns