The ground of Castle Elathion trembled first — A low, ominous rumble that ran through the stone foundations of the castle as the initial ruptures activated.

  Then came the true blast: that ear-splitting roar as the outer-perimeter pumping stations within the port all seemed to detonate at once, sending a great mass of debris flying skyward in a fiery storm that nearly dwarfed the mountain on which the castle was built. The vacant outer towers crumbled like sandcastles. Abandoned outer walls were blown over, and the blazing ash billowed so high that it swallowed the sky whole.

  Night turned to day, and all of Kaldreach woke to the fires of damnation turning the skies red.

  Boulders of flaming rock flew in every direction, each a blazing fireball that rained down upon the demon-infested territory surrounding the lake. Nests of imps, aquatic monsters, and exotic demons alike were obliterated as flaming debris exploded upon them.

  A stray fireball — whether by providence or ill luck — was somehow launched Northwards by the first grand explosion. Amidst the rain of flaming debris, it landed right atop the oldest and largest oil pumping station: the foremost siphon rig of the Caustic Oil Distribution Network, situated right above the lake and connected to the richest density of Caustic Oil within the lakebed’s reserve.

  The fireball smashed through the roof of the building, landed right atop the central pump mechanism, and then immediately detonated upon impact.

  The explosion ruptured the overpressured pipeline that once supplied House Elathion’s navy with millions of galleons of the purest Caustic Oil, pumped straight from the corrupted lake floor. The resulting spill and fire surged into the massive storage tanks by the rig’s side, still heavily filled with uncontaminated reserves of the highly reactive liquid.

  The siphon rig’s explosion somehow dwarfed the first one set off by Eri’s Hellbomb.

  The fires of Hell engulfed the streets, hyper-flammable liquid burning and melting everything. Any remaining pipes ruptured, chaining from one to another, the explosions underground violently worming from one district to the next. Pumping stations blew open, vomiting yet more oil right onto demon nests and infested hovels. Structures and roads centuries old were reduced to rubble. Had anyone been nearby, they would have gone blind and deaf from the god-devouring roars of fiery destruction, assuming the shockwave did not kill them outright first.

  Soon, every inch of the desolated port was set ablaze in raging Hellfire, choking on purple smoke and the infernal heat of the Damned. Even the lake was not left alone— the surface of its blood-waters set ablaze, while the reservoir beneath similarly detonated in chain explosions, boiling the cold depths with unnatural heat and forever destroying the underwater chasms home to the vast demonic legions of the Hellgate.

  It was a nightmare to behold. Fortunately, however, there were no humans left within that port to mourn after.

  Only thousands of demons, each a damned existence.

  … And also a veritable pi?ata of XP.

  ~~~

  [Congratulations! You have slain: Imps (x1401), Drownlings (x1189), Tideflayers (x245), Krillfang (x667), Blackwater Spawns (x1351), Mirefiends (x378), Leechlings (x904), Stagnant Ones (x18), Marrowcrabs (x111), Chillmire Toads (x81), Sludge Eaters (x47), King Hydras (x76), Queen Hydras (x21), Leviathan Spawns (x12), Great Deep Crab of the Violet Maw (Secret Side Boss)!]

  [Heroism Points Gained: 80970]

  [XP gained: 650987]

  [Level up! You are now Level 45!]

  [Level up! You are now Level 46!]

  [Level up! You are now Level 47!]

  [Level up! You are now Level 48!]

  [Level up! You are now Level 49!]

  [...]

  [Level up! You are now Level 60!]

  [You have hit the Level Cap. Please upgrade your Core to increase the Max Level.]

  “... Huh. That’s neat.”

  It was the last thing Eri mumbled, trapped within the wet and foul maw of a Demon Noble, before he passed out.

  [Congratulations! Side Quest ‘Un-Damn the Harbour’ Completed!]

  [+15000 XP]

  [+2500 Heroism Points]

  [+10000 Reputation with Chosen]

  [Chosen Reputation Ascended! You are now ‘Well-Known’ among Heroes!]

  ~~~

  Two hours later…

  “Is there no word at all?”

  For once, Seneschal Armael had no false words of comfort to offer to his Lord.

  The nobleman looked incredibly haggard. Lord Draevan had abandoned all sense of maintaining decorum. His posture was slumped, face sinking into his hands, his despair evident and plain.

  Under normal circumstances, such behaviour was extremely unbecoming of a House Lord. However, Armael felt that only a madman would chastise Lord Draevan’s manners at the moment.

  In the distance, the greatest fire the North had ever seen was engulfing Port Violet Maw and its demon lake.

  “None, my Lord,” Armael said, tone neutral. “There has been no sign of our knights, Captain Lauren, Lady Elen, or the demon child.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Do not call him that.”

  It was not the Seneschal or the House Lord who said that.

  Lady Dulcina stared straight at the fire in the distance, her eyes glowing in the reflection.

  “Do not call him that again,” Lady Dulcina said, staring forward. “Or I will cut out your tongue and feed it to you.”

  Seneschal Armael frowned slightly. When the Lord did not rebuke his daughter for such rudeness, the elderly man simply swallowed his indignation and said nothing.

  One day, perhaps he shall have his due. But until then, he valued the rationality in keeping his mouth shut.

  “What of the fire?” Lord Draevan asked numbly. “Have our scouts estimated how far it will spread? Is Castle Elathion, or even Kaldreach itself, at risk of being devoured?”

  “In this, I believe I have some good news to offer, my Lord,” Armael bowed. “Port Violet had long prepared fire countermeasures across its long history. Given Caustic Oil’s infamous volatility, the risk of a catastrophic disaster was always at the forefront of the minds of civil officials and engineers, whether dwarven or otherwise. Designs were in place to contain the spread of spills and fires. That being said… They likely never expected a fire of such magnitude.”

  “Enough. Just tell me our estimates.” Draevan’s voice was strained.

  Armael grimaced. “Currently, we believe the fires will not spread further than the inner walls of the Kaldreach’s Western boundaries. The citadel and its residence will remain untouched by the flames, although the heat and risk will likely necessitate a temporary evacuation of the western districts, nonetheless. The worst part is the loss of the oil…”

  A hint of genuine anger entered the Seneschal’s voice as he continued. “The fire has not merely consumed the pump reserves. It is far worse. The detonations were confirmed to have reached even the lake's deepest reservoir of Caustic Oil. This fire will burn for months, or even years. It will destroy the wealth of the Violet Maw. Everything… is now in ruin.”

  And it was all because of that demon child.

  “The oil matters little,” Lady Dulcina said coldly. “Have the men ready themselves to enter the fire. We will begin a search party—”

  Armael could no longer hold his tongue, rationality be damned.

  “‘The oil matters little?’ That oil was worth everything!” the Seneschal snapped. “Quite frankly, it was the only thing left of value to Elathion’s name!”

  Plans decade in the making, all revolving around the reclamation of the port and its assets… All gone in smoke. In its prime, Port Violet Maw’s annual gold profits were in the hundreds — an utterly ludicrous fortune that made House Elathion the richest noble family in the North. Any who secured the port and its oil reserves would be propelled to power instantly.

  But now, its precious oil was burning. By the time the fires died, there would be little left to harvest. The worst was that the vast infrastructure invested into the port’s operation — including dwarven machinery, pumps, and distribution pipelines, all valuable and vital beyond belief — would have to be rebuilt. Such a thing might not even be possible anymore, with the dwarven clans in Kaldreach reduced and scattered.

  Who knew that boy would cause such a disaster? He seethed privately. If I had known, I would never have told him about the port. And to think that I thought it would get him conveniently killed…

  “I am aware of the oil’s importance in the restoration of our House,” Dulcina replied. “However, we must focus on the present and salvage what we can.”

  The Seneschal had to resist the urge to sneer; such was his loss of composure at the destruction of the port that he nearly broke his genteel facade. As if he cared about the restoration of some measly noble house!

  No, in the first place… The man named Armael never truly served House Elathion.

  Powerful factions sought to take Lake Violet Maw and its seemingly endless wealth for themselves — Factions that Seneschal Armael secretly served and would now have to answer to, for he had failed in his given task.

  That port was to be the foundation of a grand new Kingdom in the North — an independent nation removed from the crumbling Empire, led by a new order. However, without the gold revenue from the Caustic Oil reservoir, such aspirations were no longer possible.

  Decades spent slowly reducing House Elathion’s position so that a higher power may seize the land. Decades of my life, wasted in this desolate castle. Armael’s hands turned into fists. All of it… Now pointless.

  His only consolation was that the remains of House Elathion’s best knights were dead. Its ruin in the next decade was now inevitable. His extended mission, bitterly concluded it might be, was finally over.

  I can only hope my superiors show mercy… Perhaps if I deliver that worthless Heiress to their hands, as Gunther and Froliet should have, it might afford me leniency.

  The boy would likely be a better gift. Whatever freakish powers his demonic mutations grant him would surely be of interest to the Duskcrowns. Alas, he is undoubtedly dead. Nothing can survive that explosion. I will take whatever satisfaction I can, knowing that the mutant’s corpse burns within that fire—

  “I will have Kalisa prepare fire-resistant potions. We have no time to waste,” Dulcina said grimly, snapping the man out of his murderous thoughts. “Muster the men, Seneschal.”

  This time, Armael barked out a laugh. Dulcina glared at him fiercely. Lord Draevan did not even bother to look his way.

  “With all due respect, my Lady, what men would you have me muster?” Armael chuckled darkly. “All of our best knights went into that Hell to save that precious boy of yours, at your insistence, despite your Father’s orders otherwise! We have nought but untrained squires left. Would you have them die for your idiotic infatuation as well? How many will you kill before you are satisfied?”

  Dulcina said nothing. She glanced toward her Father.

  Lord Draevan stared at the flames. He did not rebuke the Seneschal's words.

  “Then I will go alone,” she said simply.

  This time, Lord Draevan rose. “No. I forbid it.”

  “If he dies, we lose everything,” Dulcina said softly.

  “Even now, you would risk more for him?” Draevan said, gesturing towards the flames. “Even after this?”

  “You did not see what I’ve seen,” she replied. “Even now, I do not believe it was wrong to gamble everything we have on him. The port is of negligible importance to our House, no matter its monetary potential. House Elathion would never secure the oil in a hundred years, not with the Hellgate there. It was always going to be a more powerful outside party that takes it from us before we can muster the necessary strength to reclaim it.”

  Seneschal Armael frowned. Yet again, he was reminded that the girl was sharper than her age suggested.

  “Moreover, I know of your conversations with Captain Lauren. There had always been plans in place to detonate the oil reserves,” Dulcina continued, her words shocking Armael. “Burning the demon nests by the shore would clear the flanks for our forces to retake the mountain mines, even if it won’t clear the Hellgate. Though we may never reach the same affluence as our ancestors once did, the road to recovery will still be there for us to tread.”

  “We have neither capital nor men to retake the mines and resume operations,” Draevan flatly countered. “You speak of matters beyond your understanding. It was never that simple.”

  Dulcina grimaced. “Regardless, I’m still going to find Eri.”

  Seneschal Armael sighed. “My Lady, within a blast that big, you will be lucky to find a speck of his ash, let alone a corpse! See reason and abandon this senselessness! There is simply zero possibility that the mutant bastard is still alive—”

  “Sire!” One of the squire suddenly barged into the room. “It’s the mutant boy! He’s at the gates! He’s alive!”

  Oh, what the fu— Seneschal Armael resisted the urge to scream in outrage, even as Dulcina bowled over him to rush out the door.