The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

The following day started off much better. The weather changed slightly and while it was still cold, at least the rain had stopped. Elisabeth woke up fairly early and went to check if Raphael was better. Twirll was still sleeping in his nest, while Kitty was mysteriously nowhere to be found. However, the cat instantly brushed against her calf once Elisabeth entered her kitchen space to grab something to eat. She giggled and threw her a snack while picking one of the sandwiches the Cook always made her for later. Once outside, Elisabeth was welcomed as always by the merry Praetorians' voices and smiles of the passing soldiers. Most of these people were her friends, which was unthinkable not so long ago. But that dark past was already behind her.

Or, so she just thought.

An unexpected alarm sprung the entire camp into action, and she felt a distinct pressure once the fort shield solidified additional layers above the whole camp. Additional magic circles started forming in a few places around the camp in case more sophisticated barriers were needed. She wasn't even sure when it happened, but she found herself surrounded by the Praetorians, who had their weapons at the ready. Raphael emerged from his tent, wearing his armour, and bowed to her.

"What's going on?" Elisabeth asked the Praetorian Captain with an annoyed voice.

"A sizeable detachment of Bernan Paladins just emerged from the forest, Lady. However, there is no way they could threaten the fort," he responded, looking into the distance before humming slightly. "It looks like they want to talk with you in private, Lady Elisabeth."

"Tell them they can forget about it." Twirll landed on her shoulder, and she felt a pleasant warmth emanating from his body. "If they want to talk, they can talk with me. Arrange the meeting point, Shield Captain."

"As you wish." The Praetorian smashed his armoured hand on his chest in salute and left.

"Raphael, you should be present as well." Twirll looked at Raphael, who simply nodded. "As for you, Princess, it's the time to hop into your armour..."

•••

Twirll, hidden from the Bernan’s view, observed the nervous Paladins who approached the table unarmed. While he was absolutely emotionless, Elisabeth was one big ball of nervousness. She sat between two Praetorians who stood vigilant, armed with long and slim sentinel blades. The young-looking Humans gave them a very hostile look but said nothing as they sat down. The increasing silence was oppressive, but Elisabeth, minding what Twirll told her earlier, was not about to give any honours or welcome the Paladins. She felt wrong about it, and while she knew that what she felt was the result of entire years of conditioning to be an obedient woman, she could hardly stand the pressure. She gazed briefly at Raphael, and she felt better. His calm eyes were observing the young Bernan Nobles without fear or curiosity. Eventually, Twirll flew into the air and landed on Elisabeth's shoulder.

"Insolent brats," he almost spat those words at the Paladins, who flinched upon hearing him. "You have asked for a meeting and begged us to stop our righteous cause so we would listen to you. AND NOW WHAT?!" he roared in fury, forcing them to stand up. Their faces turned red, but the older one clenched his fists and dared to look at them.

"We would never have imagined that basic rules and laws would be ignored in your presence, great Jukk'nala! That woman forgot her place and dared not to greet your servants. She needs to be punished..." he said with spite and commitment in his voice.

"Watch your filthy mouth, you damned scum," Raphael said with a cold voice. "One more ignorant word, and you can return from where you have come from. Now beg for forgiveness."

"How dare you, you dog..."

"Enough, you young fool!" Twirll shot a death stare at the paladin, who paled.

"But, my God!" he tried to protest.

"I said enough," Twirll repeated with a voice as cold as Raphael's. "Say what you were told to say and get out of my sight, you filth. Do you think that you are special? Not anymore. How dare you look directly at my Saintess? How dare you demand anything from her? Your sins are piling up..."

The Paladin clenched his fists again and visibly paled but said nothing in reply. Instead, he took out the decorated scroll. "The Patriarch asked me to bring you this letter, Great Jukk'nala."

One of the nearby Praetorians took the scroll and opened it unceremoniously. After giving it a moment to assess it, he put it on the table in front of Twirll and Elisabeth. The two of them read the content in silence.

"Has Dolren gone insane? Don't test my patience, Mortals..." Twirll raised his head and looked at the paladins after he learned the contents.

"Lord... We know nothing about the details..." the younger of the two finally spoke out.

"Listen to me closely if you don't want to turn into ashes." Twirll jumped down on the paper that instantly caught fire; however, the small bird was unfazed by the flames. "The Bernan army is in tatters. The Bernan Navy is in ruin. Yet, you come here and have the audacity to impose peace terms on ME? Do you think that Dolren is in any position to demand Elisabeth's return? Do you take me for a fool? Do you think that I will allow anyone to harm my chosen Saintess? My patience has run out," he hissed the last sentence. "If you want the peace, you must surrender unconditionally. I care not about his claims to save face and preserve order in Berna. My true faithful servant, Elisabeth, will implement order with the help of my friend, King Theon Avalon."

"But, we are your faithful servants..." The younger paladin had tears in his eyes.

"If you were, you wouldn't have disobeyed me. Don't waste my time any longer." Twirll flew into the air and sat once again at Elisabeth's shoulder. "Go and tell your master what I told you."

They left, and Twirll let out a disappointed sigh. "What was that?" No one responded to his rhetorical question. "I never saw such a blatant bluff before."

"What did they demand?" Raphael crossed his arms in front of him.

"That we give up all lands already conquered, negotiate compensation for the war WE started, and finally, Elisabeth would return to her father."

"Maybe we should add all of Arcadia to their wishlist?" Raphael chuckled. "What about their bluff?"

"They think we believe them, that they still have enough soldiers to fight us."

•••

"Well. Shit..." Twirll announced upon seeing the at least thirty thousand men strong army emerging from the forest a few hours after they sent away the emissaries.

"It looks like they have enough soldiers to fight us," Elisabeth pointed out amusedly.

"Not really." Raphael was tense, but she could tell that the reason for that was different than the size of the Bernan army. "Look at them."

Twirll and Elisabeth took a better look at the army. It wasn't keeping cohesive ranks; their gear looked awful even from a distance, but the Princess couldn't tell if something was fundamentally wrong with these soldiers. However, Twirll screamed something that was for sure some kind of curse. After a moment, he decided that wasn't sufficient, so he elaborated.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Twirll was furious. "They armed their slaves?"

"It looks like it." Raphael nodded grimly. "And are forcing them to fight us."

"All right. That's enough. Elisabeth, can you use mass dispel on them?" Twirll looked at the woman, who nodded.

"I think I can..." She raised her hands and focused.

A giant magic circle formed above the enemy army. It took a great deal of mana, but Elisabeth had trained as much as she could under Scion Stella's tutelage. Magic flowed through the air, and finally, the spell was ready. She used most of her stored mana to cast such a massive spell, but if that prevented them from pointlessly attacking the legion, it was worth it.

"Mass Dispel!" she shouted, but something was very wrong. After a long pause, she nervously looked at Twirll. "My spell failed!"

"What?!" Raphael looked at her in shock.

"Hmmm..." Twirll rubbed his beak with his wing. "It means that those slaves are not fighting us forced by magic. Heh... Just look at them. Their slave collars are falling one by one, with their power completely erased by Elisabeth."

"So why do they want to fight us? Don't they know that those collars controlled them?" Elisabeth looked at Twirll in utter shock.

"Oh, they know." The air around Twirll started getting extremely hot. "They fight on their own volition, but not by choice for sure..."

"Hostages?" Raphael closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Most probably their families or relatives." Twirll started glowing with golden light.

"What are you two..." Elisabeth switched her gaze between the Bird and Raphael. However, she paled once realisation dawned upon her. "N-no... How could that man be so cruel?"

"Cannons!" Twirll ordered, seeing them both hesitate. The Fifth Legion's field artillery took their aim. "I don't want any of you to participate in this. Raphael, I order the Guardsmen to stand down. The Death Heralds and I will deal with this."

The slave army started their run toward the fort. Their ranks were so chaotic and uneven that a lack of any training was apparent. From time to time, one of the slaves tripped or was pushed by the men around them and trampled. There were no cries or chants from the enemy ranks, just a simple determination and angry roar of thousands of people. Elisabeth lowered her gaze and started crying. She was unable to give the only reasonable order she should before their fort got overrun.

"Fire!" Twirll's voice was firm but full of sadness.

The rolling, low, thundering rumble of the magi-cannons tore the quiet evening asunder. The guns shredded the determined slaves by dozens at a time. Below their watchtower, the Legion was deployed, waiting in silence. As the slave army gradually got closer, the archers and mages additionally thinned their ranks. Arrows tore through the unarmoured people with terrifying ease, but the spells were far more devastating. The various elemental bolts left only dead in their wake, as the slaves had no protection against the magic besides their natural resistance. Once that became clear, the Legion mages started hurling massive fireballs that killed hundreds at a time. At least the slaves did not suffer needlessly, killed instantly by powerful spells. Elisabeth lowered her gaze, unable to watch that carnage.

"I hate him... I hate him so much," she said through her tears. "He will pay for everything..."

"We can't use non-lethal force on such a scale..." Raphael muttered, lowering his head in shame for a moment.

Eventually, only half of the initial forces reached the front formation of the Legion. The Bernan army forced conscripts had hit the shield wall like a tidal wave, but they were unable to break the ranks of the Hastati. The Death Heralds were unimpressed by the enemy's efforts but only defended themselves. The Legion's officers called the slave army to surrender, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. If not for the unnecessary cruelty of the situation, it might have been funny to see the officers of the winning side beg their enemies to surrender. However, the Bernan Slaves had no choice in the matter. They pushed on despite their losses, desperately trying to deal any damage to the Legion. Even though occasional legionnaires had fallen, it hardly could be considered a successful assault. Suddenly, Twirll took to the sky and transformed into his Phoenix form. Roaring golden flames scorched the air, and waves of barely bearable heat washed over the fort and slave army below. The majestic bird, however, ignored the combatants and headed straight towards someplace deep inside the forest, still visible from the ramparts.

Twirll plummeted down, engulfed in the flames of wrath. He hit the ground like a meteor, muffling the sounds of the battle below. The massive explosion that shook the ground scared the slave army, which only then finally relented and stopped their pointless fight. Some of them started crying and dropped their weapons, but some were consumed by mindless rage and threw themselves at the swords and halberds of the Legionnaires in front of them. Twirll returned, holding two Paladins in his talons. He dropped them in front of Elisabeth and Raphael, who drew their swords. Twirll landed on the rampart, still in his Phoenix form, and looked at the two Paladins who spat towards Elisabeth.

"Why have you done this?" she asked and pointed her sword between the eyes of the enemy Knight.

"Oh, I just wonder how the people and slaves of Berna will react when they learn that you not only killed the Holy Paladins but also massacred defenceless slaves," he replied with a spiteful laugh. "I wonder how your soldier's morale will be after the fight."

"You twisted bastards..." Elisabeth raised her sword, but Twirll's voice stopped her before she could kill the Paladin.

"No, Elisabeth. He wants that." His voice was as cold as ice despite the flames covering his body. "But you made a mistake—a horrible mistake. You should have adhered to the laws of war..."

"Hahahaha! Stop it, you imposter. We know you are not our God!" the second, older Paladin laughed. "Go on. Kill us. We don't fear death."

"No. We won't kill you now. There will be plenty of time for that later. You are two of the last four paladins from your entire company. Your two friends have their mission. They are going to inform Dolrus about our demand. But you..." The Praetorians effortlessly lifted the two men. "Your hopes to discourage the Immortal Legions were futile."

"Babble all you want. We see how your commanders reacted. That stupid woman is crying. Your pet dog is trembling." He pointed at Elisabeth and Raphael and smiled victoriously. "We won this battle." He looked at the Praetorian before him and smiled viciously. "Not so heroic right now, are ya? How does it feel to be a monster?"

"To be honest, it's pretty good." The Praetorian shrugged indifferently and took off his helmet. "But I was born a monster. You decided to be one."