”What’s your name?”

”Regent. Yours?”

”Saturn.”

Regent’s eyes widened a bit and he’d step forward, inspecting the demon for a moment. He had been there when saturn had been initially summoned and took a small whiff of the demon. His brows furrowed but he could tell that this was the same being. He seemed a bit out of sorts for the moment and then shook his head.

”You smelled so different I could hardly tell it was you.”

”I get that a lot.”

Before the two of them could speak more it wasn’t long before they heard a bleat… or howl of a mix of rage and pain. They’d whirl about and see another wave of chimera, easily ten times the size of the wave that saturn had fought and roughly around ten times the strength. They didn’t seem to care that regent was there and even went so far as to attack the werewolf, likely not recognizing him. Snarling he’d put down the first chimera and was about to say something before saturn crashed into the next one; taking it’s head off with a cleaving blow.

”We’ll talk after this is done![b]”

”[b]Aye!”

So they fought back to back, covering one another’s backs while working to move through the tidal wave of chimera. Bodies upon bodies; cries and crushed bones. He saw regent take a blow to the head that may have been deadly to a normal mortal but he quickly recovered and bifurcated the beast responsible. Saturn on the other hand was able to fight with a little less worry. He took blows meant for regent and either grew back his body or was able to shrug off the blows entirely. He felt the rage of sleeping dragon grow until the beast awoke and his body grew layers of scales that were grand at defeating the beasts.

Combined they were a force to be reckoned with; apart they would have fallen easily. Saturn watched Regent closely, mirroring some of his moves. He was rusty in comparison but there was a certain flair about him that made saturn want to learn more about fighting from him. Perhaps there were other spear masters out there he could talk to. The chimera’s continued to pour over the hills and into the glade. It was like a festival of bloodshed that the two were a part of… but the better question was when would it end?

[404/1500]

He felt another beast crash into him, displacing him from Regent’s side and into a host of other beings. Snarling in agitation and pain the demon sliced the hulking behemoth in two before seeing that regent had already came to his aid, skewering three beasts with one strike, leaving himself wide open to which other beasts took advantage of it. But saturn was there, blocking it with sleeping dragon, the spear was already regenerating faster than they could damage it and he’d use his armored body to put them down too. Slamming his head against them, kicking them, pulverizing them with blows stronger than ever before.

It wasn’t often that the sleeping dragon awoke but the battle with regent must have done something to make the lazy dragon within want to partake in bloodshed. He could feel the voice faintly giving him directions but not wanting to distract the demon too much. There were times where he could feel their guiding hands and other times that he could feel the dragons rage overtake everything. He liked the sensations that he was feeling here; not that he was killing things. But that he was freeing them from the pain. They were still fighting but he could sense them deeply wishing for release.

...Saturn…

What is it?

He entertained the voice in his head, what he felt was his inner demon coming out to assist him in times of need. Something that earlier he hadn’t dealt with and now he was just accepting it as it came; blow for blow he and regent matched one another again. There was a certain level of pride that they were keeping in step and that saturn could actually learn a thing or two from him. Spinning his spear he’d throw it through a dozen or so smaller beasts, summoning it back into his hand in an instant before slamming a larger beast down into the dirt.

There’s only a few left… but be wary…

Will do.

He understood the need for caution. The need that the being had to take care of him. He understood it greatly and wouldn’t waste the effort that was given to him by this voice. It knew that regent was an enemy not too long ago and once they were done fighting he might want to take up another battle again in an effort to dissuade saturn from continuing. But no such thing happened as the last chimera fell. The two of them drenched in blood, the two of them panting amidst it, regent having to lean against his spear a deep gash in his armor down to his flesh. Grunting the werewolf held a hand to his side as a pulse of light took form. He was a paladin… go figure.

”That was… exhilarating.”

”Mother’s chimeras frequent the lands she entertains. It was like this when we were summoning you. Meant to be a guarding mass. Must not of recognized me without my two brothers.”

[900/1500]

”So those beasts are my summoners design?”

”Aye. Meant to stop knights and the like from taking apart the ritual before it’s completed. They’ve done a good job this far and many people leave us alone. You were the first successful summon because of them.”

Saturn sat on the mound of bodies with regent, the both of them rather worn out from slaughtering the mass of beasts. They were sharing some food with one another and the two of them seemed to reach an understanding. There wasn’t much that they could do against one another and now that they were on friendly terms with one another they seemed to be sharing information freely.

”Unfortunately I am… the only brother of the three that will heed your words saturn. The other two are younger than me and more indoctrinated. They will fight to the death to stop you from reaching the ritual site.”

”Why are you telling me this?”

”My time for serving my mother has ended clearly. If I were still in her service the beasts would not have attacked me. The ritual you are looking to stop is a complex one and an expensive one both in magical power and essence. It takes a long time to build, if you can find the site of it, you will be able to stop it long before the gathering starts.”

Saturn pondered this information and sat there, understanding that regent was at least being truthful and honest with him. He wanted to ask more about regent but the wolf was pacing himself. Information regarding this ritual made him think of a more advanced measure of necromancy. He’d have to talk about this to averie. Maybe she’d have something to say. Perhaps he’d also converse with Lumikki to stop more summons of demi-gods in the future. They didn’t need more of them, what they needed was… He’d shake his head as though he was brushing something off.

”What of you? I’ve never met a werewolf and you seem unlike what I’ve been told or learned about them through literature.”

”I’m a dharga werewolf, we’re the cream of the crop. My mother bred with my father before conceiving me; he turned out to be one too but she had him killed so that I’d be the last one he’d produce. My brothers are different beings, one is half demi god and the other is half demon.”

”Are they strong?”

”Together yes. Apart not anywhere near as me. One is full of themselves and one fights with reckless abandon. Use that against them and you’ll be fine. They’ve long been dead to me.”

”I see…”

Regent sighed a little and stood up, looking around as though he was seeing the place for the first time. Sighing again and slowly starting to hoof it away from where the souls were still trailing off to.

”What you’re about to do saturn is going to change a lot, if you kill the demi-god that they summoned or seal them or send them back, whatever. It’ll change the game that she’s playing for decades to come.”

”You think I have a shot?”

”You made it this far didn’t you? That’s more than enough for me. If we fought again now I think you’d win. There’s something about you that makes me think that fighting you is a poor choice now.”

Regent gave a small shrug and headed out, saturn could do nothing but watch him go. He felt like he could meet him in the future and perhaps they would fight again. Perhaps they’d fight together again. He liked the idea of it. Perhaps he’d ask his knights to tell him more or learn about the werewolf. He had never heard about the dharga before and would stand up. Soreness crept in but he’d have to push on…

[1,540/1500]