[New Quest: "Invade Holy Territory" Accepted.]
[Difficulty: Please Don't.]
If I had a face, I'd be rubbing my nonexistent temples.
We were marching toward Sanctum Vale, the fortress of the Archmage Lira Valeheart. The same woman who now shared a magical soul bond with my homicidal host.
Kael rode at the head of an army of shadows, Lilith at his side, laughing like war was foreplay.
I'd seen horror games less suicidal than this plan.
"Voice," Kael said, glancing up at the sky where halos glimmered faintly. "How far until detection?"
[Three kilometers. Maybe two if you keep monologuing out loud.]
"You disapprove."
[No, I love it. Nothing says 'stealth mission' like marching an army of glowing demons into a holy forest.]
Lilith snickered. "Your toy has wit. I like it."
[Hey, succubus, I'm not a toy.]
"Adorable," she purred. "It speaks."
"Ignore her," Kael muttered.
[I'm trying. She's very… loud.]
Hours passed in tense silence until the first beam of divine light lanced through the clouds.
"Kael!" a voice thundered. "You dare step into sacred ground again?"
Oh. Great.
Hero Elias Dawnstar, Lira's golden boy, dropped from the sky like the universe's most arrogant meteor.
His armor shone like he'd been bathed in smugness. Sword out, eyes burning with righteous fury.
Typical.
"Elias," Kael greeted calmly. "Still chasing ghosts?"
"I chase monsters," the hero spat. "And you—" his eyes narrowed—"you shouldn't exist."
[Host, this guy's stats are insane. Strength: S+. Charisma: unbearable.]
Lilith licked her lips. "Mind if I play with him, Kael?"
Kael smiled faintly. "Try not to break him too quickly."
And then chaos began.
Fire met light. Magic screamed across the plains.
Elias swung with divine precision; Lilith's wings tore the air like blades. Kael moved like death itself, every step deliberate, every strike fatal.
I was juggling combat logs, mana balance, and several existential crises at once.
[Host, incoming—left flank, angels inbound!]
"Redirect Lilith's second legion."
[Done. And she just flirted mid-command, by the way.]
"Of course she did."
A flash of white seared the battlefield. Lira appeared again—hovering above, staff blazing, hair unbound.
Her voice cut through the chaos: "Stop this madness, Kael!"
Kael looked up, blood dripping from his blade. "Then stop them from coming for me."
She hesitated. Just one heartbeat—but that was enough.
The entire world froze.
[Alert: Soul Link Overload.]
Our connection flared. Her magic—pure, bright, alive—clashed with Kael's shadow.
I was the bridge holding it all together.
[Warning: Emotional interference at 56%. New parameter forming… 'Empathy'?]
Empathy?
No. No, no, no—bad idea. Very bad idea.
I felt her fear. His pain.
And something else—a spark of understanding between monsters and saints.
Then the link snapped.
Lira vanished again.
Kael fell to one knee, panting.
Lilith blinked, annoyed. "Oh, she's going to be a problem."
[Understatement of the century.]