"KILL THEM ALL!"

Jaroslav's legs moved to the familiar orders before he had even fully processed them. Around him the other vampires followed suit, breaking off their attacks and fleeing towards the edges of the town.

Shouts of confusion followed behind them as the Guardians saw what was happening. Ruin herself crouched and readied to let loose with more Dragonfire.

But then the Mana Eater was charging towards her, a million tons of twisted flesh bearing down like an avalanche. Dodging to the side to avoid its frenzied bites, she took to the air to shoot skywards.

Looking down over the battlefield, her expression darkened into fury.

"You know what…" she said, "screw this."

She shot upward and vanished into the clouds. Jaroslav grit his teeth as the field returned to an uneasy quiet. The vampires that had received Dhruv's orders had scattered at this point, pursued by most of the Guardians as they ran from the city.

Jaroslav could feel the pieces of the plan coming together in his head, and felt a glimmer of hope enter his heart for the first time since Ruin upended the scales. The Guardians must not have been able to move the townsfolk far. Considering the short time frame they had to work with, and the sheer size of the population here… they couldn't be more than a dozen miles away.

If the vampires could reach them, that would divert more of the Guardians' attention. Then the Mana Eater could distract Ruin, leaving Dhruv open to prepare for some masterstroke.

What that was, Jaroslav didn't have a clue. But logic and basic survival instinct told him to be well away by the time it happened.

The deep thrumming of Ruin's Dragonfire came from overhead, and Jaroslav felt his heart clench. It echoed again and again, and dread began creeping up his spine as it did.

He jolted when the beam finally appeared, striking the ground a few miles ahead of him. Then it moved to the side, carving a wide circle around the town. It finished the sweep in front of them, then vanished as quickly as it had come.

The ground jerked beneath Jaroslav's feet, almost tripping him. He ignored it to focus on running faster.

"STARFALL." Ruin's voice echoed from above.

'Oh,' Jaroslav thought, 'oh damn.'

'Damndamndamndamn.'

He didn't recognize the spell name. He didn't have to. His damnable brain happily reminded him of the satellite videos that filled the internet in the weeks after the Archdragon duel. The Antarctic continent, reduced to a cratered hellscape by a single spell.

His legs blurred beneath him.

The air popped as a squad of Guardians teleported in front him. He let out a curse but kept running. There was a frenzy of jumping, dodging, and bolts of shadow impacting into unsuspecting eyes.

Then a Dragon crashed through their ranks. Eyes wide and limbs flailing, it looked downright terrified as it charged away from the city center.

"FLEE, FLEE," it roared, waving to some of its comrades to follow it.

But its charge ended as a dozen more Guardians appeared around it. Alone as it was, it was mere moments before they had pounded it into the dirt and moments later a sphere was forming around it.

Some of the other Dragons roared in protest, charging the Guardians but it was too late. The sphere vanished with a pop as the Guardians teleported it away. Then they reappeared a moment later, faces grinning and perfectly ready to take on the rest.

And, most importantly, completely oblivious to Jaroslav. He was already a mile away, covering ground in a dead sprint. He occasionally glanced backward, double checking that he had properly slipped the Guardians notice. But none turned towards him, either too busy or too confident to look for him.

He let out a low chuckle, silently thanking the fool Dragon that had given him the break. Then the chuckle cut off as the light changed, somehow brightening from the typical gloom provided by the clouds surrounding the Demon King's castle.

His eyes rose towards the sky. They widened.

The clouds were descending. That was impossible, equally as likely as the sky itself falling. To make them fall the Demon King's Castle would have to fall, and that was beyond any mortal magic!

Just like hurting the Demon King had been.

He turned to check, and sure enough. There was the black bulk of the castle, falling from the sky like a stone.

Damnit.

Damn Archdragons. Damn Guardians. Damn Guardian Archdragons!

Shaking his head he refocused on running. He was nearing the edge of the circle now. The city ended just before it, transitioning into thick woodland that could protect him from the coming sun.

The clouds hit the ground just moments before he reached the treeline. The world was foggy for a moment. In the distance the castle roared like a volcano as it struck the ground.

Then the darkness of the clouds was gone, revealing a sunny afternoon sky with the sun and moon hanging overhead. Jaroslav screamed a moment as the light washed over him, then he was into the trees.

His gasps echoed as he collapsed against a tree. It had been long since he was last burnt this way. The longer a vampire lived and the more power they had, the greater the effect of the sun on them. His last memories of its touch did no justice to the searing pain that now consumed his back.

Mustering the will to push away from the tree and keep moving, he stumbled forward towards the eventual line. There was a shaded clearing up ahead, he could look for clues of the humans' exodus there and-

He reached the edge of the clearing and froze.

It wasn't a clearing.

The world stretched out beneath him, thousands of miles of forest and town shrunken down by distance until they resembled shapes on a map. Gaping, he took a quick step back, eyes whipping about as he tried to comprehend what was happening.

It didn't make sense, there was no magic circle, no way for this magic to be happening. But there was also no sign of illusion magic, the ground really was falling away below. What was happening?

His eyes finally rose and caught sight of the moon. It was barely visible through a gap in the trees, but as he caught sight of it his knees buckled.

"God save us all," he whispered, the words tasting like ash in his mouth.

He hadn't been outside during the day in a very long time, so seeing the moon shining alongside the sun hadn't immediately struck him as strange. But now, Jarsloav's mind fuzzed as he took it in.

The moon was glowing. Glowing lines ran across its surface, forming concentric circles of runes that shone with baleful golden light.

The castle hadn't fallen. The city had risen. And the city wasn't the target, it was the projectile.

Without another thought he threw himself over the edge. The wind whipped by him as he turned his head to take in the gargantuan sphere of earth and stone that had risen free of the ground. It shuddered as it's base broke free of the pit that had formed beneath it, casting the surrounding countryside in shadow as it rose.

A mad giggle escaped as he took it in.

"Well Dhruv," he whispered, "it took a millenia, but you've finally met someone madder than you…"

He turned his attention back to the ground approaching him from below. An eyebrow raised as the sound of voices reached him, and his head turned to the side to find the townsfolk. They weren't hard to spot, the bright colors of their clothing forming a rainbow blob that was easily visible through the foliage.

A sigh escaped his lips. There went his chance to search diligently, never find any humans despite his great effort, and subsequently make a strategic withdrawal from the field of battle.

So instead of angling his body away from the madness behind him, he turned and descended towards the mass of humans. He carefully scanned it, looking for smaller shapes among the masses of humans.

Dhruv wanted a distraction, and when it came to mortals nothing would inspire more panic than the prospect of losing their young. He smiled as he finally spotted a larger group of them among the mass.

They weren't truly children, but he could see hundreds of the gangly forms of teenagers grouped together. It would do nicely.

Looking around, he spotted other vampires falling around him. Not many, but a baker's dozen had managed to slip the Guardians net. A whistle caught their attention, and when they turned to look at him he pointed down towards the mass of teens.

Nods were exchanged, after which he angled his body nearly vertical and plummeted downwards. The winds barely whispered around him, and his claws lengthened as the unsuspecting faces came into view.

He came down over one small group of them, arms stretched out and ready to attack. Their bodies drew close and his mouth opened wide.

Only to pancake as it struck a transparent shield that popped up to cover the group. He bounced off of it, thudding to the ground in between groups.

Around him the other vampires met similar fates, shields and leaping forms interrupting their attacks and bringing them to the ground. One unfortunate vampire even caught a fireball, only their ashes reaching the forest floor.

"What. The. Hell." Jaroslav growled as he got to his feet, glaring around as he looked for some manner of explanation for what was happening.

His eyes crossed over a mass of bodies that stretched in every direction around him. There had to be thousands here, the entire population of the town packed into a few square miles. Likely good for mana conservation, but now a perfect opportunity for him.

Screams erupted immediately, the humans panicking as a pack of fanged monsters appeared in their midst. They fled like cattle, screaming and running away from the vampires as panic spread through the crowd like wildfire.

Not all, though. Several dozen of the teens were instead moving to surround the group of vampires. They looked grim as they prepared themselves, faces taut… and oddly familiar.

Jaroslav's eyes narrowed. There was a resemblance there, he had seen these faces before. Mere hours ago, in fact.

Of course, the Thunderbirds were headquartered in this town! That was why Ruin had gotten involved, after all.

…And Jaroslav had just jumped into the middle of their entire junior division.

"This damn day-"

"Get them!" A girl dressed in dark colors shouted, and Jaroslav bit his tongue as the teens charged.

Pandemonium followed. The teens exploded with a variety of attacks, some firing spells, others transforming into great beasts. Some even attacked with just their fists.

Jaroslav roared as he smashed through them, bodies flying as he dashed towards the distant crowds. Then he swore as he was forced to duck beneath a glittering projectile that flew past him to explode in the face of another unlucky vampire.

He turned towards the projectile's origin with a snarl, only to find a dark skinned girl charging towards him. She roared, expanding into an enormous wolf as she leapt into the air and bore down on him.

Jaroslav ducked beneath her, only to find another girl charging him down. He lashed out towards her with a hand, only to blink as he stuck only cloth. A squeaking form dashed past him, and he blinked in confusion.

Then another projectile, a phial of all things, struck him in the chest. It exploded, sending him flying backwards to smash into a tree in a roar of sundered wood.

He stumbled to his feet to find all three of the girls gathered together. With the two shapeshifters in the front and the witch in the back, they advanced towards him.

Jaroslav took a few steps back, looking around at the other vampires. He snarled as he saw that there were even more impromptu fighters now. Some young, some old, but all sporting the same determined expressions as they surged inwards to combat the vampires.

A vampire died as a young baker leapt into the fray, transformed into what looked like an adolescent dinosaur, and smashed him into the ground with a single enormous foot. Others shrieked as a half dozen more wolves charged through their ranks like bowling balls.

Jaroslav's teeth grit as he took it in. Drawing himself to his full height, he snarled and the trio of girls that were advancing on him faltered.

"You are students, yes?" He asked. "Well, here is a lesson for you."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

A hand rose, and the entire impromptu army stumbled as the shadows beneath their feet writhed. Leaping up to wrap around arms, legs, and necks, screams echoed as they dragged their casters down to the ground.

The vampires leapt on the opportunity, charging the few still standing with roars. Jaroslav laughed as it happened, staring down the trio that had dared defy him.

"Children should not play games with an elder vampire."

"Yes indeed. They should leave it to their elders."

Mana surged through the surrounding forest. Jaroslav's eyes went wide, and he leapt upwards just before the ground was swallowed by a tide of green and red. Then spear-sized thorns erupted upwards like summer grass and vines lashed like whips towards the vampires.

Ash fell like rain as Jaroslav's head whipped around looking for the source of the attack. He found it, then grimaced. An old man, using an oversized rose bulb as a stool while he surveyed the battlefield.

Jaroslav didn't recognize him, but he certainly did recognize the river of mana pouring from him and into the plant. This was an Archmage.

How. Why.

He shook his head and refocused. A wave of a hand sent a bolt of darkness lashing out towards the Archmage, only for a rose vine to whip upwards and dissipate it.

Their eyes met, and the Archmage just raised a single eyebrow at him. Then a dozen vines lashed towards him and he had to dive to the side to avoid them. More came, and he shot back with tendrils of darkness. The attacks smashed each other apart, and the shadows faded as the shredded vines collapsed back to the ground.

The two paused at that, taking another moment to size each other up. It was Jaroslav who moved first this time, leaping forward.

But not toward the Archmage, instead towards the young witch who was only now stumbling to her feet. Both hands stretched forward, claws ready.

Only for a red suited figure to appear in front of him in a clap of noise. His eyes widened. Blast it all, none of the Guardians should even know he was here!

He tried to move but it was too late. The Guardian cocked a fist back, before punching forward and Jaroslav's world vanished in a roar of power.

Elizabeth's day was going GREAT. Sure, it had been a little up and down for a while. But now that Susan had finally become a Magical Girl the awesome meter had solidly maxed out.

She had started things off by lasering the Demon King so hard he was actually hurt. And that would have been the coolest thing Elizabeth had seen in years if she hadn't followed it up by ripping the entire city out of the ground.

Now they were both- Her eyes narrowed as she refocused, then she teleported. A swing of Liss cut off the Demon King's arm as he was moving to punch Susan, then she teleported away just in time to avoid his retaliatory strike.

She reappeared high in the air. Holding Liss out as she fell, she sliced a long line down Takeo's side before vanishing again

Both let out roars as she reappeared a few hundred feet away. Then Susan whipped Takeo in the side of his head with her tail while simultaneously slicing the Demon King in half with one of her claws.

Elizabeth grinned as she teleported back in to stab the Demon King again before he could regenerate. The remaining vampires had given up entirely once they were no longer protected from the sun. Even now, the other Guardians were busy restraining them and teleporting them away from the field of battle.

It was just too bad sunlight didn't have any effect on the Demon King. Instead of burning he just looked a little red, despite being fully lit by the sun multiple times as they fought.

But hey, that just left her and Susan to have a moment of sisterly bonding! Or, well, fight giant monsters together. They were basically the same thing though… if you asked Grandma Hilda, at least.

She spent a few more seconds teleporting in and out as she and Susan continued to tag team the evil duo. Then a flash of light from her belt caught her attention and she teleported away.

She landed on the giant pile of rubble that had been the top half of the brick. Her chest was heaving as she caught her breath, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Elizabeth!" Abana caught her attention, and she turned to find her and the rest of the Guardians massed on the hill behind her. "We need to go!"

"What, why?"

"Because Takeo can't be affected by magic, and he's gotten too large to kill with conventional means," Susan's voice echoed from her belt, "so I had to get creative."

"Creative how?"

"Look up."

Elizabeth looked up. Her eyes widened.

The sky had darkened as the city rose higher and higher, revealing the darkness of space and thousands of twinkling stars. As well as the enormous tunnel of compressed space directly above them.

Easily wide enough to allow the city sized chunk of rock through, it gave a perfect telescopic view of the distant lunar landscape. Elizabeth's mouth dropped open.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Many of the Guardians seemed to agree, as an enormous pillar began to form behind them. The group began rushing through it, but as Elizabeth began walking towards it she couldn't help but keep her eyes on the ongoing fight. Her feet stalled beneath her, and she found herself bringing her crystal up to her lips.

"What about you?" She whispered into it.

"Well," Susan's tail whipped Takeo's feet out from under him, "the cross sectional size and density of my body should allow for an increasing magnitude in mana flow to the point that-"

"She'll be fine," Abana spoke up, and Elizabeth glanced to the side to see her rolling her eyes. "In the meantime we need to get to the moon. This battle isn't over until the Demon King is dead."

"Yup," Susan continued as they finally reached the portal, "now just remember. You'll need to reverse the impact instead of just erasing the crater to avoid changing the moon's orbit.

"…THE WHAT-"

Abana's protest was cut off as she walked through. Just before she went though herself, Elizabeth saw Susan smash the Demon King into the ground one final time. Then she leapt over to Takeo. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she heaved him skyward with a roar.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at the impromptu suplex. Then the city reached the edge of the edge of the compressed space and she had to take the final step through the portal.

The world turned dark around her. Pale dust crunched beneath her feet, and she looked around to see a world of grey stone and black shadow. A white light burnt the sky to her right, while a glimmering blue marble hung over the horizon in front of her.

Then she spotted a grey dot in the sky. Coming from the direction of Earth, it quickly eclipsed the planet in the sky before descending over a cluster of hills in the distance. In the moment before it struck, Elizabeth caught a glimpse of Susan once more. She was still holding Takeo above her head, now perfectly positioned between her and the approaching surface of the moon.

Elizabeth huffed out a laugh at that. Then the city impacted.

There was a flash of light and the entire horizon seemed to erupt upwards in a fountain of rock and dust. Elizabeth gaped, then had to close her mouth and brace herself as the ground beneath her bucked, a wave of sundering stone passing by below. She stumbled a moment, then her sight was consumed by grey dust.

A light shone beside her, and she turned to see Abana thrusting her spear in the air. The tip glowed, the light from it cutting through the dust to illuminate the dark shapes of the Guardians around her. A spell gathered there, and Elizabeth could feel it call out for mana. So she raised her hand and began channeling mana as well, pushing it towards the spear. Other Guardians quickly noticed, and within seconds the spell had grown to encompass the entire army.

Casting a spell as a Guardian was rather simple. You just told the mana what you wanted to do, and it told you how much mana it would cost. And if you had the mana, or the time to gather it, you could cast the spell. The more you wanted to do the more mana it cost, but it was really the Guardian Rune doing most of the work so you never really felt the strain beyond channeling the mana itself.

So when Elizabeth felt the mana begin gathering around Abana's spear it sent a shiver down her spine. There was so much of it flowing in and coalescing that it felt like another Guardian Rune was forming. Every hair on her body stood on end as she felt it build to a peak like Mount Everest. Then the spell activated and time itself bent before it.

The air immediately cleared, the dust settling back on the ground and she breathed out. Then stifled a shriek when the ground bucked again, the stone stitching itself back together in a wave that flowed back towards the impact site.

Many of the Guardians around her openly gaped as they watched the explosion run in reverse. The debris flew back together, coalescing until in a second monumental flash of light the city was made whole again.

It was left hovering in the air above the lunar surface, the billion tons of rock hung upside down as if by a string. The Demon King's castle was also there, hovering in between the ground and the city above. The hanging fortress section was now gone, lost somewhere in the succession of explosions and leaving the gleaming golden ziggurat to float freely.

Elizabeth didn't pay it much attention, instead teleporting forward and under the massive overhang of the city of Orienda. The buildings were fully restored now, hanging down like stalactites to give the landscape an eerie combination of alienness and familiarity.

The other Guardians were there with her, slowly advancing below the bulk of the floating city. Some hands came up to cast spells, and floating lights appeared to chase away the deep shadows of the moon.

The hulking mass of Takeo was nowhere to be seen, his body lost somewhere in the gigaton impact. Only low grey hills filled the space now, an empty grave for a conqueror of nothing.

It wasn't long before she spotted a spot of deeper grey protruding from the ground. The next instant she was standing beside it, hands reaching out to touch the scales as she felt for movement.

"Susan," she yelled, then frowned at how little noise that seemed to make. She reached down to her belt and grabbed her crystal, almost pressing it to her lips as she yelled again.

"Susan!"

This time there was a reaction. The hill sized body shook, a head pulling itself off the ground with slow movements to look at Elizabeth. It looked oddly flat, the head and neck almost pancaked.

Then it shook and Elizabeth felt a shiver run through the body as it pulled back together, seeming to reinflate before her eyes. A clawed hand finally rose up from the ground, reaching back to grab the crystal and bring it up to Susan's lips.

"Ow," she said, "can somebody make a note for next time? Blowing up the moon hurts."

Elizabeth stared at her for a moment, then pulled her arm back and punched Susan in the side.

"Yeah, that's fair."

"Found him!" A voice broke in, and they both turned to find the Demon King stumbling to his feet a few hundred yards away.

The other Guardians were already moving to surround him, and as he saw them he smiled. Elizabeth frowned at that, bringing up Liss from where it had been held at her side. Then she felt the mana build up around him and her eyes went wide.

She had felt this before, the huge buildup of mana, and its subsequent use. Just not from the Demon King. No, it had been on Exulum, when Empress cast a spell over the entire planet.

"Causality magic!" Someone screamed.

The Guardians burst into movement, weapons glowing and hand bursting with energy as spells readied. Susan leapt forward, claws outstretched as they swept towards the Demon King. It was too late.

His head reared back, both arms spread wide and he screamed something in the empty air. No noise came, but Elizabeth felt the words as they seared themselves onto reality in a blast that rippled out from the Demon King.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

The Guardians collapsed as it rolled over them, eyes wide open but unblinking as they hit the ground bonelessly. Susan barely had to move before it reached her, head turning back to shout something.

"Elizabeth, the sword!" She screamed before the wave hit her too and she froze midair.

Elizabeth barely had the time to bring Liss around, pointing it towards the oncoming wave. Her legs trembled a moment before the wave rolled over her and-

The wave of mana, reality itself split around the blade. Elizabeth stared as it passed by on either side, leaving her standing among a field of corpses. The Demon King was still there though, his head coming down to survey what remained.

Their eyes met. Both pairs widened.

Then reality shivered around her, seeming to realize that the Demon King's command was unmet. The world itself seemed to turn inside out, and then the shockwave rewound. It washed over Elizabeth in the opposite direction, dragging her towards the Demon King.

Her jaw dropped as she saw the entire army of Guardians returned to life. They moved once more, eyes wide and mouths moving as they readied themselves. Then her eyes moved inward once more towards the Demon King.

His head was thrown back again, mouth moving and then she once more watched as reality rippled around him.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

The shockwave blasted out, but this time Elizabeth just smiled as she looked down towards the transparent blade held in her hands. She took a step forward, then another towards the oncoming wave. It split before her once more, and she once more met the Demon King's eyes.

This time she grinned.

Reality shivered, then she was standing in a field of living Guardians again. Only this time just a little bit closer. She ran.

The mouth moved, reality was subjugated by a mountain of mana and a will of iron. It didn't matter.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

The words couldn't touch her. They blew by like wind and she watched the world warp around her once more. This time she was close to him, she could see his eyes widen even as he spoke.

He still did it though, the deadly words exploding forth from him to slaughter the unprepared Guardians. It was too late for him though. This time when reality reset Elizabeth was standing directly in front of him, the sword raised high.

It fell even as his mouth began moving.

"YOU WILL-" the words came, but this time Liss caught him in the center of the head.

It slashed him down the middle, head to tail. Then she had to hold tight to the handle as it thrummed like a motorcycle. The wave of mana exploded outward, but there was no message this time.

When it dissipated, the Guardians were left standing completely alive, weapons and spells still humming as they charged. The two halves of the Demon King staggered a moment, and Elizabeth grimaced as they sealed back together before her eyes.

She readied herself again, but he didn't move immediately. Instead he just looked poleaxed, eyes wide as they stared at the sword in her hands. Then they flicked up, glancing around at the army of Guardians before settling on Liss again. They narrowed.

Elizabeth saw the look and blanched. His face was hungry, and she knew that it was as much greed as desperation. He could only hold Liss for an instant before it turned on him. But right now, with all of the Guardians in close quarters? That moment was more than enough.

She leapt backward, arms pulling back to throw the Liss away. He was faster, shooting forward with both arms outstretched to snatch the blade from her hands.

Then the attacks of over three hundred Guardians hit him all at once, and he vanished beneath a blanket of explosions. Elizabeth landed with a stumble, eyes wide as she watched the explosions flash red-white-gold-green, every color of the rainbow over and over again like someone had weaponized a Fourth of July celebration.

But as she looked closer, she could see that the fiery sphere of light still had a dark center. Arms windmilled, the head was jerked back and forth. But despite the incessant tide of attacks, it failed to vanish.

She could make out as an arm rose up, stretching towards her in a final desperate attempt.

Light shone from above, and her eyes flicked up just in time to see Susan hanging in the air above the Demon King. Her body was covered in glowing runes, her hands and tail moving to sketch more even as her mouth opened wide.

Then Elizabeth's entire field of view turned white as a ten foot wide pillar of energy blasted downward into the earth in front of her. The dark silhouette vanished as the roiling beam punched it straight into the ground with the festering fury of ten thousand years.

And this time Susan didn't have to worry about things like crossfire or vaporizing local landmarks. So instead of the short bursts she usually fired, the Dragonfire burned on. And with the power of the Guardian Rune behind it, it was no longer mere Dragonfire.

The stone did not melt, the light did not burn. Elizabeth didn't even feel warm despite being mere feet from it. The Dragonfire just continued on, every molecule of it directed with deadly purpose towards the Demon King below.

The communication crystal on her belt lit chimed. She blinked at that, looking down to see it lit up with a golden light. She blinked again. That wasn't right, it was only supposed to chime in emergencies-

Oh. She felt the knowledge settle in the back of her mind. They had done it. The Guardian Rune had, after ten thousand years, accomplished its purpose. The Demon King was dead.

Susan's Dragonfire cut off then, and Elizabeth blinked as the world seemed to turn black for a moment before her eyes adjusted. The world brightened to reveal hundreds of Guardians, all staring down towards a pit sitting where the Demon King had just stood. And in the stunned quiet that followed, Elizabeth took a few small steps forward.

She looked down. Very far down. The hole seemed to stretch on forever, a perfect cylinder carved deep into the moon. The sides were already beginning to collapse, but as she looked down she thought she could almost see the glimmer of stars before the hole fully closed.

Huh. Barely a minute into reaching the moon and her sister had already managed to shoot a hole in it.

Her head came up to inform Susan of this very important teasing material fact, only to see her swoop down from above. She landed next to Elizabeth with a crash before reaching down to snatch her up in a frantic one armed hug.

Elizabeth just smiled, then chuckled.

"Later then."

"What?" She heard the question through the rumble in Susan's chest.

She just shook her head in a silent, 'nothing'.

Susan's stink eye said very much that she didn't believe her, but Elizabeth just smiled and turned away to see how the other Guardians were doing.

The Rebels looked relieved, smiles beginning to form on many of their faces. Silent cheers were made, arms waving in celebration. Silent laughs soon followed as many of them stumbled in the unfamiliar moon gravity and landed in the grey dirt.

The Earth Guardians had a mix of different reactions. Miura and Daisy were cheering along with the Rebels, while Nora had collapsed to the ground in relief.

Abana just looked poleaxed.

Elizabeth couldn't help but relate. The Demon King was like… the big bad guy. He always had been, and somewhere in the back of her head he always would be.

But as the seconds went by, the expression broke. With a yell that would have split Elizabeth's ears if she heard it, Abana leapt into the air. Both arms stretched wide as she laughed.

Then Grandma Hilda's voice broke the silence.

"So about that cake?"

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