Commander Cobalt looked at the group of Knights, who were laughing and joking amongst themselves. He thought of the missive he got earlier today. From the Fords.

  He sighed bitterly to himself. He had no reason to decline their transfer request, or their reasoning. After all, it was their right as Knights to give their son the best education they could. And once, the duo were the highest level Knights in the Kingdom, only second to the Royal Guard themselves.

  But…

  Commander Cobalt shook his head. He did what he had to do. No one could know the truth about demonkind. A lot of the peace now in the world was due to the fact that no one knew that demons still existed. So he had allowed the other Knights to bully and abuse the duo… then ignored when they were sent off and all their benefits cut. The only thing Cobalt could do without notice was make sure the reason for their sudden demotion was hidden, and that they didn’t lose enough pay to die, though it was close.

  Now the Fords were having to make decisions for their child. They probably never wanted to return to the Capital. But they had a son, and they still had certain rights no one could take away that they could give to him.

  Cobalt could at least try to spare the child.

  He knocked on the wall. Everyone shut up. Cobalt said, “Attention, everyone. The Fords are returning.”

  Silence. No one dared speak up to him. That was the advantage of being the King’s Commander. Go against him, and you’d die.

  Cobalt said, “They are returning so they may enroll their son in the Capital Royal Academy.”

  A man laughed. “A kid? About TIME!”

  There were some light chuckles. Roscoe and Art were so lovey-dovey with each other, it was a bit of a surprise a kid came this late.

  Cobalt said, “Now… I know your feelings about the Fords. I know what you did.”

  Silence again.

  Cobalt said, “It is time for you to be mature, adult Knights. No more of your bullcrap. In order to provide for their son, they need steady jobs they at least feel safe in.”

  “Well, they shouldn’t have made up bullshit about demons!”

  Cobalt heard something snap.

  He turned to check the pipe that fed fire magic to the nearby torch. It was still steady. Maybe the snap was from outside.

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  Cobalt said, “Like. I. Said.”

  He returned to the group, who grew silent again. “Mature. Adults.”

  He sighed. “If you do not want to do it for the Fords, fine. Do it for their son. He was born after the bullshit with the Blackstone Incident. He had no participation in this, and was innocent.”

  A Knight stood up. “And what if the Fords filled him with blasphemy too? The Goddess killed all demons, we know that…”

  Cobalt said, “And their son needs a chance to learn that. I checked the Registration records. He’s only a newborn.”

  “Someone should take the child away from them!”

  “Yeah, they’re fucked up crazy!”

  Cobalt bristled with rage. “ARE YOU OR ARE YOU NOT HOLY KNIGHTS OF THE GODDESS?!?”

  Silence.

  An older one stood up. “Look… the Fords were traumatized by whatever happened in the Blackstone Incident. They needed care and help. I did not see any of you do that.”

  Another jumped up. “They were claiming demons had survived! That they were alive!”

  The older one said, “And, maybe, that was how they had to process the trauma. Or there was heavy illusion magic involved. A ‘demon’ can be created with very intense Earth magic as well.”

  “Correct-o-mundo!”

  Everyone spun towards the door…

  And screamed in shock.

  A demon stood there.

  Cobalt pulled out his sword, and the demon flipped a middle finger. He said, “Nuh-uh-uh! You shits had your chance~.”

  Cobalt shouted, “Who are you, and what is the meaning of this?”

  “Boss says you have to go bye-bye. And, ho boy, do I agree.”

  The demon chuckled. “You are all so nasty a lot, that you could sit amongst my kind and no one would notice! The closest is Mr. Trauma here, and he’d fit alongside a Sloth demon in the fact he just stood aside while the Boss’s Parents were abused and mistreated for nuthin~.”

  Cobalt froze.

  He looked at the request missive, a dread curling around his gut. It was long gone, only a pile of dust remaining.

  The demon chuckled. “He got you. Hook. Line. And Sinker. And you all admitted your sins in his Eternal Gaze.”

  The demon pointed to a painting. Instead of the goddess, there was a stylized eye.

  Cobalt suddenly knew what was going on.

  The Prophecy was coming true.

  Cobalt spun. “You cannot do this! We are of the Goddess!”

  The demon shrugged. “Actually, by weird chance, none of you are. There is a thing called Claimed Souls. Which means that the Goddess totally owns your soul. None of those in this room are Claimed.”

  Silence.

  The demon smirked, and backed up. “I was just brought here for the theatrics. Now I’m going home. But you all…”

  He chuckled.

  “Good luck surviving the Boss’s anger. Redeem yourselves, and maybe you’ll find a Safe place to live the rest of your hypocritical little lives.”

  The demon vanished in flame, but his taunt finished, “If not… well… the Boss’s insides are very hungry and verylegendary.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, one by one, walked outside in shock.

  Cobalt was the last. He clung to his sword like a lifeline. He looked around. He did not see the Castle. Instead, he saw endless covered walkways of stone. Endless courtyards with fountains. Left, right, only endless courtyards.

  A Knight whimpered. He said, “Sir, what do we do?!?”

  Cobalt looked up to the sky. He only saw gray rain clouds.

  There was a roar of something alien in the distance.

  Cobalt closed his eyes.

  “…survive. And pray that the Liminal Eye takes mercy on us.”

  Though…

  It was highly unlikely.