–—- ??? —---

  Catherine balled her hands in frustration. “I know what I saw!”

  She looked around the table, her eyes still gleaming. “There’s a pause. It’s small, but it’s there!”

  Her eyes searched the faces of the other elementalists. “Did any of you see it?!”

  Each shook their head, giving apologetic expressions.

  “No, Catherine,” Timothy replied. “Sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Catherine set her staff to rest against the table, running a hand through her golden hair.

  “I’m telling you, it was right after your spell collided, Tim.” She had a far-off look as she visualized the fight. “Then right before my fire lance reached it, something changed.” Her eyes shifted down, and she chewed on a finger. “It was as if his barrier… hmmm.”

  She looked up and searched the room. Catherine found that strange man and locked eyes with him.

  Wilbur was a few steps away, sitting in his brown recliner, watching them. His face was blank, expression unreadable. Catherine’s mind raced as she kept replaying the moment in her head over and over.

  There was the large boulder whistling through the air, slamming into the glowing film that circled the demon. Then the arc of magic that shattered it. And then the orange light of her burning lance as it rocketed toward the same spot. But something changed at that moment. She pictured the scene heartbeat by heartbeat.

  “As if his barrier did what, Catherine?” Selva asked. “I also didn’t see anything, but if you—”

  “THAT’S IT!” Catherine exclaimed, her eyes widening and smile expanding as her mind locked onto her mental image.

  She was so sure. There wasn’t another explanation.

  Her gaze snapped to Selva, who looked confused.

  “What if his spell can’t actually protect from every element?” Catherine said.

  “But it does,” Marie protested. “Nothing reaches him. Every spell is deflected.”

  “I know.” Catherine nodded with a grin. “But listen, Marie, your barriers are stronger against his dark-attuned spells, right? But you have to keep healing, so we don’t rely on it. Except for when he sends out that wave of shadow.”

  Marie nodded. “Yes, my light attunement is effective, but I don’t understand why that matters.”

  Catherine paused, the seed of the idea sprouting in her mind. “I think he’s attuning the barrier to each element right before the spell lands. That’s why none of our spells work. He shifts the attunement right before they crash into it, nullifying them.”

  Timothy frowned, and Marie just shook her head. Catherine deflated as Selva looked unconvinced.

  She opened her mouth to try to convince them, but stopped and shuddered as a sound echoed through the hall.

  Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

  The claps were slow and rhythmic, each scratching at her mind despite her effort to calm her thudding heart.

  After so many fights, the sound had been ingrained in her physique as one that led to pain.

  Catherine and the others turned to Wilbur.

  The wizard had a massive grin, and his hands moved as he continued his rhythmic torture.

  “Congratulations, Catherine!” he beamed as he stood. The recliner vanished, and his smile only grew as he moved to the table.

  “You are absolutely correct,” Wilbur said, his eyes sweeping the heroes, then stopping on Catherine. “I almost thought y’all were going to have to just get lucky to win.”

  The fire elementalist grinned. “So it is what he’s doing! A barrier can’t just block every type of elemental magic.”

  “Right. Arcane barriers are specialized and constructed. They don’t naturally block an affinity and must be attuned. It’s not possible to just block every element.” He paused, his face scrunching. “Well, I guess that’s not strictly true. There is a way to do it.”

  “Wait, really?”

  Wilbur waved a hand dismissively. “Yes, but no. Honestly, forget I said that. It’s not relevant.”

  “But if th—” Catherine began.

  “No, seriously,” Wilbur cut her off. “It’s way too complex for him. His adaptability is admirable, but he’s at least decades from grasping the concept, if he even knew that it was possible.”

  Wilbur frowned, his gaze snapping accusingly to the front of the throne room.

  “Hey. Stop eavesdropping!”

  Clap! Clap!

  At the front of the room, the Demonlord had frozen. His head was cocked to the side, clearly listening in to their conversation.

  “Honestly, he’s been so obedient and quiet between attempts, I have just been forgetting to freeze him,” Wilbur muttered, then gave the heroes a sheepish grin. “Probably… hasn’t been exactly… uh… helpful with your attempts.”

  Everyone gave him long stares.

  “Uh…” Wilbur scratched his head, his blue conical hat bouncing. “Anyways, I will fix that before y’all go again.” He turned to Catherine. “Back to the main topic, yes, Catherine, you are correct!”

  He held his palm out, and a glowing sphere materialized in the air. Wilbur twitched his thumb, and a complex web of sigils appeared along its surface.

  “You can’t normally see the spellwork behind it, but for demonstration purposes, this is roughly what he’s using.”

  He held up his other hand and waggled a finger. Thimble-sized balls of crimson flame appeared, then shot toward the miniature barrier in sequence. Each one splashed against it and dissipated.

  “So, if you have a single element, it’s simple to defend.” Wilbur wiggled two more fingers. “But what if you have more?” Small glowing pebbles appeared and joined the sequence.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Catherine’s eyes were locked onto the glowing sphere. A glowing flame splashed into it, with a glowing pebble flowing closely behind.

  Her eyes went wide, and excitement bubbled through her. “Right there! That’s what I saw! The skin of it shimmers!”

  Wilbur smiled and nodded. He looked over to the other elemental mages. “Correct. Now, for the others in the room, what does that mean?”

  Timothy’s eyes were glued to the barrier. “We just need to land our attacks at the same time?” he asked.

  “Not exactly,” Wilbur replied. He twitched a finger, and pebble and flame collided midair, then fizzled out. Another twitch, and the pebbles changed directions and slammed into the opposite side of the barrier in tune with the fire. The sigils of the barrier realigned, distinct runes shifting to either side, causing the miniature attacks to splash harmlessly against it.

  Selva spoke up. “Then if they can’t land at the same time… have them land in rapid alternating succession?”

  “Bingo!” Wilbur replied, then shook his head at the confused glances. “Uh, I mean, correct!”

  Two fingers twitched, and the pebbles and flames froze and hung in the air. Then they shot back toward his hands and lined up, alternating between tiny fire and pebble.

  With rapid precision, they shot forward, slamming into the barrier one after another. The first tiny fireball splashed harmlessly off it, but then a pebble followed. There was a visible spark from the barrier as it flexed inward and its sigils raced to adjust. But then the next flame slammed into it, and it shuddered. The next pebble crashed in and through it, shattering it.

  Wilbur beamed, his happy expression shared by the mages. Even the moody rogue, Darcy, had a small grin.

  Wilbur closed his hands, and the miniature spells vanished. He turned his attention to Catherine.

  “Congratulations again,” he said, tipping his blue hat to her. “You now know the key to your success.” He held his hand over the table, and it vanished. “Now all that’s left is to kill that jerk and call it a day.”

  With a quick turn, Wilbur strode toward the demon. The heroes watched as he placed a hand against the massive creature’s flesh.

  He muttered a few words, then nodded.

  “What are you doing?” Jonathan called out to him.

  Wilbur met the paladin’s gaze. “Oh, just clearing his memory of this whole training montage.” He held up a hand, and a clear container filled with something appeared. The container squirted the liquid onto his hands, and Wilbur rubbed them together, then walked back toward the heroes.

  “I don’t know what it is with Demonlords, but their skin has the most disgusting odor.” He shook his head. “Need some serious sanitizer to cleanse it. And trust me, I have even tried to burn the scent off, but it’s weirdly fireproof.”

  He nodded at his musing, then looked up at Jonathan.

  “Anyways, I think my work is done here.” He tipped his wide blue hat. “It’s been interesting, and I wish y’all the best of luck.”

  “Wait, you’re leaving?” Catherine asked, her voice thin. “What about the demon? You can’t just leave!”

  Wilbur held up his hands. “Whoa, hold on, I didn’t agree to anything here. I simply gave y’all as many chances as you needed.”

  He cocked his head. “Look, I was in the middle of an important experiment before that loud little guy from the adventurers’ guild started knocking.” Wilbur frowned, searching their faces. “He was very annoying. And really wasteful too.” He squinted. “You didn’t send him, right? I think his name was Rugren?”

  “The legendary explorer?” Algorax replied. He held up his hands defensively at Wilbur’s death glare. “Oi, I only know of his reputation.”

  The glare shifted to the other heroes. Jonathan smiled meekly. “I had… heard that the adventurers’ guild started buying up ancient relics when the imperial city fell.” His eyes widened. “People thought they were just desperate. There were rumors that they were chasing myths from children’s stories.”

  He blinked, and his eyes traced Wilbur from head to toe.

  “Yeah, I know. Not exactly what you picture when you think ‘myth’ from a legend.” Wilbur snorted, shaking his head. “That annoying man burned through several kingdoms’ worth of relics and still couldn’t find me.” Wilbur smiled with pride. “All of them failed to locate my workshop.”

  “Then… why are you here?” Darcy asked, her arms folded.

  Wilbur’s face fell, annoyance covering his face. “…the stupid prompts were annoying.”

  He glanced away. “Look, there’s only so many times you can dismiss ‘A relic has been used to locate you. Location failed.’ before you have to make it clear that you don’t appreciate it.”

  Wilbur glanced around. “Speaking of, do tell the adventurers they get a pass this time.” His voice dropped. “Next time, I’m chucking the annoyance into another dimension.”

  “You’re just leaving? You won’t help us?” Marie asked, slight panic lacing her voice.

  Wilbur shook his head. “Nope, y’all got this!” He shrugged, then pointed at the demon. “Besides, that jerk broke his pact with me. I won’t be able to reap any reward if I help slay him. Damned demons and their finicky rules. But if someone else kills him…”

  He gave the heroes a wicked grin. “Demonlord essence is exceedingly rare. Who knows, it may be useful for my experiments.”

  Wilbur tipped his conical hat. “My spell will release him in twenty minutes, or if you clap twice. I wish y’all the best of luck.”

  He spun and took another step. His body shimmered as he moved, and before another word could be said, he vanished from sight.

  –—- ??? —---

  Jonathan blinked as he stared at the space where the man had been seconds before. Movement to his right pulled his attention, and he saw Darcy’s legs tense. Then the rogue shot forward. Her sharp eyes scanned the room, searching for something.

  She turned back toward her friends. “There aren’t even footsteps in the dust.”

  The heroes all exchanged glances.

  “Just… who—” Jonathan began, then shook his head. “He’d probably just say his name again.”

  He met each of his companions’ eyes, then smiled. The paladin bent over and picked up his shield. He adjusted the straps and buckled it to his forearm.

  “So… this is it then?” Catherine said, gripping her staff. “The last battle.”

  Jonathan nodded, his jaw tightening. “It is.” He locked eyes with the blond-haired woman, and his heart rate increased as unspoken words demanded to be released.

  “Are we just going to ignore the fact that… man… casually made a pact with a demon?”

  Algorax spat. “It sounded like he was a practitioner of the demonic arts.”

  The party shifted its attention to the tattooed berserker.

  “And?” Darcy scoffed. “So what?” She rolled her eyes. “Algorax, he reversed death itself. Casually. Multiple times. What exactly would you have us do? Threaten him? Demand more answers?”

  “Well…” the berserker muttered. “We need to do something….”

  Timothy let out a laugh. “I agree with you, but Darcy has a point. There’s nothing we can do.” The thin man drummed his fingers on his staff. “The only thing we can do is finish what we came here to do. Then alert the Radiant Order of what happened here today.”

  Jonathan nodded. “Agreed. They should know of this new… abnormality. But, at the very least, I am just happy all of you are alive.”

  He smiled, then wiped away the burgeoning tears and pushed the memory of their first failure from his mind.

  Jonathan glanced toward Catherine. The fire elementalist was staring in the direction where Wilbur had vanished. She glanced back, her face scrunched in thought.

  Once again, the words deep within the paladin threatened to overflow. This was it. Without the interference, this fight would end in either success or death.

  He opened his mouth, but then Marie’s soft voice broke the silence.

  “I’m ready to end this. Let’s kill that damned abomination.”

  Jonathan closed his mouth and met the healer’s gaze. Her normally soft expression had fled. Instead, only steely resolve graced her face.

  “Hah!” Algorax said with a large grin. “Our little mouse can swear?” He strode to her, and the woman made an ‘oof’ sound as he patted her back. “I’m with Marie. Let’s end this.”

  The others nodded, and even Jonathan grinned.

  “Damn right,” Darcy said, her eyes snapping to the demon. “It’s time for payback.”

  Timothy glanced toward Selva. “I’ll start our barrage since my spells are the slowest, and you follow them, alright?” He shifted his gaze to Catherine. “Cat, you have the best timing, so you end the sequence. Sound good?”

  Catherine nodded, her expression dark. “I’ll burn him from this world.” She turned her face back to Jonathan. “We’re ready, captain.”

  A pang of frustration welled up in the paladin, but he took in a deep breath.

  They needed to focus. Their very lives, and the fate of the radiant races, depended on it.

  There was no time for confessions.

  He turned and drew the sword from his belt, his eyes tracing its golden rune-etched surface. Jonathan remembered when he had first received the legendary blade, the Shadow Banisher.

  He had been so proud and felt that nothing could ever stop him as long as he held it.

  Little had he known how wrong he was. Despite it being an artifact crafted in ages past, a myth created in the darkest forges of the deep dwarves, it still failed to break through the demon’s barrier.

  But it was good enough. He had his companions, and he had his will.

  And they would not be denied.

  “Let’s finish this,” Jonathan boomed as he marched toward the demon.

  His party fell in formation behind him, and they stood before their foe.

  Jonathan glanced back. “Everyone ready?”

  They all nodded.

  He turned his gaze back and held out his hands.

  “Protect us, oh great wind and sun. Give us victory on this day,” he intoned.

  He braced his legs, then charged forward. “For the radiance!” Jonathan yelled, raising his hands. He brought them together, the metal of his gauntlets clashing.

  Clap! Clap!

  –—- ??? —---

  –—- Authors Note -–—

  –—- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -–—