Blood sinew and gore coated the fair streets off Blue Pine town. House fires dotted the neighborhood and whatever was left had long since collapsed.The rearguard of the Albrinter Family’s offensive was being harassed by enemy forces. Although they are not joint forces, they still posed a threat to troops who were already wounded and helpless. Meanwhile, the Order of Nobility had fielded a great may zealots to stab at wounded men and women and it seems a mercenary company backed by a literal demon had the same idea. Now it is a clash between the Albrinter Family’s rearguard, a contingent of zealots led by a man who had since set himself on fire for supreme fighting capabilities and is seemingly incapable of talking beyond screaming about the fact that he is on fire and a group of hardened mercenaries who stand alongside a demon. At the center of them all is Velaura Albrinter, a 10-year-old girl.

  “Whirlwind!”

  A wild twister of elemental wind whipped around and blew through the brunt of the gathered enemies. Most zealots and mercenaries were battered by magical winds. A spell on a massive scale strikes at dozens of fighters on both sides. They were on the ground with various wounds that kept them from getting back up and returning to the fight.

  “Pitiful.” a demonic voice erupted from above.

  Velaura looked up to see a bright figure descending on her. Like a meteor rushing to meet the ground, a burning man descended in a trajectory that would impact onto her. In a panic, Velaura leapt out of the way. The figure crashes and forms a crater in the street. When the dust settles, at the crater’s center is a man on fire.

  “To think I was brought into form to deal with puny mortals like you.” the demon Trashan descends from the sky.

  The figure was masculine with red skin, long black hair and a black beard styled into a goatee, glaring yellow eyes, straight horns that shoot straight up and black leathery wings with a grand wingspan. When his feet finally meet the ground, he is seen easily standing nearly 9 feet tall, and that’s without the horns.

  “Even as a martyr, not one of you could hope to harm me.” Trashan says.

  The burning man’s form is a beaten and broken form. If it were humanoid, it’s arms, legs and head are bending in the wrong direction. At those words, another zealot rushes into the crater and tears a red sash from the broken form. He throws it around his neck. In a moment, he bursts into flames and gains supreme divine power. The demon rolls his glowing eyes as the new man martyrs himself to die a pointless death.

  “Again with this.” the demon gives a heavy sigh.

  The new burning man leaps at the demon with a running jump kick. The demon responds by side stepping the kick, grabbing the man by the head and tossing him into the street like he were a sportsball. With the burning man beaten and broken, the demon reaches down and picks him up.

  “Ugh, how irksome.” the demon remains unammused.

  “Fireball!”

  A ball of fire erupts where the demon holds the helpless zealot. Rather than wait for the smoke to clear, a leathery wing jets out and sweeps the smoke back behind Trashan. The demon looks for the source of the fireball spell. There he finds a tiny little girl.

  “Really?” Trashan says. “I cobble together a handful of demons and I’m the one that has to gut the children? What was even the point of pressing them into service? Am I to slaughter the children while the others fight real opponents?”

  Trashan points his finger at Velaura. Great demonic power gathers at his finger tip. A horrid black ball dripping with what looks like ink forms and lurches out. The ink-like energy sprays outward. What looks like hands in the form of this dark substance reaches out one after another. They make their way to Velaura.

  “Magic Barrier!”

  A barrier of magic appears in front of Velaura. The barrier manages to slow the attack down. Velaura has to throw herself to the side to avoid the attack. As she does, she looks and analyzes the attack more thoroughly. If that attack lands a direct hit on Velaura, she will be killed. The demon gives a heavy sigh.

  “What are you doing?” Trashan says. “Are you actually trying to fight me?”

  “You could be a clown dancing at the fair, I’m going to see you beaten at my feet!” Velaura says.

  The 10-year-old clamors to her feet and flips through her spellbook with a fury that would be dangerous to normal paper. Velaura points her free hand at the demon and shouts her next spell.

  “Chain Lightning!”

  Lightning lances out at Trashan. It doesn’t visibly affect him. The burning man beneath him feels the full effect and violently screams as the spell hits him too. In response, the demon rushed her. With impossible speed, the demon closes the distance. He raises his fist up and prepares to slam it down onto the girl.

  “Jump! Now!” a feminine voice shouts.

  At those words, Velaura leapt up and out of the way. When Trashan’s fist came down, he smashed into the stone street.

  “Brimstone Impact!”

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  The stone became red hot and fire erupted between the mortar that connected the stones. A crater impact forms and bursts with fire. Velaura stares at the demon’s power. It was a skill. Not something she could just counterspell. As Velaura stares in frustrated caution, the source of the voice rushes to join Velaura’s side. Her eldest sister Perschale has joined her by her side.

  “We have to protect the wounded.” Perschale says.

  “I’m trying!” Velaura says. “He’s just a really tough demon.”

  “It’s fine.” Perschale says. “It’s a simple matter. We defeat him as a family.”

  Perschale turns to look behind them. Velaura matches her glance and sees her elder brother and sister. Unwo Albrinter is pulling at Halerd Albrinter's hand. She drags him towards a fight with a literal demon.

  “We’re here too!” Unwo says as she pulls her older brother.

  “Why am I here? What am I supposed to do?” Halerd whined.

  Velaura gives them a worried look.

  “No, seriously. What are they supposed to do?” Velaura points out her elder brother and sister.

  “I have holy magic, you know.” Unwo pouts.

  “What she means is, that by joining together, we can beat even a demon like him!” Perschale says.

  “Did you know,” Trashan speaks over them all. “There is a greater form of existence than a demon.”

  As he speaks, demonic energy coalesces as black ink that rises from the ground and eerily floats into strings of thick black strings of muddy magic.

  “The most ambitious of demons seek even greater heights than to steal a soul here, steal a soul there. There is an existence even beyond that. To become a spiritual entity to match even your gods. To become a devil! Do you know how much power is required to even dare to dream of matching a god?”

  The demonic power in the form of black ink begins to coalesce in Trashan’s outstretched hand.

  “Far beyond what four children can muster.”

  As horrid energy forms, the Albrinter rearguard go wide eyed.

  “All of you, with me.” Perschale shouts.

  “What?” Halerd shouts.

  “We’re going to beat him with a combination spell!” Perschale says.

  “What?”

  “We’re going to combine our power and cast two spells and combine them into one.” Perschale says.

  “A combination spell is the hardest thing in the world to pull off!” Velaura says. “There’s no way we can pull that off!”

  “It’s fine.” Perschale says. “I have every confidence that you can.”

  “Combination casting is a highly complex and difficult endeavor.” Velaura says. “It requires extensive training to even conceptualize. Do you have any idea-”

  “That’s enough.” Pershcale says. “What I mean is that I’ll be coaching you through the process.”

  “Ah! I-” Velaura stumbles on her words. “Okay, just talk me through it.”

  “Velaura! Unwo! Come here!” Perschale commands.

  The youngest of the Albrinter daughters stand together. Perschale had them hold hands.

  “Now Halerd, stand behind them. Help them with their spell.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?!?! I’m an amateur doctor! Not a white mage or cleric!” the boy protests with all the might of a 13-year-old boy.

  “You cheer them on and help them! It’s a very important step.” Perschale says.

  The three youngest of the Albrinter siblings give their elder sister a very confused look. Unfortunately, time was short. At this time, the demon is deciding to make his move.

  “Wha-! We can worry about that later!” Velaura squeals.

  “What do we do? What do we do?!?!” Unwo screeched.

  “United as one.” Perschale says without the slightest hint of self-awareness of how cheesy that sounds. “We will not beat this demon with overwhelming power. We will beat it by working together. Standing together against an all encompassing tide. Focus your magic on one point. Have it become a harmony of both arcane and divine might.”

  Despite Perschale’s confidence, Velaura and Unwo scramble to just pump their magic into a single point. Halerd is confused and struggles to think of what to do.

  “Cheer them on, Halerd!” Perschale speaks to her youngest brother.

  “Uh! Um! Go you two! Y- you can do it!” Halerd manages to stammer out.

  “Not helping!” Unwo shouts.

  Despite the panic of the three, the magic of both arcane and divine make does strike a harmony. Despite the struggle, Halerd’s words do somewhat sharpen the magic to a fine point. With Perschale’s coaching, this magic becomes a grand display of awe inspiring power, despite the panic and confusion of the casters. The demon opposite them sneers at the sight.

  “Impressive.” Trashan says. “I always discounted the coaching skill. Even so, your clumsy spell will not bring me down.”

  As the demon and the family reach the peak of their power, they unleash their coalesced spells.

  “Reach for the Devil!”

  The dark ink-like energy shoots out and forms boney hands as they reach and lurch out towards the Albrinter siblings.

  “All together now!” Perschale says.

  This magic was cobbled together at the last second. They have never practiced this. Never even thought of this. Still, words came to their lips.

  “Nemesis Buster!”

  All 4 of them shout the name of a spell that they had never heard of. A grand beam consisted of white light brimming with golden divinity and purple arcana. The beam smashes into the reach of boney hands. It isn’t a clash or a contest. The demonic spell peels away as the combined spell pushes forward and finds it’s mark in a demon. The demon shreds through the demon’s skin that Velaura alone had failed to even scratch. Soon, the demon’s arm and nearly half of his torso is torn and annihilated in the path of the beaming light. Everyone but Perschale had gone wide eyed in clear shock.

  “What-” the demon who was playing around with his enemies just a moment ago slowly cranes his head to look at the missing parts of him.

  “Even you sought out allies, right?” Perschale says. “In a way, I want to say that we won because of our unity. Working together. Hard work overcoming adversity. With the power of friendship, we won.”

  Halerd, Unwo and Velaura Albrinter give their elder sister a disgusted look. Trashan joins them in looking at Perschale with disgust, but he was also falling to his knees.

  “Sis, that’s really cheesy.”

  “That’s kid’s book kind of stuff.”

  “Why are you like this?”

  Perschale chuckles to herself and ruffles the hair of her younger siblings.

  “If you say so.” she says. “Come on, even if we were attacked, we didn’t stop receiving wounded.”

  Perschale begins to lead the three of them away. While their back was turned, the man on fire stands up again and rushes at them with a flying jump kick.

  “You all go on without me.” Pershale says. “I just have to shoot someone. I’ll be back in a flash.”

  Perschale quickly turns to face the zealot who martyred himself for some impressive strength and speed. She quickly points a pistol at the man and shoots him. With the killing power of the musketball, he dies midair while performing a jumpkick. The momentum carries him forward, but as a corpse the zealot hits no one and crashes onto the floor.

  “No!” Trashan’s voice rang out.

  The younger siblings had since left. Now, Perschale was standing and looking down on a demon who was brought to his knees and has since gotten onto his last remaining hand.

  “I am a demon- with the- dream of ascending to becoming a devil. How could- how could I fall to some cringey shit like the power of family?”

  The demon struggles to look up at Perschale. She looks down at him unimpressed.

  “You thought that it was invalid because it was cheesy. Because it was cringey. You couldn’t possibly think that it could be real. Sadly, you couldn’t think that someone is working towards that storybook ending. That someone endeavors to make that cringey ending a reality. That I work to make my dream a reality.”

  Perschale starts loading black powder into the bore of her pistol again. She swiftly inserts a musketball and pushes it in with a ram rod. She primes the pan and points it at the demon.

  “Someone who can’t even envision their enemies is just trash waiting to be cleaned up by someone who dreams beyond themselves.”