Aster Fall, Ch 23: With a Star Above (Patreon)

The Starfire spell exploded against the intruder as Sam’s curse echoed in the air. The explosion hurled her backward even as she raised her shield to block it, picking her up like a rag doll and throwing her across the ground.

Half of the practice area between him and the stables was consumed in a fiery, blue-white conflagration as the spell erupted in a sphere of burning energy, scorching the earth as the top layer began to melt.

The Starfire spell was nearly 50% stronger than it had been against the wyvern. His practice had resulted in some improvements over the course of the night.

A thunderous echo roared out around the impact, and Sam reflexively blocked in the spell with an Essence Shield, keeping it from expanding past the privacy barrier.

He also reached out with the same shield and swatted at the paladin who was tumbling across the ground, knocking her back toward the center of the circle and away from the center of the blast.

He didn’t know who she was, but it was obvious what she was.

Human. Paladin of Law-Healer. Level 60.

Someone from the church.

He didn’t want her to escape from the privacy barrier, but he also didn’t want to kill her.

He’d only had time to glance at her, but she radiated a sort of pure honesty that appealed to him.

Even if she had been trying to kill him.

Over the past months, he’d decided that in his dealings with the church going forward, he was going to have to be tolerant of their initial impression of him.

Otherwise, it was just going to turn into a war and they had a lot more troops than he did.

As the paladin rolled across the ground and tried to get back to her feet, he reached out and strengthened the barrier around them, draining most of the charge from his amulet as he pushed more mana into the swirling winds.

He didn’t need everyone in the inn running out here to see what was going on.

Then, he reactivated his illusion amulet, obscuring his features as he pulled the hood back up over his head.

A spiral of crystal flame condensed around him, wavering on the verge of condensing into another Starfire spell.

He had been practicing for a while and he was low on essence. He only had one large spell he could cast without combusting an aura.

Fortunately, the Starflame Bracer was still at a nearly full charge. There were almost 200 starflame arrows in there waiting to be used.

Through the amulet, he could feel his mother and Altey starting to move. They’d probably sensed his alarm when he was attacked. Hopefully, they would stay inside until he figured out what to do about this paladin.

He studied her as she staggered to her feet, trying to find her balance. The majority of the spell had struck her kite shield, which was half-melted from the heat, but she’d avoided most of the damage.

She was in full plate armor that was even more ornate than the version he’d enchanted for Lesat.

She also had long, dark hair pulled back behind her head, which she probably wore under a helm when she was better prepared for battle, but she wasn’t wearing that at the moment.

In her hands, there was the mangled kite shield and a wicked-looking spear as tall as she was, both of which she’d managed to keep in her grip despite her flight across the circle.
Her body and equipment glowed with a subtle white light, similar to the healing magic that Ayala had used with her Priestess class, and the familiar pressure of the World Law radiated from her.

Perhaps if he’d been an evil Outsider, it would have bothered him, but as it was, it was a semi-comfortable presence.

The only reason to dislike it was that it reminded him of the World Law’s inflexibility.

He didn’t know how a paladin had suddenly shown up here, but she had definitely attacked him, and his mind raced as he looked for a way to make her stop.

Given everything he knew about paladins, she was unlikely to back down unless something shocked her....

That was basically the entire legend of paladins.

They were relentless.

On top of that, she’d seen his face and there was no reason for her to doubt that he was a demon.

So, as she gathered herself and prepared to charge at him again, he did the only thing he could think of that might convince her they were on the same side.

He poured essence into the Guardian Star on his hand and held it up in front of him, willing it to become as large as possible.

“HOLD!”

A flare of brilliant, rainbow-tinted white light blasted out of the Guardian Star on his hand, rising into the air like the sun dawning.

It was so bright that the area inside his practice circle flared into blinding relief. He blinked back tears as his eyes stung at the intensity.

“Ahh!” Across from him, a young woman’s surprised shout rose into the air, and his senses tracked the paladin’s movements as she staggered backwards, her melted shield rising to block her eyes.

“I don’t need my eyes to see, demon!” Her shout rang out an instant later, as she gathered herself and rushed forward, her spear raised.

“Gods damn it,” Sam muttered to himself again, as he studied her. More than just her connection to the church, something was telling him that he shouldn’t hurt her, even if he didn’t know why.

Maybe she reminded him of Ayala, or perhaps it was that aura of innocence around her. He just had the impression that she was a good person.

Or maybe it was the fact that she was stunning...even rolling across the ground and half burned. Paladins focused on Charisma and Wisdom, and hers was obviously very high.

“That’s the Guardian Star!” he shouted as he used a flare of Essence Shield to shove himself to the side.

It wasn’t a tactic he’d used before, but it came to him on the spur of the moment. He’d moved other people with it, so why not himself?

The pulse of energy flung him halfway across the circle and out of the range of her lunge, where he caught himself and slid to a halt, wobbling slightly.

Before he could recover his balance all the way, the paladin pivoted in place and lunged at him again, her figure blurring across the distance.

He threw up an Essence Shield in front of her at an angle, using it to deflect her blow as he threw himself in the other direction.

“Stop attacking!” he shouted, trying to convince her they were on the same side. “We’re allies!”

“False demon! Lord of Chaos!” the paladin shouted back, her voice hoarse. “Even if I have to die, I’ll take you with me!”

Sam narrowly evaded another lunge, using Essence Shield again to throw him backward and out of the way.

The paladin was fast, nearly as fast as that wyvern had been. Her level was also higher than his, although it didn’t matter so much as long as he didn’t let her hit him.

“For Aster Fall!”

A shining, white spear blurred across the area as it headed toward his heart, and Sam barely got an Essence Shield up in time to divert it as he threw himself to the side again.

Evading wasn’t taking as much essence as attacking her would have, but if this kept up, he’d have to waste some auras.

The paladin wasn’t paying any attention to the enormous Guardian Star that was still shining in the center of the practice area. She was probably too stunned by his appearance to notice.

There had to be a way to make her see it.

---

As she lunged toward the demon again, Lenei was surprised that she was still alive.

The demon’s initial attack had been powerful enough to kill her, but it felt like something had knocked her away from it at the last moment.

Perhaps the World Law was looking out for her.

The impact had rattled her and she could feel the hot pain of burns across her body, but almost all of the attack had been absorbed by her shield and Holy Armor.

Her shield was twisted unrecognizably, but it had done its job and was still attached to her arm.

The blessed light of her Holy Armor had also collapsed and was trying to reform, which was why she hadn't been injured more. It was ablative, shattering outward as it tried to redirect damage away from her.

Unfortunately, the blessing from the armor was also what gave her most of her physical power, adding half of her Wisdom and Charisma attribute to her Strength and Constitution. It hadn’t reformed yet, so she was weaker than normal.

The demon was head and shoulders taller than her, and as she tried to pin him down again, he was using some form of crystal blue flames to throw himself from place to place, almost like a pulse.

It was a strange evasion ability and he didn’t look coordinated with it at all, which was odd, but perhaps she’d been able to surprise him.

Maybe the World Law was limiting his abilities and helping her?

As she lunged at him again, he caught his balance and pushed himself away with a pulse of crystalline flames as he dodged again.

“Damn it. Stop that!” the demon shouted at her, his voice sounding deceptively young and human.

He was even mimicking an affronted indignation that would have made her hesitate if it had come from a human. Fortunately, she was a Paladin of Law and well prepared for demon tricks.

She turned her attention away from her hearing, focusing on her sight instead.

Her mana was already down to half, thanks to the damage she’d taken in the first exchange, and she didn’t have time to heal herself.

She pushed the burns out of her mind as she called on Aura of Law, an area ability that created a field of energy in front of her to burn demons and monsters.

A large arc of golden-white light blasted out of her shield and across the area in front of her, bringing with it a relaxing warmth that washed back against her burns, soothing them.

The light covered half of the demon’s circle, searing outward across his body as she caught him on the edge of it.

The demon blinked, his eyes watering with crystalline tears as he held up a hand to block the light, but a moment later, his demonic energy flared around him and he dodged off to the side again.

Lenei tracked him, pivoting in place as she held her shield high and prepared for another lunge. Hopefully, that ability would burn him and give her an opening.

Oddly, however, the demon didn’t seem to be harmed at all by the Aura of Law, except that he was cursing and holding his hand in front of his eyes again as she brought the arc of light back toward him.

A surge of fear rushed through her as she saw that.

He was immune to her best attacks?

She didn’t understand what was going on. Even if he was a powerful demon, how could he resist the power of the World Law itself?

He should have looked uncomfortable, at least.

She was preparing to lunge forward again, her mana flowing into her spear, but at that moment, a golden-haired woman and girl burst through the demon’s wind barrier.

Human. Historian-Seer. Level 32.

Human. Child.

“STOP!” The woman’s hand was raised in a command to hold and her eyes shone with golden light as she shouted across the field.

Her expression was stern and the authority in her voice was unmistakable.

Her undone hair flew behind her like a golden banner of war, floating in the wind from the barrier. She looked like a veteran Paladin or Priestess, a holy mother commanding the hearts of the faithful.

Her command resonated outward with a palpable force, carrying a crushing force of emotion that hit Lenei like a storm wave, making her freeze in place.

Love, anger, care...

Without meaning to, Lenei leaned backward to get away from her. For some reason, she felt a thread of guilt.

The little girl next to the woman didn’t hesitate at all, however.

ChiiiIIInngg!

The next thing Lenei knew, a tiny bolt of magical ice slammed into her breastplate.

It wasn’t even enough to make her step backwards, but the sound was a crisp, bright note that resonated in the air as the bolt shattered on the enchanted steel.

“Stop attacking my brother! Bandit!” The girl’s voice rang out in the air, her tone almost as stern as the woman’s, except that it had the bright resonance of youth.

Lenei glanced down to where the ice bolt had hit. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

She raised her shield, easily blocking another ice bolt that struck and shattered, the shards ricocheting.

This little girl was apparently very fierce, but why was she attacking her and not the demon?

She had to protect these humans from the demon...but she was so surprised by their arrival and the woman’s command to stop that she momentarily forgot to move.

She didn’t know why they were yelling at her, but any moment now, the demon was going to kill them or take them as hostages.

She brought her spear back around, readying her shield and blocking another small bolt of ice as she turned to see where the demon was.

The crystal-eyed invader was standing on the other side of the circle now, in front of the woman and the girl.

His hand was raised and a bright blue shield hung in front of him like a wall of geometric crystals, but he was doing nothing else.

The woman and girl looked strangely calm next to him.

“Look up.” The woman’s command rang out in the night air as she raised her hand to point toward the sky.

Lenei couldn’t help but follow the gesture, her eyes rising until she saw what was shining in the air above the demon’s circle.

It was a brilliant, nine-pointed silver and white Guardian Star, flaring in the air like the mandate of the World Law itself.

A rainbow of other hues ran through it, sparkling with all the light of the distant stars.

The thread of the Call was pulling her directly toward it, making her feel like she could walk into the air and straight into the star.

The fight went out of her when she saw it.

Her legs were unsteady as she sank backward, and she drove her spear into the ground beside her, holding onto it as she fell onto her butt, still looking upward at the star.

She didn’t know why it was there, but the Guardian Star’s presence was as clear as day, driving home the message that whatever she thought was going on...it was something completely different.

The feeling of the Call echoed around her, filling the area now with a satisfied humm of energy, as she felt the thread move from the star down toward the demon who was standing there.

Her eyes settled on him, and then on the woman and girl behind him.

From his posture, it was clear as day that he was protecting them...from her.

A feeling of vertigo hit her. The world spun as her expectations and reality clashed, and she had trouble putting the two back together.

She had no idea why the demon would be protecting those two humans, or why they were so clearly trying to protect him....

“What...is going on?” she asked, weakly, holding onto her spear as if it were the last bastion of steadiness in the world.

The pain of her burns rushed into her awareness as the area inside the demon’s circle became calm and tranquil.

“Who are you people?”