At that moment, Daemon landed on the cliffs and transformed into boy form. They forced themselves to set thoughts of Thoma aside and instead caught him up on what they’d seen.

“It’s similar on the other side where Dera Falls is,” Daemon said, “except it’s even more fortified. An entire fleet of the skeleton navy, plus several troops around the waterfall.”

There went the last of Sora’s hope that they could sneak the empress out without being detected.

“There are only four of us,” Broomstick pointed out, “and way too many of them. How is this even going to be possible?”

But then Sora thought of Beetle again—how he wasn’t really himself anymore—and clarity hit her. “We defeat them by remembering they’re not alive.”

Daemon, Fairy, and Broomstick looked at Sora as if she’d lost her mind.

“How is that different from knowing that they’re dead?” Fairy asked.

“I know it sounds the same,” Sora said, “but what I mean is, if we think of them as actual creatures, we make the mistake of focusing on killing them. They aren’t alive, though. They’re just bones being controlled by two ryuu—Skullcrusher and Skeleton.”

“So we should find those two,” Daemon said, catching on.

“Right,” Sora said. “If we eliminate Skullcrusher and Skeleton, the entire army and navy of dead will fall like marionettes who’ve lost their puppeteers.”

Fairy scrunched up her nose as she thought about this. “Yeah, but what do we do about the marionettes before their strings are cut?”

Broomstick flexed his fingers and started to smile. “Even the undead can’t fight if they don’t have bodies.”

“You’re going to blow them up? Can I help?” Fairy’s eyes brightened.

“Absolutely. Wolf can fly with Spirit to look for the two ryuu controlling everything. In the meantime, you blast apart the warriors on land, and I’ll blow up the ships in the sea. If we can’t stop Skullcrusher and Skeleton, we’ll make sure they have nothing to use their magic on.”

“Whoa,” Daemon said. “I think that’s a great plan, but Sora shouldn’t be out there.”

“What? Why not?” Sora asked.

“Because if you die, you’re doomed,” he said. “You should stay here and keep safe.”

“I’m not going to hide while you all fight.”

“The general of an army sends troops into battle,” Daemon argued. “She doesn’t dive into the fight herself.”

Sora crossed her arms. “I don’t know what generals you’ve been studying, but that’s not the kind of leader I want to be. Besides, I’m a taiga. And that means I do what needs to be done to protect our kingdom, even if it means my own death and damnation. I think you all understand that.”