Albert and Kuzma whirled around. Where before the only thing blocking Al's view to the sky above was the occasional ruined wall or pillar and the swaying grass on the hills around them, now a mass of black blocked out the sky. Dozens of men and women filled the valley, holding various different weapons and staves, but all of them had one thing in common, the grey and black of their tunics and the silver insignia etched onto each of their robes. The insignia depicted a wrought iron gate and a field with several trees with a river behind its open doors.
Standing at the head of the soldiers was a tree of a man who stood head-and-shoulders above even Kuzma. He held a massive Claymore in one hand like a lesser man would wield a short-sword, absentmindedly slapping the flat of the blade against his palm as he leered at them with a greedy smile.
"That there, lad, is a treasure from the Golden Age, when the Titans still ruled and Humans were as gods!"
The man pointed at the pillar with the point of his claymore, holding the heavy sword aloft without effort.
" And that treasure will help lead the Knights of Elysium reach to those heights again!"
"So, the Dogs of Chronos have found their way here after all," Kuzma spat, his face fill marred by some much hatred that it was as if he was oozing a dark energy.
"You'd think that you, of all people, would know better than to call us by that name, Warden of Tartarus," the man snarled, slamming the blade of his claymore into the earth, carving a deep cut.
"And you think you would know better than to call me by that old title, I am a different man now," Kuzma replied, his sword already in his hand and his ethereal chains summoned and floating like a crouching cobra by his left hand.
"A different man indeed," the large man said, shaking his head theatrically and casting his voice out to the rest of the men and women there with him. "The once great Warden of Tartarus, a role model to all young Knights, brainwashed into giving up his spot in Elysium and satisfied playing teacher to the half-rate Mystics on Olympus."
The remaining Elysian knights hissed and booed at Kuzma, making the little valley sound like it were filled with venomous snakes. Several of the knights shouted profanities at him and more than a few called him a traitor.
"Enough of this show, who are you and what do you want?" Kuzma asked stiffly, his eyes darting around the area, looking for an opening.
"Its only expected that you wouldn't know of me, I rose to this position after you left us. I am Damen, the Hundred-Hander. As for what we want, we come for the treasure, to deal with a traitorous rat and to pick up the child that you led astray. "
Albert's mind was racing, he too was glancing about the murderous group of strange men and women who had surrounded them so suddenly and searched for a way to escape.
"These people, the Knights of Elysium, they called themselves," Albert thought to himself. "They're here to get me?"
Al wasn't sure he liked that. While he still wasn't sure he trusted Kuzma and Calandra, something about these so-called knights didn't sit right with him. He didn't feel like he would enjoy their company nearly as much as he did Kuzma's and Calandra's.
"We've already grabbed the child," Damen continued, orating and pacing around the ruins like an actor on stage.
"Now all that's left is to claim what is ours and to exterminate the rat-," Damen paused, his eyes meeting Al's. Al didn't like what he saw in them, his black eyes seemed to lead into a void of darkness, devoid of any semblance of kindness or compassion. They sent shivers down his spine.
"- the rat, and his brood, apparently. You've taken another apprentice then? How unexpected. And unfortunate, for you lad, you'll share your master's fate."
"Come-on, I just met them!" Al muttered, exasperatedly, his voice was drowned out by Kuzma's.
"What have you done with Calandra?" Kuzma growled, fear creeping into his face and cracking his mask of anger.
"Calandra? Is that what you've called her? Quite an unsuitable name for the blessed child of Chronos. No matter, as I said, she's going back home now." Damen gestured behind him by tilting his head over his shoulder at one of the Knights who carried a body over her shoulder; an unmoving body with long blond hair.
"You will not take her, filthy Dogs of Chronos," Kuzma whispered, his voice carrying as much murderous intent as the chains he still had floating about him emitted wails of the damned.
"I don't see how you have much of a choice in the matter, especially considering the fact that you will be dead and wasting away in the Asphodel Meadows or receiving justice from our lord in Tartarus, if you're lucky."
While Damen was talking, Kuzma edged closer to Al and hissed out the corner of his mouth.
"I will distract them, take this and save Calandra."
Kuzma had pressed a short black dagger with a mana stone embedded in the hilt and the Gated sigil of The Knights of Elysium embossed upon the scabbard.
"What are you talking about? I can't- I don't know how to fight!" Albert hissed back, pocketing the dagger all the same.
"Please. You must save her. Use the mana stone in it and call upon water like you did before, that should be enough to take them by surprise. Once you've saved her, run to Olympus. You'll be safe there."
Before Albert could argue the point or tell him that he had no idea where he was now, let alone where Olympus was, Damen had shouted something aloud and he and his soldiers charged towards them. Kuzma acted fast, sending his chains flailing out into their midst, bashing some of the soldiers into a bloody mash and severely injuring several who were lucky or skilled enough to block the first quick strikes.
The world had devolved into pandemonium. Everything around Albert was a rush of movement and screams. Trying to find a path to the Knight carrying Calandra, he stopped suddenly when a severed hand landed near him and a soldiers that had blocked Kuzma's chains drew up on him with his sword drawn.
Meanwhile, Damen snarled and bashed one of Kuzma's chains away from his men and leaped towards the former Warden of Tartarus, creating a crater in the earth where he had stood with the power behind his jump. Kuzma, even now, was sending knight after knight to Elysium. Damen struck downwards at Kuzma, who blocked the blow with his own blade with great effort, leaving a massive dent in his sword and blasting him backwards in a cloud of dust.
Albert unsheathed the dagger, its short mirrored blade feeling feeble in his hands compared to the blade in the Elysian Knight before him.
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