The ground quaked, the floor boards groaned and a large crack echoed throughout the valley. The hall boomed with the cheering of imps and devils. They bounced with excitement and lifted middle fingers to the sky.
"Fuck you, Godius!"
"You will meet your match!"
"That wench of a goddess can suck it!" They all had something to hiss at the sky.
Chains jingled as the imps clipped the cadavers from the ceiling. Bodies thudded against the floor and the imps carried them to the mound. The pile grew so high I couldn't count how many were on the top. I could keep the bodies away from suffocating my face but the mound was too heavy to shove it off. I mustered all my strength to keep pushing even when my face glowed with heat, sweat wetted the inside of my leather gloves and my elbows felt as if they would pop out of the socket. The cold sank into my armor from the frozen corpses and my legs began to go numb.
I attempted a small cry for help but it came out in a huff.
A gust of wind blew throughout the hall as Arion thrashed his mighty wings adding to the chilling cold that froze my limbs. He squawked and bellowed and feathers floated within my view, the tips were bloodied and some still held onto skin.
Large noses poked from the top as devils peered over the bodies. Their blackened eyes shimmered with delight at my struggle. Their weight added to the pile and made it harder and harder to breath. With each exhale the weight pressed against my lungs allowing less room to fill them again.
"Get your axe Shi, get it! Get it!" They taunted.
My double headed axe was pinned between me and the floor. I could reach up and grab it, but my arms kept the bodies from crushing my face. Not to mention the imps could seize the opportunity and sit on my arms, pinning me to the floor until I was flatter than a pancake.
Another booming crack and light flooded throughout the room. The double doors flew open and a bolt of black jolted into the room. The pounding of boots against the floor was like music to my ears. The hellish creatures stopped their maniacal chuckling and screamed in panic. Blood splayed across the ground, large claws ripped and tore throughout the room. Amy's muscles were like the ripples of water but deadlier than a cloud of arrows. Blood splayed everywhere and somehow made it into my mouth.
The weight lessened. I could finally push the mountain of corpses off by myself.
"Took you long enough!" I jumped to my feet and shook the feeling back into them. Xanthius had a square stance with his broadsword ready in one hand and a shield held high with the other. His sword swung and cut a devil in half lengthwise when it pounced at us. Its guts spilled out onto the floor before his body toppled over.
"Well if someone didn't leave an army of imps outside than we would have been here sooner." He turned his head slightly and smiled. "I'm thankful to Godius you two have all your limbs."
"Me too." I unpinned my axe and held it in both hands ready to fuck up some demonic assholes. I checked on Arion first. "You ok?"
He was in his bird form, one wing was held by Felicia and she rubbed it, the other crimped behind him unnaturally as a bone stuck out of his joint. Blood stained the tips of his wings and his head was almost bald. His beautiful pelt didn't look neat and smooth anymore. Every feather on his body stood on end or laid on the ground soaked in blood.
Felicia caressed the areas that lost feathers. She closed her eyes and mouthed words without sound. Puffy like substances began to replace the spots where Arion lost his feathers.
"I'm fine… Or, at least until Felicia is done with her spell." He winced. "My poor, beautiful feathers." He gazed longingly at a feather on the ground.
"They'll grow back in full length when the spell is done." I reassured him as I picked up my helmet and placed it back on my head.
"Shi! Something is happening!" Howard ran to the door frame. Knowing that Arion was in good hands, Xanthius, Amy and I bolted towards the danger.
The space before the town hall was warped, houses bent inward with impossible physics and glimmered like melting glass. The space bent and twisted until a seam ripped open. Fire burst from the rift melting ice and snow, smoke burled out in large clouds and covered the sky in black. The smell of sulfur filled the air and the imps and devils chanted with glee, "He's coming! He's here!"
Two demons trudged through the billowy smoke. One was a beast demon with muscular shoulders that merged with his neck. A black chain wrapped around its throat and rubbed against the leathery skin until it's red flesh showed. The arms were taller and thicker than I was and used them to support his body since its legs were puny and the hooves cracked underneath it's weight.
The horns of the beast protruded from the eye sockets and covered its entire forehead in thick, course keratin. The horns didn't stand tall as it appeared to be broken at the base.
Holding tightly to the chain was a thin bitch with large tits and had green skin covered in scales. She had mandibles like a praying mantis and a thick tail like a scorpion. She had two sets of arms and held onto the chain with all of them. Her horns were also broken off at the base, how odd.
"Patience, pet." She said to the beast, he anxiously pulled on the chains ready to fight. He snorted out steam and grunted with displeasure.
What were they waiting for? All the imps and devils stood in their spot with their mouths grinning wide. From the rift another silhouette was emerging from the red flames. His figure was black and splotchy as if his form was one with the smoke instead of the flames. As he emerged his body still discharged thick black clouds that sank to the ground instead of rising to the sky. He was covered in black, thick skin with horns that twisted at the top. He had an evil mouth lined with sharp teeth that traveled from ear to ear. He wasn't as tall as the green demon nor as muscular as the beast, but the imps and devils bowed in reverence to him.
I've never seen a demon with this essence before. I felt frozen at the sight of him. My hands itched to raise my axe and swing instinctually, but I couldn't move them. All I could do was tighten my frustrated grasp. My other comrades seemed just as stuck, everyone stared at this creature as they shivered in their boots.
I tried to shake out of it, but I couldn't. It wasn't until he spoke that I could breathe again.
"Which one of you is Shi?" His eyes grazed from the left to the right, staring at all of us. Excluding my Akira comrades, we all wore our helmets but he looked directly at me. "Would it be the soldier with the little glowing sun in her axe?"
Nobody spoke, all was silent when he was silent.
"Word around the underworld is that all the gods saints are blonde. I heard that Godius bestows them with steaming hot bodies then fucks them. So are you saint? Or whore?" His worshippers chuckled. "I can see the steam of rage simmering out of your helmet like a tea kettle. You must be the infamous Shi." His sinister mouth was already contorted to be a wicked smile but something about his eyes made his mouth appear as if it was smiling even wider. My gut turned and my face grew hot with rage. How dare he say Godius' name with that foul mouth.
"Kill them all." He said to his small army. "But leave the saint for me. I want her to know how much bigger my cock is compared to a gods." His hand rested on his groin then began humping nothing as his slithering black tongue licked the air.
"Vile demon, I will cut your fucking tongue out and burn it." My voice grumbled as I spoke.
The demon laughed, "She has quite the mouth for the gods saint!" He burst into a black flame then distinguished back into smoke. There have been fire demons and demons that exude poisonous smoke-like gas but I've never seen a demon that possessed an element of black flame or a black smoke.
I stepped forward freeing myself from the trance that froze me to the ground. The imps took a step back making sure not to touch me. The beast demon jolted forward but was yanked by the green bitch. They made a clear path for me to reach their master. I left the small army behind me with confidence in my demon hunters. My group would take care of them with ease. I continued forward, keeping my gaze locked on the demon that insulted me and my dear Godius. A nagging sense tugged at my heart and grew stronger as I got closer. It kept me from taking another step when my brain told me to charge him. I stopped mid-step and cringed at my own hesitation.
"I sense fear in you." He said.
"I'm not afraid of you."
"No… Not of me." He glanced at the flames of hell behind him. I opened my stance and stood strong with my arms flexed and muscles ready to swing my axe. But preparation was the only command my body chose to obey, it refused to move forward even when I wanted so desperately to cut his head off and end this immediately. "You hesitate?"
"I don't hesitate." My voice cracked as I spoke.
He wasn't a tall demon that towered over me, he wasn't physically intimidating, and he was quite small but something about him made me freeze. He exuded a feeling of darkness that I couldn't overcome, like I was stuck in a miserable night terror. Taking a single step was a battle that my brain was trying to win against my rapidly beating heart. It kept telling me to go forward but I stood still like a buffoon.
Sound broke out behind me, grunting and groaning, metal clanging together. There were screams of pain, fright, frustration. The people and hellish creatures clashed behind me. They had already begun fighting and this demon stood still.
I couldn't let my comrades down. I needed to end this before any of them got hurt.
My body jolted forward and my shoulders twisted. I swung at his neck. He ducked as I interpreted he would. The momentum of my axe pulled me around and it lead my body in full swing. I aimed low when he was still recovering from his last dodge.
Had I missed? I took a deep breath and watched him stumble backwards. Black blood trickled down small slits in his knees. I hit him, but he had dodged before his legs were lopped off.
He groaned at first and then laughed, "that was close!"
Every muscle in his body tensed, his hands clamped shut and he grunted. The black flame grew from his body and set fire to the rooftops. My heart jumped into my throat and I struggled to swallow it back down. The scar on my face began to burn again as it had so many years ago. I breathed deeply but I couldn't push out the irritation that itched inside my skin.
I crouched low and swung the axe around with the spear end pointed at him. Mud kicked up from the ground as I shuffled forward. I feinted low then struck at his midsection. The head of my axe limited movement but the pole was long enough to pierce through his chest. He sidestepped and I missed again but quickly followed his movement with a swift smack to his ugly face.
He tumbled sideways and held onto his cheek with shock in his eyes.
"That was a dirty trick!" He said.
"Stop toying with me and fight!"
The demon tensed his muscles unleashing the black flame just as I jounced at him. I mis-stepped and stumbled as the flames blended with the black sky. A lip of fire breached my armor and caught flame to my arming doublet.
I batted at the flame while dancing around like an idiot. When it extinguished there were no burn marks, no blackened remains or even a hot burning sensation. It was simply annoying. A sharp pain ran from my temple to my jaw. I stopped myself from clenching my jaw and went back into the fray. I would end this damn demon.
Ready again, knees bent, axe held low, I waited for him this time. One leap forward he could sidestep and I'd be cast into the rift. I could circle around and attack him from the side but I wanted him to attack me. He hasn't done anything but dodge.
My peripherals blackened as I focused on his movements. The cracking of fire drowned out all noise excluding the grinding of my teeth and the booming of my heart. He circled me, not taking a single step forward.
What was he waiting for?
"Honestly, I expected more from you." He yawned. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. "I've only gotten a few scratches."
"It's more than what you've done." I bit back.
"I've done more damage than you think." He tensed again and the flame burst from his body and caught fire to an invisible source on my left. I sidestepped away from it but kept my eyes glued on him.
Again, I attacked. But just as I lifted the axe a sharp pain shot from my neck to the fingertips on my right hand. My arm gave out and my blade had not touched him but dropped to the floor.
"What the fuck!" The right side of my body burned, the skin tightened, and my muscles ached. Unclenching and then clenching my hand did nothing to ease the stiffness. My stupid burn scars were relieving the memory of my torture.
The demon before me elongated until he stood three feet taller. I couldn't see him clearly as the black smoke surrounded me and blurred my vision, but his black skin lightened to a currant red. His damned nose grew and was broken at the bridge and the long twisted horns turned into coal. Vir'tish was here? How was that possible? My tormentor was dead!
My heart pounded against my chest and the ringing in my ears became deafening. I knew this was a trick and I felt shame for believing that Vir'tish was back. My eyelids squeezed shut until a stabbing pain shot through my eyes. When I opened them again Vir'tish was still there.
"Powerless saint abandoned by Godius." He mocked.
I was tired of this game. A giant flame burst from the sun inside my axe, it grew hotter than my rage and shot out towards the demon. His apparition faded as his body was blotched out by the white flame. He danced out of the pillar of fire, smacking himself until the fire dwindled.
"I was mistaken." His voice wavered. He stood and shot his own flame at me and I was consumed in the wavering darkness. Other than the fear that embarrassed me it did no damage. I knew it would not harm me but I could not keep my heart from dropping into my gut when it happened.
"Fucking dammit! Stop that!"
"What? Is it annoying?" His head cocked to the side like a curious dog.
My mind went blank and I let my actions speak for me. I extracted another flame from the axe, but this one was bigger. I shot it forward in a stream of magma and followed the demon. He jumped like a frog against the walls of buildings, then ran on all fours like a hyena when he landed. He jolted left then right and danced away from my flame. I cared not what path the stream took. Godius protected those that are true to him. He would not allow the fire to harm my companions. But when the demon jumped in front of his own army, the imps and devils screamed in agony as the white flame burned them to a heap of ash.
I kept the stream of fire aimed at the smoky demon. He jumped and flipped and slithered like a snake to avoid the magma. He took a step too soon and a bolt of fire nicked his arm. He spun backwards but quickly circled to dodge a pillar of fire that burst from the ground. He continued to dodge while keeping a distance of six-feet. If I took a single step forward he would take a step back.
My arms swung my axe left when he jumped left, they followed him right, I lifted them to summon flames from the ground and dropped the heavy weapon to rain fire on him. My arms grew tired from thrashing the axe around like a child throwing a tantrum and I felt stupid swinging it at air.
"Fucking coward! Stop running away and fight me!" I screamed. It was time to end his damn dance. The pouring of magma ended when my fist clenched.
I stopped the stream and instead shot a large ball of magma at him just as he leapt for the ground. It struck him right in the chest and he flung backwards. He twisted in the air three times until his body bounced off the stone courtyard. He laid on the floor, the only movement was a fierce quivering from the pain. Large black bubbles covered his entire chest and traveled up his shoulders. I stuck my boot on the biggest blister and pressed until it squirted black puss. His groaning brought joy to my heart.
I lifted the spike at the end of my axe and fixed all my weight onto it. Not only had it pierced through his leathery chest but the stone road underneath.
He was stuck in place and I towered over him victorious.
I took a minute to breathe and leaned on my axe for a second to calm the angry flame that burned inside me. Watching the demon struggle filled me with happiness and triumph. I glanced up at my comrades with a large smile thinking they would smile back with pride as the imps and demons laid lifeless on the ground.
But what I saw was horror instead of triumph. Blood pooled between the cracks in the stone courtyard and splattered against the walls.
Leanord was screaming in pain and held onto a large spike that stuck into his rib cage. Felicia held his hand as she fumbled with potion bottles. Xanthius fought for their protection by swinging his sword at the piercing tail of the green demon and keeping his stance wide to prevent the circle of imps and devils from closing in. Elia and Howard stood by his side but Howards neck was spilling out blood. Arion was in the sky, some of his feathers were still missing and he bled profusely but he fought. His thick black talons dug into the beast demons' skin. He held his arms in the air but struggled to keep the demon from beating the already dead knight to a bloody pulp that laid beneath him.
There were fifteen of them, and now only seven stood.
Amy's face stretched as she screamed at me. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger and her eyes were bloodshot but I couldn't hear a word she said. Sound slowly flooded to my ears once again as the ringing died down. Their pleading felt like a thousand knives stabbing me in the chest.
"Shi, what the fuck are you doing!" Her screaming was shrill. The cracking of her voice told me that she had been doing so for a very long time. Guilt froze me to the ground.
I had to do something. I lifted my axe preparing the spell that would easily wipe out the hellish creatures. Both hands wrapped around the shaft to heave it out of the ground but I now took notice to the extinguished sun in my axe. It was too weak from misuse to perform such a complex spell. Through my blinding anger I wasted it on this cursed demon.
The demon that laid impaled on the floor chuckled.
"Those fueled by anger are easily tricked." His hearty laugh struck a nerve in me. "I noticed that little ball of fire diminishing as you exploited it."
I stared at his eyes and they revealed that he had not felt pain. He didn't cough as the spear punctured his lungs, he wasn't bleeding anymore and his chest was free from blisters.
"The powers of Godius are replenished only in the sun, am I mistaken? By the look of things…" He stared at the dark sky. "You have maybe six hours until the sun rises."
My heart sank. His body decomposed into a thick cloud of smoke, floated across the courtyard and rose about five feet from the ground. The smoke thickened until his body regained form.
"You think I'd actually fight you?" He bent his head back and laughed. "You must think me a fool."
"What is this witch craft?" I said with defeat. The beast chuckled.
"Hell has many secrets." He lifted his chin and looked down on me with squinted eyes. "Now we fight my way."
Smoke burst from his body, his figure blurred until all in sight was nothing but smog. The desire to scream, stomp, and swing my axe violently was suppressed by the fear that paralyzed my limbs. Confronting demons never scared me to be immobilized. Even my first fight with Vir'tish I fought even when I was physically crippled.
I tried to repress the darkness that rushed inside me, tried to push out the memories that came flooding back but I was powerless.
Orange lips of fire covered me. Heat overwhelmed me. A burning sensation ran throughout my body in a painful remembrance. Every nerve shot to my brain as my charred flesh was exposed to the air, it stung like a thousand hornets. Every vivid memory rushed through my mind as the blood from my sisters bodies flooded at my feet. I was hopeless. Paralyzed back then as I was now.
The only memory of my sister was panicked eyes that melted down her cheeks as magma hollowed out her skull. Her blood bubbled and her skin blistered until it all turned black and her body shrank around her skeletal frame. I don't remember what she looked like in her church dress or her eyes before they became blistered by heat. I've blocked out the memory of them but now that I need to remember her beautiful smile I can only remember red. Red, everywhere covered in fire! The world cast in scarlet as it burned.
"Sainthood at the expense of your sister's lives. Crippled, ugly. The Godius allowed this to happen. Why follow such a hateful god?" The hellish beast interrupted my flashing memories attempting to plant doubt into my mind.
"Dear Godius, save me from this terrible spell." I closed my eyes, focused on my comrades. Focused on now, and not then. If I couldn't remember my little sisters, I could remember the people I traveled with. The friends I've made and the lives we saved. The Godius' light outshined the darkness of my memories. A tingling sensation slowly returned feeling into my limbs. The leather squealed as I tightened my hands around my axes rod. I was saved from my paralyzing fear but my comrades were not.
I had three demons and several imps to defeat and not enough fire in my sun to fight them off. We were going to be defeated.
Suddenly the sky trembled and lighting cracked against the clouds. But the lightning wasn't its usual color. It almost looked like black glass shattering into a million pieces. Darkness returned with a vengeance. It exploded from the sky but that also quickly died out.
"Lightning?" I said to myself, but the demon responded with a growl.
"No."
The world shook but we did not lose our balance. Anguish rang in discord around us. A cry from thousands pulsed fear into my soul. It sounded near, it sounded far. Roars of creatures, wailing of women, and shrieking of thousands of beings. We were drowned out in the sound of despair.
I didn't know what to do. I could only stand hopelessly and listen. It stopped as suddenly as it came.
The imps looked to the blackened demon for guidance and trembled.
"Master… What was that?" A blue imp asked.
"We need to get out of here." The demon lowered his head and stared at me with an angry growl. "Remember my name, gods whore. You have not beaten Mnakaraneh."
The demons body dissipated into smoke again. But instead of surrounding us it hid his entire army. I pulled my axe from the ground and charged him. I swung at the smoke and it nothingness. The black fog cleared and revealed nothing but the broken town and the flames that engulfed it. Not even the rift remained. Had they gone back to hell? Or were they still in our world?
I didn't want to turn around, I didn't want to see the aftermath of my negligence. But I had to face them regardless of how loudly Amy scolded.
Leonard laid against the wall, his spear penetrating his own chest. He held onto it with the remaining strength that seemed to dwindle rapidly. Elia sat by Leonards side, soothing him as he groaned with pain. Howard was in bad shape also, he sat on a stair that lead to town hall. His hand had stopped the blood from gushing out of his neck but his eyes drooped and his face was pale. Xanthius shook Felicia, her eyes were wide and her face pale with fear. Her chin quivered as she murmured something, she seemed to be the only one still lost in the horrific trance. Xanthius was injured on his right arm but paid no mind to it. He always gave Felicia his attention. Arion was a hot mess, he seemed to have lost more feathers than regained from a spell that was supposed to help them grow faster. Amy was torn up on her back, her arms and her chest. She had large patches of pink that stood out amongst her black fur. Her chest welled with anger, she breathed so hard that her nostrils flared.
"What the fuck, Shi!" She screamed. "We were getting destroyed! Why didn't you do something!"
I was absolutely shocked. I had no idea what happened. I became blind to my rage when I fought the demon and even sound was blocked out.
"lay off her. It was that demon." Arion said to Amy.
"Shut up, pidgeon!" She squealed. It wasn't like her to act in this manner. We had experienced many hardships together all of which Amy was calm and collected. And although her and Arion never had the best relationship she never spewed racial slurs even as a joke. She turned to me, "Do we mean nothing to you! You wasted your damn powers on that demon and left us to die. If it wasn't for…" She pointed to the sky, "Whatever the fuck that was that scared him off we'd all be dead!"
Words wanted to rush out of my mouth but I was circumspect to speak. If a single sound escaped my lips they would come out as fists instead of words. My anger only welled up inside of me, dark thoughts lingered from my fight and my adrenaline pumped throughout my veins but my mind was straight. I would not speak, I would not hurt my own friend. I looked to the bright moon and prayed. Goddessa, bestow me your gift of patience, help me calm my rage.
My prayers were interrupted by a flash of light and a crash. Dirt ricocheted against my helmet and rocks dinged against my armor. Amy's eyes widened then dropped to her knee, Arion had bowed, Howard and Leonard seemed to be in too much agony to act. Xanthius clung to his wife but he had bowed his head to the angel behind me. I turned to face my angel and genuflected in the mud.
"Rise." Ezekiels eyes scanned the destruction that we left. Houses were torn to shreds from the rift, whatever materials were left were on fire or soaked with blood.
"What happened?" He said. Angels spoke as two separate voices; a woman's soprano and a man's baritone. Crowds of people couldn't hear his angelic voice although he spoke loudly to me. Ezekiel could choose who saw him and who could hear him. "Why didn't you pray for my help?"
"It's complicated." I said.
"Complicated! Abandoning us to fight off a whole horde isn't complicated." Amy sneered.
I had a strong desire to swing around and deck her in the face. My heart continued to pound so loudly it was almost deafening.
"It is complicated." The angel said to her. "The air in this area is disturbing."
He circled around and met the area where the rift opened. He held his hand out, then retracted it. "This was no ordinary demon."
My neck had an itch to crank around and give Amy the 'what now, bitch?' face but I believed she got the point. Hiding a smirk behind my helmet brought enough satisfaction.
"What was it then?" Arion asked. "A demon lord!"
"No, if it was a demon lord Godius would know. This is something that doesn't have a name. Something elusive, like a shadow of sorts. A darkness that hides in the light."
"It must have been a sort of doppleganger. He said that he would be a fool if he actually fought me." I said.
"A very powerful doppleganger if that was the case. For a copy of something to leave this strong of a presence is concerning. The god and goddess must hear of this." He turned back to us.
"Is this why you came?" Amy crossed her arms and loosened her shoulders.
"No, but knowing that you are all alive I can only assume the demon sensed my presence. I would have smitten him where he stood. Back to the matter at hand - I have come here with grave news. The world is in danger, Shi. Godius and Goddessa lost control to the underworld. They fear for the souls of their people." This unfortunate news made my stomach leap, sending bile into my throat. The knot tore at my vocal chords as I spoke.
"What can I do for my god and goddess?" My voice wavered slightly, grunting helped clear my voice of the knot and I could speak clearly again.
"Report to the Marnettie Cathedral. Research the underworld and how to regain control. We shall give further instructions as you further this goal." He said as he handed me an angel scroll. The scroll glowed with golden script with an orangish shadow lining the words encrypted inside. The instructions written in magic repeated verbatim what the angel asked. The only thing different was the explanation of why a human had to perform this quest.
"Is that what that weird flash in the sky was?" I dared to ask Ezekiel. He hesitated, but then nodded. "May I ask what happened?"
"Godius has not given permission to say." He confessed. "Have faith in the god and goddess, everything they do they do it for you."
My head spun from confusion. Questions repeated themselves then created more questions which caused my stomach to turn more. Time seemed to stand still as I contemplated the odd happenstance that the underworld was lost. What does that mean? How could I even begin to assist my beloved god in achieving his request?
The angel bowed to me then his light slowly disappeared.
"We need a plan." I spun on my heels. Hearing the angel say what he had about the demon must have calmed Amy a bit. But her jaw glided side to side as she ground her teeth. "Xanthius, can you ride?"
He looked at me with reddened eyes, tears followed a large scar down to his jaw. "I can."
"Good. You're going to rush Felicia to the Marnettie Cathedral. Amy you are going to accompany them just in case those demons are in the forest. We don't know where they went. They could be close."
She nodded and then cradled Felicia in her arms while Xanthius mounted his horse. When he was settled Amy nestled Felicia on his lap. One hand held tightly to the reigns and the other wrapped around his fragile wife. Looking at the large man his horse began to look very small. Poor thing.
Amy curled her back and landed on her hands as some bones grew and others became stout as she transformed into her full animal form. Her clothes broke apart into tiny particles and gathered into a small little ball of yarn that hooked onto a necklace made of twine and bone. The magical threads in the Akiras clothes allowed the Akira to transform without worrying about where their clothes have gone. Unfortunately, not every family had the money for such a luxury.
Amy cast Xanthius a look and they raced off into the dark night without giving me a single glance or goodbye. My heart ached and guilt overcame my thoughts. I really fucked up this time.
I turned to Arion. He must have seen something in my eyes because he spoke before I commanded him to do something.
"I can fly… It hurts, but my wings were mended by Felicia before we had to rejoin the fight."
"Ok, flying to the cathedral will take half the time. We need someone to help us with Leonard and Howard. They needed a healer thirty minutes ago."
Arion shot into the sky.
I assisted my remaining comrades. Howards wound was deep against his neck and he nodded off. He looked dead already, but I held onto hope. I patted his back when his eyes closed. "Don't sleep."
Howard gave me a lazy smirk, "I'm trying…"
His voice trailed off and I couldn't make out what he said. I didn't want to ask him to repeat it because he needed his strength. I nodded, pretending to know what he said then checked on Leonard. He was more calm than before. But his face winced with pain and he was getting deathly pale. He held tightly onto Elia's hand for support.
"How are you doing" I asked Elia. She looked more tired than damaged.
"I'm ok. I only got clawed at a couple times."
"Good." I looked at the bloody mess around me and knew there must be medicine or potions around here somewhere. "I'm going to look for supplies. Yell if anything happens."
I pounced to my feet then bolted towards a shop that was still intact a block away. Leaping from the top of townhalls staircase risked a broken ankle. I landed in the mud and slipped but quickly jolted forward again paying no mind to the twinge in my knee. I had to hurry. Leonard and Howard were severely wounded and might not last until Arion gets back without special care. Bounding over bodies and intestines I splashed mud and blood everywhere. Bothered not by the grime I kicked an imps body out of the way of the shops front door. Its green blood splattered all over my legs.
Bursting through the front door the aroma of flowers and herbs filled the air. It was pungent considering the only smell I inhaled in hours was blood, mud, horses, and the smell of my armpits wafting through my armor, even my own helmet trapped the odor of my greasy hair.
Leading into the store were large cabinets filled with bottles of every color. The counter had dried herbs tied to a long string across the entire shop. I was surrounded by hundreds of plants, my mind raced and I felt stuck. My heart sank with an overwhelming feeling.
I should just grab something.
I read the labels to the bottles first. Most were made to alleviate the common cold and the flu. This shelf was no good. I moved down a shelf, more cold remedies and headache pills. Most of the stuff at the beginning of the shop would be for common ailments. I needed to look further back.
I slid over the counter, my armor scratching large gashes into the wooden shelf. Underneath the table top were more serious potions, cleansers, serious pain killers, and jellies used to keep out bacteria from the outside world.
To my right was a counter with sheets and towels. I shoveled them into my arms and opened one and put all the potion bottles in it. I tied it shut and gently placed it over my shoulders. The bottles jingled against each other as I walked. I softened my step with fear one of the bottles would crack against the others.
At the top of the stairs I unloaded the medicine.
"Nice find!" Elia picked up a blue bottle. "I'll care for Leanord."
I sat next to Howard with a towel and a potion bottle that was labeled for wound cauterization.
"This is gonna hurt like a bitch." I removed Howards hand revealing three large gashes and a piece of a devils nail still lodged into his throat. The nail would wiggle but not budge as the flesh clung to it.
"I'll have to cut this out." Howard did not respond. His complexion was pale, he sweat profusely, and he struggled with keeping his eyes open.
Snap! My fingers flicked before his face. He jolted forward.
"Stay awake." I said. He nodded. I pulled out the golden handle from the knife that I had hidden behind my greaves and picked away at the course nail. It plucked out, and blood gushed from the open wound.
The clear liquid from a potion bottle soaked through the thick towel and I quickly slapped it against his throat. He groaned with pain and his face winced. I held it tightly until the wound was soaked with blood then replaced it. When the blood stopped gushing through I removed the towel and applied herbs to clean it and the jelly like substance to seal it.
"I'll be back." I patted his shoulder, he gave me the thumbs up. I returned to Elia and Leanord. She had his wound clean.
"Are we going to pull this out." Elia pointed at the shaft to the spear.
"We can't pull the spear out. I'm afraid it might be keeping him from bleeding out. But this long shaft is going to be a pain."
"How can we take it off without hurting Leonard?" She asked.
"I could try burning it."
Elias face was written with uncertainty, but the giant pole protruding from his chest had to be removed. She nodded and with the small little sun amidst my axe I pointed it at the base of the shaft. I had just enough power to perform small spells like this. A thread like magma streamed from my axe and the wooden pole caught fire. It burned for a few minutes until the shaft was weakened and used my knife to saw it off until it came off cleanly.
Leanords face wasn't contorted with pain anymore, his complexion was so pale he almost looked blue, his eyes were closed and his chest didn't move, it could have been the armor concealing his breath but my stomach dropped with worry.
"Leanord!" I shook him. His eyes shot open, "are you ok?"
"I'm doing alright actually. I don't feel the pain anymore." He started to lift himself up but I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him back down.
"Regardless, don't move."
"I think I can take this out," He grabbed the spear head and began to pull. My hand jolted forward and held him still.
"No! Not until we have a healer." I stared him down until he reluctantly agreed. I went to Howard, he too wasn't showing signs of pain and began to glow a pale bluish color for someone with exceptionally tan skin. "How are you doing?"
He didn't speak but made a face that I assumed he said the same as Leonard.
"No pain?" I asked to confirm my suspicion. He nodded.
I was alarmed that the potions had worked so quickly. A sinking feeling in my gut told me something wasn't right but they were showing signs of improvement although their faces gathered frost around their jawline. I had to get them in front of a fire before they died of frostbite.
"I'm going to start a fire." I said to Elia. "Keep an eye on them."
I bounded down the stairs again and started pulling planks of wood from the damaged houses. One building was still on fire and slowly dwindled. Before it died I tossed the planks against it and it grew hot again.
Back at the top of the stairs Elia struggled to straighten Leonards arm. Leonard seemed angry, if he hadn't lost so much color in his face I would say he was beet red, shit, he was practically purple.
"I can't… m-m-move." He sputtered his words with difficulty.
"It's stiffer than a wooden plank." She said looking at me with a frightened look.
Howard too, seemed frustrated and he couldn't move well either. I grabbed his arm and tried to help him bend it but it was surprisingly stiff. If I applied anymore force I feared his elbow would snap off.
"What the hell." His skin was more blue than before and had little particles of frost covering his forearm. They were covered in blankets and sheets yet they still froze.
"Let's get them to that fire."
"But their wounds!" Elia argued.
"If we don't get them warmth they'll freeze to death." My stare was sharp and demanding. I needed her to understand and she had. We each took one of Leonards arms and heaved him onto his feet and assisted him down the stairs.
"I'll be back for you." I turned my head to speak with Howard. His legs shook and his knees popped when he tried to move them, his hands cramped into a frightening claw, and his head shook. He was convulsing with anger as he tried to move. I doubt he heard me. I had to move quickly.
We carefully brought Leonard closer to the fire at the bottom of the stairs. As we neared it he began to shake and writhe.
"N-no." He wiggled more.
"Leonard, stop! You'll freeze to death if you don't." Elia tried to convince him but he continued to fight. He screamed, he kicked, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head revealing a blue like rot behind them. His mouth stretched impossibly wide as if he had no jaw and his teeth became yellow. A glowing like substance seeped through his skin until he was almost bright blue.
My brain was not given a second to think and I froze, dumbfounded. Blood splatter across my cheek as Leonards teeth sank into Elias neck. Elias screaming made me freeze more but another loud screech made my skin crawl, it wasn't a normal screaming and it came from atop the town hall stairs.
Howard too had turned to a blueish ghoul. The type of creature that was only real in stories. He hurled down the stairs and smashed into my shoulder. I caught his heavy body covered in armor but his writhing tongue caught me off guard as it slithered from his helmet to mine. The stench was worse than the rotting corpses of our battle. I lost my footing on the stairs and we stumbled. Bones crunched, armor dented and jabbed into my back, I lost my breathe and his neck snapped in half as our bodies collided at the final step.
My breathe had left me, I breathed but my lungs were not fulfilled. I would have sworn I'd suffocate, but with one large gasp air rushed into my lungs so quickly it almost burned.
I hoped Howard was dead but I was terribly mistaken. He jumped forward, climbing on me as I laid stuck in the mud. His head dangled to one side with his spine poking from underneath his skin. He dug his nails into my arming doublet below the pauldrons. His grip was tight and I struggled to peel his dead fingers off me. He leaned in with his rapidly rotting teeth. I raised my hand to keep his foul mouth from my face and pushed but he was astoundingly strong. With his jaw wide open he bit into my pinky knuckle and clamped tightly.
My leather glove protected skin but the knuckle cracked as his muscles tightened.
"Fuck!" I screamed to untie the knot in my stomach.
I reached for my boot and grasped my knifes handle. Forcing the knife inside his cheek I pushed with all force and ripped his flesh open. Stabbing the sharp end into the corner of his jaw popped it right off and my hand was free. Howard seemed unaffected by it. Half his jaw dangled to his collar bone the other half kept retracting the muscles in an attempt to clamp his mouth shut. I raised my boot and pushed him off, he stumbled backwards a few feet. I lifted my leg again and smashed him in the chest with more force causing him to flop backwards into the mud.
Physical damage does not seem to affect them but Leonard seemed frightened of the flames, maybe that would do them damage? I jumped forward and grabbed a plank that contained a large flame and swung it in his face. I unpinned my axe from my back just in case I was wrong.
The fire did as I intended and Howard released an earsplitting shriek. Howard backed away as I advanced him. One step at a time I lead him into the shadows until even the blueish glow he exuded was gone.
I pivoted, jumped up a few steps and shoved the plank of fire at Leonard. He hissed at the flames and dropped Elia down the stairs. She tumbled but I caught her before she hit the bottom. A large crater from her collar bone to her cheek gushed out blood and showed little white pieces of bone. Leonard didn't just bite her, he was eating her.
Leonard was more difficult to lead away. I kept him at bay but I was holding Elia up, keeping her from falling further down the staircase. The fire wouldn't hold up much longer.
"Elia, I know you're in pain but I need you to stand for a second."
She sobbed profusely, but she stood. I threw her over my shoulders and frightened Leonard into the shadows with Howard.
I ran out of town with Elia on my shoulder. The blood from her neck soaked my clothes and warmed me slightly, but the chilling frost came back with a biting cold. I trudged with difficulty through the thick snow mound outside of town. My legs burned, my eyes ached, I've been awake for two days and hadn't eaten since we arrived. The aches and pains had not hindered me, I kept running until we came within Seriphs comfortable distance from town.
I gently laid Elia on the ground but her body wanted to flop around. Her eyes were open but grew cold and gray. Her face lost all color and the frost quickly grew.
"Alright time to go." I shook her. My beating heart was too loud to notice that she must have stopped sobbing a while back.
"Please wake up." Was she to turn out like Howard and Leonard? She wasn't moving as they had, she wasn't talking, she wasn't rotting as they had. Does this mean she was truly dead? No, not Elia. Not another one.
"No, Elia wake up!" Tears stung my eyes and my throat felt swollen with grief. "I'm sorry."
I could not save her. I'm lucky that a handful of my friends had escaped but I failed. I let that damned demon cloud my judgement by getting frustrated during battle, and everyone else had to pay the price.
"I hope this small prayer will be suffice." I stood over her body and reached both arms out to my sides then twirled them around and prayed to Godius. "Take this body in your everlasting flame, clean her soul with your grace and may her afterlife be glorious."
My prayers were interrupted when a blue glow grew on the edge of town. A shriek startled Seriph and she whinnied. I caught her reigns and mounted before she took off.
"Godius-" I prepared the remaining power for Elia's funeral. "I was foolish in battle and don't have enough power to burn them in your name. Please look at them with pity and save their souls."
Seriph and I were at the edge of the forest. I took one last look at the haunted village. My mind rushed with images of my fallen companions and regret flooded my heart. "I'll be back to properly bury you. I promise."
I turned my back with intentions to return when I regained the power of the sun.