Chereads / Tales of Apocrypha / Chapter 52 - Lifting a Curse

Chapter 52 - Lifting a Curse

Such a rancid thing from Ronove was told to the Wolf Queen, and she refuses to accept such words. Lagertha would never forget what happened in the castle of Clegane as she prepares to put this demon king to rest. She would send him back to the deepest pits of Hell where he truly belongs, and she would tell tales of her victory. She understood above anything that killing a demon king would end the onslaughts and battles that caused the lives of many. The Wolf Queen would never forgive the servants of Hell for all the things they have done against her.

Without hesitation, Lagertha raises her longsword to deliver the final blow to the demon king. She wastes no time and desires no answer from a ruler who brought death and destruction to Clegane. Mercy was never in the Wolf Queen's vocabulary; she never gave second chances to the night creatures. The creatures that the humans feared were now fearing the one mortal who kills their kings without ease. Killing such a ruler of demons would awaken the gods and archangels of Hell.

At that brief instinct, Lagertha uses her blade and slices off the demon king's head, and the duel between her and Ronove is over. With Ronove's death, Lagertha feels the curse of the entire kingdom released from Ronove's soul. She could also feel the soul of the demon king enter her sword; she felt the weight of her blade increase tenfold. The more souls the Wolf Queen collects, the more likely her fight with Mephiles would end with her being the victor. Yet again, she did not feel ready for the ultimate task at the end of her journey during these days.

"Find peace... in death," Lagertha said. The fire in her eyes was enough to make even the souls trapped in her blade be wary of whom they serve.

She then looks up and realizes there is another foe within the castle, and it was somebody she did not expect. The Wolf Queen puts her sword back in her scabbard and finds her way towards the stairs that go up to the throne room. She thought the night creatures would learn their lesson after understanding that they lost control over Clegane's people. She walks up the stairs, and she hears somebody or something say some gibberish. It was the sound of a dark creature who may summon some force of nature from Hell.

As she hears this, she races her way up the stairs until she hears the gibberish noise get even louder. The sound felt like it would pierce the eardrums of a normal person, but Lagertha felt only a quarter of that pain. She covers her ears and refuses to look down and leave the castle, as she understands it is still nighttime. Lagertha does not hesitate in pulling out her blade again as she believes she will face another damnable creature. Such a creature of darkness did not deserve death from a king's hand; it shall be by the hands of the slayer of kings.

"Enough of your prattle. Leave your hiding place and face me! Your king, Ronove, is dead!" Lagertha shouted. Her time was growing thin, and her patience was getting much thinner than usual.

She could not believe that after killing the demon king of Clegane, she would have to face another dark creature. Her blade grows heavier; her power grows heavy in her soul as she walks those steps. The sounds the dark creature was making became more demonic and hellish, as the midnight moon was visible. The more she walked, the more likable a normal human would have already gone completely deaf. A simple mortal could never hear again if they were to listen to the noise any further.

Suddenly, as she was walking up the steps, the noise started getting lower with every extra step. It appears as if whoever was chanting in the throne room may have heard Lagertha demand his presence. The Wolf Queen had no clear understanding of what this strange being wanted and why he may have wanted it. But whatever the case, she knew this creature may have been a servant of Ronove and must die as he did.

"Did you not hear me? Your master is dead. I've done the deed!" Lagertha said. She holds nothing back as she walks up the stairs leading to where demon kings are usually supposed to be.

The Wolf Queen did not care whether a demon served a god, a king, or even both to satisfy their needs. She already slew the vast majority of every demon king ruling the kingdoms of the world. Lagertha eventually finds the two giant doors of the throne room, and she resists nothing. She wastes no time and opens the two doors, and she walks inside the room to fend off against whatever stands in front of her. She sees a black figure standing in front of the throne, and she pulls out her longsword to fight the figure.

"Turn around and face me! Ronove and Mundis are dead! Their souls are now inside the blade I carry!" Lagertha shouted. The creature in black clothing does not turn around; he instead applauds the Wolf Queen for doing such a deed.

"So... you've done it. You lifted the curse and now... demonkind will no longer parade the souls of Clegane. You are a formidable one, ruler of wolves," the creature said.

"Are you... congratulating me? Do you not care that your king is dead? If you're not here for a fight, then leave Clegane and never return!" She said.

"You first, daughter of Mephiles. The merger has begun and you can never change what must occur in your life. A fated, cursed journey truly comes at such a heavy price," he said. Lagertha holds her sword up and points it at the dark-clothed creature, and she demands answers from him.

Her blade was not afraid to sink into another soul and claim her victory over this dark castle. Lagertha walks even closer to the creature in dark clothing to see if he will make a move before she makes hers. The slayer of demon kings held nothing back as she pointed her gore-stained blade at the creature of darkness. The Wolf Queen was a woman who never cared about how much suffering such a beast should endure.

"Turn... around. You will take your leave right now. You endanger the heart of this kingdom with your very presence. Leave... and never come back!" Lagertha shouted. Before any of them could say anything else, the temperature of the castle changes.

At first, the castle ranged from being hot to being warm after being inside for ten minutes. It was quite rare for a room, let alone a castle, to change temperatures in a matter of seconds. The Wolf Queen feels the air, and she immediately recognizes the creature standing before her eyes. It was the dark one who stood in front of her after she defeated the demon king Mundis. Lagertha slowly walks towards the grim reaper as he turns around to look at her before the morning comes.

"I've had enough of you, Death. You bore me to death, your king sends these demons to wreak havoc on the humans, and you try to lure me into your embrace. Have you got any more tricks or are you just going to stand there and watch the morning sun vanquish you?" She asked.

"Ha, I'm not afraid of you, Wolf Queen. Foolish child. Your luck will eventually run out. Before the end, your soul will be ripe for taking," Death said.

"Only Fate decides where I shall end up, and it will not be by the hands of the ones who serve Mephiles. I will never cease what I am fated to do, as long as there is breath in my body. If you're here to kill me, then your luck runs short with each passing night," Lagertha said.

"Your days of judgment are at hand, daughter of Midland's king. The people of Earth will scheme, betray you, treat you like a slave, and cast you out. There will be no glory in your sacrifice. Mephiles will erase the memory of the Wolf Queen from history. The world will never even know you existed at all. Darkness will come for you and before the end, all the world will see Mephiles as the greatest of all kings."

Before Death could say anything else, Lagertha aims her longsword and throws it at the reaper's face. She then realizes that everything she saw was an illusion after seeing that Death disappeared from her sight. The black clouds leaving the castle were proof enough that the curse was lifted, and Clegane's people were set free. The morning sun rises and vanquishes the great evil that once plagued the kingdom.