"A wraith."
I repeated, seeing the transformed girl tear off the head of the very dead Deathwalker.
The captain sighed and got up, straightening her tall athletic body.
She took out a black glove with small glowing red stones embedded in the fingers and a metal rod with a pointed end on one side.
"Is that a stake?", I shifted forward for a closer look.
That was a terrible idea and pain flared all over my body. Looks like the recovery potion's pain relief was temporary.
As long as I don't make any unnecessary movements for some time after taking it, I will be fine.
"What are you going to do with that?", I asked with a wince, slowly leaning against the cold dracium plate on the Shield.
She gave me a grim look, "Something that will ensure my survival."
Her amber eyes met mine, "And yours as well."
She turned around and looked at the wraith attacking another Deathwalker, a woman in her early twenties whose screams blended with the sound of battle as the wraith savagely tore off her arms and ripped her entrails out.
The captain donned the black glove on her left hand and tightened her grip on the stake.
"Please observe carefully, your Highness. This is how you take care of wraiths."
Her eyes glowed and lightning enveloped her as she activated her strand. "Tony. Protect the High Prince.", she told her mechanima before disappearing in a brilliant flash.
As I observed, she appeared above the bloody wraith in a flash of lightning.
The wraith turned around and snarled like an animal at her. Without hesitation, the captain enveloped the stake with lightning and threw it right at the wraith.
The metal rod struck the wraith in the heart and pinned her to the ground, right on top of the mutilated corpse of the female Deathwalker.
Pinned to the ground and unable to move, the wraith released an unholy scream that chilled my blood.
What happened next would give me nightmares for the rest of my life.
The captain landed right next to the thrashing yet restrained wraith.
She gave the wraith, the young girl who transformed into such a bloody abomination a look of pity before snapping the fingers of her gloved hand.
Raging blue flames erupted out of the gloves and enveloped the wraith.
My eyes widened in horror as the screams became louder.
The most disturbing part? It was not the wraith's unearthly screams but the girl's agony as the blue flames mercilessly consumed her body.
She was not the only one. The entirety of Blood Valley echoed with screams of Deathwalkers who turned into wraiths as their skin bubbled and their muscles were cooked by the flames that burned them alive.
As I saw the captain standing there and watching the girl's body turn to ash, my eyes widened in horror again.
A daemon appeared right behind her.
"Watch out!", I screamed at her.
But the daemon was too fast as it swung down its greatsword with great speed, ready to cleave her in two.
The giant sword slammed into the ground and pulverized the burning corpses of the wraith and Deathwalker.
But it didn't hit the captain.
In another flash of lightning, she appeared beside the ten-foot-tall daemon and slammed one of her axes into its shadowy foot.
She jumped high in the air and just before the daemon could react, cut off its head. As the now headless daemon staggered, she enveloped her right fist with lightning and punched a hole straight through the creature's heart.
As the daemon fell, she quickly retrieved her weapons and disappeared in a flash before the daemon exploded into darkness and the crimson smoke spun around it to dissipate after it failed to find a host.
"The battle is leaning in our favor today.", the captain remarked as she appeared beside me in a flash of lightning.
"Really?", I looked at the battlefield. The battle against daemons was still raging but the remaining Deathwalkers managed to reach halfway to the Tear and only a few daemons were going past them.
The one just killed by the captain was one of those.
The only Deathwalkers in the rear are the ones who are taking a reprieve like me and the ones who are taking care of the daemons that broke through.
"Was that necessary?", I asked her, looking back at the spot where the wraith was burning a minute ago.
"That is the only way to vanquish a wraith. I wish there was another, less gruesome way.", she said in a defeated voice.
"You must stake the wraith in the heart and pin it down, then use the ignition gloves provided in your bracelet to burn them.", she instructed while showing me the special glove she wore.
"That's extreme. But the infected person would not be conscious when that happens right?", I asked, looking at her hopefully.
Her expression betrayed my hopes.
"That is the most messed up part of the whole thing, your Highness. When the body of the host begins to burn, the spirit of the wraith escapes."
"But the moment we douse the flames, the wraith re-enters the host, forcefully heals the body, and turns it more monstrous."
My mouth suddenly became dry, "Then."
The captain nodded grimly, "The one we are burning alive is the human host and the worst part is that they are conscious the whole time."
"That is so messed up. So you guys-", I started to say.
"We kill fellow Deathwalkers in one of the most horrible ways.", she finished my sentence and scoffed.
"Even in death, those damn daemons still fuck us up. To me, the daemons win every time even if we were successful. They kill us brutally and turn us into monsters who murder their comrades."
She looked me in the eyes, "My hands are dripping with the blood of the friends and comrades I killed."
"There is no redemption for me or any Deathwalker. That includes you as well, your Highness."
Her voice echoed in my ears and the sounds of battle faded away. I looked into her eyes and was shocked by how hollow they were.
They say that the eyes are the windows of the soul.
I cannot see hers. It is as if the light inside her eyes has long been extinguished.
But before I could say a word, the familiar tingle of danger alerted me. The captain realized it as well as her eyes widened and she shoved me away.
As I sprawled to the ground and my pain returned with a vengeance, a sharp whizzing sound was heard followed by the sound of flesh and bone being pierced.
Don't ask me how I know the sounds that the human body produces when inflicted with trauma. Perhaps it was due to my time being a knight on the battlefield.
There was a sharp scream followed by a painful grunting. I winced as I sat up and my eyes widened in horror at the sight in front of me.
A massive arrow like the one that almost took off my arm had pierced through the captain's left shoulder and pinned her to the dracium panel.
What is it with daemons and shoulders?
I looked at the position of the arrow and realization dawned on me. The captain was not the target of the arrow.
I was.
She shoved me out of the way just in time but she wasn't quick enough and as a result, she took an arrow for me.
Well. Thank you for doing that.
I felt a familiar chill and looked to my right.
There, standing a good distance away was an eight-foot-tall daemon holding a massive bow made of darkness.
It had broken past the advancing Deathwalkers and slaughtered the ones in the rear. It was quite evident from the ring of corpses around it.
Its head was turned in the captain's direction. It pulled back the black bowstring and a massive arrow materialized, aimed right at her head.
Great. These guys can materialize spear-sized arrows out of thin air. Just great.
The captain is going to have something much worse than a scar on her face.
How do I help her? Can I even help her?
I shook my head.
Of course, I should help her. I was a villain but I remembered the ones who helped me.
Wincing through the crippling pain ravaging my body, I mustered my voice and yelled out.
"HEY! OVER HERE YOU NOSELESS SWINE!"
I don't know if it even heard me considering the distinct lack of ears on daemons.
Alas! Fate finds ways to fuck up my life.
The daemon's head turned toward me and so did its arrow.
And that's when I made my move.
I activated transcendence followed by ardor enhancement of my body and blood acceleration.
In the current state of my body, I would not even last a minute. But a minute is all I need.
I could feel my body screaming at me as the sudden surge of ardor became too much for it to handle.
The stump of my right arm started to bleed again and blood vessels burst as my blood acceleration went over the limits.
The snow around me scattered as I released what little aura I had and my feet pushed against the ground.
The bones of my legs broke under the force but in a flash, I was right in front of the daemon, staring right at its arrow aimed at my handsome face.
Without any hesitation, it released the bowstring and the black arrow came right at my left eye.
Fortunately, I had transcendence.
My perception was slowed enough for me to react.
I moved to the left and went to deflect the arrow with my left dagger. The impact with the arrow shattered my wrist in an instant but I gritted my teeth and tried to withstand the pain.
It was quite easier than I thought.
When your entire body is in agonizing pain, a wrist fracture is not too bad.
Sparks flew as the blade brushed against the shaft of the arrow. With the strength from ardor enhancement, I pushed at the arrow and barely deflected it away from me.
But the momentum of the arrow spun me around and tore my muscles. I screamed out in pain and almost fell but I wasn't done.
I coated the dagger with ardor and my blood, willing it to swirl around the white blade, empowering it and making it deadly.
I then pushed my body beyond its limits as I further increased blood acceleration and streamed ardor into my left arm. The pain became so intense that I stopped feeling it.
With a defiant yell, I aimed at the heart of the daemonic bastard and threw the dagger with all my might.
The shockwave blew out my eardrums and the bones of my left arm completely broke. There was a sharp whistle followed by a crunch.
With my blurred vision, I saw the daemon standing still, my dagger hilt deep into its chest.
Right at the heart.
Take that, you bloody daemon.
A smile crept up my face as the huge daemon fell backward like a statue. It immediately faded when the daemon started convulsing uncontrollably.
Oh yeah. Wraiths.
Shit.
I collapsed to the ground, unable to move a single toe.
Burnt alive?
Definitely not a good way to go.
Suddenly I felt something clamp around my collar. My blurry vision showed me the blue and dented metallic face of Tony, the mechanima of the captain.
"What the?", I blurted out right before the mechanical beast flung me like a ragdoll into the sky.
There was an explosion of darkness and the wailing crimson smoke came right at me but I was out of range. Wailing in despair it soon dissipated.
I then slammed into a mound of snow and everything became dark.
Ow.
*******
My eyes snapped open and I gasped for air.
"Wow. You managed to stay alive."
A familiar calm voice spoke beside me.
I slowly turned my head and saw Eravon sitting cross-legged on the ground beside me.
He smiled and his blue eyes sparkled, "We meet again Mordred. Looks like this time you lost an arm."
He held out his hand and a fancy teacup materialized on his palm.
"Tea?"