The dark halls of Feita's chapel had long been silent since the demons invaded the realm. But not on this day. The thunderous noise of battle rang out beneath its towering arches, broken pews trampled upon by a daring host of knights. Metal clashed against metal with ear-splitting screeches; fighting men shouted and roared as they cut down vast numbers of demons. And beneath that cacophony was the pitiful groaning and whimpering of fallen warriors, who bled and longed for the swift release of death.
"Feita knights! Hold your ground!" shouted a captain, his blade barely batting away three demonic spears in time. He could see their soulless yellow eyes glaring into his own, their bared dagger-like teeth seeming as though they were close enough to tear into his throat at any moment.
What he would not give for the company of those misfit adventurers. The ones that had wandered into every village between Ruben and this accursed place, destroying all of their opposition with ease. Most had left to protect the innocent citizens of Velder when they had heard of the demon invasion on the kingdom's capital. Demons who had called themselves the Glitter.
All except one.
A black-and-crimson blur flitted across his vision. Wherever it was, a trail of bloody demon corpses followed, in various states of dismemberment. And finally, it stopped in front of him, and the three demons before him fell to the ground, blood spurting from their backs.
That blur was the dark knight, Elesis, now half-crouched with her claymore held loosely behind her back. He could not help but shiver a little when her wrathful glare fell upon him. Her bloodstained black-and-red armor did little to reassure him that she was really on his side – and neither did the pulsating purple crystal in her other hand.
"Captain. I have the dark El crystal. The enemy necromancer is dead, and there is no reason for you to be here any longer. Instruct your men to retreat," she spoke, her voice dripping with barely-concealed fury. Another spear-wielding demon rushed towards her, only to be run through by her claymore, "Now, if you please,"
"If we retreat, the demons will run us down before we even make it back to the entrance hall!" he retorted. Even now, his men were being constantly pushed back by the endless tide of black. Only half of those that came with him remained standing, locked in close combat against an enemy many times their number.
"You will not have them at your back. I will make sure of that," Elesis said grimly, her fingers tightening around the large purple crystal in her hand, "Go now. I will not debate this matter further,"
"U...Understood. It has been an honour, ma'am,"
No reply reached his ears as she wrapped her ragged crimson cloak about her face like a scarf. Instead, she shouted a challenge to the demons, stamping her feet as loudly as she could.
"Come, then, demons! You think yourselves superior to humans. Why waste your efforts on the unworthy?" Elesis screamed. Several nearby demons turned from their human opponents to face her, the opportunity not wasted by the fleeing knights, "You wanted this crystal? You lost it because you were weak, because you were unworthy. Come then, see if you can claim it from myself!"
That did the trick. Within moments, the tide of creatures had shifted away from the grey-cloaked warriors. They did not chase those that fled, and instead surrounded the lone swordswoman, seemingly intent only on answering her challenge. Circling her, waiting for the perfect moment to strike down their prey.
"Well then, brother," whispered Elesis to herself, a small smile on her lips as she watched the last of the knights retreat through the door of the chapel, "Let us see how far your convictions take you. You cannot protect everyone, not merely by strength of arms,"
Two demons fell with a single stroke of her claymore. Another was torn from shoulder to hip as she spun around, striking off the heads of several spears with the same stroke. The blade, now slick with black blood, never rested for a moment; heads and limbs flew from demons left and right.
And yet the tide still came. For every one that fell, two more took its place. Still more of those reptilian demons clambered over the others, perched on a solid mass of their brethren and aiming their arrows at her. Noticing the archers, she barely managed to block the hail of arrows with her arm, hissing as several pierced through her armoured undersuit.
It seemed almost as though she had fought for an eternity. Her hair was matted, and her body was drenched in sweat and blood from head to toe; some of it hers, some of it from her enemy's. Her limbs felt as though they were made of lead as she swung the claymore unsteadily, staggering as she attempted to recover from the missed swing.
"I...hate...you...all!" growled Elesis, clumsily parrying a blow from a hammer-wielding demon. The shock of the blow staggered her, allowing two others to thrust their spears into her less-armoured stomach.
Hate. Anger. They were powerful tools. Capable of forcing her body into doing feats that she had once thought impossible. But now, as she clutched onto the dark El crystal, it seemed that though her dark emotions fed her powers...there were always limits to them.
Limits.
Limits were meant to be broken. Rules shattered. That was why she became a dark knight. Gritting her teeth, she slashed viciously upward, severing both arms on the demonic spearmen and shattering the spears' hafts.
It was then that she thought she heard a voice speak. Half amused, and half mocking. "Your desire for power. It is admirable. But desire without purpose? That is weakness. You seek to acquire it without knowing what to do, foolish child,"
"I...I know what I want. You cannot tell me otherwise," she spat, leaning unsteadily on her claymore. Whatever – or whoever – was speaking to her would regret it when she was finished.
"Oh, but I can. And you cannot do anything about it. I feel it, you see. The darkness that grows within you. It is powerful, but it is chained. Set me free, and you shall see,"
"Who are you? Show yourself!"
She didn't know if she was becoming delirious from loss of blood. There, in front of her, stood an image of herself, clutching the dark El shard. A malicious grin was plastered on her face, from ear to ear, an enormous curved blade resting easily on her shoulder.
"You see, I am you, and you are myself. I and you are one, and the same. You seek power, and yet you fear it,"
"..."
"The key to unlock it lies before you, and yet you are too weak to accept it for what it is. A coward, and a craven! Is that all you are?"
"I...am not...a COWARD!" roared Elesis, lunging forward to seize the dark crystal. The apparition vanished, laughing manically as it faded into mist.
Yet her fingers found themselves wrapped around the smooth surface of a crystal.
The dark El shard. It was releasing bolts of energy, incinerating the nearest demons with reddish-black streaks of light. They backed away fearfully; the maelstrom of energy grew larger and larger, devouring all in its path. Yet the bolts did not harm her, instead filling her with energy to stand straighter despite all her wounds.
"Eh...heh...heh..." she laughed softly. Why did she fear these foolish creatures before her? She should have slain them all! "Ha...ha...ha...!"
The speartips embedded in her stomach were no longer a concern. The dripping of crimson from their broken hafts were simply annoyances to be dealt with later. What mattered was slaughter for the sake of it.
"Power...unlimited power!" cackled the delirious dark knight. Power coursed through her veins from the dark shard in her left hand. A shadowy blade extended from the hilt of her claymore, effortlessly cleaving through stone and metal as it surged outwards.
The fear on the demons' faces was amusing. She needed to have more of it. Much more of it. What was life without amusement?
Each swing of her extended blade sundered metal and flesh, spraying her with black blood. "Come to me...pathetic creatures...come, come and meet your end!"
Death came swiftly for those nearest, while those further away scampered off to the nearest exit that they could find, leaving their weapons behind. Still some remained behind, valiantly loosing arrow after arrow into the red-and-black knight from behind chunks of fallen ceiling.
She didn't care about the little stings that peppered her body. The crystal shard made sure of that, numbing her nerves with every pulse of its dark energy. Only the destruction of her enemy mattered to Elesis. Lowering her shoulder, she charged forward to the last remaining group of demons. A dark wave surrounded her body, sending a tremendous explosion outwards as she collided with their makeshift barricade.
"Mwa...ha...ha..." she laughed weakly, coughing blood. The last of the demons had been vanquished by her, and what was left of Feita's knights had successfully escaped. Her mission was complete.
The energy from the dark shard in her hand ebbed away. All the pain that came with her grievous wounds returned with all the force of an avalanche; yet so weakened she was, she could only whimper in agony. Collapsing to the ground, she forced herself to fall backwards, so as to not be impaled by the shattered spears and numerous arrows still embedded in her.
"My fingers are...so cold. Was the sky always this...red?" she thought to herself, still weakly clutching the warm and wet crystal in her left hand. She swore that she could still hear the laughter of that damnable woman in her head. Perhaps if she could sleep, she would not hear it any more. Yes, sleeping seemed to be a good idea. Especially if the crystal was providing her with warmth.
…
…
…
Hot. It was hot. Far too hot. And far too dark.
Elesis whimpered weakly as she awoke once more. There was something hard and heavy blocking her sight.
"Codsworth. Codsworth! I think I found...something. Or someone,"
"Why, yes, mum. I can definitely there's someone here. A young lady, it seems,"
"She's still alive. I think,"
A pair of gentle hands found their way to her neck, feeling her pulse. Still too weak to respond, Elesis could only shift slightly, opening her mouth to ease her breathing.
"Yes, she's still alive. Her pulse is weak, but she's still breathing. Get me a needle of Med-X from our baggage, and three doses of stimpaks. Quickly, now,"
"Certainly, mum,"
A nasod voice? It was far too mechanical to be a human's.
"You'll be alright. I promise," the soothing female voice spoke into her ear. She could feel soft, slender fingers gently caressing her cheek.
"Here you are, mum,"
A few moments later, Elesis felt a pair of metal claws grip her left arm. What were these people doing to her? Though she wished to move, her body refused to do so. A sharp needle pierced the skin on her wrist, followed by a strange numbing sensation which spread very, very quickly through her body.
"Good. That should make it much less painful. And...there. That should keep her stable until I can operate on her properly at Sanctuary. Move that rock over her head, Codsworth, and carry her back to Sanctuary,"
The last that the dark knight remembered before slipping into unconsciousness was the sight of a sickly green sky – and the silhouette of a woman's face looming over hers. Where was she? And who was this woman?
A/N
Heh. Insane Elesis is the best Elesis. Her characterisation in Elsword as a Crimson Avenger / Dark Knight strikes me as...amusing. It's so different to the other characters' rather light and cheery backgrounds that it's interesting to write about in a darker fashion than ordinary Elsword fanfics. If it was in a Star Wars universe, I could totally see her becoming a Sith Apprentice or a Sith Master, given how sadistic she becomes!
Updates will be irregular. Though I enjoy writing, work doesn't always make it possible to set a routine update time. Stay tuned for more insanity in the messed-up world of Fallout!