Chapter 5:- Taking back the city
Disclaimer:- all the characters form the game belong to moonton and this is not a commercial story but just the work of a diehard fan.
Claimer:- the other characters which are not in game of mentioned are mine
It was decided that the group was going to act as reinforcements for the soldiers back in the second wall. With the number of total five hundred. Saya believed that they could sufficiently help the fight.
Times were desperate and they had no choice but to salvage items and equipments form whatever means necessary. They raided armories, blacksmiths shops and in some cases even had to take usable equipments form the fallen bodies. Times were desperate indeed.
It took a while but they were now properly outfitted with gear and weapons and were ready for battle. Satisfied with what she had created, Saya lead the militia straight through the main boulevard leading all the way towards the castle.
Suddenly, someone from the crowd spoke out, "I found something folks, and you're gonna love it!"
Somehow Hanabi had a bad feeling about this.
Tigreal gritted his teeth as he blocked yet another attack form the crazed orc. Balmond growled and pressed his attack once again. The human avoided his attack and slashed his sword at him. Balmond avoided the attack meant to relieve him of his head and took a few steps backward. Giving both of them a wide girth to take a few breath.
The Imperial knight captain had to agree, this orc was strong. Far stronger than anything he had faced.
"You truly are a remarkable opponent. I wish we could've sparred in a more suitable circumstances."
The orc laughed at this, "You're not too shabby yourself, Human. Alas, flattery will only get you this far."
Tigreal's expression turned hard. Balmond held his axe with his two arms and charged forward. The captain matched the charge with equal furiosity. There they engaged in a fearsome combat. Tigreal was controlled, disciplined and precise, While Balmond was brash, wild and unpredictable. Both equally deadly and powerful in their own right.
"Why do you keep resisting? Your city is already lost!" roared Balmond, performing a downward slash. Rolling out of the way, Tigreal used his shield to charge bash the orc and yelled back, "As long as I breathe, this city will not fall!"
Balmond held his jaw where he was hit pretty hard with Tigreal's shield and growled, "Ignorant human. Don't know when to quit."
"Cause unlike you, I fight till the end and not give in like a slave!" shot Tigreal back. This made Balmond freeze for a while. The Captain had heard about this Orc who called himself Balmond. How he tried to fight for the freedom of Orc kind, only to end up as a lap dog of the Blood Demon Queen.
Balmond's body shook with uncontrollable rage. "You know nothing." The edge in the orc's was evident. And the fact that he spoke so lowly, agitated Tigreal even more. He must've hit a nerve. Balmond looked up with fire burning in his eyes and bellowed angrily, "YOU KNOW NOTHING!"
Brandishing his axe, Balmond attacked relentlessly. So consumed he was in rage that Balmond lost all thoughts of self esteem. It was as if he was in a battle trench. Fueled with rage, Balmond's attacks were like a whirlwind. Putting Tigreal in a constantly defensive stance. But his attacks kept coming without stopping, soon Tigreal couldn't hold on and his shield was knocked away from his hand. The captain, fell on his back on the ground. He tried to get up but an axe was pointed right at his face.
The battle trench left him and Balmond was again in full control. Looking down at the captain he spoke, "Stay down Human. And I may yet spare you."
That was it. Tigreal couldn't believe it. He had lost. He failed his king, his city, his everything. Despair consumed him as he lay defeated down on the ground, starring at the slowly rising sun, which was peeking form the mountain peaks so far away.
A new day was arriving and for the first time, Tigreal wasn't able to greet it with a smile on his face.
The first rays of the sun was considered as a sign of hope in the land of dawn, yet he could feel none form the soft rays that heralded the start of the day.
Or so he though.
Hoofs. That was exactly what he heard. The sound was unmistakable. Hoofs stomping violently of the stone road and by the sound of it, there were many of it.
Both of them look towards the direction from where the sound was coming and gasped, "Cavalry?"
Horses were indeed one of the most remarkable creature Saya had seen. The Sai'oren Ex-empress looked at the large equine with awe and wonder. The men had found one of the still intact stables housing the horses. And as luck would have it, most of the horses were still alive.
"Akambani..." She muttered, speaking the Sai'oren word for 'fascinating'. Hanabi looked at her in disbelief, "You don't know what a horse is?"
Saya laughed at this and shook her head. These 'Horses' had been along with the race of humans since the time unknown. Not knowing what one is was a concept very foreign for the human girl. But the same could be said for Hanabi as well for she too had no idea about the ferocious Vor'anak or the mighty Sirayan Grathons.
(These are the creatures form my novel. They are not exactly important for this story but since Saya is of Siraya, she will describe and compare many aspects of Land of Dawn with what she had seen back in her home planet to maintain immersion.)
Carefully Saya brought her hand closer to the beast. The horse itself was quite unsure of her presence. As if it knew that Saya was not amongst the one's it was familiar with. She was much alien to it as it was to her. Still she slowly ran her hand across its jet black fur. The coat was soft and well kept. A far cry from the rough and very thick wool most of the Sirayan fauna had. A bit more confident, she stroke the creature more, trying not to agitate it more and convince it that she meant no harm.
"Such a fine beast it is. But why are we here, we should get moving." Spoke Saya.
"That we do Milady. But don't you suppose our forces could use a Cavalry?" answered one of the men who was saddling each of the horses. Saya frowned at this. The concept of mounts in battle was not new for her. She had done it herself on many battles in her younger days before Sai'ore made automated vehicles. But she dough the capability of the animal before her. Sai'ore used Vor'anaks as war mounts for centuries because of their violent and brave nature. They were natural predators. But Horses looked more like a prey at best. Its docile appearance made it clear that it didn't had much fighting ability. She did however noticed its legs. Long and pack with muscles, Saya realized that Horse mount was more for speed than for combat prowess. It might even pack a mean kick if situation was too dire. Seeing no harm in it. Saya asked to the man, "How many horses are available for the battle."
The man held his chin as spoke, "Some of them were injured when the stable roof fell down, but we have about thirty horses ready for action."
"Fair enough. I want an able rider and a marksman to mount each horse. Tell them to be ready by fifteen minutes."
The man nodded at this.
Saya felt something nudge her. Turning back she saw that the dark horse was nudging her arm with its muzzle. As if it was trying to speak with her. Saya looked the creature in its eyes and felt amazement brew inside her. "And I will take this one to the Battle." Saya declared.
The man looked at her with uncertainty, "Are you sure? That mare is quite old, Milady."
"That is true, my friend. But her spirit is still burning bright. I will not deny her of that."
"Very well, Milady."
"I thought that you didn't know how to ride a horse ,Saya-san." Asked Hanabi nervously.
"You're mistaken ,Dear Miss Hana. I just said I had not seen a horse before." Corrected Saya sweetly.
"That doesn't make it any better."
"Hm...Would you like to take the reins than?"
Hanabi looked the other way and huffed. It was clear she didn't knew how to ride a horse as well. Saya laughed inwardly, finding Hanabi's childishly stubborn antics intriguing. She looked back at the human girl sitting behind her. Arms crossed, it was clear that Hanabi was pouting.
The Sai'ore looked beyond her and saw her army. Thirty horsemen armed with spears with a bowmen sitting behind them. Saya advised against Gunmen this time as muskets were too slow to reload. Behind the cavalry was the large number of on-foot soldiers.
Saya nodded at them in acknowledgement as they nodded back. She looked forward and concentrated. Hanabi was right; she had not ridden a horse before in her life. But having ridden similar things way back before, Saya was quick to learn.
The gates of the second wall drew closer. She could practically hear the sounds of war form the other side. The men behind here were shaking with excitement; even their horse was restless and anxious. Saya let out a breath and put on her helmet once again. Slowly she raised her spear high in the air for all to see. They got the signal and the horse started trotting faster.
As they drew closer, the adrenaline pumped in their veins even more violently. Soon the Cavalry started galloping and the men yelled out a loud war cry. "On Ward!" Saya bellowed.
"For Mossenia!" they answered.
Pointing their spears forward, they galloped straight into the fray.
Tigreal and Balmond looked in complete shock as a Human Cavalry came riding form the third wall district and wreaked havoc inside the Abyssal forces.
The riders came swift and fast, their spears running down enemies here and there. The bowmen at the back taking out many of the enemies missed by the rider. Their ballista was all but useless as the horses were too fast to hit.
The most noticeable was the rider with a eastern kunoichi assassin sitting behind. Female by the looks of it. Her attire was like any of the guardsmen or the soldier, but the way she lead the forces against the enemies was what made her stand out so much.
Then to their surprise, more soldiers started pouring out of the third gate. Screaming bloody murder, they clashed viciously with the Abyssal forces.
"NO!" yelled Balmond. This was not supposed to happen!
They were suppose to win, not lose because some angry citizen suddenly took up arms and decided to murder every abyss forces they see.
So engrossed Balmond was in his anger that he totally forgot about his opponent. Tigreal picked his sword and slowly stood. The orc heard him standing up and turned around to face.
With labored breaths, Tigreal wiped the blood on his mouth and spoke, "I told you. As long as I live, the city will not fall." Balmond glared at the human heatedly and attacked.
Anticipating such response, Tigreal whirled his way out of the attack and trusted his sword forward. Intending it stab the orc. Balmond avoided it, but by a very small margin as Tigreal's sword gazed by his stomach and left a light cut. Grunting in pain and annoyance, Balmond used his cyclone sweep once again.
Knowing the power of the attack before hand, Tigreal rolled away and picked up his shield once again. He brought his shield up to block his attacks. Balmond attacked the shield relentlessly, but Tigreal wasn't making the same mistake once again. Digging his feet on the ground and holding his shield tight, Tigreal let out a shout and shield charged towards the unsuspecting Berserker. When Tigreal's shield collided with Balmond, it caused the orc to actually stop the attack. Seizing this opportunity, the Imperial knight Captain let out a roar and performed a powerful upward slash. The attack was so powerful that when Balmond tried to block it with his axe, Tigreal's sword cut right through the axe and its two halves were sent flying away out of Balmond's grip.
Now completely unarmed, Balmond could only look speechlessly as Tigreal stood tall and proud before him with his sword pointed at Balmond threateningly. "Yield and I may yet spare you."
The orc looked around him. His forces were nearly defeated. Not long before they would lose it completely. It was unbelievable. Just when they thought that they would win, here comes these peoples, turning the tide of battle upside down. Balmond let out an amused laugh at this. It was like a freaking 'Epic comeback'.
"You surprise me Human. Well done indeed." He laughed, making Tigreal confused.
"Your forces are losing and you find this amusing?" Balmond laughed loudly at this.
"Ha! Irony had its own humor, Warrior of Dawn." Balmond noticed something back sneaking in the shadows behind him. Knowing exactly what it must be, He addressed back at the Human, "Till we meet again, Human."
His words confused Tigreal. That was until suddenly everything around his vicinity grew dark. As if light itself was devoured, Tigreal was surrounded by complete darkness. Soon the darkness around him faded and when he regained his vision, Balmond was long gone. The human looked around and found out that the orc was indeed gone. Tigreal looked up at the sky, it was morning by now and the sun as rising. A small smile graced his face, "Till we meet again."
With the combined efforts of the cavalry, the reinforcements, the citizens of Mesonia forced the Abyssal forces to retreat back from where they came from. Tigreal looked at the soldiers who were cheering loudly at their well earned victory. Wave of warmth and satisfaction filled his heart. They had done it. The battle was over.
"You must be, Captain Tigreal." An unfamiliar voice called. The man turned around and was surprised at see that it was the rider he saw back then along with the female ninja. He was even more surprised when she took off her helmet and she turned out to be an 'elf', "It's good to finally meet you in person." She spoke respectfully and extended her hand.
Tigreal hesitantly took to and gave a firm shake, "Pardon me if I sound disrespectful but I don't recall having an elf in the city guards."
Saya laughed at this and was about to explain herself but Hanabi beat her to it and spoke heatedly, "You kidding me? She just helped save the city and you start questioning her!" she seemed angry right now, making Tigreal sweat bullets. Before things got out of hand, Saya held Hanabi back, "Now-now Neha Hanabi, that's not nice." She chided lightly, making Hanabi glare at her instead. Making Saya sweat comically.
"Oh, I remember now. You were with the reinforcements from the Third wall. Is it true then? You lead them?"
The Sai'ore nodded and explained patiently, "The enemies had captured several hostages. More than they should have. All we did was freed the captives and gave them a little push." Saya smiled and looked at the celebrating population. "They are the ones who did most of the work."
Her modesty impressed Tigreal. Bowing slightly he said sincerely, "On behalf of the King and the city, I thank you."
Saya bowed back in response. Both could agree that they now had a mutual respect.
"I was the one with the most kills." Grumbled Hanabi, kicking some peddles on the ground. Causing them all to share a hearty laugh.
"We should inform this king at once." Declared Tigreal. But suddenly he felt a chill throughout his body. Noticing his shock, Saya asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"
"The King!" he yelled in horror. Not wasting any more time, Tigreal ran towards the castle. Saya narrowed her eyes and went after him, "Come Hana!" she called.
"Wait up!" Hanabi called and dashed after the Empress. Hearing about their king, a small group of guards came along as well. All the way, Tigreal cursed himself for his foolishness. He cursed himself for leaving the king alone.
With hurried steps, they made their way through the stone floors of the castle. Tigreal burst through the throne room's door and yelled, "King Roderick!"
His blood ran cold.
There, on the floor, laid the king. His body pale and blue, he laid motionless.
Tigreal fell to his knees. Soon Saya, Hanabi and the guards came in as well and saw the state the king was in. Hanabi covered her mouth with her hand, Saya looked solemn, while the guards hung their head low in grief. Tigreal kneeled before the king and kept on muttering 'how he had failed him', over and over again.
Saya looked at the king's form intently before walking over him. On seeing this, Tigreal asked sharply, "What are you doing!"
But Saya mumbled a low, "Quite." Kneeling beside the king, she held the king's hand. Or more exactly his wrist. After a few seconds, Saya felt it. A slight throb.
"He is still alive." she declared, shocking everyone. Tigreal immediately came to her side, "Are you sure? Please Miss Elf don't play some cruel joke!"
Saya gave him an annoyed look (because he called her an elf.) but spoke nonetheless, "He is alive but barely." She checked the king's neck, "His body is too cold." She turned the king's head and opened the king's closed eyes. Totally ignoring Tirgeal's outraged expression, "Pupils are not responding."
Saya then placed her hand on the king's chest, "His breathing too slowly." Saya searched the king's body for wounds and finally found a cut on the man's hand. The skin around the cut had turned blue by now. Saya grimaced at this, "Just as I feared."
Tigreal turned to her with an expression of urgency, "What happened to him?"
Saya spoke with a serious tone, "He was injected a lethal dose of a strong Neuro-toxin." On getting baffled expressions on her answer, Saya sighed and simplified her statement, "Your king is poisoned."
Understanding the severity of the situation, Tigreal panicked. "What do we do?"
"Calm down!" Saya ordered, making him stop his tantrum. Turning back to the King, Saya frowned, the poison had spread to much greater part of his body so tying his infected arm would be useless. "We have to remove the poison out of his system..." she turned and looked at everyone of them and spoke with a very-very serious voice, "You are not to mention this to anyone." Her voice came out scarier than she intended as they nodded vigorously, not wanting to defy her anytime soon. Letting out a breath, Saya steeled herself and unwilling pressed her mouth upon the open wound. Then she proceeded to literally suck the poison out of the king's body.
The specters were left flabbergasted as Saya sucked and spit out the poison in their King's body. After several agonizing minutes, Saya was about to get as much poison form the king's body as she could. She turned back towards her audience who were looking at her with a mixture of awe and disgust. Wiping her mouth and resisting the urge to puke, Saya just commented, "Don't try this at home."
(Seriously don't. Sucking poison out of a wound is a very dangerous task. Saya did it because she had her healing factor that could bail her out of trouble, and it's still ill-advised.)
Jokes aside, Tigreal was the first to recover from his shock and speak, "So...um. I-is it done?"
Saya sighed dejectedly at this, "I managed to take out most of the poison form his system but a small amount is still there that I cannot remove. Now we can only hope that your king has enough strength to keep fighting."
The Captain looked down at his king with sorrow. There was nothing they could do more.
"Um, will this help?"Hanabi spoke with uncertainty. Tigreal turned to see what she was talking about and his eyes widened. There in Hanabi's hand was a medicine potion. "I had one for my back pain but I think he needs it more."
Saya held her chin at this, "Although the medicine isn't too refined, but its capabilities are not to be questioned. The potion can nullify the remaining poison." But Tigreal gulped nervously at this, "The king won't like it." Saya was confused at his comment but didn't question him for now.
Hanabi went over to them and with Saya's help emptied the bottle of elixir into the king's mouth. With a quick motion, Saya made Roderick swallow the whole thing.
Moments passed. Hanabi rubbed her hands nervously. "Did it work?"
Suddenly, the king's body flushed in color and he coughed violently. "I suppose it did." Replied Saya.
"My King!" Tigreal yelled in joy as the guards cheered. However the king then started cursing, "Curse that blasted doctor and his Blasted Medicine! I swear I'll strangle him. You hear! I'll strangle him!"
Saya looked with upmost amusement while Hanabi hide behind her, shaking in fear. 'So that's why Tigreal was so nervous.'
"My King! Take a hold of yourself !" pleaded the Captain holding the old man.
"Tigreal? *cough- cough* what happened?" suddenly his memories jolted and the king sprung up to his feet, "THE CITY!"
Tigreal laughed at this, "Peace My king. The City is no longer in danger."
This made the king pause. Slowly he turned towards his knight and asked, "Can it true? Did we win?" with a proud smile Tigreal declared, "Yes my King."
Roderick was so happy and glad that tears flowed down his eyes. He touched his heart but stopped as he felt something off. He checked his body again but he couldn't find it. The vault key. It was lost!
"Are you alright my king?" asked Tigreal in worry as Roderick's joy suddenly turned into distress. But then his memories flooded back. "Alice." His distress turned into pure horror when he realized what had just happened. "We need to stop her!" he yelled but it was too late.
"Oh my, I was really hoping that you would die."
Everyone turned to look at the owner of the voice. Tigreal narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Alice."
The demon queen gave a mock bow, "The one and only. And now, even better." Alice smirked turned around.
"It cannot be." Tigreal whispered in pure horror. There it was, glistening as if coated with blood. The Wings of Apocalypse had returned to its master.
"Come on men! There is one on of her! We can take her!"One of the guards bellowed. The rest roared in agreement and charged, totally ignoring the Captain who was telling them not to.
This was their last mistake for now; the queen of the blood demons was much more powerful than before.
"Turn everything to Darkness!"
As if a Pandora box had been unleashed, every guard that had been surrounding Alice was suddenly engulfed in huge blood like dome. Sounds of bat screeching could be heard as the Guards inside the dome tired to get out, but in vain. When the dome dissipated, all the guards lay dead. Their body devoid of any blood.
Alice smacked her lips sensually, "Ah, I hadn't had such a filler in so long. It's almost nostalgic!"
Tigreal gritted his teeth, "Damn it, she is too strong!"
The queen of apocalypse turned toward the captain knight with hungry eyes. That was until a kunai was thrown towards her. Alice avoided the attack and turned towards her attacker with an annoyed expression, "Would you mind? A lady is trying to have some snack."
"Have this then!" Hanabi yelled throwing Higanbana at Alice. The Demoness deflected the attack with her bare hand, shocking the Kunoichi.
"Nani?"
Alice then hurled a blood red orb at the young girl. Hanabi stepped out of the Orb's way but to her surprise, Alice suddenly appeared where the orb was moments ago. She knew not what sorcery she did, but Alice touched the ground, leaving some sort of shock wave. And now no matter how much she tried, Hanabi just couldn't move.
The Demon held Hanabi's chin and looked in her eyes, "You know, I always like my prey young." She whispered. Sending waves of dread down her body. Alice reared her head back and opened her fanged mouth. She was about to sink her teeth into Hanabi's neck but before that could happen.
Alice felt a round house kick connect to her face. It hit her with so much force that the Demon Queen was send flying and spinning through the air before falling down on the floor.
Hanabi was shocked at this, for Saya now stood before her. And she looked angry. Throughout the entire war, Hanabi has seen Saya calm and collected. But seeing her genuinely angry made her scared. Yet it also had an overwhelming sense of security as well. Like a guardian, Hanabi had not dough that Saya would protect her no matter what. She felt that nothing could harm her as long as Saya was with her.
As for Alice. She rubbed her soar cheek where the kick connected. "That's wasn't nice." She grumbled and looked at her attacker. What she saw shook her to core.
There stood Saya. Her face overshadowed. And Eyes practically glowing in rage (Anime style).
She looked Alice in the eyes and spoke in a chillingly cold tone, "Hands off."...
