Chapter 11: A Foe Most Relentless

"A moment of valor shines brightest against a backdrop of despair."

-The Ancestor (Darkest Dungeon)


"I feel deadlier already," Susie announced, experimentally swinging her new weapon back and forth. It was a large, black metal halberd, with a blade in the shape of a spade. "So what'd you guys get?"

"Well, I got these," Kris displayed his weapons: a coiled steel sword with a matching offhand dagger. "Thought I might try dual wielding."

"Are you ambidextrous or something?"

"Not at all."

"Fair warning, then: when you poke your eye out with that, I'm gonna laugh."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't."

Susie chuckled slightly, glancing over to Ralsei and Noelle. "What about you two?"

Their conversation was interrupted when a bolt of magic energy ripped through the air, mere inches from the four. Noelle jumped back in fright.

"What the hell?" Susie immediately took on a battle stance.

"Guys, it's the Knight!" Noelle called out, stepping backwards. Everyone turned to face their attacker.

"Consider that a warning shot," Sariel spoke in his familiar baritone.

"You just never quit, do you?" Kris' tone was one of annoyance.

"I did not achieve glory in battle by standing down." He stopped just a few feet from the group, brandishing his sword. "I will grant you an opportunity to surrender now. We have no reason to shed more blood than is necessary."

"I'd argue that the necessary amount of bloodshed is none."

"Human, it is imperative that the demon be stopped, no matter the cost. I understand your apprehension, but time is running short. I am offering you a painless death."

"And what about Ralsei? What are you planning on doing to him?"

"That does not concern you."

Kris stepped forward threateningly. "Anything to do with my friends concerns me. We're not surrendering."

"And you're not laying a hand on Kris, either," Susie's eyes seemed to flash with murder.

"So be it." Sariel beckoned them. "We shall see if you can best me a third time."

"We'll do a hell of a lot more than that!" She quickly delivered an overhead attack with her new weapon, which was effortlessly deflected. He followed up with a swift elbow strike, before parrying a sudden surprise attack from Kris.

He continued to attack Sariel to no avail, before stabbing at him with his offhand dagger. Sariel simply grabbed him by the wrist and tore the weapon from his hand. He examined it for a moment, then holstered it in his own belt.

"Excuse me, I paid a lot of money for that!" Kris complained.

"Expensive weaponry is not a substitute for skill," Sariel punctuated his statement with a left hook to the face. A fiery barrage of magic struck him in the side, followed by a heavy cleaving attack from Susie. Sariel quickly conjured a barrier to defend against her assault.

Kris attempted a thrusting attack, only to be stopped dead in his tracks when Sariel simply stomped down on his sword. He then proceeded to kick Kris in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Susie continued to relentlessly attack Sariel, assisted by a cascade of fire from Ralsei. Their attacks had done remarkably little damage to his barrier. Smirking behind his mask, he channeled the barrier's energy into a projectile, then sent it at Susie. She let out a cry of pain as it pushed her back several feet.

Sariel stepped forward, locking eyes with Ralsei. "Why must you resist?"

Ralsei readied a spell, glaring defiantly. "Why would I cooperate with you? Look at what you're doing to my friends!"

"I do what I must because you are unwilling. This pointless conflict could be avoided if you would simply come unto your maker."

"Why, so you can kill Kris and do who-knows-what to me?"

"Would you prefer to watch your companions die one by one?"

"Alright, stop with the speeches," Susie said, approaching Sariel. "They're a waste of everyone's time."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Very well. It will be very satisfying to finally fell you, hellion."

"Then shut up and fight!" She charged at him with reckless abandon, attacking as aggressively as she could. Kris accompanied her, attacking Sariel from behind. Both of them were easily repelled, while only managing to inflict superficial wounds.

Ralsei continued to bombard Sariel with magical projectiles, which did rather little. Noelle took aim with her crossbow, but found herself unable to line up an accurate shot. She struggled to steady her trembling hands.

Susie swung her halberd at Sariel, who interrupted the attack with a leg sweep that knocked her down. Kris rushed at him, only to have his attack deflected and countered with a pommel strike to the chest. He attempted to retaliate with a quick sword thrust. Sariel evaded the attack, grabbed Kris' sword by the blade, and ripped it from his hand before tossing it aside. In one fluid motion, he punched him with enough force to send him tumbling to the ground.

Susie continued to clash with Sariel. Each swing of her blade bounced harmlessly off of a magical barrier, while each strike he landed hurt more than the last. Her movements grew slower.

Jumping back, he unleashed a burst of magic energy that sent her flying. She hit the wall of a nearby building and crumbled to the ground. She slowly rose to her feet, wiping blood from her mouth.

"Let me give you some advice, miss," a voice from behind her grabbed her attention. One of the town's robed citizens was leaning casually on the sill of an open window. He continued, "You might do a little better if you weren't getting hit so much."

"Wow, I never would've guessed," she rolled her eyes. She grunted in pain when Sariel suddenly charged into her, slamming her against the wall.

"You're not doing a very good job," the robed man said as he shut the window.

Sariel continued to slam Susie into the wall repeatedly, until Kris suddenly stabbed him in the back. Turning to face his attacker, he retaliated with a backhanded slap, followed by a forceful kick that pushed him back.

After taking a moment to steady themselves, Kris and Susie charged at Sariel in unison, attacking him from both sides. He took a single step to the side and, when they were close, he grabbed both of them and slammed their heads together. Both of them collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Sleep," Sariel commanded, a blue glow forming in his hand. The glow washed over the two, and within seconds, they were fast asleep. He sighed deeply, sheathing his sword.

"Guys, wake up!" Ralsei called out, preparing a healing spell. His efforts were disrupted by a burst of magic that left him staggered.

"A decisive pummeling," Sariel commented on his own handiwork as he stepped toward Ralsei. "Do you now see the futility in your resistance?"

"Stay away from me!" Ralsei attempted to prepare another spell, only to be interrupted once again. He cried out in fear as Sariel grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him close and staring into his eyes.

"Accept your defeat, Ralsei. Your desperate struggle is truly pitiful to behold."

"Let me go...!" Ralsei was unable to break free from his grasp.

Sariel ignored his desperate pleas, "I must admit, I do not know what fate awaits you. However, I can assure you that you cannot escape it." His voice grew harsher, "You cannot choose who you are, Ralsei."

A crossbow bolt suddenly struck him in the chest. Surprised by his attacker's audacity, he plucked the bolt from his chest and tossed it aside. He narrowed his eyes at Noelle, who had already reloaded her weapon.

"Get away from them," she said, her voice trembling a bit.

"How did I ever forget about you?" Sariel threw Ralsei to the ground and drew his sword, stepping forward. "Tell me, cowardly one. Do you truly believe you can claim victory?"

She took a deep breath. "I have to protect my friends. I can't just... I can't let you win."

He chuckled. "Very well, then. Face me."

He fired off a cascade of fiery projectiles in her direction, which she evaded. She returned fire, only to have her shot ricochet off of a barrier. He sprinted toward her, bringing his sword down in an overhead strike. She jumped out of the way and fired again, hitting him in the side. He retaliated by slapping her across the face, then sending her backwards with a blast of magic.

She cried out as she stumbled and fell, her weapon clattering to the ground. Sariel stomped toward her threateningly, but stopped when he was hit by a barrage of magic.

"Don't worry, I'm with you!" Ralsei reassured her, before working to rouse Kris and Susie from their induced slumber.

Noelle grabbed her crossbow and looked up at Sariel, who was still approaching her. He towered over her, staring down at her with cruel indifference, his mask a terrifying visage of death. She was afraid, and yet, she felt ready to face off against him. She wouldn't be alone, after all. If they could beat him without her, she was confident that they could beat him again with her help.

'I can do this,' she told herself. 'I can do this.'

She rolled out of the way as Sariel brought his sword down upon her. She loosed another bolt, hitting him in the shoulder. He immediately removed it and began to cast a healing spell on himself. Noelle stood as she fired another shot, which was swiftly deflected. He sent a series of magical projectiles in her direction, while charging toward her. She evaded the magical barrage, only to step into the path of his swinging sword and get slashed on the side. A golden light enveloped her, and the wound was healed instantaneously.

"I must admit, I am impressed," Sariel spoke. "You are surprisingly formidable. I have high respect for one who can suppress their terror long enough to put up a fight."

"I'm... not afraid," she lied.

He shook his head. "Regardless, this skirmish has gone on long enough. I implore you to lay down your arms and cease this pointless endeavor."

Noelle said nothing. She steeled herself and fired off another shot, which harmlessly struck Sariel's barrier.

"Still, you maintain your confidence? Perhaps you truly have overcome your cowardice."

She hurriedly reloaded her crossbow, but was then tackled to the ground. She struggled in vain to escape Sariel's grasp, until she was struck in the head by the pommel of his sword. Her vision began to grow darker.

"You will be pleased to know that I have been ordered to capture you alive," he told her. She barely heard him as she struggled to focus. "Now, then-"

He stopped mid-sentence to deflect an incoming attack. Noelle's eyes drifted to the left, where Susie was currently crossing blades with Sariel.

"You're doing great, sister. Keep it up!" she said, maintaining a stalemate with her opponent. She gained the upper hand when Kris suddenly attacked Sariel from behind, throwing him off balance.

While the three of them fought, Ralsei rushed to Noelle's side and began to heal her. He lifted her off the ground, helping her remain upright as she stumbled a bit.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm okay, thanks to you," she answered, taking aim with her crossbow. Ralsei's hands began to crackle with magic power.

Sariel continued to fend off Kris and Susie's relentless assault, but his defenses were beginning to crumble. In an attempt to create distance between himself and his opponents, he channeled what little energy remained in his barrier into a projectile, which he sent at Kris. He then focused his efforts toward Susie, striking hard enough to push her back with every hit he landed.

He let out a scream as a crossbow bolt struck him, immediately followed by a beam of magical energy that scorched the air. He stumbled, leaving himself open to attack. Susie flashed a menacing grin as she swung her weapon, its blade finding purchase in Sariel's chest. He collapsed to the ground, quickly projecting a barrier to shield himself from further harm.

Susie continued to attack, accompanied by Kris. Noelle and Ralsei approached, continuing to rain projectiles down upon him. A network of deep cracks quickly spread throughout his barrier. Unseen by his attackers, Sariel set his sword down on the ground, charging a spell in his right hand. Within seconds, his barrier was shattered.

"Enough!" he shouted, swiftly raising his hand and discharging his channeled magic energy. His attackers were sent back several feet. He rose to his feet, sword in hand. He slowly stepped backwards, clutching at his chest.

"Clearly, I must reconsider my methods against you," he rasped, a golden light emanating from his hand. "I have never faced opponents quite like you."

Noelle pointed her crossbow at him, but Kris lowered it. "I'm telling you, you don't have to keep coming at us," he said. "Just go the hell away."

"Or you could just let us ice you right now," Susie snarled.

Sariel chuckled grimly, shaking his head. "You are all aware that I simply cannot ignore you. I will endure as many defeats as it takes to triumph. For the sake of the dark world, I cannot fail. I will not fail."

"Yeah, whatever. Just go. You'll be back anyway, won't you?"

"Indeed." He pointed at them, his hand dripping with blood. "Before long, you will fall. As long as I draw breath, I will act in defense of the dark world. Such is my purpose."

With that, he walked off.

"We beat him..." Noelle muttered to herself. She gasped in surprise when Susie suddenly threw her arm around her, pulling her close.

"You're damn right we did!" she said, a wide smile on her face. "Ralsei told me you fought him one on one. Is that right?"

"Um... yeah."

"That's incredible. You looked him in the eye and shot him in the freaking face! I'm proud of you, Noelle."

"R-really...?" Noelle began to blush.

"Hell yeah! We'd probably be dead if it weren't for you. As long as you keep fighting like that, nothing can stop us."

Noelle's blush intensified as she leaned into Susie's embrace. "Well... thanks. I'm just glad I did something useful."

Susie couldn't help but smile at her. It surprised her how quickly she had gotten attached to her. But then again, could anyone blame her? Noelle was simply pleasant to be around. She was kind, caring, charming, and goddamn, was she adorable.

'Wait a minute, did I just call her adorable?' Susie asked herself. 'That's not a thing I do.'

'...Did I just develop a crush on her?'

Unwilling to process those thoughts immediately, she chose to change the subject. "Hey, Kris, quick question: why do we always wait until the Knight kicks our asses to start attacking him all at once?"

"You mean, why don't we just swarm him right away?" Kris asked.

"Exactly. Why wait for him to beat the hell out of us?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. We're all idiots?"

"Well, that makes sense."

Kris glanced around, noting the damage their battle had caused. Blood staining the streets, dents and cracks in the pavement, scorch marks on the walls of buildings. Oddly enough, none of the town's citizens seemed deterred in the slightest.

"Hey, I think we should go," he suggested, gesturing toward the signs of battle.

"No argument here," Susie said. "Let's bail."

"Leaving so soon?" the strange gray-robed man suddenly appeared behind them.

"We don't have very much time to lose," Ralsei explained. "We're sorry about the damages. That fight got a little out of hand..."

"Oh, there was a fight?" the robed figure seemed confused. "I am afraid I did not notice."

"Wait, are you serious?" Susie was incredulous. "Look around, dude."

The robed figure took a closer look at his surroundings, and nodded. "I see. Do not worry, this is all rather minor. We will take care of the damages."

"Alright, then," Kris shrugged. "We're gonna go, then."

"Safe tidings on the journey ahead, wayward travelers."

The strange fellow walked off, leaving the four alone. Unsure what to think, they simply exited the town and continued eastward. Noelle walked with her head held high, filled with newfound confidence.

Kris suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Ralsei asked.

"...I never got my dagger back."