Chapter 28
Now or Never
『』
"I was wondering when you'd make your way here," Hayden spoke as Pelleas entered through the doors that lead to his throne room.
"All in good time," the High King replied, drawing his blade. Dark magic coursed down his arm and coalesced on the obsidian edges. The Slider began to walk toward his foe.
Hayden stood, and revealed a curved blade at his belt. The older man unsheathed it, and bent his legs.
Pelleas allowed his opponent no other time to prepare. He brought up a bubble of time, slowing it down for Hayden. From within the protection of his Mantle, the High King began to cask dark magic.
There was a slight problem with the strategy. Hayden was a Bloodmaker, and only certain attacks would even have a chance to kill him.
Unfortunately, Pelleas didn't know what worked, and what didn't. The time bubble fell and a blast of darkness raced from his hands, hitting Hayden with fury.
The usurper did nothing. The magic hit him, tearing apart his regal look as the darkness devoured his attire.
The High King grinned. But as the black smoke cleared, Hayden was not phased. His clothes were in shambles, clinging to him in some places with only string to help.
"Bloodmaker, remember?" Hayden chuckled. "Good luck killing me."
Hayden closed the distance between the two combatants, and drove his blade in a downward arc. Pelleas' caught Hayden's midswing. The dark flames bit into the curved sword, slicing it in half.
Hayden paused, holding his sword still. His eyes never left the half of a sword he now held in his hands.
Pelleas hurled his blade into Hayden's heart.
The green haired man turned his neck with a wry grin. "You missed," he grunted, and pushed himself off the sword.
Swinging around, Pelleas used momentum to deliver a crushing swing to Hayden's neck. The blade removed the usurper's head with a clean stroke.
"Well…I suppose that's always a failsafe," Pelleas chuckled as adrenaline coursed about his body.
The door behind him creaked open.
『』
Morgan found her targets alone in the castle. Roy, Heather and Lady Emmeryn all drew their weapons upon seeing her.
"Go on ahead," Roy commanded. "I'll handle her."
Heather and Emmeryn scampered off through one of the many halls. Morgan closed her eyes, and began to change.
When she opened them again, she was Zealot. A spear in her hand, and ready to fight.
『』
Pelleas watched King Joshua step through the doors, accompanied by a blue haired man.
The newcomer was dressed regally, much like a noble would be. He glanced around, taking in the body of Hayden laying before the High King.
"You'll do nicely," he chuckled. "You may call me Mant."
"What are you doing here with him?" Pelleas asked apprehensively.
"We have quite a bit to talk about," Mant said.
『』
Roy spun his blade in his hands and spoke, "Not looking so regal today, Zealot."
The Morph breathed heavily, and gripped the spear tighter.
"This won't even be a challenge," Roy muttered, crouching into a low stance.
Zealot made the first move. He jumped forward, his lance arched to kill. With difficulty, Roy batted it aside and scored a slice on his opponent's torso.
Given that the Morph was still in the air, the strike completely killed any chance of Zealot landing on his feet. He collapsed to the ground, body still weak from his prior task.
Roy walked over to the fallen man and touched his sword to the man's neck. "A pity," Roy said, "that you chose to fight against us. You have an incredible Mantle."
"Burn in hell," whispered Zealot.
"You first," offered Roy as he drove the blade through his enemy's neck.
『』
Heather entered the throne room, Emm only footsteps behind her.
Faval sat on the throne, crossbow in hand. It aimed directly at her, the black tipped bolt glinting menacingly.
Her father, ever the logical man, had one of the arrows that was made to combat her Mantle. Heather had helped develop it with the other Hands.
Bastard.
"Careful, daughter," Faval spoke. "Your shadows can't hide you from me."
"You've only one shot, old man," Heather countered. "If you miss, you're dead. You hit me, Emm will kill you."
"I do believe that killing one of you would have an adverse effect on the other," Faval Lowell replied, not moving an inch.
Heather threw back her head and laughed, "You're such a model father. You force Klein away to the battlefield, you push Claude away from you, and now you threaten my life. It's a wonder you weren't the death of Igrene."
Faval fired.
Being familiar with the arrow down to a science, Heather used her shadows to brush up against the shaft.
It changed direction, but not enough.
The Shadowstrider was no match for the arrow that burrowed into her shoulder.
Pain spidered through her shoulder and the rest of Heather's body. The only scream that filled the hall was hers.
There was no reaction from Emm.
Faval quickly began to reload, but was forced to abandon the effort. Emmeryn had drawn her sword and charged him.
Old man against inexperienced fighter. Faval blocked her attacks with the crossbow, but had no means to fight back aside from his blunt object. It was nowhere near as fast as Emm's sword.
The Baron finally dropped the crossbow when Emm slashed his arm. Following up with a kick, the Queen knocked Faval to the ground.
"You tried to kill your daughter," Emm said, deathly quiet.
Faval tried to respond, but Emm slammed the flat of her blade down on his stomach. He cried out, and was given a cut to the thigh.
"You tried to take my home."
She hefted her blade, and brought it down on Faval's hand, severing it. The screams meant nothing to her as Emm brought the tip down on the Baron's other thigh.
"You tried to kill my lover."
The sword bit off Faval's foot with a strike so hard it broke through bone. Heather's cries were no comparison to her father's.
"You killed my brother!"
The flat of the blade collided with Faval's forehead. His skull cracked, blood leaking out into his yellow hair.
Emm lifted the broken man by his collar. Miraculously, he remained awake. With a huff of disgust, she tossed him down the elevated stairs of the throne.
"Today is the last day your sins pollute my lands, and friends, and my family."
"Naga…" Faval croaked.
Emm sneered, "You're not worthy of her."
The sword cut into Faval's lung. At this point, the man was less than a minute of dying from blood loss.
"No…" Emm whispered as she saw his eyes grow faint. "No, you cannot die yet. First you must suffer!"
Stefan's weapon took off Faval's unharmed arm. His eyes snapped open, pain renewed tenfold.
Snarling, Emmeryn dropped the sword. She picked Faval up by the shoulders, and slammed his head on the stone ground.
Bam!
Again.
Bam!
Faval was dead.
Bam!
Anger.
Bam!
Blood.
Bam!
Revenge.
Bam!
Suffer!
Heather no longer recognized the woman in front of her.
『』
The capital of Plegia was not longer recognizable. Both furiously worked to tear each other apart for good. City streets were disfigured, and buildings dismantled.
Hugh, having split from Marisa when the battle began, found a target worthy of his talents.
Gangrel, King of Plegia.
He was dueling Lalum, thunder against fire.
Hugh leapt in, cascading with fire. Lalum, recognizing the General, moved to make room.
Gangrel gnashed his teeth, and hurled bolts of electricity at the newest fighter. Hugh flourished his arms and blocked every spark.
Lalum capitalized on the lack of attention on her, and sent a conflagration blazing his way.
Roaring, Gangrel produced a pulse of dark magic that trumped their combined fire. Both Hugh and Lalum were knocked off their feet.
That would have been the end of the two mages, had it not been for an unexpected arrival.
"Nyah ha ha ha!" cackled a white haired man. He was dressed in thin clothes of a prisoner, and had a deranged expression.
"Who's ready for some death?" he laughed.
『』
Colby spun his axe in his hand and stared down his opponent: General Steelwind.
The red armored soldier hefted his longsword menacingly and spoke, "At your ready."
Grunting, the pirate crept forward, holding his axe in a careful position. Everyone said Steelwind was quick, and it was no time to take those rumors idly.
As Colby blinked, Zelgius ran forward. As his eyes opened again, the longsword met Colby's axe in sparks.
"Speedy little bastard," growled Colby, his muscles tensing as he pushed against the attack.
"Apologies," Zelgius smiled. He had the decency to look guilty. "But to not play to my strengths would be to deny who I am."
"Can't argue with that," Coldy responded. "It'll make it more satisfying when I lop your head off."
Zelgius laughed, and jumped back.
『』
Henry's hand horded black magic to themselves. They radiated darkness that made even the fire less bright.
"Brother, must it come to this?" Gangrel pleaded, realizing that the odds no longer favored him.
"Stay out of this," Henry said, looking at the two Ylissean mages. He turned back to his kin, and shouted, "Shouldn't have tortured me, brother mine! Especially now that I have this!" The white haired man held up a worn tome.
"No!" screamed Gangrel, and hurled bolts at Henry.
Sidestepping, Henry cast a spell from the tome, Apocalypse. A dome encompassed Gangrel, blotting out his screams.
After a mere moment, Henry collapsed it. Gangrel, or his body, were nowhere to be seen.
"I win," Henry cackled.
『』
Marisa drew the flamberge and said, "Leave him to me."
Her soldiers she'd taken departed, leaving the Mantled General alone on the outer wall of the city. Alone…with the last Cornerstone.
"Sirius!" she called out, grabbing his attention.
The man in black turned to see who called. Finding her alone, he told his guards to wait back. Handing off Gradivus to one of them, he drew the sword at his side.
"Lady Marisa, you do me the honor of giving us this chance to fight again," he said, not bothering to correct her on the choice of name.
The two drew closer. They extended their blades, letting them cross without conflict for a moment.
Then they fought.
『』
Colby almost laughed in relief when he dented Steelwind's armor. Instead, Colby swore as he narrowly dodged the General's next attack.
To make matters worse for the pirate, a gauntlet smashed into his stomach and knocked him off his feet.
"Not bad," Zelgius complimented, before bringing his sword down.
It smashed into the ground beside Colby's head. Volug had entered perfectly, and attacked by climbing on the General's back.
Yune helped Colby up while Zelgius was distracted. "I mustn't reveal myself here, not when Naga and Grima are fighting. It could draw them."
"Anything you could do would help," grunted the tired pirate.
Through her delicate hands, Yune's magic revitalized Colby. "I'll bless your weapon as well…if you can hit his armor, he's as good as dead."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Colby rumbled. His axe began to glow a faint orange as it thrummed with power.
Zelgius threw off Volug, sending the wolf into one of the buildings' walls. He hit with a crack, and transformed back into a human.
Yune ran to his side, and left Colby to deal with Steelwind.
Zelgius ran forward in a zigzag fashion and executed an upward arching blow. Colby's axe met it and stopped the blade without much trouble.
The General frowned as he was pushed back.
Colby's arms felt the power Yune had given him. He began to spin his axe in one hand, something that shouldn't have even been possible. It began to spin so fast that it began an orange glow.
Zelgius charged forward, as fast as a red comet. His sword was above his head, and he jumped at the pirate.
Colby swung his axe upward at the final moment, and tore Zelgius' chest open through his armor.
『』
The Hunter held her hand up, and light gathered. She looked frail, silhouetted by the brightness. Everything became dark on top of the tower.
Matthew became covered in the shadow that Julia cast. He saw Cormag cover his eyes, despite the danger. The Hunter was blinding.
"Distract her if you can," Leila whispered, and scampered off.
"Cormag! Cath!" shouted Matthew.
From his obstructed vision, Cormag lobbed fire at the Hunter. He couldn't see, even if he hadn't been covering his eyes. Cath launched one of her knives with similar success.
"Graaaaaaaaaah!" Sain shouted as he charged forward and stabbed with his lance. He was nowhere close to Julia.
"You're all so blind," she said, her voice carrying above Sain. "Just like your faith in gods. Mant is a trickster, and will betray you."
"Sounds like your god!" Sain challenged. "Or is it gods?"
"I serve Naga," seethed Julia, turning on the green knight. "For that, you will die first."
He would have, too. But Leila stabbed the Hunter with her rapier. "No one told you I could see in the dark, huh?"
The Hunter had no words, for she died before she fell of the rapier.
"That's the last one then," Cormag said, pointing at the pedestal while blinking.
"Time to find out what these things do," Matthew smirked.
Author Notes: You'll be seeing Chapter 29 soon, given that it'll be only a few hundred words. You'll see why then.
And with this chapter, just about everything has been wrapped up! Wow…I'm almost done with this fic. Damn, it's been a crazy year.
Trivia! Colby's little thing with spinning his axe is Hawkeye's critical hit animation from FE7. And a huzzah to you if you caught the reference to my favorite fanfic in that battle! (If you're curious, I'm sure Hammer will find it and point it out in his review. I trust you'll find it, mate)
