The Legend of Zelda: TriSpirit, Episode 4: Rise of the Devastati
Chapter 7
Fighting Back
His beloved grandmother in mortal peril in plain sight beneath him on the castle's second floor, Link leans forward in panic for a closer view, inadvertently tilting the chandelier that he has been stuck on with Tingle as he does.
There is no way she can outrun the Darknut rampaging behind her, nor are there any nearby soldiers within her immediate location to aid her at the moment. The armored fiend is undoubtedly going to kill her..!
"Whoa! Hey!" exclaims Tingle as he nearly falls off the chandelier. "Didn't Tingle tell you not to tilt the chandelier already?! You know something? You are a very dangerous chandelier-sharer! Tingle was nice enough to let you join him on the chandelier even though Tingle was here first, and yet you act as if you're the only one up here! If you are going to be so inconsiderate of other people whom you are sharing with, then no one is even going to want to share a chandelier with you at all!"
He then pulls a cord on the helium-filled device on his back...causing the deflated balloon to detach as a new one fills up and takes its place.
Wait_ He has had a backup balloon on his pack this whole time...and he is only just NOW using it..?!
"Tingle has had enough!" he continues angrily. "Tingle is leaving! You can just keep yourself company from now on, you...chandelier-hog, you!" With not another word, he steps off the chandelier, safely floating away on his balloon.
"Um...hey!" Link calls after him. "Can you help me get down too, please..?!" But it is too late. Tingle is already drifting his way out the window to safety. Link is left to try and figure out a way down on his own.
And he must do it NOW.
With Tingle gone and out of harm's way, Link decides to go for all or nothing and take an extreme risk. It is his only chance to save his grandmother. Drawing his sword, he looks below to make sure there are no innocents beneath.
The coast is clear.
Positioning himself to be ready to jump, Link rocks the chandelier back and forward to make it swing in the direction he intends. He takes a deep breath and says a quick prayer for the goddesses to grant him success as he holds his blade to the suspension ropes.
*Slash!*
With a single swipe, he cuts them all at once. The chandelier falls from the ceiling.
Timing himself with precision, he leaps from the falling chandelier as it comes level with the second floor. His foot lands successfully on the guardrail, which he uses as stepping stone to spring forward, missing not a beat, to throw himself between the attacking Darknut and his grandmother just as it is about to chop off her head.
*Clang!*
His shield intercepts the blow just before it could land. The Darknut is momentarily taken aback by Link's sudden appearance and intervention.
"Link!" exclaims his grandmother in shock. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" he replies assertively, taking his eyes not off his foe. "Now go! Get out while you can!"
"But aren't you_?!" she begins to say, but is hastily cut off.
"Don't worry about me!" insist Link, blocking another blow from the Darknut. "Just get out of here! Follow the guards and go! NOW!"
She does as told and runs (or in her case; waddles) as fast as her elderly body can move, following the elite recruits' lead to the rooftops as Link stalls the Darknut to cover her escape.
But a weapon heavy enough to damage through armor, Link has not. And with his swordsmanship being the poorest in his class, his odds of overcoming a foe this formidable, armored or not, seem impossibly low as it is.
"(I am so, so dead..!)" thinks the Hylian as the Darknut swings its mighty blade.
It continues to advance upon him, viciously attacking with its heavy sword. Link dodges and parries to the best of his ability, but the Darknut is gradually backing him into a corner with each swing. Soon, the Hylian finds himself running quickly out of ground behind himself to retreat to. It is only a matter of seconds before he is completely backed against the wall with nowhere to go.
It is just like how combat-training with his peers always went for him in Sir Pent's training-course...
Is this how it is to end? If Link could never begin to come close to matching Volker's might, what hope could he possibly have to defeat an armored Darknut whose strength is at least as great?
What is worse: unlike his fellow trainees, who, at worst, would only cause him potential injury upon delivering a harsh blow, this Darknut is not at all going to stop at just that...
It fully intends to KILL him.
And, given how little space remains between Link's backside and the wall right now, it appears it will succeed in doing so within just a few more seconds at max...
Finding himself merely one last step away from being trapped against the wall, he recalls in his mind the words of criticism he received from Sir Pent during training:
'You only flee from your opponent's attacks and barely unleash any of your own! Quit neglecting your offense and show some aggression!'
What has always been Link's downfall in any practice-battle against his peers was always that he was unwilling to risk anything out of fear of suffering another injury and leaving his grandmother unaided. But now the consequences of failing are much higher than any duel of swords he has ever been through. His life will most certainly end now if he does not defeat this opponent, which is a far worse outcome than a broken hand ever could be.
So what does he have to lose that is not already about to be taken from him anyway?
As the Darknut's sword comes down upon him, Link parries it once again with his own. As the blades clash, the sight of the crest of Farore, the goddess of courage, engraved in his own sword catches his eye.
Courage... That is what he needs now more than anything.
"(O goddess Farore,)" he mentally prays between blocking. "(Please grant me the strength and courage to overcome my foe..!)"
As the Darknut's blade comes down on him once more, rather than stepping backwards again and trapping himself against the wall, Link seizes the very brief opening to dive to the floor and roll under the Darknut's swing, just narrowly evading the deathblow and landing a strike of his own to his opponent's backside.
*Slash!*
The straps holding the Darknut's armor together have been cut. Having lost some of its protection, the diabolic knight is left open to strikes from a sword. Link and his opponent are now evenly matched.
The young Hylian begins to advance upon his foe with further blows, regardless of the danger to himself. Soon the tables are turned; Link is the one pushing the Darknut into the defensive position.
The two rapidly exchange a number of swings. Despite the Darknut's superior size and strength, it finds itself overwhelmed by Link's well-honed agility and coordination. None of its blows succeed to land on this nimble Hylian.
Growing frantic, the vexed Darknut rages forward to attack Link with full force. The blow comes uncomfortably close, but the young Hylian manages to just narrowly jump out of the way. Wasting not a single second, Link rushes into the Darknut with a ferocious flurry of combo attacks.
"HYEAAH!"
*Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!*
Everything seems to be moving in slow motion for Link as he unleashes his counterattack, perhaps due to the adrenaline of battle. The Darknut itself even seems to stand almost completely still in time during this surreal-feeling moment, enabling Link to land far more blows than he would have estimated possible.
Having taken more damage than its life-force can handle, the Darknut lets out a cry of pain as its body begins to wither away, leaving behind nothing but an empty suit of its remaining armor.
Link stands astounded at his achievement. He had just won his first sword-fight!
But now is no time to stand around idly and admire his accomplishment; there is still a battle going on, and many more lives are in danger.
A second Darknut comes upon him, which may very well be the same one that had chased after him moments ago. But this time, Link stands his ground.
Lining up the Darknut's incoming blow with one of the castle's pillars, Link sidesteps the attack at the last moment, causing the Darknut's sword to collide with the said pillar, quickly getting stuck. Link takes this opportunity to cut the straps on his foe's armor like before, leaving the Darknut vulnerable to his own attacks by the time it manages to free its blade.
Unconcerned for his own safety, Link fearlessly battles the Darknut in a clash of swords. Though his opponent is quite formidable, he succeeds to overcome the second diabolic knight just the same as the one before. Even finishing with another combo that feels almost as if it takes place in slow motion after narrowly evading a blow from his opponent.
His foe vanquished, but concern for his grandmother and the others still dwelling on his mind, Link decides to take a brief moment to follow the citizens whom the elite recruits have led to the rooftops, wishing to make sure that whatever plan they have for evacuating that way is going without any problems.
Especially since his grandmother is among them.
He arrives at the rooftop. He finds that the elite recruits are keeping the citizens lined up as far away from the doorways leading back into the castle as possible while examining them all for weapons, making sure none of the citizens are carrying anything suspicious/dangerous before executing the evacuation they supposedly have planned.
The citizens are still worried about what might come, but the recruits seem oddly relaxed for people who are currently risking their own lives to rescue so many otherwise-helpless citizens. They seem fully confident that their supposed evacuation plan will go off without the slightest hitch.
The citizens complain in panic;
"How do they plan on getting us down from here?!"
"We look pretty trapped to me!"
"Those monsters could come up here any moment and we'll all be sitting ducks!"
One of the elite recruits reassures them; "Just stay where you are, everyone. Your way out of here will be arriving at any second now."
One of the red-garbed recruits then notices Link. Quite unexpectedly, he scowls at the lesser recruit as if offended by his presence. "Hey! What do you think you're doing up here?! Get back downstairs and help some other unarmed citizens find their way up!"
"S-sorry..!" Link apologizes timidly. "I just thought I'd check and make sure everyone was_"
"Everyone here is FINE!" the elite recruit angrily interrupts. "We've got everything under control here! Now get your butt outta here and quit stepping out of line!"
Link is surprised and confused as to why he is being treated like this. Is it not only natural to check on one's fellow soldiers during an attack? Why would these elite recruits be so offended at him for trying to help out?
As Link is about to turn and leave as ordered, one of the other recruits who had not noticed him calls out to the rest with a smirk; "Alright, they're almost here! Lock the doors now so no one gets through!"
The citizens look eagerly out to the distance to see who 'they' might be. Have their rescuers arrived at last?
But what they see is not so fortunate at all. Screams of fear ensue. For in the distant red sky, winged monsters approach from over the horizon.
Before Link can react to this unexpected turn of events, he is suddenly seized by the elite recruit who had been scolding him, a twisted smirk now across his face. "Looks like you've been here too long, boy!"
Right before Link's eyes, the supposed 'recruit' shape-shifts into his true form;
Another Acheman!
Thanks for reading! Looks like Link's swordsmanship is actually a lot more efficient than he realizes... but can it help him against that many Achemen at once?!