The Legend of Zelda: The Demon Within

Chapter 52: Black Veil

Thunder roared overhead as the six travelers made their way into the black veil that covered the mountains in northern Holodrum. It was clear that dark forces were at work here, as the dark clouds overhead all emanated directly from the sickly-looking castle standing before them.

"Well, that's not intimidating," Rajyhna stated bluntly.

The others merely ignored her remarks and marched right through the front door of the castle. Rajyhna sighed and followed them as well.

The interior of the castle was very eerie looking. More eerie, though, was the fact that all the torches inside were already lit. Still, they pressed on straight through the hallway and up the center of the castle. The door in front of them was wide open. They walked through, and before them, beneath a large stained glass window, was the same black circular object they found in the undersea cavern.

The door behind them shut tightly. All eyes turned back to face the one no one was surprised to see. "Agahnim..." Link sneered.

Agahnim slowly turned around, laughing. "Hehehe... My master is displeased with me... The only reason I'm not dead right now is due to the success of releasing the Wind Sorcerer. But no matter. You caught me offguard in the Palace of Winds. Here, I will stop you. You shall not enter Aslark!"

As he spoke, sparks of electrical energy charged in his hands. "Get down!" Shadow yelled, as a bolt of lightning shot across the room just over their heads.

Agahnim vanished, teleporting to to the west side of the chamber. He held his hands out, charging up a ball of energy. It shot forth, breaking apart into four projectiles that hurled at them. Rajyhna, Mickaw, Kasuto, and Shadow quickly ducked to the side. Navi gasped and put up a barrier, which Link quickly hid behind. The projectiles spread out in four directions upon hitting the barrier, dissipating shortly afterwards.

Kasuto jumped into the air and slashed her katana down upon the sorcerer, but in an instant he was gone. Rajyhna eyed the shadows across the room, then dashed to the east side of the chamber, stabbing her dagger forward. Agahnim gasped and vanished again, reappearing at the doorway.

"Take this!" he proclaimed, shooting out a bolt of lightning across the room suddenly and swiftly. It launched out in all directions. Navi ducked to the ground, but Link's first reaction was to block with her sword, and lightning shot throughout her body. Mickaw and Kasuto were also caught in the blast, crying out in pain before it subsided.

Mickaw bit his lip as he crashed down to his knees. "Ugh... how...?"

"Link!" Navi called, racing over to him, healing him with her power. She turned over to Kasuto, and to Mickaw as well. "They're alive... last time he did that, three people died instantly..."

"Which means," Shadow explained, narrowing his eyes, "either he is getting weaker, or he's toying with us!"

Agahnim reappeared in front of the mirror again, laughing maniacally. "Die!" he yelled, charging another ball of light that he hurled towards Navi, while she focused on Link.

Shadow bit his lip. "No!" he yelled, dashing across the room. He charged his own dark magic to deflect the attack, before it had even reached halfway across the room. The light piercing through his dark energy and enveloped him. "Damnit!" he yelled as sparks enveloped his body.

Kasuto jumped to her feet and raced over to him. The energy began to dissipate, but he could still felt stunned from it. Mickaw eyed the room carefully, then launched his fins out. Agahnim appeared, then gasped, vanishing again as the fins pierced through where he had just stood.

Link ran out and slashed her sword at the spot where she saw his shadow appearing by the door to the south, but he vanished again, far too quickly for her to get a hit on him.

Agahnim next appeared at the west side of the room. This time, he raised his hands overhead and charged up a much larger attack. "Take this!" he called out.

Light projectiles shot into the air and down across the room all over. Link rolled to the side, Navi lunged forward, and Kasuto shoved Shadow across the ground, only to get struck herself. Rajyhna dashed forward a little ways, then jumped to the left to avoid one of the projectiles, only for another one to hit her from the south, the electrical power stunning her as well as she shook violent. "Augh!"

Mickaw gasped for breath as the projectiles vanished once more. "Mm... how can one old man put up such a fight?"

Link walked up to him, shaking her head. "I don't know... Rajyhna hit him once, but since then he's changed up his tactic and is far too fast for us to land a single hit on him. There must be something else we can do."

Navi walked over to Link. "One of his attacks bounced off of my forcefield... All of his attacks paralyze us temporarily. The lightning attack is unavoidable. Too many hits from that one and we will die. If we can paralyze him with his own attacks, though..."

"His attack reminds me of a time I fought against Ganondorf. I think he's using the same techniques," Link explained. "Kasuto and I can use our swords to deflect his attack back at him. Navi, you might be able to, but I don't think its worth taking the risk. Shadow and Mickaw should be able to attack him after Kasuto and I stun him. Rajyhna may also be able to help, but her daggers are too short to work effectively to deflect his attacks."

"He's coming back!" Kasuto called out. "Everyone, get ready."

Agahnim appeared in front of the mirror once more, charging his holy thunder up into another blast of lightning, which he shot out almost instantly. However, everyone had already taken necessary precautions, ducking to the side and falling flat on the ground to completely evade the strike.

He disappeared and appeared to the west, putting his hands together. He launched out a ball of light, laughing maniacally again. Link wasted no time in lunging at it with her sword, slashing across through the air. It launched right back at Agahnim, and he suddenly opened his eyes to see it strike him head on.

"Now!" Navi called out.

Shadow teleported Rajyhna over Agahnim, and she fell down daggers first, stabbing him, then slashed again. Shadow teleported her away as two fins slashed into Agahnim, and he vanished again.

They glanced around the room, eying every one of the spots he would appear in. His shadow began to appear in the eastern quadrant. "There he is!" Link called out.

Navi shook her head, pointing towards the door. "No, he's over there!"

Mickaw sneered. "Where is he? He looks like he's by the mirror, too!"

"I'm not done with you fools yet! This will be my finest hour! I'm taking you down with me..."

Agahnim began charging another large blast of power from his hands. He threw it up into the air as the sparks of energy launched across the room. Link held her sword high and slashed through each one as it bounced off of her blade. Rajyhna gasped as she twisted and turned to avoid a single strike. Shadow transported himself and Mickaw towards Navi, then gave all the power he could to her so she could hold up the barrier.

Kasuto struck out with her sword, deflecting attack after attack. Then, she saw Agahnim, laughing maniacally. She quickly jumped up and flipped through the air, sword out, deflecting numerous energy balls down to the ground. She landed safely on her two feet, and Link instantly darted forward, sword out.

Agahnim gasped as the barrage of projectiles pounded him repeatedly. Then, he screamed out loud in pain. Link immediately removed her sword from his chest, but Agahnim's scream continued to pierce the air. "No... this... cannot be... I've... been... defeated? My power... lord Ganondorf... have mercy... on me... Guwaaah!"

His body began to dissipate. He shook his head. "No... I won't... let you have the last laugh... hehehehe... good thing... I prepared for this... Now, die!" he yelled, before he faded from existence.

The mirror began to activate. A portal suddenly opened up, and evil power spread forth into the chamber. A blast of dark wind pushed a huge cloud of smoke filled the room. A dark shadow shot forth from the portal as a large beast stared down at them with sickly red eyes.

Fear filled the hearts of all those in the room. Even Shadow began to quake. Kasuto felt a chill run down her spine as she backed away to the wall. "What... what is that thing? Could this be... the Dark Dragon?"

The dragon roared out before them, breathing out an eerie-looking green fire from its mouth. The small band of heroes dodged the blast, then ran across the chamber. "Kasuto!" Link called out. "Do you know how we can defeat the monster?"

She shook her head. "I... I've only heard about it in legends. I read about it in a book and saw an illustration of it... I didn't know it really existed!"

The large beast turned its head down towards them and roared, spewing a blast of blue fire down upon them. The six figures dashed around and out from the blast, running right underneath the large flapping wings of the beast.

As Link ran past the open portal, she suddenly felt herself being dragged towards it by a mysterious force. She gasped. "Wh-what?"

"Your pack!" Shadow called out from across the room. "The Rod of Seasons and Harp of Ages are powering the Moon Pearl, and it is reacting to the open portal! That mirror is our ticket out of here!"

Link forced herself away from it, shaking her head. "Damnit, no! I'm not leaving until we defeat this monster! If we leave, who will stop it from ravaging this continent, and the rest of the world! I won't let that happen!"

A sudden burst of wind blew Link to the ground, as well as everyone else in the room. The Dark Dragon smashed down into the ground. Cracks formed all throughout the floor. Rajyhna stood to her feet, helping Link up as well as she had been shoved near her. The two quickly split ways as a blast of eerie fire sprayed out of the beast's mouth towards them.

Link turned off to the left, seeing Rajyhna nearer to the portal. Link quickly pulled the Rod of Seasons out of her pack and tossed it over to Rajyhna immediately after the fire dissipated. Link then turned and ran in the opposite direction, rolling underneath the dragon's enormous jaws that reached out for her.

Rajyhna raced along the north wall, but suddenly found herself smacked into the east wall by the dragon's large tail, the Rod of Seasons flying from her hands. Shadow jumped into the air and picked it up, teleporting as soon as he landed to avoid getting struck by the tail as well.

Kasuto ran north to try and catch up to Link. A large claw swiped passed her, but she backed up a few steps to avoid it, then quickly ran on ahead. Link jumped over another swipe of the beast's claw, but it caught her leg and she flipped backwards, tumbling onto the cold tile floor. The contents of her pack spilled out onto the ground, and Kasuto quickly picked up both the glowing Scepter of Darkness and Moon Pearl, then jump onto and over the huge claw about to swat them away.

Despite this, Kasuto was unable to grab the rest, or help Link as both her and the remaining contents of her pack were sent flying across the room. Mickaw jumped in front of her and caught Link and her body flew through the air. "Thank you," she remarked, before looking around.

She glanced back, then turned and grabbed her pack off the ground. She grabbed the rest of her supplies as well, but as she picked up the last item, she realized the Harp of Ages was missing. "Kasuto?" Link asked, turning across the room.

The Dark Dragon had rose up into the air again and sprayed a blast of fire out towards Kasuto at the west end of the chamber. The young woman slipped passed its attack, and Link could clear the Scepter of Darkness in her belt, while she held the Moon Pearl in her left hand. However, she did not have the Harp of Ages. "Mickaw, you didn't grab it, did you?"

Mickaw and Link both jumped out of the way as the dragon's large, long tail lashed out at them, promptly landing back onto the ground and running south. "Grab what?" he asked. "I didn't see anything else other than what you just picked up."

Navi bit her lip as she poured all her energy into magically sealing the large gash in the woman's back. "Rajyhna, hey, are you okay?" she asked.

The thief cried out. "Hey, watch it!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it! I have to seal the wound so you don't bleed all over the place..."

Rajyhna sneered. "Too late for that..."

Both the Moon Pearl and the Scepter of Darkess began to react as Kasuto passed in front of the open portal. She gasped as the power of the portal began to pull her towards it, or more apparently, pull the Moon Pearl she had in her hand towards it. "Damnit, no...!" she cried as she stared up at the large beast above her. "I don't have time for this right now... Come on..."

Navi and Rajyhna both turned and saw Kasuto struggling to pull away from the portal. Navi shook her head. "H-hang on!" she called out, starting to run off towards her.

She quickly glanced back at Rajyhna, whom still was holding the wound tightly. "W-wait, do you..."

"Go!" the green-haired woman proclaimed. "She needs you more right now!"

Kasuto gasped as the Moon Pearl continuously dragged her closer to the portal. She held on with all her might, sheathing her sword to pull hard with both hands. She finally started to make some headway, but then the pull became tighter. The dragon roared out over her head. She felt two arms wrap around her waist, pulling her back, but the open portal was still strong.

"I don't know where this thing leads... but I doubt either of us want to go there..." Navi remarked. "Come on... don't let go!"

The beast reared its head, readying another blast of fire. A projectile suddenly hit it in the back, and instantly it spun around counter-clockwise at an extremely fast pace, smacking its right claw into Mickaw, and he flew into the door to the room, the old wood shattering to pieces as he rolled out into the hall.

Link gasped as she saw the Harp of Ages fly from its claw, realizing that the beast had grabbed it off of the ground. She quickly raced over and caught in, then began to play the instrument at the southwestern corner of the room. In the southeast corner, Shadow suddenly appeared and held out the Rod of Seasons in his hand, pointing it at the Moon Pearl, which Kasuto was desperately trying to keep from being dragged into the portal with Navi.

The Moon Pearl reacted violently and Kasuto slipped from Navi's hands, flying straight into the open portal. "Kasuto!" Navi screamed.

Two beams of light shot into the Moon Pearl, and a triangle formed around the Dark Dragon. The beast smashed into the ground again, the blast brushed swiftly against Navi, but somehow, this time she did not get bowled over by it. The floor beneath the creature gave way, and the triangle constricted onto it, dragging it into the gaping whole.

An earthquake rocked the ground. The portal opened wide, sucking all three objects into it. Navi, due to her closeness to the portal, was pulled into it as well. Rajyhna gasped, jumping to her feet. "L-lokhe!" she cried out, but after hobbling a few steps, she winced in pain and collapsed to her knees.

She looked up as the portal disappeared, leaving nothing but the mirror behind. The lone thief stared down at the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why did... why did you abandon me again?" she cried. "Why the hell does everyone I know and love always abandon me?" she screamed.

All was quiet. Two hands gripped her shoulders, carressing them. "It seems that our work here is done... but there is still other work to do. Come with me, if you wish. I won't abandon you. They have their own tasks, and we have ours..."

He paused briefly, then continued. "...we must prepare the way for the end of all things."

XXXXX

"...so, you understand our plight?" the young woman asked.

The nobleman closed his eyes and sighed. "If we show open support for Hyrule, the dark lord has promised to destroy us. I suspect that Gerran has a similar take on this."

"But...?"

"...but we share no love for him at all," the man explained. "Like what you heard from King Travian, we would love to wipe Ganondorf's forces off the face of this earth. But I cannot risk the lives of my people. We cannot openly support you, but we do support you, and I will do whatever I can to help."

The red-haired girl nodded. "Thank you, Duke Edgar. We cannot do this alone. We need all the help we can get on this. Even if you can't lend us forces now, knowing that you are by us when we can gain the upper hand will be a huge boost to our morale."

"I have to keep my troops ready in case war comes to my front," Edgar remarked. "We do not yet know what Queen Dihryn is planning, or what is going on in Aslark. Plus, there's always the chance that Ganondorf will just break his promise and attack us anyway, and we've still got Dalton's pirates to worry about. Although, I believe that Captain Heath Marlin is keeping him busy. I recently received word from Labrynna about how Lynna City was attacked by Dalton's pirates. Heath Marlin's crew and another... Link, I think her name was, whom first set sail aboard his months ago, helped to defeat Dalton with her companions and the knights of Labrynna."

The girl gasped. "L-link? Link was there? And here? You met her?"

Edgar closed his eyes, laughing. "Hehehe... Link was from Hyrule, right? Ah, that makes sense. So you know him? I suppose its probably just coincidence, but a few days after Link set sail, a young Hyrulean woman set sail on another ship ours. Kasuto, I think her name was."

"Kasuto... so she was here as well... just what is she doing?"

Edgar shook his head. "Okay, seriously, do you know everyone from Hyrule or something? I can just name a random person off I know was from Hyrule and instantly you recognize the name! Then again, what did you say your name was?"

The girl laughed. "Don't worry, its mere coincidence. You just happened to meet two people I know very well. Despite the fact that I am, in fact, a Princess of Hyrule, Relm, I barely know anyone. Of course, that secret was hidden from me for fourteen years, so that makes perfect sense."

The door suddenly slammed open, two voices yelling out instantly and suddenly, both at the exact same time. The first proclaimed, "Princess... something's happening!"

"D-duke Edgar! The barrier around Aslark..."

"Aslark!" Edgar remarked. "Relm, let's go, hurry!"

The two raced outside and out onto the northern road. Off to the east, a beam of light shot out from across the sea, piercing the barrier surrounding the dark kingdom of Aslark. Surely enough, the eerie wall began to deteriorate, fading down into nothing, opening the way.

Edgar narrowed his eyes. "Well, well, well, looks like Link finally did it... I suspect that Dihryn won't be happy about this."

Relm turned back to her companion. "Shawn, round up the others... we're going home. Its finally time."