Ch 3: Tears and Hate
Elmina was walking down a hallway towards the exit. The gate was open and snow was blowing past her. She looked ahead and saw an image of herself sitting on the floor with a bloodied leg. "My leg... Jack mended my leg during the attack." She walked through the door up until the reached an exit. Two statues were facing each other. She knew the one on her right had a switch. "No! Alhazad..." The Sword Princess began bawling. "Asrael..."
xxxxx
Elmina unsheathed her sword. "Have Courage!" She told him. A cold gust of wind came in from the gates of the door causing her hair to dance like a flame. She continued "Deliver the Fenril spirit to our friends! Run Garrett! you can overcome anything!" With the corner of her eye Elmina saw Garrett run as his last words echoed in her mind, "I promise... I will return... your ribbon..."
The floating tablecloth looked at her, his eyes glowing red "It's a dead end. There's no way out hee hee hee hee hee... you are noble and beautiful... Can't you see? My body is trembling with joy." She waited a moment in the cold wind gathering her power suddenly she sprang forward releasing the phantom spears from her Magnum Fang attack. "Bastard!" She screamed.
After her attack she jumped back quickly to prepare for another assault. She ran forward again with her blade but faltered. Her left leg began aching and stopped her attack. Alhazad used that moment to his advantage. He ceased from hovering and jumped on the woman. Elmina's sword went flying across the floor out of her reach, and she couldn't move because of the demons weight holding her down. "I won't let you kill me, you dirty bastard!"
Alhazad look down at her underneath his robe a grin formed, "I have other plans for you.. My dear. I can see it in your eyes. You were planning to hide here until the demons left. In fact you were hoping for it. There was no way you would've been able to escape with that leg. You want to live; that I can tell. Perhaps we can make a little deal." Alhazad started caressing the woman's face with his massive claws. "I will leave you here since I know you can't escape with that leg." The demon disappeared in a ball of white light, leaving his signature snicker to echo "Khhk khhk khhk..."
Elmina waited. Earlier she tried to get up but her leg was in too much pain. She spoke softly to herself "Please forgive me Garrett for what I have to do to live .I told you before that I fight to protect something important to me. If I didn't have a reason to live, I would kill myself..."
"So you do have a reason!" The demon appeared directly behind the Sword Princess. Alhazad had been eavesdropping. He hovered around in a circle much like a vulture. "Khhk khhk khhk I think you want to tell me why you planned on staying behind."
"I have my reasons..." She snapped.
"You will give me these reasons or I will kill you." The demon demanded.
Elmina looked down and closed her eyes. She thought to herself, "I can't die." After a few seconds she opened them. She doubted he would keep a promise, but tried anyways, "I'll tell you under one condition. Promise me you won't kill or hurt anybody in this castle including me."
Alhazad eyed her with even more interest. "I can agree to that. I have already slaughtered everybody in the castle. What are your reasons?" He insisted.
Elmina held back her tears since she didn't want to show weakness in front of the demon. The woman warrior paused before she answer softly, "I'm pregnant..."
Even Alhazad wasn't expecting that answer. "Such a smart woman you are; tricking me into promising I won't hurt your child. You forgot one thing my dear. I never promised that I would control my monsters! Khhk khhk khhk!" He made a clicking noise and three of his winged minions flew in from the hallway.
"YOU BASTARD!" She screamed.
Alhazad signaled for his monsters to stay back, "I get that a lot my dear. It's time we go by my terms. You are a beautiful skilled woman, and I simply desire your services. Khhk khhk khhk. You won't have to serve me until your whelp is born, and I offer protection for both you and the brat from me, the other demons, and all of monsters."
"I don't care what you do to me, just allow my child to live. I don't want any more tricks from you!" She cried.
The demon moved toward and hovered next to her. He rubbed his right claw against her cheek, "I'll put it in other simpler words. Nobody or thing will be allowed to even touch your child. The only one would be you. Now do we have a deal?"
"Yes..." She replied sadly. Elmina knew this was the only chance she had for her child to live. "I'm sorry..." She whispered.
Months pass and Alhazad sticks to his end of the deal. Elmina just gave birth to her child. It's a little girl.
Elmina lay in her bed. Alhazad had given her a small room in his lab in order to keep an eye on her until her child was born. She was very sore and tired, but the exhausted woman forced herself to stay awake. She had only given birth a few hours ago, and wasn't quite sure what was to happen. She couldn't stop herself from gazing the her child who lay next to her wrapped in a white blanket, "You look so much like your father..." She whispered.
xxxxx
"You!" A high ranking lackey entered the room. "Alhazad wishes to speak with you. Go!" He demanded in a thunderous voice.
She looked away from her newborn and stared threateningly at the monster. "Now?" I'm too tired. Tell him I will be there later."
"Lord Alhazad's orders are not negotiable! If you do not go voluntarily, then I will take you there by force! Go human!"
The Sword Princess struggled to get up. She picked up the child and cradled her while walking down the hallways of Alhazad's lab. "You called?" She asked the demon while walking into the main operating room.
The room was lined with bookshelves full of old tomes, probably acquired in the attacks 1000 years ago. Three tables were in the room as well. Two were covered with vials of strange colored liquid. The third table contained a scared little boy, a rotting garm carcass and a recently killed dumpty . Blood was running off the table into the drains on the floor.
Alhazad was naked and hovering above the screaming child. Blood was splattering all over the hideous demon. Where there should've been the boy's right arm, alhazad was adding a garm leg. He was mentally instructing his scarabs to sew it on.
"Sick bastard." Elmina muttered. She felt her stomach turn and had to forced herself to not puke.
Upon hearing his name Alhazad took his hand and pinned the child's neck with his claws. "Can't you see I'm busy? Oh, It's you, go wait in the room directly across from this one."
Elmina obediently went in the other room, which looked exactly like the main operating room except a large machine was where one of the tables was and the other two tables had nothing on them.
Alhazad appeared before her in seconds, this time he was back in his robe. "We discuss the rest of the deal now, oh does the brat have a name?"
Elmina held the baby closer to her and replied sadly, "yes, Asrael. She is named after the first female Fenril Knight."
"Well that's nice... My newest masterpiece is complete!" He pointed to the large machine. "During the war 1000 years ago the humans and Elws tried to create artificial life. The foolish humans studied demons and created living metal and then made artificial humans out of it. The fools made one fatal mistake, they used demon DNA in them. At first the artificial life obeyed, but then something begin to spread inside of them like a virus. The very demon essence within them completely ate up there hearts. They became killing machines! Upon realizing their mistake the humans tried to destroy the mess they created. Again, the foolish humans made more mistakes, they never destroyed the records and research from the project. I acquired the documents and have created my own fun. If they can turn artificial humans into demon-hearted killing machines, then I can do the same thing to a real human!"
The bastard gave a sadistic smile under his robe as he saw the disgusted and horrified look on the woman. "I have added to it and have found a way to give you a demon body as well. It's now fit to make you my finest piece of work. From now on you will serve as the fourth Quarter Knight! Get in the machine!" He ordered.
"You monster!" She screamed. Elmina held Asrael in one hand and managed to unsheathe her sword out with the other. "No! I won't become your personal demon whore!"
"Do you honestly think you can defeat me? You are too weak to fight, and first chance I get I will kill the child."
"No! I... Fine I will become your demon slave, but don't you dare harm my child!" She cried.
"I told you my dear, only you are allowed near her. Now become my demon warrior, I will call you Lady Harken." The poor woman set her child on one of the tables and gave Alhazad a warning glance and then she entered the contraption.
She didn't know what was happening. It was dark and the poor woman felt her body changing. It was painful, but she kept thinking about her Asrael. After what seemed like an eternity she emerged and fell to the floor. Her body was different. She was tall as a demon and covered with shiny red and silver armor. She also possessed a new weapon; a scythe. The new demon fell to the floor holding her head, "my head..it hurts..."
"It is nearly you mind trying to reject your new body, in time it will stop. Now it's time I reveal the tricks to our little bargain! Khhk khhk khhk!" The demon looked at the little human pup.
"We had a deal! you stay away from her!" Lady Harken held out her new weapon between the demon and her little daughter.
"Don't worry I won't hurt her. Now shut up while I tell you who will! As we speak every ounce of your humanity is being eaten away by you new demon self. When the last shred of it vaporizes I will order you to kill your precious child. After all I promised only you would be allowed near the whelp. Khhk khhk khhk!"
"You son of a bitch! I don't care what you say, but I would never harm my own child." The demon warrior screamed.
Alhazad smiled at her. "oh yes, Mother was a bitch, but enough of her. I can't wait until the fun starts!"
The sadistic bastard watched as the woman struggled. Elmina was on her knees trying to fight back the demonic urges coming to her. "No! I won't...allow..."
"Khhk khhk khhk." He laughed. "Your struggle and hatred of me will only feed the demon side of you." Alhazad watched a while long as she was kneeling on the ground holding her head. He was starting to get worried, the human woman should be no more by now. A twisted idea suddenly came into his head to try and anger her even more to fuel his demon creation and ultimately kill the child. "Your scythe needs a name." He stated while laughing. Asrael sounds nice; I will name it after the first blood it spills. Kill the child!"
The struggling woman began to swing her scythe at Alhazad. "No! I... Can't... I won't!" All of this was too much for the poor woman. Within herself two minds were clashing and she was physically exhausted. Everything was starting to be a blur, but she forced herself to remain conscious.
"BASTARD!" She screamed. Now she was trying to attack him, even though everything was blurry. It was almost like it was one big horrible dream. Her scythe made loud crashing noises as she hit lab equipment. The emotional mess has no idea where Alhazad was. Asrael started crying.
"To your left." Alhazad taunted. He continuously warped around the room as Lady Harken tried to attack him in her rage. Asrael's cries became screams of terror.
When Lady Harken was on the verge of collapsing Alhazad thought it was time to stop playing at have the child finished once and for all. He warped right next to the child and using his power made the child levitate. "Over here, my dear..."
The demon woman dazed and confused could barely see. She saw something white floating by where Alhazad's voice came from so she lifted her scythe for a final attack...
The bastard demon couldn't have executed his plan better. Silence filled the room. "Excellent timing, don't you agree? Khhk khhk khhk... There's no turning back now, you are now my demon warrior." The demon woman was already collapsed on the floor. This would now only exist as a memory which will remain forgotten until several years later. (big note- in the game, Lady Harken mentions about how she can't remember anything.)