Crimson Twilight: Dusk

Chapter 32: Influence

"Die."

One high orc screamed as the halberd cut through his leg. The knight raised her weapon once again and punched it through the back of his neck.

"Die."

A red high orc swung one of his buster axes at the knight, who ducked beneath it and stabbed the red-skinned creature right in its solar plexus. The oridecon blade glistened with blood as it poked out of the red high orc's back. The knight withdrew it and kicked the dead orc aside.

"Die."

The knight's wounds continued bleeding; soaking her armor with her own blood. The pain was a mere dull ache in the back of her mind though. The only thing that mattered now was killing the orcs who dared to harm her.

"Die."

A red high orc roared in defiance only to have the halberd cut through the tendons of his open mouth. His entire jaw unhinged from one side; dangling from the orc's face only by a piece of muscle. The knight grinned and continued advancing. There were more orcs to kill. Much more.

"Die!"

The knight whistled sharply. At once her pecopeco responded with a squawk and approached. Bristle was taken aback as he saw her though. His instincts immediately warned him that something was not right with his rider. Still, he did not protest with anything more than a nervous squawk as she climbed on his back as she always did. The knight replaced her halberd behind her and raised her lance in a mocking salute against her foes. There would be no honor in the way these vermin would die. Swiftly, she spurred her mount forward. Her lanced was couched to kill on impact.

"Eliarainne!"

The knight paused briefly. The name was familiar and so was the voice but she could not stop now. Her prey were scattering from her approach and she had to catch and slaughter them before they escaped.

"Eliarainne, stop!"

The knight's eyes widened in realization; that was her name, and that voice was-

"Makaelthos."

The knight's voice was a mere, raspy whisper. Certain…memories were starting to return but she charged nonetheless. At once, she trampled over a helpless high orc. Her smile grew fiercer as she watched the orcish army part against her charge. 'They fear me; that's good.' She thought. "If they will not fight then I will slaughter them instead!'

One red high orc failed to get out her away quickly enough. Her lance struck his left shoulder. The sharp, oridecon point tore through the flesh; leaving the bone exposed. The lance whipped about and struck the red high orc's exposed shoulder bone; ripping the entire arm off. The knight started laughing; a brutal and triumphant laughter that caused even the red high orcs' eyes to widen in panic. Surely this woman was an embodiment of the demonic fury that was Baphomet.

"Stop running you bastard orcs!" The knight shouted at them furiously. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! I'll-!"

Before the knight could finish though, someone suddenly grabbed her by the arm. She struggled to pull away but her attacker's grip was intense. With great force, she was dragged from her saddle; causing her to crash to the ground on her back. She struggled to break free as someone fell on top of her; pinning her arms to the ground. She felt her legs being entangled by her attacker's own; stopping her from using them as leverage. She snarled and pushed harder.

"Eliarainne! Listen to me! Stop struggling!" Makaelthos continued to pin Eliarainne to the ground until he felt the knight relax under him. "The orcs are fleeing, Eliarainne. There's no need to pursue them." He told her.

Eliarainne looked up at Makaelthos. Her eyes had returned to their normal color. The fury was starting to recede. "I-I'm fine now, Makaelthos." She said.

Makaelthos rolled off his partner and watched her carefully. He was panting from the effort. Trying to hold her down was like trying to grapple with a minorus.

Eliarainne sat up as well. Sure enough, the orcs were starting to withdraw. Panting from exertion, she surveyed the battlefield and understood why. Hundreds of orcs lay dead around them along with the bodies of the knights, wizards and priests that fell in battle. The bottom of the walls was littered with the bodies of dead hunters who were shot to death by the enemy.

Makaelthos stood up; still keeping his eyes on his partner. "You scared them off." He told her. "Their leaders must have noticed the number of warriors they were losing."

Eliarainne looked behind her. Her trail was covered with mounds of bodies from uncounted orcs. The wounds on her enemies were terrible. Heads and limbs were twisted, ripped or hacked off. Gaping holes were found in all parts of their bodies. Bones glared obscenely white from the tears that her lance inflicted while bits of guts spilled everywhere like horrid carrion. All of a sudden, she couldn't imagine herself inflicting such wounds on any opponent.

Makaelthos looked at her with concern. "You're hurt." He said. "We have to get back to the city."

Eliarainne stared at her blood-stained gauntlets. Orcish blood ran down her armor and weapon. More blood dripped from her hair and face. Suddenly, her vision blurred; the blood loss was getting to her.

Makaelthos caught his partner just in time as she pitched forward. He immediately passed his hands over her wounds while chanting a prayer for healing. The spell closed the wounds but he knew that it did not replace lost blood. Only several days of rest could properly restore her to full strength.

"Master Makaelthos." A familiar voice spoke from behind him.

Makaelthos turned towards the sound of the voice. He had been wondering where Khaesilya had gone to. "Khaesilya! Where were you?" He asked.

Khaesilya stood in front of Makaelthos; her head was bowed in an apologetic manner. The bloodstains on her clothes indicated that she had been fighting fiercely. He also noticed the gashes on her arms and legs. What puzzled him though was the burn on Khaesilya's left hand. There were no orcish spell casters during the battle.

"I've been fighting near the Second Wizard division." She answered. "I tried reaching your side but-"

Makaelthos nodded in understanding. When Eliarainne started charging, he had to move ahead of the First Knight Division and straight into enemy lines. It was not his style to endanger himself by moving away from his allies but it was necessary. A few more minutes of carnage and Eliarainne would have died from exertion alone. Khaesilya helped him carry Eliarainne back to the city. The battle was over, at least for today. "Khaesilya, how did you get that burn?" Makaelthos asked.

Khaesilya avoided Makaelthos's gaze. "It was…Moonlight." She answered.

Makaelthos face grew serious. Moonlight Flower's presence in Prontera was yet another threat he would have to deal with. It was strange though; the cat-being would stand out in Prontera's human population. How was he disguising himself? "Did you see where he went?" He asked.

Khaesilya shook her head.

"I only caught a glimpse of him in the shadows before he started casting spells. It's strange; it's as if he was trying to hide his appearance."

Makaelthos finally reached the gates of Prontera. Already, he could see the damage inflicted on the Pronteran army. Casualties at unheard of numbers were being carried away. The army was starting to feel the effects of the lack of priests. In addition, the appearance of the red high orcs added to their troubles. All of a sudden, he wasn't so sure of Prontera's inevitable triumph. 'It's going to be an uphill battle just to drive the orcs away.' He thought. 'After that, we have to deal with Moonlight, the Dark Lord and Baphomet. That is, if we could even remotely trust Osiris and the doppelganger.' He made his way to knight barracks while carrying his partner in a piggyback position. He watched as Silmeia rushed frantically towards them.

"Makaelthos! Is Rainne alright?"

Makaelthos nodded and forced a smile. Silmeia looked like she was standing on force of will alone. Another healing spell would probably result in harm for her. "She'll be alright, Silmeia." He answered. "She just overexerted herself that's all."

Silmeia relaxed upon hearing that. Behind her, Agranias did not seem convinced. She gave Eliarainne one last look of concern before starting to make her way to the cathedral. That was when she remembered that there was no cathedral to come back to.

Makaelthos's expression grew grim. "The knight barracks have a spare building in case we have to hold troops from the other cities." He told her. "The remaining priests could probably use that. You have to tell the others though."

Silmeia smiled and nodded grimly. She had seen the spare building before. It was pretty small as it was hardly used. What saddened her was that it could probably accommodate the remaining priests. Indeed, they would have room to spare. "Thank you, Makaelthos." She replied. "I'll tell the others."

Silmeia turned to leave. Agranias, on the other hand, approached Makaelthos. "I saw her eyes while she was slaying all those orcs." He said. "There's something strange happening to her…"

Makaelthos stared at his unconscious partner. "I know that, Sir Agranias. I saw them too." He answered.

Agranias nodded and prepared to leave. He did not mention that, in the brief moment he locked gazes with the knight, he had a familiar feeling that he had encountered something similar before. He did not mention it to the crusader, though. Sir Makaelthos Solcry looked like he already had too many problems to handle.

Makaelthos placed Eliarainne on her bed and watched her worriedly. The moment he had approached Eliarainne, he felt the unnatural aura that she exuded. For a brief moment, his first instinct was to attack her at full force like he did with any rampaging fiend. He had to force himself to resort to a non-lethal way of subduing her before she charged into the orcish camp itself. Berserk as she was, she would have been no match for the immortals.

"Master Makaelthos." Khaesilya spoke to catch his attention.

Makaelthos turned to face his sohee companion. "Yes, Khaesilya?" He asked.

Khaesilya watched the unconscious knight in front of her before staring at Makaelthos in concern. "You should rest as well." She said. "You've fought harder than anyone else just to stop her."

Makaelthos shook his head and leaned against the wall of Eliarainne's room. He doubted if he could relax for a while after watching his partner earlier. "I think I'll stay here for a while." He answered.

Khaesilya bowed her consent. "Will you be eating lunch in your quarters, Master Makaelthos?" She asked.

Makaelthos nodded. He didn't like the idea of Khaesilya cooking for him before but he soon realized that, at times, it couldn't be helped. "I will as soon as I make sure Eliarainne's alright." He answered.

Khaesilya bowed once again and left the room.

Eliarainne found herself in the middle of Prontera but this wasn't the city she knew. The bodies of hundreds of knights lay strewn across the streets like fallen leaves in autumn. The sky above her was crimson and cloudless. All around her she could hear the sounds of battle.

"Who's there?" Eliarainne called out. The vision of Prontera faded. She found herself surrounded by darkness. The voice she heard was deep and powerful, laced with animalistic fury and malice. It sounded as if it came from all around her.

"Who dares make contact with Baphomet!"

Eliarainne's eyes widened. Baphomet was here? But she couldn't see anything at all!

"A female knight…you have a lot of nerve, linking your thoughts to mine. What in the infinite layers of the Abyss could you possibly want?"

Eliarainne suddenly remembered her furious advance against the orcs as well as the nightmares she was having so often. "You!" She yelled. "This all happened after you bit me!"

The voice roared furiously. The sound echoed in the darkness.

"I have feasted on hundreds of knights, woman. What makes you any special?"

Eliarainne was silent for a while. It sounded like even Baphomet had no idea what was happening to her. But if he wasn't the cause then why was she-? Baphomet's voice spoke out once again.

"You…I sense something strange about you…something familiar…"

Eliarainne clutched her head. "Shut up!" She shouted. "What are you doing in my thoughts anyway?"

The voice laughed.

"I get it now! What a coincidence it was to have met you!"

Eliarainne covered her ears. The demon's voice was starting to grate on her. "Be silent!"She cried out.

The demon continued laughing.

"To think I would meet someone like you in these times! The Dark Lord would be amused!"

Eliarainne shouted at the darkness. "Shut up, damn you!"

Baphomet ignored her words and continued talking. His voice carried a hint of dark amusement.

"This is entirely your fault, human! I am a mere catalyst!"

The demon's laughter filled the darkness. Eliarainne fell to her knees. Her fault? How could all of this be her fault? She suddenly felt someone grip her by her shoulders and shake her. She fought back at the invisible force. Her fist swung forward; striking something heavily. The darkness was suddenly dispelled.

"Eliarainne!"

Eliarainne's eyes fluttered open. Makaelthos was in front of her, watching her worriedly. He rubbed his jaw painfully with one hand. "You were tossing and turning in your sleep." He said.

Eliarainne felt her wounds on her side and back. Realization suddenly dawned on her. "My armor…" She said.

Makaelthos allowed himself to smile. His partner was feeling better already. "It's on the stand." He answered. "Keep resting, Eliarainne. I'll bring you something to eat."

Eliarainne felt her cheeks color. Luckily, Makaelthos wasn't watching. "I'm sorry." She told him.

Makaelthos waved a hand dismissively. "Don't be." He said. "Besides I'm starting to get used to it."

Eliarainne was about to reply when she suddenly found Makaelthos staring at someone from her doorway.

"What are you doing here, ditch-knight?"

Cafilex Sialsanderin stared balefully at Makaelthos. Behind him were Eldorius Sevrisn and another middle-aged blacksmith who was probably Eldorius's father.

Makaelthos stared back. His hand signaled at Eliarainne to stay down.