Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 48: The siege falters
"You've got no where to teleport, Orc Lord!" The doppelganger shouted. "This time your essence is ours!" He dashed forward, only to disappear among his fighting minions. Before the Orc Lord could even try to follow his movements, he was already attacking from behind. His broadsword cut deeply into the Orc Lord's back. In response, the Orc Lord tried to backhand him. He was too quick though; he jumped back in time to avoid the attack.
Osiris's fist struck the Orc Lord in the chest, sending him careening several feet backwards. "Don't let your guard down, doppelganger!" Osiris rumbled. "Remember that we have to kill him without your division finding out who you really are!"
The doppelganger grinned as he rushed the Orc Lord again. The immortal's essence was as good as theirs thanks to Osiris's plan. 'This will be great!' He thought. 'Once we get this one, I can beat the hells out of that goat, Baphomet!" His broadsword flickered from one side and moved to another.
Within moments, several wounds appeared all over the Orc Lord. Before the he could even counter, Osiris attacked from above. A bandaged heel crashed down on his collarbone. The doppelganger grinned again as the Orc Lord's collar cracked audibly.
"Damn you two!" The Orc Lord swore. "As soon as Hero gets here we shall see who gets to increase their strength with the essence of the fallen!"
Osiris stepped back and gestured. The doppelganger raised an eyebrow as something flew from the mummy's hand. Whatever it was, it was glowing and streaked at extremely high speed. The light was immediately gone before the Orc Lord or the doppelganger could follow it.
"Hey, Seiros!" The doppelganger called out. "What the hell was that?"
Osiris did not answer and attacked again. The Orc Lord met his flying kick with the same move. A ball of flames burst forth from the Orc Lord's open palm when their kicks collided, exploding right in front of Osiris. He raised his arms to protect himself from himself from the flames and stepped back. The doppelganger charged from behind the Orc Lord; his broadsword was practically a blur in his hands. Another streak of light suddenly flashed between the fighting immortals.
'Damn it!' The doppelganger thought. 'What the hell is Osiris doing? What could those bits of light be?' He ducked a punch from the Orc Lord and thrust with his sword. The blade gashed another wound on the Orc Lord's side before he pulled it back. A backhanded swing from the Orc Lord managed to catch him on the cheek. Even as he staggered back, he gestured towards his enemy. A jet of ice streaked towards his target; threatening to encase the orc in the resulting ice shards.
The Orc Lord countered with another blast of flames. Before he could recover from his spell, another spinning kick from Osiris sent him flying back a few more feet. He struggled to rise. He suffered from several gashes all over his body; marks that the doppelganger was responsible. The worse damage came from his broken collar bone and the cracked ribs; injuries caused by Osiris. 'I am faltering, damn it all.' He thought. 'Hero, I don't think I can hold against these two much longer.' He let out a guttural war cry and charged. Behind him, his orcish archers were slowly losing to the assault of nightmares and isis. The kobolds continued to fight valiantly but the constant barrage of spells were slaughtering them in numbers. He watched as one group of kobold archers were engulfed by a storm of whirling ice that left mere frozen figures in its wake. A moment later, a storm of red lightning replaced the ice, shattering the frozen kobolds and melting the hundreds of pieces that were left of them. 'The siege is breaking...the humans are winning again.' He roared in fury and drove his fist into Osiris' chest. The blow knocked Osiris backwards, stopping his attack momentarily. The Orc Lord immediately spun about and landed his heel on the doppelganger, who was about to attack from behind. Another bit of light flickered from the corner of his eye. 'That's the fourth...what do those things mean?'
Osiris recovered from his surprise and launched a barrage of quick jabs at the Orc Lord, who was forced to fall back in defense.
"Look out above you, Orc Lord!" Someone shouted.
The Orc Lord looked up in time to see a nightmare descend on him. A figure, seemingly made of purplish flames, appeared from the horse's back. A scythe swung from the figure's arms as it gave a loud neigh. He smashed his fist against the nightmare; causing it to dissipate. His eyes widened in realization as soon as he broke the minion.
"That was rather dumb of you, beef boy!" The doppelganger taunted. He dragged his broadsword from the ground; causing sparks from the stones it struck.
The blade cut deep into the Orc Lord's chest; spraying blood over his face. In reponse, he stared defiantly at the doppelganger and smashed his heel against the shadowy immortal's chest. "Curse the both of you!" He swore. "I may fall but I will drag you two down with me!"
A fifth bit of light flew past the Orc Lord as he charged against Osiris.
"You will fall today, Orc Lord, and you will do no such thing as dragging either of us down!" Osiris rumbled. His eyes began to glow steadily
The Orc Lord let out another war cry as he approached Osiris. "You humans are all alike, dead or alive; it has to be your will that must be obeyed!" He roared. "I remember you, Osiris, first emperor of the great Morrocan Empire! When you drove the orc tribes back from "your" lands, you paved the way for your progeny to abuse their power over the other races!"
Osiris switched to a different fighting stance as the Orc Lord dashed closer and closer. He placed his arms to the side; making it appear that he had no defenses of any sort. "What I did; I did for my people and my empire." He replied. "It's the same for you and your tribes, orc. We fought the same cause but from different sides. I would not have begrudged you if you tore my empire apart. The same should have been said for you!"
The doppelganger watched curiously as his partner began to trace strange symbols in the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the bits of light that Osiris had unleashed. The bits of light streaked around the battlefield; dancing over the fighting kobolds, orcs, knights and wizards. Charges of blue electricity jumped from one bit of light to the other.
The Orc Lord leapt high into the air and extended his foot. "One more attack out of defiance, Osiris!" He roared. "One more blow in the name of orcish freedom!"
Osiris's fingers traced the symbols of his long forgotten empire with the familiarity that came from founding and ruling it. After five were written, the symbols started glowing.
The doppelganger squinted to make out the letters. He smiled upon recognizing them. "Finishing strike, eh?" He said. "Well, if you're that drastic, Osiris, I'll oblige you!"
Osiris's fist began to shake as the Orc Lord descended on him. "One more strike then, Orc Lord!" He roared in return. "Give it to me and I will show you what determination the humans had and still have!"
The Orc Lord's kick struck Osiris fully on the chest. His bandaged feet scraped against the ground as the force threatened to knock him down. The Orc Lord's foot glowed red and exploded in a ball of raging flames that momentarily engulfed both combatants. "Not good enough, Orc Lord!" Osiris roared above the explosion. "A yearning for freedom is never enough to achieve it! Goals are accomplished with the most decisive strikes!" He emerged from the flames and directly above the Orc Lord. His fist struck the brawny orc in the face.
The doppelganger shielded his eyes at what happened next. The bits of light he had seen earlier grew into spheres of shining white light. They suddenly streaked from their paths and straight towards Osiris's fist. As soon as they merged, a terrific explosion rocked the entire battlefield. The five letters shone briefly before exploding. Humans, kobolds and orcs alike stopped momentarily to see what was happening.
The Orc Lord let out a dying scream as he flew backwards; His body smoking from the resulting blast of Osiris's attack. For him, time seemed to suddenly slow down. "I-I've lost...forgive me, Hero." He whispered. "I have failed our people..." He caught a glimpse of the battle. The kobolds were all but routed. Hundreds of smoking or frozen corpses littered the battlefield while the knights began to charge. Dozens of claymores plunged into the backs of retreating kobolds and orcs. The red high orcs he had brought as reinforcements were being driven back as well. More knights from the southern camp were attacking from their direction; neatly trapping the reds in a deadly pincer attack. 'We've lost...the humans remain superior after all.' He crashed to the ground. Before him stood Osiris and the doppelganger, who grinned and raised his sword.
Osiris raised a hand to stop his partner and knelt beside the dying orc. "Your race was never meant to take the front in the history of Rune-Midgard." He said softly. "You and the Orc Hero should have been content with staying in your lands; freeing yourselves from human influence."
The Orc Lord bared his teeth and laughed harshly. "You think the orcs would just lie down and die while the humans took everything?" He asked defiantly. "This thing started with your empire, Osiris. How fitting it is that you would have another hand in ensuring the miserable fate of the entire orcish race!"
Osiris's eyes dimmed. "I would have deemed your race lucky if you had remained in your lands after you took the colony from Prontera." He answered. "You would have been free of this war, free of death from human hands. You think the Lord of Death did not anticipate this?"
The Orc Lord struggled to remain conscious; to remain alive. "Take your victory already, Osiris." He gasped. "The orcs may fall in the battlefield but the spirit of our cause will never die!"
Osiris rose and signaled to his companion. The doppelganger shrugged his shoulders and plunged his broadsword into the Orc Lord's chest. The brawny orc gasped once and stiffened. One of the main leaders of the orc tribes finally died.
Osiris's eyes gleamed as he stared at the fallen immortal. "The spirit is always where the body is, Orc Lord, and your body is no more. Journey quickly to the afterlife and meet your tribesmen there. Take with you, as your dying memory, the fist of Osiris!"
The Orc Lord's body dissipated into white light, leaving nothing behind.
The doppelganger smiled and concentrated on absorbing his share of the Orc Lord's power. When the essence was gone, he turned towards his partner. "That was a hell of a finishing move, Seiros!" He said. "It must have taken almost everything out of you!"
Osiris stared suspiciously at the doppelganger. "You are correct." He answered. "I doubt if I can handle another immortal in my condition."
The doppelganger gripped his broadsword tightly and grinned at the bandaged immortal. He tensed briefly and his eyes seemed to consider his options. "You're one hell of a partner, Osiris." He finally said. "Glad to be working with you."
Osiris stared at the broadsword and clenched his fists as if waiting for an attack. "Indeed." He replied.
The two of them walked towards the knights and wizards, who began to cheer. Caltressa rushed over to Joe Buck and let out a loud cheer.
"You did it, sir!" Caltressa shouted. "The kobolds and orcs are falling back!"
The doppelganger looked behind him to ensure that the nightmares and isis had vanished. Fortunately, they were far away from the fighting to avoid being noticed. Sir Joe Buck allowed himself another smile. "We won this battle, Caltressa!" He shouted in return. "I say glory to the Fourteenth Knight Division!"
The knights let out another loud cheer. Victory belonged to them for this battle. The invading orcs had been driven back. One of their brutal leaders, the Orc Lord, had been defeated by their Knight Commander, Joe Buck, and his monk friend, Seiros.
Osiris's eyes glowed from his now-replaced hood as he walked away. There were more battles to be overcome before the orcish siege finally fell and that would only be the beginning.