Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 50: Death
The Goblin Leader watched his foe carefully. He had heard tales of Payon's Moonlight Flower. Every goblin knew that, despite his harmless appearance, Moonlight was extremely dangerous.
"I can smell your fear underneath that mask, Goblin Leader." Moonlight said. "Are you afraid of me?" He chuckled slightly and advanced on the Goblin Leader. In a flash the bell stick descended on his enemy's head.
The goblin leader countered by raising his scepter above his head; blocking Moonlight's frontal assault. "It will take more than your boastful yowling to cow me, cat!" he taunted in return. He pushed the bell-stick aside and swiped at Moonlight's legs with his scepter.
Moonlight was quick to jump back at the attack. At the same time, he raised a hand; causing a flurry of light shards to fly towards his foe. The shards struck the Goblin Leader with the force of hurled stones; sending him reeling back. "There is more to me than "boastful yowling", goblin!" He snarled.
The Goblin Leader charged. He knew that there was no way he could beat Moonlight's spellcasting power. The best option for him was to close in and force the cat-being to use his bell stick. "Cease your cowardly spellcasting and face me, Moonlight!" he shouted.
The war scepter swept forward again; only to be nimbly dodged by Moonlight. "Already I can see your weaknesses." he taunted. "You are no match for me! Just stand still and let me absorb you!"
The Goblin Leader lashed out again. "Never!" he shouted. "You maybe a twice as strong as I am or perhaps greater. "I will still defy you with every swing I make! No one looks down on the goblins!"
The war scepter whistled past Moonlight's midriff; missing it by a mere inch. "You're not even touching me, goblin!" he said. "Give up!" Moonlight's bell stick lashed out; striking the goblin leader on the back of his hand. The war scepter dropped to the ground. "You haven't absorbed anyone have you?" he sneered. "A pity."
The Goblin Leader dove for the scepter only to have the bell stick smash into his face. Moonlight stepped on the scepter and pointed his bell stick at the masked immortal. "Defy me, will you?" he crowed. "This is the end then."
The Goblin Leader let out a war cry and jumped towards Moonlight. While goblin hands were not adept at clawing, his sharp fingernails tore at the unprepared Moonlight's face. The cat-being snarled furiously and kicked him backward.
A portion of Moonlight's hood had been torn away; revealing smooth skin and a red, human-like eye. Blood trickled down the cut on his cheek. "You pathetic piece of maggot meat!" he snarled. "How dare you!" He raised a hand and pointed it at the Goblin Leader.
A moment later, the masked immortal was flying backwards. Massive surges of electricity coursed through his body. His royal garments smoked as the edges started to char. The wooden mask over his face cracked. "You're not a cat now aren't you, Moonlight?" he sneered. "In fact, you look and sound like a girl!"
Moonlight's hands crackled with power. "You'll regret even mentioning that, goblin." he growled. "Die already!"
Another lightning sphere struck the Goblin Leader. This time, his mask completely split in two. "I cannot match you, Moonlight Flower." he said. "But I will not allow you to benefit from what power I have!" He drew forth a small knife and pointed it to his throat. Moonlight's eyes widened in alarm as he rushed forward.
"That won't be necessary, goblin!" someone roared. A large, clawed paw suddenly struck the Goblin Leader from behind. He cried out and fell forward. Behind him stood a massive, furred being.
"Your essence belongs to us." Eddga growled.
Moonlight watched as the lumbering figure of his partner, Eddga, stood above the Goblin Leader's body. "Eddga!" he exclaimed. "What happened to you?" His eyes narrowed as he saw the grievous wounds that marked Eddga's body. Several black-shafted arrows, each the size of a small javelin, were buried on Eddga's shoulders. Massive sword cuts crisscrossed his chest and back while a gigantic lance wound was bleeding profusely from his left side. His breathing was heavy and strained.
"I was...hunted down by the Lord of Death and his accursed abysmal knights." Eddga answered. His claws descended on the Goblin Leader; practically shredding the dying immortal to pieces. The Goblin Leader's remains transformed to light and bathed both of them. Eddga fell to his knees. "It is not enough!" he growled. "My wounds are still great!"
Moonlight felt the light suffuse him before it vanished. "The Lord of Death attacked you?" he asked. "That means he's still around."
Eddga nodded and tried to rise. "He is...close by...terribly close!" he gasped.
The bell stick suddenly lashed forward striking Eddga on the chest; causing him to fall flat on his back. "Moonlight!" he said in confusion. "What are you doing?" He watched as a grim expression settled on his "partner's" feminine face.
"You are far too wounded to be of any help now, Eddga." Moonlight answered. "You cannot enter the city and I will not risk you being absorbed by Osiris and the doppelganger or the Lord of Death for that matter." He brought his weapon furiously on Eddga's unprotected head; wincing as he felt the tiger's skull break at the force of his blow. Eddga gave a single yowl in surprise before collapsing to the ground. Moonlight smiled sadly as the light suffused his female body once more. "A shame it must come to this. Your strength will not be wasted, Eddga." He adjusted his cloak and watched the southern horizon.
"Lord of Death...I finally understand what you are planning."
"Perish!"
Eliarainne's lance smashed past the Panzer Goblin's defense; delivering a large gash on the right side of his chest.
The Panzer Goblin immediately pulled one of the levers in his contraption and hovered backwards. 'By the ancestors.' he thought. 'This woman's strength matches the Orc Hero's himself!' He adjusted another lever in his machine; causing an arbalest to pop out of a secret compartment. "Strong you may be but not invulnerable!" he shouted. The bolt flew from his arbalest; lodging between the elunium plates of the knight's armor near her waist.
Eliarainne gave an annoyed grunt and pulled the bolt out. "Pathetic!"she taunted. "And to think you're supposed to be an immortal!" Her lance seemed to dance in front of the Panzer Goblin as she waved it around menacingly. Before he could react, the point punched through his defense once more. This time the lance tore through the machine behind him; causing sparks and metal to start flying off. She smiled as he hovered back for several feet. Despite her fighting an immortal, she knew that the fight shifted too far to her own advantage. "Let's end this now, Panzer Goblin!" she taunted again. "Fire your best shot!"
In response the Panzer Goblin hovered in midair for a while and took careful aim. It was unlikely that he was going to get a second shot should this one miss. The bolt left his arbalest silently; its target was the knight's forehead.
"Too slow!" Eliarainne shouted. She tilted her head to the side and allowed the bolt to pass. At the same time, she hurled her lance towards the Panzer Goblin. The oridecon shaft flew true; impaling him directly in the chest.
"Leader...I...I've failed." the Panzer Goblin gasped. To his horror and fury, the knight began laughing. It wasn't the laughter of triumph or amusement, it was the laughter of derision.
"So much for the great immortals!" Eliarainne shouted in triumph. "States of power do not secure a battle after all!"
The Panzer Goblin pulled one last lever in his machine. "You foul knight!" he snarled. "Your death will be the last contribution I make for our cause!" He hurtled at the knight at a speed so fast that she did not even have time to look up. In a moment the machine had collided against her.
And exploded.
A massive ball of fire blossomed in the middle of the battlefield; knocking nearby combatants flying. The heat caused some of the knights' armor to melt in some places. It burned flesh and seared eyes on occasion. The blast was so great that it even caught the attention of faraway combatants. A massive crater formed beneath the blast while chunks of rock and earth flew about and rolled on the ground. Bits of shredded metal rained down on the area around the explosion.
"Useless."
Eliarainne rode out of the blast slowly. Not an inch of her was touched by the flames. Underneath her, Bristle squawked nervously; surprised that he remained unharmed save for a few singed feathers. Whatever protected his rider somehow extended to him.
"I am a being of fury and battle." Eliarainne said. "Material fire does not harm me." She chuckled slightly and removed her lance from the ashes of the dead Panzer Goblin. "Now...who's next?"
She rode towards the battlefield once more.
'The goblins have fallen.'
The thought crossed the Orc Hero's mind only briefly. He did not have the time to dwell on them as a two-handed axe swung towards him again. When he saw the Panzer Goblin's explosion, he knew that his cause was probably lost. The orc tribes alone did not stand a chance against the might of the human armies. 'The orcs will fall here as well.' he thought. 'Let us be free in death then if freedom in life cannot be achieved.' He deflected Kreizen's attack with his shield struck the man in the face with the flat of his blade. "I will fall in this battle, Kreizen Xalascent." he said. "But it won't be now and it won't be by your hand!"
Kreizen pulled out another bag of zenny. "Since when have you become an expert at predictions, Orc Hero?" he replied. "I say you will fall now and by my hand as well!"
The Orc Hero grinned fiercely and charged. His curved weapon sliced a vicious wound on Kreizen's right leg. Golden light exploded as Kreizen's axe bit deep into his right shoulder. The force of the strike caused him to stagger back a few steps. "Strong as I anticipated." he said. "But there is a limit to what you can do, Kreizen!" He jumped high into the air and raised his sword. Suddenly, lighting crackled down on Kreizen; striking him directly on the chest.
Kreizen grit his teeth as his chainmail conducted the bolt and spread it all over his body. 'Damn it!' he thought. 'He's going to keep attacking from a distance at this rate! I have to find a way to close in!' He forced himself to go forward despite the agony that the lightning left him. His legs shook and twitched; making it difficult to even walk forward. For a brief moment, he wished that his sister was behind him. It was always Seihanine who handled the long-ranged opponents! 'Stupid me. Why would I wish that Sei was in a situation as dangerous as this?' He managed to get under the orc hero as the immortal descended from his jump. "I've got you now, Orc Hero!" he shouted. His two-handed axe swung forward; catching the Orc Hero on the leg. The Orc Hero countered by slicing another wound on his shoulder.
"You're still not a match for me, Kreizen!" the Orc Hero shouted. "Close but not enough...argh!" Before he could finish the sentence, a black-shafted arrow suddenly struck him from behind. "Who dares?" he snarled. He turned around to see what kind of cowardly hunter would shoot him from behind.
From the edge of the battlefield a white-armored rider watched silently as the orcs slowly lost. Behind it were seven more riders, all clad in black armor. One of them held an enormous bow; the one that probably launched the arrow that pierced the Orc Hero's shoulder and came out of his chest.
"Lord of Death." the Orc Hero growled. "So he didn't disappear after all."
The Lord of Death laughed silently as he watched the orc hero stare at him defiantly.
" Poor deluded orcs...you crave freedom when no living being is ever free. You toil to survive, each day you collapse from weariness just to feed yourself or to keep yourself clothed. Where is the freedom in that? No...you are born slaves to your mortality and the grim reality of death...you are slaves and I am your Lord!"
The Lord of Death raised a hand as a signal.
Behind him, legion upon legion of raydrics began their march.