Out of Hope
Chapter 7: Fate of Balrua
DISCLAIMER: Yep. I own Retrasio, most of the OC's here, and the storyline, itself. I do not, however, own any of the elements already owned by Nintendo, such as the character races and the triforce.
A note to Mikey: You're a dumbass. I didn't force you to read it by any means, I simply gave you the link and told you it was my story, and you never even said a thing about being busy. You're just stupid, and a bad critic with no backings. "I can't say it's the best thing I've ever read since I know you." Whether you know me or not makes no difference of the quality of the work. Noob. Don't review until you know how.
"FOR CANADA!!!!" Bevor yelled, unsheathing his Katana. He then let out a very loud and scary Ingo-esque war cry, and ran into the oncoming volley of soldiers.
Ragnus shrugged. "Hey, whatever works, right...?" He muttered to himself, unsheathing Firagus. He actually noticed that Bevor was doing exceptionally well. He was holding his own against a group of about thirty.
He was about to join the fray when he suddenly felt a faint gust of wind. His keen knight's instinct told him to turn around. Doing so, he saw the cloaked figure standing behind him.
"...And you are?" Ragnus asked.
"Your killer." The robed figure said, unsheathing a katana that was blood red in color, in contrast to Firagus' fiery red.
"Very well." Ragnus said, pointing his blade at the figure. Your move.
The figure threw off his cloak. He was a sheikah who appeared to be around twenty two years old. He was sort of skinny, and 6'1" in height. He had brown eyes and hair, but the rest of his face was covered by a mask. He wore black sheikah tights all over his army, but you could tell that there was thin, yet durable armor underneath it.
"...Gladly."
-
Despite the fierce battles raging all around the city, there was a few moments of silence in the area which Ragnus and the leader of these soldiers were in. Just as Ragnus broke the silence by taking a single step forward, the figure disappeared, and reappeared behind Ragnus, landing a powerful drop kick to his back that sent Ragnus sprawling.
Ragnus, however, put his hands out, and flipped back up to his feet before he hit the ground. He turned around just in time to block a lightning-fast swing from the figure's blade. Ragnus then began to push back against the figure, and their weapons were locked in a contest of strength. Both the weapons and their wielders seemed evenly matched. Suddenly, Firagus began to radiate with intense heat, and Ragnus began overpowering the figure. In a giant sheet of flame, Ragnus swung down at the figure with all his might. The figure, knowing he couldn't win that fight, quickly jumped backwards, and threw some shuriken at Ragnus. The shuriken hit Ragnus head on, but when he swung the blade, large fireballs came forth, and struck the figure at the same time. Both combatants were knocked to the ground.
They each got up, and brushed themselves on. Ragnus had a couple of gashes while the sheikah was severely burnt.
Without a word, the sheikah ran full speed at Ragnus, with his katana drawn. Ragnus, not having expected this, held his blade up in defense, but the momentum that the sheikah carried pushed Ragnus back far enough for the sheikah to deliver an uppercut with his free hand. This knocked Ragnus backwards, but once again, he put out his hands so he could flip back onto his footing. However, as soon as he was readjusted, he noticed that there were now five identical sheikah surrounding him, all with a handful of shuriken. At this point, Ragnus didn't quite know what to do.
"The clone technique... handy, isn't it?" The sheikah asked, as he and all the clones got ready to toss the shuriken at any given moment.
Ragnus growled, and then looked down at Firagus... the blade which Graphor had so kindly given him.
Graphor smiled. "I forgot about that one... it was my very first blade... and probably one of, if not the, best of them. The blade itself is made out of fused adamantium, crystals, rubies, and red elemental components... a perfect fit. You seem very comfortable with it, and the blade packs a punch as well. It's not going to break easily. You could hit this thing as many times as you want against a solid wall, and it won't even have a scratch on it! Since it'll be going toward saving your world, I'll allow you to keep it..."
Ragnus then held his blade behind his back.
Suddenly, all the sheikah clones threw their shuriken at Ragnus, all at the same time, from every side.
Suddenly, Ragnus spun the blade with all his might in a full circle, creating a large vortex of flame that melted the shuriken midair, eliminated the four clones, and burnt the real one. When the flames receded, both warriors were breathing heavily.
"The flaming spin attack... handy isn't it...?" Ragnus panted, smirking a bit. As powerful as it was, the attack had taken a huge toll of Ragnus' energy. However, the sheikah wasn't looking all that great, either. He was covered in harsh burns.
"Hmph ...You fight very well... tell me, before you die, what is your name?" The sheikah asked, poising himself for another strike.
"I am... Ragnus... finest knight... of... Hyrule!!" Ragnus said, between gasping for air.
The sheikah suddenly stopped, and lowered his weapon.
"...So, there were others who survived...?" The sheikah asked.
"...Wait... what...?" Ragnus asked, confused.
"I am Hans. A sheikah of Hyrule."
"Oh... so why are you with these guys, then...?" Ragnus asked.
"Well..." Hans began.
"...A few days ago, back when I was in the sheikah village in Hyrule, the weather grew progressively and progressively worse. I knew that something very evil was coming... but nobody believed me. I was the only one who knew. I then found a sheikah scroll that teleported me from Hyrule to here..."
"Wait... so you can hop back and forth between dimensions?" Ragnus asked, hopefully.
"Yes and no. Sheikah scrolls can only be found in Hyrule, and they burn up after they're used. I don't think there's a way to get back... if there's even any of the planet left..." Hans replied.
Ragnus looked down, disappointed.
"...Anyways, I was out training one day, and this man found me, and told me my skills were impressive, and to come with him. I was given an offer... swear an allegiance to this group, and be rewarded, or be killed. Hoping I could be rewarded with transportation back to Hyrule, I accepted."
"I see... and what's this group like...?"
"...They're called the Death Dealers. A sinister cult whose motives not even I know. There are many thousands, maybe even millions of members of the cult. They're spread all across Retrasio, in every place, save the very northernmost province."
"Why not the northernmost province?"
"I was told that it's the uncharted lands. Any who try and venture in are promptly found dead and in a mangled mess not even a minute later. The inhabitants of the land say it's a horrible place, like hell on Retrasio, only far, far worse."
"...Oh."
"But anyway, the Death Dealers are led the twelve members of the Black Zodiac... they're all warriors of... inhuman power... I've only seen one of them... a Zora named Spectra... and even I must say, her powers make mine look like nothing in the least. I don't know about the other eleven... but that's all I know of the Death Dealers."
"I see."
"So... Ragnus, tell me your story..."
"Well..." Ragnus began, telling Hans about his battle against Ganondorf, and then Ziranithos' appearance.
"Hm. You mean to tell me that you're on a quest to stop one whose power surpasses the gods to begin with, and is now wielding all three pieces of the triforce, as well...?" Hans asked.
"...Yes." Ragnus sighed.
"Hate to tell you this, but you're screwed. In fact, I'd say that we're all screwed, now." Hans replied.
"No matter how powerful he is... no matter what he may wield... no matter the risk... I have nothing left to lose. All I ever knew... love, family, friends, country... lied in Hyrule... and I will risk my life to bring things back to the way they were, and take Ziranithos down. I have nothing left but my duty to Hyrule, and hope." Ragnus said.
"Hope, eh? Looks to me like it's now out of hope." Hans replied.
"Think what you will. Hope's what's going to win the day." Ragnus said.
"... Quite the idealist. I suppose it's foolhardy, but... I may as well help. All that I knew was in Hyrule, too..." Hans said.
"Really?" Ragnus asked.
"Yes." Hans said, and then paused. "Now why don't we stop this chit-chat, and take care of the Death Dealers, here?"
Ragnus turned, and noticed that all of the warriors from before all laid dead, and Bevor was nowhere to be found.
"GIVE ME YOUR POT OF GOLD, YOU F(#NG LEPRECHAUN!!"
"...This way." Ragnus said, heading toward the yell.
"...What makes you so sure we should go that way?" Hans asked.
"Trust me." Ragnus replied, as the two ran off in that direction.
...In the town square...
Many corpses of both soldiers and Death Dealers lay in Balrua's town square. Bevor was fighting off a large horde of soldiers by himself. Although he was doing well, he was beginning to falter. "No -hic- fair! I thought you were the monkey in the middle!! ...BURRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!" Bevor wobbled, then burped. It caused the soldiers to pause momentarily, allowing Bevor to decapitate a few surrounding soldiers. "...-hic- Che-cheaters!! That's what you get for not eating your wheaties!!"
"...A friend of yours...?" Hans asked, in slight disbelief.
"Yeah, we should help him." Ragnus replied.
"Very well." Hans replied, drawing his katana.
"Balrua Knights... attack!!" A voice suddenly exclaimed. A force of about three hundred knights rounded the corner into the town square. With only about fifty of the Death Dealers' force left, they began to retreat out of the city. As they ran, a new sunrise peered over Balrua.
"...And so... Balrua lives on another day..." Hans muttered to himself.
"That sunrise there... it's a symbol of hope... for a better future." Ragnus said.
"Ow... my freaking head..." Bevor said, holding his head in pain. His eyes had more of a pained look than a glazed one. Apparently, he had broken his drunken stupor.
"Funny little tyke, that one." Hans said.
"...Who's that?" Bevor asked, still groggy.
"Hans. He's a sheikah from Hyrule."
"Oh."
"... Well, we should probably sleep, if only for a few hours. It would be bad to go off on the road with all these wounds... and we're all quite tired." Hans suggested.
"No kidding..." Bevor groaned.
"Very well then... let's head back to the inn." Ragnus said, smiling slightly.
Maybe with this new team of three, the future looked a bit brighter... but was there really any hope...?
End of Chapter
Alright. Thanks to my reviewers so far. At least the good ones. Expect another chapter tomorrow.
-Biggoron