Chapter 19: Final Battle
"Aaaaaah!"
Khyron, Athos, and Goldeye fought to stay on their feet as the ground quaked beneath them. More worryingly, however, was how dark it was getting all of a sudden. It was morning, and the sun had more than began to rise, but when the ground shook the light began to disappear as well, as if it had suddenly become the middle of the night.
"Th' hell's happenin', Bardy?"
"That's the Archsage," Khyron spat, "Show him the proper respect!"
Athos' mind was on far more pressing matters. "Look up!"
They turned their eyes to the east, where, in the distance, all of them could see something glowing. It wasn't the sun—the light was a harsh red, not soft orange. It was in the wrong position in the sky as well. The sun should have been just peeking out over the horizon, but this giant red circle was hanging in the sky where the sun would have been at mid-day. Looking at it, Khyron realized it was a Dark magic sigil, although one he'd never seen before. It was a burning red circle containing three other circles rotating inside of it. The circles meged into each other and changed shape steadily, shifting into ovals then back again, which was something he'd never seen before. Almost all other Dark sigils and symbols were purple rather than red and didn't change shape like that.
Most worryingly was the commotion below it. Khyron couldn't see it clearly, but he could see specks floating up into the giant red sigil, where they disappeared. It was as if the…thing, whatever it was, was sucking debris, rocks, and perhaps even people down from below.
"That sigil is the true form of the Armor of the Berserk," said Athos quietly. "It's consumed that last soul it requires to unleash its full power. The unholy vortex you see there is just the beginning. As you can tell, it's already begun to suck up everything below it. It will soon expand, and then consume everything on the face of Elibe."
"So then how're we gonna put it out?" Even the normally unflappable Goldeye seemed stumped.
"At the center of that sigil should be its source—Kain and the Armor of the Berserk. I'll use my magic to take us into the air, near the vortex. We'll be sucked in, but the auras of our Divine Weapons should keep us from being consumed like everything else that it's eating. When we enter the vortex, we'll be able to fight Kain on our own terms." Athos gave both Khyron and Goldeye a knowing look. "Are both of you prepared?"
The Mage General nodded. "I've spent my life in service to the Crown. I am well prepared to give it for the Crown…and for all Elibe!"
Goldeye just laughed. "Bwahaha! Good answer! Well, I ain't 'bout t' be outdone by an Etrurian landlubber! I'm in!" For a moment, he looked thoughtful. "But there's one last thing…"
"What is it?"
"Khyron, I bet this Armor of the Berserk 'r whatever's the toughest foe any man—pirate or otherwise—has e'er faced since the seas were born. I just wanna say, Khyron…that if yer willin' to face It by me side, yer a hell ovva man. When we get back from this alive, I'm tellin ya, I'll give ye the greatest reward any pirate's e'er seen!"
"I'll hold you to that promise, Goldeye, but first we need to win. Archsage! We're ready! Take us to the fight!"
One more time, Khyron's world turned all white…
And then everything turned black.
He gasped as he realized he was floating—no, falling. Falling through the morning sky that was now black as night. He twisted his body to look below him, and saw that he was falling towards that unholy red sigil. He could get a much better view of it now, and could see that it was indeed sucking everything below it into its depths. And he also saw flashes of red light—anything that was unfortunate enough to come near it (rocks, trees, and yes, more than a few people—miners, most likely) twisted, fell apart, and then winked out of existence in a burst of light. He could hear their screams, but barely, for there was a much louder howl coming from the sigil, something that sounded like a million agonized voices crying out as they were being tortured.
"Quickly," called Athos from above, "Take out your Holy Weapons and unleash their power! They'll protect you!"
As if by instinct, Khyron held out the Forblaze tome in front of him protectively, as if it were some sort of shield or ward. Athos and Goldeye did the same, and their weapons seemed to respond to their wills. The deafening howling suddenly felt quiet as an orb of white light surrounded each of them, bringing them closer and closer to the sigil…
Those protective orbs then disappeared, leaving the trio at their destination.
Khyron didn't know where they were, and he wasn't even certain they were still on Elibe.
He and his companions were standing, but not on the ground. The "floor," such as it was, was made of light. Dim red light, suspended in an endless sea of darkness. What would be their arena was in the shape of a circle, and on it floated smaller ever-changing circles, just as on the sigil they'd encountered outside.
At first, they didn't know where their opponent was. But with a low, baleful growl that shook their very souls, he revealed himself.
Something emerged from the darkness below the disc of red light. Something massive.
It was larger than anything Khyron had ever seen, large enough to make Barbarossa look like a lizard. It was glowing red, the same color as the runic disc, but was shaped roughly like a man. Roughly, because its size and shape kept changing. Khyron thought he was looking at the gigantic chest and torso of a man, but then it grew breasts, appearing like that of a woman, or scales, looking like a wyvern's. The only constants were its two arms—gigantic things large enough to circle the disc entirely, and an entire cathedral could sit comfortably on that disc. Both its hands had seven long fingers tipped not with nails but mouths—disgusting things that looked like lampreys made of red light that sucked in the air around them, and from them Khyron could hear voices, screams of the Berserk's victims.
The abomination's most distinctive—and terrifying—feature was its head. It had no neck at all, what served as its head simply jutted out of its chest. The head was vaguely human-shaped, but its mouth was a long, elongated oval that stretched deeper into its chest, filled with quivering, jagged fangs. Its two eyes were set above that black mouth, two spots of red light that gleamed brighter than the rest of its body, so brightly they hurt to look at. Above those eyes where the forehead would be was a curious black spot—so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable. Khyron wasn't sure, but he would wager there was something significant about that black spot.
He'd have no time to think about it. The Beast roared and drew back its arms. They were so large that Khyron knew there was no way he and his friends could avoid them. Athos concurred—"Don't bother trying to dodge them," he yelled, "Use your holy weapons!"
The two tomes and the axe glowed, as if they were trying to tell their wielders what to do. They heeded the advice. When the Beast brought its arms crashing down onto the disc, Khyron allowed instinct to take over. Mouthing the words of power as if he were compelled, he opened the Forblaze tome and allowed a power that had been sealed for seven hundred years to roar forth. With a burst of holy light a torrent of flame gushed from its pages, growing in size until it seemed like a burning tornado, far larger than any other magic Khyron had ever summoned. It was joined by an equally-sized funnel of golden light—the Aureola spell. They slammed into the Beast's right arm, successfully knocking it back. Goldeye, on their left side, was less graceful but no less effective. As the terrible hand descended on him, he swung the gigantic Armads upwards, as cleanly and easily as if it was no more than a normal-sized battle axe. It connected with the inhuman fingers, blowing them back with a flash of light and a clap of thunder, great and loud as what one might hear in a terrible storm.
Their counterattack was a success—the three of them were still alive, at least. But the giant Beast in front of them did not seem to be the least bit harmed. In fact, it seemed angry more than anything else, judging by the wild, tortured howl emerging from all of its mouths. It drew back its hands, and spread all of its fingers, and they suddenly felt themselves dragged forwards as all those mouths began sucking in the air around them. They all crouched down, attempting to keep their feet, but could feel themselves being dragged further and further towards the looming maws. And they all knew what would happen if they were sucked in. Khyron and Athos attempted another attack, hoping to disrupt what the Beast was doing, but to no avail. Both the torrent of light and flame were sucked into the mouths on the creature's fingers, disappearing entirely.
"Damn it," yelled Khyron, "Is there nothing we can do?"
"I got an idea," Goldeye yelled back. "Gimme a boost!"
"A what?!"
"A jump! A leg up! Sumfin' t' get me up there, ye fish-brain!"
With a loud scream, Goldeye jumped up, straight at the Beast's main jaw in its chest. Khyron thought the pirate lord had gone crazy, but he had another plan. Twisting his body as he soared through the air, Goldeye swung the mighty Armads, and the gigantic axe was just large enough to strike the edge of the hideous mouth. If it had sliced clean through, Goldeye would have been sucked in. But as he expected, not even a Divine Weapon could chop through the avatar of the Berserk that easily. It caught between the huge teeth of the maw, and Goldeye clung to it with all of his incredible strength. It also caused the Beast quite a bit of pain, as all of its mouths ceased drawing in air and it reared back.
"Now, Khyron," yelled Athos, "aim at its head! The black spot on its head!"
It would certainly be tough to hit, but Khyron was up to the task. Together, he and Athos simultaneously summoned up every bit of magical energy they had in their bodies. Waves of light coursed from Athos, and Khyron flicked out his hand and produced the three-starred sigil of Anima before drawing it back and then pointing it at the Beast's head. The two of them sent a deluge of holy fire and light spiraling together directly at that single point.
Their aim was true, and the magic hit the creature dead-on. It didn't scream—instead, almost as if the mass that served as its head had been set aflame, it reared back, grasping at itself, as its body began to glow. Whatever was animating it had apparently began to lose control.
The "ground" beneath them began to shake as the runic "arena" on which they fought began to flicker out of existence. "We've done it!" shouted Athos joyfully.
"But what's gonna happen t' us?" called Goldeye, and this was what everyone was wondering.
"Don't worry," replied the Archsage. "We'll be fine!"
With an ear-splitting roar and a flash of red light, the giant red sigil shattered into a billion golden pieces, leaving Khyron, Goldeye, and Athos to fall through the abyss. Suddenly, however, the abyss gave way, as if it was some black thundercloud, allowing the trio to reappear in a clear, orange morning sky.
Of course, they were still falling straight down.
"I don't think we'll be fine for much longer," Khyron hollered, but as always, Athos had a plan. Holding the Aureola tome and his staff close together, the Archsage chanted soothing words, and a soft white glow surrounded the three of them. Within a moment they found they were no longer free-falling but descending slowly and softly. They all landed peacefully upon a small outcropping just below the very peak of Mount Ebrakhm itself.
"So…so we did it?" Goldeye was hopeful, but still suspicious. "Th' monster…it's dead? We did it?"
Athos furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure. There should be something else…"
They were answered by something else falling from the sky, right in front of them.
Khyron and Goldeye jumped back, preparing for another attack, but Athos was unfazed. He simply bade them look at it.
Lying in the center of the newly-created crater was…Kain.
He was still clad in the Armor of the Berserk, but that looked much less intimidating now. It no longer exuded an aura of malevolent power, nor did it have its normal appearance. Rather than looking like an ornate suit of black platemail with a helmet resembling a skull, it seemed as a sheet of black, throbbing, featureless jelly, trying desperately to reform but failing.
"Now the Berserk is vulnerable, and can be destroyed for good," said Athos quietly. "Goldeye, you should do it. Armads was what banished this creature in the beginning, so it shall be what destroys it entirely at the end."
"Aye, I'll do it," said the pirate contemplatively. "How? Just take a swing at it?"
"As if you were decapitating a foe."
"Aye." Goldeye marched over to the prone form in the crater and leveled the great blade of the Armads over where the black blob's neck seemed to be. Neither he nor the others noticed that what passed for its arms were clenched tightly over its chest, as if guarding something very important. They'd all find out what it was after Goldeye was finished.
Gripping the Armads with both hands, Goldeye swung it down with all its strength.
There was a brief flash of light as it connected. Despite its power, it didn't completely obliterate Kain's body. It dug deeply into the ground, separating the black lump that was Kain's head away from the rest of him.
As the head rolled away, the black stuff covering it fell away as well, leaving nothing but a bleached skull behind. However, the remnant of the Berserk did not fly off into the sky, but instead hovered, swirling around the Armads. Goldeye almost dropped it out of surprise, and Khyron was no less amazed. The black substance fell away from the rest of the body as well, leaving behind a skeleton and floating around the Armads, as a smoky haze.
The Divine Weapon then glowed brightly again—but it was a soft blue light this time. As it did, the haze seemed to be sucked into the axe, swirling into its supremely enchanted metal and disappearing entirely. And when the last part of it was sucked away…
Something changed.
The sun seemed to shine a tiny bit brighter, the air seemed to feel a tiny bit cleaner, and Khyron's heart was a little bit lighter. Even though he couldn't explain it rationally, he knew, emotionally, that it was truly over now. The threat of the Berserk had been ended, once and for all. And judging by the grin on Athos' face and the wide smile on Goldeye's, they knew it was over too.
"Woo-hoo! We did it, mateys!" Goldeye cheered. " 'Course, only t' be expected with th' fiercest pirate o' all tha seas with ye! Arr, this be quite a song next time ye take a trip, eh, Bardy?"
"It certainly will be," laughed Athos. "Both of you performed magnificently, far better than even I could have hoped. I'm proud and glad to have fought alongside both of you."
"I am honored by your words, Archsage. It shall ever be a point of pride to House Caerleon that one of its sons was able to aid you in the hour of your greatest need!" He turned to Goldeye. "And…hmph. I have to admit that you acquitted yourself well, pirate. A servant of King Galahad never forgets his debts, and I owe you one for your assistance today. Let there ever be friendship between Caerleon and the ships of your fleet."
Goldeye laughed. "Bahaha! That's an offer I'd be mighty glad to take. Methinks there's a way t' seal it fer good, though…"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Well, landlubber, don't ye remember me offerin' ye the greatest prize of all if we got outta this alive?"
"I…well, yes…"
"Don't ye wanna know what that prize is?"
"Well, yes!"
"The hand o' the loveliest lass in th' world in marriage: Me daughter!"
Khyron staggered back, as surprised with this as he'd been by anything he'd just seen. "MARRIAGE? YOUR DAUGHTER? BY THE SAINT, HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?"
Goldeye just laughed again. "Jes' th' opposite! I'd've offered 'er to Athos, but he's a lil' old. So yer the most eligible bachelor on Elibe, an' as far as I'm concerned, th' only man who's worthy of 'er! And I won't take no fer an answer!"
Athos chuckled as he watched the two of them argue over it, but his mirth gave way to suspicion as he turned to look at where Kain had been. As he'd expected, there was nothing left of the Berserk, and only a skeleton left of Kain. But that skeleton was holding something…
"Khyron, Goldeye," Athos mused, "Come take a look at this."
"Damnation, Goldeye, I've got other suitors waiting for me, I can't just—wait, what?"
Athos pried apart the bony hands still clasped over the chest of the headless skeleton. He picked up the object they were holding—the only remnant of Kain that now existed in this world.
He handed it to Khyron. "This was with Kain's body. It doesn't seem to be tainted in any way, but…I don't know why he was carrying it."
"Hm? You're right, I don't sense any evil from it. But what could it be?"
Khyron took a closer look at it. It seemed to be…a book, of some sort. There was nothing, no title or label, on its leather cover, but its pages were clean, thin paper of a sort hard to make. If this was Kain's, he must have picked it up in a big city, such as Thagaste or maybe Nerinheit, and paid some decent coin for it as well. But it seemed to have no magic at all. What would a Dark magician pay so much for something of so little apparent use?
Khyron flipped it open, and his eyes narrowed. Kain's handwriting was reasonably legible, and he could make out the dates on the first pages.
"It's a…diary, or, journal of some sort," said Khyron. "Kain was apparently making a record of his journeys through the Western Isles!"
"Aye? Bet there's a whale of a story in there," said Goldeye. "Let's see what that bilge-rat was up to!"
Khyron heartily agreed.
And he began to read.