It was damn near impossible to keep track of time in that dingy little cell. The only light I could see came from under the door which sat between me and freedom. It was rather demoralizing, being cramped in a dark room such as this one. However, more than that, it was just so very boring.
I'd tried to cope with my boredom in several ways. At first, I started tapping on the walls around me, trying to sense any kind of weakness in them. Alas, they were made of stone, which meant that I couldn't just haphazardly bust through them.
Next, I'd tried exercising. You know, push-ups, sit-ups, and the like. It worked for a while, but my interest in these activities began to wane after an hour or so. No matter how you sliced it, such things just weren't entertaining.
After that, I tried whistling. Mostly, I whistled whatever came to mind, which generally included most classic rock and metal from the 60s to the 90s. I'd always been a fan of that range of music, so I knew quite a few songs to either whistle or hum the tune to. Of course, I sounded like complete dogshit, but that was fine. I was only doing it to pass the time, after all.
I was about halfway through whistling Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water when there was a loud series of bangs on my door.
"Shut up in there! Your infernal whistling is giving me a headache!" A cross-sounding guard ordered, foolishly believing that I'd do what she told me. It's not like she was going to come in here and tell me off, after all. They'd have to bring like four guards in to keep me from doing anything, which was just entirely too much trouble for them.
So, I kept whistling, much to the guard's apparent ire. She kept yelling at me through the door, but I kept ignoring her. Honestly, her reactions to my whistling were more entertaining than the act of whistling itself. It just felt good to piss people off sometimes, you know?
Eventually, the guard yelling at me fell silent, likely realizing that I literally did not care about anything she had to say. I felt a tad bit disappointed when she gave up, but I didn't try to push her further. I just didn't have the energy for anything like that at the current moment. The day had been a long one, and I was starting to get a little tired.
Laying down on the cold, hard floor, I discovered that my body didn't really care that my position was uncomfortable. Almost as soon as I closed my eyes, I could feel myself begin to fade away. In mere moments, I fell unconscious, my mind escaping to the distant land of dreams.
*LINEBREAK*
My vision was hazy as I awoke, the ambient light nearly blinding me. Blinking away the water in my eyes, I looked around, groaning as I realized just where I was. The cloudy landscape and golden light was so familiar at this point that it needed no real introduction.
Ilias descended with her usual flair, minus the innocent smile she always wore. In its place was a look of uncharacteristic worry. If I didn't know how much of a two-faced bitch she was, I would've felt touched that she was worried about me.
"...You're a real trouble magnet, Alex." She stated, a frown forming on her face. "The number of situations you find yourself involved with would be impressive, were it not so troubling."
Was... Was that an attempt at humor?
"It's a gift." I replied morosely, shrugging my shoulders.
Her lips curled upward for a moment, before disappearing behind a frown.
"I am here to warn you of coming events." She stated, her tone serious. "As we speak, your... caretaker, Yuri, is on her way to rescue you."
Upon hearing those words, I let out a sigh of relief. I mean, I knew that Yuri was probably going to come save me, but hearing it said out loud made it seem so much more real.
Although, I didn't like the disdain in Ilias' voice when she spoke of her. Her reaction was expected though, considering her well-established hatred of monsters.
"She is being led into a trap." The goddess continued, sighing as I tensed up in sudden fear. "The Queen Harpy plans to attack her when she arrives."
That... was very bad. I mean, I knew Yuri was one of the best damn fighters on the continent, but she couldn't stand up to a Queen-class monster! I wasn't sure anyone on the continent could. (Well, I mean, Luka did, but she was holding back, so that doesn't count.)
"Shit." I hissed, my mind racing as I tried to find a solution. Alas, try as I might, there was nothing I could do. Even if I could break out of my cell, I'd be swarmed by guards almost immediately. If I had my sword, I'd be at least a little more confident, but that had already been taken from me.
If I didn't act, Yuri would probably die. I mean, there was always the chance that she just completely avoided the Harpy Queen, but that wasn't something I wanted to bank all my hopes on. Yuri was stealthy, yes, but that only helped so much. The whole village was probably on high alert, waiting for her. She'd likely be noticed eventually, especially if she actually managed to make it into the prison.
"You know, I might be able to offer some assistance." Ilias chimed in, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You need only ask, and I will help."
My heart practically stopped upon hearing her declaration. I almost gagged on instinct, but managed to keep my expression and body language somewhat passive. I so badly wished to refuse immediately, but I managed to keep any thoughtless words from spilling forth. Were I to refuse assistance, I'd be looked on with suspicion. After all, what kind of human would actively refuse help from their goddess? More importantly though, it would likely be taken as an insult. It goes without saying, but that would have catastrophic consequences. Realistically, I had no choice but to accept.
However, if I did that, I'd be indebted to her, which was something I also didn't want to happen. She could demand things of me, and I'd have no right to refuse. Then again, she could already order me around without all that, so I guess it's all a moot point anyways. I was probably going to end up as one of Ilias' pawns, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.
"...I'm listening." I said eventually, careful to try and keep my tone of voice neutral. "If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear of it."
Ilias smiled, and for a second, I swore I saw a hint of smug satisfaction in her face. It was gone in less than a second, but I knew without a doubt that had existed.
Geez, this was starting to feel even more like a deal with the devil, which I supposed was kind of ironic, considering the fact that she's literally an angel.
"There is an ability that your father had, which allowed him to enhance his physical strength by drawing from the magical power which flowed through his veins." The crazy bitch explained, her voice neutral. "You have also used this ability before, though not on purpose."
It took a moment for my brain to connect the dots to figure out what the hell she was talking about. When I finally realized that she was talking about the "blood-rage" thing, I felt a pit open up in my stomach.
"That... could backfire." I grunted, frowning. "I mean, it's helpful, sure, but I have no idea how to make it happen, nor do I know how to control it. Hell, I don't even remember what happened the last time I used it."
Plus, didn't that put me in a coma for like three days? I couldn't remember the exact amount of time I was out, and really, that didn't matter. The important part was that it had damn near killed me!
"Do not worry, Alex." Ilias said, her tone comforting (Or, at least, that's what it was trying to be). "I can give you the ability to control it."
That seemed far too generous. However, I was in no position to question her motives, so I didn't.
"...Alright, I have no objections." I eventually sighed, nodding. "I would really appreciate your help."
Ilias held up a single finger, calling for me to be silent. I obeyed, trying not to show my indignation.
"I must hear you actually ask me for help." Ilias stated, her voice taking on a preachy tone. "I do not help those who are too stubborn to ask for it."
Immediately, I felt a rush of incredulous anger at the sheer audacity of this bitch. I bit my tongue so hard it bled, filling my mouth with a familiar coppery taste. She really wanted me to basically beg for help? God, her ego was the size of the fuckin' moon!
Despite my internal feelings, I simply lowered my head, and said: "Goddess Ilias, I humbly request your assistance."
I didn't have any choice but to ask for her help. There was no way I'd get away from the harpies on my own, and we both knew that. So, I swallowed my anger as best as I could, and waited for that bitch of a goddess to help me.
"Raise your head, Alex." Ilias spoke, her tone soft. "There is no shame in asking me for help. I am your goddess, after all."
She wasn't, but It's not like I was about to correct her on that. I liked living, thank you very much.
Looking up at her, I was once again struck with awe at just how convincing her kind act was. It was impressive, no doubt having taken eons to master. I almost respected her for it. Almost
"So..." I began, idly scratching at my head. "How are you going to teach me? Not trying to rush you or anything, but we don't exactly have much time."
Ilias chuckled, walking towards me until we were less than five feet apart. That set off alarm bells in my head, and I almost took a step back, stopping myself at the last minute.
"I find that the direct approach is usually the most effective." She explained. "Apologies, but this might be somewhat unpleasant."
I was about to ask her what she meant by that, before she quickly reached out and placed her palm on my forehead. As soon as her hand touched my skin, my vision exploded into white light. Suddenly, it was as if new information was just spontaneously popping into existence within my mind. The sensation was hard to describe. I suppose it seemed like the information was being forcefully pumped into my brain. It was disorienting as all hell, to put it plainly.
The whole process took less than a second, and yet the shock of it threw me on my ass, leaving me with a horribly nauseous feeling in my gut. Thankfully, that faded away rather quickly, allowing me to stand back up. As I did, my mind began to actually comprehend the knowledge she had given me. It was definitely helpful, but It was also clear that she hadn't given me everything. Like, I knew how to manipulate the energy within my body, how to send it to certain places, etc. However, I had absolutely no idea as to why any of it worked the way it did. It was mighty confusing when I actually stopped to think about it, so I tried to avoid broaching the mental topic.
"What... was all that?" I asked, my voice ever-so-slightly shaking. I'd normally be embarrassed by something like that, but I'd literally just had stuff inserted into my brain against my will. I feel like I can be excused a little nervousness after that.
Ilias winced, managing to fake sympathy for my discomfort.
"It would be impossible for me to teach you how to manipulate the magic within your body, considering the time constraints. So, I simply poured some of what I knew straight into your mind." She stated, frowning slightly.
I blinked, taking a moment to process the ramifications of... that.
Okay, so now I knew that she could just randomly inject shit into people's brains. Did that mean she could overwrite things that she didn't like? Or could she see what was going on within someone's mind? If either of those (Or both) were true, then I was well and truly fucked. Then again, I feel like she'd have already killed me if she knew what my thoughts towards her were, so I was probably fine.
Also, why the hell could she give me that knowledge in the first place? Ilias was a being of light, and thus, should only know how to use light magic effectively. And yet, somehow she was able to tell me exactly how to move the energy in my body? I'd ask her about it, but I decided not to, since I didn't want to interact with her for more time than was necessary.
"Well, thank you. I really do appreciate this." I said respectfully, nodding my head at her.
Ilias smiled, and for once, it seemed genuine. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"Our time is growing short." The angelic woman suddenly declared, her expression being taking on a firm expression. "There is something I must warn you about before we part ways, however."
The seriousness in her tone made me jump slightly. Whatever she was about to say, she clearly thought it important. So, I kept my mouth shut, and waited for her to speak.
"Alex, when you use this ability, you must be careful not to put too much stress on your body. Magic can grant you incredible strength and speed, but your body isn't reinforced to deal with the force it exerts. On top of all that, dark energy has a tendency to cloud people's judgement. Since you will be consciously triggering your ability, you shouldn't lose control over yourself, unless you overload your body with dark magic. Use it in short bursts, and only when you need to, or else you'll go mad, and get hurt."
That was... actually good advice, even if it was a tad bit obvious.
"Understood." I nodded, showing that I was listening. I don't think she'd ever assume I was tuning her out, but you know what they say about assuming.
After that, Ilias rose into the air once again, and my vision began to dim. Quickly, I was overcome by drowsiness, my mind falling out of consciousness.
*LINEBREAK*
I awoke with a jolt, momentarily confused about why I couldn't see anything. Then, after a moment, I remembered that the cell I was in just didn't have bars or windows. The only bit of light was the tiny sliver of torchlight which snaked its way underneath the massive door.
Of course, this reminded me of another problem, that being that I had absolutely no idea what time it was. Yuri could attack at any time, and I wanted to be there to meet her, preferably before she got caught by the Harpy Queen. I was banking on finding her first, because I really didn't want to fight the Harpy Queen.
Standing up, I walked over to the door, inspecting it as best as I could in the dim light. It was heavy, and probably made of iron or steel. I'd expected nothing less for what is essentially a maximum-security cell. Idly, I pondered if I could break it somehow. Under normal circumstances, I'd never even consider that as a possibility. However, I really had no other way to get out. And besides, I needed to properly test my newfound power.
With a sigh, I called upon the unnatural knowledge, reading through it like a sort-of instruction manual.
It was... complicated, to say the least. I won't get into the details, mostly because I don't understand them, but basically, I had to grab the energy pooling within my soul and force it into whatever part of my body I wanted to enhance. I had to be careful not to grab too much though, because that might end up breaking things that didn't need to be broken.
...That's a shit explanation, but what did you expect? I'm not a smart man. I just hit things.
Reaching within myself, I found that it was rather easy to find my inner energy. Not sure if that was because of the knowledge, but whatever. I didn't have time to ponder the finer details at the moment. I was gonna put it to use, and that's all that seemed to matter.
As soon as I had my metaphorical hands on it, I immediately felt different. A feral grin split across my face as I felt my confidence surge. I felt like I could do absolutely anything with the energy I had. Of course, along with that confidence (which honestly bordered on arrogance), I began to feel really angry about the whole situation. I mean, I was angry before, don't get me wrong, but this was entirely different. It was an incredible, burning rage, which I'd only rarely felt. I could feel my muscles tense, as my instincts urged me to tear somebody limb from limb.
I tried to calm myself down, but that was a task much easier said than done. I'd been through some serious shit, and quite honestly, I was sick of being thought of as a psycho. It was time for a little de-stressing, and I knew just how to relax.
In hindsight, I was definitely more than a little psychotic, but it's hard to realize that when you're utterly furious.
Forcing energy into my leg, I took a short moment to approximate where the locks on the door might be. Even in my powered-up state, I knew I wouldn't be able to bust through the door. So, Instead, I was just going to break it open.
Upon finding a spot I deemed suitable, I reared my leg back, and kicked it as hard as I could.
The door buckled slightly, metal screeching as it was forced out of place. Pain lanced up my leg, but it felt muted, almost as if it was a mere phantom. The door hadn't broken yet, but it was certainly dented, to the point where a couple more kicks would likely finish the job.
Immediately, I heard muffled curses echo from the other side of the door, along with the rattling of armor. It seemed like my antics hadn't gone unnoticed. That was unfortunate, but not unexpected. I was many things, but subtle wasn't one of them.
"Cease this foolishness at once!" One of them yelled out, somehow believeing that their words would stop me. "We are authorized to kill you if we must!"
I wasn't sure why, but her threat seemed so funny to me. I mean, she really thought I was afraid of her? I let out a quiet chuckle as I reared my leg back, preparing to kick the door once again.
I struck the door a second time, denting it even further inward. The metal groaned its protests, but I only smiled upon hearing it. I was so close to being free. No doubt I'd be stopped by a whole bunch of guards, but that was fine.
I was getting hungry anyways.
With the third blow, the door swung open, crashing against the wall with a deafening bang. Before me stood four guards, wearing heavy-looking metal armor. Each one wielded rather crude-looking spears with their talons, but it didn't seem like any of them had all that much experience.
I stood still for a moment, cracking my knuckles as I allowed the energy to flow through me. Gazing upon the harpies before me, I could tell that they were rather nervous. That fear made my throat ache, craving their delectable red.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I charged forwards, my hands balled into fists. The harpy in front didn't even have time to bring up her weapon before I slammed my fist into her face, pulping her head like an overripe melon. Her twitching body flew backwards, skittering across the floor until it slowed to a stop.
The remaining harpies seemed to finally realize that they should be doing something, so they each thrusted their spears forward, attempting to skewer me like a kebab. With a chuckle, I dodged backwards, grabbing the shaft of one of the offending weapons. Almost effortlessly, I yanked it from the grasp of the harpy, quickly pointing it towards the three enemies in front of me.
"God, I missed this." I heard myself mutter, as I viciously stabbed forwards, right into the chest of the closest harpy. The still-somewhat-rational part of my brain expected it to deflect off the bird woman's metal armor, only to watch in awe as it plunged right through, almost as if it were paper. The tip of the weapon exploded out of her back, splattering the woman behind her with gore. With a light push, I sent the bleeding woman to the ground, where she convulsed, coughing and gagging on her own blood.
Stepping over the not-quite-dead corpse, I grabbed the third harpy by the shoulder, snaking my way into her guard. With my other hand, I punched her in the gut, grinning as I felt my hand plunge through her armor and into her midsection. She screamed as I took a firm hold of her slippery entrails, pulling them out as if I was weeding a garden.
The last harpy tried to stab me with her spear, but I blocked it with her still-screaming companion, raising an eyebrow as it caught between her shoulder-blades. The guard froze up momentarily, her eyes widening as she realized what she'd done. Seeing this as an opportunity, I dropped my human shield, lunging for the last woman. She tried to dodge my grasping hands, but was much to slow to avoid me.
Grabbing the woman by both shoulders, I brought my head forward, and bit at her exposed face, tearing away most of her nose. She screeched in pain, but I paid her suffering no mind, going in for another bite. The second crunched through part of her skull, and the third managed to rip away a piece of her brain. She stopped screaming then, but I continued to eat, only stopping once I realized I'd completely eaten away most of her cranium.
Nonchalantly, I threw away the now unrecognizable corpse, and turned my attention to the half-disemboweled guard laying on the floor. She was whimpering, trying to scoop her guts back into her body. When I gazed upon her, she froze up in fear.
For a moment, I debated on how to kill her, before an important thought occurred to me. I had no idea where they took my sword or my flask. I wanted those back, but I couldn't get them if I didn't know where they were. However, a guard would certainly know where the prisoners' belongings were kept. I just had to tear the information out of her.
"Where are my belongings?" I asked, leaning forwards. "Tell me now, or I shall make your death even more excruciating."
The woman looked at me, her expression full of terrified despair. However, she said nothing, probably as a last act of defiance. Clearly, she was trying to be difficult. With a sigh, I dug my heel into her exposed guts, causing her to let out an agonized shriek.
"Where's my stuff?!" I shouted at her, taking my foot away from her midsection. "Tell me now, you piece of shit!"
Weakly, the harpy pointed to the west end of the hall, her body shaking from the pain.
"D-down the hall." She said hoarsely, her voice betraying little of the agony she likely felt. "In the warden's office."
Idly, I gazed over in the indicated direction, spotting a wooden door which was surrounded by cells.
"Much obliged." I said to her, nodding. Before she could say anything else, I stomped down on her neck, shattering the bones within. She let out gasp, twitching for a moment, before falling still.
I was about to continue on, before feeling my throat sting slightly. Letting out a chuckle at my absentmindedness, I picked up one of the more intact bodies, and bit into its neck, sucking out its red like it was a juice box.
As much as I wanted to just sit there and feast, I knew that I didn't have much time. So, after drinking enough for my throat to stop hurting, I started walking towards the warden's office, cringing at the slight stinging pain in my muscles. It seemed like I'd started stressed my body a tad bit. I hadn't expected such a simple fight to do any damage to me, but clearly I had been overconfident.
Seeing as how there weren't any enemies in the hall, I let the energy in my body fade away, returning to wherever it went when I wasn't using it. Immediately, the soreness in my body became worse, causing me to hiss in pain. My throat began to ache again, and before I knew it, I was guzzling red from another one of the bodies.
After about a minute of this, I threw the corpse away, and finally got back to what I was doing.
Walking up to the wooden door, I noticed quickly that it was slightly ajar. Figuring that this was slightly odd, I gently nudged it open with my foot, scanning for any signs of hostiles.
The room was seemingly devoid of life, which instantly put me on edge. Why wasn't there anyone in here? If this was where prisoners' belongings were kept, then shouldn't it be guarded? More importantly, where were all the other guards? Surely someone else had heard the commotion, right? My little spat with the guards hadn't exactly been silent, what with all the screaming and such.
Shaking my head, I banished those thoughts. I'd find out what was going on later. I still had many things to do.
Walking into the office, I immediately spotted my sword and its sheathe, as well as my flask. They were sitting on a large table, cluttered with items that were likely other people's belongings. Among this assortment of mostly junk, there was a sizeable amount of gold and silver coins.
Without even thinking, I stuffed a bunch of it in my pockets, before retrieving my weapon and my hip flask. I'd probably need that money later, and it's not like anyone else was gonna use it.
Exiting the room, I was stunned to find that the hallway was still empty. No guards had come to investigate the sounds of battle. The only other living things in the building were the terrified prisoners, who were actively trying to avoid my attention. They weren't making much noise, so I ignored them.
"Just what the fuck are those guards doing?" I muttered to myself, walking towards the front entrance. "They should be on my ass right now."
Maybe I was just being paranoid, but this smelled heavily of a setup.
Oh well, I supposed I'd find out when the time came.
*LINEBREAK*
Yuri wasn't sure how things had gotten to this point. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She knew, objectively, the exact sequence of events which led her to this moment. Her son had been kidnapped, so she'd gone off to save him. Once she arrived at Harpy Village, she'd tried to be careful, quietly picking off the guards one by one. It took her quite a bit of time, as she was being careful to avoid detection. It didn't help that there were a lot more guards out then there should've been. It seemed as if she had been expected. Still, she was not troubled, as her cautious method ensured that she wouldn't be spotted. Eventually, she had slowly made her way up the tree, finally reaching the top layer of branches, which housed the village's prison.
That method, unfortunately, would not help her here. There were no guards this high up. In fact, there were no regular harpies either. The only person currently on that level was the Harpy Queen herself, who had clearly been waiting for quite some time.
Given the nature of the massive tree's warping branches and massive vines, there was only one path to the top of the tree. That meant, of course, that the Harpy Queen had spotted Yuri immediately.
"Yuri Aera!" The Queen called, a fierce look in her eyes. "I command you to surrender at once!"
They both knew she wasn't going to do that. There was no point to the bird woman's words. Narrowing her eyes, Yuri readied her sword, falling into a combat stance.
"You know very well that I can't do that." Yuri responded with a calm and measured tone. "I'd rather not kill a Queen, but I will if you get in my way."
The Harpy Queen sighed, perhaps expecting the elven woman's response. Suddenly, with a flex of her powerful wings, she sent herself flying through the air, landing less than ten feet from Yuri.
"Do you really believe yourself powerful enough to kill me?" The Queen asked, her face set in a scowl. "You are quite powerful, but I am a queen. Even if you do somehow manage to defeat me, you will be hunted for the rest of your life."
The former serial killer scoffed in response, earning a raised eyebrow from the powerful harpy.
"I have been hunted for well over twenty years." Yuri declared, her eyes flashing with a kind of dark determination. "Your death will not change a thing."
It was surprising how easy it was to sound confident, Yuri mused to herself. In truth, the elven woman was as nervous as she'd ever been. This opponent wasn't the most difficult she'd ever faced, but that didn't change the fact that the Harpy Queen was still leagues above her in both power and speed. If she died here, then Alex would likely never escape.
The Harpy woman watched Yuri carefully, a frown on her face. Then, after a moment, she let out a tired sigh.
"I can't say that I didn't expect such an answer." She said with a resigned tone. "Very well then. Know that I do not enjoy killing you, but you've left me no cho-"
Yuri interrupted the woman with a quick thrust of her sword, seeking to impale the oversized bird before she even finished talking. The Harpy Queen dodged backwards, narrowly avoiding the deadly blade. Yuri, not wanting to give her opponent even a moment's respite, followed up with a vicious downward slash. The Queen managed to avoid most of the strike, coming away with only a small cut above her breasts.
"Enough of this!" The Harpy Queen roared, slapping the elf woman with one of her powerful wings. Yuri let out a pained yelp, tumbling across the large branch upon which they were both stood. She managed to stop herself by stabbing her sword into the wood, only a few feet from the edge. With a curse, Yuri forced herself into a standing position, coughing up a little blood as she did so. That one attack had clearly done a number on her insides, considering the burning pain she felt within her chest.
The elf woman ignored the pain as best as she could. She absolutely could not afford to be distracted. A single mistake would be the end of her. Besides, she'd experienced much worse before.
With a grunt, Yuri dashed towards her opponent, once again running headlong into danger.
*LINEBREAK*
Stepping out into the cool night air, my senses were immediately tickled by the distant sounds of combat. I couldn't identify the direction at first, so I simply started walking along the large branch which the prison was nestled upon, periodically sweeping my gaze along the intersecting branches. After a bit of searching, I managed to spot two figures engaging in a fight. It was hard to make out details at first, but after a moment, I realized with dawning horror that the two individuals were Yuri and The Harpy Queen!
Yuri was... not doing well. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't being absolutely trounced, but the power difference between the two fighters was rather clear. Yuri wasn't going to win this battle. At least, not without help.
I won't lie, a part of me seriously considered leaving her behind. I likely wouldn't get caught, and Yuri would probably be happy that I was out of danger. However, that would mean leaving my only friend and guardian behind to die. That was simply unacceptable, so I did the only other thing I could do.
I joined in.
Now, before you look at me like I'm an idiot (which is honestly kind of justified at this point), know that I at least made an attempt to go about this in a reasonable fashion. I didn't yell or otherwise announce my presence, and I also didn't sprint right into battle. For a moment, I kept my pace somewhat slow and measured, trying my absolute best not to be noticed as I approached. Since the Harpy Queen was entirely focused on Yuri (and vice versa), I was able to get surprisingly close before giving up stealth. I was about twenty feet from the two of them when I started sprinting, pumping as much energy into my body as I could without immediately dying.
Unsheathing my blade, I entered into the fray with a quick thrust, seeking to impale the Harpy Queen while her back was turned. It was a perfect sneak attack, and it would've worked, had it not been for one tiny little detail. That was, of course, that Yuri spotted me, her eyes widening in shock. This must've clued the Harpy Queen in on the fact that something was behind her, as she dodged to the side, attempting to avoid my attack.
She was only partially successful.
You see, since I was already right up on her, there was no way she could completely avoid my attack. Basically, I didn't stab her in the chest like I intended, but my blade instead found its way into her left wing. Her momentum forced her to keep going right as my blade essentially sawed through her skin and muscle, rendering the limb useless.
As soon as the smell of her spilled red hit my nostrils, my entire body was set alight with desire. The scent was intoxicating, to the point where it nearly knocked me to the ground. Before I knew it, I was licking my blade, desperately consuming the blood which was starting to drip off.
The taste was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.
The very moment the Harpy Queen's red touched my tongue, I was struck with a simply incredible feeling. Lightning bolts of pleasure arced through my body, overwriting the dull aches and pains which I'd previously felt. More importantly however, I was immediately hit with a rush of jubilation, so completely and overwhelmingly powerful that I immediately felt my face split into a beaming smile.
Was this the power of a Queen's red? It was exhilarating beyond measure, blowing any and all of my previous experiences out of the water. And that was but a mere taste! I'd only just been exposed to a few drops, but already I wanted more. My stomach groaned with uncontrollable hunger, loudly proclaiming its desire to feed.
"Oh, fuck." I groaned out, turning my attention towards the target of my desire. "That tastes amazing."
The Harpy Queen was standing about fifteen feet away, giving me a murderous glare. Her damaged wing hung limply at her side, trickling red onto the ground. Words were coming out of her mouth, but I wasn't processing them. I was too busy drawing upon the energy within my soul, giving no heed as to how much it would harm my body. I needed more of that red, no matter the cost.
Yuri tried to stop me, placing her hand on my shoulder. I didn't listen however, instead jumping forward with all my might, rocketing towards the Harpy Queen with incredible speed. Had I been in a clearer state of mind, I would have noticed immediately that the bones in my legs had shattered. However, considering how far gone I was at that moment, the pain didn't even register.
I slammed into the Queen like a speeding bullet, clawing and biting like a feral animal (which I pretty much was). I paid no attention to how my fingers popped and snapped as I dug into her, nor did I to the growing bleeding in my gums. The ruination of my body was a small price to pay for the exquisite experience of such high-quality red.
The Harpy Queen fought furiously, writhing and scratching at me with her taloned feet. They dug deep into my body, shredding skin and muscle as if it were paper. I ignored it however, and continued eating.
Distantly, I could hear the sounds of screaming and combat. Since it wasn't affecting me, I paid it no mind, continuing to feast upon the Harpy woman's flesh.
Eventually, my prey stopped moving, which should have made what I was doing much easier. However, for some reason, I was finding it harder and harder to move. My body felt sluggish and unresponsive, and the darkness in the corners of my vision were starting to get larger.
To put it simply, my body was starting to shut down.
At that particular moment, I was relatively unbothered by that prospect. I was too preoccupied with the red to care. The fact that I couldn't feel any of the horrific damage my body had sustained also probably helped in that regard.
I was finally cut off from my red when Yuri grabbed me by the waist and picked me up, pulling me away from the corpse of the Harpy Queen. Initially, I tried to fight against her, longing to continue my consumption of that delicious red. However, I quickly realized that I could barely even twitch my fingers, so I settled for a displeased groan.
It was only when I caught a glimpse of Yuri's face that I snapped back to reality.
Yuri, my closest friend and companion, the stoic rock which I'd always relied upon, was crying. Tears spilled down her face as she looked over me, her mouth agape in horror.
It was at that moment that the seriousness of the situation finally hit me.
Oh... Shit. I thought, suddenly feeling very weak.
Yuri shifted me around in her arms so that she was carrying me bridal style. She then began sprinting, searching for a way off this godforsaken tree. As she did so, I glanced around, noticing with shock the number of bodies that were piled around us. There were plenty of guards of course, but also civilians as well. Where had they even come from? Normally I'd be quite disturbed by that mystery, but at the moment, I couldn't really muster up much emotion in general. I was just too tired for all of that shit.
"What... happened?" I asked weakly, looking up at Yuri.
Yuri looked down at me, her eyes briefly widening in surprise. After a moment of stunned silence, she returned her eyes to whatever was ahead of her, and continued running.
"I'll tell you later." She eventually responded, her voice cracking. "Right now, I just need you to focus on not dying."
I nodded in response, finding that speaking was quickly becoming harder and harder.
As we made our way down the tree, my consciousness began to fade in and out. There were moments where it felt like we had teleported, because my mind had simply stopped processing things for a little bit.
Once we were safely on the ground, Yuri picked up speed dramatically, racing down a rather overgrown path in the forest. I had no idea where we were going, but at that point, I didn't care. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake, and each time I dozed off, it seemed like I was out for longer and longer.
To put it plainly, I was dying.
Under normal circumstances, this would've terrified me. However, as previously mentioned, I was too tired to give a shit. As far as deaths go, this wasn't a bad one. I hadn't been killed in a particularly humiliating way, nor was it all that painful. I couldn't really feel much of anything at the moment, except maybe a bit of sadness. My death would crush Yuri, and I hated the thought of her being unhappy. I had to say something to her, at the very least. So, with as much effort as I could possibly give, I spoke, coughing out what probably were my last words.
"Y-Yuri..." I hacked out, my throat burning. "I... Love you."
I wanted to say more, but I couldn't. My vision was already fading, and my hearing was starting to go as well.
Yuri said something, but I couldn't understand it. My consciousness was swiftly leaving me, likely to never return. Rasping, I gave out one last, shaky breath.
Then the darkness consumed me.
A/N: No, this isn't the end of The Road Less Traveled.
There's a lot about this chapter that I'm not sure how to feel about. Alex accepting Ilias' help was a decision that I agonized over for quite some time. It felt out of character for him, given his hatred of the Goddess. However, he didn't really have much choice, so I suppose it makes sense. Other than that, I feel like the only other major thing is the pacing. It's a little screwy in this chapter, but at this point, I don't think there's much I can do to fix it.
Honestly, I'm kind of excited to write about the major consequences which the Harpy Queen's death will bring. Though, I'm sure this will come back to bite me in the ass at some point.
Also, I'd like to point out that the only reason Alex was able to land that first attack on the Queen was because she didn't expect it. Everything that came after that was a combination of Alex absorbing some power from the Harpy Queen's blood, along with a casual disregard for his body's limits (and don't forget the fact that Harpies are kinda useless without working wings. If Alex hadn't taken away her ability of flight, the fight would've gone much differently.). That's why he's in the state he's in now. The only reason he's even alive at all is because he ate part of the Harpy Queen, consuming a large chunk of her power. This doesn't mean that Alex will receive a large power-up once he awakens. Most of that energy will go to healing his broken body. This doesn't mean that he'll gain no power from this, just that the amount won't be all that much.
As always, don't hesitate to point out any glaring flaws or plotholes. I'm an idiot, and I miss things on occasion.
