DISCLAIMER: This chapter has some short graphic elements(Non-sexual in nature). I Couldn't avoid this, but if you wish to know what they are, scroll down to the very bottom of this chapter and read the authors notes. I don't want to spoil anything to those that want to read it come along. So, go there to find out what they are if you must. I don't want anyone being unpleasantly surprised. I apologize in advance if they were too much. This is a learning experience for me, this writing adventure

Chapter 20

The Maiden's cry

"Damn it, it's locked," Link said, using the full force of his body as he tugged on the latch to the castle door. "Say, maybe those guards that were watching the dock had keys on them?"

"About that," The prince coughed, clearing his throat, pressing his index fingers together. He looked as if he was about to give a confession to the knight.

Hearing the quiver of apprehension in his voice, Link turned to face him slowly. Judging by the look that Sidon was giving him, it must have been bad news, to say the least.

"We just might have ourselves just a tiny problem," Sidon said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, to be honest, friend, they probably already drifted many miles downstream. This moat ties into the mouth of the river, after all. They could be all the way to Hylia by now. And well, I didn't search them for anything when I dispatched them,"

Bjorn chuckled in a whisper. "Dispatched. Ha! That's a fair way of saying it."

The Knight cuffed his chin under his mask and pondered a solution. "Well, we can't just bust the door down and barge in, causing a ruckus," he countered.

To their surprise and just as he was about to hatch a plan to get them inside, the door swooshed open violently. Out from the dark of the small corridor, a lanky but armored lizalfos stretched its head outward toward them, visibly agitated and riled. The beast rushed through the doorway, flicking its long, spit covered tongue sporadically, tasting the air.

The ill soldier from earlier gasped as he fell to the ground on his backside, eyes bulging from under his mask, startled by what he saw heading straight for him. The gruesome beast charged out among them toward him first. By sheer instinct, Link braced himself for an attack. And just as he was about to whip out his dirk to slay the reptilian, it stopped its assault, frozen stiff in front of them all.

The others huddled behind Link, also anticipating a skirmish. However, the lizalfos didn't attack them.

"Phew," Link sighed in relief quietly under his mask.

Instead, it snarled fiercely to a screech. Link and his friends all winced at the scream, wanting to cover their ears but kept their hands to their sides, careful to keep the charade. The monster reached out for the terrified soldier who just about soiled himself on the ground in fright.

The gangly creature slobbered and growled at him. And as the foul stenched drool permeated the air and dripped overhead him, it gripped his masked chin with its claws, jerking him up to his feet, thrusting him behind itself through the doorway to get a move on.

In a blackened speech, the foul beast screeched again, shoving the man again, coercing him to march first through the passageway from whence it came. Slow to get back on his feet, the man hesitantly took only just a couple steps, afraid of the darkness of the cold stone hall of the castle ahead of him.

Aggravated by the delay, the monster unraveled a small 'cat of nine tail' whip tied to its waist belt. Angered, it swatted at the man disguised as a bokoblin, spurring him to hurry through the pitch-black passage. The poor man yelped at the slapping sting of the whip to his back, forcing him to rush through. The snap and clapping sound of it alone was enough to make anyone cry out in pain.

The beast then spun to the rest, threatening to offer up a turn for each member of the band of would-be rogues if they didn't follow close behind. Without having to be asked twice and just witnessing the chastisement from his friend, Sidon took that as his cue to rush in first without delay through the entryway. The others also made haste to avoid a lash.

Until at last, it fell upon Link's turn to be shoved. The monster groaned as it turned its sight to him, realizing he was no ordinary bokoblin red. It leaned back, chomped its teeth, and pointed for him just to follow as if it was in solidarity with him. Judging by its reaction, Link realized they must have been of the same rank since it wasn't nearly as aggressive on him.

As Link bolted past the monster inside, the beast then gazed outward from the door to see if anyone was left to come along. Hearing nothing but silence from the dead of night outside, it reconciled and twisted around, grinning its knifelike serrated teeth as it charged to the head of the line. There it waved for all of them to follow as if they all had somewhere; they needed to be.

Yes, our disguises work! Link smiled at the thought, happy to be past the first hurdle. For a moment there, even he was beginning to sweat and have his doubts about the magic of the masks. A real fear that their plan could have been foiled before it's even begun. Luckily for them, they did work after all. But for how long? That was the question.

They were now well on their way deep within the castle walls. But they couldn't break formation just yet. That would draw too much-unwanted attention. For now, they had to follow the skulking monster as it led them down the dark and dank castle passageway. Most peculiar to Link, though, was that the beast was acting as if it had been expecting them to be there.

Marching deeper into the bowels of the castle, they took in the grand spectacle around them. The pride and pinnacle of Hyrule's royal family, the palace, was left in absolute squalor since being robbed of its rightful heritage from over a century ago. The once magnificent tapestries that adorned the great halls were torn and battered beyond recognition. Soiling and other unspeakable filth covered the floors. To which even the dead who fought valiantly from over a hundred years ago, their carcasses were still strewn about in the open, rotting, untouched and unmoved, unable to find peace in their final resting place.

You would be hard-pressed even to find any rats willing to live there. They, too, also found the place to be an unwelcoming sight. All this, thanks be to the great mass of evil that had recently taken up residence inside. The very act of traversing through the castle passageways loomed a dark and malevolent presence that choked the air around them, filling them all with a sick and uneasy feeling.

"And I thought it smelled like death with the mask on," Bjorn complained under his breath to where only his friends could hear.

Sprawled about the halls and intertwined chambers lay encampments of the foul creatures, some awake and others asleep. They consisted of moblins, lizalfos, bokoblins, and all manner of other lesser-known spawns of hell itself.

"They smell worse alive than they do when they're dead," he gagged following single-file alongside the others, carefully stepping as not to disturb nearby sleeping enemies.

Enemy eyes from all sides suspiciously leered over to the marching group of infiltrators as the click and clack of their steps dully echoed throughout the stone-hard grounds. Suspicion quickly gave way to trust, though, for their masks shielded them with an old and powerful illusionary magic that camouflaged their true appearance from them.

"I can't believe this is actually working," the soldier with a cough whispered.

"Yeah, I'm living it, and I still don't believe it. Unmarkable," another breathed quietly.

The Lizard sentry that was leading them through reached out for a dim-lit torch fixed to the hallway wall, forcefully slamming it in Sidon's hands to carry. The monster licked its lips again and grinned devilishly, waving its clawed hands for them to keep following it deeper within.

Sidon led through but slowed himself to put some space between him and the lizalfos, leaning over to Link to whisper. "Where do you think he is leading us?"

"I don't know. Judging by the direction, I'd say we are heading toward the grand atrium."

"You mean the outer sanctum?"

"Yes, the inner was destroyed during my battle with Ganon."

"Why there?"

"I have no idea, but as soon as we get our first chance to break away, we need to take it. We're running out of time."

"Yeah, we have to get to the gates and quick. My guess is, we're probably just shy of one hour until the army launches their attack. And then all hell will break loose here. They are likely already set up and in position by now."

Continuing their walk, they snaked around the bend of an archway bridge that led to the core of the castle. Chancing a glance from his peripherals, incoming fast, Link saw a beast charging toward them. Link tugged on Sidon to hush for just a moment so they wouldn't be heard talking.

Another reptilian bolted forward past the group, getting all up in the face of the other lizalfos leading them. The knight lifted his hand up to halt his friends to wait. Curious as to see what the heated exchange between the two vicious enemy soldiers could be about. Debating, they snapped and shrieked at one another, speaking in a dark and twisted language.

Sidon ducked his head low again to whisper to Link. "What do you suppose they are arguing about?"

"I don't know, but this could be our chance to get away. Quick, while they are distracted, let's go!" The knight said, nudging the others to follow him.

He spoke too soon, though, and while he was still occupied looking the other way toward the Lizalfos, he spun around abruptly, clumsily running smack dab into a vicious lynel that had already been trotting from around the bend behind them. As he crashed face-first into the broad chest of the monstrous beast, Link shook his head from the blow and apprehensively took a few steps back.

His eyes gradually ascended, glancing from its hooves all the way up until they rested on the evil stare it had locked on him. The massive silverback lynel was unimpressed by the minuscule bokoblin standing before him. The monster growled its canines toward the disguised knight and shoved him to turn back to march further into the depths of the castle.

Link had no choice but to fall back in line and head back to where they were heading. No way could he oppose a lynel right now.

There would be no turning back now. All that was left to do was follow the leader. Wherever that may be.

By this time, even more neighboring monsters were migrating alongside them.

And as they went through several more interminable corridors, they finally reached a grand chamber of the castle. Ample and spacious, the room was.

"Ah, so this where they were leading us. The hall of the king. I wonder why, though?"

"You been here before?"

"Of course, I was once a royal guardsman ya know?"

"Right."

"This was once a room where royal parties and banquets of nobility were held. Now, of course, me being just a knight, I was never a part of such grand events. I was merely just tasked to keep a watchful eye over the king and Zelda, actually. One thing is for certain, the scenery here has definitely changed."

"Oh, I can bet."

Inside the room was a mass of monsters already gathered.

Just as they were about to make their final descent from the staircase leading them into the grand ballroom, faint hums of a dark hymn were heard echoing throughout. And as they further ventured in the room, it vibrated louder and louder around until it encompassed them.

Quizzically, the band of heroes poked their heads around to see why there was a massive gathering of monsters in there. From what Link could tell, the beasts in the room were all lined up, crowded together, swaying back and forth, facing the front. They were all chanting a dark melody in the blacken speech of Ganon.

"What's happening?" Sidon questioned in a whisper.

"I have no idea. How Bizarre. I've never seen anything like this before. Stay on your guard," Link replied.

"Right," Sidon nodded.

The man with a sniffle, Dimm, interjected. "How many you think that there are?"

"I'd say, two, maybe three hundred." Link quickly answered in a whisper back, trying to stay alert to what was happening around them.

"Three hundred of them!" the man blabbed in a shout, forgetting where he was. Heads in the room immediately turned to face him.

"Shh! Quiet!" the knight shushed him, covering his mouth as fast as he could. The monsters, for the most part, resumed their dark grumblings and chants, slowly turning back their attention toward the front.

"I mean, three hundred of them?" the man asked again, quietly this time.

"Yeah, it's definitely not going to be a parade jubilee taking the back the castle, that's for sure. There are far more than what we originally thought here. And that is what is just in this room too." Link said, cautiously releasing his hold of the man's mask covered face.

But it was too late and unbeknownst to them as they were muttering to each other; they were spotted from afar. The damage was done. And even though Link hushed the man seconds prior, they were seen causing a commotion.

An enemy lynel jumped to attention and must have heard the man's obnoxious chatter when he yelled out of line. With glowing red eyes targeted on the entire group of infiltrators, it made a beeline straight for them.

Damn! We've been caught! What do I do? Link thought.

The panic began to set in around them, and the group braced themselves for the worst. Even the crowd of monsters nearby were afraid of the aggravated lynel. All in its way, dashed out from it as it charged through on a warpath. Crossing an upset lynel was a death wish for anyone. Even fellow enemy beasts weren't safe and by no means an exception to its rage.

The man froze stricken with fear as the monstrous lynel shoved through the rest of the surrounding monsters and leaped to where they were, towering like a sentinel in front of him and Link. With a snarl, the beast clawed at the man, clinching him by the throat. With seconds to act, the Hylian champion intervened, jumping to the helpless man's defense.

Prayers to the goddess, let's hope this works! Or we're done for, the knight thought.

Wasting no time, Link did the first thing that came to his mind. In a desperate attempt, he drummed on his chest and forced out a crude imitation of a bokoblin war cry, roaring back towards the Lynel with everything he had, demanding that it let the man loose. Daring as the plan was, the others could only look on in shock and awe as Link performed the spectacle.

Torn now to face the mocking grunts of intimidation and shouts coming Link, the lynel loosened its death grip of the man and twisted its head curiously. All its attention now fixed on the disguised silver bokoblin.

Forgetting about the man entirely, it dropped him clumsily back to the hard ground. Desperately the man heaved and choked, with his windpipe now freed, regaining the ability to breathe yet again from being squeezed so tight up in the air.

The fearsome lynel made one last grunt, puffed up its broad chest up to the knight, shoving him back. There it stood and leaned over into Link's face. But the knight didn't back down and held his ground. The pair glared at each other for what seemed like hours but was only seconds. Even the air around them swelled up and intensified. Neither of them flinching or relenting to the other.

And just as Link thought there would be an all-out warzone between his men and the encompassing enemy army, without warning, the monster finally blinked, jerked to the side, and hacked a wad of spit on the cold stone floor. Link's bluff worked.

Dumbstruck by the lynel's decision, the knight let out a massive sigh of relief as the brown coated monster turned and charged back from where it came. Whatever the beast heard from the silver bokoblin, it was satisfied with what it was. For all it did before retreating away was growl at him. Link and the others had no way of knowing what was said.

Just as it would seem, the group had a moment to rest easy from any battle; a ruckus erupted. Other things around them began to stir.

Bjorn blurted quietly. "Look! Over there!" he clumsily fell through from behind Link and Sidon's shoulders, pointing and shaking his finger to the edge of the stage at the far end of the chamber. There they gazed at a platform that sat at the end of the room, which was raised higher above the rest but not as high as they were at. For they still were at the overlooking staircase. All their eyes were glued to where the King's table once presided over the rest of the grand hall. A lizalfos was calling the attention of the entire room, hopping and spitting about.

At that exact instant, Link and the others' heads twisted to the sudden sounds of screams that they heard crying out from the side of them. As they came closer, they hollered out louder and louder. It was the worst ear curdling shrieks and sobs that Link ever had to endure in his life. They rang in his ear the likes of which he never heard before. His stomach sank. His eyes widened, and pupils shrunk from within his mask at the startling scene unfolding in front of him.

Bjorn continued. "Women! Hylian women! Three of them! What are they doing to them? How did they?" his voice shook, filled with trembling fear.

Frightfully stunned and paralyzed by what they were all witnessing from the back row of the room, the group stood and watched in horror. Three blonde women who were bound together in a line were being pulled by rusty chains. Cuffed both at their feet and hands, they were forcefully prodded and threatened by the sharp end of a javelin spear to march up onto the center stage. They had no choice but to follow.

Their clothes were torn and ragged, exposing much of their skin. Even from where Link stood, he could see that they were also covered in bruises, scratches, and other markings from the abuse they had endured during their captivity here.

One of the women tripped and fell to her knees, exhausted. Her face soaked in tears, petrified on the ground in fear staring up to demon-like beast huddled around her. The monsters around were still chanting and singing their devilish tune. Others were even hopping joyfully about, screeching and barking at her to stand.

"Please, why are you…why are you doing this to us?" She begged, crying, knowing full well none of the demonic creatures understood a word she was saying. But she didn't care, she was so desperate. Her face overflowed with tears as she pleaded for her life.

Having no sympathy, the Lizalfos that led them by their binds grinned back at her. Gleefully spitting beside her as it hissed, followed by tauntingly licking the tears from her face with its serpent tongue.

No sooner after frightening and filling the poor girl with fear yet again, it yanked on the chains that choked around her neck, painfully jerking her to rise back on her feet. Taking sweet pleasure in every step of her misery.

At that very moment, from the back of the large room, behind Link and the others, eight more silver maned lynels entered the grand chamber. The vast crowd of monsters reverently split and divided up a lane of passage for them to march up to the front where they formed a line. They now stood Just below where the imprisoned women were bound on top of the stage. Excitement glowed out from their malice filled eyes, eager for what was about to happen next.

The chants in the room rose louder and louder until it became a roaring chorus until finally, and suddenly, not a sound was made. Link took in a deep breath in trepidation, stunned, standing by the others. A few seconds passed, and all was quiet.

All that could be heard echoing throughout the silence was the horrified shivering of the three women chained to their erected wooden post on the king's platform. Each of them was glancing all around them, desperately looking for a hope.

Hope quickly turned into hopeless as their cries fell on deaf ears. They were hardly able to breathe; they were crying so much.

Coming from behind Link and the others was a massive golden lynel, dwarfing all the others that had come thus far. The knight was sure that this had to be that dreaded one he saw from the battlefield just the other day smirking to him atop the hillside. It had to be their leader. Malroc the terrible. The on he has heard so much about.

Wasting no time, the monster clopped toward the front. All the other beasts in the room humbled themselves before him. And then he spoke in a devilish voice with words Link and his friends couldn't understand but could only imagine how terrible it was.

"So, these are the women you have brought me? Are any of them this princess?" he questioned the Lizalfos, who greeted him. "It turned out fortunate in our favor that my arrow missed her belly. For now, we have new orders on what to do with her flesh. News has reached my ears of a new way. And it has come to my attention that something right underneath my nose may be the solution to all our problems. But nevertheless, it has to be her."

"We are not sure great one if any are her for certain. But, our wolf packs hunted them from a merchant caravan out on the plains, not but two days ago since your assault on that band departing the domain. When that Hylian army arrived. These three fit the description of that we were given at latest reports of her. Surely, one of them has to be her. She was one of the only few women who was among them," the cretin bowed.

"For your sake, I hope that one of them is. The Dark Lord is not as forgiving as I am," The lynel said, raising up his strong fist high up in the air, showing dominance to all those around. His voice crashed like thunder, shaking the walls of the chamber when he growled.

The lynel then turned his attention and gazed upon the women, meticulously judging each other girls from head to toe. "How can you be sure any of them is her? All three of them are of different ages. Two are just teenage girls, whereas the other is nothing but a used-up middle-age woman. How can you be sure any of them are the right girl? Don't you see you fool; it has to be her in order to work!"

"Well, we were told by our latest scout reports that she was still on the move with that army to the north. This group of filthy traders passed between here and their position shortly after. Surely, they did so to sneak her majesty, the princess past us undetected to the safety of Kakariko; before we could carry our attack and destroy their encampment. Why else would they be passing by, magnificent one?"

"Who all else did you capture?"

"We left none alive except these three. Just the women that matched her," he continued as he cackled, leaping back up to the platform, fanning his hand toward the three frightened women, showcasing as if they were on an auctioneer's display.

"Good. Blood and spirit are what we need now," he said, malevolently grinning ear to ear. Suddenly, he spun around and faced the entire room to address all gathered.

He paused just for a moment to wander his eyes throughout the room, and with a deep breath, he shouted an order. "Bring forth the Pearl!"

With his decree reverberating throughout, the loud cheers of the monsters erupted in pure glee all around.

From where the heroes stood, Link questioned aloud. "What is happening?"

"I don't know, but look, from that back doorway!" Sidon pointed.

Out from the hidden passage behind a bookcase came a black bokoblin with golden stripes carrying a faded and worn royal robe in his clutches. It was hard to see what was swaddled in the once princely red cloth until he handed it to the master of darkness, the golden lynel, Malroc.

The great monster roared, his massive canines on full display for all to see. "Here we have fallen from the skies, a gift. A dark gift in our hour of need!"

The crowd danced around, barking and chanting louder yet again.

"Judgement has come. So comes the end to the age of fairies. The end…of Hylia. It is now time for the Dark order to rule once again. The seal shall be broken this night!" he spoke, unveiling from the worn cloak what appeared to be a pearlescent orb, raising it above his head in a grandiose display.

Link's eyes widened. "Could it be?" he whispered under his breath. "But how did they?"

The monster then quickly turned his attention to the sobbing women bound to their post. With a short glance at the lizalfos, he spoke. "Your dagger, I require."

"Yes, my master," the lizal bowed and unsheathed his serrated and jagged dirk, humbly offering the blade up to his leader.

The teenage girl right in front him pleaded, eyes glistening full of tears. "Please. What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Can't you hear a word I'm saying? Please, I beg of you. What have I done to deserve this?!" she wailed, tied where she stood, unable to move, only to watch in horror.

Link's heart dropped into his gut. All he and the others could do was watch the nightmare unfold.

The girl screamed. And without warning, the Lynel mercilessly and gently cut at the young girl's throat. "Blood and spirit is all that is required. Not your tears. That is just for me," he chuckled.

Shocked by what he was witnessing, Link saw her life slowly leave her body. And in that short moment that felt like an eternity, all he could see flashing before his eyes was his beautiful Zelda instead of her standing there, throat cut, begging for him to save her as her eyes slowly rolled back into her head as all the life drained from her. There he watched in terror, hearing nothing but the faint echoes of her choking cries resound in his ears until softly they faded into silence and was nothing left.

For the first time in his life, he felt real fear, the fear of losing. Not just his quest, but her.

As the blood flowed freely, the pearl seemingly had a reaction and appeared to absorb her essence of spirit. It couldn't be sure though. And as the girl went cold, a wisp of pale light left her body.

Without delay, the lynel repeated his vicious act two more times, happily. Silencing the two others.

The knight had enough of the cruelty. That fiend! Link's blood boiled over, and he surged with violent anger. In a fury, he lunged out from where he stood. He didn't care he was outnumbered three hundred to one. He didn't care about the plan to take the castle. He didn't care about anything. After seeing that poor girl die, all he could think about was how unfair it was for her and what he would do if it were Zelda. Uncaring about anything, enraged in the moment, all he saw was red.

But as quickly as he bolted away, he felt a firm jerk pull him back. It was Sidon.

The red prince just cautiously shook his head as he barred him from leaving.

"Let me go, Sidon," Link responded coldly.

"No, Link, you'll die!" he shouted back in a whisper. "I know how you feel, we all do. But, if you go now, you will surely die, and all that we have done up until now would have been in vain. We have a plan, remember?"

"What about them? What about their plans…to live? Their lives ended on a whim!"

"Link, you have to stay alive. The princess needs you. We need you. If you maintain this course of action, we will all be butchered, and the battle would be lost," Sidon reiterated.

Upon hearing the mention of the princess, Link snapped to his senses and reconsidered, hearing his words. "I'm…sorry. I just…"

"I know, trust me. We won't let him get away with this. I promise you, friend. But you must have him fight you on your terms. Face him to your advantage, not his," Sidon loosened his grip as Link returned standing where he was beside him. Both were in shock, but they had no choice but to endure the terrible scene.

The red prince was younger yet older than Link at the same time, having lived the last one hundred years, whereas Link slumbered. And with age comes wisdom and good counsel.

No sooner though they were torn by the sound of an angry roar, Link and Sidon's heads both jolted to the scream. The Lynel was up in arms.

"It's not…HER! None of these bags of flesh are the princess!" he snarled and shouted. The pearlescent orb he held graciously just faded back into a cold silence, dim as the night once again as if the ritual had no effect on it at all.

Rapidly turning all his aggression toward the cowering lizal beside him, the cretin pleaded. "Please, my lord, you said you would be forgiving!" It attempted a bow.

Malroc stretched out his claws and grabbed for the lizal ferociously. The little monster dangled and squirmed as he lifted it up high above his head and choked it further. The cretin squeaked in his grasp, gasping for air.

Malroc's head slowly cocked to the side, eyes red with rage. "I lied," he growled, seething through his gruesome teeth.

All that was heard after was a quick snap and break of the neck, followed by a silent pause. Dissatisfied, the monstrous lynel roared to the crowd as he threw the corpse across the room, tossing him like a rag doll. The cretin was discarded like trash.

"Let this be a lesson to all who fail me! She is still out there! This isn't over yet! Return to your post at once. We attack those miserable Hylians tomorrow evening when the witch arrives. And then, we shall have our victory once that miserable princess is in our grasp! Now go!"

With his last word on the matter settled, Malroc returned the orb back to be swaddled in its cloth. With two-final glances around the room, he then charged away, leaping with ease by the strength of his massive legs out from one of the intertwined bridges that led out of the hall to a neighboring keep, taking the pearl along with him.

Link whispered to the others. "He'll pay for what he has done. There is nothing we can do for these poor girls now. May they find peace in the next life that they didn't find in this life. We shall avenge them," he said, pausing just for a moment to remember the sacrifice they made, looking to the cold stone floor.

A few moments passed, and monsters began to clear out. He then shook his head and continued. "C'mon, now's our chance, now that they are all departing. We haven't much time; let's move!"

Sidon asked. "Link, is that?"

"Yes, I believe that is the pearl we have been searching for."

"You mean the Moon Pearl?"

"I believe so, but I can't be for certain. Once the attack begins, I'm taking him down and getting the pearl!"

"Not without my help, you're not. We're all in this together now." Sidon said, giving an optimistic glance over to his shorter Hylian friend, eager also for revenge.

"Alright then, let's show these filths what we can do. What do you say?"

Bjorn interrupted and agreed, also wanting revenge for the murders. "I say, lead the way, sir-Link!"

Emptying the room, the small band of heroes skulked their way out, keeping their appearances and headed toward the west end of the castle toward the last remaining armory.

I promise. I promise you I will not let your death go unavenged! I will destroy Malroc with my own bare hands if I have to. I swear it! The Knight thought as he and the others hurried along, maneuvering throughout the castle grounds. If there was anything in this world that Link despised most, it was injustice and the harming of the innocent.

This was now personal to him. He felt he failed those poor souls earlier as they cried out for him as they begged for anyone to hear them. But he just stood there and watched. He didn't lift a finger to save them. It would be a weight on his shoulders that he would have to carry the rest of his life.

This, in his eyes, was a second defeat by his enemy. He swore to himself that there wouldn't be a third. Driven more so than ever, a fire burned brightly inside him, and all he could think about was the success of this quest and destroying his enemies. That they must succeed at all costs.

Authors Notes: There is a short scene where three women are killed, their life force stolen and is semi-brutally depicted. Besides that there is nothing else. If you wish to skip. the graphic paragraph is after "Blood and spirit is all that is required. Not your tears. That is just for me," he chuckled." and returns to what you are used to with As the blood flowed freely.

OTHER NOTES: Now, if you enjoy the story, be sure to let me know. I wont be able to update for a couple more weeks at least unfortunately due to work constraints. I'll do my best! If you leave some love on the fic in a review I'll put in double time to get it out to ya. Also, if you have any suggestions or even critics with the story let me know as well, I love hearing your ideas!