The Legend of Zelda and the Last Knight Chapter 32 Peace at last?, a legend of zelda fanfic

Authors Note- Thanks for being patient. This was a doozy to write out so I thank you all for all the love. Be sure to let me know in the comments your thoughts. There is a minor recap for the first page of this one from the last chapter to set the scene.

Chapter 32- Peace at last?

As Link cradled Zelda close in his arms, he heard the chaotic hum of war drum in his ears until their blaring echoes felt like they would consume him. The enemy approaches.

He had to get somewhere safe. But, where? He wondered. It's not like a warzone is the prime example of a safe place to be. When no path opened up for him, he cursed under his breath.

"Damnit...I can't just leave her. But, if I don't. They will surely find her.."

With little choice of where to go, he went with his best bet and made off for a nearby enclave. It would have to do for now. An area with thick rubble that covered that part of the city had several collapsed walls made of massive broken stones stacked on top of one another. "Zelda. We're almost there." He whispered

Link's heart raced, and his hands trembled as he held her close. And remembered only then to let her loose as not to suffocate her.

Once secluded among a labyrinth of broken buildings, he laid her gently down among a clearing away from villains. Only then did he realize that she was not responding at all and sank to his knees by her side. Instantly, his relief gave way to worry and panic. "Oh no, Zelda...Please, what's wrong!?" He pleaded.

Sheer terror consumed him. It took everything he had to force his hands steady from shaking to study her further as she layout in front of him. As gently as he could, he rested the side of her chin against the cold stone floor. He reassuringly parted her bangs and immediately began a desperate effort to revive her. But, just as he did so, an eruption roared from behind them louder than the last. The battle waged on, and its architect of disaster was on his way.

Not seeing it safe to leave her out in the open among the multitude of broken buildings, he immediately carried her further deep in-between the collapsed stone that was secluded. A place hidden in the shadows. One where they couldn't be seen.

After more evaluation, he took her wrist and felt for her pulse. The steady beat of her heart in his hand reassured him. He sighed a breath of relief, but the lingering doubt remained, itching the back of his mind for her absence that he couldn't shake off. "She's just unconscious..." He squeezed her hand tighter, upset at the possibility. "But, why? What could have done this?"

Link loosed his hands from her and continued to squeeze a fist for being so careless, and the notion he could have done this to her made him shiver with regret.

"How could I be so stupid?! I could never forgive myself if I did this!"

Zelda remained limp yet was still breathing normally, which set some ease to his troubled heart. "Please, you have to wake up...Please... You can't...Please..."

More explosions boomed from around them, and he felt the danger encroaching with every passing second—some way, he had to deter them and steal their attention as far away from her as possible.

"Lay here...and don't you worry. Take all the time you need...If I could take a hundred years to wake up for you, I can wait ten times that and then some... You don't need to worry about a thing. I'll handle this. Stay safe and hidden."

He grazed her sweet hand across his lips as he spoke, then gently kissed her. He positioned her atop some growing grass between some broken cobblestones, where he could make a makeshift pillow for her in the shadows.

Unbeknownst to him, he never saw the sheath she had strapped underneath her cloak. Nor did he care to take any notice. All that mattered to him was her well-being.

The young warrior quickly turned and made his way away from her. He got up and rushed over to the battle, eager to deflect any attention they may have entertained of finding her.

The Knight made a spectacular show of power as he went towards the war. Swift as a storm, he charged back into the fray. Dashing ever which way terribly and swiftly silencing all enemies that were met. He was dancing in the air, cutting through any cretin that would dare to try to get in his way until there was nothing left alive except him.

The display was remarkable. In epic form, he stole their weapons from their hands when they would strike. One by one, he would beat one back and then battle another simultaneously. Dealing crushing blow after devastating blow upon them.

However, the victory was short-lived. The tremendous Titan's stare locked on him from afar across the shattered path of decrepit buildings, only several stones throw away, and the towering sentinel had made his way to him.

Malroc gleamed. "There you are! I thought you may have fled. Just like all those other cowards!" The beast groaned, his devilish stare occasionally straying off to his peripherals behind him, noticing those still stood back frightened by his menacing aura. It was what was left of the army. "So, have you brought me the Princess? Or, have you finally come to die?"

Link said nothing, flexing a battle stance. He only had a Moblin's bat, but it would do. The young, fearless soldier was reinvigorated by new life thanks to Mipha's grace.

"...No matter, I'll still find her! And when I do, I will perform the ceremony over your bones!"

Malroc hummed in delight. "You know, you really should have taken that opportunity and escaped from this place. I would have never known it. Yet, you come back to face me? And for what? To defend the ones that gave up on everything and only feel fear and despair?" Malroc's eyes in mid-speech then narrowed.

Something was different. The boy turned hero wasn't exactly as he remembered only moments ago. The Devil then broke from pontificating to glare more at the young Hylian. Link had changed indeed. "How is it that you're still standing and able to fight?" The Demon roared. "Why, only moments ago you were on death's doorstep, and now..!"

Link remained silent and only replied with a quiet smirk.

"Answer me, you runt!?" His patience grew thinner and thinner, and then the beast opened his jaws and unleashed a fireball of spiraling scorched flame from his breath. The heat was so immense and otherworldly that nearby stone foundations from buildings cracked and curled back like burnt candles while a river of red blazed over them. This was no ordinary fire.

The inferno came lightning quick as it chased Link across the plaza. But the Knight was faster. Though his speed was quick, he knew he couldn't have dodged it so easily. Something was amiss.

But in doing so, the distance between them both closed even more. The battle to end all conflicts had begun.

"You're quite a little escape artist, aren't you!?" Malroc roared, angered by Link's ability to outrun his breathy blaze.

"Maybe you just need better aiming!" Link stung back.

"How dare you!? Try and dodge this then if you dare!" The Titan roared another breath and hurled another storm of fiery death at him. This time roasting several buildings encompassing almost half a block of city streets.

Through the noise of smoke and crumbling buildings falling to the weight of their melted structures, to Malroc's dismay, not a cry was heard from the Hylian.

"Now...now where did you—"

The Monster heard a thundering cry from behind, just a hair's breadth above his head. But not one of pain or anguish, but ferocity and determination. One filled with the burning desire to win. Whatever it took.

Link fell dashing toward him only a second away with a skyward strike from a Moblin's bat.

Surprised by such a bold maneuver, the beast swiftly turned and stomped back on his hind legs. "You mock my power!? You insignificant boy, how dare you!?"

The massive Lynel had enough. Enraged, he screeched and launched himself toward Link with an attack of his own. Link only had a decrepit old bat from a fallen Moblin and a rusty dagger. What hope could weapons such as that have against a demon like Malroc? One summoned from the ancient world where once even mightier heroes existed and fought against?

Malroc blocked Link's feeble attack mid-strike with ease. With the bat now firmly in his gruesome grasp and with just a flex, he squeezed it, and the claws of catastrophe shattered the bone into a million fragments of shrapnel. The blazing shards of splinters scorched Link in a fury, singing through his tunic all over his body. All he could do was wince back in pain in a frantic attempt to reorient himself back in front of him.

"See? You have no chance; there is no way you can defeat me!" Malroc gloated.

Link groaned as he climbed back up to his feet, standing several steps away, stalling time to rework his strategy.

"What..?" Malroc crooked his neck to the side, impressed by the boy's defiance and perseverance to fight on.

"You still don't understand...As long as we keep fighting and standing up against the horror, we won't be defeated—all of us. We are one. Me...Zelda...all of our friends..." Link huffed, fire blazed in his eyes. "We don't fight for our own lives; we sacrifice for all that is sacred and good! For the sake of Hyrule and this world! As long as we have a kingdom to protect and these people to care for, we will not be defeated. History will try to repeat itself, but evil will be repelled!"

"Is that so? How very touching..." Malroc huffed in a scoff. "Insolent child...You have nothing but the hope of the hopeless—the tears of the weak. Life isn't one of your fairytales. It is a jungle where only the strongest survive. You haven't the power to defeat me."

"Is that so? Even half-dead, I have more than enough to destroy you."

"Haha! "Don't make me laugh, kid. You can't touch me. Even now, your 'friends' are so frozen with fear that they are blue in the face. Look at them! Not one of them dares to contend against the might of Mandrag! You're alone!"

And as Link heard his taunts, the beast opened his eyes and, without warning, assaulted him head-on, unleashing punches and scratches all around him in a rage. All manner of attacks were hurled against the young warrior.

Caught off guard by his stabbing words, the Knight was defenseless and couldn't deflect any of them. He was now at the Devil's mercy. And there would be none.

The blows were so intense that Malroc summoned his spellbound whip again and lashed it against the boy from end to end, searing burning red scars into the flesh of his arms, legs, and whatever opening was left that he couldn't block back.

Link could do nothing to defend himself, and he was beaten down like a stray dog in the street.

"Now, you die! No more so-called heroes!" Malroc shouted.

In a grand finale, he hurled the chain for a final time through the air to spiral around Link's throat to choke him and bring him to his knees. The beast tightened his hold, and the black metallic bonds dug deep into his flesh and marred him. Malroc squeezed tighter and tighter. Pockets of blood bursts and trailed down his neck even as he was visually suffocating as if the colors of his life were running across the Lynel's weapon.

The Monster howled in glee at the sight of his handiwork. In a cruel display, he held Link high above his head, wholly immobilizing the young warrior as he hopelessly fought back by kicking and twisting in a struggle just to stay alive, let alone fight.

The Monster boasted and addressed everyone who watched from afar.

"Hylians! Watch carefully as I crush what's left of your resistance, see it as a merciful act, for allowing you the time to say your last prayers!"

He flung Link into the air for all to witness, only to catch him with his claws this time. Lifted even higher on display, he dangled his body like a rag-doll above his head as some tasteless trophy. "This is your hero? This boy is who I am to tremble against? What a joke...This almost kills all the pleasure from the hunt. And here I was promised a real champion to test my powers, and what I get from you all is fool's gold."

Link struggled desperately against his iron grip, reaching for his neck to relieve the tension, kicking furiously while held high above the Demon. But, the hero's strength was waning fast. His breaths of consciousness were escaping him with every slipping second.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve with that, boy? Or, perhaps that in your heart, you know that I'm right? Stupid Hylian...You know that what I say is true deep down to your very bones. You are nothing but a caricature of a real hero and nothing more! A facade!" Malroc then swung Link and erupted in laughter at the dangling lad. "Tell them! Tell these people that you profess to love so much! Tell them the truth! I want to hear YOU crush their hopes and dreams before I annihilate them all.

"You're a nobody. Just like your phony bitch of a princess! How long must you both keep up the charade? Pretenders! Look at them! I said look at those miserable sacks of flesh you call friends over there!" Malroc taunted and waved his free hand and pointed to those trapped in a gaze of fear. Sylmoor, Simon, Teba, and what was left of all the soldiers. Even Sidon stood stiff. None dared to move an inch.

Malroc continued. "These...people...These miscreants...believed so much in you. But don't you worry...I will reveal to them who you really are...that after you remove that armor, your weapons, you're nothing. That you and her are all but a lie.

"It is time now—time for your demise. You failed one hundred years ago, and now you will fail again today. History will repeat itself indeed...All shall remember the name of this Link...and that that he died under my hooves!" He lifted the boy even higher for a final mumbled scorn to only Link could hear, followed by a smirk on the matter. "Some champion of the people you are. You're a joke!"

Back where the others stood watching in painful shock, Simon wiped his sweat-drenched brows with his fist. "Damn this! Damn it all to hell! I've seen enough; we must attack! It's now or never, or he is going to die! The way is open. There's only like ten villains who stand between us and that monstrosity! We can make it!"

The proud noble stretched out his arm for one of his men. "My war lance! Now watch! When I signal, I'll slay this beast where he stands and everyone charges!"

"No, M'lord! It's too dangerous! You could miss and strike the Knight of no banners at that range! That fiend is too far for strike from your spear! The lad could be killed!"

Simon refocused again, realizing that the adrenaline had gone to his head, and the worry and compounding stress of it all began to make him careless. He grunted in agreement. Rats, he's right! What could men do against a terrific evil such as that?

Sidon and Teba felt similar sentiments. Even as Sidon clenched his blades, Teba feathered an arrow in his quiver about to draw. They cared nothing for the fear that harkened them back. Especially Sidon. They had to help their friend Link, whatever it took. Whatever the price. Even if it cost them their lives, they owed him that much for all he had done for them and their people.

But, before either could make their move, Link saw his moment while dangling above the massive Lynel. The beast was distracted, antagonizing the others across the square.

Drawing up what strength he had left from the few small moments he had resting above Malroc, he gave the fiercest kick he could muster to the Monster's face and broke loose of his iron grip.

Link flipped through the air free from his death hold, reaching for the dagger tucked away in his knee sleeve and whizzed it at the Titan's shoulder to pierce his hide.

"Agh! You pesky fly!" Malroc roared, stepped back, and clawed out for his slashed mane.

The beast laughed it off. "You know, it has been millennia since I've seen my blood. I almost forgot what it looked like. Thank you."

Link saw this as his last opportunity for all of them to win and wasted no time to turn to face the others. "Sidon! The Princess is over there!"

Malroc groaned. "What are you—?"

"Huh. Wha—?" Sidon lifted his hand to hear. "What?"

Link pointed to the direction of where he left her to rest. "There's no time! You have to find her and get yourselves from this place and far away as you can! There's someone even more powerful than Malroc approaching! If he finds her, we're done for. Go now! It's our only chance—"

There would be no more said. A ginormous fist collided into Link's gut and launched him through the air across the arena before he could finish his plea.

Malroc had returned from his momentary delay. "You talk too much, my tiny hylian friend! Don't you know it's rude to tell secrets? You'll pay for that! But, if you think your miserable friends could escape me, you're sadly mistaken, boy! You failed!"

Link flew not too far off and slid against the cobblestone street, still gasping for air.

"They may flee for now...But after I destroy you, boy, I promise I'll hunt them down and slaughter each and every one of them! Starting with that tasty bitch you care so much about!"

Link arose from the rubble to where he fell not far behind Malroc, enraged by the Monster's threats, summoning strength from his anger.

"Oh? You didn't know?" the Titan chuckled with glee.

Link's eyes lifted toward him.

"That's right. I already took a piece of her? See?" Malroc then revealed in his claws strands of golden hair. Hair he ripped from her earlier in the battle.

"Mmm, smells sweet too. They smell so much sweeter when they are frightened. Soaked in fear..." He finished with the strands held close to his nose.

"Yes, she is going to die..."

Link's temper boiled over. "Then you're going to have to kill me first!"

"I intend to..." And with that, the beast charged straight for him.

Back with the others, Sidon took command of everyone. "Well, you heard him, time to go! We have to find the Princess! That way, now!"

"Well, what about your friend? Surely, he will die if he maintains this assault alone!? We can't just...just leave him." Called back Simon.

"We must. We haven't any other choice. It's what he wants us to do."

"Then you send your friend to the executioner's ax. I must admit...You surprise me, Zora."

"And you surprise me, Sir-Simon. I thought you wanted to be rid of Link? Isn't this what you wanted? Hmm?"

"And what makes you say that? How dare you insinuate what I want?"

"Please, it's no secret. It's been written all over your face since the day we met you."

"You don't trust me, Prince?"

"I don't trust you farther than I could spit." Sidon finished egregiously, knowing full well he could spit over an ocean if he dared.

"Then I think you better start taking spitting lessons!" Simon huffed back.

"Easy, easy, both of you." Sylmoor got in-between the head-butting duo to quell their towering tensions. But, as he did, with a faint chuckle, he concurred. "But, it is true, brother; you're not much good for theater. You know that? It's quite obvious you don't like the lad."

"And you do!?" Simon returned, eyes blazed.

"Well, I have no reason not to like him! And neither should you? We're all on the same side here."

"Shuddup you!" Simon chastised his brother not before swiftly turning back to Sidon for a confrontation. "And you, Prince of Zora, don't dare to presume to know what I want or what is on my mind. It's true; I don't care much for your heroic friend over there, but I wish no ill harm on him or any other of my Hylian kin. After all, you're the one that wants to abandon him, not me! So, let's get that straight!"

Those words stung Sidon, but what he said was true. He was on the verge of leaving his companion behind, although he hated to do so. Sidon slowly turned back from walking away alongside Teba to face Simon. "I am bound to an oath to follow his every command...Even if..."

"Even if it sends him to his death? How convenient is an oath?"

A quick quiet lingered between their heated exchange, and all Sidon could do was look down and away.

Simon stepped forward and addressed all the men who watched and listened. "I guess it is true what they say about Zoras!"

Sidon stood and waited to listen to what he would say next with clenched fists firmly tucked at his sides.

The Lord of Hylians puffed up his chest, fanned out his hands for all to hear, and continued berating. "They really are cold-blooded beings after all!"

Sidon paused, took a breath, and simply turned slowly to glare at him. "Curse you...What do you know?"

He loosed his fists by his sides, and as he snapped back, he stomped toward him, but Teba reached for his shoulder before he could make good of any aggression. "Sidon, don't! He isn't worth it. And besides, there's no time for this!"

Still full of bravado, Simon jousted again. "You don't intimidate me, Zora, with your height! I've swatted many of moblins twice your size!"

Surrounded by a squad of men, Simon felt quite untouchable. Even so much that when Sidon approached, a swarm of his men began to unsheathe their swords.

"Enough, brother!" Sylmoor chastised, lunging between them again. "This has gone far enough! Please."

In a rage of anger and out of character, Sidon shouted down the prancing high-borne Hylian, who doubted his loyalties. "If Link says he will handle the beast and rid of him, then he will! If he says he can, then I, for one, believe that he will! What do you know!? You know not the things I've witnessed him do."

Simon scoffed." Are you nuts! Clearly, all that water soaked in those ears of yours is clouding your judgment. A beast such as Malroc cannot be defeated by any one man! It would take a—"

"A legend!" Blurted Villamor with a finger raised high in the air as if he solved a masterful riddle himself on the matter, interrupting their feud.

Simon's brow twitched, and he jerked an elbow to his subordinate's gut for intruding. "There's no such thing as legends, you idiot! Let alone that jumping, showboating rabble of a friend of theirs."

Sidon smirked. "Well, then clearly, you don't know Link. He's no ordinary man."

"You talk nonsense!"

Sylmoor stepped in again. " I concur with the Zora prince brother, and as much as I want to play hero and save our suicidal friend, 'Goddesses bless him,' that way leads to salvation." Sylmoor spoke, pointing to where Link said the Princess lay. "Whereas over where he tangos at lies certain death. I, for one, intend to live, and you heard Link, he told us to go! Should we not obey his last wishes?"

"It won't be his last!" Sidon scolded.

"Oof! I didn't mean it like that. Of course, I'm rooting for him. You know that! Why, if this were Riley's Square back home, I'd even put ten gold rupees on the lad. That's how confident I am in his abilities. Hell, I'd bet even—

Simon erupted. "Will you shut up, man, and get on with it!"

"You know what I mean! I wish him the best, but the Princess needs us. That is certain. We need to find her. It's what he wants us to do."

"Then let us stop quarreling and twiddling our thumbs about it and get a move on then! Now!" Sidon called back before darting off towards the direction shown to them.

As the others rushed ahead, Sylmoor caught sight of where they were headed. And lo and behold, a swarm of beasts were already descending on that area as well.

Sylmoor groaned a breath to himself and paused his charge besides the others. "I swear, that boy and princess will be the death of me!"

With a few more fatigued huffs and murmurs to himself, he stepped to trudge on after them when he couldn't resist but complain again. "Oh...Why me? Why over to that dreadful place? Why could it not be to those flowery hills over there? They look well enough for a rendezvous!"

He paused affectionately with fingers stretched out, longing for the distant sunset far beyond the castle's reach in the glow of the horizon, way past the city.

"Why?" He huffed. "Why must we always head straight into the jaws of the lion every time?"

The wind gusted past him—a solemn reminder of his sworn duty as a Lord of the House of Illiastar. "Well, I suppose there's nothing for it but to go. This better be worth it. But, if I am to go..." The man jerked suddenly and turned to face the crowd of soldiers who still shouldered beside him that hadn't left with the others. As if he couldn't depart just yet without saying something first.

Among the small gathering of men, he found his squire beside them. "You there, hand me my drink! If I'm to die, it ought to be in good spirits! May the good Goddess grant me this one last curtesy in my most dire moments in this world."

The squire choked and tip-toed two steps forward before slowly approaching the distressed man's side. "But, sir, you know it's empty, remember? The flask... It's all gone..." he said in a whisper to gently stroke the ego of his liege. One that who from time to time isn't as memorable as he'd like to be. Of course, all of this was only not to embarrass his lord as everyone watched and waited for him to move out.

Sylmoor cried out for the heavens, nearly collapsing to his knees. Clanking armor and all. "Aghh...Am I to die in such a wretched and cruel way!? Have I not done right in your eyes?" The whiny lord begged ceremoniously, longing for the heavens to hear his plea.

The furious Sylmoor squeezed a fist and spun to face the bearer of this ill-timed news. "Why do I even bother to keep you around me and my friends anyway? You're completely useless when I need you most! You know that squire?"

"But M'lord, you know you haven't got any friends, remember?..." The man blinked.

Sylmoor raged like a tornado in a pout. "And you...You clearly haven't got any brains or manners, for that matter! Yet, here you are! As stupid and brazen as ever!"

"But, sir, I tried leaving your charge before...many times, in fact! And every time, it's the same. You end up calling me back for your service M'lord. I give it two or three days every time. Or don't you remember? Like that time when the Warden of Warrabary wanted to charge you for that scandal against his lady niece? You know, when you snuck her out past the evening hours? Or during that one time during the Dutchess of Draene's play? Or perhaps even Madame Aroma's—

"Yes, yes, yes, enough already...Point taken." Sylmoor shushed him down, attempting to dispel the scandal he was revealing with a wave of hands at the mention. Of course, there could have been just an itsy bitsy bit of truth to his storytelling, after all. But, who's keeping track anyway?

Sylmoor decided to let it all go at the mention by his squire and smirked with a lean back. "Well, let's hope for your sake I don't ever regret having you around!" The man sighed and looked onward for them both. "Well, Why not then! Onwards! To our certain death and the world's end!"

Back in the heart of the fray, Malroc was unleashing all his ferocity upon Link. But, the warrior managed to narrowly dodge strike after strike, being forced on the verge of losing his footing. The Monster was getting more intense. With every failed attempt, the rage erupted more violently against him.

"Why do you flee! Fight me, you runt!? Are you brave enough?"

Link attempted to buy more time. He had no weapon. No means to defend himself. Yet, he needed to keep the Lynel busy. At all costs, Zelda and the others had to escape.

I have to find a way to delay him. If I can only hold him off for five minutes, just five minutes. That should be more than enough time to buy time for the others to escape from this place and get Zelda to safety. But that's a lot easier said than done. And I don't know how much longer I can avoid his attacks. And this damn leg...Ugh, it's bleeding pretty bad too.

The gap between us is getting narrower and narrower...

Wait... That's it! The barracks!

And in that instant, a memory flooded into Link's mind like an erupting spring. He recalled the discovery that he, Sidon, and the others made earlier that same morning while they infiltrated the darkness of the castle. Powder kegs! Barrels and barrels brimming over with them. And to quote himself earlier, 'enough blow the entire castle sky-high three times over. Surely, this was his chance. This was precisely the edge he needed to turn the tide.

If I can just lead him there and get him to think he is cornering me, I can provoke him to fire the whole place with a gust of his breath. Then boom! He will be ushering his own destruction! Of course, that would mean the end of me...But that doesn't matter. Not anymore. This ends now. Once and for all. The people deserve an end to the nightmare. She...she deserves peace.

And besides, even if by some miracle he survives, there's no way he will have the strength to fight on. The others can then return to finish the job that I started. This could work. It has to work!

"There you are!" Malroc seethed, spotting the hero from afar, between two walls of crumbled stable walls. "Nowhere to run now! Almost all your precious little buildings to hide behind are destroyed!"

Another ball of blaze without warning hurled right toward Link, and as the fiery smoke cleared his jaws, the demonic lion growled through his fangs.

"That's right...You will face me here and now. No more tricks or hiding places!"

"Shit, I'm not ready yet! We're still too far from the tower!" Link said through gritted teeth.

There would be no reprieve. Plan or no plan, Link had to act now.

Explosions chased him as they bombarded the ground in scattered blitzes. Through their wake, he went whizzing through the air as he desperately dashed away, dodging their craters behind him while he barely avoided being scorched to cinders.

Damn, I gotta think of something fast, or I'm gonna be toast. Literally!

Malroc roared." I have you now! Finally! Cornered like the pesky rat you are!"

He was right. The Monster was uphill, and there were no more buildings to hide behind. Everything kissed by the deadly blazes were scorched and disintegrated that you couldn't even see their foundations. Nothing but Earth remained in the wake.

Link braced for the inevitable. His only regret was that he didn't think of his strategy sooner. That perhaps, if he knew, then maybe the method might have worked.

Just as the hero was about to lose all hope, a miracle had shone to his eye from afar. "It can't be..." Link uttered under his breath, even as the Titan took his final breath about to unleash his fury.

The Knight couldn't be sure what he was seeing. Bewildered by what maybe he was gazing at or perhaps was just something his mind was playing tricks on him. Could it be the fear of failure had finally addled his recollection?

After a swift study of it, there was no room left for doubt. It was what he had remembered!

"That's the way." Link whispered, and to his delightful surprise, he caught sight of an old shield from the corner of his eye. Leaning forward, he got a better glimpse of it shining out from some rubble. There it lay untouched and preserved as ever. This was the real deal.

Not a crudely crafted armament found among the throng of modern-day armies. This was a classic shield hearkening way back to the pinnacle of Hyrule's glory. One made only from the rare crystal-cored Hylian ore that could only be found in the treacherous deep, long-abandoned mines of the Stonelands.

This was no mere shield banded together by a desperate lack of craftsmanship or mustered in a hurry with a lackluster supply of reinforced wood and iron. This was a top-tier Hylian Shield. The finest in all of the Hylian Army's arsenal. A scarce find.

Even in Link's time, they were far and few between to come by. Only seen one in person just once when he became a Royal Guardsman. And even that was only a replica—a pale imitation of a genuine Hylian Shield.

Such arms had been long extinct. The workmanship and wisdom to craft such fine piece of armament had been lost to the knowledge of men.

This particular one must have been resurfaced from an old building that Malroc demolished with his breathy inferno—destroying everything in his wake excepting this shield.

The glimmer of its glorious steel barely peeked out from the hard soil it was buried deep in. Link imagined it must have been hidden under the foundations of that home for centuries, if not millennia. Silently waiting, forsaken by its master who had long perished ages ago. Likely, the property from a highly decorated soldier from an era no longer remembered.

Link whispered a silent thanks to him with a bow of the head. Whoever he was. For his long-lost possession wouldn't be forgotten in vain. It would serve Hyrule once again in its most dire hour.

The chest it presumably resided in either deteriorated to the slow decay of time or from the bombastic fire from Malroc. Neither of which he could be sure. Nor did it matter. This was Link's saving grace.

Though a remarkable find, it wouldn't be enough to defeat the beast. That wasn't the point, though. He knew that. But, what it would be able to offer him was a means to escape and perhaps, delay the Demon. Enough to buy him the precious time he needs to allow the other's escape.

Time slipped by, and in a matter of abbreviated seconds, Link launched back from the dirt where he stood and lunged for the shield buried in the ground.

Malroc bellowed another plume of fire right toward him in that same breath. But, in that split moment, Link kicked up the shield that lay before him and caught it in his hand. In the knick of time, he guarded against the fiery blast. All thanks to the ancient shield.

Enveloped by a raging inferno that coalesced in waves around him, Link slid back as the force of Malroc's breath singed over him in a blitz of destruction. The heat radiated all around, and the shield took the brunt of all of the beast's rage.

A ball of searing fire encircled him, and everything not under the protection of the enchanted guard was obliterated behind him. But, even with all that intensity thrown at it, the shield held strong. Red hot as smelted iron, it glowed like a blacksmith's anvil. But remained steadfast and unrelenting.

Link desperately held on, as tight as he could, knowing that the moment he would ever let go would be his last. The heat was immense. The leather wrist guards wrapped around his arms that held the shield scorched and began to smolder. The ancient armament was at the limits of its power to withstand the scorching evil. And at that moment, an ill-timed recollection flooded Link's mind. One he swore he had forgotten long ago...

"Oh, no! Not now! Nooo! I can't… ZELDA!" Link cried out even as his eyes flooded with white light.

But, he couldn't contest, the resurgent memories of days past overwhelmed him, and he fell into unconscious thought as the fiery blaze flooded over him.

The morning was cold, wet, and nobody had eaten anything for days. Not that it was anything new. Up and coming recruits were always given the harshest of circumstances. To test their grit, manhood, and determination to rise up and become. So, it was only natural that their commanding officers dealt them the worst of situations to thicken their skin, batter their senses and temper their spirits.

Today was no different, and in fact, the punishments have only been becoming harsher as the days grew closer to their final task. There was only one day now before the coming celebration. The trial and festival of the flames. Hyrule's crowning moment on the world stage and, more importantly, the formal debut of the Princess as she claims her rightful place in history as the heir apparent to the Goddess.

The fledglings would really have to prove themselves if they had any hope of becoming men of the guard. A title reserved only for the best of the best—Hyrule's finest.

Link and a group of about twenty or so other top cadets stood at attention among the training grounds of Hyrule's Black Burning Barrows. A military training ground just north of Hyrule Castle at the foot of a steep hill before the corridor that led to the lost woods.

The men, no, not men...the boys shivered. With chattering teeth, they tried to stay fixed at attention. An officer approached, and his voice trumpeted over them.

"Today, you will all be engaging in a live-fire exercise. Need I say that there is a good chance that if you look to the man to your right or your left, either he or you will incur some wounds. Do not trouble yourselves, this...this is perfectly normal." The middle-aged, thin, and slick-haired man smiled as if excited to see the disparity in their face grow while their hopes dwindled at the prospect of inevitable pain.

"If you're lucky, that will be your only worry this day because I am neither joking nor exaggerating when I say that some of you could even...die.

"So, that being said...last chance...anyone who doesn't have the stomach for this ordeal, drop your gear and fallout from the ranks of your fellow fledglings and leave for home. There is no shame in quitting...But, know this, you will forfeit any honor you wish to claim." The man finished, gazing about all who stood before him, evaluating their demeanors while taking a full account of the bravery of those who remained. Even as the rain fell from their drenched chins, he saw that not one wavered as the time passed. All stayed vigilant and determined.

"For honor isn't for the faint of heart, but the worthy. Only those blessed in the golden light of her gracefulness could ever dream to obtain it. Because once you cross that threshold and embark through the gates of the final tournament, there will be no escape. No return. No do-overs. But fear not, my young cadets. For a death shrouded in the service of Hyrule's glory is all we could ever ask for in this life.

"That...that is the province of us Royal Guardsman. That is our profession...our purpose. To protect everything we love and hold dear. We are the tempest winds in her highness's hand, wielded by her divine light. We are to be the golden arrow in her quiver against the Dark one. The sword and shield against those vile villains who would pervert the very foundations of all that is wholesome and kind in this world. We are the guard of the Kingdom!"

He finished with a long slow, turning stare roundabout, took account of everyone who stood firm, and continued with a proud smile stretching from ear to ear. "This is what you have been trained for. Make us proud...With that said..." he calmly stiffened his guardsman gear but not before doing a tornado back to face away from them with stern open eyes. "Valiance!?"

A chorus of shouts immediately replied like thunder in the rain behind him, "Victory!"

The man coolly smiled at the rehearsal of their credo before waving his hand out for another to take his place before them. "...Now I yield back the time to commander Athelon for your further instructions on today's trial."

Between the commotion of exchanging commanders, the overzealous brute Regoso took this opportunity to spout off his intentions and firmly elbowed Link, who was behind him. "You think you have what it takes?"

Link shoved back, instinctively dodging his careless prod, and didn't say a word.

The googly-eyed, red-haired young man nearly fell from his loss of footing, and the roaring shout of Athelon thundered over him. "Did I say you can move cadet!? Get your ass back in line...Now!"

Regoso stiffened, knees buckling at the sharp tone of his captain.

Athelon huffed as the boy rearranged himself, then boldly spat at their feet as if unimpressed or unconvinced. His thick spit meddled in the mud of a rain puddle, swirling back in his milky-eyed reflection. "Sir-Barmeer is right...There is no greater challenge than we can pretend to prepare you for, nor could we raise you to overcome...and with that, the final test you have to embark on before the main trial is... you must defeat me! Oh, and before I forget, the first lad that accomplishes to land a hit on me wins a prize!"

The boys collectively gazed to the side of one another, unsure what it could be. Rupees? A weekend pass away from training? Or could it be something even better?

Immediately, their curiosity was satisfied. Reaching in from behind a horse-pulled cart, Barmeer uncloaked a shiny gift from within a trunk covered with a tarp. A Hylian Shield.

The majestic shield sparkled like a jewel even in the downpour. Clean drops of rain slid down its hull, and there was just enough glimmering sunlight to gloss its pristine steel. Though later this would be revealed as just a replica, the boys still wondered in awe at its magnificence.

But, the hurried shout of Athelon tore them from their ogling, and the test commenced. "Ready or not, here I come—Now, all of you, show me what you got!"

Everyone stood quiet. Pins could have dropped even as the storm raged overhead and not a stir among them rummaged. This was to be the final task before the main event? As freezing, tired, and shaken as they were, they stood willing and able to perform this last and mighty task.

Athelon bolted up ahead of them to square himself atop a hill. "If you can break through my rank and overcome me, yea, even just one of you, then and only then will I permit thee to join the Master Trials!" He finished with a shout below.

Several boys charged past Link, Sven, and Orin, eager to make their mark on the world. This time Regoso's elbow made contact with Link's sternum and shoved him back. "Out of the way, low blood! That shield is mine!"

Link relented with a gasp and decided to hold fast with the others who weren't so blindly assailing forward mindlessly.

Regoso and his goons were met with fire and fury, the likes of which they couldn't imagine. Athelon easily dispensed of them as they descended upon him. With their wooden weapons in the rain, they battered and pummeled at him, yet, not one made a mark through the blocks of his shield.

With a short work of a yell, Athelon flexed with his stave and did a spin as fierce as lightning, launching them all back on their asses. Link could hardly follow the move; It was so fast.

"I said come at me..." the old man spat again. "You're all nothing but boys!"

In a blitz of skill, Athelon reached for his quiver and did something Link did not intend. He began to loose many arrows toward them. Some of which stuck the knees and hands of those who dared to move forward. Though their tips were blunted, they were still very capable of damage. A perfectly placed hit on a soft spot could pierce flesh.

Some men fell back and retreated to some cover at the bottom of the hill—a line of makeshift wooden redoubts. Athelon had situated himself above them with his bow drawn, ready to unleash barrages if anyone dared to climb the summit to face him.

"I said charge, damnit!" Athelon cried. "Don't think! Attack! The Princess's life is at stake here, damn it! There's no fucking time! Now...NOW!" He finished with a death glare fixed on Link. As if he knew that was the one person who he was genuinely testing even though he wasn't participating yet. Even as the lad stood back guarded in his defense with the others.

A fire lit in Link at his promptings. He had to move. Even if he had no idea what to do, he had to do something, anything!

"Let's go!" Link called out to Sven and Orin, who were also leaning behind some cover.

"Are you mad? He will swamp us for sure!" choked Orin.

"Better to be swamped than lie defeated here on the ground as a coward!" Link returned.

"What do you have in mind...He's unleashing hell on us? The others...Some of them retreated back to the out of bounds."

Arrow after arrow in a raging storm of barrages rained down upon their position. They had the low ground, and it would seem their opponent had a never-ending quiver.

"Follow me..."

"You're crazy!" Sven concurred.

"Trust me..." Link finished, leaping out from the group, dashing past fellows who had already been struck that laid wailing in pain in the mud.

The uphill fight was tumultuous. Athelon wasn't letting up. With hastened speed, he was unleashing volley after volley of arrows toward them, uncaring if any would land a fatal blow, even if they were just trainees. This was the final task.

As Link dodged and skipped past every missing bolt, the odds of which they had diminished with every step that he would be able to escape him. The closer he got, the closer an arrow got to killing him.

Then Link remembered a story. One his dad told him. One that had saved the army long ago. One even Athelon parroted before. The Hylian shield. Not the weapon, but the KNIGHT's technique. One made famous by the ancient hero who led the last battalion against the Dark one.

Link called back to Sven and Orin, who were bolting close behind him in zig zag running formation up the hill. "Shields now!"

Arrows were narrowly missing their feet.

"What!?" Shouted Sven.

Link reiterated fiercely. "Shields to the front! Shield wall! NOW!"

And at that moment, Orin grinned. He knew exactly what that meant. Why, of course. Why didn't he think of it before! It was so obvious. It could have slapped him in the face like a tavern maid from Romani's Milk and brew after an ill-mannered grab to the cheek. So, clever was that Link, he thought.

"Shield wall! Turtle rock formation! Hurry!"

The three boys swiftly banded together their wooden shields as one. Locked and centered, they blunted every incoming arrow, catching any that would stick in their bark.

"And move...and move..." Link commanded, and they slowly progressed up the hill. Athelon kept knocking arrows back, but not one penetrated.

Athelon's beard curled into a smile. He knew they finally figured it out. It wasn't about relying on anyone's ability or strength. But how they could work as one elite fighting force.

Slowly they crept up to him before Link was within striking distance, and when he was, he lunged high in the air above the commanding warrior. "Now break!" he commanded.

Orin hooted, letting loose his shield to his side to see the show. "Now, this I gotta see! Go LINK!"

Athelon battled against Link fiercely. An Acrobatic display of maneuvers only seen through a fog of rain and kicked up mud. One would slam the other's shield and ram forward with their wooden sword back and forth—neither giving up any ground to the other.

"C'mon boy! Is that all you got!?" Athelon shouted, furiously launching a barrage of assaults against Link.

"Argh, not even close," Link returned with a grunt followed by a stern block.

"Then prove it! Attack! Kill me if you can!"

Link's eyes folded at that last command and briefly became distracted. But, Athelon's intensity grew immensely. Each swing intensified, and every block became more fierce as they butted shields. The clanking of armor rang in Link's ears. The likes of which Link has never faced before from a fellow soldier. This was no ordinary training exercise.

"I said fight! NOW!"

Though that was just it. Link had too much respect and honor to defeat one of his elders. In his heart of hearts, he held him and those like his father in too high regard.

"Damn you; I'm ordering you to fight! Attack! Kill me, Damn it! For fucks sake, now. This is it. What are you waiting for!?" Athelon pummeled Link's shield and ripped it from his grasp, and flung it away. "Enough playing around, boy! I said attack! Don't you get it! You have to attack! Now! There's no more time!"

Link and the others couldn't possibly understand what he meant by that. Link froze. He couldn't hurt his mentor. Even if he had the power to do so, he would never have used it against another man of the shield. He couldn't bring himself to inflict harm on someone devout and faithful. Link's own power may have shown glimpses to him in the past, but he wasn't sure. And even if they did, he wouldn't partake of it. Not to hurt someone he cared about...

Athelon was a good man. An honorable man. One who these past months has trained him, spitted on him, degraded him, scorned and scoffed at him, but yet, one he knew in the end had cared very deeply for him. That out of spite of those things, done so, because he so desperately wanted to believe in him.

"There's no time! What are you waiting for? She needs you to wake up! Now!... Do it!" And with that, Link's attention snapped to the singeing sound of cold steel being unsheathed as Athelon performed a final spin in the air above Link's head. His pupils narrowed, and he knew then, this was for real. The game was over.

Just as it looked like his sword would mean lights out for the young warrior, and just as the blade was to slash down over his face, something happened. Athelon stopped dead in his tracks.

Link had awakened.

"I said fight! Attack me, you coward!" Malroc roared as he charged through the smoke. Link shook from his seemingly hours-long daydream. Though once conscious, he realized it was only seconds. Through the fog of red flames, the Demon broke through the plume and lunged toward him, looming just feet in front of his shield.

With no time to act, Link jumped back and hurled his shield with all the strength he could summon forth at the beast's face. The smoldering red steel of the shield made a direct hit against him with the force of a meteorite.

"Arghhh!" Malroc fell back on his hind hooves, the throb of his cranium drumming in pain. In the ricochet, Link caught back, slapped around the shield in his grasp, and rushed back toward the Barracks.

Daze slowly cleared Malroc's mind, and as his sight returned, he focused on scouring the arena for the runaway warrior.

"Why do you flee like a thief in the night? Are you not the precious hero they won't shut up about? Coward!"

Malroc soon smiled as he caught sight of him. "Ah, there you are...you didn't get far though..." But a question plagued him, and he whispered more. "Where are you running off to?" And just as he was to make a move, a thought rushed from the back of his mind. He growled in disgusts at the ploy. "Wait a minute...You never intended to fight..."

The Titan roared. "Stupid boy, what game you playing at? You're just trying to buy time for those pathetic friends of yours and that bitch! You think you can trick me!?

"Fool! I see everything! I'll have her on her knees, degraded and stripped bare while she begs for death before the end! There is no plan you can hatch that can escape her from me! I will destroy you all!"

Link heard his vile rant and ran as fast as possible for the tower ahead of him. This was his only chance now. It was only several hundred more feet. However, in this fight, it might as well have been a million leagues away. And just as he was getting close, the fiend appeared standing in front of him, arms crossed and menacing.

"Going somewhere?" Malroc crooked his neck with a grin, and a grim chuckle escaped the side of his fangs.

Link flexed and stood back below him. Damn, the tower is too far...What am I to do now? The shield trick won't work a second time.

The others had finally descended on Zelda's position.

"There! Beneath that nook of stone! The Princess!" Sidon yelled out while the others rallied to his call.

There would be no time to celebrate yet. To their misfortune at their flank, a swarm of beasts have also spotted her from afar and made a claim to her as well.

Simon yanked on Sidon before he could rush ahead. "You take my men and dispense of those abominations and draw their gaze! I'll get the Princess out of here!"

"What? Why you?"

"Because I am the only one that has a horse fast enough! And with me, I can arrange her safe departure far from this forsaken hell and get her back to my home fortress. There she will be safe. I assure you with my life. Now go!"

Sidon wasn't up for the debate, and the monsters were closing in. The whistling of arrows began to fly overhead them and clanked against the stone. So, he begrudgingly relented. "Fine! Go!"

Simon smiled as he stepped away down some steps that led to her position. But, before he got out of earshot, he spoke one final remark to Sidon on the matter. "You do your Kingdom a great service Prince of Zora; I may have misjudged you. Perhaps when after all this is over, we can shake hands as friends. Or the very least, have an understanding of one another."

Sidon just squinted in return, spun around, and took the small regiment of men to engage the enemy. Simon was now free to slip away to acquire the Princess.

Safely tucked away in the shadows, Simon made it the foot of the Princess where she lay. There he rushed to get her off the ground. The Earth beneath shook violently, and the distracting clash of warring steel behind him made him lose his footing. And before he could touch the hem of her garment, her face lit up wide awake.

Zelda gasped for air. Her heart pounded frantically as she stirred erratically on the ground. Realizing she had been set aside for some time, the hazy remembrance of what had taken place had finally begun to take shape clear in her mind. And of her mission. Twitching fingers glided up from the sides of her thighs, and she felt the sheath still safeguarded around the waist-belt under her cloak. She knew then the task wasn't finished.

Her eyes widened, and she heaved again. "What...what happened?"

Simon knelt beside her and spoke firmly. "You're awake! Thank goodness, we thought we may have lost you...Princess, I have come to save you from this wretched place. To take you far, far away to a sanctuary of safety. Come!"

Zelda was reinvigorated and jumped up to her feet before he could touch her. "But, where is Link? I have to find him?"

"What? The boy? Are you serious? He is long dead for sure by now."

"What? He can't be? You lie!"

"I'm sorry, but he himself is the one who sent me to gather you. Now, there is no time; we must flee."

"NO! I will not. I don't believe you!"

"I'm sorry, but you don't have a say in the matter; you're too important! Certainly, not to go gallivanting around to save some boy for all intents and purposes is probably already dead. I tell you, he has perished! He's done his duty! Now, it's time for us to fulfill ours! Let's go!"

"Liar!" Zelda reaffirmed with an agitated frown, swiftly dodging his ill attempts to grab her wrists to apprehend her and pull her away.

Just as Simon tried to grab her arm, she stomped and ducked past his feeble grasp and ran with all the fury and muster her feet could carry her and slipped away, back toward the heart of the battle.

"Zelda! Don't! What are you doing!? Have you gone mad?"

She was a ways ahead of him now. Certainly, even she felt she may have gone mad, even just a little. But, she didn't care. If there was just even a sliver of a chance Link could be alive, he would need her now the most. He would need the sword!

Simon murmured to himself. "Foolish girl...Have it your way then..."

He wouldn't be risking going after her. The ground rumbled again, and any conception to chase after her diminished in his mind. He did care about the Kingdom and her safety. But, he cared more so for his own neck and the lives of his men. She was on her own now. She made her choice.

Malroc erupted in laughter. "So, where to now, little man? I see you have that shiny shield there. Though, it's looking a rather bit dim now, wouldn't you say? I give it some credit, though. Like you, it has taken quite the beating, yet still willing to hold on...Such a pesky thing. But, don't think that will save you from me."

Link frowned and flexed a war stance to brace for the worst.

"No words for me? No last-minute heroics? No vague speech or empty platitudes on the acts of bravery and justice in the name of peace?"

The young warrior just stood firm and quiet, eyes glazed with a furious glow that narrowed in on the Monster.

Malroc's patience evaporated. "Well, if you're not going to say anything, then I see no use in dragging this out!"

In an instant, all that was heard was an earsplitting crash, and Link went flying through the air. The Devil rammed into him so hard with his summoned hammer that Link could hardly see it coming.

If not for the shield block, it would have certainly killed him. But, there would be no time to wail in pain. Link still had to draw him closer. But, when the boy found himself climbing back up to his feet, barrage after barrage of more attacks rained down upon him. The beatings relentlessly continued.

All Link could do was block with the shield, but the force of such attacks rattled his arm and shattered all senses down to his bones even with that one saving grace. The pain was so immense that his arm began to go numb, and he could hardly hold on.

"C'mon boy! It's no fun if you don't fight back...!"

Malroc stood back and coalesced around with black light in a grand finale. A dark power surged. "If you won't fight, then I'll finish this!" he roared, and a plume of red and putrid smoke swirled around him. In a flinch, he launched himself toward Link.

Left with only one eye open, splintered ribs, and a frail arm, all Link could do was try to block for a final time. His fighting spirit was waning, and the wounds were mounting.

Though there would be no more saving graces for him this time. No miraculous interventions. And when the final clash of Malroc's hammer crashed into him, the Demon pierced his shield and obliterated it from end to end in a melted splatter of burnt steel and shrapnel. Link was catapulted in the collision and flew through a rush of fiery splinters only to land nowhere near where he needed to be.

Malroc stomped slowly and took his time to meet him where he landed—seeing that there was no need to rush and kill his opponent. This was anything far from a fair fight anyway. This was the calm and calculated torture from a hunter chasing after the hunted. Link wasn't his opponent. He was his prey.

The young warrior crawled on the ground, frantically trying to find the strength to lift himself up from where he fell. He was peppered in bruises, and it took everything he had just to stand. Whispering to himself, he reached for a partially broken wall of some decimated farmstead. Having no idea where he was now on the battlefield. "I can sure use some of that darkness sealing power right about now..."

But, the fatigue was compounding, and he slid and knelt again. Breathing was a desperate struggle. "Damn, if only I had my sword. Perhaps...maybe, then I'd stand a chance..."

The tower was nowhere in sight. He must have flown much further than he thought in that last attack. He was back into the peasant quarter of the massive city. Once Link did see where it stood, he knew there would be no way to maneuver past Malroc to get to the fortress. Let alone lead the beast to the pit of the Barracks within. "Shit, what now?"

His precious seconds of free air were up. Link's ear twitched to the menacing growl of Malroc. Eager to continue the onslaught. The beast was making his slow descent upon him from above the castle courtyard. And just as Link was about to lose all hope and despair, his ear twitched to another creeping sound. Not the thundering crash of hoovesteps or the stomps of marching monsters upon brittle stone, but the faint quickening of tiny feet. Could it be?

Despite having every ounce of luck shattered around him, fighting just to stay alive throughout this whole ordeal, and amid everything that was happening, like a shimmering ray of hope reflecting in his eye, afar something stood, unwavering. A being that lived without a worry or care in the world. It was as if no war was happening at all.

For why would they care? All others had far more to fear of it than they did. If mortal beings only knew the true nature of their dormant destructive power...Prancing about in a decrepit old barn, a Cucco stirred. Wandering and uncaring, pecking for the afternoon worms as it always did, woefully unaware of the world's plight or the chaos around it. Stuck in a time when things hadn't changed at all. For the world was on its timekeeper.

Indeed, this must have been a mirage or some diluted hallucination caused by his sustained injuries, Link thought. But nay, it was real. Link saw this as a sign of hope and resilience, and his heart swelled with an unending valiance.

But, what is a Cucco doing here? And, at a time like this? Does this mean...does this mean Ganon's influence over this land is waning? Are the creatures of this world finally returning home?

Malroc inched closer to loom over Link and scoffed. "You're a pretty tough one, aren't you?" And as he stood ahead of him, he dispelled the hammer he carried in a blackened fog of magic. Seeing no need to use it against the battered Hylian.

The frail, standing warrior didn't say a word. He would relent no satisfaction to the beast and offered only a cool smirk in reply.

The agitated Monster unfolded his arms and growled. "Why you? I'll wipe that stupid smirk right off your face!"

Fists collided into the firm crisscross of Link's arms as he blocked and launched back yet again. This time slamming through the barn wall at that homestead's same property.

"Stupid, foolish Hylian! How dare you mock me with a grin!"

Link found himself face first on the stable floor, and just a spit of straw away strutted the nearby Cucco. How can that rooster be so calm during all of this? He's just...pecking still...

Oh, sure, he may have flapped away several feet, but for the most part, the barnyard bird cared not for their battle nor the plight of either side. All it cared for was squiggling worms that wrestled in the mud and some loose grains that spilled over from an old sack in the aftermath.

The Titan leapt and slammed down beside Link to taunt him as he crawled from his wounds.

"This is Hyrule's champion? The one we're supposed to fear? Don't make me laugh...What are you? Hmm? Some farmer's son? A soldier from a bygone Kingdom?... You are living in the shadows of the past, boy. Unable to accept your fate...That's what you are...Nothing but a puny, miserable, little Hylian boy playing hero.

"But, I, on the other hand...I am Malroc! One ordained by he who is lord of this world. I am the great obliterator, demon riser, soul devourer, and the bane of all men! I've been granted power near to the gods, mighty and fierce. My wroth is swift, and terrible is my fire. And by his dark light, I have been ordained and given dominion over all life until the coming of his glorious return... For I am Malroc the Terrible..."

Out of breath and clambering just to stand, Link, found the strength to rise up to his feet. Face drenched in a gruesome mixture of blood and sweat. He only had one thing left to say to the beast in that regard. All the while still wearing a half-smirk."Oh, yeah? Well, I'm Link...And, if there is anything I learned from my farmer father and his tales in battle, is that this, is a Meadowbrook Red!"

"What?" Malroc's eyes flared at the gesture. Held in Link's arms behind his back, he clutched a Cucco, and as quickly as he held the bird, he tossed the fluttering fowl in front of the Towering Titan.

"Pikawwwww!" The bird exclaimed in panic.

Malroc instinctively smacked away the Cucco high through the air so hard that it disappeared into the sky like a twinkling star. He had enough of the game.

"Am I some sort of joke to you! Insolent fool! I will crush you for all those to see. They will behold their great hero is nothing but a shadow! A mere mirage of a true hero of Legend...Yes, I know of him, and you are naught but a counterfeit imitation of him. Hell, you're not even that..."

"Yeah, well, that may be true...but there's only one hero to this legend...and you just swatted him!"

"WHAT!?"

And as quickly as Link said, he lunged out of the way from what was about to happen next.

Malroc stomped to step after him but immediately halted his advance. He couldn't help but perk his ears to the sound of a storm brewing behind him and immediately spun to scan his eyes above. But, this was no thundercloud of rain or hail. This was a hurricane of wrath filled with rage and vengeance.

Where the others were and where Zelda ran through remnants of the crumbled city, all stopped to witness the change to the skies. Both sides seized their warring to gaze up to the heavens through the clanking of shields and clubs. Stricken by disbelief to what they were beholding, they saw a calamity of a different kind. One that hasn't been seen for over one hundred years.

Zelda slid as she ran toward Link's position to glance also. "What is that?" She whispered to herself, her startled eyes widening to the clouds above and to the unfolding scene. "I can't believe what I'm seeing! Incredible. Are those really?... Cuccos?"

For the first time in centuries, the seemingly invincible Monster known as Malroc sweat a tear of fear down his brow. He had no clue what was unfolding or what would happen next. A swell of hundreds if not thousands of cuccos encircled him. None were making their move...yet.

The Titan cautiously stood in the eye of a storm that they created around him. He was surrounded. Any effort to see where Link had fled escaped his mind. All his attention was now on the phenomenon that entrapped him. The spiraling swarm of birds was so intense that they formed a tornado around him, and without warning, they unleashed hell from all sides. There was no escape.

Hundreds of the flapping, swirling missiles would claw and ram their beaks into the open soft flesh of his skin. Each cucco seeking their own sweet revenge upon him. All Malroc could do was wail and flail around, desperate to break free from their cyclone of fury.

The Monster mindlessly ran as fast as he could to escape, but it was for naught. The birds wouldn't let up. As soon as he swiped at one, another would take its place. Then another. There seemed to be no end to them.

The pecking intensified and the scratches more severe. One rooster managed to gouge out one of his eyes during the fray, leaving a messy trail of blackened blood. It now seemed that hope was on the horizon for Link and Zelda and that finally, the terror known as Malroc had met his match.

Link got away, and just as he turned from watching the devastation the flock was unleashing, he saw Zelda. She was heading straight for him several hundred feet away. It wouldn't be long now.

Catching sight of him, she slid to a halt coming down an egress path. Her mouth dropped, and her heart fluttered in her chest. He's alive! She thought. I knew it! However, she couldn't help but be torn away ahead of him to the massive gale of cuccos bombarding their enemy.

Zelda was mesmerized in a state of shock and awe. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined such a miraculous scene to unfold. The sight of which got so intense, all that could be heard through the whirling fray of dust were squawks and panicked roars. And as she watched and trepidatiously approached closer to Link, she couldn't tear away her gaze from them.

And when she thought it was about to erupt into a cataclysmic climax, silence fell. Everything just stopped. The remaining birds flew away in different directions as fast as they came. Each of them returning to the four corners of the Earth, leaving no trace of Malroc as they sailed across the sky above her head. And when her eyes rested upon where they'd fled from. He, too, was gone.

But, her attention soon turned from that to Link as she heard him grunt and fall to his knee. She gasped and bolted to him.

Fatigue was catching up to him fast. She saw the fading light in his eyes as he flinched from his wounds. His breathing deepened. Zelda knew she had to get to him quickly before she could lose him again. She was determined never to let that happen again.

"Link! I'm coming!"

Link immediately arose his head upon hearing her sweet voice, and a surge of strength flowed through him. He forced his eyes to widen, and his focus returned. The gnawing worry of her fate chewing in the back of his mind had finally disappeared. A load of stress of not knowing if she was okay or not had finally lifted off his shoulders and left him feeling weightless. She was alive.

There was a lull in the noise of the war where they were, but in the distance, other battles raged and could still be heard.

She slowed her approach, watching him turn to face her as he glared back beyond them to see if the deed had been done or not.

"Is it...is it over?" She breathed, hand firmly pressed against her chest. Her golden hair whipped back and forth in the strangely silent wind. She hoped.

After a quick study of the battlefield ahead of them, Link faced her, and it could have been because his voice was sore from battle, or perhaps just dry, whatever the reason, he couldn't bring himself to speak just yet, so he didn't say a word. All he could do was lift his calming blue eyes toward her, accompanied by a confident smile. And with that, he quickly finished with a determined nod.

Link always had a way about him that melted her troubles away. She could be fretting until the cuccos came home to roost on just about any silly or serious thing, and with a simple smile or single snarky sentence, he could make all her worries disappear. But, most of all, it was that carefree smile of his when he wasn't so serious that silenced all her fears.

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, peace at last.

Her stress did dissolve and fade away, but even more than that, she just wanted to hug Link. Just hold him and never let go. So she went to do just that. But fate wouldn't be so kind. Not even a step forward could she take before being thrust into a nightmare. The whole world felt as if it was about to come undone. The ground pulsed, and fissures of cracks rippled underneath her feet.

Link saw the panic grip her and her green pupils narrow by the sheer terror of what was happening. But, as he was about to move over to her, an earsplitting explosion blasted right behind him, knocking him to his feet. The Princess also fell where she was. Were they doomed never to reunite with each other?

Red rays of dark and malevolent energy zapped and hissed past them. The sky dimmed around them. Waves of this negative force reverberated until they pitted in the bottom of Zelda's belly, making her sick. She knew this presence. Only one entity could create such a malevolent force.

As the ground cracked and the fault-lines split, an ominous yet, angered heavy heaving was heard echoing around them. The breaths were soon overcome by thundering stomps.

Zelda's ears were ringing, but as she came to on the ground from the nauseating presence, she heard his voice clear as crystal. "It's over when I say it's over!"

To make matters worse, when she realized what had happened, the surface she was on wasn't level with Link and Malroc's. The city had torn, and a small chasm separated them. Damnit. Why didn't I give him the sword when I had the chance! Zelda swore she could have slapped herself for being so careless.

Malroc growled. "I knew I could always count on you to bring her to me."

Link climbed back up to his feet and spun to face him. The Titan had survived, but not without consequence. Link noticed he was beaten up badly. He was even missing an eye, and the other was also scratched something awful. The beast would never admit it, but he had taken quite a thrashing. Link grinned.

"Don't think that your little trick earlier made a difference because it didn't. Your feathered friends may have taken my eyes in surprise, but I can still smell you. I can taste your hylian stench in the air. I can hear your panicked breaths and feel you move as you lunge through the wind. You are all going to die..."

Link stiffened. He didn't know what to do. Or what more, how could he protect her now? She was just behind him. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He braced to make his move and called to Zelda before he did. "You have to get out of here! Please, Zelda! I'll hold him off!"

"What?" Zelda replied, dumbfounded. "No way! There's no way I'd ever leave your side! Link!-"

"Times up!" Malroc interrupted her, and from out his mouth, he shot a ball of flame hurling right toward her. Zelda froze. She had never seen such ferocity before. And in Blink, she was engulfed in a fog of darkness.

When she awoke, and as the light of day filled in around her, she awoke to find herself alive on the ground, not too far from where she stood overlooking the ginormous crack in the Earth. As the blur of darkness faded through the surrounding flames, she saw Link several paces in front of her as well. He must have saved her from the scorch of Malroc's fury. But, unlike her, he was unconscious. That was when she knew. He must have taken the full brunt of Malroc's attack and used his body to shield her as he pulled her away from his fiery breath.

Zelda crawled up to her knees, and through the glow of the raging flames ahead of her, she saw a massive shadow cast over them. There was no doubt that the Monster was enjoying every second of this. He inched slowly to where she was and acted in no real hurry.

Every passing moment drew him closer, and Zelda did the only thing she could have done. There was no way she would let him get close to Link, nor would she give up without a fight. So, she reached for the scabbard around her waist and unsheathed the blade within. Like a majestic jewel, the gleaming blade of crystal steel radiated as she unveiled it.

"Do you even know how to use that?" Malroc taunted, unphased by her righteous indignation. "Careful, you could get hurt with such a sharp thing." He mused further with a low chuckle.

"Stay back, you fiend!" Zelda commanded. Although she did her best, she was woefully unskilled in the art of swordsmanship. Not only that, the weight of this sword was like any other she had ever held. Grasped tightly in her hands, the thing swung around as nimble as an anvil. Not at all. "I'm warning you...You stay away from him, or I'll run you through and skewer you like a fish!"

Malroc chuckled as he approached her. He was just dashing distance away now. "Is that so? How very touching, that glow in your eyes. Those tears rolling down your cheeks. The tremble in your voice...It won't be long now. This makes it all the more worthwhile for me to see the day where you fail...and where he dies right before the glare in them."

Zelda hardly blinked. It happened so fast. In an instant, the Monster raced up in front of her. Fear overwhelmed her, but she closed her eyes and went for it. She rammed the sword forward as he lunged at her, desperate for a piercing strike. However, when she opened them, all she saw and felt was air.

The blade was heavy in her grasp, and Malroc saw her struggle just to carry it. The sudden crash of blackened steel slamming against crystal ore rang out violently. The Monster dodged ever so slightly, and when she reoriented her attack back at him, he used his own demonic blade to fling her sword away. Up her sword went in the air in a spiral behind her, leaving her defenseless.

This whole ordeal had become a cruel game to him. Zelda fell to her bottom from the strike and looked up to him in terror as he lunged back and swelled with a swirling dark current of energy. The black glow that engulfed him dimmed the skies above, and as she sat there, unable to get up, she watched up in horror.

Malroc growled as he wielded his demonic blade high above his head, about to deal the final blow. "I only need your blood and spirit...There's nothing written that says you have to live...Die, Princess!"

The Monster charged, leapt in the air, and slashed down his blade over her head. Zelda flinched but felt nothing.

Instead, she opened her eyes to the ear shattering scream of steel crashing against crystal-ore. Above, a magnificent feat of strength took her breath away. Out of nowhere, Link struck back Malroc's devilish blade with the ancient sword; splashing sparks of raw power made up of good and evil which rained over her in the collision.

To her amazement, she had been saved. Link rammed into the beast with all his might, and she saw that Link was renewed with new strength. That when he held a sword such as that in his hands, he had become a completely different person.

Link smirked above Zelda as he held back the beast." So, my Princess, when were you going to tell me about this?" he said, insinuating the shiny new weapon in his hands.

Zelda could only gasp in wonderful amazement, incredulous that even at a time like this, when things were most dire, he still had the resolve to joke around. She rebutted with a shout. "Perhaps, when you were done with your napping!"

A few small laughs escaped the side of Link's lips while he hovered in the air holding back the beast. He then grunted and, with a war cry, shoved the Monster back a short way from their interlocking blades. Disoriented by surprise, Malroc hurried to regain his footing.

Zelda's head swam in an ocean of emotion. In one moment, she was afraid that it would be the end of her life, and with that, the ending possibility of her ever telling Link how she felt, and in another, a swell of adrenaline peaked to its highest intensity. That the sight of seeing him yet again made her hopeful for the future and what it would hold for them if they succeeded.

But, everything was happening so fast around her. There was no time to dwell on feelings.

She also noticed something most peculiar when Link was suspended above her. Perhaps, Link didn't realize because he was so focused on his battle with Malroc. But, when he counter-attacked and when her heart drummed in her chest, and when her hands tightened against her thighs, seeing him being the courageous hero she had always known him to be, a phenomenon occurred that she couldn't explain. Unbeknownst to Link, the shiny emerald that was locked into the hilt of the old blade flickered soft glows of green starlight.

Though her fascination would have to wait, her attention snapped back to the hollering call from Link, who had just launched the Titan back. "You have to get out of here! Go, Zelda, please! Let me handle this!"

Despite her hesitation to leave his side, the Princess nodded at the command, but she was too late. Before she could climb back up to stand, a harrowing sight happened in front of her. "Link! Look out!" she screamed, hand-stretched toward him.

With his back turned, Link could hardly react. Malroc unleashed his greatest assault yet. This was no mere ball of fire but a massive torrent of raw dark energy swirling in black flames blasting right toward them. This was it, Zelda thought.

As the blast zeroed in on them both, Link to the front and Zelda just behind him, instinct took over. All of Link's conscious actions paused, and muscle memory took action. A sudden remembrance overcame his entire body.

Caught up in the turn away, Link used that momentum, spun, and swiftly raised the majestic sword high above his head. And as the swirling wrath of dark power was about to consume them in a flash of blinding light, Link slashed down his blade.

In a gleaming ray of perfect form and agility, Link drew his sword and returned a stunning attack back. The High Hylian Guard, or better known as the Scorpion's tail. A maneuver that could block any assault. With his blade raised high above his head, he clashed back against his mentor's and flung him back high through the air to bounce in the mud like a rag doll. Link defeated his master with an incredible display of speed, technique, and power.

"Pinch me..." mumbled Orin to Sven, who obliged him happily, standing next to him. "Ow!" Groaned Orin.

Everyone present couldn't believe what they were witnessing. Silence filled those slippery slopes, and everyone watched and waited as the rain poured down overhead. None could look away. Had Link won?

All attention focused on the young warrior who heaved in the rain as he lifted his blade and what he would do next. He had a fire lit in his soul, and everyone could see it glow in his eyes.

In the aftermath of holy steel colliding against evil energy, the ball deflected and split open.

Energy ripped and divided down the middle and shot in opposite directions, narrowly dodging Link and Zelda to their left and right. Though unscathed, the blade smoldered and glowed red. The air surrounding its tip singed and steamed.

Malroc couldn't believe it.

Link hollered back to Zelda. "Now's your chance, get out of here! I'll take care of this!"

Zelda didn't relent this time. She quickly hopped to her feet and bolted back away from the battle behind Link.

Malroc was pissed. He knew now that with an energized warrior to contend with, he'd have to pull all the stops to win. Link was now armed and ready for battle. Though tired and wounded, he still had some fight left. A fighting spirit the Devil would have to extinguish.

Furthermore, he knew that acquiring the Princess would have to wait because there was no way the Hylian to his front would let him get close without a fight.

The beast groaned and roared. "You think wielding that sword now somehow makes you some sort of legendary hero? It takes more than a weapon to make the man! You—"

Link snapped. "I told you before. You can keep your stupid legends. I'm the one that's going to destroy you!"

"Why, you arrogant, pathetic fool! How dare you!?" Malroc stomped, Lunged back, and then charged. "DESTROY THIS, WHY DON'T YOU!"

Just as Malroc was to stab his blade into Link, the epic weapon's emerald trapped inside gleamed again. This time brighter than ever. And then—

A voice echoed in Link's mind. One speaking in an ancient language he had no recollection of, yet, seemed familiar as if he had known it his whole life. Though he knew he didn't. He couldn't have. But, as clear as summer raindrops against the window sill, in his mind, he listened to the words uttered by the foreign voice and understood. Though he hadn't the foggiest idea what they meant or who they were for. All senses to his present body evaporated, and he floated away in all thought and imagining. He was consumed by the deep, stern voice of a man.

The whispers of the man spoke in a frail yet strong tone. Desperate for someone to hear. Anyone...

"I pray to you now, dear sweet and blessed virgin of the golden sun, grant me your mortal servant, Locke, the power to defeat thy adversary. That through your divine light, blessings may yield the power of the gracious Goddess to perform thy will. Please, offer her my prayer that she may hear my plight... I beg thee...Bless me with her power so that by her kiss of wind, she may fly me away in her sweet Emerald Typhoon."

And as quickly as the voice emerged in Link's heart and mind, it vanished. Malroc was just overhead him! "Ha, ha, what now, hero!? Caught in a daydream again!? I have you! DIE!"

Link hesitated; he realized he'd slipped away at the worst moment and that his mortal enemy would crash down over him, but nevertheless, he flexed and swung up his sword. In a beautiful display, Zelda watched Link perform from afar, overlooking the ramparts of the castle walls. She couldn't turn her gaze.

The brave Hylian lifted the sword, and just as Malroc would slash down upon him, the emerald gem flashed again and the square flooded with glaring light. Link swung the sword skyward held up above his head, and as Malroc fell, a swirling fog of green wind circled him from head to toe, and then...he disappeared...

The beast's blade slashed nothing but air. The boy was gone without a trace. And just as the Demon could refocus his attention, a thundering cry roared from behind and above him. He hadn't a hope to repel the attack. Link was stabbing down, and before the Monster could think of where he went wrong, the brave warrior impaled him above his neck, stabbing the mighty blade into him like a tasteless pedestal.

Zelda covered her mouth in awe. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Malroc flailed his hands above his head to try and claw desperately for the boy, but it was too late. His throat drained of all his putrid blood, and the last thing he saw was Link grunting to a finish with an angered frown.

"And for good measure!" Link shouted, spinning the blade in guillotine slash, lopping the Titan's head clean off his shoulders to roll away onto the ground.

Blood steadily dripped from the blade's tip when Link unsheathed it from his corpse. All Hyrule's champion could do was step back and watch. He, too, couldn't believe what had taken place. Nor could he even explain it. He didn't care, though. The task was done. The horror known as Malroc was dead. The enemy of free peoples of this world, that which terrorized them for so long in the name of the Dark Lord, was defeated.

Compounding fatigue overwhelmed Link, and just as he was about to rest, the Lynel's limp body glowed and simmered with coursing light. The worry was about to consume him yet again but soon gave way to relief. Malroc's corpse pulsed and pulled in every chaotic way. It gargled and hummed violently until exploding into a million fragments of fading energy and flesh. He was gone for good.

Zelda had run up again behind Link. She saw the dire straits he was in and how weary he'd become. Link collapsed, sword sliding from his fingers just to bounce away on the ground. But, this time, he had something soft to fall on when he fell. Or someone. Without warning or introduction, the Princess just wrapped herself around the wounded warrior for a warm embrace. She desperately wanted to hug him earlier, and by the Goddess, she would make it happen this time. Nothing could get in the way of that now.

Caught in Zelda's arms, he could finally rest. Link lifted his head up to her as she huddled next to him in the blowing wind on the ground. He knew then to throw her a sweet smile. "Now... it's over..."

"Oh, Link...Thank goodness you're alright. I was so...I was so worried." She finished with a gentle kiss to his bangs. But, he was too weak to lift his lips to embrace the warmth of hers. But, the perfume of her skin around him was enough for now. There would be time enough later for that.

"Worried about me? What about you miss's maniac warrior with a sword? I'm the one that should be worried...And after all the times I tried to get you to practice with weapons, and you saw no point, you decide now would be the best time to give it a go?"

He chuckled faintly as she rested her chin on his head as he leaned into her, exhausted. "Speaking of which, where did you find such a marvelous weapon? I mean...it's no Master Sword, but it's quite the find."

"That will have to remain a secret," she chirped softly before continuing as she held him even closer. "You'll want to see that surprise for yourself." She mused with a giggle.

Their exchange would have to wait. They were on a battlefield, after all. Crashing sounds and booms could be heard behind them, back toward the edge of the castle where the others still fought.

"You see that?' He asked.

"Yeah, look...Malroc's remnants...they are fleeing?"

"I would, too, if I saw what I could do..." Link smirked.

"Oh really?" Zelda scoffed with a pouty smile.

Sidon was in a battle with several cretins compiling of Moblins, bokoblins, and other filthy ilk when a roaring flash consumed the ground where they all fought.

Simon shouted beside the Zora. "What do you suppose?"

"I don't know..." concurred Sidon.

Teba shot up to hover above them to afford them a better view with his eagle-eyed vision. "He did it! Link did it!"

"What? Did what?" Called Simon. "Speak plainly, man!"

"He destroyed the beast! Malroc...is dead!"

Simon's mouth dropped to the floor. Sidon smiled and flexed a fist in the air. "And we shall be victorious too! Let's finish this, once and for all!"

But he spoke too soon. The monsters saw what happened as well and were so shaken so full of fright by the light that they had fled aimlessly in all directions when they turned to face them.

"Those miserable creatures are getting away! Lances! Don't let them escape!" Called Simon.

"Wait!" Shouted Sidon, his red arm stretched in front of Simon, barring his way.

"What do you mean! We can't let them escape! They will just reorganize and—"

"Look...There!"

Teba turned to face the eastern sky to confirm what Sidon was sensing. "It has to be over a hundred of them..."

Sidon pointed south. "And there! Another!"

"And more here, my lord!" Called a captain behind them, pointing towards the west.

What was left of Malroc's forces were mindlessly fleeing beyond the castle walls and city but were soon stifled.

"And what do we have here? Leftovers, I see..." A giggle scoffed. One from a young girl. "Attack! Spare no mercy, for you'd receive none if the situations were reversed!" In a fit of laughing mania, Purah chuckled. Nodding the order for the Shiekah men who lined to her front to attack fleeing monsters beyond the city walls. They were on Hyrule field. And as her men unveiled their weapons and charged ahead, she whispered to herself, remembering a century ago. "I wasn't..."

From every corner of Hyrule came Shiekah Men, Gerudo, Gorons, Zora, and Rito. They was no escape for the pitiful band of beasts that remained. Easily they were dispensed. All of Ganon's remnants were now destroyed and flung from existence on this Earth. The war was over.

Zelda spoke, unraveling her arms from Link. "Look...all of them...They all came!"

Link didn't say a word. He was rendered speechless by the love those people all had for Hyrule. That in the Kingdom's most dire hour, they hadn't abandoned her or their Princess. They just needed time. The hope and the will to believe, that in their righteous might ...they could win.

Authors Notes- Important

Okay Everyone, I'll be posting the next chapter soon. I've been writing a lot. But, I have been really busy with the next arc. Now, I know I shouldn't be doing that but I can't help myself. I write when the inspirations come to me. Thanks for being patient and reading thus far. You're amazing! Thanks for all the love. It means a lot.

After the last chapter drops I will be focusing my attention to the audiobook. Don't despair, this story will be finished but I have to catch that up. Follow that on youtube! Lastly, if you haven't yet, please leave a comment on your thoughts and suggestions. It really helps me out. Let me know what you want to see more of or less of. That being said, I hope you are well wherever you are in Hyrule.- Sky