Before the argument could progress further, the other old man—who Enyo guessed was Justice—spoke up. “Both of you should cease arguing at once. I know that tempers are running high due to what happened, but that’s no excuse to lose your composure.”
“My… apologies,” Abstinence muttered.
“I apologize as well,” Kindness said.
Justice nodded. “What we are dealing with right now is an unprecedented crisis. Since the founding of the White Council, no one has ever managed to kill so many of us with such trickery. And while I do not wish to take sides, Abstinence does bring up a good point. The barriers around our manors are impenetrable save for three ways. One: they use an overwhelming amount of force. Two: they slip through the barrier, which can only happen if someone has intimate knowledge of how these barriers work. And three: they received permission to enter from the homeowner.”
Enyo knew a little about barriers. There had been a barrier around her mansion when she was younger. She’d never studied it in depth, but she knew that it was designed to render the mansion invisible to anyone who was not tuned into the runes. According to Fellis, her father had set it up as a way of keeping the Dark Council from finding her.
“Option one is out of the question. We’d have known if someone destroyed a barrier that way. That leaves just option two and option three. The only people who understand how the barriers work are myself, Humility, and I believe you, Chastity, are also studying the inner workings of rune barriers.”
“I am, but I’m still far behind the both of you.” Chastity rubbed the back of his head. “They are a lot more complicated than I initially thought.”
“Indeed they are.” Justice nodded. “Now, since only three people even understand the barrier, we can rule out option two. That leaves only option three. Kindness…” Justice fixed her with a look. “I know that you are not the type to just accept anyone into your home. Is there someone you can think of who might have been acting strange? Perhaps the person was under mind magic.”
Kindness gained a thoughtful look. Enyo glanced at Fellis, who subtly shook her head, signifying that she did not know any other mind magic users. The only one who could have come close to that sort of magic was Darkness, but she was dead.
“I do not believe so,” she said at last. “At least, not that I know of, but I will admit that I hadn’t been paying much attention to everyone except my head maid.”
“We feel at ease in our own home, so it is difficult sometimes to notice when something is amiss,” Justice assured her. “That said, since you do not know if someone of your household was being manipulated, we are back to square one.”
The group continued to speak, but Enyo stopped paying attention at that point. She wasn’t interested in listening to them discuss the issue. All she wanted to hear was what they planned to do from now on. Beside her, Fellis was leaning her head on her hand, her eyes closed as she nodded off.
Enyo only started paying attention again when Queen Alice said, “Let’s take a recess and return after we’ve had a chance to eat and freshen up.”
She stood up with everyone else, tapping Fellis on the shoulder to wake her up, and then left with her yawning former servant in tow. The others also left one at a time. Kindness caught up to the pair as they were walking down the hall.
“You sure were quick to leave,” Kindness said. “Were you two bored? You looked like you were about to fall asleep.”
“I wasn’t that interested in what anyone was saying since they didn’t come up with a solution to our problem,” Enyo admitted shamelessly.
“I was up late last night,” Fellis said.
“Is that so?” Kindness shook her head. “Either way, I wanted to speak with you about—”
Before she could finish, a loud clapping noise like thunder struck them def. Enyo screamed as she placed her hands over her ears. She could feel warm liquid pouring from them. It felt like someone was blowing a horn in her ears!
It took nearly a minute for Enyo to realize the sound had stopped. Slowly, as if afraid it would start up again, she released her ears and opened her eyes. She was kneeling on the ground. Attempting to stand up, Enyo very nearly doubled over again as everything spun around. She pressed a hand to her face as if trying not to vomit.
“That sound…” Fellis groaned next to her. “W-what was that?”
Kindness slowly climbed to her feet, her knees shaking and blood pouring from her ears. “T-that was the sound of someone breaking through the defensive barrier around Avant Heim. Someone is attacking us!”
Hearing that, Enyo forced herself to stand up. Her knees wobbled, her legs shook, and she even had to clench her butt cheeks to remain standing. The urge to vomit was overwhelming, but she stood and unsheathed her daggers. Fellis had also risen to her feet and was pulling out her whip.
“Come on,” Enyo said, ignoring the way her ears rung from the sound of her own voice. “We need to find Queen Alice and the others.”
The last place they had seen Queen Alice was the White Council meeting chamber, so they started their and worked their way along the route they believed the queen had taken.
As they were moving down a hallway, something burst out from the other side. It scrambled toward them on four legs. Its crimson eyes glowed with malicious intent and its midnight fur bristled. It had two heads. Two rows of razor sharp teeth were revealed as the creature opened its mouth and howled. That seemed to have been a signal, for four other beasts followed.
“What are these things?!” Kindness finally lost her composure and screamed.
“Orthos!” Fellis shouted in shock. “These are beasts from the darklands!”
“What?!”
“They’re coming!”
Enyo fought against a smile as she wreathed her blades in light magic. Her blood was pumping stronger than ever. She struggled to control her bloodlust. She couldn’t allow it to make her reckless.
The orthos were on them, the one in front lunging at her while two others leapt over it. Enyo went down, bending backward until she was lying on her back. The orthos missed. She then stuck her blade out as it passed over her, grinning in satisfaction as the blade cut through the creature’s stomach like a hot knife through water.
It tumbled to the ground. Then it skidded into two other orthos, which had been about to attack Kindness and Fellis. Enyo scrambled to her feet as the one that had remained behind lunged for her. She leapt over it, flipping as she landed on its back. Without wasting a moment, she stabbed her right blade into the creature’s neck, severing its spine and causing it to collapse. The orthos whined as its body twitched several times before falling still.
“Orthos are weak against light magic!” Enyo shouted at the two. “You need to use light magic to slay them!”
“I don’t know light magic!” Kindness shouted as she thrust out her hands. Several strange balls appeared and slammed into an orthos, pelting it like hailstones smacking against a window.
The orthos roared, seemingly angry, and then charged at Kindness, who gritted her teeth as she wove her hands through the air in a complicated fashion.
“Pentro. Perfringo. Percutio.”
A spear formed in the air and struck the orthos in the eye. Blood spurted as the spear impaled it. Despite this, the creature continued rushing at Kindness, its own drooling mouths opening wide.
“Volnus. Vulnus. Stigma.” Enyo chanted.
There was a pull on her navel as a crescent of light shot from one of her daggers and sliced into the orthos. The creature howled in pain and rage as it tumbled to the ground. Enyo leapt from the dead orthos and charged at the one that she’d hit, channeling magic through her left dagger, which she used to slice through one of the heads.
Enyo felt a moment of resistance. Then her dagger was going straight through it. Blood gushed from the open wound and splattered against the ground. The other mouth howled in pain, but Enyo silenced it by thrusting a dagger through its skull. She pulled her weapon out as the
creature shuddered before dying.
“Enyo!” Fellis shouted. “I could… use a little help!”
Her friend was in trouble. She stood on top of the orthos. One of its mouths was sealed shut by her whip. However, she only had one whip, so the other head was snapping at her, though, more often than not, it chomped down on the other head’s ear.
Springing into action, Enyo unleashed another crescent at the orthos, which sliced into its unbound head. The monster jerked violently. Fellis yelped as she was thrown off it, but she still managed to twist her body and land on its feet.
Wanting to finish the creature off while she had the chance, Enyo swung both blades at the same time. Two crescents shot at the orthos. One sheared through its head, which fell to the floor with a meaty thud. The other nearly missed. A gash appeared on the underside of its throat. Crimson ichor spilled onto the ground as the monster spasmed and twitched. Enyo rushed up, leapt into the air, and then stabbed both blades into its head, killing it.
“You… you’re very talented with light magic,” Kindness muttered, her breathing heavy. Sweat poured from her brow, which she tried to wipe away with little success.
“Thank you,” Enyo said, regaining her breath. She hadn’t expended much energy, but all of that jumping around was kind of tiring.
“We need to get moving,” Fellis said. “We have to find the queen.”
Enyo and Kindness agreed. Together, they went off in search of Queen Alice. Yet as they hurried to find Queen Alice, a bad premonition came over Enyo.
Call it a hunch, but she had a feeling that this situation would not end well.
***
They found Queen Alice battling against several orthos alongside Listy and the rest of the White Council. It was an impressive sight to behold.
The group was in the great hall. Queen Alice wielded a sword with an expertise that could match the best paladin’s. She dodged attacks before they came, almost as if she could see into the future. Then she would attack the orthos with precise strikes that, on anything else, would have killed it by now. Unfortunately, orthos were invulnerable to everything except light magic and certain specialized magics. Physical attacks were meaningless.
“Listy!” Queen Alice shouted.
“I’m on it!” Listy leapt into the air, over the orthos, chanting something under her breath. Enyo couldn’t hear her, but what happened next shocked her.
Listy thrust out her middle and index fingers. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then, as if some invisible blade had impaled the orthos, a large hole appeared in its body. Blood burst from its back and spilled from its stomach. The beast roared in agony before, just like last time, Listy thrust out her fingers again, this time at its left head. Blood, bones, and brain matter flew out from the hole as the orthos slumped to the ground.
Standing side by side, Justice and Abstinence attacked two other orthos, which couldn’t seem to get close to them. The reason was because of Abstinence, who appeared to be a defensive magic user. He’d chant something in a booming voice, and then a barrier made of the purest silver would spring into existence. The orthos would slam into it, bounce off as if launched into the air, and land on the ground hard enough to dent it. The area around them was already filled with pock marks. When the beasts hit the ground, Justice would launch his own attack.
“Atero. Perdo. Diruo. Concido. Erado!”
Justice pointed a wand at the orthos, which fell to the floor and began thrashing around. Enyo didn’t get what was happening at first. Then she saw it. The orthos’s skin was sloughing off its body. Large amounts of skin seemed to melt, becoming ooze as it dripped to the floor. It wasn’t just skin, though. Its muscles, bones, organs, everything was being liquefied. Soon, the orthos was nothing but a puddle on the once sparkling marble floor.
A distance off, Bayard roared much like a beast as he shoulder-shoved an orthos. Much to Enyo’s surprise, the monster went flying, slamming into a large column, which shattered upon impact. For an old man, he was stupidly strong.
Bayard shifted into a low stance, with his blade in front of him, pointed at the beast as it climbed back to its feet and growled. He muttered under his breath. Then, elongating at speeds that made Enyo blink, his sword grew increasingly larger and stabbed into the orthos. Sadly, the only thing it seemed capable of doing was growing longer. The blade couldn’t penetrate the monster’s bristly hide, which acted as armor against physical and most magical attacks.
“Take this!” Caslain shouted as he descended from the sky.
Enyo would have wondered how he’d gotten so much height, but then he slammed into the orthos like a twelve-ton boulder. The creature couldn’t even howl in pain. A loud snapping sound echoed across the room as the monster’s bones broke like brittle twigs. The orthos released unusual gurgling noises as blood poured from its mouth, though the noises soon stopped coming as its body went limp.
Well… Enyo blinked. That’s one way to kill it.
Even though the group had done well, there were still more orthos to deal with. What’s more, it seemed as if Chastity was missing.
Enyo didn’t bother looking around for the White Council member. She infused her daggers with light magic and jumped into the fray. Since Queen Alice and Listy were the people she cared about more, she raced toward them. They were fighting against two more orthos. Queen Alice was dodging their attacks like she could predict the future, while Listy use her magic to try and punch holes through the monsters. Sadly, it seemed the orthos had cottoned on to what they were doing. They dodged all Listy’s attacks.
“Volnus. Vulnus. Stigma.”
The tug on Enyo’s navel preluded the white crescent of energy that shot out of her dagger and struck one of the orthos dead on. A pained howl resounded through the Great Hall, the crescent attack slicing into the orthos’s left flank. Enyo didn’t stop there. She chanted again, brought down her other dagger, and sent another crescent that hit the same spot. It sheared through the orthos’s body, slicing it in half.
“Queen Alice!” Enyo rushed to the woman’s side. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I am fine,” Queen Alice said. “I’m pleased to see that you, Fellis, and Kindness are uninjured as well.”
As they spoke, Listy finally managed to finish off her foe. She waited until it had lunged at her, leapt onto its back, and used her magic to pierce both its necks. The attacks had gone straight through. The orthos died almost instantly.
“I’ve never seen creatures like these before,” Queen Alice said as she toed one of the orthos.
“It’s an orthos, your majesty,” Justice said as he and Abstinence walked up to her. “They are creatures from the darklands. The Dark Clan often uses them as attack mounts. I am surprised to see them here. How did they get into Avant Heim? And why was the alarm in the city not sounded?”
“Do you think someone could have used summoning magic?” Queen Alice asked.
“It’s not impossible,” Justice admitted reluctantly. “But for someone to break through the barrier around Avant Heim and summon so many orthos, they would have to be unbelievably powerful. I do not think there is a single person in the entire world who has the power to do such a thing save the Dark Lord.”
“Yet we can’t deny that it happened,” Queen Alice said. “By the way, where is Chastity?”
“The last I saw, he was running from several orthos,” Abstinence said, scoffing. “He said something about drawing them away, but I think he was just being a coward.”
Even as Abstinence spoke, several large explosions echoed throughout the Great Hall. Enyo couldn’t pinpoint where they came from, as it sounded like they were coming from everywhere. The floor and walls and ceiling all shook. She and the others were almost knocked to the floor.
“W-what is that?” asked Enyo.
“That must be Chastity,” Justice said. “His magic is called Havoc. It’s the ability to create widespread destruction. I’m not sure how it works, but it’s a powerful magic.”
“If that’s how you want to see it, then go right ahead and think that way,” Abstinence said. “I know the truth. Chastity might be a powerful magician, but he’s also a coward. He’s not the type of person to fight against monsters like this head-on.”
As he spoke, the door opened and Chastity walked in, looking a little worse for wear. His clothing was ripped, he was bleeding from a head wound, and he walked with a limp. There was a strange gleam in his eyes.
“Chastity,” Justice said, frowning. “I see that you’ve been injured in your battle. Is all well?”
“No, all is not well,” Chastity said. “I just learned a shocking truth. I know who let these creatures in.” He pointed at Enyo. “It was her.”
“What?” Enyo was stunned. She had no idea how to respond to that, or indeed, where this man had even come to such a conclusion.
“Did you hit your head or something?” Fellis asked. “Where would you come up with such an asinine idea?”
“Is it really asinine, or are you merely saying that because you’re her accomplice in all this?” asked Chastity.
“Those are some very heavy accusations,” Queen Alice stated in a stern, unwavering voice. “I hope you have proof to back up your claim.”
“I do,” Chastity said. “Right now, that girl is carrying the otherworld gate key on her person. It’s currently attached to a chain around her neck.”
Enyo felt like she’d suddenly been put on the spot when everyone turned to stare at her. She tried to think about how she should respond to Chastity’s accusation. Should she deny it? If she did, then it might come back to bite her. Plus, everyone would now be suspicious of her. However, if she admitted to having the otherworld gate key, then all that awaited her was imprisonment and possibly death.
Journey of a Betrayed Hero- Volume 2 Page 12
