It was Cynisme, who looked like he was busy with eradicating the remaining attackers of this part of the stronghold. The general let out a big, and disappointed sounding sigh.
“Initially I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible,” he said eventually, comfortably retracting the branches that extended from his head from the corpses of the dead men.
“Nihilare was the first to leave. If only I had disposed of these puppets more quickly,” he seemed to be pouting.
“What the hell is that Gwyn?!” Leandro asked in disgust.
“One of the four generals of Despair, Cynisme,” his friend answered with anger that was unusual for Gwyn.
“You remember me, how utterly irrelevant,” the general replied, followed by a response from Gwyn's aspect.
“But only because you've run away the last time.”
Cynisme extended his branch-like paws and challenged Delirias to charge at him.
“Then let us end this. Once and for all.”
Delirias, ready to go ahead without hesitation, was suddenly stopped by Gwyn's shouting, “We're leaving Delirias!”
“Excuse me?” As the aspect turned around, he could already see how Leandro, with his aspect and Gwyn in tow, ran towards the corridors on the side. It didn't take long for the aspect to catch up to them, yet Cynisme didn't think too highly of their escape.
“You don't really think that you could get away unscathed, do you?” it burst forth from the general, as he chased after them through the hallways.
They arrived in one of the halls that were structured in between large segments of the corridors, with way more living space than the barracks from before. They ran without looking back further into the castle, with Cynisme on the pursuit.
Just as he was about to leap after them, something smashed into his torso with enormous speed, catapulting him away. Achingly he stood himself up, seeing a neatly clothed, handsome man, bowing before him.
“Please excuse my sudden interference, but my master does not wish for those two to be harmed,” he said to Cynisme. It was Vylsanas who stood before him with an elegant and imposing pose, stretching out his fingers while Asthen was slowly joining his side.
“You will not lay a finger on those two as long as I, Asthen Couarde, is still alive and kicking!” he shouted forth.
With painful movement, Cynisme came out of the crater and watched over the duo before him.
“I don't care which one of you dies first. Nothing matters anymore. Our plans have failed.”
Asthen saw the terrifying creature adjusting himself. Vylsanas positioned his flying orbs into an angel-like halo above his head.
“This is the only thing I can do after you've foiled my plans of keeping you out of this. I hope it's not too late for me to make up for what I did. Let this be my catharsis,” Asthen thought to himself before taking a deep breath, giving his final command to attack.
“Vylsanas, phase five!”
Chapter 32 – My Insanity
“That wretched rat. I should've known,” cursed the once calm Despair on his throne, as he remembered the conversation from earlier over and over again in his head. In the background, he could still hear how the on-going explosions were tearing through his stronghold, akin to the sounds that could be heard when he laid siege to Pride's palace. As if only a few moments had gone by, the pictures unwillingly came to his mind. Thinking back to his meeting with a once trusted individual.
“How could this happen?! ENVY! You OWE me an explanation!” he yelled full of wrath. A person in the shadows answered him with a clam and grating voice.
“I don't know what you're talking about, Lord Despair. I did what you asked of me. I'm not responsible for the failure of your own troops.”
“You were the one that proposed this plan and told us it was the best opportunity to take over the cities of the sins for myself. I thought the plans of the Akeyanaru were supposed to be without flaws?!” Despair answered him snarkily.
“It was, wasn't it? You could've gotten everything in one strike – the palace, the sins, the humans, and the sin's secrets… But you couldn't do it.”
“HOW SHOULD I HAVE KNOWN THAT GREED HAD ALREADY ARRIVED?! WASN'T IT YOU THAT ENSURED ME HE WAS GONE?!” Despair was boiling with rage, ready to burn everything to the ground.
“Well, thinking back, I don't think he was present. At least not when you finally started your siege. Blaming me for your slow planning and puny generals is not very nice, you know? Lihlihlih,” Envy cackled from the shadows defiantly.
“You have betrayed me,” Despair answered in a defeated tonality.
“I believe you have a warped image when it comes to me as an individual. If I remember correctly, I killed way more than you did. I was ready to sacrifice my own status and rank, even my good name, just for your plans, oh dear Lord Despair.”
“Stop calling me that! It's only a matter of time until they retaliate and then I will never be able to reach my ideals.”
“Lihlih, right, that little dream of yours. The one you shared with that human scum will finally come to an end.”
“SILENCE!”
“Way to go overboard. Calm down,” Envy grinned. “He's been dead for quite some time now, so what does it matter what we say about him? It's not like he will rise from the grave and haunt us, Lihlih.”
“I expect you to join us in our defense of the stronghold, Envy!” Despair demanded from him.
“I'm afraid I'll have to decline, my dear 'Lord.' This wasn't part of the agreement.”
Out of nowhere Peritus arrived and interrupted them with an urgent message, excusing his rude behavior.
“Out with it,” the Lord said impatiently.
“It seems like our scouts have reported that Greed's armada is on the move, making his way towards the river Ascendere.”
“So the time has come already,” Despair swept through his white hair and clawed his fingers into his skull to prevent him from exploding with anger.
“That is not the only thing, my Lord.” Peritus didn't dare to continue, but it was too late to retreat. “The virtues seem to have realized that our forces have been weakened. They'll probably start their attack very soon after Greed arrives.” He gulped in fear of Despair’s reaction as he moved to the next topic.
“Additionally, we couldn't find Nihilare anywhere inside the building. It seems like he escaped with a large chunk of our remaining men.”
“WHAT?!” Despair jumped out of his throne, and black flames were flaring up around him like a wall made out of pure hatred.
Envy evaded the flames with a sly grin, while Peritus did his best not get burned to a crisp.
“Well, I think that's a sign to take my leave. It was a pleasure 'Lord' Despair,” laughed Envy and turned his back on him.
“ENVY, STOP AT ONCE! WE AREN'T FINISHED HERE!” the white-haired man commanded him, but the person in the shadows had already vanished. “Peritus,” Despair slumped down in his throne and summoned his scythe to his side.
“Gather as many remaining generals and warriors as you can find. We will take as many of them with us as we can.”
“Yes, my Lord!” Peritus nodded and rushed forth, leaving Despair alone in his throne room.
Almost without light, except for the blindingly bright rays shining through the circular arches of the windows, he said there, alone, thinking about what had happened.
“This shall be my end? I'm curious if my death would please you, my old, naive companion?” he mumbled to himself in his loneliness.
In the distance he could hear the birds sing of is impending doom, with roaring explosions taking him out of his own thoughts. Loud war cries were surrounding the premise. Every bang and tremor could be felt in the throne hall. The roof began to crumble, little pieces were falling to his feet, making more and more room for the penetrating light coming from the outside.
“Whoever steps through that gate first will be torn to pieces,” he thought. “Even if that will be the last thing t
hat I'll accomplish.”
Like a guard dog, his purple glowing eyes were staring at the gate of the hall.
“Any moment now… I can almost smell it. My scythe, she screams for more souls. I will show you what Despair is capable of!”
Just when Despair's spirit wavered, he could hear something on the other side of the door. Finally, the time had come – the final fight was near.
“Stop keeping me in suspense. Who will it be? My eternal nemesis the virtues? Someone of the Akeyanaru? Greed? Maybe even that disgusting blondie, Pride himself?!” His tension grew to unimaginable heights. Then the time had finally come, triggered by a single scream, revealing the highly anticipated secret.
“DESTARE!” a man yelled as loud as he could and promptly the heavy gate was smashed open, falling to the ground,.The thunderous impact echoed through the room, twirling up the dust. Despair himself couldn't believe it. It was far beyond anything he could have imagined. Before him stood two pitiful looking humans with their corresponding aspects.
“I can't believe it... this has to be a joke. Hahaha, that has to be it, right? A bad joke. I can't imagine it to be anything else,” the Lord contemplated the situation while laughing hysterically from his throne, while the two men entered.
“If we survive this, I expect to be compensated, just so we're clear,” Leandro demanded while pointing his finger at Gwyn.
“Haha, have mercy on me, Leandro. I really am the worst friend, ain't I?” Gwyn awkwardly grinned back at him.
“You can say that again. I would've never thought about the possibility of us standing here after everything that happened,” he huffed.
“There may not be enough time for your romance this time, boys,” Delirias shouted as he noticed Despair, laughing in his throne.
The Lord was ready to stand up, swinging his giant scythe around his body to cover himself in black flames.
“So you guys are willing to give me the fireworks for my grand finale? Then let me show you why I was able to resist this long. The only thing that'll ever satisfy me is when every last one of your pathetic dreams is trampled upon, and you wish for nothing else but the sweet release of death itself!” Despair proclaimed joyfully throughout the hall.
“Looks like you are taking this quite seriously,” Delirias said with a smile on his face as he appeared before the Lord, ready to kick in his face.
Despite the surprise, Despair evaded with ease by leaning backward and flinging Delirias away with the dull side of his scythe.
While all of that happened he only just noticed how Destare was about to strike down on him from above. The knight had grown thrice in size and locked his iron fist onto Despair's throne. Underneath the enormous force, the throne collapsed, and nothing but rubble was left over.
“You don't think your little team effort can take me down, do you?!” taunted Despair who sprinted forth to kill the two humans.
Without thinking he could be stopped, the Lord barely evaded chains flying his way, leaving even him surprised. Despair had no time to think. The chains started to come from every direction, directly at him, forcing him to eventually utilize his weapon. Like a storm made out of fire, with him as the center, the black flames spread around him, extinguishing slowly after on the tip of his blade. Seconds later something slid past him on the ground, but before he could react, he saw a huge armored arm reaching back for another punch.
But this time was different. Despair blocked the attack with his scythe and precise rotations of his body, transforming himself into an impenetrable shield. Just as he was about to finish his last turn, he got stuck with his weapon.
For a single moment it would not move as he commanded, and eventually, he saw why.
Delirias’ chains were tightly holding onto the scythe and pulling it into the opposite direction. This should have been their first successful strike, but as the giant readied for another hit, the Lord's weapon of choice erupted in flames and melted the chains.
With tremendous power, and a frightening shockwave, the two aspects were stopped, and Despair took the opportunity to cut right through Destare's right hand.
The shock trembled through the great hall and the smell of burnt steel enveloped the area.
“DESTARE!” Leandro panted in the sticky atmosphere, hopelessly trying to get to his aspect.
“Stay away, Leandro! This is not your fight anymore. I am with you,” the deep voice calmed him as the aspect looked down on his hand. From his index finger along to his thumb, everything had been cleanly cut off, and the blood ran down his remaining fingers.
A determined scream sounded through the steel armor, and the sound of lances piercing through flesh followed, as spikes were bursting out of the holes on Destare's armor. The growling became louder and more frightening, like a ferocious animal that was about to be cornered.
The restless, drenched in blood, body made out of spikes was ever slowly walking towards Despair, looking to grow in size with every step.
“I guess I have no other choice then,” the man with the purple eyes whispered to himself. His blade was still covered in black flames, and the agonizing screams that were coming out of it were getting louder as well.
With three swings, black tears were created in the ground, rushing towards Destare like a blade made out of energy and flames.
Almost purely by chance the colossus dodged the unholy projectiles and was closing in on Despair. The ground trembled, and both humans were shaking with fear as the fight went on.
Again the giant was about to strike with his wounded arm, but his enemy avoided effortlessly to the side, jumping on top of his arm. Despair took his scythe along and cut open Destare starting from his wrist up to his shoulder, before innocently jumping off his shoulder.
To his surprise, Delirias already waited on the other side, using his chains like a swing to get into Despair's trajectory.
All of this happened in mere moments, whereas Gwyn and Leandro couldn't believe what kind of enormous powers were displayed right in front of their eyes. This went beyond anything they had imagined and left them scared to their core. With lightning speed, Despair tried to block the attack, though he wasn't able to turn himself at the perfect angle. This enabled Delirias to break through his defense with the blunt lower edge of his shoe, kicking away the blockade of the scythe. With his weapon lowered, it had become impossible for Despair to evade the incoming attack and Delirias managed to plunge his fist, wrapped in chains, right into his face - hurling Despair to the ground.
As if that punch didn't affect him at all, the Lord recovered in mid-air and landed safely before hitting the floor.
“UUUUAAARGGHH,” another growl followed.
“IMPOSSIBLE!” Despair seemed frightened as he realized that Destare hadn't broken down from the pain of his wounds, but was about to take his revenge with his remaining arm. The blood burst forth of his open wounds, but he ignored the pain to give his strike the greatest force he could muster up.
This time there was no chance for Despair to do anything. With all of his might and anger, the iron fist smashed into him, catapulting him over the stone floor across to the other side of the hall. Though, the self-proclaimed Lord did not lose consciousness, he was unable to counteract the unbelievable pressure that was exacted on his body. Moreover, he could see something getting closer from the corner of his eyes.
The aspect in the black-green coat was already in pursuit and glided along his chains, which he had built like a slide, to catch up to Despair's nose dive.
Just as he was about to crash into the wall, Delirias appeared before him, and a heavy kick rammed Despair into the ground, creating even more rifts. Dust and debris were gathering at the impact zone, and Delirias jumped confidently back to Destare's side. Leandro, who could no longer hold himself back, rushed to their side as well.
“L-leandro, w-what did I tell you. Ugh,” Blood streamed forth from the aspect's helmet.
“As if I could just leave your side like that, you giant idiot,�
�� he demanded to stay, while Gwyn arrived behind them.
“What's the situation, Delirias?”
“This might be harder than I thought. That bastard is one tough cookie,” Delirias began to chuckle. “Are you ready for round two tin-man?”
“A-always,” the colossus tried to stand up but caved in under his own weight.
“Destare!” Leandro's compassion showed, and he hugged his remaining hand.
“Great. Now I have to do everything all by myself once again,” Delirias plucked at his white, long hair and started to cover his hands in chains “It's time that I truly test the limits of this scourge.”
Despair’s anger-filled voice thudded through the building.
“Do you finally realize that all your efforts are meaningless?” From the wide dust cloud of the crater emerged Despair with a self-confident swagger. His aura felt like it was suffocating every living thing in his surroundings.
The dust was blasted off from his body, and black flames danced around the glowing steel of his scythe. Once more he sprinted towards the group, and the only thing that was left standing in his way was Delirias. With all of his might, he withstood the swinging attacks and deflected each one by the skin of his teeth. Ear-numbing clinking of steel resounded and sparks were sent flying, all while Gwyn struggled to follow the fight. It seemed out of his control.
This wasn't a fight where a human would have made a difference. As quickly as one strike had been deflected, another one followed right around the back of another twisted pirouette of the enemy. It felt as if the ground, shaking beneath them, would give in sooner than any of the combatants. Every time the steel clashed against each other, the sound echoed through their ears, deafening them, tuning out the explosions from the outside.
As if all of this had just been a mere game to him, the Lord started to talk to Gwyn, while continuing his onslaught onto his aspect, occasionally switching sides while dodging.
“Why are you even here, human? Whose brain-dead idea was that? Are you suicidal? What did that aspect of yours promise you? Glory? Riches? Please, tell me you're just here to see your friend suffer.” He burst out in uncontrolled laughter while Gwyn remained silent. For a moment Despair stopped his aggression and continued speaking his mind.
My Insanity Page 46
