“What is this?” Cataclysm softly asked in surprise. Her charge had come to a swift halt as her lance’s end was grabbed by two black reptilian hands, with the centaur and minotaur staring in silence at Daemon who now stood between them. His wings arched up slightly while his feet were dug into the ground from the heavy collision, the cambion’s cold blue eyes glaring at the centaur while his white hair ruffled in the wind.
“WHO ARE YOU?” Minos shouted with bewilderment.
Daemon kept the centaur in place while his hands gripped the glowing steel of her lance, his eyes taking notice of small trickles of blood running down his palms before he focused on his opponent again.
“What are you?” Cataclysm asked with a sly smile. “You’re no ordinary man. Oh my, this is quite the surprise. And here I thought you were all done after I broke your little sword.”
Slowly the centaur was forced back as Daemon pushed against the lance, the woman grunting with a bitter smile as she tried to push back to no avail. Minos stared in stunned silence as the cambion then shoved Cataclysm away with a hard throw, the centaur skidding back on her hooves before regaining her balance. She twirled the lance at her side while eyeing over Daemon with a cautious leer, seeing not only a physical change in him but also something else.
“Your monster energy…” she quietly said. “It wasn’t this profound before. Where is all this power coming from?”
Minos looked over Daemon in confusion then noticed Sasha and the girls walking up beside her, all of them giving her curious glances for a moment before watching Daemon staring down Cataclysm.
“WHO ARE ALL OF YOU?” Minos asked shaking her head. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”
“Is it at all possible for you to lower your voice?” Hollia cringed while rubbing her ear. “You don’t need to shout, we’re right next to you.”
“What is he doing?” Tabitha exclaimed waving to Daemon. “That centaur’s a fucking monster among monsters. What’s he going to do without his sword?”
“Do you really think that sword was his only way of fighting?” Rulo scoffed. “My master doesn’t need that thing in order to kick someone’s ass.”
“I AM SO CONFUSED!” Minos cried out. “WHO ARE YOU AND WHO IS HE? HE LOOKS LIKE A MAN, BUT MEN DON’T HAVE WINGS OR SCALES! THIS ISN’T RIGHT! WHAT IS HE?”
“Would you please shut up?” Forrus barked back as she covered her ears. “Oh my god, I’m going to go deaf listening to you.”
Saffron squeaked as she cringed and held her hands over her ears, the two stepping further away from the minotaur while Scay was merely wavering atop her tail as she appeared to be dazed from the monster’s loud voice as well.
“Forget about her, what’s he going to do about that centaur?” Tabitha demanded with a wave to Daemon. “Without his enchanted sword he’s even weaker for her to fight.”
“My master was not appointed guardian of a Dark Queen because of any enchanted weapon he may have had,” Sasha pointed out. “He was made a guardian before he even acquired that blade in the first place, and for good reason.”
“GUARDIAN?” Minos exclaimed. She turned to Daemon and pointed at him in surprise. “THAT MAN… MONSTER… MONSTER MAN… MAN WHO IS A MONSTER… HIM? HE’S A GUARDIAN?”
“Could you please stop yelling?” Mika cried out as she dropped to her knees and held her hand over an ear. She shook her head to get the ringing to go away then turned to Minos in question.
“Wait, you know what a guardian is?”
“OF COURSE I DO! HOW DO YOU KNOW OF SUCH THINGS?”
“Because we’re with him, and he’s a guardian!” Mika shouted back as she pointed to Daemon. Shaking her head again to lessen the ringing in her ears she then saw Daemon walking towards Cataclysm with a calm stride.
“Um, what’s he doing? Doesn’t he need a weapon to fight her with?”
“He is the weapon,” Rulo confidently said.
“Guardian?” Cataclysm carefully repeated. “You’re a guardian?”
“I never wanted this,” Daemon scorned with noticeable anger. “I never wanted that title, I never wanted this curse, I never wanted any of it. But my burden must be carried for the greater good. I had hoped to keep this suppressed, to hold onto what humanity I had left, to remain as I was the best I could. However it seems you’ve pushed me down this path, and in turn have forced my hand.”
“What is this?” Cataclysm cautioned. “Your monster energy, you didn’t have this much before. You had nothing before, you were an insect! What deception is this?”
“This isn’t a form I take pleasure in,” Daemon cursed holding up a fist. “The nature of a demon, the dark spirit of a monster, the body of a beast; I had wished to keep it safely contained and hidden from the world. But you’ve left me little choice when you took away that lock and key.”
“Lock and key?” Cataclysm questioned. She blinked then jumped with the realization, eyes quickly turning to the broken Archlight’s Blade pieces then back to the man who had a profound demonic aura circling him that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“That holy sword you held. It wasn’t just a weapon, it was a restraining relic!”
“What?” Tabitha questioned. “What is she talking about?”
“The Archlight’s Blade,” Sasha spoke while gazing fondly at her master. “A weapon made by the angels themselves, imbued with holy magic and might, and created to protect and heal those that its wielder deemed worthy. As righteous and honorable as any weapon could be.”
She looked over to the broken remnants of the holy weapon then to Tabitha as the neko was watching her carefully.
“If anything could have helped my master repress the demon he has inside, that would have been it.”
“He only used that sword to suppress his monster side?” Mika asked.
“Now that I think about it,” Forrus recalled. “My lord never really used the sword to fight with so much as he did protect and heal us with when we needed it. He never relied on it in combat.”
“That’s because he doesn’t need it to fight,” Rulo explained, with the girls watching Daemon arching his wings up with a monstrous aura radiating strongly around him. “He only used it to heal us and… hide his true self. It wasn’t a weapon to him, it was just a trinket.”
“So what does this mean now that the Archlight’s Blade has been destroyed?” Hollia asked.
“Cataclysm has freed my master’s inner monster,” Sasha answered. “And she’s not going to like it.”
Without pause Daemon shot towards Cataclysm, the ground erupting behind him from the force as he flew low to the ground at the centaur who quickly held her lance at the ready. She lunged at him with a sharp thrust, her attack being evaded as Daemon slammed his foot down on the ground and launched himself over the centaur who watched with a startled gasp. In the blink of an eye Daemon vaulted over the centaur’s lance, channeled a surge of cerulean and black fiery magic into his hand, and grabbed Cataclysm’s hair with the other.
“What the fu-” Cataclysm began to shout, right before Daemon slammed his fiery fist into her face. An explosion of blue and black flames rippled outward in the shape of a burning casting ring while a sharp thunderclap was heard from the impact. The centaur was blasted clear off her feet from the mighty strike, flying backwards in a wild spiral with smoke trailing behind her as she crashed into the ground and tore open a large crevice through the dirt in her wake. Before he could touch down on the ground Daemon again shot towards the centaur through the fiery ring he had created, the magical circle of flames then igniting and shattering into blazing fireballs that followed after him in a swirling barrage.
“That damned insect,” Cataclysm snarled. She got up onto her feet before Daemon flew over and punched her in the face again, launching her into a wicked tumble across the field with her lance still being held in hand. Dropping low to the ground Daemon spread his wings aside, allowing the flurry of fiery magic to pass over him and streak towards the centaur. She struck her la
nce into the ground to stop herself, coming to a swift halt on the barren dirt that she started to stand up on again before the cambion’s fiery barrage blasted her repeatedly. As the fires and smoke enveloped Cataclysm those further behind Daemon were watching in stunned amazement, with Tabitha’s jaw dropping while Mika shakily held a hand over her mouth as she became speechless.
“Good… lord…” Hollia breathed out.
“That’s… the real him?” Forrus asked.
“That’s my master,” Rulo proudly replied.
“That is him as the monster he is,” Sasha agreed, her voice conveying not only pride for her swordsman but also a hint of remorse.
Saffron gave a small puff to blow away her bangs, the ant girl staring with wide eyes at the sight while her hips quivered slightly in excitement.
“He’s… really strong,” Scay admired. “I want to stab him so much I can’t even believe it.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tabitha blurted out. “This… this isn’t possible. No way. I don’t believe it.”
“Now do you see how incredible my master really is?” Rulo sneered at her.
“You actually thought he was weaker without his sword,” Sasha ridiculed. “Now do you see how little you understand him?”
“What the fuck?” Tabitha angrily shouted. “Is this some sort of sick joke? You mean to tell me that all this time he’s been hiding this much strength? All this time he’s been capable of doing this when we were in danger? When he could have singlehandedly annihilated everyone that tried to kill us with this much power and saved us all a whole lot of trouble? What the hell? Why in Eden’s asshole has he been keeping this a secret?”
She marched over to Sasha and grabbed her by the collar, shaking the reptile girl back and forth with an enraged yowl while the girls all watched in her confusion.
“What is the meaning of this? If he’s so strong and powerful then why hasn’t he been doing anything with it? Helchberg. Ruhelia. Saffron’s nest. There’s been dozens of times where this sort of power could have helped us! He could have wiped all those Sisterhood bitches out in Ruhelia when they attacked us, he could have ripped apart Saffron’s workers when they tried to kill us, he could have torn Aeon and Nuci to bloody pieces with that much strength! So why has he been holding it back this whole time?”
“Knock it off!” Sasha yelled, shoving the neko away with a hard grunt. “It’s not as simple as you seem to think.”
A mighty explosion echoed out, with everyone turning to see a towering cloud of smoke and dust billowing upward from the battle while having multiple fiery blue casting rings circling it at different elevations. The rings flashed brightly before dropping down and exploding into more devastating detonations that threw charred rubble and smoke far and wide across the battlefield.
“How is it not that simple?” Tabitha cried out. “The guy is super strong and can fly in his natural form. Look at what he’s capable of like this! What reason could he possibly have for wanting to keep that hidden away inside of him?”
“Because his monster form isn’t the person he truly is!” Sasha retorted. Everyone but Rulo looked at her with curiosity as she turned her gaze towards her master. She saw Cataclysm pushing him out of the smoky cloud with her lance’s end, the cambion digging his feet into the ground to stop himself before he yanked the weapon aside and whacked the centaur with his wing, knocking her back with a snarl as he threw another fiery blast of magic right into her chest. With a furious yell the centaur charged through the flames and slammed into Daemon, taking him further away before she was thrown off to the side into a long crash along the ground by the cambion.
“The monster he has inside of him is one he despises with all his might,” Sasha explained. “He never wanted it to begin with, rather it was forced upon him.”
“You don’t know what that monster is really capable of,” Rulo snorted, shaking her head at the neko. “When I said before that he is the weapon, I meant the half of him that’s made of demon. It’s a weapon far stronger than the Archlight’s Blade, something way more destructive, and it’s something he always wants to keep repressed if he can help it.”
“But why?” Tabitha demanded. “He’s been walking around with this much power all this time, and yet he’s always keeping it repressed? For what reason? He could get around so much faster with his quest using his wings. He could destroy anyone who messes with him with that kind of strength. He never needed the Archlight’s Blade by the looks of it. So why did he hold onto it in the first place? Why has he kept this side of him hidden away all the time?”
“Because he hates that part of him,” Sasha told her. “Because he never wants to let it out. Because that monster inside of him is just as bad as the one he’s been assigned to guard over and keep locked away.”
“And how do you figure that?”
“Because that monster wiped out his whole family!” Rulo sternly retorted. Everyone fell silent while the sounds of Cataclysm shouting and cursing over thunderous explosions echoed into the air. “That’s why he hates that side of himself. That’s why he keeps it pushed back at all times. Because when that monster first emerged it went on a rampage and killed everyone in his entire clan!”
Tabitha stared at her in surprise then looked to Sasha, the reptile girl watching her master with a saddened gaze as she tried to keep her composure.
“My master is the last one to guard his charge,” Sasha said with a harsh look towards Tabitha. “He’s the last one in his family line to uphold that duty. He’s the last one, all because of his own hands that he lost control of.”
“He wiped out his entire family?” Hollia worried.
“He couldn’t control the monster within at first,” Sasha reasoned shaking her head. “He… only remembers waking up after it was all over. But the things that monster did to them… what remained of them afterwards… he never forgave it… or himself for letting it happen.”
“So then… the monster that’s fighting Cataclysm right now…” Forrus carefully asked. “Is that my lord, or is it…”
“It’s still him,” Rulo assured. “He’s just letting the beast inside go a bit wild in order to beat that bitch down. He’s able to repress it now, he learned how to control it over time. It’s just always so hard on him when he does. That side of him has blood on its hands that will never wash off for him.”
“The Archlight’s Blade helped keep the demon at bay,” Sasha explained. “It eased the burden he had with holding back his dark side. The demon within could only hold onto itself by just a little bit because of it, with only a small part of it remaining to be seen by the world.”
“His reptilian hand,” Tabitha recalled. “He always wears a glove over it to keep it hidden. He never changes it to a human looking one.”
“That’s because he can’t,” Sasha said shaking her head. “That much of the demon remains even when he’s in control the best he can. The Archlight’s Blade made keeping the beast inside dormant much easier, that’s all my master wanted the weapon for. Without it, it’s going to be rather… unpleasant for him to deal with his internal passenger again, I’m sure. He doesn’t like being reminded of the one that took his family away or letting it see the light of day. He prefers to keep it locked away inside of him at all costs.”
“The demon inside of him,” Mika wondered. “The half of him that’s a monster… it has a mind of its own?”
“Not really,” Rulo snorted shaking her head. “It’s just a mindless murderous beast. Nothing but hate and bloodlust as its basic instincts. That’s what my master described it as anyway.”
“But… but…” Tabitha said, only to fall silent as she watched Daemon racing over to Cataclysm to deliver a swift knee to her face. The centaur skidded back on her feet before swatting Daemon out of the air with her lance, the cambion landing on the ground in a long slide through the dirt before taking off after the monster again with blazing blue fire building up in his hands.
“It’s for our
own safety too,” Sasha added. “He doesn’t trust that monster inside of him to be near anyone, especially us. He doesn’t want us to suffer the same fate his family did. We may have an inner nature that compels us to breed, but my master doesn’t. His is only for destruction of everything around him.”
“I never realized my knight carried such a burden,” Hollia mourned. “To be plagued by an internal demon that took his own family from him, and yet he pushes forward with his noble quest without slowing down or letting it control him. Taming such a volatile inner monster to use as his own weapon, he’s even more remarkable than I first gave credit for.”
She growled in anger then quickly spun her lance at her side before holding it at the ready.
“Well if my knight wants a monster to fight for him, then I’ll gladly be his cavalier to storm into battle whenever he wishes.”
Saffron held two bombsticks up, both being lit which everyone quickly took notice of in alarm, and squeaked with a determined smile on her face as she was clearly fired up to do the same.
“Are you crazy? Get rid of those things, quick!” Tabitha cried out as she ran over and yanked the bombs from Saffron’s hands. She threw them aside with all her might, was knocked back into a tumble from the forceful explosions, and caught by Scay who quickly wrapped her tail around her friend.
“What are you trying to do, blow us all up?” Tabitha shouted as Scay held her back, with Saffron merely blowing her bangs away with a puff as she gave the neko a dull stare. “What kind of demolitionist are you anyway? You’re suicidal!”
“Stow your lance, Hollia,” Sasha ordered with a wave of the hand. “My master deserves a real knight to serve him, and that’s always been me.”
“You mean us,” Rulo boasted, standing upright and holding her hammer over her shoulder. “I’ve always been the brute force between us anyway. You just like to show off your ass to him in those tight panties you’ve got there.”
Chronicles of Eden: Season II - Act I Page 15
