by S L Gassick
The dark Herald stood and looked straight at her. He cocked his head to the side and brought it back up. He then proceeded to walk towards her.
“How do I destroy what cannot be destroyed?” she thought and began to cry. There was nothing else she could do but hope for a quick death, but she knew that what with her ability, that was extremely unlikely.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
The Undead were not attacking the Dark Clans, which meant that the plan to regain the Kalad had clearly failed. Milius had already suspected this, but remained optimistic that something might happen in the eleventh hour. It did not. With a heavy sigh, Milius realised the only solution was to attack. He could not think of Phin right now.
He surveyed his troops flanking the enemy, they were nearly ready to attack the Clans, but it was still too early. The Undead were now running towards the front line and still the knights held firm. “The other Valhallas will have a lot to explain. They should have come to our rescue,” Milius thought, and then all of a sudden the full blast of contact from beneath him rang out. The ugliness of hand-to-hand battle had begun, screams engulfed the land and Milius saw some people on the back row had already fled back towards the Valhalla. He considered shouting the order for the deserters to be shot, but if they failed, they would only have to deal with the Undead later on by themselves.
Milius looked over at Theus; he looked sleepy and drawn. His eyes were glazed over and he was unable to sit straight on his horse. He was clearly unable to fight, but Milius was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to that anyway. He looked down at the immense battle happening and was still waiting for the right time to strike. Already many of the knights had fallen.
“Sir,” one of the Generals said, “we must strike soon.”
“I know when we must strike….” replied Milius as coolly as the stare he returned.
The General stood back and Milius watched as countless bodies fell to the floor. The Dark Clans were now breaking through and beginning to strike the Valhalla’s troops hard. There had suddenly come bursts of kyu; the battlefield had turned into a kaleidoscope of colours and certain small amounts of summoning spirits had turned up. One of these was a giant beast that looked like a wild pig, but with the strength of a thousand men; he roared and was about to hit the troops of Gaea until something else was summoned quickly - a huge bear. The two spirits battled until the one who summoned the pig was stabbed and killed and the spirit departed, leaving the bear victorious, continuing on to kill more of the Dark Clans. Due to the sheer numbers, not many spirits were called; it was a risky move and one that would eat up a lot of kyu in a short space of time, something disastrous in a battle of length such as this.
The Undead were now diminishing, leaving the knights to bravely fight the Dark Clans. But as Milius looked out over the vast plains, the end of the enemy was not in sight and in fact, there was something else.
Milius looked on in horror as he saw another army rushing inbetween the Dark Clans. It was a sight he’d never seen before. They looked like tortured Titans, heavily armoured and clearly trained in combat, but they were… human – or at least once upon a time they were. They looked like a cross between the Undead and the Dark Clans, except left on a grill for too long. Their skin was charred and burnt, their eyes in a frenzy like caged animals let out into the wild. Whatever these creatures were it did not matter, there was nothing left now but for them to begin the fight.
“LEFT FLANK! RIGHT FLANK! ATTACK!” Milius shouted. Many of the troops were relieved. Theus sat still and emotionless, almost impervious to what was happening.
“Theus,” Milius spoke, “do not fall asleep. We are riding now to battle and we must pray we have done all we can. I will look over you Theus, but you must be able to hold your own!”
Theus turned around slowly; his eyes looked dead and far away. Already Milius was noticing the colour of his skin fading to a horrid grey and the inner demon trying to get out.
“I will ride with you, young lad,” the master pronounced, “but I do not know for how long.” And with that Theus drew up his sword from its sheath and rode down into battle. Milius soon followed tearing against the sheets of rain.
As the two of them rode down towards the shatters of metal, the glow of coloured kyus and the thickness of death, Milius sensed something he had never felt before – fear. Not a trembling fear, but a knowing fear. A fear that could never be mistaken for anything but impending death. Milius knew it but had not met it with such strength than at this moment. Yet he rode on, pushing it to the back of his mind and not letting it conquer him; he rode down the hillside straight into the Dark Clans with such force that he almost fell right off his horse. Immediately, he began slashing at the enemy troops. His horse rode through, trying to step on them all, but soon it came to a stop and could not carry on; it was being stabbed and cut and was bleeding a great deal.
Milius tried to fend them off for as long as he could, but the horse finally collapsed. He jumped off and used his kyu to shield himself as he would need all the defensive power he could get. His eyes looked for the next attack and he held the stance he was taught many a moon ago; one that had seen him through plenty of battles.
The Dark Clan members took a while to adjust to the fact that this one man army had descended upon them. Milius looked to one side and saw Theus already flashing in blue kyu, striking the enemy swiftly, much like a passing tornado. Though Milius did not have his Master’s swiftness, he had strength and foresight that surpassed most.
He held his stance and waited. From behind him came a cry and Milius quickly swung his long sword upwards and away, catching the man mid-air and slicing him back in the direction he came from. This sudden attack led an onslaught; Milius began slicing and stabbing at whatever approached. Some threw daggers and struck arrows, but they broke at the touch of his kyu shield and he knew it would take a blade swung by a powerful arm to break it. But it was something Milius could not handle forever.
Theus came alive again through battle, his weariness momentarily disappearing with the rush of the fighting. The Dark Clans, noticing his power, were starting to be wary of their attacks and he had put them on the back foot, though it did not stop Theus from moving forward. Even the troops of Gaea had noticed the commotion from a slight distance that had upset the ranks of the Clans.
Just then a parting opened within the Dark Clans and out from it appeared Colum walking slowly towards them.
“Stop!” shouted Colum, “I want you to leave these two to me.” The rest of the Dark Clans formed a circle. Some that were thirsty for battle moved forward with the rest of the troops, but a good deal of others stood and watched, waiting for what would happen.
“Colum!” Theus stepped forward. “Why did you betray us? The people of Gaea loved you and needed you to protect them in this dark hour!”
“Be quiet, you old fool!” shouted Colum, “you will not trick me again! This Valhalla has done nothing but cause me harm! Do you know the number of men, women and children I have slaughtered in the name of this Valhalla?! Do you?!” Colum began to spit out the words with such venom. Milius looked at Colum’s, the anguish written all over his face, and suddenly felt a strange sense of pity for this man.
“You have done only what was needed for the good of the Valhalla,” answered Theus in a typically diplomatic manner.
“Only what was needed? I have tortured and killed innocent people! Protecting this Word of Gaea! I tell you now, Gaea died many moons ago and will not come back! Things have changed, Theus. No longer will I be taunted by the dead souls of the ones I have killed for you. For you Theus! No longer will I be treated as a slave for this mighty Valhalla of yours! I have committed myself to Shui - he is the future, Theus. He will do this country no harm if you just let us through! Give us access to the Valhalla’s secrets and allow the Dark Clans to free Norheath from your rule, and we can end this now.
Milius, listen to me if he will not. You are a man of reason. Stand here, next to me, and let
us travel through peacefully to the Valhalla and reclaim it again. Bring down this evil tyranny and begin afresh!”
Colum stood and with pleading eyes, held out his hand.
“No, Colum,” Milius replied. “The Dark Clans have twisted your mind. They are killing people with no mercy. They only wish to reclaim the Valhalla so they may become more powerful. Look around you, it is a selfish battle and most of these men of Gaea are mere villagers, peasants, fathers and children. Just like your father Colum, and perhaps your children.” Milius tried to be just.
“Do not speak of my father or children!” Colum shouted, a wild look in his eye. His finger shot out and pointed towards Theus. “This man took my children from me!”
“Enough lies!” cried Theus. Milius could feel the anger between these two heighten as their kyus began to burn to such a degree that Milius thought they’d erupt.
Milius stepped forward, but Colum reached inside his pouch and threw some kind of light, grainy powder onto the floor.
“HABARKIS!” Colum shouted and from the ground sprang a huge, green praying mantis. It must have been twenty stories tall and must have took an immense amount of kyu, yet Colum did not even look slightly tired; instead his own kyu was burning around him bright as ever.
“Milius!” Theus shouted, “leave Colum to me. Get rid of that summon as quickly as possible before it does any damage.”
Milius understood and looked around him to see that most of the Dark Clans had moved forward and away from the terrifying creature, [DG45]leaving him directly in front of the monster and with nowhere to hide. It gave an almighty shriek. Milius winced, but dared not close his eyes. Just then, the mantis swiped a long, green claw towards him. Milius jumped and rolled to the side to see Theus and Colum slowly rising into the air, not doing anything but staring at each other, both in separate fighting stances.
Another swipe! Milius had taken too long worrying about Theus. This one got him and threw him into a cliff-face with a thud that left him slightly winded. Coughing for a short while, he looked up to see the head of the mantis bearing down. He rolled out of the way and plunged the sword into the side of it’s large, green head. It gave out an almighty cry that made Milius regret angering it. The teeth suddenly tried to take a bite out of him. He looked inside himself and wondered if he had enough kyu for a summon, but he felt he did not. Any summon he would have had would not be able to take down such a creature - this was a Master Summon and something that Milius could not match. His only chance was killing it with his bare hands. But that was going to take quite some doing.
Theus carried on staring at Colum, both of them a mile up in the sky, above the raging battlefield.
“Is this high enough for you, Master?” Colum asked.
“Do not call me that, traitor!” Theus shouted back.
“Have I not done what a faithful servant must do? I did everything I was ordered to do. Give up Theus, let your true self come alive again.”
“No. That person would lead these people to their slaughter!”
“And what about you, masterful Theus? How many people have you led to slaughter others? And to be slaughtered? Do not speak to me of right and wrong! It is your reign of terror that has brought this upon the Valhalla, not your other self. Once the Dark Clans come to power they will bring with them freedom! They will bring about a new age!”
“You have been brainwashed. If you will not listen to reason, perhaps you will listen to my sword!”
Theus flew at Colum with such speed, Colum was caught off guard and his body armour took a deep gash. Colum laughed it off and then proceeded to begin fighting Theus. Clash after clash of sword against sword occurred, each one giving off such a thunderous sound that the soldiers below wondered if it truly was thunder.
Theus charged his sword with a bright white kyu and shot it out towards Colum. Colum was able to deflect it using his own dark purple kyu and, opening his mouth wide, he breathed out a dark purple fire towards Theus. He tried to move out of the way in time, but he couldn’t. He felt the burning sensation rise up the right side of his face as his skin boiled and popped, he lost sight in his eye and the pain was so immense that it left him screaming in agony.[DG46] He tried to touch it, but it was just mush, half his face had melted. He clenched his fists and in such pain he found energy anew. He rushed back at Colum and together they held fast in what may have even looked like an embrace.
“Give in, Theus,” Colum whispered into his ear, “it is over. Die with honour.”
“Never,” answered the old man. “This is not how it will end.”
With that they flew apart. Theus held out his right hand and his white kyu was concentrated into his open palm facing Colum as a sphere. Colum knew this was Theus’s way of showing him his kyu was more powerful and sustainable. Colum returned the gesture and started charging his own open palm with his own kyu, then with a blinding flash that shocked all below, the two kyu energies flew at one another like projecting lights and met half way through the sky.
Nothing budged.
Theus and Colum were both concentrating and starting to sweat in what had become some kind of tug of war. Theus hoped something would happen soon as he was feeling his other self creep up on him like a chilling cold. This fighting would tire him out, and it would only take for him to close his eyes a second longer than a blink to let his evil side flourish and take over.
The light had bought Milius some time. He had grown tired through battle with the mantis and was making costly mistakes. Already his left arm was badly cut and the back of his head bleeding from being tossed around so much. However, the bright light had stunned the mantis and it fell on the floor in confusion, giving Milius time to take another stab at it. The sword fell quickly and with tremendous force into the back of its neck, and with another cry it shot back up and started swiping in random, swift movements. Milius ducked out of the way and waited to see what would happen. As he waited he looked around to see that, in the distance, his men were failing and that the battle had taken a turn for the worst.
The troops that had flanked the enemy on either side had all but disappeared, leaving the majority of the remaining men as the final resistance, blocking the path to the Valhalla. Those brave few had become the main focus of this violent new army that had appeared, and they were hacking chunks out of their poor defences. Not only that, but the fallen soldiers were rising up to fight once more – but this time for the opposition.
Milius realised this was it, the final stand. Any hope he had was gone and he now had to try and defeat as many of the Dark Clan as possible in order to buy Cyrene and the other women and children more time.
Milius ran at the mantis and launched a bolt of bright orange kyu towards the creature. The force hit the mantis and put it off balance, whereupon Milius jumped up, leaving a trail of orange kyu as he leapt towards the beast’s head. He held his sword up and plunged it into the creature’s eye. It gave off a high shriek and fell, heavily wounded, onto the floor. Milius was beginning to lose energy and kyu. He looked up to see Theus and Colum still fighting one another, but Theus was clearly starting to wane; the old man looked on the edge of collapse. If Theus was to perish, the Valhalla will truly be at an end. Suddenly, Theus turned and shouted at Milius, “watch out!” and with that Milius turned, but not soon enough as he was pinned through the leg by a claw of the mantis.
Milius cried out in pain and dropped his sword. Looking up, he noticed something falling from the sky. It was Theus. In order to save Milius, the Headmaster had taken his focus off of the battle and fallen.
“NO!” Milius cried out, but it was too late. Theus fell to the ground with a dull thud with Colum watching over them both. But there was no time to help him - Milius was pinned to the ground and the mantis looked up and shrieked with delight having finally caught his prey.
That was it. ‘There’s no point anymore’, Milius thought to himself. With Theus dead, Norheath had fallen with it; he could almost hear the silence that had taken
over the men of the Valhalla as they watched Theus fall from the sky like a dying bird. All hope had gone. Milius had to accept they had lost to the Dark Clans.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
In the Underworld, Lirilius had begun to fight back and was using a great deal of his kyu as a shield to help him get to his knees. Shui was impressed with Lirilius’s sudden burst of anger and energy, but soon Lirilius was once again taken aback by Shui’s pure strength. He could see in Shui’s eyes he was taking pleasure from this and with one final burst of energy, his every drop of strength in one movement, he grabbed Shui by his face and lifted him off the ground. Lirilius’ nails dug deep into Shui’s pale complexion until streams of red blood burst out. Lirilius had already decided he was beaten but wanted to scar Shui, make him remember this fight forever.
Shui grabbed for his face, the shock of this sudden last effort of survival and his vanity made him vulnerable for Hemero to attack. He had been waiting for just this moment and in one swift move, Hemero leapt up and using his bare fingers dug into Shui’s neck and ripped out the coin from the back of his neck. Letting out an awful inhuman shriek, Shui crumpled to the floor as blood gushed from his neck and face.
“There’s no time to lose,” Lirilius said to Hemero, “we must run!”
They began running until all light was lost and it was beyond pitch black. Hemero noticed they were running towards the horrid screaming that they had heard since they fell. Hemero stopped still once he realised what was happening.
“Why are we heading towards those sounds, Lirilius? I don’t like it.”
Lirilius took a breath, scratched his head and put on an annoyed smile.
