by Eric Vall
Even so, the impressive glowing barrier was beginning to falter under the weight of the demons, and some of them had even managed to push through. Those few were immediately shot down by the soldiers of Hatra, though, and their bodies sizzled into gray ash.
“They’re trying to break through,” I murmured as I kept my eyes on the grotesque demons. “They’re sacrificing their own comrades to create a hole in the barrier.”
None of the soldiers around us flinched at the sight of the demons, they all had iron resolve and only kept their eyes on the threat above them.
“Those are foot soldiers.” Tristan’s eyes narrowed as his ears flicked forward. “Essentially, cannon fodder. Easily replaceable and perfect for overwhelming a stationary target: in this case, our city.”
I wasn’t able to reply to those words because a thunderous noise echoed across the sky. Above us, just beginning to emerge from the demonic array, was the largest behemoth I’d ever seen. The creature was larger even than the ones Asher summoned when he attacked Hatra. This reptilian beast was almost half the size of the city. If that thing managed to break through the barrier, everyone would be crushed.
“Of all the damned creatures to come through,” Tristan cursed at the sight of the behemoth. “That creature cannot reach the city, no matter what.”
Tristan turned to one of the soldiers beside us and motioned him over.
I knew I could take down the behemoth, but I needed to get away from Tristan first. I still hadn’t told him I was a dragon, and I had the feeling that suddenly transforming into one wouldn’t be a great way to tell him.
Also, in the chaos of battle, no one would notice an additional beast in the sky or infighting in the demon’s ranks.
“I’m going to join the mages,” I called out as I moved toward the stairs, “I’ll be more help with them.”
Tristan nodded sternly before he turned back to the soldier.
I took that as my cue to dash away and found a secluded corner near the tower where I could safely transform. All eyes were on the demons outside of the barrier, and as long as I angled my flight right, no one would notice me until I was close to the behemoth.
I shifted into my dragon form, and the barrier allowed me to pass through easily since the blood of Hatra ran through my veins. I had my sights on the behemoth, and nothing would stop me from getting to it. The demons didn’t even notice me, they were just a mindless swarm intent on getting through the barrier.
I’d almost reached the behemoth when the screeching of the demons intensified, and a bolt of black light suddenly shattered the city’s barrier as it hit the tower Tristan was standing on.
I watched in horror as the tower crumbled down, and the demons poured into the city. Hatra’s soldiers charged forward as mages cast spell after spell in an attempt to stop the demons’ advance.
It was a cacophony of sound, and the bone chilling shrieks of the demons merged with the clashing of swords.
Part of me wanted to dive back down and join the fray, or go back and find Tristan, but I had to get rid of that behemoth and make sure it didn’t land on the city no matter what.
Thankfully, the immense behemoth was slow moving, and a majority of it was still on the other side of the demon gate. Lightning crackled all along my scales as I flew into the sky, and the demons around me screeched as they were electrocuted to a crisp.
This was the opposite of how I’d fought the behemoths summoned by Asher. Back then, the behemoths fell to the ground, and I had the advantage of the high ground. Unfortunately, I couldn’t let this behemoth make landfall, and I could see no weak points on the underside of the beast. It was all scaly armor and jagged spikes.
But I did have an idea on how to fight this one. The mages from the Blue Tree Guild used ice against the behemoths and succeeded in weakening the creatures long enough for their warriors to land the finishing blows.
While I didn’t have any ice based powers, I did have my lightning and stone abilities. Those two were perfect for what I had in mind.
My stone spikes had managed to break through the armor of behemoths half the size of this one, and if I used my lightning to coat it, the spikes would hopefully work like a bastardized version of a rail gun.
I’d never used both powers at the same time, but what better time than now to try that out?
Calling forth the stone was seamless, I’d already done it so many times before it had become like breathing to me. Covering it with lightning was the difficult part. It was like trying to shove together magnets of the same polarity. The powers wanted to reject each other, to fall apart, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.
It was draining, and I felt like I was flying through mud. My vision flickered with every passing moment as I forced my lightning to wrap around the stone spikes, but I pushed on.
There was only going to be one outcome, and I wasn’t going to accept failure from my own power.
I launched hundreds of razor sharp spikes into the air, and lightning crackled all around and within them. They were like missiles as they raced through the air and pierced through the behemoth’s armored flesh, and black blood was left in their wake as the demonic creature let out a guttural cry of pain.
The behemoth was slammed back through the demon gate, and I could hear its dying cries echo back to me as the creature’s black blood rained down. Since the biggest threat at the moment was taken care of, I turned my attention back to the crumbled tower.
I flew down and shifted back into my human form as I landed in the rubble and debris of the tower. Then I searched through the jagged and broken stones for any hint of my grandfather and the soldiers who had been on the tower with him. Underneath the chaotic sounds of battle, I could just barely hear their still beating hearts and their labored breathing.
There was an enormous piece of stone rubble blocking my way, and I heaved it easily to the side. Underneath that piece of stone was my grandfather Tristan and his soldiers.
Tristan was covered in dust, and blood splattered from his mouth with every breath he took. Blood also pooled underneath his left leg, and it dripped from his right arm.
I could hear a slight whistling each time he drew in a breath, and I clenched my jaw. He had to have a ruptured lung, and I could tell two of his arteries were cut open. There was possibly more damage to his body, too.
“Hey, hey, Gramps, listen to me!” I knelt next to Tristan and patted his cheeks. “Don’t close your eyes, just stay awake.”
I hadn’t even realized I’d called him Gramps, all I knew was I wouldn’t let him die today, and I was full of anger for the demons. I looked down at his broken body, and a list of his injuries flickered in front of my eyes as I gathered my healing power.
Classification: Fox Demi-Human.
Condition: Fractured skull and severe concussion. Shattered rib cage and internal bleeding detected. Left lung ruptured by bone fragments. Possible spinal injury. Left femoral artery and right brachial artery ruptured. Hypovolemia due to blood loss.
Priority: Immediate healing required.
Danger: In danger of dying.
Status: Critical. Death imminent.
Fuck that, Tristan wasn’t going to die tonight.
My healing power erupted around us in a shower of kaleidoscopic light and glitter that seeped into the open wounds of all the fallen soldiers around us. Flesh knitted back together, and bones were set back into place as everyone’s wounds were healed.
I clenched my jaw as I staggered underneath the power drain, and my head thudded with every breath I took. My discomfort didn’t matter, though. It wasn’t as bad as the first time I’d healed a mass group, and I was getting better.
Plus, this wouldn’t be the last time I’d be healing during combat, not if I wanted to bring the fight to the demons.
“Evan?” Tristan hazily blinked open his eyes as I helped him sit up. “What are you doing? I thought you were fighting the behemoth.”
“No, I was with the mages,” I re
plied as I crouched down beside him. “I told you, I was going to be more help with them.”
“You can’t trick a fox’s nose.” Tristan smirked weakly. “I knew you were a dragon from the moment I saw you in the catacombs.”
“Why didn’t you say--” I began just as my grandfather slumped forward in my arms. “Gramps? What’s wrong?”
I shifted him to look into his face, and Tristan’s emerald eyes, once bright with life and power, were now dull and dark. I frowned at his reaction and apparent weakness because I was sure I’d healed him. Was I running out of power because I was in the wrong time but right place? I glanced over his body again, but there were no wounds.
Classification: Fox Demi-Human.
Condition: None.
Priority: None.
Danger: None.
Status: Healthy.
Even the status check showed that there was nothing physically wrong with him.
“No, Gramps, don’t close your eyes,” I growled as I patted Tristan’s cheeks again.
“I figured it out,” Tristan laughed unsteadily as he unstrapped the Sword from his hip. “It was right in our faces this entire time, and no one realized.”
“Figured what out?” I poured more healing power into Tristan, and relief coursed through me as he seemed more awake.
“The Sword was never missing.” Tristan smiled in relief as he shoved the weapon into my hands. “You had it all along. I gave it to you now, that’s why it was never there in the present. Take the Sword, it’s meant to be in your hands.”
A rush of power, not unlike when I first touched the orichalum dagger made by Natalya, ran through my body. It was like I’d been plugged into a battery and had an unlimited amount of power running through my veins. Even my spiritual sea was humming with unmistakable power, and a maelstrom rose in time with every beat of my heart.
Understanding flowed through me in that moment, and I knew why Tristan seemed so exhausted. He had handed over the symbol of Hatra to me, and it drained him of power because this was something overseen by the gods and spirits of this world.
Suddenly, my power exploded all around me, and a wave of healing glitter spread throughout the city. My consciousness expanded with that wave of iridescent power until it covered every inch of Hatra, and I felt everyone within the city.
I was everywhere my power was, and I could feel myself spread thinner and thinner until every sound and scent seemed faint. The world around me faded, and all of the fighting and the chaos that had surrounded me was gone. Instead of fighting against the demons invading my city, I was trapped inside a swirling void of nothingness.
I gasped for air as I fell deep within the endless abyss that had dragged me away from the fighting, and I tried to hold on to anything that would stop my fall. My power bubbled underneath the surface of my skin, and it exploded all around me in a cascade of lightning and a kaleidoscope of colors. It was like I was being showered with gems and silver as I fell through time.
Then everything stopped with the sudden peal of a bell, and the darkness faded away to reveal a familiar surrounding.
I was back inside of the catacombs, and now I had the Sword of Hatra in my hand.
Chapter 16
There was something different about the catacombs this time around, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. Somehow, the air had changed, and it strangely smelled sweet like a spring breeze.
But that couldn’t be possible. We were deep underground, and there was no way for fresh air to travel through the catacombs.
Still, it was strange, and where was all of the dust? When I’d first come in, everything had been covered in inches of dust, and I’d left footprints behind me as I walked.
But now?
Every stone statue was pristine and glimmered as if there were spotlights on them.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
Then the same kid I’d originally followed into the catacombs appeared out of thin air in front of Tristan’s statue. Everything about him was ghostlike, from his pale hair to his pale eyes. They weren’t gray, but they weren’t white either. It was like he was a blank page just waiting for color to be splashed on him.
“How’d you get in here?” I asked as I stared at the kid, and I heard no heartbeat coming or sensed any scent from him. “You’re not alive, are you? Did you die when the demons attacked Hatra?”
I hadn’t seen a ghost in this world yet, but there was a first time for anything in Inati.
Still, he didn’t seem like he was human to begin with, and his clothes weren’t like any I’d seen in this world before. Even the clothing from a thousand years ago was pretty similar, if not identical, to what was worn in the present day.
But the kid’s clothing?
It looked far more fantastical than even Alyona’s dresses. The fabric shimmered as if it were made out of spun metal thread and covered in shimmering beads.
“You have the Sword.” The child tilted his head and hid his mouth behind his sleeve. “You saw Hatra. Do you know what you must do now?”
“You’re the kid who led me down here earlier.” I glanced between the blade in my hand and the ghostly child. “Are you connected to the Sword?”
“I am,” the white haired child nodded and took a step toward me, “and I did it because you are my chosen one and the new wielder of the Sword of Healing. I had to take you to the right place so you could find me. I’ve been waiting quite a long time for you. Though, perhaps, it has not been quite so long after all if one considers the flow of time for your existence.”
“Chosen one?” I tilted my head in confusion as I crouched down to be at the child’s eye level. “Kid, who are you?”
There was some sort of immense power emanating from this child. It was a familiar power, and it reminded me of Ruslan and Tristan as well as the Sword of Hatra. But, in the little I’d heard and read of the Sword, there had been no mention of a spirit being attached to the blade. I hadn’t even thought of the possibility of objects being sentient, but this was a world where magic and mystery ruled.
“You may call me Miraya.” The ghostly child smiled eerily at me as he clasped his hands behind his back. “The Lord Prior may have given me to you, but I picked you to be my new Lord. I wouldn’t accept just anyone, even if they are a descendant of the Lord Prior.”
I blinked at Miraya’s words as I understood what he meant. Miraya was the Sword, he wasn’t a ghost at all like I’d originally thought. He was the Spirit of the Sword, which was pretty cool, and Tristan’s comment about inheriting knowledge via the Sword made more sense now if the Sword was a living entity and could talk about stuff.
“So, you’re the Sword.” I glanced between the Sword in my hand to Miraya’s small form. “Why do you take the form of a kid? Are you the youngest of the Swords or something?”
“No.” A small giggle left Miraya as he tilted his head to the side again. “I searched your mind and saw you have a fondness for beautiful women and children. I thought this form would make you less wary of me. I will find a more pleasing form for you.”
Miraya’s body shimmered as if he was a mirage, and then his appearance changed. Instead of being a small child in pale robes, Miraya was now a beautiful woman. She was shorter than I was, and her robes put her ample cleavage on display. Her hair was still the same almost colorless white, but it pooled around her feet, and strands of it covered her face.
“Whoa,” I breathed as I gaped at the beauty in front of me.
“Is this a more pleasing form for your eyes?” Miraya tilted her head as she looked up at me and pressed her delicate fingers to her full lips.
“Y-yeah,” I replied immediately. “You look … fantastic. I like this much better.”
“Perfect,” Miraya purred as she pushed back her hair from her face.
I shook the lustful thoughts out of my head and tried to refocus on the situation.
“Miraya, are you inside of the Sword all of the time?” I asked as I strapped the Sword to
the fabric belt around my waist so it hung against my hip. “Or do you exist outside of it? I didn’t see you anywhere near Tristan, unless you were invisible or something.”
“Well, I can be outside of the Sword.” Miraya plopped down on the floor and sat cross legged. “It all really comes down to how much power my Lord has and if I want to be out of the Sword. I usually stay inside of the Sword for my own convenience to conserve power. Not that power will be an issue for you, it’s practically overflowing from you like a waterfall. Definitely a top notch Lord, if I do say so myself.”
“Thanks for that confidence in me,” I laughed as I shook my head. “Things are bound to get interesting with you around now. Talking swords weren’t a thing back in my old world.”
Miraya had a way of complimenting me in an offhand manner, as if she had the absolute confidence in my abilities. I mean, I was pretty awesome, but I didn’t think she’d seen enough of me to be able to tell.
“Obviously,” Miraya sniffed in a matter of fact tone, “I am one of a kind and a sublime existence. No mere humans, even as advanced as the ones I saw in your memories, could even create a lesser copy of me. I am unique, and only someone powerful like you could command me.”
“I see.” I lifted an eyebrow at that. Miraya really had a high opinion of herself. But she also seemed to have a high opinion of me, so that was cool.
“If you will excuse me, My Lord,” Miraya yawned as she stood up, “I am tired, and the Lord Prior wishes to speak with you. If you have need of me, you only need to call my name.”
Miraya disappeared from view, but I could still sense her presence. Only, instead of being in the catacombs, it was as if she was inside of my spiritual sea as well as in the Sword.
Then another presence grew in the catacombs, and it was one I recognized. A moment later, Tristan suddenly appeared in front of me.
He wasn’t entirely solid. There was a bit of haziness to his appearance, and the outline of his body was smudged. This was the spirit of Tristan, and there was a tendril of power connecting the Sword to Tristan’s statue.
