I need the full Elpis, Terico thought. I’ll... probably die if I don’t get it.
And if not by Elpis poisoning, then by Delkol’s own hand.
It took some time for Terico to find the strength to walk out the door. He nearly jumped back when he opened it, finding Lanek standing directly in front of him. Lanek glared at Terico—the elf looked like a standing corpse.
“I have one question,” he said, his voice low and torn apart.
Terico nodded. He wasn’t sure what Lanek would do now that Suran had died. Rilv said that Lanek had mourned for Suran while Terico was asleep, and that she had kept watch to make sure Lanek didn’t do anything to Terico—apparently she had learned from Lanek how Suran had been entrusted to Terico’s care when the Brotherhood boarded the airship.
“Who killed my little sister?” Lanek asked, supreme loathing oozing with every word.
Terico had never seen Lanek with such a horrific expression. The elf’s hair was uncharacteristically tattered and unkempt, his eyes bloodshot and ringed with fatigue.
“A member of the Brotherhood,” Terico said, afraid to reveal that Lynx’s true identity was Turan.
“I need details,” Lanek said. “Describe him.”
“He’s young,” Terico said. A part of him didn’t want to say more, but another part felt compelled to. “About my height. Blond hair. Goes by the name Lynx. Wears the uniform and mask that all the Brotherhood wear.”
“Short and blond,” Lanek said. “Is there anything else?”
Obviously the easiest way to identify Lynx was with the large smile painted on his mask, but Terico didn’t want Lanek to kill Turan. Even with Turan having killed Suran, Terico didn’t want Turan to suffer if he could help it.
Lanek gripped Terico’s shoulders. “There has to be something more. Tell me how I will find this boy.”
“That’s all,” Terico said.
“Rilv does not know I’m here,” Lanek said, gripping Terico a little tighter. “I need more to go off of. Think! There must be more.”
Terico remembered very clearly Lanek’s threat to kill him if anything were to happen to Suran.
And thinking about it, there was no reason to hold any details back from Lanek. If Turan did die, Terico would be able to use the full Elpis to revive him.
“There’s a smile painted on his mask,” Terico said. “He has an insane personality.” There was also a chance Turan would seek Lanek out anyways, considering Turan’s goal was to kill everyone Terico knew.
“A smile,” Lanek said. He let go of Terico and turned away, saying nothing more. The elf’s thoughts were wholly focused on revenge.
How many more people will die today? Terico wondered. He placed a hand on the wall to keep his balance. How many more people will seek revenge before this is over?
This is hell.
Rilv led Terico through the city, which for the most part was deserted. The general populace had relocated behind the walls of the castle, leaving only soldiers and powerful Nexi users on the streets. Everyone was grim, tired, anxious. Setar was prepared for a battle to the death, but Terico’s feelings felt distant. Though the war was fresh for this city, Terico felt he had been fighting it for weeks now.
Everything had been taken from him. Was there anything left for him to fight for?
He had to keep reminding himself. Revenge against Delkol. The power of the full Elpis. A redemption of everything he had lost.
There was no certainty in any of this, though. Would killing Delkol fill any of the emptiness inside of Terico? And would the Elpis really give Terico the power of a god? Every time Terico used the Elpis, it had given him a great deal of agony. And even with the power the Elpis contained, Terico hadn’t been able to save those he loved. The Elpis didn’t save Jujor. The Elpis didn’t save Suran.
And it certainly wasn’t saving Terico.
What if even the full Elpis availed him nothing?
Perhaps that was why it was broken apart and hidden away. Perhaps there really was no way for the Elpis to be used for good. Perhaps it was a power that only granted misery to its users.
Terico stared at all the vacant stands, all the boarded-up houses. Such an empty, foreboding city. Terico just wanted to leave it all.
Once near the tall, stone city walls, Rilv and her guards led Terico through the masses of soldiers. Many of the soldiers were carrying large Nexi stones up the stairways to the catapults positioned atop the walls. As soon as Delkol’s army began its attack, there would be many defensive measures put into place to slow them down.
Some soldiers stopped to stare at Terico a few seconds. Perhaps there were rumors of him floating around already. Terico didn’t care if everyone started looking to him to be a leader or a king. The troops had their generals to guide them—Terico was just the one who could use the Elpis. There was only one person for Terico to fight, and once that was done, perhaps the battle would end as well.
Rilv led Terico past the front lines of the assembling armies and toward a stairway up the city wall.
“Our reinforcements have not arrived yet,” Rilv said, “so the battle will be quite difficult at first. The longer we can delay, the better.”
“I doubt Delkol will wait any longer than noon,” Terico said. “I will fight him as soon as I find him.”
“He will not make it easy for you to reach him,” Rilv said. “He knows you have two fragments of the Elpis, same as him. If he can weaken you in any way before he faces you, he will.”
And in all honesty, Terico already was in a much weaker state than he should have been. Walking this long had tired him out, and brought back the pain in all the cuts and bruises covering his body. His headache had grown a bit stronger again as well.
“I will kill him,” Terico said, following Rilv up a stairway. It was all he could say. He knew that the chances of him succeeding were slim, but it was the only thing he had left to hold on to. He had to kill Delkol. What else was there left for Terico?
Once atop the city wall, Terico gazed out at the distant Shire armies, all in a grand formation that stretched out as far as Terico could see from east to west. The hills in the horizon were covered with soldiers in black armor. There were also large numbers of Brotherhood members in white—Terico imagined Delkol was amongst one of those groups of soldiers.
“They have strength in numbers,” Rilv said. “They were assembled quickly, however, so they have no large machinery, save for a single airship. Our airships have been repaired enough to handle that, and to aid in the city’s general defense afterward. Delkol is a significant element of the Shire army’s power, however. He is a charismatic figure who has promised a great deal for his troops. The fact Delkol has killed our king gives them great confidence.”
“If I kill him quickly, they’ll lose the will to fight,” Terico said.
“It would be best if you do so before the armies breach the walls,” Rilv said. “We have suffered greatly in the Brotherhood’s recent attack. The fact is we are greatly outnumbered, and it will only be a matter of time before the entries are broken down. The Brotherhood amongst the Shire army’s ranks are greatly skilled with Nexi, and will likely have the means to sneak in quickly.”
“I understand,” Terico said. He had enough to worry about without all this pressure Rilv was piling atop of him.
The sooner I kill Delkol, the fewer lives that will be lost.
How many people will die with each passing minute it takes me to seek out Delkol and kill him?
The amount of blood that will be on my hands... Perhaps there will never be a limit to it.
The sun rose high above the battlefield. Terico watched the Shire army, waiting for the moment Delkol would order his soldiers forward.
A small figure rose in the sky, and Terico kept his eyes on its approach. It was Delkol, flying in his transformed state. The power of the Elpis fragments had turned his armor black, his skin light gray, and his scar and eyes a sickly white. He stopped in mid-air a good thirty or
so meters in front of where Terico stood.
“Hold your fire,” Rilv told the nearest soldiers running the Nexi catapults.
“So he comes to me,” Terico whispered, gripping his Elpis pieces.
“Terico, the boy who would never be king,” Delkol cried out in a booming voice. He somehow projected his voice with the Elpis. “You may have some royal blood in you, but otherwise there is no good reason for you to rule this land.”
Terico didn’t care about becoming king of Fiefs. All he wanted was to see this man dead.
Delkol went on without waiting for a response. “My offer still stands. Give me your half of the Elpis and allow me to take my rightful place as ruler of this kingdom. In return, nobody will have to die today. Do you wish to have the blood of an entire city on your hands, boy? I imagine you are tired of death.”
“Not quite!” Terico yelled. He activated his half of the Elpis and shot himself into the air, straight for Delkol.
Already flying back the moment Terico began to transform, Delkol blasted himself down toward his gathered armies. At the same time, a creature swooped down for Terico from above, forcing him to stop pursuing Delkol.
It was a death bird—the giant creature Delkol rode on when escaping the castle with the Elpis piece he stole from there. It reached for Terico with long, ragged talons made of bone, gleaming white and red. Terico forced himself back a couple meters to avoid the skeletal bird’s attacks.
The death bird swooped back up to Terico, far faster than he expected. Fighting back the pain enveloping his body, Terico created a burst of frozen air to materialize in front of him. He flew backward, letting the death bird fly into the light blue Nexi energy. Terico floated to the side, watching for the beast to plummet, its wings too frozen to fly with.
The creature rushed straight through the frozen air. Though most of its body was covered with patches of ice, it continued flapping its skeletal wings—and still headed for Terico. It was a creature of bone and bloody muscles—the fact it could fly in the first place should have been impossible. The ice simply cracked and broke apart as the death bird flapped its wings.
Terico charged toward it, unsheathing his sword and filling the blade with orange Nexi energy in the process. The death bird slowed down and pushed itself backward, just outside the range of Terico’s blade. Terico swung again, but the death bird flapped its wings inward farther, slamming a giant bone against him.
Silently, the creature dove toward Terico, who careened backward, rushing toward the ground. The pain of the attack doubled under the influence of the Elpis, and Terico had trouble regaining control of his flight. He managed to keep himself from colliding with the ground, but the death bird was already upon him. At the last moment he raised his sword and released a burst of water at the swooping beast. The water blasted the death bird back a few meters, but it quickly recovered.
Terico forced himself to fly backward before the death bird could slam its giant skeletal beak into his body. Though wielding the power of the Elpis, getting torn in half would still be instantly fatal.
I’m wasting my energy on this bird! Terico thought. Delkol’s letting it weaken me while he hides amongst his armies.
Terico considered just ignoring the bird and flying toward the Shire troops, but he knew the soldiers would attack him—and he had no intention of fighting off an entire army before getting to Delkol. Terico also considered heading back toward the city so the archers atop the wall could help him. This would only endanger the lives of the city’s first defense, however. Terico also wasn’t certain if arrows would have any effect on this creature.
The death bird flapped its wings faster, gaining several extra meters on Terico with each stroke. Forcing himself to fly faster would strain his mind even more than he already had. He activated the brown Nexi energy and released it toward the death bird. The creature forced itself upward, and the majority of the sticky material missed it completely. The death bird dove for Terico, its open beak revealing dozens of thick, misshapen fangs.
An ear-splitting shriek broke through the air just above Terico. A massive red and yellow bird collided into the death bird, sinking its talons and beak into the fleshy bits of muscle holding its skeletal body together. This second bird was engulfed in flames, and as it brought the death bird plummeting toward the ground the creature’s prey caught on fire as well.
It was a giant phoenix. It took a few seconds for Terico to figure out where it came from—it had to have been summoned by the special Nexi stone Kitoh was given. One of the most powerful stones the eigni had ever created, Terico remembered.
The two birds crashed into the ground. The phoenix tore into the muscle tissue of the writhing death bird, ripping apart the deadly creature’s bones. The death bird pecked its beak into the phoenix and tried clawing at it, but the phoenix was quick to snap the death bird’s neck. With a few wrenches of its beak, the phoenix ripped the death bird’s head off entirely, though the creature still continued to fight back. The phoenix proceeded to disconnect the wings from what was left of the burning muscles of the bloody beast, keeping it from moving further.
Terico looked down to the Shire armies, which marched at a brisk pace toward the city walls. Delkol was among them somewhere, but Terico couldn’t spot him. The majority of his soldiers were dressed in black, and Delkol had surely stopped using the Elpis, considering how his transformed state would make him easier to notice. He was also conserving energy, while Terico would waste away if he didn’t find Delkol quickly.
The Shire armies reached the phoenix, which flew away from the burning remains of the death bird. A number of archers tried shooting down the phoenix, but the giant bird managed to avoid them. The legions of soldiers continued toward the city walls, where catapults began to fire giant Nexi stones toward the approaching masses. The city defenses began with large green Nexi, which blew apart into dozens of thick vines upon landing. Some soldiers were taken down by the stones themselves, but many more were tied up by the swarming vines. A number of soldiers fought off the vines with their swords, while others used fire Nexi to burn them down.
The Fiefs armies continued by launching brown and red Nexi into the crowds of charging Shire troops. Many Shire soldiers became stuck in the swamps that burst out from the brown Nexi while tens of others were blown apart by the fiery red stones.
Terico continued to search for Delkol, careful to keep out of range of the archers’ arrows. Though it was agonizing, Terico forced himself to access the golden Nexi energy in order to locate Delkol’s position. Terico screamed from the pain, his body trembling in mid-air high above the hundreds of enemy soldiers passing below him. There were so many people all in one location, it was difficult to search through them, even with the Elpis guiding his vision.
Shutting his eyes, Terico caught sight of several groups of Shire soldiers—some armed with lances, some with swords, and others with longbows. They were closing in on the castle walls now. Members of the Brotherhood led the way to three of the city entryways, blasting away at the massive doors with red, orange, and tan Nexi stones. Fiefs soldiers fought them back with Nexi stones thrown down from above, but for every Shire soldier that was killed, several more rushed in to take his place. The Brotherhood members also managed to avoid most of the attacks, using their skills with the Nexi to create effective defenses.
His head pounded twice as fast as his heartbeat, but Terico forced himself to keep using the Elpis to locate Delkol. The sooner he found Delkol, the better chance he had of attacking Delkol before the Elpis wore him out.
The golden Nexi energy guided Terico’s vision to an area far from the city walls, where many Brotherhood fighters were congregated amidst the Shire armies. Terico’s sight focused in on a caped figure standing amongst some of the masked fighters in white. It was Delkol, unsheathing his sword.
Delkol activated his Elpis fragments, transforming back into his demonic form and rising a couple meters off the ground. Terico’s vision pulled back a ways, rev
ealing the phoenix swooping down toward Delkol. A number of archers tried shooting the bird down, but the phoenix was too fast for their arrows. Delkol held his sword back and charged it with orange, white, and purple Nexi energy. His blade shifted between the three colors, vibrating violently and releasing sparks of blinding light.
With an extra burst of speed, the phoenix rushed down for Delkol. Just before the creature could tear Delkol in half with its fiery talons, Delkol shot off a bolt of lightning through the nearest wing, causing the phoenix to turn slightly. The next moment, Delkol was suddenly flying straight into the phoenix’s body, slamming his blade through the bird’s chest. The screeching beast blew apart into bloody, fiery chunks all around Delkol, who continued to push his vibrating blade through the phoenix’s body.
Once through the other side, Delkol turned around and enveloped himself with water to douse the flames of the phoenix that caught on to his body. The phoenix turned its long neck and attempted to jab its sharp beak into Delkol’s torso. Delkol flew to the side of the bird’s attack and proceeded to lob its head off in one swoop. The giant bird collapsed in a smoldering heap, the passing Shire troops raising their swords and cheering for their victorious leader. Delkol floated above the corpse of the beast and stared directly at Terico, who had to be at least a hundred meters away.
Delkol closed his eyes and smiled. His control of the Elpis was extraordinary, to say the least. In half a minute he took down the summon of one of the world’s most powerful Nexi stones, and he didn’t look the slightest bit troubled by it.
There was no doubt about it—with the full Elpis this man would easily vanquish everything that stood in his way, just as he easily killed everyone in the Edellerston cathedral.
Terico opened his eyes and cut off access to the golden Nexi energy. He had Delkol’s location. It was now only a matter of killing him.
The Elpis energies surged within Terico’s body, and with the proper focus Terico forced the power to send him flying toward Delkol. The masses of Shire soldiers turned into a blur beneath him, while Terico’s mind broke into pieces, the building torment of the Elpis reaching a horrific climax.
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