Opening Moves (The Lion Knight Book 1)

by Aurelius L. Zero

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. That thing’s still alive? What does it take to kill it?”

  As if on cue, the sound of snapping branches reached his ear.

  A blur shot by Leon and a blast of wind ruffled his hair followed by the sound of something smashing into a tree.

  Leon froze in his tracks, face warped into a stunned expression.

  He caught only a brief glimpse of the blur that just barely missed him.

  It was enough to send a chill down his spine.

  Slowly turning his neck with a twitching motion, Leon stared at a sight he never thought he’d have to bear witness to.

  There lying in a pile of shattered kindling was the broken form of his prized puppet.

  Its armour almost completely gone now, the twisted remains of where metal had been ripped asunder or melted clean through visible for all to see.

  Its limbs bent and twisted beyond recognition, its helmet baring a vertical gash through the centre.

  The face behind it cracked in multiple places.

  The puppet had three holes punched clean through it, two small ones in its right arm where a spike had slipped through the blades guard.

  But the worst was by far the wound in the centre of its chest. A large jagged hole was exposing the gears, crystals and wiring within.

  Copious amounts of machine fluid continuously leaked from the multitude of breaches in its form.

  Leon didn’t even need his control gauntlet’s system diagnosis to tell that the puppets structural integrity was severely compromised.

  The damage was quite possibly beyond any mechanic’s ability to repair.

  The glow of the puppet’s internal circuitry was slowly dimming, signifying its rapidly approaching demise.

  The puppet master continued staring blankly at his defeated masterpiece even as thunderous footsteps approached his position.

  The monstrosity padded up to Leon. Despite being a beast, an air of victory could be felt around it.

  A puppeteer without his puppet was a singer without voice. The performance… was over.

  Raising a giant claw, the creature brought it down where Leon was standing with tremendous force, creating a small localised earthquake.

  Its roar of triumph was heard throughout the forest.

  Then, confusion.

  Its previous air of victory disappeared as it lifted its foot to find nothing but shattered ground where a red mess should have been.

  Letting out a screech at being denied its prey, the beast whirled around trying to find where the bug had escaped to.

  After all that it had been through for its meal, it would be damned before something else stole it from right under its paw.

  “You bastard. That puppet you broke. That was my pride and joy, the greatest thing I ever accomplished in my life.”

  Despite the lack of any visible ears, the beast whipped its maw in the direction of the voice.

  “It wasn’t enough to menace a class of innocent children was it? No. You had to break my puppet. And now… now I break you.”

  There standing on a branch overlooking the devastation stood Leon, his demeanour completely different from anything he showed previously.

  The rage he was feeling was almost palpable, the hatred in his eyes burned with great fervour. In the dim forest light, they almost seemed to glow red.

  The wind began to pick up, swirling around Leon, whipping his hair and cloak into a frenzy.

  Standing above the world looking down on the one who wronged him, Leon exuded authority.

  Against its will, the titan began to back away, instincts screaming at it that the bug it tried to squash earlier was now a far greater threat, one beyond its ability to handle.

  Arms crossed, face impassive and eyes burning with hatred, Leon was the very image of an avenging angel.

  And like one, he struck from the skies.

  Pushing off from the branch with enough force to turn the entire branch into a collection of splinters, Leon rocketed straight towards the monster, fist outstretched for a single punch.

  Fist coated in hurricane force winds swirling in a drill, the punch crushed and shredded anything in its path.

  Brushing aside the bone armour that till now had resisted every single attack as though it wasn’t even there, the punch reached flesh and continued on through with zero resistance.

  Burying his arm all the way into the beast’s flank, Leon uttered a single word. “Burst.” And the monster’s side ballooned outwards before exploding in a shower of blood and gore.

  Lacking even the ability to screech in pain, the beast was hurled to the ground, much of its side completely gone.

  An extremely simple attack with devastating results. All the wind initially condensed into a drill introduced directly into the monster’s body before being allowed to run wild.

  Completely shredding the unprotected insides before escaping through the path of least resistance, out the back.

  The resulting burst taking out a large portion of the targets back while allowing everything sliced up inside to explode outwards, virtually a guaranteed kill strike for which there is no defence.

  Against all logical reasoning the monster was still alive, badly wounded but not dead yet. Its exposed insides painted a most interesting story, one that Leon noticed instantly.

  “Hoh. So that's what lies beneath, nothing but bone, muscle and teeth. Pitiful fool, you’re not even alive are you? Nothing more than a weapon born from some idiot’s mind. Heh, I do hope your master doesn't mind you missing a few pieces. Once I’m done taking you apart for research there might not be a lot left for him.”

  A sinister smile lit up Leon’s face.

  “I don’t know if you can understand me nor do I particularly care. Just saying but, this is going to hurt you so much more than it’s going to hurt me. And I will enjoy every moment of it.”

  Turning to face the broken puppet on the ground, Leon let out a snort.

  “Why are you still down? I thought he made you better than this. Stand! I have no time for weakness!”

  A massive surge of flux ran through Leon, the Ceph crystals on his control glove lighting up to an almost blinding intensity.

  A spell that went against all known principles of magic was cast and reality rewrote itself to suit Leon’s will.

  The space and time around the fallen knight began to warp, the air distorting as his magic defied the world.

  “Now rise once more and fight. Your general commands it.”

  With a rattle, the broken puppet began to stand on shaky legs.

  The damage to it disappearing into thin air, twisted metal bent itself back into shape, melted or ripped off parts began to form out of nothingness.

  Flux capacitors went from empty to full in the blink of an eye.

  Reality had unravelled and time itself had turned back for the puppet, all damage sustained that day had vanished.

  Standing tall once more with sword raised in salute, the puppet was ready to fight with everything it had. After all, it was never damaged to begin with.

  “Excellent.”

  A rustle of leaves drew Leon’s attention. Turning back to the creature, he noticed that the monster was fully healed but its stature was greatly diminished.

  Where once stood a behemoth of over eight metres long now crawled a vastly weakened version barely larger than a human.

  Snarling in rage and more than a hint of fear, the beast was constantly trying to scrabble to its feet but unable to do so.

  “Ah, so that’s how you survived. The ability to heal from any wound by sacrificing biomass. A truly formidable ability. Heh heh heh, well almost. If it weren’t for the fact that taking too much damage will eventually weaken you to the point you can’t even stand.”

  Shaking his head in disbelief that something so pathetic had caused him so much grief, Leon could only sigh.

  “Well I think I’ve done enough, with you as you are right now, my other self should have no problem dea
ling with you.”

  Giving the beast a mocking bow, he bid the abomination farewell in a disparaging tone.

  “I’m done here. Goodbye… for now.”

  The reddish glow in Leon’s eyes faded and with it so did most of the raw power surrounding him. Stumbling from the sudden loss of strength Leon cursed under his breath.

  “Damn it, that bastard got out again.”

  Staring at the perfectly okay puppet he had written off as a lost cause earlier, Leon swore again.

  “Not that I’m ungrateful, but damn… just damn.”

  Pushing his worries out of his mind, Leon prepared to have his knight strike down the monster until it could heal no more.

  “Carting it back is going to be a problem but it needs to be done, the things I do in the name of helping people.”

  Before he could do anything, the peal of a bell rang through the forest, echoing from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

  Jumping backwards preparing for an attack from any direction, Leon noticed too late that the beast’s struggles had ceased.

  It was just crouched there silent and unmoving, as though a machine awaiting further orders. When the attack came, it was from the one place Leon was completely not expecting it to be from.

  He could only stare in muted horror as the creature opened its mouth to an impossibly large degree, flux energy gathering at the back of its throat.

  “Sonofabitch, it can use magic.”

  The maw closed up and hid the gathering energy from Leon’s eyes. Its effects though were impossible to mask.

  Large amounts of flux flowed from the monster’s body through its legs and into the ground.

  The resulting earthquake toppled trees left and right and knocked Leon off his feet.

  Barely managing to order the puppet to grab hold and shield him from falling trees in time.

  The boy’s heart leapt into his throat as the ground he was sprawled on caved inwards, the land below him opening up into an awning chasm.

  Gravity did the rest of the job and the beast stood still, watching over the duo’s fall into the abyss.

  Leon didn’t even have time to shout as gravity dragged him and his puppet down into the void. There was a splash as they hit the surface of an underground river, the water surged over Leon’s head and then he knew only darkness.

  Chapter 2: Encroaching Shadows

  Pain.

  That single word summed up Leon’s current existence.

  After being dropped into an underground river, the current had dragged Leon for parts unknown.

  The surging current, the lack of oxygen and the rapid changes in pressure were deadly enough on their own. And just to spice things up for Leon, he wasn’t the only thing being dragged through the water.

  Debris from the collapsing ground had also been swept up by the current. Great hunks of earth stone and fallen trees swirled in the raging tides, battering against Leon’s bruised body

  The constant darkness of the underground and the multiple rapid impacts had stripped Leon of his ability to his senses. Unable to tell which way was up or down and right from left, the boy was barely cognizant at this point.

  Lungs burning from the strain and vision threatening to go dark permanently, desperation and panic was building rapidly. Just when hope was about to desert him, light flooded his vision.

  Just as his hope was rapidly diminishing, the underground river emerged above ground and into the sun. The sudden burst of sunlight renewed Leon’s will to survive.

  Fighting against the current and his near depleted strength, Leon brought both of his hands together. Forcing his fingers to form into the required sign took a herculean effort but he succeeded and the Ceph crystals on his gauntlet glowed weakly.

  Spots clouding his vision and the cold seeping into his bones, Leon poured every bit of his willpower and remaining energy into his control gauntlet, ordering his puppet to come to his aid at once.

  Before his gauntlet could confirm that the message had been sent, a large branch smashed into Leon’s back, driving him under.

  His fingers were forced apart and his concentration interrupted, leaving him unable to continue supplying flux to his glove.

  His shirt caught on some of the smaller branches and kept him pinned beneath the branch, leaving him unable to break to the surface for breath.

  Water had begun to enter his lungs and his struggles were growing weaker from a lack of oxygen.

  So this is where it ends huh? Heh, at least the civilians made it to safety.

  As the seconds ticked by and no rescue came, he was sure that the order had failed to transmit. He didn’t feel much regret or fear at the journey into the long dark, and a part of him did look forward to an end to all the trials and tribulations of the living.

  Just prior to him giving in to the gentle, welcoming darkness, a forceful grip took hold of Leon’s shoulders and pulled fiercely.

  With several muffled snapping sounds, Leon was pulled free and his head was violently shoved into the air.

  Gasping and coughing, the young puppet master was dragged off to the river bank by his ever faithful companion. Wading ashore, the knight puppet continued dragging Leon by the scruff.

  Armour battered and dented in many places by the travel downstream with his right arm bent at an awkward angle. The blue clad knight had lost his helmet along the way but managed to retain his sword.

  For the first time since arriving in Albion, the knight’s full face was revealed to the world.

  Flaxen blond hair dishevelled by the current, high cheekbones, a straight and pointed nose and eyes a brilliant shade of blue.

  Despite looking like a man who’d just survived a major disaster by the skin of his teeth, the puppet nonetheless exuded nobility.

  A stark contrast to his master currently on all fours trying to catch his breath and cough up any remaining water in his lungs

  Whoever said that “cough” heroes should arrive at the “cough” last minute has no idea what he’s talking about. And “cough” I want some of what he’s smoking.

  “I’m alive!” Leon exclaimed triumphantly before gulping down another large mouthful of life giving air as though it would disappear should he not do so fast enough.

  Flopping onto his back, the boy switched his puppet into self-diagnostic and repair mode.

  Lying on the ground, he watched as the puppet’s body seemed to waver for an instant before its right arm snapped back into place with a resounding crack.

  Immediately, the soft sound of gears grinding and a light hum filled the air as the puppet continued repairing its inner circuitry bringing itself back to fighting capability.

  Closing his eyes in exhaustion, Leon mused about his current situation before blearily rising to his feet. He was understandably unwilling to let sleep claim him in hostile territory lest he never wake again, or worse awaken in the jaws of some predator.

  Looks like I won’t be surpassing the old man anytime soon.

  Lowering my guard without concrete proof the damn thing was no longer a threat?

  A rookie mistake if ever there was one.

  Shaking his head in frustration at his own foolishness, Leon staggered to a nearby tree, trying to regain some feeling in his still mostly numb body.

  “Shit.” He swore looking in the direction of the setting sun.

  “Evening’s almost over, I’m tired, hungry wounded and out of flux. Plus I’m stuck in a monster infested forest with possible hostiles still in the area.”

  As far as crappy situations go, this isn’t near the worse but it is pretty damn near it.

  I should follow the river, it might lead out of this forest and back to civilisation or to some food and shelter. Either way I need to find some place to spend the night before it gets too dark to see.

  Once the puppet was repaired to the best possible condition given the lack of resources, the puppet and puppeteer duo set off.

  One focused on taking one step at a time, the other w
as perpetually scanning for threats and other items of interest.

  The blue knight’s head jerking up was the only warning before he stepped in front of Leon with sword drawn.

  SCREEEEE

  The shriek of a bird and the flapping of wings reached Leon’s ears.

  Too tired to defend himself any further, Leon ducked back and allowed his puppet to deal with any threat that may appear. Deep down, his heart was sinking, despite the condition of his puppet, the earlier repair had depleted a significant amount of its flux stores.

  At this point the both of them were running on fumes and Leon knew they would not survive another engagement.

  A white blur shot out of the treeline and began to circle Leon’s position.

  “A Vernium falcon?” Leon’s tired eyes caught sight of the blur and his tired brain managed to register it.

  “Albion’s national bird, what’s one doing all the way out here? It’s not native to this area at all.”

  The falcon circled once more let out another shriek before flying off in the direction it came from.

  Well that was interesting, but I guess that's that.

  Just as Leon was about to brush the odd occurrence away, the bird came flying back. Circling the two once more it noticed that neither the knight nor the half drowned boy was making any movements.

  Swooping down to land on the knight’s head it began to peck at him, when no reaction was forthcoming, it switched targets to Leon.

  “Ow! You stupid bird, get off me!”

  Flailing his arms and swearing, Leon tried to get the bird to leave his already battered body alone.

  Taking to the skies again, the falcon let loose one last call circled twice more before flying off in the same direction it did earlier.

  “I guess it wants us to follow it. Well, might as well go see what it wants, it beats standing around any rate. Could be a trap but in our current states that's hardly necessary now is it?”

  Shrugging his shoulders and giving a small twitch of his fingers, Leon and his puppet moved off in pursuit of the falcon.

  The shadows cast in the twilight and the roar of the river served to strip away Leon’s sense of time. After walking for what he felt was an eternity and skirting yet another mammoth tree, he came to a bend in the river.