Chronicles of Eden - Act X

by Alexander Gordon

  “We get it,” Rulo retorted as she and Hollia stood up as well. “You don’t like us, and frankly we don’t give a shit about you either. My master just saved your life so you could answer our questions, not because he cared about you or anything.”

  “My hero,” Mika dryly mocked at Daemon. “For the record I didn’t need your help, I can handle myself just fine.”

  “Your appearance would suggest otherwise,” Hollia mentioned with a raised eyebrow.

  “Just tell us where The Sisterhood is going next,” Sasha demanded. “We already know they’re going to be traveling to Rockhelm soon, your beloved kingdom. Would you rather we wait until your people are raped and killed before we put an end to this horde’s existence?”

  “They’ll never take down Rockhelm,” Mika shot back. “They’ll all die trying. Not that it matters, I’m going to kill all of them myself before they even come close to that kingdom. I’m not letting them take another human life.”

  “Really? All by yourself?” Forrus questioned. “Seems you have a head injury on top of all your other wounds.”

  “Just tell us where they’re going next,” Tabitha groaned. “Leave the killing to those who know how to do it for a living.”

  “I’m a monster hunter, neko!” Mika shouted at her.

  “One that was about to be killed before we showed up,” Hollia reminded her. “Before my knight healed your wounds and allowed you to continue living. Enough with this waste of time, tell us where those demons are going to be so I can kill their leaders myself.”

  Mika growled at her before scoffing and pointing off to the side.

  “Head east then,” she dared. “That scorpia said they were going to recruit the elves of Green Haven to join them next. Go ahead, throw yourself into the horde and end your own lives. You can at least rest easy knowing I’ll get the job done when I get there.”

  “The elves of Green Haven,” Hollia repeated looking around at the others.

  “They’re getting archers to join their army,” Rulo realized.

  “Very skilled archers,” Sasha commented.

  “That could be problematic for us,” Forrus mentioned. “If they have ranged fighters of that skill on their side it will be very difficult for us to get closer to those two hellspawns that lead them.”

  “Let’s hope the elves say no and just end up getting slaughtered like the centaurs then,” Tabitha suggested with a shrug. “If they do that’s less for us to deal with.”

  “Need I remind you I’m your ride out here?” Hollia snapped at her.

  “Are we going to Green Haven then?” Scay wondered.

  “We are,” Daemon agreed while watching Mika. She glared at him then lowered her head, a tear coming out of her eye that she then quickly wiped away. “You should go home, monster hunter. You’ve had a long day.”

  “I need to kill those that took my sisters from me,” Mika growled. “I need to make sure those things never come near my little brother or the kingdom of Rockhelm. My fight is not over yet.”

  “They won’t,” Sasha replied. “We’ll be putting an end to those that have crossed us very soon.”

  “What makes you think you can beat them?” Mika snapped at her. “I could kill all of you easily enough, what chance do you have against a horde of those monsters?”

  “Could you now?” Tabitha flatly asked patting her handles.

  “Yes, I could,” Mika hissed at her, the hunter’s hand flexing while black and red streaks of light swirled around it. The monsters tensed up as Mika glared at all of them before she noticed Daemon not showing any further reaction to her still.

  “You’re crazy enough as it is placing your trust in monsters like them,” Mika scorned. “But I don’t believe for a second that you’re capable of defeating The Sisterhood at all, much less those that are behind them.”

  “You shouldn’t underestimate those you’ve just met,” Daemon plainly told her. “I have heard of you, Mika Harollson, how you’re one of three sisters who have made quite a name for yourselves hunting monsters in the region. I don’t think of you as an amateur fighter or doubt that you know how to slay monsters as you’ve been trained to. But this is not something you’re prepared for, I assure you.”

  “You’re the one who shouldn’t underestimate me,” Mika scowled while her hand flexed slightly. “You take just one step and I’ll show you what I’m capable of.”

  Daemon then stepped closer to the hunter, something that pushed her anxiety to the limit and prompted a quick response of holding her magical attack out towards him. In the blink of an eye he reached out and grabbed her hand with his, the woman’s magic then firing out with black and red flames searing across his arm while the others watched in surprise. Mika stared in shock at seeing Daemon watching her with his cold blue eyes and no signs of pain, his arm having been seared by the magical blast to reveal not scorched flesh or bone but rather dark scales that remained in the flames wake. The hunter slowly eyed over the monstrous arm of the swordsman then turned to him with an open mouth as he pushed her back against the tree and held her hand up above her.

  “Wh… what the hell… are you?” she breathed out fearfully.

  “How dare you hurt him!” Sasha yelled furiously while clutching her sword. Rulo grabbed her hammer and lifted it up while Hollia quickly snatched her spear from the ground and held it towards Mika’s head. Forrus growled heavily at the hunter while Tabitha and Scay remained on guard, all of them cautious of the newcomer’s magic now.

  “Nobody harms my knight!” Hollia roared before lunging forward with her spear. Mika watched in surprise as Daemon merely caught the lance’s end with his gloved hand and held it in place. The tip was poised to strike into Mika’s face while being kept still by the swordsman, something that shocked her even more from seeing.

  “Hollia,” Daemon calmly said. “Harming the wounded should be something below that of a centaur’s nobility, shouldn’t it?”

  Hollia growled furiously then slowly stepped back with her spear, glaring deeply at Mika who stared at her in surprise before turning back to Daemon as he slowly shook his head.

  “You are a skilled hunter, but foolish,” Daemon reasoned, with Mika trembling nervously as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “You may be capable of powerful magic and have a reputation that speaks highly of you, however that means nothing if you don’t think before you act. Do not underestimate those you meet, otherwise losing your family and eye is only the beginning of your losses.”

  Mika looked at him in speechless wonder as he let go and watched his arm slowly shifting back to its human form. He flexed his hand a few times, not showing any signs of pain or discomfort, then turned to Mika while waving his gloved hand back. The other girls slowly stepped back while lowering their weapons and stances, with Mika watching in awe as they obeyed his order without hesitation before she looked at him in disbelief.

  “Who… what… are you?”

  Daemon looked at her for a moment then started walking off, the monsters around Mika giving her dull glances briefly as they followed after him. Taking a few steps more he then stopped and looked back to Mika as she stared at them in confusion while leaning against the tree.

  “You said you have a brother that still lives, didn’t you?” Daemon asked.

  “Yes,” Mika softly answered. “I do.”

  “Then return home and protect him. Leave the dangers of Eden to those who are ready to face them.”

  “I am ready to face them,” Mika asserted. “Anything that threatens my little brother’s life, the lives of my people, I’ll take them on without hesitation. I’m a fighter! It’s what I do!”

  “There are some fights you’re not ready for,” Daemon warned. “There are some monsters in this world you’re not ready to face.”

  Mika slowly started walking towards him, the swordsman keeping an eye on the hunter while the monsters turned to glare at her for approaching them.

  “Who the hell are you?” Mika slowly
questioned.

  She took one more step then stopped as she felt the ground shake a little. Everyone noticed the land rumbling while birds took off from the nearby trees, the sudden disturbance occurring as quickly as it then ended.

  “What was that?” Hollia carefully asked.

  “Probably just a little groundquake,” Rulo reasoned with a shrug. “Nothing to-”

  Almost instantly the area shook about violently, a loud rumble erupting below the group as they quickly tried catching their balance. Mika looked around in surprise then noticed Daemon was the only one not showing a startled expression, rather he was observing the ground shaking wildly with the same calm expression he had since she first saw him. He looked around at the rumbling ground then glanced to her as she was staring at him in wonder.

  “Don’t look at me, I don’t know what’s doing this,” he plainly said.

  “That’s not why I’m looking at you,” Mika answered shaking her head.

  The ground ruptured then collapsed with a loud roar, the entire landscape around them dropping down into Eden with a thunderous crash while all the girls screamed from falling into the darkness. From high above the sight of a giant crevice appearing across The Outerlands could be seen, one that was struck through the land to divide the eastern front from the western just as it was created to do.

  *****

  Mika slowly opened her eye, her head throbbing in pain while she felt a sharp sting from her right wrist. As her senses came back to her she then realized she was being carried by Daemon, the swordsman holding her in his arms while eyeing the surrounding corridor they were in. Piles of rubble and stone debris were everywhere, the ceiling of the tunnel they were in cracking and dropping streams of dirt as it appeared ready to collapse, and the only source of light was coming from Daemon’s gloved hand that held a small ball of blue magic above it that illuminated the corridor for them.

  “What happened?” Mika coughed.

  “Good question,” Daemon answered as he made his way through the small corridor.

  “You can put me down,” Mika mentioned with a blush. “I can walk you know.”

  “I would hope so now that you’re awake,” Daemon replied setting the girl down on her feet. She cringed as she held her wrist, feeling it sore yet luckily not broken, and then looked around in frustration as more loose stones and dirt fell around them.

  “What are we doing down here?”

  “We fell down here,” Daemon replied with a shrug. “Blame gravity.”

  Mika glared at him as he kept walking forward then quickly followed after, the two making their way further into the underground tunnel while loud explosions and crashes were heard echoing around them.

  “Alright, you have some serious explaining to do,” Mika demanded. “First… what the hell are you? Are you even a man? Secondly why are you traveling with monsters? Are you messed up in the head? Third-”

  “We’re stuck underground and could be crushed at any moment by the ceiling giving away, and that’s all you can worry about right now?” Daemon flatly asked while walking forward still.

  “Answer me!” Mika demanded as she grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her. “Just who are you and… what are you?”

  Daemon looked at her for a moment before they heard a loud explosion nearby, the walls cracking severely while more stones started to drop from above. Without pause he grabbed Mika around her waist with one arm, something that made her jump in shock, before he quickly moved her aside as the ceiling crashed down behind them with a loud roar. Mika stared at the sight of rocks and debris filling the tunnel behind them then turned to Daemon in silence as he was glancing up at the tunnel walls that were rumbling still.

  “This is not the time or place to be asking such questions.”

  “How the hell can you be so calm right now?” Mika demanded with a bigger blush. “And stop picking me up whenever you feel like it!”

  “Then start moving on your own,” Daemon advised as the rumbling grew louder. The two looked around then quickly dashed off down the tunnel as it began collapsing, the wave of dust and rock billowing behind them as they ran ahead into the unknown with Daemon’s magic lighting their way.

  “I am not ready for this!” Mika complained as she felt her bandaged leg growing sorer with each step she took.

  “You’re a fighter, aren’t you?” Daemon quipped while keeping his eyes forward. “Fight through the pain.”

  “I don’t need you lecturing me!” Mika snapped as they ran around a corner then another, the two making their way through the winding tunnels while hearing the collapsing walls behind them staying near. Mika looked back to seeing slabs of rock and stone dropping down behind them then to Daemon who was still keeping a poised expression about him as he merely glanced around at the tunnel as if mildly interested by it.

  “Okay, seriously, what the fuck is your deal?” she cried out.

  “Deal?” he repeated with a questioning glance to her.

  “Why aren’t you a little more concerned about what’s happening to us?”

  “There are bigger ‘deals’ to be concerned about than this,” he simply replied before looking forward again.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Mika shouted in disbelief as they kept running ahead of the collapsing tunnel. They made their way through the twisting corridors before coming out into a larger cavern, the two stopping quickly at the edge of a cliff that dropped down into total darkness below. Around the cavern rocks and boulders were dropping from above, the ceiling to the cave cracking apart while more explosions echoed throughout the chamber. Looking around the two also saw several steel tracks suspended by rope that went in all directions through various tunnels, with one track leading up to the cliffside next to them where a mine cart was stationed on the trembling rails.

  “Where the hell are we?” Mika wondered. “I wasn’t aware of any mining being done near Nibelvale.”

  The ground below rumbled while parts of the cliff dropped into the abyss. Mika stumbled with her footing then found herself falling forward over the chasm, the woman waving her arms around with a scream before Daemon grabbed her shoulder and threw her back onto the ground.

  “Dammit, don’t throw me around!” she yelled rubbing her rear. “Don’t you know how to treat a lady?”

  “Get in the cart,” Daemon ordered pointing to the cart that was starting to roll forward.

  “Are you crazy? We have no idea where-” Mika protested before Daemon lifted her up and tossed her over into the cart with a thud. “You fucking asshole! Stop throwing me around!”

  “Stop complaining about living,” Daemon replied as he grabbed the steel cart and pushed forward. Mika crawled back onto her knees then watched as Daemon shoved the cart forward just as the ground below gave away.

  “Hey, watch out!” Mika shouted as the cart then dropped down along the rails with clacking wheels. Mika shook about in the ride then watched in surprise as the cavern wall and cliff collapsed behind her with more debris crashing down from above.

  “Why… why did he do that for me?” Mika wondered as the cart swerved on its rails over the dark pit below. She looked around at all the collapsing tracks and tunnels while the ceiling above started to fall in with a loud roar. She then noticed Daemon down below on another set of tracks, the swordsman recovering from his fall on the rails before watching as Mika rode ahead in her ride.

  “He jumped,” she breathed out. “And survived. Just who is that guy?”

  Daemon started running along the tracks while rocks and boulders dropped behind, crashing through the rails and causing them to sway and creek in their suspensions. Mika gasped as she saw Daemon running ahead of the cave-in, the swordsman keeping his eyes on the girl and her ride as it swerved around a bend then came back while heading towards a tunnel ahead.

  “Run!” Mika cried out. “Run for your life!”

  Daemon took two more steps before a large slab of rock crashed down through the tracks behind him. It wa
s at that moment he jumped forward into the air, so much so that Mika stared with a wide eye and an open mouth as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The swordsman leapt through the air high above the steel tracks that collapsed below him, his gaze locked onto Mika who watched in disbelief as he literally jumped over the pit towards her moving ride.

  “What is that guy?” Mika cried out before Daemon landed against the back of the cart with a clang. He held onto the rear while Mika screamed and dropped back into it, the woman pressing against the front while staring at Daemon in shock. The swordsman hopped into the ride and looked around at seeing the cavern collapsing over them, the two riding the cart into the nearby tunnel just before everything behind them crashed down with a thunderous roar. The ride swerved to the left then the right on its rails, wheels clacking and riding the tracks further into the unknown while Mika stared at Daemon with an unblinking eye.

  “I wonder how the girls are doing,” Daemon spoke calmly.

  “What are you?” Mika shakily asked. He turned to see her pointing at him with a stunned expression. “How… how did you jump that far like that? How are you doing any of this? Just who are you?”

  “My name is Daemon Warrick.”

  The tunnel became pitch black as there were no more torches or sources of light. That was until Daemon casted another blue ball of glowing light from his gloved hand, the magical bloom slowly lifting up and hovering over them while Mika continued to stare at the swordsman in disbelief.

  “Your arm,” she breathed out. “Your stamina. You jumping across a chasm like that. You… you’re not human. You’re not human.”

  “I never said I was,” he replied with a shrug.

  “You’re… a monster,” Mika gasped. “It can’t be. You can’t… there aren’t… how…”

  “There is much in this world you do not know of, Mika,” he answered while taking out his sword. The blade gave off a soft white light while Mika pressed further back against the ride in fear. Daemon came closer and grabbed her hand that had the sprained wrist, the girl screaming and trying to yank away before he brought the blade over her injury and close to her face.