Here he is… I’m not even surprised anymore. This guy… I don’t like getting ahead of myself, but there is little room for failure at this point. What a birthday gift… too bad I won’t get to see anything. Still, this place… there is some warmth to it, almost like I’ve been here before... but that couldn’t be. All I know is that there is something special in this ring of hers, something more than just the azure steel it was crafted from. Well… I have more time than ever to figure it out.
Now… to focus on the agonizing death of the knight’s king. He is right in front of you… you’ve seen him before… he’s got what you want… rip it out of his frail dying body… Urk! Uh?
Near the center of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 10: 00 AM.
“He just doesn’t die!” roared Eutychia, growing frustrated at the resilience of the heavily injured daemon.
Being the least tired and wounded of the team, she led Bloodhound and the hybrid’s assault against the giant, as they pushed back against him with every tool at their disposal. The black steel of her sword firmly withstood the aggressive strikes from King’s crimson blade, the force behind their collision sending off sparks with every clash.
Aiding the black knight, Gal unleashed an aggressive assault of her own with fast and powerful kicks, shattering the bones of the daemon at every turn. However, despite her constant onslaught, the potent healing factor of her opponent’s pathway always found a way to reconstruct his broken limbs almost instantly—trapping them all in an unbreakable loop.
On the frontlines himself, Maulik delivered a series of violent punches that weakened the muscles of the giant, timing his assault with Gal’s in a combination of strikes. Unfortunately for the pair, no amount of punishment served to bring King to his knees, his corrupted mind and body refusing to fall by the hands of mere hybrids.
With reinvigorated stamina, Claire joined the trio’s combined offensive with the near endless power of the spectral gear—fueled constantly by the Deadlands influence. Her hit and run tactics served to distract the daemon on occasion, finding gaps in his guard to grant her team an opening to strike.
“I feel… so much better for some reason…” she thought, as if the stress of her tired had simply dissipated. “Hmm… let’s just focus on the fight…”
During one of the lieutenant’s incursions, Gal quickly leaped towards a distracted King to cut the distance between them, landing right in front of him with her knees bent slightly. Her right foot glowed brightly with an azure light, and with a large jump to increase the force of her attack, she fully extended her leg with an upwards kick that lifted her foot above her own head—demolishing the daemon’s chin in the process.
“Urgh!” King’s head was thrown backwards, his vision blurring as his mind processed the pain.
“Princess!” Maulik shouted while rushing in closer. He reeled back his fist to charge a powerful punch, propelling it forward once in reach of the giant. “Raaah!” The hybrid sunk his knuckles in the giant’s abdomen, forcing the air out of the lungs of his already staggered foe.
“Leave it to me…” growled the black knight, jumping into action with a downwards slash of her sword. “Haaa!” she roared, putting every ounce of her strength behind the attack against her own father.
In a swift and brutal cut, the steel of her blade separated King’s sword arm from his corrupted body, close to severing the limb entirely as it hanged by a thread. The daemon groaned in pain, but despite his brutal injury, he lifted his sword in the air with a trembling hand to retaliate against the black knight—his arm nearly falling off by itself. The giant’s unexpected response caught his foe by surprise, and with his healthy arm free to operate, he captured the stunned princess to hold her in place.
“Tch!” Eutychia felt the stern grip of her father’s hand around her arm, attempting to pull away immediately, but failing to break free from his clutches. “Let go of me!”
Defenseless, and with no way to protect herself against his attack, King brought down the heavy blade of the crimson sword against his own daughter—leaving all mercy behind as he aimed to split the girl in half by the head. However, in a fortunate strike for the black knight, Claire arrived just in time to put an abrupt end to the giant’s deadly blow from the side. She stood on top of her motorcycle while showering her foe with a rain of crimson bullets, maintaining perfect balance before crashing her own bike against King.
“Hup!” she leaped off the spectral bike before collision, aiming for the princess before tackling her away into safety.
“Wha—Oomph!”
Claire slammed Eutychia against the ground with her own body, as her motorcycle crashed against the giant with a powerful blow that propelled him far in the distance. Panting with fatigue while lying on the dirt, the princess and lieutenant stood on their feet in a quick recovery, hitting one another with a push to keep each other’s distance.
“Get off…”
“I just saved your life, princess.”
However, with no time to fight among themselves, the pair brought their gazes towards a furious daemon in the distance. His crimson eyes glowed with an intense crimson light, while the immense gap separated part of his arm from his body healed itself—fusing the limb back into a whole piece.
“Great,” muttered Eutychia, followed by an agreeable statement from Claire. “Back to square one…”
“I’m getting really tired of this…”
Their fearsome battle against the weakened daemon continued, extending further and further by the minute, tiring both the hybrids and Bloodhound in a never-ending conflict that only infuriated the giant. Despite their best attempt to finish off their foe, none could deal the final blow against a feral King, as the man’s body continued to mutate with every strike they delivered. His body was mostly covered in the black armor of the specters, the veins crawling over his body emitting a radiant crimson glow.
Lost, and incapable of ending his life, it was only a matter of time before the giant turned the tide of battle to his favor. He repelled the group’s assault with aggressive strikes, choosing to ignore the pain caused by their continuous attacks, and focusing on breaking their bodies with the blade of his sword instead.
“Argh!” Gal was the first to fall, struck by a brutal punch to the stomach that disrupted her mind—leaving her stunned and motionless on the floor.
“Gal! Urgh!” Maulik quickly followed, as King enveloped his entire head under the palm of his hand—taking him out of the fight with a violent slam that tore a small crater on the dirt with his face. “Kh…” blood splattered on the ground, as the impact broke the bones in the hybrid’s nose into fragments.
“Damn you…” Eutychia cursed with a whisper, as she became the next target of her own father. She resistant bravely with every bit of strength left in her body, but unfortunately for the princess, not even the aid of the lieutenant and her gear proved enough to protect her. “Gkh!” King took a hold of her throat, wrapping his fingers around it before slamming the back of her head on the ground—knocking her into unconsciousness in a mere instant.
“…!” Claire’s eyes widened at the sight, a shocked gasp escaping her lips once her gaze met the intimidating crimson glare of the daemon. “Tsk…”
The daemon was quick to continue with his incessant assault, now free to focus on the lieutenant and her spectral gear. Though the girl fought fiercely against him, aided by small group of specters, a motorcycle, and a well-organized Bloodhound, none of her plans served to put even a dent in King’s rough and sturdy armored skin.
“Ah!”
A surprised gasp escaped her, as the monster of a man suddenly jumped high into the crimson sky, shaking the ground with his weight alone. She lifted her head to look at the flying daemon, his shadow covering her entire body from above. The lieutenant nearly collapsed at the sight of the sky, her unresponsive legs freezing with fatigue, as her ears blocking the desperate sounds of her team warning her to move.
“This again… it’s like a nightmare…” her gaze could not move away from the bright crimson glow of her foe, clenching her jaw while trying to force herself to respond.
There was no curiosity behind the eyes of the daemon, as he no longer attempted to capture whatever force guided the girl. Regardless of the value that could’ve been found within her, all that remained from the king of Heildin was the instinct to survive, one that demanded the destruction of the amber eyed girl. He pressed his fingers together into a tight fist, the glow of his veins growing stronger with the amount of energy that accumulated inside them.
“…” Claire remained still as she witnessed the giant that approached her like a meteor, his shadow growing larger over her by the second.
However, just before the daemon could deliver his deadly blow, Claire inhaled deeply through her nostrils before releasing the air with pursed lips. She lowered her brows and gritted her teeth, bending her knees slightly as she waited for the giant to arrive.
“Lucy!” she suddenly shouted, stretching one arm to the side.
King’s eager pupils grew as he neared the girl, his bestial desire to shred her to pieces growing impatient. Putting his entire weight behind the attack, King launched a devastating punch in order to crush Claire under his fist, thrown with enough force to obliterate the entire area around its impact. Though just before he could deal the final blow, Claire’s spectral bike robbed the daemon of his desired victory by tackling her away from his clutches, riding her off into safety by the arm.
“No!” he roared furiously, slamming his fist against the dirt on the fall instead.
The magnitude of his weight crashing with the ground detonated a deadly burst of rocks, raising a cloud of dust that shrouded him inside it in the process. Although failing to connect his attack, the absurd energy wave created by its impact still managed to reach the lieutenant in her escape. Dust found its way into her eyes, and a cluster of sharp rocks bombarded her body like a machine gun—slicing her limbs and torso, as well as embedding themselves in her flesh.
“Argh!” the pain weakened her grip on the bike, forcing her to plummet into the floor before rolling away through the dirt. “Ngh…” her violent spinning came to an abrupt halt, leaving her twitching on the floor with her face looking into the crimson sky above.
“Lieutenant!” Tori screamed in the distance, prompting Scott and Eric to charge into her aid—which moved the girl to follow behind.
“Foolish girl…” growled King, however, the strength and confidence behind his voice would suddenly plummet, as his injured limbs obeyed him no longer. “What…” he whispered, sliding his eyes downwards to glance close to his feet—incapable of even turning his neck. “A… girl?”
Lucy’s terrified expression met his puzzled eyes, her tiny hands trembling as they gripped his leg firmly. The girl’s fingers radiated a glow similar to his, her energy crawling through the pores of his skin and into his artery network. Like the Deadlands itself, King’s body became cold and frozen despite his conscious state, as he glared furiously at the teary eyes of what he recognized simply as a fragile tiny girl.
“Lucy!” Claire called to her in the distance, lying on the floor in a small pool of her own blood.
Almost in tears, as fear began to overtake her mind, Lucy was quick to sprint away from the petrified daemon as fast as her small limbs would allow. King was left desperate to move himself from the spot, but no amount of force he could achieve aided his escape from the chains that held him captive. His breaths quivered, quick and shallow as the veins in his eyes reddened with desperation—he could do nothing but watch as the girl reunited with the injured lieutenant.
The girl squealed once reaching Claire’s position, now accompanied by a highly concerned Bloodhound. Her wounds, while not extremely lethal, had caused the lieutenant to lose an alarming amount of blood, forcing Tori to rip her own uniform in order to bandage the most dangerous cuts in her body. Lucy shut her eyes and hugged one of Claire’s hands, still shaken by the intimidating presence of the daemon she was forced to face against.
“It’s… urk… alright, Lucy.” The lieutenant smiled at her. “Sorry I made you do all that… but you did… save my life.”
“Is he…” spoke Eric, keeping a close eye on the frozen giant far in the distance. “It’s just like the specters we found…”
“Is he going to stay like that?” Scott asked while fixing his glasses with a trembling hand. “Can we even kill him?”
“Hopefully… ngh…” groaned Claire. “I have to… finish this quick…”
“…”
“Uh?” A sudden shadow blocked Tori’s view, interrupting her process of wrapping Claire’s wounds. “Ah… ah…” her eyes met the tall and intimidating figure standing next to them, her brows twitching with fear and uncertainty.
Her nervous stuttering caught the attention of both Scott and Eric, making them turn their heads to look over their shoulders. Almost instantly, the pair’s eyes widened at the sight of a frightening presence firmly stood next to their group—left wordless with fast beating hearts, and faces matching Tori’s alarmed expression.
“…” Alongside the others, Claire looked at the figure with no words to offer herself.
Despite the clear distress showed by her team, and even with a broken body lying on the dirt, the lieutenant’s amber eyes gleamed at the sight of the somewhat familiar figure. Every beat of her heart echoed in her ears with a strange feeling, as the entire world had gone silent around her. “Ah…” she gasped softly before moving her gaze to the azure ring in her hand. “It… broke?” she whispered, noticing the fissure that tarnished the purity of its perfect steel.
“…”
“Uh…” Claire slid her eyes back to the idle figure standing close to her. She observed it carefully without a word, his face shrouded under a shadow that concealed the man’s eyes from hers. “H… Harumi?”
END OF CHAPTER
