There are two innate truths of this world. The first is that everything, no matter how strong or stubborn, will eventually die. Kingdoms. Heroes. Cultures. Gods. Everything will eventually fade into the night that lies at the end of all things. The second is that happy endings are not reserved solely for those who are still on the living side of the final dusk. The Hero and his Princess would come to understand these intrinsic rules as their stories ended as well as began at humanity’s final battle against the Dark Mage Decoa and his monstrous horde.
Outside the evil mage’s castle walls a sea of monsters had begun to stir. Mutants, sunken, lesser demons, and a host of other wicked creatures tore across the empty plains surrounding the fortress towards a lone figure. The dim light trickling from the blue moon above may have kept most from seeing the grotesque army yet it did nothing to mask the thunderous roar of thousands of footsteps nor the stench of the miasma that hung in the air.
A few hundred meters ahead of the rest of the monstrous flood was the creature that had sounded the alarm. Its massive shape left cavities in the ground and crushed boulders as it rushed forward in leaps and bounds with its one remaining eye peering through the gloom at the intruder. The trespasser was a small figure, wearing a pristine silver cloak that shimmered like the moon above. A hood shrouded their face and there appeared to be a thin sword poorly hidden in the folds of the garment. Obviously nothing more than a simple spy.
A confident leer crept onto the Hoborc’s war torn face as it prepared to crush the puny human who dared to oppose its master. Exhilaration coursed through the creature changing its skin from dull green to pale yellow and pushing its already three meter tall body to grow even further.
Halting in front of its target the Hoborc raised its club; it’s newly enhanced muscles strained under the weapon’s weight of over four full grown humans. With a deafening bellow the weapon crashed through the air towards its target. Ears strained, listening to the whoosh of wind from the attack and anxious to hear the sound of crunching bones only to be greeted with silence. Where there should have been a person was empty air. The spy was gone.
So was the club.
Along with half of the Hoborc’s forearm.
Confused by the sudden disappearances and shock numbing the pain, the Hoborc twisted around to search for its weapon before turning and seeing what had become of it.
The human stood there without a mark on their body. The club was carelessly perched on their shoulder and they were calmly cleaning green tinted blood off of their silver blade. The cloak’s hood had fallen back to reveal waist length silver hair topped by a small circlet with a glittering blue jewel. A sign of human royalty.
Princess Iria sidestepped the Hoborc’s remaining arm and struck again. Five slashes that moved so quickly they looked like one ended the threat and reduced the Hoborc to pieces before it knew it had been hit.
Stunned by the sight of a single human girl effortlessly killing one of Decoa’s elite warriors, the remaining forces faltered. Something about this young adversary seemed off. Their instinct screamed that their opponent was dangerous yet fear of their leader’s wrath pushed them onward.
Iria once again worked at cleaning the off-putting blood from her sword before sheathing it and carefully folding and pocketing the cloth. Turning to the corpse beside her she bowed her head and lifted the club in her hand. “I thank you for this,” she whispered before turning her attention to her next opponents. Firmly planting her feet she raised the massive club in the air, pointed it ahead, and steadied her breathing.
Suddenly the Princess threw the weapon like a spear. It raced through the air with an audible whistle before plunging into the front row with enough force to topple a castle wall. Dozens of monsters were impaled or disfigured within seconds before the makeshift projectile dug itself into the ground.
“I am Princess Iria Loriana. The only daughter and heir of the Lorian Empire!” came the call of the true monster of the battlefield. With a curtsy and a wicked smile that mirrored her wild eyes she yelled once more. “Face me with whatever you have and I will crush it with nothing more than my fists and my sword.”
A cacophony of roars erupted in answer as she launched herself forward.
Princess Iria plunged into the wall of flesh, beginning another performance of her infamous dance of death. Armor shattered with a single punch, weapons were stolen and turned against their owners, and bodies piled up as she carved her way to the front gate of the castle. Whenever she flourished her sword there was a flash of light and all those around within range would collapse to the ground with little resistance. All the while avoiding getting dirty and repeatedly wiping the grime off her blade.
After some time she was forced to stop to clean some filth from her cloak and suddenly found herself surrounded by a group of Hoborcs carrying large ornate silver shields. They formed a ring around her and began to press in next to each other until they made a continuous wall to limit her explosive movements.
“Crap,” Iria muttered, frowning, as she analyzed the situation. Those shields had the markings of the Lorian armory. What’s more they had the sigil of her country’s fallen Thirteenth Phalanx Battalion, meaning they were genuine and practically indestructible. Staying in place would mean getting crushed and jumping up would end up with her filled with arrows by the surrounding forces.
The Hoborcs relaxed as they peeked at her through the gaps between their shields and saw the princess was no longer moving. Now they just had to wait for their messenger to return with the dark mage to kill this unwelcome visitor. They firmly held onto their stolen protection and kept their positions as an odd sensation filled the area. It felt as though the air itself was vibrating.
In the middle of the ring, Iria was looking even more troubled. “Making me use my magic? How annoying.” Small flashes of lightning sparked at her feet as she raised her right hand to the sky.
Then, without warning, everything was on fire.
The flames danced in a ring around the princess and jumped from one assailant to the next. Scarlet tongues reached for the sky as the Hoborcs and their allies nearby shouted in agony. The Princess lowered her arm to protect her face from the scorching heat which had begun to warp even the Lorium the shields had been made from.
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Iria noted that the flames ignored her and was not in danger, which granted her time instead to look around for whoever could have cast such a powerful spell.
As the flames died down a lesser goblin charged over the ashes of its fallen allies and tried to hit the girl. It cackled as it approached only to be cut off by a sudden explosion of earth. Dust and bits of rock shot through the air and the resulting shockwave knocked back some of the smaller monsters in the area while snuffing out the remnants of the fire.
Where the brave soldier had just stood was nothing but a suspiciously man-shaped hole in the ground encircled by a horde of monsters along with a girl who were all equally confused and frozen in place.
“You shouldn’t use your magic on weaklings like these.” An arm wearing midnight blue armor shot out of the crater before confidently grabbing onto the ledge to pull its owner out. After a lot of struggling and a lack of progress the arm finally went limp and the familiar voice came out in a noticeably more solemn tone. “Can I get some help here please?”
“You idiot. I should just leave you down there.” said the Princess as she started yanking on the dented armor. A moment later Laux Venou, Hero of the Empire, stood in front of her in all his dirt-covered glory. He stood almost a head taller than the princess and simultaneously leaked both bloodlust and excitement. His indigo armor - which usually seemed to absorb light itself - was now filthy and his typically bloodstained broadsword that hung on his back was coated in a layer of mud.
“Thank you! It would have been terrible to be stuck in there forever.” Laux bowed lightly, grateful his helmet covered his sheepish smile. “You should not waste your magic with these weaklings. That’s what people like me are for Princess.” He finished by puffing out his chest and pointing his thumb at himself.
An annoyed look flashed across Iria’s face. “I was going to do this on my own! That’s why I left the camp in the middle of the night! It is my duty as Princess to lead and to protect - even if that means going ahead on my own.”
Laux sighed quietly. He knew she would say something along those lines. He crouched slightly and looked into her eyes. “So your plan was to make sure that no one got hurt? Well, while you’re out here protecting everyone else I’ll be here to protect you.” Then reaching into a hidden pocket he handed the Princess an unused handkerchief. “For your hands.” Her expression softened as she took it.
“Oh… thank you.”
The Hero straightened up and eyed the blockade of monsters who were now cautiously approaching after recovering from their initial shock. “So what’s the plan Princ-?”
“The rest of the battalion is still a days march out.” Iria returned the cloth when she finished cleansing her hands. “Just call me by my name.”
Laux was once again grateful for his helmet as his face became flushed. “So wh- what’s the plan Iria?” Peering through the holes in his helmet he was sure he saw her pull the edge of her hood down to cover a smile. He thanked the gods he was the only one who got to see this rare side of her. A few seconds later she cleared her throat and was back to her former self.
“We make our way to Decoa’s chamber. Whether or not our opponents die is determined by if they stand in our way.”
“I’ll be glad to make that distinction for them.” The Hero was enlivened by the prospect of battle against Decoa’s monsters and the chance to protect her. “I’ll carve a path for you Iria. Just make sure you keep close.”
Laux placed a reassuring hand on Iria’s shoulder and moved to begin combat. As he began to pull away he felt an incredible grip holding him back. The color drained from his face as he looked towards the cause. The expression of fury that resided on the princess’s face was more terrifying than any of the hellspawn that Decoa had mustered. For the first time since the fighting had started she was exuding rage.
“You got my cloak dirty!” Iria yelled as she pulled the Hero back. When he had grabbed her some of the dirt had transferred onto her clothes sending her into a rage. His feet lifted off the ground as she began to spin them around. She kept a firm grip on his arm as they spun faster and faster.
Laux desperately tried to reason with her, “Wait! I gave that to you - ”
“That’s the point!” Iria yelled letting go of his arm and launching him towards the castle and into the incoming mob.
Streaking through the air, Laux unsheathed his sword and slashed his way through dozens of troops. He deftly alternated between the blade’s normal edge and the muertite one depending on whether he was slicing through living flesh or spirits. Fifty meters and handful of seconds later he came to a stop in another fiery explosion as he cast his magic once again. All the while blushing from the princess’s words.
The path he had carved immediately began to fill in. Facing forward the Hero continued his march to the castle without worrying about the princess who he knew would have already crossed the void and stood at his side. She was indeed next to him, ignoring the conflict that happened around her as she became preoccupied with scrubbing furiously away at the cloak which now rested in her hands.
Careful not to further attract her fury, Laux continued opening the way to Decoa. With graceful movements - which seemed impossible with his size - and skilful use of his flame magic the duo continued onward. No opponent could get within five meters of the princess and projectiles were cut down or returned before anyone could blink. The Hero in his ultramarine armor mimicked a harbinger of death on par with the angel of destruction he was leading.
What would have taken the kingdom’s forces days of non-stop combat was completed in under thirty minutes by one woman and man. Thousands of foes lay defeated and those who remained struggled to organize across the now burning and ravaged battlefield.
Some time later, standing before the front gate, the two took a short respite to prepare since the real fight was still yet to come. Both of them silently got to work checking each other's equipment and reserves. After years of traveling and fighting together they instinctively knew what to look for. Laux quickly mended small scratches in Iria’s ornate lorium armor with his flames as she got to work scrubbing the blood from one of his pauldrons.
He smiled as he worked, thinking about how this would be their last conflict before they could live peaceful lives.
When they finished they returned the armor to their respective owner and completed their preparations. Before he could put his gauntlets back on, Iria appeared to Laux’s right and grabbed hold of his hand. “Let’s finish this,” she said, squeezing lightly, “let’s finish this and go home.”
Hopeful about the future the Hero extended his free hand towards the castle entrance. On his palm was the magical symbol for fire - a circle with two lines forming a ‘V’ extending upward from the center - which started to glow a dim red as he pointed it at the massive gate. Laux took a deep breath then commanded, “Twin Flames Ignite!”
Blue and green flames appeared at the edges of the symbol and exploded outwards. Both colors crashed together and roared as they spiraled forward into an expanding tunnel of fire. The blaze tugged at the air and earth for fuel until it grew to 15 meters in diameter and began to slam against the gate.
Stone bubbled and melted away, wood disintegrated, and any enemy forces that had been stationed behind were vaporized in an instant. The flames died away and the smoke slowly dissipated to expose the destroyed wall. Stretching out before the culprit was a divot in the ground which led to the impenetrable wall with a hole carved out of it.
“It’s been a while since I last used Twin Flames,” Laux observed as he donned his gauntlets, “that felt weaker than it should have been.”
“Save your energy for Decoa then” cautioned Iria, her sword drawn. “We need to save our energy. It’s time to end all of this. Humanity's greatest enemy will be defeated by - ”
“- humanity’s strongest duo.” They finished together. Iria giggled before donning her serious look once more.
With a spring in their step the pair continued their rampage into the courtyard and deeper into the halls of the castle.