Chapter 4: - A coward’s strength.

Mercury’s blade had stopped inches from Nero’s face, it hung there hungrily, eager to feast on his blood.

A wall of translucent blue light filled the space between Mercury and Nero. The demon’s blade had pierced through it but stopped at the hilt.

Alisan stared ahead, eyes focused, hands trembling with exertion and sweat running down her skin. She was responsible for the wall, he knew. She saved my life…

“Quite the talent aren’t you.” Mercury grinned, eyes on the woman. “Shame you have to die here.”

“Run, please, my forcefield won’t hold for long.” She groaned, every word she uttered seemed a feat in itself.

Nero banished the shock, dropped the sack in his hand, turned and ran for the stairs. Nero had a good memory, so he could remember the turns to take and exactly when they were coming up. It was because of that he knew he would never forget the terrible sound of Alisan’s scream clawing through the air and echoing against the walls of the tunnels.

She was dead, and she was dead because of him.

Nero didn’t let the guilt come, he tucked it away somewhere neat and tidy. Somewhere he could come back to and poke and prod when he was safe. If I’ll ever be safe.

His legs were burning by the time he reached the stairs, and he could hear footsteps behind him already, gaining faster than he thought was humanly possible.

He climbed up the stairs and stumbled back into the tower. There was a guard in the hallway, likely mid-patrol. “Demons, the Demons are here, they’re coming from the tunnels!”

The man dispersed his robes to reveal the chainmail beneath. Similar to Atix’s in make. “Get to Atix Lightweaver, I’ll buy you time.”

Run away?

That he could do, that he could always do.

Nero nodded, took a deep breath, then raced for Atix’s quarters. Luckily he’d made sure to identify it during his planning.

“Inquisitors, the enemy has breached the tower!” Nero heard the man yell.

He took one last glance behind to see two other armoured men racing to meet him. And then the door exploded. Nero knew it was Mercury moving only by the blue hue of the blur that he was looking at.

The men moved quickly also, but it was no contest at all. Nero saw him dance out of the way of their attacks like a fly taunting a baby. He saw the ease at which he put his sword straight through a man’s throat and knew it was over right then and there.

Nero didn’t look back, he also did his best not to set his eyes upon the guards rushing past him and straight towards their deaths.

Soon the world was deafened by the sound of clashing swords and dying men behind him. Nero raced up winding stairs and nearly screamed with relief once he found Atix’s room.

He threw it open to find his hopes crushed. It was empty.

He knew why immediately.

Nero, you stupid, stupid bastard!

“Where’s Atix?” Ember asked.

“At the library, looking for me…” He told her in between pants.

“Shit!” The library was three floors down, where the Demon and his men were. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” He had no choice, he needed to go back down there.

Nero drew in a breath, turned around and made his way down the stairs. He could hear death through the walls. Violence too, swords clashing, explosions and more.

He stumbled out onto the library floor and something caught his foot. Nero tripped, fell and turned to see what it was.

An Inquisitor’s corpse laid against a pillar, half of its face cleaved off so its lower jaw overflowed with blood. He knew that would stick with him forever. He also knew now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

Nero stepped into the library, feet fast but also light on the ground. The room was illuminated only by the flickering torches hanging on the wall. And there were far too many in between for it to banish the bulk of the dark.

“Atix…” Nero whispered as he slid behind a shelf. No response.

“Atix…” Nothing again.

There was a thump. Like boots on the ground. Nero could hear it coming from the other side of the shelf. He peered in between the books to see a visored helm staring back at him.

Shit!

The man reached into his sheathe, drew his weapon out and swung the bladed edge at Nero.

He ducked just in time to see it carve through inches of wood books like they were foam.

“Nero, run!” Ember screamed.

“You and your brilliant ideas,” He yelled back just as he raced for the exit.

He was closer to it by maybe at least three steps and optimistically five steps, but he could hear the armoured man move with a speed to cut that down by one second each step.

By the fourth something hit Nero in the back and sent him falling hard. He met the ground painfully, rolling and stopping with a sprawl.

“Nero, are you okay?” Ember asked.

“No, I feel like shit.” He coughed. He was sent flying, He didn’t know people could hit that hard. I didn’t know they could move that fast either.

“Inquisitor.” A voice said, cold, merciless and with the muffle of a helm to it. “Do you confess your sins against the Inferno before death?” It was the armoured figure speaking.

Nero turned to see the man approaching him with a calm walk, like an executioner readying to swing his blade.

He gazed up at the man’s eye slits and noticed something that gave him hope. Unlike Mercury, his skin wasn’t blue, it had a pale-pinkish hue to it. Like people do. So he was human, not Demon.

“Please, I… I don’t want to die.” Nero begged. He decided that appealing to his humanity might be his only hope. Nero didn’t know what kind of world this was, but he hoped that the act of killing your own kind would leave cracks in any man. Cracks that he could hopefully squeeze through and come out the other side alive.

The ice in the man’s eyes banishes any hope away. He raised his sword high and brought it down at Nero. He was dead.

“I know who the Lightwever is!” He screamed.

The blade stopped, inches from his throat, a trickle of blood running down from his neck.

He was alive… For now.

“You managed to summon the Lightweaver?” The man asked, an uncertainty in his voice. He still wasn’t convinced though, Nero didn’t have him where he wanted him quite yet.

“Yes, that's why we’re in this tower, to summon him and we succeeded.” Nero replied.

“Lies.” He said, eyes hardening again.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But are you confident enough to kill your only lead?”

“There are other Inquisitors-”

“Who won’t tell you shit.” Nero scoffed. “They’re zealots, you moron, I doubt there's anything you could do to make them give him up.”

Some might say insulting an enemy with a blade to your neck would be pure stupidity. Nero had long decided those people simply didn’t know what risk management was.

The soldier didn’t kill him, which all but confirmed that he’d decided he was telling the truth. After all, only an idiot would insult a man with a blade to his neck.

With a finger, Nero gently guided the blade away from his neck. “This is the part where you ask me to tell you where she is?”

A risky move if it’s common knowledge that the Lightweaver will be a man, to change the gender, he decides but one made with the intention of throwing his scent off of him. Nero couldn’t take for granted that he stood out from every other Inquisitor.

He watched the man’s eyes for a sign that his gambit had fallen flat and found none. He was either a very good liar or Nero had made the right call. “Where is she?”

Nero took the time to slowly get to his feet, careful not to make any sudden movements that might have him ending up with a blade between his ribs. He cleared his throat, looked the man directly in the eyes and grinned brightly. “Not gonna tell you.”

Nero’s new favourite thing was the sweet shock that was suddenly etched into his face. It was quickly overtaken by the rage that followed. “Do you play with me boy?”

“No, no, I’m just very, very aware of who has the cards here.” He shrugged. “And that’s me, the person with all the valuable information in my brain and you who’s quite lacking in everything in your brain really.”

He raised his sword.

“What are you going to do, kill me?”

It was his fault really for giving Nero even a foot in his mind. What was it his ex-girlfriend said? ‘You slept with my sister you disgusting pig.’ No, the other thing, yes, it was ‘You’re like a vampire Nero, it’s easy to keep you out, but once you’re granted permission to step in, then you feast on people until there’s nothing left of them and they don’t even realise it’s happening.’

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The man hesitated, then did exactly what Nero wanted him to do.

The gauntleted fist slammed into his gut and sent him to the floor puking and coughing.

“Tell me where she is!” The man roared.

“You punch like a-” He kneed him in the face, sending Nero onto his back. His nose burnt, maybe it had snapped, he wouldn’t know, he hadn’t been in too many fights. All he knew was that it hurt like shit.

“Girl.” A foot slammed into his stomach, lifting him off the air and slamming his back into a shelf. The world spun as books rained down on Nero’s back. He could taste the iron in his mouth, he was bleeding there.

“I’ll keep going.” The man hissed, voice like venom.

“I know you will.” Nero grinned up at him with bloodied teeth.

If he had fought he would have died.

If he had tried to escape he would have died.

The game was rigged against him, so he just had to turn it into a different game. And so he did.

The rule of this game was simple.

Nero would only die if he gave up himself.

And a coward like him would do anything to survive.

A kick came, then a blow, then another, and another. Soon the world was a sea of pain. He couldn’t tell up from down anymore, colour was a blur, balance was a distant fascination and the only sound he knew was a dull ringing in his ears.

Far away could hear someone screaming in raw agony. The burning in this throat told him it was him.

And still, Nero clung on.

He wasn’t a hero, no matter what these people wanted him to be, but he was damn fucking sure that no matter what this world threw at him, he’d look out for himself.

After what felt like hours but was most likely minutes, a blow sent him sliding across the floor. He guessed the red blur approaching him was the soldier. Nero could hear his breathing, he was panting, tired. “Where is the Lightweaver?” He asked,

“S-” He tried to speak, winced because his jaw hurt so much.

“Nero..” Ember whispered, voice tiny and filled with despair.

The man bent a knee and leaned in to hear him better. “Speak boy, let the pain end.”

Everything hurt, everything hurt so fucking much. “Suck my dick. And squeeze my balls while at it.”

For that, he received a slap left his face raw but Nero

couldn’t help but laugh. It was a hysterical thing, loud and painful, so damn painful but he couldn’t stop himself.

The man stood up. “I’ll take you to Mercury, he’ll make you speak.”

He grabbed Nero by the ankle and made his way for the door with him sliding along the floor behind him.

He froze at the sight of a figure at the exit. Dawned in chain mail and with eyes like a feasting wolf, Atix pounced on the soldier.

The man caught the first swing of Atix’s strike with his own blade. There was a spark in the air as the metals kissed, the enemy stumbled back, letting go of Nero as he lost his footing.

He tried to regain it, Nero wouldn’t give the bastard the chance.

He raised his leg and with all the force he could muster, slammed his foot into the back of the bastard’s knee.

Nero wasn’t a strong man by any measure, but he wasn’t a child either, so he was quite surprised when kicking the man felt like kicking an oak tree. There was very little give. Very little, not none.

It was enough to unbalance the already stumbling man further and leave him with no place to go when Atix’s next swing came.

The blade cleaved through the enemy’s neck and Nero watched as the helmeted head rolled off of his shoulder and fell to the ground with a heavy clang.

The headless corpse dropped soon after with a wet thud.

Aix’s eyes fell on Nero with concern. “Are you alright son?”

“Ah, Atix, you’re early.” Nero groaned. “Should have taken the time to pour yourself a drink or something first before coming to save me.”

“Alright enough to have an attitude, then.” He sighed in relief and helped him up to his feet.. “I was on an impromptu patrol when I heard, came over to the library to find you, didn’t see you.”

“Yeah, I was…” Nero hesitated, he remembered the girl’s scream, he remembered running. “Alisan’s dead, Mercury got to her, she’s dead, she’s dead and it’s my fault, it’s my-”

“She died protecting you then.” Atix nodded, stoic and with a hint of pride in his eyes, mingled in with pain. “Good, she would have had it no other way.” He looked at Nero like a veterinarian might a dog. “Can you run?” He said, already making his way to the door.

Nero tried and managed a pained limp. “Yes but-”

“Not fast enough.” Atix said, grabbing Nero and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Despite the situation he couldn’t help but feel a little bit emasculated.

“The main force has breached the front gate, we have to head up to the tower.” Atix informed him. Nero hadn’t seen any convenient exits at the top of the tower, but far be it from him to question the man currently saving his life.

Atix stepped out into the hallway, it was a war zone. Inquisitors battled soldiers, killed and died, screamed and roared. The scent of cooked meat hit his nostrils, the sight of a burning corpse told him it was flesh he was smelling.

Atix ran through the hallway, cutting down the armoured men in his way like a butcher slaughtering cows. He roared as he opened up a man’s throat and Nero heard the enemy’s bubbled gurgle as they fell to their knees.

Atix stepped over the corpse, moved to carry on and then suddenly stopped moving.

Nero found the reason ahead and it made his blood run cold.

“It’s him…” Ember trembled. “It’s him again.”

Mercury stood at the other side of the hallway, rapier dripping with Inquisitor blood.

His eyes lit up with recognition at Nero. A grin split his lips to reveal needle-like fangs. “Oh, I know you, you’re the one who ran while I killed that poor little girl, a shame I heard you Inquisitors had honour, I guess standards have dropped over the last couple hundred years.”

Mercury moved, and Nero was anticipating it, still he could only see him as nothing but a blur rapidly approaching him. He couldn’t dodge him, but Atix could.

The man shifted his footing, dodged and brought his blade down at the back of Mercury’s neck.

Mercury slid out of the way like oil and then the fight was over.

Atix stood, frozen.

Nero hadn’t seen when Mercury stabbed his sword through his chest but he didn’t know if Atix had. It didn’t matter, regardless, the Demon was too fast for him to get out of the way in time.

“Huh… That lasted longer than I’d expected, good on you.” Mercury said as if the ending of a man’s life was an idle curiosity.

“Atix!” Ember screamed helplessly.

Atix fell to his knees, and held himself up only by his hands.

Nero landed on the ground shortly after. This wasn’t a fight, it wasn’t even a slaughter, it was a man coming across a particularly large rat. There was no contest, none at all, which meant Mercury could end both of their lives whenever he wanted, the bastard just enjoyed seeing them suffer.

Rage boiled within him like fire. Nero got to his feet and sent a fist flying for Mercury’s face. The Demon wasn’t there when it landed and Nero didn’t know what sent him to the floor. All he knew was that he was on his back, his head ached and the world was spinning.

“Be quiet child,” The Demon said. “I’ll have my fun with you later, It’s rare to see an Inquisitor so spineless, you might be the first I can truly extract information from.” He said, sounding amused.

A stream of fire shot through the air above Nero and towards Mercury. For all his speed, the Demon was in a tight corridor so there wasn’t much room to move.

The wall of fire slammed into him, swallowing all sight of the Demon.

Nero looked up to see the Inquisitor responsible with their hands splayed out and teeth grit. He was looking past him and towards Atix. “Get him to safety, I’ll hold him back for as long as I can.” The man hissed.

Atix roared as he got to his feet. He had pale sweat coated skin and a large patch of wet blood on his chest where he was stabbed through.

He picked up his sword in one hand and Nero in the other. The race to the stairs was a blur and Nero only knew it ended when he saw purple skies up above him.

Atix shut the door behind them and set Nero down onto his feet. The man was panting, his eyes were foggy and he looked like he barely knew where his feet were half the time. “We’re here. The next part… The next part is not going to be easy.”

Nero looked around for some kind of escape but found none. “H-how are we going to get down from here.”

Atix sheathed his sword, walked up to Nero, grabbed him by the shoulder and once again picked him up. This time it was in a hug. “I’m sorry Nero,” Atix said, the man was wheezing now. He was dying, Nero knew it and by the look in his eyes he knew it the moment he was stabbed. “It’s the only way, you have to survive.”

“What?” Nero shook his head, panic setting in. Atix’s hold was tight. “What’s the only way?”

“I’m sorry.” Atix said as he began running towards the edge of the roof.

“Nero what’s happening?” Ember asked, confused and scared.

“Wait.” Nero began. “Just wait a second, there’s another way, I’m sure of it, just give me the chance to think, just give me-”

“Ember,” He interrupted, voice grim. “Remember, Ember is the key to all of this.”

“Wait!” He screamed.

But Atix had already leapt off and they were falling through the air with the ground rapidly approaching.