The Fallen arc

The Azalea Forest

Oak Village

While everyone else did their part in treating Henro, Arkin, the elder of the village, sensed an unwelcoming presence outside of the village.

"EVERYONE LISTEN!" Arkin bowled.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards Arkin.

"Elder? What's wrong?" Reisha asked.

"That creature known as the draugr. It's right outside our village!" Arkin said.

"WHAT!?" Everyone simultaneously asked.

"And that's not all. I sense many more people approaching this village as we speak. It's the imperials!" Arkin yelled out.

"How did they even find this place!?" Jayden asked.

"It's the draugr. It must have a tracker in it. That's how they found us." Ziera said.

"Well regardless we have to keep them away from the village. It won't be these children they come after, they'll try and capture all of us too." Reisha said.

"But what about Henro!? He hasn't woken up yet!" Emily questioned.

"Which is why you all will stay here and look after the village. I will deal with these intruders mysel-GAH!" Arkin suddenly fell over.

"ARKIN!" Jayden shouted.

"ELDER NO!" Reisha cried out.

"N-no! Not now!" Arkin struggled to stand up. Jayden and Ziera rushed over and helped him up. "Thank you." Arkin said.

"Don't mention it but what's going on!? Are you sick?" Jayden asked.

"No wait." Ziera used her eye scanner to do an x-ray scan of Arkin's body. "The mana from his heart is depleting. Oh my gods. You're dying. Aren't you?" Ziera asked with worry.

"WHAT!? No way!" Jayden shouted.

"It's true. You are quite observant Ziera. I have been dying for a long time actually." Arkin sadly said.

Jayden and Emilia had shocked looks on their faces. While Ziera, Reisha and Rudy looked saddened.

"Before you said you lost half your life force. But it was more severe than that wasn't it?" Ziera asked.

Arkin stayed silent for a moment but sighed and gave in.

"Like I told you before, Circe's magic was abnormal. It doesn't belong in Esos but more than that, it's flow of mana was chaotic." Arkin revealed.

"Chaotic?" Ziera asked.

"Yes. Her mana grew bright red and when her magic hit me it felt like it was destroying my life force. Mana resides in all living things but Circe's mana negatively affected mine which made her spell to control yokai almost work on me. I had to use every bit of energy I had to just barely resist." Arkin explained.

"Bright red?" Wait..". Ziera thought back to Cozar's words.

["I don't know how, but someone or something must have tampered with the shields using strange magic."]

["Strange magic? What do you mean?" I asked.]

["I don't know. All I know is from what the guards stationed at the borders said. They said a strange red glow began to emit out of thin air. It sparkled and began to shine so bright that it was blinding until it exploded.]

["After the explosion, the shields began to disintegrate. Yes not turn off, but actually disintegrated into tiny red sparkles that flew into the air.]

Could this be the same magic Cozar was referring to before? Ziera thought to herself.

"Arkin. When you said you couldn't deal with the draugr before, was it actually because you couldn't?" Jayden asked.

"I could have but if I did I wouldn't have enough energy to deal with the warships hovering over this forest. I'm just barely hanging on at this point. Thankfully the empire doesn't know this otherwise they would have been so cautious. All the more reason for me to go out there and...fight!" Arkin strained himself but almost fell over again.

"Elder please don't strain yourself!" Reisha begged.

"I have no choice Reisha! If I don't they'll destroy this forest!" Arkin argued.

"Whoa man hold up! Who said you gotta do this alone?" Jayden asked.

"What?" Arkin asked.

"Yeah man. We may have come here to help Luca but that doesn't mean we'll just leave you guys to fend for yourselves." Jayden said.

"No! You people are outsiders! This doesn't concern any of you!" Arkin argued.

"Relax. You don't need to protect us. We're not children ya know? Besides I owe that walking pile of shit some payback for what he did to me and Henro." Ziera said.

"But that's-." Arkin tried to refute.

"And besides, you all did so much for us already. Luca included. This is our way of paying you back for all of your kindness." Emilia said.

"Even so I-." Arkin tried to argue.

"Dude, just stop. We made up our minds two minutes ago. We're not just gonna let the empire hurt your people again. This time, we're gonna help you fight back." Jayden said.

"Even at the risk of your own lives?" Arkin asked.

"Trust me we've done that a lot already. But I don't plan on dying. I owe a lot of people my help and to be honest I still don't know how I can make a difference in the world but I can start by helping the villagers who saved me and my friends." Jayden said.

"And I already promised Henro that I won't try to throw my life away again. I won't break my promise ever again." Emilia said.

"Yeah...what they said." Ziera giggled.

"Then it's settled. So how about it, Arkin?" Jayden asked.

Arkin looked at Reisha and Rudy. They smiled and nodded in approval. Arkin gave out a defeated sigh. "Very well. But let's not waste anymore time! They'll be arriving soon." Arkin said.

"Right. Arkin how much mana do you have in you to take down those three imperial warships?" Ziera asked.

"I have just enough to wipe them all out but after that I'll most likely be spent." Arkin replied.

"Okay then we'll handle the draugr and try to draw it away from the village as best as we can. If we can't, have the villagers hide to be safe. Jayden you're with me in fighting the draugr." Ziera said.

"You got it!" Jayden said.

"Now I'm gonna be straight with you. Against that draugr you are way out of your depth. In fact I'd go as far to say that it would most likely pummel you in a straight fight." Ziera said bluntly.

"Wow thanks for the encouragement Ziera." Jayden said sarcastically.

"You should know by now that I don't mince words. Anyways this thing is smart so it'll take advantage of your lack of experience. But don't worry I got a plan in place but I'll tell you that on the way. Also you're gonna need to fly this time." Ziera explained.

"I GET TO FLY!? FINALLY!! YAHOO!" Jayden shouted and raised his arms up with glee.

"JAYDEN!" Ziera shouted with veins popping out of her face.

"Sorry. Sorry. Please continue." Jayden whimpered. Ziera grunted.

"As I was saying, flying will help you even the playing field. Now your flying wasn't terrible during training but it still needs work. But since we don't have time we'll make due. So just stay calm and you'll be fine." Ziera ordered.

"Understood. But hold on this draugr thing, it used to be a person right? Are you sure we can't find a way to help it?" Jayden asked.

Ziera sighed. "I wish we could but once you're at that stage you're far too gone. It's been a draugr for too long so it's mind is gone. Whoever they were in the past can't be brought back." Ziera explained.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"So what do we have to...kill it? I mean I get it but...I never killed anyone before." Jayden said feeling nervous.

Ziera placed her hand on top of Jayden's. "I get it. Which is why I won't ask you to do it. You just help me stop it. I'll handle the rest." Ziera said in a comforting tone.

Jayden felt bad. He should have known from the moment he joined them that he would eventually have blood on his hands but he still couldn't picture himself taking a life. Even if that life was near lost with the draugr. But he felt worse for letting Ziera do it.

"Okay. I understand." Jayden looked at her with a serious expression. Ziera nodded and turned her head to Emilia.

"Emilia, I need you to watch over Henro and Luca. They are that thing's main targets. So if anything happens to us you'll be their last line of defense. Is that understood?" Ziera instructed.

"You got it!" Jayden complied.

"Okie dokie!" Emilia cheerfully said. Ziera smiled.

"Good. Now-."

"Oh one last thing!" Jayden shouted, interrupting ziera. He put out his hand in the middle of Ziera and Emilia. "Let's show this thing what happens when you mess with one of our own." Jayden said with a confident smirk.

Ziera smirked at him while Emilia had a cheery smile. They stood up and put their hands on top of his.

"RIGHT!" Ziera and Emilia said in unison.

***

The Azalea Forest

Oak Village

As Arkin left to deal with the imperial warships, Jayden suited up and with Ziera, they left the house and flew towards the draugr.

"Jayden, how are you holding up!?" Ziera asked as they flew.

"Great! I think I'm actually getting the hang of thi-whoa! WAAAAAAH!" Jayden screamed as he lost control and crashed into a tree.

"Jayden!" Ziera yelled out and flew down towards him. Jayden was slumped face first on the ground.

"Ow." Jayden groaned.

"Good grief. Are you okay?" Ziera asked as she reached her hand to him. Jayden took her hand and pulled himself up.

"Yeah. Still working on the landing ahaha." Jayden chuckled. Ziera then giggled too.

"Well like I said your flying isn't terrible. But stay on guard. The draugr should be right around here." Ziera lectured.

"But how are we gonna find it?" Jayden asked.

"I'll scan for it's tracker. I wish I had thought to check if it had one earlier. You track it too." Ziera ordered.

"Got it." Jayden said. He scanned the area and a few seconds later he detected a red dot up in the trees above them. "Hey I think I found it-."

"RAAAAAAAH!" The Draugr roared as it jumped from the tree and right on top of Jayden. Jayden pushed it back trying to keep it from biting him.

"HOLY SHIT! BAD DRAUGR! DOWN BOY!" Jayden exclaimed.

"Jayden!" Ziera shouted. She made a dash for the draugr and kicked it straight in the jaw knocking it back. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

The Draugr fell back but recovered and landed on it's feet.

"RAAAAAAAAH!" The Draugr roared.

"Thanks Ziera." Jayden said.

"Don't worry about it. Just set at focused and remember the plan." Ziera ordered.

"Right!" Jayden said.

The Draugr growled at them. "I...will...get...Henro. And...I....will....kill...every one..of....you." The draugr said with a menacing tone. But Jayden and Ziera did not waver.

"Oh yeah? Big talk from a thing with no nose." Jayden quipped.

"Or eyes. Though for it's sake I'm actually glad. Because if looked in a mirror and saw this in my reflection I'd rather kill myself. Ziera jeered.

"RAAAAAAH!" The draugr roared at them. It leaped towards the duo but they managed to jump in the air and dodge.

"Well that definitely pissed it off. Guess it can't take a joke." Jayden quipped again. Jayden while mid-air transformed his arm into an Omni-Cannon and aimed it at the draugr.

"Omni-Stream!"

Jayden fires the Omni-Stream and lands a direct hit on the draugr's back.

"RAAAAAAH!" The draugr wailed in pain.

While the draugr was distracted, Ziera came speeding right in front of it with her Omni-Blade.

Jayden's attack actually managed to connect. Before this thing was fast enough to keep up with my speed so it should have managed to dodge Jayden's attacks with ease. Are Jayden's attacks faster than mine? No wait that can't be it. It must be...

Ziera slashed right at the draugr landing a direct hit on it's chest.

Because it's slower now!

"Jayden! Don't let up! Keep pouring it on!" Ziera ordered.

"On it!" Jayden complied. He kept fighting his energy blasts at the draugr from the air while Ziera would keep slashing at it on the ground. The draugr kept moving around trying to dodge but it wasn't fast enough to dodge both of their attacks at once.

Even though it's slower it still won't leave an opening for me to strike its hearts. If I could go all out I would have lit it up already with my artillery and ended it. But I don't want to cause any major damage to the forest.

That aside, something isn't right. Ever since it grew two new arms it's gotten much slower. But why is that? That shouldn't slow it down. There has to be another reason. One we just haven't seen yet.

The draugr went to slash at Ziera with its second pair of arms but Ziera slashed them off. Her eyes widened in shock.

Wait. It's new arms aren't nearly as durable as the original ones. And now that I'm looking at them, they look quite different too. The arms are skinner and the hands are smaller. Wait a second!

Ziera scanned the damaged arms as they regenerated.

Even the blood type doesn't match the original ones. Of course! Draugr don't just hunt people with demon blood they sometimes consume them too. So these arms don't belong to the draugr! But to one it consumed!

The Draugr went to grab at Ziera but she caught its original arms with her hands. Then she turned her legs into Omni-Blades, did a split mid air and cut off the creature's new arms again.

You won't catch me again! As long as you're slow like this you can't beat us!

As Ziera fell back with the draugr on top of her she turned her legs back into her rocket boots, kicked the draugr in the stomach and sent it flying up into the air.

"Jayden, hit it now!" Ziera shouted.

"Let's do this!" Jayden sped down and kicked the draugr in the back sending it crashing onto the ground.

The draugr groaned in pain but Jayden wasn't done. He kept firing down on the draugr with a Omni-Turret gun.

"Ziera! I got him!" Jayden shouted.

"Yes! Nice job Jayden!" Ziera said with praise. She sped down towards them with a grenade disk in her hand.

This little guy is an ultrasonic grenade I invented specifically to deal with a draugr like you. Once I shove this down your throat the vibrations will be so intense they'll cause all of your vital organs to explode. And you won't be able to regenerate in time before all of your hearts are destroyed. It's over.

"You're finished, draugr!" Ziera yelled out.

The draugr knew it was in a bad position. Attacks coming from both above and below. It wasn't fast enough to react to both combatants so it was left with no choice. But to even the playing field.

"RAAAAAAAH!" The Draugr roared but more than that it was hurtling something out of its mouth.

"What the!?" Ziera asked as she stopped in her tracks.

"Ew! That's freakin nasty man!" Jayden gagged.

Wait! Is that what I think it is!? Ziera asked herself.

Out of the Draugr's mouth was a body. A body belonging to another draugr. A smaller one that was still taller than both Jayden and Ziera. It had black large spikes going from the top of it's head, dish to its back and all the way to it's tail. It had long sharp claws, no eyes or nose and just a mouth with razor sharp teeth.

"REEEEEEEEEH!" The spiked draugr screeched.

Jayden and Ziera covered their ears as best as they could.

Is this where that scream came from back at my first fight with the bigger draugr? It was this thing the whole time!? And the extra arms it grew are gone. I knew it was using another draugr's limbs but I didn't think it would spit one out. This isn't good.

The first draugr grinned. It knew it evened the playing field now that it was two against two. The second draugr however wasn't so obedient as it noticed its original captor.

"REEEEEEH!" The spiked draugr screeched and leaped at the hulking draugr. The draugr easily caught the spiked one by the throat and slammed it down onto the ground.

"You...obey....kill...them. I...will go.." The draugr snarled.

"What!? Go!?" Jayden shouted.

"But why would it...? Oh no! Jayden we have to stop them now!" Ziera shouted.

"I'm on it!" Jayden flew down towards the two draugr while firing his cannon.

"No wait Jayden! Don't get close to them! Maintain your distance!" Ziera ordered.

"Fallen.....in...village. I...go. You... STAY!!" The Draugr ordered. It picked up and threw the spiked draugr at Jayden.

"REEEEEEEEH!" The spiked draugr screeched as it was sent flying in the air and crashed right into Jayden knocking him into the ground with the creature on top of him.

"JAYDEN!" Ziera dashed towards him and the draugr.

"GET OFF ME!" Jayden demanded. The spiked draugr was screeching as it rapidly clawed at his armor. It then pierced his armor and drew some blood. "AHHH!"

"GET OFF HIM!" Ziera sliced the spiked draugr in two and removed it from Jayden. "Jayden! Jayden are you okay!?" Ziera asked.

"Ah! Goddamn that stings. But I'm okay." Jayden said while huffing.

"Are you kidding!? You're far from it! You have draugr poison in your veins! Don't be so reckless! It could have killed you!" Ziera sternly reprimanded.

"Sorry. Wait, the bigger draugr!" Jayden shouted. The two looked and saw it flying towards Oak Village at a high speed.

"Dammit! This is what it wanted. To divide us. And it's back to it's original speed now! And this one is recovering." Ziera exclaimed as she saw the spiked draugr begin putting itself back together.

"Then we'll just have to divide and conquer. Ziera you finish this thing off. I'll go after the big one." Jayden said.

"WHAT!? ARE YOU CRAZY!? Absolutely not! You can't fight that thing in your condition!" Ziera shouted.

"Well I can't fight this one either. It's too fast for me. You can stop it easy. I can at least try to hold the big guy back until you catch up. Then we'll finish it together. But the more time we waste the bigger the danger there will be for the villagers. Just trust me on this Ziera! I'll be fine!" Jayden assured.

"No! You're not going alone and that's fina-!"

"ZIERA! Remember what you taught me! Misdirection? Am I right?" Jayden asked as he retracted his helmet and showed off his weakened smile.

Ziera quietly gasped. She knew exactly what he meant. She was still very much against it but this lowered her doubt. She sighed. Okay. But if you die I swear to the Guardians that I will go to Hell myself and kick your ass there! Ziera threatened. Jayden grinned at her.

"You got it! Though what makes you think I'd go to hell?" Jayden asked as he flew up into the air.

"It's the only place where you'd be safe from me." Ziera said with a low tone.

"Oh. Well, see you in a bit!"

Jayden flew off after the draugr.

"You better." Ziera said with a small smile. She then turned her attention to the now fully reformed spiked draugr.

"REEEEEEEH!" The spiked draugr shrieked.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Sorry but I'm in a hurry. My idiot hero is waiting for me." Ziera said as she aimed her Omni-Cannon at the draugr.

***

The Azalea Forest

Oak Village

The draugr had reached its destination and landed within the heart of the village.

"RAAAAAAAH!" The Draugr roared. But there were no yokai present. The draugr assumes they are hiding but it didn't care. Henro and if possible Luca were it's only targets.

"HEY BIG MOUTH! SHUT IT!"

The draugr heard someone shouting from above it. As it turned around to look up, it was met with a boot to the face.

"PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEEEEEEEP!" Jayden shouted as he kicked the draugr hard in the face and sent it flying into a tree. Jayden landed and began breathing hard.

"I'm just saying, it's too early to be making all that noise bro." Jayden chuckled but then winced in pain.

Damn this poison stings. Is this what it was like for Ziera and Henro? Jayden asked himself.

Jayden then heard a chuckle. He turned his attention to the creature in front of him slowly getting back up.

The draugr grinned menacingly at Jayden. It licked it's lips with it's long tongue. "All...alone." The Draugr said. Jayden just chuckled.

"Alone? Nah. I used to feel that way back then. But now?" Jayden aimed his Omni-Cannon at the Draugr. "I got my friends watching over me." Jayden said.