Chapter 43: King

“Sstop thiss futile attempt of sssurviving.” Fuck, it is him. And he has one-shot Dorian without us even noticing him. He’s way out of our league, isn’t he?

“Lillia, retrea-”

[Your party member Rand has died]

Rand? How? It takes me but one blink to lose track of him, disappearing from right in front of me in a split second. Nothing but his still steaming body, lying face down in the ground, is left behind.

Next to him, I barely manage to catch a glimpse of a rat’s figure, quickly blurring out of existence. It must have been the King again.

[Your party member Lillia has died]

Fuck! Can’t we do anything? The voices resume their chanting, and with them, the shadows once again continue their movements.

[Your party member Mike has died]

“Why?” Before I can turn to my left, even before I can truly assimilate my whole party being killed, the King’s voice reaches me from the same side where Mike was a second ago.

“What do you mean why? That’s what I should be asking!” You are the one attacking us!

And you clearly have a problem with me and my friends, taking your time to eliminate them but leaving me without a scratch! Of course, I don’t say any of that, choosing not to overheat the conversation.

“Why are you with them? They follow a falsse god. An imposstor that hass abandoned uss. Who preachess our extinction.”

“So you go and kill all of them? Don’t you see the irony!?”

“I do what musst be done.”

His hand and arm turn into a blur; that’s all I get to see before they reappear, trying to firmly grasp my neck, his face twisting into an ugly stare.

“You… ssss… what are you?”

What am I? My inner gears start turning at full speed, and I come to a realization. I erupt into crazed laughter. Has he tried to kill me and failed? Last time I was in specter form, but I immolated myself, that’s why I died. Today, well, he can’t even touch me.

“Ansswer!”

I really don’t want to. What options do I have, tho. I clearly can’t win. Escaping is useless; it would follow me and cause havoc along the way. I need Isha. Yes. She must be powerful enough to win this.

“Why should I?” Keep stalling, I repeat to myself. The cries of the battle still surround us, and by the looks of it, we are winning. I can’t let it aid its side.

The darkness is still forming. Unlike that time at the caves, it seems that it will need at least a few more minutes until we notice its effects.

“Come with uss. Sshe will guide you, sshe can make you sstronger. Sshe did with me.”

She… that voice I heard at the mines, was it a woman after all? Why would someone he-

“Sshe’ss like you, not a follower.”

This reeks of personal vendetta against Jonas. Isha… didn’t she tell me they had a conflict? No. No no. It can’t be. She has defended the city; it would be absurd. She can’t be orchestrating all of it behind our backs. I don’t have any reason to suspe-

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A whistle rallies right next to my ear, coming and going even before my brain processes it. High pitched. Fast. And with it, one of the voices invoking the darkness finds its silence.

An arrow? Just as I think it, three more whistles appear out of nowhere. And again, they only leave silence behind. Are all the mages down? This fast?

“Good job distracting him!”

A feminine voice, with a certain playful tone that I cannot quite figure out, reaches me from behind. I turn around while praying it is not a newfound enemy.

Oh, my. A goddess with a bow almost as tall as herself. Made of wood and adorned in impossible shapes; elfic, I’d venture to say if I take other games as reference. But, as impressive as it is, it feels cheap compared to its wielder.

A tight white robe covers her from neck to knees, where it’s met by a pair of high, worn-out boots. A single piece of leather tightly presses the robe against her chest, procuring some armor and a brazen look. Dangerous. Yes, dangerous; albeit her undeniable appeal, that’s the first thought she gives me. Wild. Untamed. Her gaze raring for blood.

Fuck, I must have been staring this whole time. “Uh, yes? I mean, we were battling with them.” I answer, quite thunderstruck.

“Oh honey, you are not a match for him.” She lets out a laugh, one that I could only describe as mean.

“It was our duty! It doesn’t matter if they killed us as long as we could pro-”

“Yees, yes!” She interrupts me. “Relax and enjoy the show!” Has she… has she just winked at me?

With that last departing memory, her image blurs away, and the loud sound of metal clashes resounds on my side. Two blurs playing chase—one firing arrows, the other chasing behind. I only know because of the occasional arrow getting stuck on walls, allies, and enemies alike.

My naked eye is incapable of following the battle that’s taking place. Is she winning? The King doesn’t seem to be able to get close to her. But it’s not like she is getting many arrows in, I think.

“Watch and learn!” Her voice once again enters my ear as if she were next to me. Is it… is it the same technique as Isha uses?

“The fuck do you want me to watch! I can’t see shit!” What am I supposed to learn if I can’t even really tell who is who?

As the battle progresses, though, the image begins taking form. At first, perhaps overly enthusiastic, I attribute it to growing accustomed to their speed; however, I realize how wrong I was not long after.

Bleeding, a decrepit and hunchbacked King is what’s left of that rat that exterminated my party. Its arms hang low, either broken or completely unable to control them; its steps no longer those of a biped animal, but rather a constant dragging.

“Who are you?” She must be someone important. The way she’s handled the King, while not looking the tiniest bit tired, that’s not something anyone can do.

“That’s a surprise, isn’t it?” Is it? Should I know her? “I’m Lea, also known as the Hunter Goddess.”

Oh! So she is one of the four? Wasn’t she the one that got that colossal line waiting for her mentorship? Hah! Now this explains why all those people were waiting. My eyes scanning her all over, a tiny bit inappropriately.

“Those that mean the others are also fighting?”

“But of course! Oh love, you truly are clueless, aren’t you?”

What’s wrong with her! I wasn’t told of these details, not even when I was with the governor. And, honestly, I even forgot about their existence.

“Elgar is outside the walls, murdering his way to the enemy’s home. Harde should be, well, praying to who knows what. And Isha, hell if I know where that bitch is at.”

Someone’s not on good terms with Isha. I bet she doesn’t know I’m her apprentice? Better keep it that way, then. Who knows what she’d do if she finds out. Maybe outright killi-

“Honeey,” Her voice taking a rather disturbing tone. “I know you are her apprentice; it’s just that I couldn’t care less about yoou,” all said while keeping a perturbing smile. She is a royal bi… Huh? She knew what I was thinking?

“At least you are not as stupid as you first seemed! Although Isha hasn’t told you much, has she?” And once again that smile, her head crooked to the left.

“Are you not finishing it?” I say while pointing to the King. Both in an attempt to change the conversation and to actually get an answer.

“Hm? Why? He is the perfect prisoner. He’s going to tell us everything we ask him, right? Right?”

“I sshal n-”

Before it can even utter any more words, it is met by a punch to the mouth. Or that’s what I imagine it was, as the only thing I saw was its mouth bleeding and it falling some steps back.

“Well then, see ya next time, honey!”

“Are yo-” and she’s gone. And, of course, she took the King with her. This is nuts; they are in a completely different league, we have too much catching up to do.

Actually, if it wasn’t for the four of them, today the city would have surely fallen. I doubt anyone else could have faced the King and won by such a high margin.

I shake my head to clear up my thoughts and immediately resume my duties. “Soldiers, I need a full squadron here!” I say as I hurriedly reach for the gates, threatening to let free a whole new tide of enemies. “Heal!”