The blazing heat of the wind carried the foul stench of blood that shrouded the battlefield, blending to perfection with the crimson sky above, and the thick red fog traveling across the region. Bodies were piled up all around, mercilessly left to rot throughout the scorched field of the Deadlands. Those were the bodies of Gladea’s remaining army on earth, the gladean knights that fought to the death in order to put an end to Specter and his demons. Thousands became hundreds, hundreds became dozens, and dozens became one.
A single knight remained standing with his clothes torn to shreds, his chest continuously shrank and expanded—panting heavily with quivering breaths. He looked around hopelessly for any signs of life, but all his azure eyes could see for miles in the distance, was the lifeless bodies of his fellow knights.
The knight walked for hours, turning into days, and later weeks—continuing his search without a minute to rest. The path was endless, and the Deadlands seemed to have engulfed the entire world already. Dark like the dried blood covering his body, the freezing night began to take a toll on the knight’s health. Even with his superhuman strength, such wounds and overexertion of the body were enough to bring him down on his knees.
Dust lifted from the ground as the man dropped, planting both palms firmly on the ground to hold himself steady. His entire body dripped with sweat, he gasped for air while forcing his eyes to stay open—afraid of the possible consequences. The knight’s hands began to shake as they couldn’t hold his weight any longer, bending abruptly under the pressure, and forcing his face against the dirt.
The silence was loud in the knight’s ears, feeling his senses suddenly shut down one after the other. He couldn’t even hear the whistling breeze of the night any longer, his vision blurred, his dirt covered mouth felt swollen, and his limbs stopped listening to his commands.
Even after such an arduous journey, no signs of life ever revealed themselves to him. The world had fallen under the evil clutches of Specter once again, and this time, there was no champion to stop it. Incapable of sustaining further punishment, the knight finally decided to close his eyes and allow the goddess to take his soul into her embrace—gasping his final breath.
Within the dark void of nothingness, a soothing feeling took over the knight’s mind as all the fatigue, pain and sorrow had completely abandoned his body. Small blades of grass caressed his face, and he breathed peacefully once again—prompting him to snap his eyes back open. He looked shock as he found himself in a strange place, filled with greenery and color—like a child’s drawing on what the world should be. Compared to the dense atmosphere of the Deadlands, the breeze was light and gentle—emitting the sweet scent of flowers.
Picking himself back from the ground, the knight turned his head from right to left while exploring the area—seeing nothing but the world in its most natural state. He stared in awe at the beauty displayed before him, convinced it was Gladea’s doing that he found himself in such a magical place. The magic wouldn’t last for too long however, feeling shivers run from his head all the down to his feet—as if suddenly falling from the sky.
With a loud struggling gasp, his eyes suddenly shot open as he flipped over the dirt to lie on his back—his heavy panting slowly fading into normal breaths. The touch of another person took him by surprise, causing him to wrestle the pair of hands that held him.
It took the knight a few seconds to finally realize that help had arrived at last, staring into the azure eyes of a blonde knight—who furrowed his brows in worry. His savior was accompanied by a small group of survivors, both gladean knights and humans.
Despite the joy he felt at being found alive, the beauty of the place he was taken to still prevailed in his mind. It was not only a world filled with life and beauty, but blessed by Gladea herself—free from the suffering and pain caused by the god of extinction. The knight stood back on his feet to thank the group for their aid, delighted to see a few gladean knights within them.
A new goal was clear in the knight’s mind, one that would bring the goddess’ vision into reality. A new world where all living creatures could exist in harmony, one where no specter could ever reach. Such perfect world needed an appropriate name, and there was no better way to describe what he saw—even if it was for just a moment.
“If I could take them to that place…” the knight thought to himself. “If I could take them… to Paradise.”
Democratic Republic of Pelkesk, Capital City of Kapono: 936, May 14th, Monday, 12:00 PM.
“Stand back, young master!” Gaspard stepped in front of Eric—protecting the wounded noble from the heavily wounded gladean knight in front of them.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
“Eric!” Tori cried out, sprinting towards the man to hold him by the chest from under his arms—pulling him away from the fight. “I’ll patch you up in a second, don’t panic.”
The noble let out a painful grunt, feeling the burning pain in his shoulder—which was sliced open into a fatal cut, dripping blood in large quantities. “A… little late for that… I am panicking already.”
“Don’t!”
“My bullets are not doing anything!” Scott announced through the radio—having positioned himself at a safe distance away, keeping a watchful eye on the battlefield with his rifle. “Is this guy immortal or something?”
Back on the fight, Gaspard resisted the incoming blows of the knight to the best of his abilities, crossing his arms in front to absorb the impact of his opponent’s strikes. The powerful punches of the knight began to soften the butler’s arms however, being forced to slowly retreat with one step at a time.
“I won’t… resist for too long.” Gaspard grunted as he continued to receive impact after impact.
“Then allow me!”
With a reassuring roar from behind the butler, Eutychia leaped from above into a downward swing of her sword—forcing the knight to jump back in order to avoid her attack, giving Gaspard a well needed break.
“You have my thanks, young princess.” Gaspard bowed.
“Save it,” Eutychia replied. “You go back, let me handle things from here.”
Despite the previous wounds she suffered during the fight with the gladean knight and her escape of the burning facility—the princess’ veins still preserved the blood of a warrior within them, refusing to lose the battle.
With a quick huff through her nose, the black knight rushed at her opponent in a frontal assault—reeling her right arm over her left shoulder with a thundering war cry. swinging her sword forward against the knight, Eutychia’s adversary ducked under her blade just in time to avoid the attack.
“Not so fast,” the princess announced.
Anticipating her opponent’s reaction, Eutychia rapidly launched an upwards kick in a counter response—connecting successfully with the chin of her foe. The force of the impact caused a banging sound that staggered the knight, forcing his back against the concrete floor. In a fast attempt to finish off her opponent, the black knight gripped her sword into a reverse grip—lifting it over her head before plunging it back down against the knight’s chest.
In a quick recovery however, the wounded gladean knight rolled to the side before Eutychia could pierce his heart, avoiding death once again. The princess’ blade collided with the ground, causing sparks to fly out due to the friction behind the impact. Initiating his offensive, the gladean knight quickly swept Eutychia’s leg with a fast kick.
“Agh!” the black knight cried as her back hit the floor—feeling the pain of her previous wounds surface once again. “Bastard…”
Thankfully for the princess, before her opponent could renew his offensive, Gaspard reacted with a sudden tackle from the front—forcing the knight to take a few steps back as they wrestled each other.
“Gh!” the butler’s strength still fell short compared to the knight’s however—struggling to maintain his momentum. “Y… young princess!”
“Ugh, I had enough!”
Jumping back on her feet, Eutychia picked up her sword before safeguarding it in its black leather scabbard—which she carried in her lower back. She quickly ordered Gaspard to move out of her way, prompting the butler to break free from the knight’s grasp and leap away to the side. Glowing brightly inside its scabbard, Eutychia’s sword garnered a massive amount of azure energy that flowed into her arm—producing a bright light of the same color from the princess’ eyes.
“Die,” she whispered—unsheathing the sword from its scabbard with a reverse grip.
With levels of speed that rivaled that of light—approaching with a velocity that even the gladean knight couldn’t react to, Eutychia swiftly cut the distance between her and the knight while slicing the air open in her path—leaving behind a smoldering trail of light. The azure ray pierced through the knight’s chest, forcing him to recoil backwards before dropping to his knees. The black knight appeared behind him once the light faded, crouched on one knee with her blade at the front—placed in a horizontal position.
The princess’ attack bore a small hole at the center of her opponent’s chest—steaming with a hissing sound. The knight dropped lifeless on the ground before vanishing with azure particles, seizing to exist in the physical plain. Following after him, Eutychia lost her grip on the blade—allowing her sword to fall to the concrete. Her legs were unable to sustain her any longer, and she plummeted into the floor—lying flat on her back.
“I… win.” she whispered before her consciousness faded into black.
With the threat taken care of, Tori was free to apply the necessary aid to assist the team in curing their wounds. Bloodhound couldn’t stay for too long however, as a warning from Jacob forced them to leave the area immediately.
“Bloodhound! Is anyone there?” Jacob’s voice spoke through the comms in Tori’s ear.
“Ah, y-yes, we are here.” she nervously replied. “We are taking a small break while the wounded recover.”
“I’m sorry to ruin things for you, but a group of chimera soldiers is heading your way as we speak.” the man warned with urgency. “You have to move out, and fast.”
“But…”
“No buts, you have to leave the area now.” Jacob raised his tone slightly.
Not wanting to lose precious time, Tori reported the message to the others immediately after. With no further resistance from the rest of Bloodhound’s members, the team quickly pulled itself together and quickly abandoned the area—leaving behind the burning facility, and the open streets of Kapono—their minds still wondering about the whereabouts of their lieutenant.
END OF CHAPTER