Southern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 2:30 AM.
In the vast field of scorched land that expanded as far as the eye could see, were the remains of a deadly battle that took place across the south. Despite the emptiness of the battlefield, many large steaming craters and fissures had been left as proof of the recent events that unfolded, increasing the temperature of the zone by their heat alone.
Among the whispering winds and the flowing crimson fog, a man of gigantic size stood at the center of the lifeless field of dust and stone. He observed the damage created to the Deadlands with a silent mind, having no need to wonder about the culprit of such a monstrous display of destruction.
“…” the man groaned in displeasure, making his nose crinkle with tightly pressed lips.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen you this mad, King.” the voice of a snarky man suddenly spoke—prompting the giant to turn towards it.
From only a few feet away from him, the gladean knight known as the order’s champion suddenly emerged from within the shadows of the Deadlands. His wide grin showed no concern for the hellish zone, and he stopped right in front of the giant with no more words to offer.
“Loki…” said the giant. “Did you find her?”
Placing one fist on his hips, the knight took a quick glance at his surroundings before proceeding—scanning the chaos that had unfolded while he was away. “Huh… someone was having fun.” He expressed with a smile, moving his eyes to look at the man in front of him—noticing the pristine state of his clothes and porcelain skin compared to the demolished battlefield. “And I see you weren’t part of the event.”
“Did you find her?” the heavy voice of the giant became rougher, almost growling at the knight for an answer.
“I did. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have it.”
“What?” King reacted with a forward stomp of his foot, scrunching his eyebrows in disbelief.
“Yep… I checked myself,” Loki continued with his report. “She has barely any connection with the god for what I saw. Just another waste of time on a minion.”
“What did you to her?”
“I let her go.”
“You…” the giant groaned with narrow eyes, irritated by the knight’s attituded towards his plans. “What made you spare the girl? The champion I knew would’ve rid of the threat as soon as possible.”
A quick chuckle escaped the young knight, contrasting with the frustrated expression of King. “She is fun to have around,” he explained. “Her weapons don’t seem to be anything special either, they are just like the ones from that man Atalanta fought. If you want to deal with her, then do it by yourself… I have a score to settle with the real threat.” Loki’s smirk widened, baring his teeth with raising excitement.
“…” falling silent at the knight’s claims, King crossed his arms and turned his attention back towards the battlefield—contemplating his next step before speaking. “That man… he managed to kill most of my knights on his own.” He told Loki, referring to Sebastian’s deeds against his army. “He cannot be spared…”
“I see… You were here all along and simply decided to watch is what you are telling me.” The knight mocked, having his words ignored by the pensive giant, who continued to speak his mind.
“Can you break into the center of the Deadlands by yourself, champion?”
“Huh!” Loki scoffed, offended by the question alone. “As if this place could stop me.”
“Then I’ll let you proceed on your own… I will deal with the right hand of Specter.”
“Really now? That sounds strange coming from you. Wouldn’t you rather leave it to Atalanta? Perhaps Ninigi found him already.”
Shaking his head in response, King expressed his resolve to deal with the problem with his own two hands—leaving Specter to his champion, while he served as support in the sidelines. “They may allow the specter to live… his presence could become a problem while we look for the god’s core.”
“If you say so…” Replied Loki, proceeding to move past the giant to continue his journey further towards the center—offering his last words to King before vanishing into the depths of the hellish zone. “Just know that once I’m done with him…” the smirking knight turned to look at the giant from over his shoulder, displaying an eager azure light that glowed in his craving eyes. “You’ll have nowhere to hide anymore.”
Southern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 2:30 AM.
Meanwhile, in a different area nearing the borders of Heildin, the sounds of steel blades clashing against each other resonated all over the battlefield with tremendous energy. Streams of golden sparks of lightning hissed and crackled through the region, determining the region as The Golden Lightning’s territory.
The blonde woman fought with the fury of a hundred knights, forcing her opponent to retreat with every swing of her glaive. Her ceaseless assault was not without purpose either, as every step back taken by Sebastian led her closer to her objective. Despite the many obstacles that crossed her way, the hopeful mind of the blonde knight still had a place for the soldiers she promised to protect—continuing to do everything in her power to reach the stranded forces of Hydra deeper into the region.
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“Give up!” she roared at the major, baring her teeth with an angry snarl.
Sebastian found himself incapable of countering the fast attacks of the gladean knight, and the smile in his face had long faded as he could not afford his focus to waver for even a second. The gigantic blade of his sword served as a means of protection from The Golden Lightning’s furious assault, and while he attempted to strike back with his shotgun, the unmatched velocity displayed by the blonde knight put a gap too large for his crimson shells to keep up.
“Ngh…” sweat began to roll down the major’s face, feeling his heart throb with both worry and fatigue. “I’m sorry…” he apologized. “I can’t let you through…”
“Then you are not sorry!” Atalanta snapped back, mixing up her continues assault by rapidly bending her knees, and strike at Sebastian’s ankles with a sweeping kick.
“Ah!”
The blonde knight’s attack connected successfully, and forced the major to stare into the crimson sky above as his back crashed against the dirt—raising a small cloud of dust around him. Taking the opportunity to end the battle, Atalanta twirled the glaive above her head before bringing its blade down against her opponent—aiming to pierce the man’s armored body in a single strike.
Unable to run, but still determined to win the fight, Sebastian clasped the sharp steel of Atalanta’s weapon with both hands to prevent it from reaching his earth—successfully saving his own life. The spectral armor in his palms shattered on impact with the knight’s blade however, and he found himself pinned against the ground by the superior might of the fearless knight.
“Ngh…”
“Surrender…” growled The Golden Lightning, pushing with all her strength against the major’s heart.
“Not… yet!”
Sebastian roared as he gathered every bit of strength within his spectral body, once again tipping the scales in his favor as he pushed back against Atalanta. His efforts earned the major enough space to slightly lift his upper body and reach for his holstered shotgun, pointing its sawed-off barrels towards the blonde knight, and pressing the trigger without a second thought behind the action.
Her superhuman reflexes and trained reactions aided The Golden Lightning in avoiding the harmful shells of Callisto however, as she arched her back just enough to avoid the crimson projectiles that flew above her face. Though the sharp gust created by their speed managed to open a few small cuts in the knight’s skin, Atalanta’s powerful pathway healed the wounds just as fast as they appeared—sealing the red slashes in her face with tiny particles of azure light.
“Tsk…” The blonde knight straightened her back once again, noticing her opponent had escaped from under her clutches.
“That was close…” Sebastian claimed, offering a soft smile with furrowed brows.
“Let me through,” the knight demanded while spinning her glaive around in one hand—stopping its position behind her back while pointing its blade at the ground. “There are people ahead that need my aid… I know you understand that much.”
“Ahead?” Sebastian tilted his head slightly. “…Maybe if you promise to turn back once you have saved them?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Atalanta replied. “Are you that afraid of your own death once the god is dealt with? You will let those people die just to save yourself?”
The major chuckled, resting the giant blade of his sword in one shoulder. “I’m not that worried about myself,” he said. “But I would prefer it if I could see my daughter again… she’s been waiting for me for a long time.”
“What would she say if she knew what you are doing?” Atalanta asked with a taunting voice. “Is it really worth all of this?”
“That’s a question I’ve been asking myself for a few years now…” replied Sebastian. “Whether she chooses to forgive me… or doesn’t want to see me ever again… I want to at least hear it from her own lips.” He told the knight, gulping down with worry at the mere thought of confronting his own daughter. “See her one last time wouldn’t be so bad anyway…”
“That won’t sway me from taking your life,” Atalanta offered her reply with a cold statement—showing no signs of sympathy for the half specter. “I’ve seen enough of this conflict… I’m sorry for what happened to you. I know you didn’t choose to live this way, but I’m putting an end to it today.”
The major closed his eyes while lowering his head, smiling through the words of the gladean knight. Determined to see things through however, he took a deep breath before lifting his chin with a wide-eyed smile—prepared to face whatever obstacle crossed his path in the only way he knew how.
“Then let’s continue… maybe I’ll get you this t—”
A rumbling suddenly stopped Sebastian in the middle of his sentence, and his smile quickly faded into a troubled frown as he raised his gaze towards the sky. Atalanta followed the rumbling sounds that echoed above her head, and her eyes widened at the presence of the enormous beast of steel that breathed fire across the crimson sky. A trail of smoke followed its trajectory, connecting the origins of the gigantic rocket to the south.
The Lerna had been deployed by the old man Boris, who chose to ignore the words of The Golden Lightning and proceeded with his original plan. In the mind of the experienced soldier, no living creature could withstand the power of his greatest weapon to date, believing that the destruction of the Deadlands would bring a temporary peace for generations to come.
“What…” the major said under his breath as he looked at the flying rocket vanish further into the region.
Atalanta charged him with a quick frontal assault that aimed to take his life, the loud stomps of her boots rapidly shattering the ground below with every step. She reeled her arm back while aiming the blade of her weapon at Sebastian’s chest, thrusting forward with all her might to plunge her glaive into the major’s heart.
“Die!” she roared.
Reacting quickly to her attack, the major crossed both arms in front of him to stop the blade of the blonde knight—playing straight into the hands of his foe. Noticing Sebastian’s quick response to block her strike, The Golden Lightning raised her arm and repositioned the glaive quickly behind her back instead. Bringing her weapon back forward, she brought the steel pole of her glaive down against the major’s head with a powerful blow that instantly forced him into the dirt.
“Augh!” Sebastian’s face bounced off the ground after the violent hit, but quickly managed to roll away despite the blur in his vision and annoying buzzing in his ears. He forced himself to stand with wabbly legs, and positioned his arms in front like a wounded boxer as he tried to spot Atalanta in between his damaged senses. “Where…”
Away from the battlefield, as her unstoppable sprint left a trail of lightning sparks behind, Atalanta ran across the Deadlands like a cheetah in the wild in a desperate attempt to reach the stranded soldiers from Hydra. Her brows were curved into a downwards arrow, and her teeth forcefully pressed against each other with an angry frown.
“I should’ve killed him…” her mind told her. “I should’ve…” the blonde knight shook her head rapidly as she interrupted herself, deciding to focus on her original objective instead. “To think they would deploy such a weapon against their own kind… I’m no stranger to wars between humans but…” she shook her head for a second time. “Forget it… I should be fast enough to stop it.”
END OF CHAPTER