15

Outcome II

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Everything started while he was aiming his rifle. Alduin’s roar, louder than he had ever shouted, rang out throughout the town square. His almost lifeless arms were covered with goosebumps. And then he saw it, the moment he pulled the trigger. His prey’s posture changed the moment the shot left the barrel, Alduin could only adjust his body behind the thick black cloak.

“N-“ His eyes opened as wide as they could.

Before he knew it, an arrow he had taken to his shield before, once again flew towards his body.

This time, however, Alduin did not have any protection. Unlike before, Alduin saw it coming.

His body moved reflexively hidden by a cloak. The arrow arrived right between his torso and his arm, appearing so fast he thought it had teleported. A gap of only a couple of centimeters was all that had kept him alive.

And Alduin saw what happened after.

With no strength in his body, he jumped backward and tumbled down the saddle roof as he landed on top of a small terrace. A hidden entrance that he had used together with Ise. One that looked over a small narrow alley.

he took cover knowing what would happen next.

“Finally!” Alduin ran inside huffing and puffing. But his body couldn’t keep up. The moment the shot rang out until now took less than a minute. The bathtub was in sight.

And then their plan paid off. An explosion as loud as an airstrike rang out.

***

The church bell had always been a sign of life. Yet today the ringing sound had been a cue for destruction. The peaceful town they had lived in was completely engulfed in a raging fire. Flames were devouring everything.

The houses closest to the town square were relatively safe. However, the entire street had disappeared and every building’s facade had completely evaporated.

Ruins laid bare. Smoldering wood. Red glowing metals and scorched black walls. Bricks and rocks lay over what used to be a road. Now, however, the street seemed like the trenches of war. What looked like the ruins of war had now replaced their familiar hometown. Only half of each building on the main street was left standing.

The only safe zone were the houses at the edges or near the center of town. A large town square, mimicking a barrier, held the encroaching fire back.

Inside a house near the edge of the square, a black-cloaked figure had hidden himself inside a bathtub. Debris was transported with a heatwave that felt all-encompassing. Yet surely, after what seemed like forever, the devouring heat started retreating.

The first movement came from this person. Following the rising sparks, a human rose from this bathtub.

Cough Cough

The bathroom furthest in the back now had a clear view.

“How?“ The damage far exceeded his expectations. “This shouldn’t be possible.” Exhaustion was close to overwhelming him. The gas explosion far surpassed what should have been possible.

His eyes overlooked the damage. A different kind of red glow was reflected by the sky. The stationary thunderstreaks were no longer visible as a large black cloud covered the sky.

And at the edge of town stood another figure staring at the sky. Hidden behind the ruins of the old wall, a cloak dropped from a slender figure. Eyes with disbelief stared through her slightly disheveled hair.

Staggering steps came closer to the flaming ruins.

“This,” Ise muttered as looked at her destroyed home. “This can’t be.”

Her graceful figure stammered closer. After a few steps, however, she stopped and looked down.

Her eyes trembled. Her hands were shaking. The small black box in her hand had been the cause of this destruction. A taser had met a bottle of flammable liquid. A molotov cocktail had been thrown into a gas-filled building. But still, this destruction was far beyond their imagination.

The only building left standing in her vision was the museum but even here the scorching flames came ever closer. A couple of trees burned like torches in the blackened sky. The sulfuric smell of gas still lingered and had mixed with the stench of all their possessions being burned.

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Standing there silently, the heat and light reflected from her face. It took a long time of disbelief before she could start to grasp if what happened was real.

Sound emerged from the crumbling walls and wooden beams on the side of the street. Shortly after, from an alleyway, appeared the shadow of a figure.

“Alduin!” Ise seemed to break down as she ran forward.

But as soon as she stepped forward. Her feet came to a halt. Her sadness gradually disappeared. Her shaking eyes became fixed by her frowning eyebrows. Rage possessed her body.

“How?” Ise looked at the figure with a maniacal expression. “You should have just died!” She clenched the black box in her hand.

Cackling laughter slowly started ringing out as a gigantic beast slowly rose from the rubble of her former home. Burn marks completely covered its body. Not a single part still attached to its body wasn’t dismembered or ridden with scars.

Only the black wolf remained.

Ise grabbed a large cooking knife shaped like a dagger. It was swiped while turning on stoves in a kitchen. Her battle stance showed how desperate the situation had become.

As the towering beast rose to its standing position it suddenly shifted to the side.

The cackling laughter became louder.

A bulging stomach. Blood now covered the marks of flames. Sharp fingers tore open the belly of the beast. Its pet was used as cover, and from within, a blood-covered green goblin emerged.

Madness was heard in its clicking voice. Hysterical. Maniacal. The cackling reached a crescendo of madness.

The bloody monster emerged. The tattered wolf with lost limbs stopped moving. Yet in its place stood a hunter. Ruby red eyes. A long crooked nose. Mimicking its arrival were the cracks in the sky that became visible once more.

As it stared at the sky its laughter stopped.

Ise could only look towards this monster. Completely covered with the blood of its pet, it seemed this creature had largely escaped unscathed.

Silence descended.

Ise stood still with terror only about a dozen meters in front of this creature while the goblin looked around itself.

Corpses of humans and goblins littered the ruined road. But it were its fellow goblins it was staring at. Burned to a crisp and laying on top of each other looking for cover. Some were blown into pieces. Yet this leader survived. And it survived almost unscathed.

Its skin colour had turned a deep dark red. Blood had already dried from the residual heat of the burning buildings.

Anger washed over its face. Inhuman as it was, primal emotions could be recognized everywhere. Rags of fur dropped from its body. Whatever semblance of civilization it carried completely disappeared.

Ise was struck by a sense of dread, there was no use talking. She tried gathering the final amount of strength as she prepared for this fight. But before she knew it she took a step back.

“KKRRHHHRKH!” A mocking sound rang out this beast. It had noticed the fear in its prey.

Her adrenaline had already spiked. Her black hair was carried by waves of heat. And only a black box and a sharp dagger lay in her hands. Ise instinctively knew the danger of letting a predator like this go. ‘It needs to die.’

The goblin’s face started contracting in pure enjoyment. Its anger had found a target. Cheeks pulled back as far as it could. From its mouth, its serrated teeth had become completely visible. And from its pointed teeth, a raging shout rang.

“KRRKKKAAAAHHKKK!”

Another step back. Fear shook her preparation, and her foot landed on a piece of wood.

The cracking wood made the screeching stop completely. Blood Red eyes glowed from the embers in the surroundings. The red-painted goblin looked over and slowly leaned down. Like a bowstring about to release an arrow, this beast took a stance showing the strength in its legs.

“Come!” a dark vision spread before her. Only the embers of fire floated between them. From the embers of her hometown, a dark figure finished its stance.

“Come!” Ise yelled out louder. Last time she had run away in fear of death but now she was prepared.

The goblin hunter yelled back with a shriek as its first step landed.

From the ashes and embers in the street, the overwhelming presence of the goblin ran forward. A slender figure awaited the approaching beast.

A shrieking figure and a human almost collided.

Two claws with dagger-like nails. But she didn’t step back. She started smiling at the raging goblin.

Only three meters in front of her the goblin noticed it. Its cackling laughter stopped as it wanted to change its charge. But it was already too late.

From behind it, a loud shot rang out. The third time, yet the third time was the charm. The shot had completely blown through its thigh.

The shriek had turned into a cry of pain and the claws completely missed the target.

“NOW!” A male voice shouted from the back.

Ise’s concentration reached its peak as she aimed her dagger toward the throat of this fallen beast.

“KRRKRKRKRKRKAAA-“

A shout louder than any they had ever heard was sent out as a shockwave of intimidation.

***

Alduin had hoped the hunters were dead. Yet his intuition rang out. Reuniting with Ise was most important.

The heatwave was still spreading out and the houses were still crumbling. But Alduin didn’t care. His hands had already grabbed the last two objects in his possession.

“There’s no way that insane beast has died from that,” Alduin spoke out with dread.

The blood-red eyes haunted his mind as he pushed his body forward.

Each of his steps through this scorched ruin was taken with utmost care. But urgency was visible in his movements.

And he turned out to be right. Everything happened quickly, eye contact with Ise, every one of her shouts grabbed its attention and allowed him to position himself.

That was all until the third shot rang out.

***

Covered in ashes and dust, the young man dropped his rifle and started running. There was no time. The rifle had served its purpose by obliterating the goblin's leg. His hands held the last object he had prepared.

“KRRKRKRKRKRKAAA-“

The piercing shriek pushed back Ise’s killing blow.

'Ugh.' An immobilized Ise narrowly missed the evading goblin's vitals and only its forehead.

“DIE ALREADY!” Alduin roared.

Every step counted. Alduin felt despair, his strength had long since run out. The explosion should have ended everything.

Only now, an exhausted Alduin and an overwhelmed Ise both had to fight through their weakness with the sole purpose of killing their opponent.

However, even before they could respond it moved again. And this time neither of them was prepared.