Multiple violet eyes resembling the gateways to the uncharted void split open all over the charred glob of flesh. They peered up into the heavens and declared their presence to the mortal realm as the horizon was enshrouded in a deep shade of violet mist. Countless illusory chains phased around the spherical flesh and encapsulated it within. They soared up into the shaded yonder like a relentless swarm and ensnared the giant golden eye hanging up above. Then the chains held the sacred oculus in its merciless grasp and hauled it towards the ground.

“Emperor!” the remaining soldiers stumbled up from the ground and screamed at the monstrosity.

A rare trace of fear finally flashed across the eye when it crashed atop the crater. And soon, the illusory chains disappeared and what replaced them were the fleshy tentacles, sprouting henceforth from the spherical flesh. They curled around the eye and sealed it in place. Its pupil ruptured open and poured out rivers of gold when the mass of tentacles burrowed themselves deep within. Then, violet tendrils blossomed and slithered across the eye, enclosing it within a cocoon made of starlight.

“It’s finally over,” Selena walked towards the giant cocoon with Celeste nestled in her arm.

“Where is Vincent? What happened to him?!” Hertha cried.

“Will you just shut up and follow me?” Selena said.

“Selena! Wait! It’s dangerous!’ Nathaniel grabbed onto her shoulders from behind. “We still don’t know what… he has become.”

She turned back and glared at him, “Release me this once!”

“Sorry,” he scowled and unshackled his grip.

A fleshy growth protruded out from the cocoon, paralleling the outline of a disfigured mouth, just as they arrived near the crater. It opened and closed, and the sound of metal scraping against metal rattled out, “Put her down… and don’t let them disturb us.”

“Yes!” Selena nodded.

Celeste looked on with wide eyes as her mother placed her next to the giant cocoon and slowly backed away.

“It’s okay… it’s going to be okay!” Selena reassured.

“My lovely daughter… have a taste of… Divinity!” the fleshy protrusion vomited and showered her in a stream of gold.

Celeste did not jump away as one would expect, but instead, her eyes lit up in delight when she was submerged within the tide. She curled herself into a ball and laid flat on the drenched soil. Tiny tendrils squirmed and snaked around her body until a small violet cocoon of her own enclosed her like an egg.

“Hurry! Break open that thing!” Kennard rushed in and gave the command.

The soldiers followed suit and reenacted their formation. Slowly but surely they converged towards their target, cutting any notion of their eventual escape from all sides. Three soldiers broke off from the platoon and rushed towards the giant cocoon. Was it overconfidence, or was it having absolute faith in their comrades?

Selena looked on at their pitiful arrogance and her emerald eyes burst with golden light. She raised her sword imbued with aether and threw it like a javelin without a second thought. The sword zoomed in with absolute precision as it aimed its mark at one of their throats.

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Clang! The enemy changed the trajectory with just a simple swing of his sword.

Rip! But… instead of his throat, it went straight through his eye.

“Ahh!” the man shrieked and sank down, never to rise again.

His two comrades flinched and stopped in their assault for just a moment. But that split moment was just enough for her to slip in between the two and grab onto one of their blades with her bare hands. Then with a sudden pull of her arms, she flipped the blade away and bashed the enemy’s head with the pommel.

Crack! His skull caved in from the impact. She kicked him down and threw the sword she seized at the remaining enemy. The remaining soldier tilted his body, rolled over to the side and made a careless dash back towards the encirclement. Selena smirked in contempt and broke into a sprint, reaching her enemy with ease. Then ramming at him from the side, she threw a solid kick right below his chin.

Crack! His lower jaw broke off.

Blood flowed out as his mangled tongue flapped out. He fell to his knees and grabbed the lower part of his mouth, intending to stop the bleeding but to no avail. Guttural sounds distorted out of his throat instead. Selena walked beside him and placed her hand underneath his upper jaw.

Crunch! She tore it off. Tore off the head. A part of his spinal cord was still hanging from it for all to see. Selena threw it away, walked up to the first enemy she slew and pulled out her sword from his hollowed eye socket.

“Princess! Have you no conscience?! These are our own men! They were never meant to hurt you!” Kennard bellowed.

“I know that very well,” Selena smiled and wiped off the blood from her sword with her sullied gown. “But anyone who points a sword at my Vincent shall meet my blade.”

“How is Vincent controlling you to this extent?!”

“You are wrong, I am doing this of my own free will.”

“Enough! Men! Don’t hold back! Do everything at your disposal to seize her! I will bear all the consequences,” Kennard commanded.

Selena picked up the discarded blades left behind by the fallen and hurled them at the incoming enemies.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Clang! The blades connected and their formation fell apart. She took this opening and dived in between the gap, lopping off two heads in motion. Their heads spun and sprayed them all with fresh blood.

Boom! A Fireball exploded right beside her feet. She took several steps back and plunged her sword deep into the earth, sapping the force from the blow. Two men with flames revolving atop their palms arrived on the scene.

“Selena!” Nathaniel ran up and supported her by the shoulders. “Now is not the time for you to fight! Not before you have recovered!”

“Then kill the mages for me!” she commanded.

“Gladly,” Nathaniel nodded and took a step forward.

A silvery glow blanketed his sword when he spun it in a circle. The eyes of the hawk-shaped pommel drew arcs of light as he charged at the mages. A barrage of fireballs greeted his advance. He slashed them apart one by one, but the shockwaves still collided with his body, shrouding his figure in thick black smoke. Then, a sword light burst out from within. It pierced straight through one of the mages and chopped him in two before shattering amidst the winds.

Nathaniel rushed out of the smoke. Deep grooves formed along the path he partook on when he bashed onto the remaining mage and pierced his throat. Two swords came for him at his flanks. He turned to his right and leaned on the side. One of the swords slid past his shoulder. Then, enclosing an arm around the blade, he locked it in and seized the enemy’s throat with his unrestrained hand.

Crack! He broke the enemy’s neck and waited. Waited for the other sword to pierce him from his left flank. But it did not arrive. He turned around and saw the foretold enemy standing lifeless, whose sword was just inches away from his waist.

“I knew you would come to my aid,” Nathaniel said when he saw a blade was impaled from behind the lifeless enemy.

Selena pulled out her sword and commanded, “Shut up and focus.”

“Right.”

Their adversaries paused momentarily before rushing straight at them in droves. Thus, they enacted their dance of swords amidst them. Blood and flesh were sowed across the scene as the duo continued their onslaught in accord.

Thump! Thump! Thump! The hearts of everyone, regardless of an ally or an enemy, palpated, and their bodies felt heavy. They all ceased their aggression to glimpse at the source of their unbridled fear. Then their eyes landed on the giant cocoon pulsating inside the graven crater. Finally, a faint crack encircled the shell of the cocoon, and with a slight ripple, it finally hatched.