by Brent Tyman
What surprised me most was that Gertz did not heal the wound. The demon glared as his fingers circled the opening in his chest. The armor had left a large enough hole where I could see some intense bleeding. Gertz growled in frustration as his blood leaked onto his fingers.
His eyes narrowed towards me, and I knew he was done playing. He walked towards me with purpose and I tried to come up with another idea, as I was sure the sword would delay him long enough.
That was when a black figure smashed into Gertz and they both tumbled to the ground in a mass of tangled limbs. My eyes adjusted, and I saw it was the Zelenia.
Not the Zelenia I was accustomed to, but her true form. Her thick exoskeleton scraped along Gertz’s armor, and I saw her tail stab into his leg.
“Zelenia!” I called out as she wrestled Gertz on the ground, “have the Ralasks focus on him.” I said.
I could vaguely see her head nod for a moment as she pulled back from one of Gertz’s blows. The fact that Gertz has already recovered from Zelenia’s attack concerned me.
“I will crush that tail of yours,” Gertz threatened as he got back up. I winced as he punched Zelenia in the chest and the Zegari screeched. That did not stop her from delivering a scratch along his arm with her razor shape claws as he pulled back.
Zelenia suddenly made for me and scooped me up with her arms as she cleared some distance from Gertz. I could only see Zelenia’s front exoskeleton in my vision, but she surprised me with her gentleness as she gripped me tight.
I knew what was coming next as glob after glob of acid balls rained down from the sky above me. Zelenia put me down shortly after and we both watched as the area Gertz stood in was plastered with acid. The surrounding demons ran ever further away as the acid balls hit their mark.
“Yes!” I yelled out as I saw Gertz’s body in the thick of it all. The ground was a sea of green and nothing could have survived that powerful of an assault. Zelenia looked at me and I could almost tell that she gave me a look that said I told you so.
Movement caught my eye, and I watched in horror as the pile of acid that I thought was the remains of Gertz’s body suddenly shudder in place. The acid rolled off him as he stood up slowly and wiped his arms.
The demon was a mass of melted flesh and sizzling muscle, a true horror to my vision. But as it was before, his flesh knitted itself together before our very eyes, and I had definitely run out of ideas. His armor was long gone, which showed a very twisted red demon, but his chest still sported the wound made by the black sword.
A swirling black mist approached Gertz’s recovering form and Tessa appeared a moment later with a sword in hand. She stabbed straight for the demon's neck before disappearing again.
A fireball smashed straight into Gertz’s chest, and then another. I looked behind me to see Eliandra, who stood with a group of truth sayers. Despite Gertz’s presence, my army had pushed the demons back towards the river. Eliandra gave me a smile with a nod as she fired off more fireballs at the high demon.
Dagger sliced across the air as they struck Gertz in the neck and face. I knew that to be Lunara, who gave me a wink as she pulled more knives out of her outfit.
The trio appeared right after, with Dryan giving me his characteristic grin as he dashed into Gertz with his dual blades.
“Fuck you demon,” Lyan screamed as he struck Gertz with his long sword while Utalis appeared beside me with a bow in hand.
Slithertick roared as he tried to strike Gertz with a wicked-looking mace. Of all the ones here, his face burned with the most fury. I could understand that, as the demons were destroying his homeland this very moment.
I realized then that I would not be alone. I was nothing alone, even with my power.
Together we would be unstoppable.
Melasks emerged from the battle nearby and charged at Gertz. The demon cocky grin earlier had turned to one of frustration. Against one opponent, he was focused but against many, his eyes had too many targets and his blows suffered as a result. He seemed less and less able to regenerate, as many of the cuts on his red skin did not heal until he gained a moment of respite in the fighting.
Despite the continued onslaught from all of my allies, as even my soldiers joined into the fray to stab at the distracted Gertz, he still had the upper hand.
As long as he kept channeling his healing powers, we could not defeat him like this. There had to be something else we could do.
Zelenia had stood with me this whole time and gave me a long look. She made a few hand gestures and wiggled her claws in front of me. To anyone else, it would seem like gibberish and random movements, but for me, somehow I knew exactly what she wanted.
“You want me to power up again?” I asked and her snout nodded with what seemed like a grin to me.
I still felt the pain of using my powers already, and I was pretty sure that if Eliandra or Lunara found out the extent of my pain, they would scold me for it. The power I had used against Gertz so far had almost been the same level I had used against Andra. I had gotten better at channeling great power much faster, at the cost of greater destruction of my limbs.
My arms would probably not survive another big strike, which left my legs. I charged them up as I watched the battle against Gertz.
Lyan and Dryan kept up their assault as they circled out of Gertz’s reach. Whenever Gertz tried to get their hands on them, either one of my men or a Melask would strike at his back or side, which caused him to disengage to fight off the new threat. I winced as sometimes a man would catch a fist in the head that destroyed their skull. Even Melasks were not so fast to escape his wrath, as I saw more than one struck in the underbelly and fly across the air to their deaths.
Gertz showed no real sign of being worn down now, as his injuries healed faster than our attacks the longer the battle wore on. Tessa caught a glance blow to the arm as she struck her slender sword after materializing. I watched with my mouth agape as she arced through the air and disappeared from my sight.
The sight of Tessa’s pained expression before she left my vision sent me into a vicious rage, and the prime in my legs overflowed with power. Zelenia watched my expression and used her tail to point to Gert and then to the sky.
Again, I understood exactly what she wanted. As I nodded, she growled and roared at Gertz before charging straight for the red demon.
Gertz turned to the Zegari and ignored all the others that tried to strike him as he roared and readied another punch, his fist in the air.
To my surprise, Zelenia jumped and soared into the air. She arced over Gertz and as soon as she landed behind him; she used her tail to smack the demon under the legs in an upward sweep.
I could tell that this was my queue. Gertz hovered a few meters up in the air from Zelenia’s blow, and I had no time to waste. The others watched as I fought through the pain and sprinted towards the flying Gertz with unparalleled speed. The ground cracked underneath my boots, and I knew I could crush solid rocks into a million pieces by just walking over them. Huge booms rocked the earth as I cleared the distance between me and Gertz, where I jumped into the air.
With every fiber of my being, I put everything I had into one final kick. Steam billowed out of my right leg as I struck Gertz and blasted him further up into the air. His leg exploded in blood and guts as my momentum shifted. I fell to the ground, onto my back, and tried as hard as I could to fight to pain so I could watch the result. My back striking the earth had caused a massive boom and I couldn’t move an inch.
I did not know if my own leg was gone, or if some of the blood on my face was my own. All I cared about was not passing out in this moment, I had to see if Zelenia’s plan was successful.
Gertz flew higher and higher into the air, but I let out a small sigh as his leg rebuilt itself. This demon was an inconceivability foe. The amount of prime he had used up so far must have been immense to keep repairing himself.
There had to be a limit, there had to be.
As Gertz’s ascent changed to a d
escent, something erupted from the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see something that should not exist. I was sure it was my imagination from the pain I felt in my body.
A giant snake hissed as it stretched out of the ground and opened its maw towards Gertz. The ground beneath me trembled as this creature’s howls rocked the earth. It was black in color and its leathery skin was similar to the Melasks around me.
Could this be the Colalask?
I blinked and saw the snake swallow Gertz whole. I could hear a deafening crunch as the creature roared in the air. It changed its direction and turned its head to fall straight back down towards the river. I heard the guttural sounds of demon screams as the creature smashed into the ground.
Eliandra’s beautiful face appeared in my vision and I could only smile while she frowned at me.
“Gods Ordan, why do you always do such reckless things,” Eliandra complained as her hands shone green with healing magic.
My pain went from absolute misery to mild aches, and I raised my head to see the damage. I let out a sigh of relief to see that my leg was still there, even if the greaves had been torn to bits, half of it was no longer on my body.
“Hey, at least I’m not spasming out of control,” I said with a chuckle. Eliandra didn’t laugh as she gave me a look that promised a thorough lecture after all this was said and done.
“You are far too damaged for me to heal all the pain away. It will take multiple healing sessions to restore you,” Eliandra said with a sigh.
Tessa appeared then, and the pain I felt suddenly felt like nothing as I smiled at her.
“Thank the Gods,” I said as I slowly got back up, with Eliandra helping me.
“Don’t worry master, my ability lets me heal minor injuries,” Tessa said as she showed me her arm. The armor she wore had a clear hole in it, but the skin beneath was perfectly smooth.
I gave both her and Eliandra a quick kiss before I checked my surroundings. Eliandra still had to prop me up to stop me from falling back to the ground.
The Colalask had both eaten Gertz and killed many demons already. I saw it smash out of the ground with a boom as it swallowed even more foes.
This was the final trigger for the demons, as my men pressed their advantage. Our morale soared as we saw that the giant snake was on our side and their leader was no more. The demons retreated back towards the river where acid balls and arrows latched onto their backs.
I saw Melasks tear through the limbs of the retreating demons. The creatures feasted on their flesh like wild animals as my men quickly finished off the demons that were incapacitated or distracted by Zelenia’s children.
The Colalask let out a bellowing roar as it dragged its giant tail along the river, throwing all the Lynic demons towards my army. I grinned at the display.
We had done it.
“Ordan do you see that thing?” Dryan said as he sprinted up to me. “It's a monster!”
“That is my child, show some respect,” Zelenia said as she approached. She was back to her more human form, minus everything she wore before. Zelenia was naked as the day was born, the clothes likely ripped off her when she transformed earlier.
“Holy…” Lyan said and this time it was me that glared at the man instead of Utalis. They might be my bond brothers, but Zelenia was mine.
“Are you well my consort?” Zelenia said as she wrapped her naked body over my side.
“Better than ever,” I said. The pain had subsided a bit, but my mind was more relieved of our victory.
“Say Zelenia. Do you have any sisters that need a consort?” Lyan asked with a grin. “Maybe ones that like a drink or two.”
Zelenia rolled her eyes and watched the Colalask as it crushed and ate every demon it came across.
“Are we having a meeting?” Lunara said as she popped into my view. I let out a sigh of relief. Everyone was here. I looked behind me to see Utalis keeping a close eye on the battle, or more like slaughter now, as the demon tried in vain to escape.
“Just watching the end of the battle,” I said to her.
We all stared at the sight, as the demons whimpered, with their tails between their legs. My men roared and cheered as they saw that the demons barely fought back. I even saw some lizardmen cheer in time of my men, for this was a victory for all of us.
“We should probably join the men, tons of cleanup to do,” Dryan suggested.
“What happens next?” Eliandra asked.
I stared over the horizon and let out a grin. We had much to do after this. The demon threat was not over, but this victory would be a statement to show that we could beat them. Something else was on my mind though, something I had neglected for the past few weeks.
It was time.
I caught the attention of Eliandra and Lunara, but the rest of the group stared at me.
“I think next, I should have a special ceremony with two very special ladies,” I said.
I felt a sharp pain all over my body as Lunara and Eliandra both crushed me in a hug.
Gods, it was good to be king.
Chapter 20
The past few weeks had been a whirl of activity. After counting our dead and making sure every demon we could get our hands on was killed, we returned home to celebrate. We had lost thousands to the demons, including many of Zelenia’s children, but the demons had been decimated. I doubted even a hundred remained to flee back to their leaders.
Zelenia had spent all of her time with me, but she kept me appraised with the events in Vulenchia. Now that she had the Colalask, she sent her forces to sweep over the nation. With Nidola and perhaps even the other high priests dead, she let me know that there was little resistance.
One thing I found odd was that when she mentioned the state of the holy capital. It was completely destroyed, with the city a charred ruin, but there were not enough bodies. Zelenia used the corpses of her foes to breed more of her kin, but she lamented that the number of corpses was disappointing. She also said that there were barely any humans around the former capital and that the moon Goddess was nowhere to be found anywhere.
I wondered where she could have gone. Zelenia however, promised me a powerful army once she had consumed Vulenchia. An army that I could use, as long as I provided her with my seed…
Once the cerebrations had ended, and we all got much needed rest, preparations for the wedding went into full swing. Lunara had kept in touch with her parents and they brought in many high ranking nobility and even some foreign dignitaries for the event.
As it was with the ball, I kept a smile plastered on my face as I met each and everyone of the guests. The fact that the occasion was on friendlier lands helped, but I was born to kill, not mingle.
The queen of Dunara, Lunara’s mother, had whisked both her and Eliandra away a few days ago when we arrived. I had not seen them much since, and the queen did not allow me anywhere near them. The king of Dunara gave me a little attention, but he talked about his hate for the high elves in intricate detail and what we would accomplish together once the marriage was over. It seemed he had big plans in the works that revolved around the use of my army.
The ceremony was supposed to start in the next hour or so. The throne room of the palace here was packed with all manner of dark elves, Frostburnians and a few lizardmen as well. They all mingled with each other and sat in rows of chairs that were pointed right to the throne itself. This would be where me, Lunara and Eliandra would be joined.
There was one person who caught my eye. A race I had only ever heard about but never seen.
Across from me, on the other side of the throne room, was a high elf. After all the hate that the dark elves directed at them, it surprised me greatly to see one in Dunara, let alone in the royal palace at my wedding. She had a slew of high elf guards with her, but all wore full plate armor so I could not see their faces. They wore purple colors that I assumed to be the colors of the high elves of the Everlight, as they liked to call themselves.
I had to admit, the high e
lf was beautiful. Her golden tresses reminded me of Eliandra, but this woman’s hair practically shone in the light. Her skin was pale but looked soft to the touch and her lips were painted red. Her high cheekbones and small nose really annunciated her beauty.
She wore a low-cut dress which showed off her gorgeous legs. It was quite bold considering that the rest of the guests wore very frilly gowns.
As soon as we made eye contact, I saw her ocean blue eyes stare back at me. She gave me a smirk and snapped her finger. She walked towards me with her guards in tow and I tried not to sigh as it seemed I had yet another guest to greet. At least this one would be partly interesting because of her origins as a high elf.
“Congratulations on your happy day, King Strix,” the high elf said with a smile. “I have been anxiously waiting to greet you in person. I’ve heard many things about you.”
The woman's voice was smooth and had a tight purr to it. I instantly knew she had some ties to the nobility, perhaps she even was one herself. This was likely, as she had invited to my wedding.
“Oh? Care to share what others are saying about me?” I asked with interest. I wondered what the dark elves and others thought of me. I was fairly new to being a royal so no doubt they would find an issue with many things I did.
“Well,” the high elf said as she grinned at me. “I heard of your heroic fight against the Nox creatures that frequent the underground tunnels. There was also news of your victory against the demon horde from the north, as well as your alliance with the Zegari creature.”
I smiled at her. This woman was very well informed indeed. Something was off about her though, and it made me a tad wary.
“May I hear of your lovely name?” I asked, trying not to drop my smile. I really hated interacting with these nobles and speaking so formally. It just wasn’t for me.