by Kindred Ult
"It wouldn't be right, leaving my brother die." Raphael stated firmly.
"Yea, if one of us dies today, both of us do. Much as I'd like to hold on to Sophella and be alone with her for a few nights." Leon winked.
"Well, I won't leave. I can't have anyone killing you besides me Demenn." Varus tried to smile, but he looked too scared.
Demenn smiled at them. "I feel the same. I cannot run after leading you all into this. It would be better to die with you than to bring the news without you."
They all inevitably stared at Niethel, who was also a second class now. His eyes narrowed. "Oh no, I'm not running after those two jerks called me a pussy so many times. I'll stay and fight with you guys."
Demenn sighed. "We cannot let any of us die without cause Niethel. We have all decided to stay, and I need you to assure that Sophella is safe."
"Yea, it's not your fault you're a pussy, pussy." Leon smiled.
Raphael chimed in as well. "You just run along and let us do the fighting for you."
These comments just made Niethel want to stay even more, but he was eventually persuaded that it was his duty to go with Sophella. He smiled wryly. "Just don't die, okay guys?"
"You can count on us."
Sophella walked up to Niethel. "Hold on to me." When he did she turned to the west and looked upwards before intoning a spell and ending with. "West, towards vampire territory." Almost before the last syllable left her mouth, the two of them were gone.
Demenn, Varus, Leon, and Raphael stood together for a moment, almost as if they were waiting for the werewolves to come. Then Demenn turned to the others.
"We will fight back to back. If one of us is slain, we will form a triangle, and if another is killed the last two will fight back to back as well. Are we clear?"
"Yep."
"Crystal."
"Sure."
"And I am sorry that I got you three mixed up in this." Demenn frowned.
Varus laughed. "Hey, it won't be the first time you've killed me."
Despite himself, Demenn smiled.
When the werewolves came, they gathered around the four of them in a circle, completely surrounding them and cutting off any chance of escape. Strangely, they did not attack at once; it seemed like they were waiting for something. Then they realized that there were no first classes around to order them to attack, and they were feeling indecisive. Then out of their ranks came the werewolf that had presumably killed Lidian. Demenn felt his blood chill just by looking at him. The werewolf walked halfway between the vampires and his brethren before addressing Demenn.
"Hail vampires, I am Deathbreak, first class werewolf in the King's service. I am giving you this one chance to surrender. If you do not, then you will all be killed, as I can imagine you can guess by now. What do you say?" His voice evidenced that he was a male.
Demenn stared at the werewolf for a moment. "What happened to our companion?"
The werewolf faltered. "What?"
"What happened to Lidian." Despite himself, Demenn's voice quivered.
The werewolf looked down for a moment. "She is dead."
Demenn kept his face passive, but inside he felt as if a blanket settled over him. He had given up Lidian for dead once she decided to stay behind, but now that he knew her fate, he realized that he had kept believing she could somehow get away. A feeling he had not experienced in a long time swept over him as he addressed the werewolf who had killed his closest friend. "I thank you for your offer, Deathbreak. I am Demenn, first class vampire in the Matriarch's service. I am afraid that I must decline your proposal, and I dearly hope to meet you on the battlefield."
Deathbreak almost seemed to sigh. "So be it. You have signed your own fate. Kill them." The entire werewolf force surged forward, they had been waiting for those two words. There were hundreds of them here, and there was no hope for Demenn or any of the others. As they charged, Demenn turned to the other three.
"Remember, form a triangle and do not leave it for any reason. Protect each other."
"What about you?" Varus could not believe he was conversing while hundreds of werewolves were about to attack him.
"I will be hunting." Demenn found that switch in his mind and flicked it on. In seconds he was in his Other form, with his large wings folding behind him, his tail slapping to the ground, and his horns growing out just a few more inches than last time. He stared at Deathbreak and names came unbidden to his lips just once more. "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." He whispered them and then, after a pause, "Lidian." His eyes narrowed and for a moment he only saw the werewolf in front of him.
The werewolves were almost upon them when Demenn crouched low and burst towards them, using his wings to propel him forwards. He surprised them and knocked many out of his way in his single-minded quest for Deathbreak. The werewolves were all unprepared for his aggressiveness, and many never got back up from his blows. However, Deathbreak was no fool, and he was ready for him by the time he reached him. Deathbreak swung his arm out in a sucker punch just as Demenn got into range, but Demenn was just barely able to shift his wings up and send himself under the blow. He landed and gave all of his strength into a swift uppercut that slammed into Deathbreak's stomach and sent him into the air for a moment. Deathbreak jumped to the side of Demenn's next punch and pulled his body back to throw a devastating punch of his own. He grinned when he felt his knuckles connect with Demenn's face, but as Demenn's body turned with his head, he spun low and swept Deathbreak's feet from under him with his right leg. Deathbreak managed to flip around and land on his hands and knees, but that placed him in the perfect position for Demenn, who had come directly up after the sweep, to kick him as hard as he could in the chest. This time Deathbreak could not control himself when he went up, and he landed on his back.
Within seconds Demenn was on top of Deathbreak, his legs locked around Deathbreak's ribs and he began to rain blows upon his face. Deathbreak raised both of his arms and blocked most of the attacks, but some got through, and Deathbreak knew that it could not stay in this position. Eventually it accepted a viscous punch to the side of the face in order to punch out at Demenn's chest. The strength of his punch picked Demenn off of him, and then he tucked both of his feet under him and launched him upwards. Demenn went into the air, but he used this to his advantage and began flapping his wings in preparation for a final blow.
Deathbreak saw his opportunity here, and he bent down before launching himself into the air after Demenn. Demenn was obviously surprised, and he was powerless to dodge Deathbreak's head butt. The blow hit him in the stomach, and Deathbreak felt the air leaving him. Demenn began to fall towards the ground, but Deathbreak was not satisfied. He grabbed Demenn by the shoulder and began to punch and kick him as hard as he could, Demenn was not content to take these attacks, and threw out as many of his own as he could, not regarding blocking. Both of them fell towards the ground while throwing everything they could at the other. When they were close to the ground, Deathbreak threw one last punch and then tried to disengage, but when he jumped away he felt Demenn grab his tail. In another moment he was twirling through the air and then he slammed into the ground. Demenn landed on him with his knees, but Deathbreak swung his arm around in a backhanded blow and sent Demenn off of him.
The two of them stood, and it was hard to tell which was the worse for the fight between them, but Deathbreak was not satisfied with the fight, he was just now starting to heal from the first hits he took. 'Somehow, I don't think this will get me anywhere. I never was a brawler.'
Demenn cast a quick glance at Varus and the brothers and, after verifying that they were alive, he sent himself back at Deathbreak. When Deathbreak saw him, he swiftly reverted to his normal werewolf form. Demenn saw this and stopped for a moment; long enough for Deathbreak to call to him.
"Demenn, I cast of my first class form, do the same and let us fight as beings were meant to. This fight should be decided by skill, not ferocity."
Demenn walked up to him and shifted to his
normal form. He almost smiled at the werewolf standing before him. As usual, his clothing and weapons were where they were before he had changed, and Deathbreak marveled at this.
"By-the-way, my name is Brand, and I am very sorry for your friend. War is necessary, not pleasurable." Brand explained as he took his normal-sized sword from his back.
"My name is the same as before, and I realize this." Demenn trembled a bit as he took his spear from his back. He wondered what was wrong with this werewolf. Why was he telling him his real name and trying to console him? He could not tell what he felt at the moment, so he silenced his thoughts and focused his mind on the cold sensation the shaft of his spear sent through his hands. There was not time to think; he needed to only react.
Demenn and Brand stood about ten feet away from each other. They did not move; they only regarded the other. Brand's eyes narrowed as he saw Demenn's stance with a spear. He wondered what was going through Demenn's head, and why he had chosen such a strange weapon. Brand knew how those with spears fought, and he knew that they were easily countered unless they were in large groups. All he had to do was dodge the stabs until he was close enough to be past the blade. Once inside the tip's range, it was child's play to kill the owner of the weapon. The challenge lay in not getting impaled by the spear, but Brand had been fighting for centuries. He figured that this fight would be short, but also very dangerous.
Demenn stared at Brand, and despite himself he felt thoughts slowly creep into his head. What if he did not win? Unlike Brand, his healing factor only worked if he ingested blood, so if he were stabbed, he would probably lose this fight. Thankfully, his Other form seemed to be completely disengaged from his normal self, so he felt none of the blows he had received previously. He was worried about Brand's weapon. It was a completely normal looking, double-edged sword, which made it all the more intimidating. By the time a warrior reached first class, they had usually found some exotic weapon to master that they thought made them unique. The fact that this powerful warrior had kept a normal sword made him seem more dangerous than if he had taken out any other weapon. He had no idea what to expect from his opponent, but he knew that this fight would be hard.
Brand was glad that he had his eyes for this fight. He wondered if he could win without them, but then he cast that thought aside as useless. He had been given a gift in his new eyes, and only a fool does not use a gift. He wondered if he was just kidding himself, or if he really felt this way, but then, with more difficulty, he thrust that thought aside as well. He needed to focus on the fight.
Brand moved first; he took two steps forward before lunging in, causing Demenn to thrust out with his spear, and then stopping mid-lunge and leaping back. He paused, it was just as he had imagined, Demenn was going to fight with his spear. Brand lunged in again before shifting to the side as Demenn stabbed out and trying to lunge a third time, Demenn retracted his spear faster than Brand had anticipated and attacked once more in the same manner as before, causing Brand to step back as usual. Despite having failed three times in his attacks, Brand reasonably sure that he knew Demenn's style, and he was ready for the real fight to start.
Brand lifted his front foot and stamped it on the ground while at the same time he shifted his body forward, giving the illusion that he was beginning a charge. As he had expected, Demenn took the bait for a moment and shot his spear out. By the time Demenn realized his mistake, it was too late. Brand had no backward movement to compensate for, so he charged past the tip of Demenn's spear faster than seemed possible. Demenn tried to retract his blade, but he was too slow. In seconds Brand was in front of him, leading with a jab that sent his sword flying towards Demenn. Brand knew spear users; they were too focused on their weapons. When cornered they would attack at anything; they were reactionary fighters. Once their only method of defense was bypassed, they lost all sense and folded. This fight was over.
Then Demenn was no longer in front of him. For a split second, Brand's senses did not even register the change, but an instant later he looked down; the only place for him to be. His instincts led him true, and he saw Demenn curved on the ground. It took him another moment to realize what was happening, but then he jumped back when Demenn's feet shot into the air. He recovered from the leap, and lunged back in at Demenn, who was still doing a handstand. Brand's sword flashed out in an arc, but Demenn finished his move with a handspring and barely made it over the blade. He rolled and recovered his spear from where he dropped it on the ground before settling back into his old stance.
Brand was surprised. 'That makes no sense, that stunt will only work once. The next time I will be waiting for it and I'll kill him. He must realize this.' Nonetheless, he resumed his stance as well. He also knew that his fake would not work as well the second time as it did the first, so he was also at a disadvantage. They were close now, just close enough for anything to happen, and both of them knew it. Brand shifted forward and stepped. Demenn did not move. Brand spun to the side and tried to stab in. Demenn turned and shot his spear at him. Neither attack hit its mark. Brand faked again, with no reaction. Then again, with the same result. Finally he ran in completely and brought his sword back for a slash, but as Demenn stabbed out with his spear, Brand spun to the side and stepped forward.
He was not far closer than he had been, but he was now closer than Demenn could retract his spear, and Brand knew it. He charged in as fast as he could, watching everything he could to make sure that Demenn did not dodge and focusing all of his attention on the swing of his sword. He was so close, but just as he swung, the impossible happened, Demenn's spear was right there. He had faked that last thrust, and he no longer held his spear like a spear user, now it was like a stick. Demenn ducked under the swing and, as Brand swung downwards as he had decided to do if Demenn ducked, he rolled to the side before coming up and twirling his spear above his head and lashing out with the blade. Brand ducked his head quickly and dodged the blow before stabbing forward with a quick searching jab. Demenn shifted his body to the side and gave his spear to the closest arm, stabbing it at Brand's head again. Again Brand ducked his head, and then he twisted his sword from where it was, which was still right next to Demenn's body, and slashed out towards him. Demenn was forced to throw himself back. Once again they were close to each other, only now Brand saw that Demenn's stance was not only defensive, reactionary. It was also offensive.
Demenn was still unnerved with how easily Brand had read him, and he could only be glad that he had not shown his style until after the beginning of the fight. He had a healthy respect for Brand now, and he knew that he could not be the defender in this fight. This time it was his turn to attack. He took three slow steps back before running forward as fast as he could. Brand readied his defense, but right as Demenn reached him he spun around and swept his spear low. Brand jumped over this and used his height to lift up his sword with both hands and slam it down. Demenn rolled to the side, and the strike would have stuck into the earth, but Brand stopped it and ran after Demenn, his sword led him. Demenn, who was unbalanced, had no other option save to shift his spear to the side and shove Brand's sword out of the way. There was a sharp clang as metal met metal for the first time. Neither of them could understand why, but this was significant, and Demenn cursed himself for being the first one to have to block a strike. He felt like he had somehow lost the first stage of their battle.
Brand shoved Demenn's spear to the side and stabbed straight at his chest. Demenn took a step back and spun his spear in his hands, knocking the sword to the side once again. They were both on their feet now, and now they paced each other. Brand stepped in and launched a wide arc straight at Demenn's side, and Demenn stuck his spear out vertically and blocked the strike before shifting his weight into the block and kicking out. His feet caught Brand in the chest, but he only went back a couple of feet. Brand growled and charged again. Demenn was tired of blocking and charged as well. Demenn shot out his spear with one hand at twisted his body to give it full extension, but Brand shifte
d his body to the side and charged through, his sword grazed Demenn's side. Demenn pulled his spear back and placed the side of his neck to its shaft, shoving the spear towards Brand. The spear smacked into Brand's side and bruised his ribs.
Brand quickly turned around and stabbed out countless times as fast and hard as he could. He attacked so fast that his first strike had barely landed before another was thrown out. His sword could barely be seen as he stabbed out over and over again. Demenn spun his spear around over and over again with his hands in the middle of it. Each time he would spin the spear in one direction until it hit Brand's sword, and then he would switch directions until he blocked the next. Brand bore forward and Demenn took steps backwards, all the while spinning his spear back and forth as he sighted and stopped each oncoming attack. Then one moment he stomped the ground with one foot, spun his spear over his head, and smacked at Brand with the back end of it. Brand blocked this, but no sooner was it blocked then Demenn spun the spear around his head and sent the blade towards Brand's stomach while taking a step forward. Brand took a step back and blocked this with the flat of his blade as well. Now it was Demenn's turn to advance and Brand's to go back, and Demenn made the best of it. He spun the spear around and around and even spun himself a few times in his effort to overcome Brand's defense, but Brand proved as good at defending as he was at attacking. Not a single attack made it through. As he attacked, Demenn could not stop the thoughts from coming again.