by E. R. Willis
I smiled, and realized that I had tears running down my cheeks. “Thank you,” I said, feeling at peace. When this is over, I want to visit my parent’s grave. I’ll get flowers for them, and spend more time at their graves. I’ll even say a prayer for their sake. It’s just hard to let it go. They were alive when I had left, and afterwards I never saw them alive again. It just hurts. The good thing is, they loved me, and I loved them back. They went knowing that, and that’s what’s been keeping me going.
Chapter 29
It’s 2 a.m., and we are under attack. The whole fortress is shielded again, and the rest of the vampires are attacking. This is it! I have to go out and do my job. I joined the battle. I’d hit the soldiers in the stomach, not hard, but enough for them to be weaken. I’d ask for Ravine Katz, but none of these soldiers knew anything. This is tougher than I thought?
New plan for me. I must seek out a high rank soldier. Perhaps that’ll led me somewhere? I fought my way through all the soldiers until I found a general. I attacked her, and asked her about Ravine Katz. She looked horrified at me. “He’s…he’s hiding at the police department’s basement. I don’t know why he chose to be there, but he stays there, and gives us our orders. Now, get off me, you dirty demon!” she urged.
I got off her, but I struck her in the face and killed her. At last, I got the location. I must’ve spent two hours all together trying to find something about Ravine Katz. Thank goodness my job is over, or is it?
I fought my way back and found Blaze. I told him where Ravine Katz is. “Excellent! Let’s go and kill him,” Blaze said, turning into a bat. I turned into one too and followed him.
We traveled to the city and landed in front of the police station. We broke in, and walked inside with no problems. No one was there, but a few cops, and a few people behind the bars. They didn’t say anything at us. In fact, they stood aside for us. We went straight for the basement. It was locked shut.
Blaze made a fist, and punched the door open. Ouch! I wonder if that hurt him? We walked in, and found Ravine Katz at a desk looking at a computer. “Planning a next attack on us, are you?” Blaze said with a sarcastic tone.
“Yes, and what are you going to do about it?” Ravine Katz said, standing up from the desk. “If you kill me where I stand, it just proves that you are nothing but monsters!”
“No it doesn’t. You’re more messed up in the head than any of us. You are using the lives of others to do your dirty work. You have no spine. You’re nothing but a coward,” Blaze said, taking out his pistol.
“Wait! I’m unarmed! You can’t do this to me!” he said, nervous.
Blaze laughed and said, “Does it look like I care? You deserve no mercy.” Blaze pulled the trigger and shot Ravine Katz in the head.
It’s done. He’s dead. Blaze and I left the police station, and went back to the fortress.
Chapter 30
At around 8 a.m., there was another retreat. We rested up again and ate some snacks. We were enjoying them too, until a vampire who was standing guard came to us in the throne room. “A large number of soldiers are outside the gate. They say they want to surrender?” the vampire said, uneasy.
“Then let us all see and hear for ourselves,” Lord Erebus said, walking down the middle of the throne room. We all got up and followed Lord Erebus to the outside of the fortress.
It’s true. There must be thousands of soldiers standing at our gates. One of them held a white flag. They must’ve waved it before nearing the fortress to avoid being attacked by us. “My vampire says that you want to surrender?” Lord Erebus said, looking out to the huge crowd of soldiers.
“Yes. We have lost too many people, and Ravine Katz is reported to be dead. We only did it because he forced us to do it. If we didn’t do what he said, he said that he would get his warlock to kill us all,” the one with the flag said.
“Ravine Katz was something else, wasn’t he? I suppose we can let you all go. It wasn’t your fault,” Lord Erebus said.
“Oh thank you!” the flag carrier said.
“Yes, but one more thing. If the warlock was going to kill you, why didn’t he do it now that you surrendered?” Lord Erebus asked.
“Good question? I don’t know?” the flag carrier replied. “He looked like he didn’t care when we told him that we’re surrendering? I will tell you this. He’s still going to attack you. I don’t know when and how, but I’m letting you know to expect another attack from them.”
“Fair enough. Thank you for warning us. I bid you all farewell, and be careful out there,” Lord Erebus said.
“I hope you guys win, or bring an end to this war. You all seem to be doing best for protecting everyone on your side, and you aren’t forcing anyone to fight either,” the flag carrier said, leaving.
All of the soldiers left on foot. Good for them. We no longer have to kill anyone for our defense. “So…how is the warlock going to face us all?” a vampire asked.
“Don’t know? He must have a plan. I know why he let those soldiers go, but I didn’t want to say anything. You see, the warlock thinks he will triumph over us, so when he wins, he’s going to want to rule over the nation, and soon the world. That is why I feel sorry for the soldiers, and for everyone. We must win this. No matter what, we will attack with all we’ve got. We can’t let the warlock take over the planet and its people. We will fight for our sake, and for the people’s,” Lord Erebus said, bowing his head.
There’s silence as we all stood by the gate. Lord Erebus lifted up his head after a while. His eyes are red with anger, but a tear ran down his cheek. “We might be vampires, and we might be undead, but we are family. I cannot believe that people are being used by others. They are forced to leave their families, their children, and all for a sick greedy bastard! Now look! Thousands of soldiers lie dead in front of us! They were all innocent. They fought because they had no choice, and now their families will never see them again. I promise I will avenge, and make up for the loss. I also promise to you all, and myself, that we will win this war,” Lord Erebus said, bowing his head again.
I couldn’t take it. What Lord Erebus just said brought me to tears. It’s just so sad, and depressing. Nyx, who was standing right beside me, hugged me to try to comfort me. She was crying as well. We all mourned in silence at the gate. This war isn’t right. All that goes to all wars.
Chapter 31
After we mourned for about an hour, we went back inside the fortress. We got some rest for about nine hours. A guard came into the fortress and said that he sees an army coming towards us. We all ran out and stood along the walls of the fortress, waiting for the warlock. We can see the outlines of a huge army in the distance.
As they stood a few feet away from us, we could see what the army looked like. How horrible! “What a disgrace! You possessed the dead soldier’s bodies with demons? Very disrespectful! There’s even more minions! More than the last time,” Lord Erebus hissed at the warlock.
“Nonsense!” a voice said from somewhere in the dead army.
“I know that voice. Come forth!” Lord Erebus yelled.
Another warlock stepped up from the crowd of the dead soldiers. The warlock stood beside the other warlock. “We meet again, Lord Erebus. It seems that you already met my pupil, Zorn? Zorn told me about you. I see you are better now. I sensed it when you got cured,” the new warlock said.
“Onyx, you will die today. You have destroyed many lives, and now you are using their dead bodies to fight for you? Still? You deserve to die!” Lord Erebus said, eyes turning red.
“Lord Erebus, you are weak! I can sense it. Did all those years of being a kitten soften you?” Onyx said, laughing his head off. Lord Erebus growled.
“Oh look! It’s Blaze Obsidian! Blaze, tell me, do you still think of that day? The day that I killed your father, Flame? I still do,” Onyx said, taunting Blaze.
Blaze drew out his sword and said, “I’m going to cut off your head, and feed it to the crows!”
“Oh! You’re
a cocky one! I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll tell you what though? I’ll give you the same fate as your father’s!” Onyx said, grinning.
Blaze wanted to attack him, but he knew better. He let the anger seethe inside him for now, but soon, it’s going to come out.
“Calm down, Lord Obsidian. I know you want to fight him, but he’s too strong,” Lord Erebus said.
“Ha! I can take both of you down!” Onyx said, readying his staff. Onyx’s staff looks similar to Lord Erebus’s, but his is dark red with a floating ruby gem at the top.
“Let’s take him down, Lord Erebus!” Blaze said. “We can do this!”
“No! Lord Obsidian, listen to me. He’s too dangerous. I’m going to have to face him by myself,” Lord Erebus said. “Throughout the years he became stronger. I can feel it, and I don’t want you to get injured, or worse by him.”
Blaze looked outraged by what Lord Erebus said. “Very well,” Blaze mumbled.
“Everyone! Listen up! I’ll face Onyx. Mr. and Mrs. Pixy, I want you to focus on Zorn. Rose, I want you to join them. Everyone else, I want you all to attack the minions and the demon possessed soldiers, and shield our home!” Lord Erebus commanded.
“It seems you got some of your strongest vampires fighting my pupil? Why not let Blaze join in? Isn’t he strong?” Onyx said.
“I know what I’m doing. I will give you credit. Your pupil is strong. That is why I chose the three vampires that I chose to attack your pupil,” Lord Erebus said. “As for Lord Obsidian, he’s stronger. In fact, I have to say he’s the strongest vampire here besides me.”
“Then why not let him fight my pupil, or join you to fight me? Clearly, you are rusty. You need help,” Onyx said.
“You really want to know why I’m letting Lord Obsidian fight off your army? Lord Obsidian will decrease your numbers in an instant. He’s an expert when fighting many. Lord Obsidian is my trump card, and will always be my second in command. Your army is huge, and ours is small compared to yours, so I must rely on Lord Obsidian to do what he’s good at. That is my strategy. I want to end this war quickly, and once and for all,” Lord Erebus said, stepping forward with his staff in hand.
Lord Erebus began to change physically. He grew demonic wings from his back, his fangs grew larger, his ears sharpened to enhance hearing, his nails turned into claws, and two sharp horns grew from his head. Is that what his demonic form looks like? If he’s in that form, it means that the warlock is drenched with power, and that Lord Erebus is going to give him all he’s got.
Chapter 32
“Let’s get this over with! Attack!” Onyx shouted. His army moved forward. Lord Erebus let out a loud growl that sent chills up my spine.
All of us ran, and started massacring. I stayed beside Blaze. We fought many, but the more we fought, the more minions started to show up. That’s how many Onyx has in his army. It’s too much!
“Starr, guard me. I’m going to focus on an attack to take a lot of them out,” Blaze said, stabbing the ground with his sword. Blaze knelt down with his head lowered. His hands are on the sword’s pommel as he concentrated.
He’s trusting me? I know I’m not the best fighter, but I will try to buy him some time. A lot of the minions have been attacking him since they heard that Blaze is capable of taking many enemies out, so I’m going to have to tough this out, and defend Blaze with all I’ve got. I nodded and fought off enemies as they came closer to us. I have to be quick! Onyx’s army is fast, and they are attacking at every direction. This is insane!
“Need help?” I looked up and saw Nyx and Dar.
“That would be nice!” I said.
Dar and Nyx fought around Blaze, and I stayed close to him to make sure no attacks him. “Hey Starr, thanks for making us all lords. Now I can be with my love day and night,” Dar said, nodding at me in gratitude. Dar is a blue eyed, long haired blond. He seems very likable.
“No problem. That’s beautiful!” I said, nodding back.
“Nyx, here comes a massive wave of minions!” Dar said to her.
“We’ve got them! Starr, stand back and protect my brother. Don’t worry about us!” Nyx said.
Dar and Nyx fought side by side, and killed with such speed and brute force that a huge pile of dead bodies appeared all around them within seconds. Incredible!
I stayed by Blaze’s side. I watched him. He remained still for about two more minutes, and then he pushed his sword deeper into the ground. When that happened, a dark mist emerged from the ground where the sword was stuck. The dark mist rushed towards the battlefield. It rose up, and like magic, four towering demons showed up within the mist. They must be ten feet tall, fully armored in heavy armor, and each have a sword. The four of them are facing a different direction. One to the north, one to the east, one to the south, and the other to the west. Blaze pulled out the sword from the ground, and that’s when the demons began to walk forward. They attacked everybody in Onyx’s army with their huge swords. Their attacks to the minions, and to the possessed soldiers, are like lava. Their power is madness!
“What are they?” I asked Blaze.
“Those are juggernauts from hell. It took fifty percent of my energy to summon them, and that’s what I call that move too. Juggernauts from hell. They are unstoppable. They will mow down everything that gets in their way, except for us. They only go in a straight line, and when they reach the edge of the battle where there is no more enemies, they go away. Nothing can stop, or hurt them. I know they can reduce their numbers by a huge margin by the time they go away,” Blaze said, getting up.
“Fifty percent of your energy? Are you okay?” I asked him.
“Oh yeah. I must’ve forgotten to tell you? There’s a good advantage on being a lord. We can recover faster, and recuperate our energy over time. Now, I think I’ll drain some lives to help me get better faster,” Blaze said, grabbing two minions from the neck. A dark aura appeared around each minion, and they decayed until they were nothing but skeletons. Blaze kept doing that to his opponents as they tried to attack him. He’d catch them by the throat, and drain their lives in seconds.
“I call that move, life drain. Oh, and guess what? I’m up to seventy-five percent!” Blaze said. “Let’s keep fighting!”
Chapter 33
Blaze and I fought back to back for about an hour. We reduced their numbers down, and so did the juggernauts. The juggernauts are still going, but are close to reaching the end. “Starr, let’s move to a different location and focus on more enemies there,” Blaze said, running.
I pursued him and stopped when he stopped. His face showed horror as he looked on in front of him. I looked, and saw what he’s seeing. Mr. and Mrs. Pixy, and Rose are in trouble. Zorn is just too strong! All three are on the ground, tired and weak. Zorn laughed as he threw a huge ice spell at them. The ice spell formed a huge sharp ice shard.
Blaze took off from my side, and got in front of the three vampires. Blaze gripped his sword, swung it, and broke the ice shard into pieces. Blaze glared at Zorn, and readied himself.
“Blaze, you cannot fight him! You will be disobeying Lord Erebus’s orders! You can’t do this by yourself! This is our fight!” Mr. Pixy said, struggling to get back to his feet.
“I know, but I can’t let you guys die. I’ll be fine. You guys just go and help out with defeating the army. Now!” Blaze said, eyes still on Zorn.
They didn’t say anything. They all left and joined Nyx and Dar. “Starr, make sure no one interferes with my fight. Got it?” Blaze said, smiling.
“Of course,” I said.
Zorn laughed and said, “You? You think you have a chance in defeating me? Not even three vampires were able to bring me down? You? Alone? Ha! This will be over sooner than you think!”
“Indeed, but you shall be the one that’s going to die,” Blaze said.
“That confident, are you? What makes you different?” Zorn asked.
“Didn’t you hear Lord Erebus? I am the strongest vampire here besides him. I tra
ined my heart out when I lost my father. I surpassed everyone in just five years, and afterwards I just kept getting stronger. That is why I can use a lot of dark magic, and not be drained easily. Unless it’s a huge dark magic attack, like the one I did a while ago with the juggernauts from hell. I have nothing but hatred, and I intend to take your life where you stand,” Blaze said.
“Then let’s do this. You fought me a while back in the forest, but I could tell you were holding back. Show me what you can do, and let this fight be all about power!” Zorn said, throwing a fireball at Blaze.
Blaze dodged the fireball, and neared Zorn with graceful speed. Blaze slashed at Zorn’s magic barrier with his sword. The sword broke the barrier, but with such swiftness, Zorn put up another one. Zorn threw another spell at him. This spell is of ice. A huge chunk of ice formed in front of Zorn. Zorn then made the chunk of ice hit Blaze’s body. The chunk of ice pushed Blaze a few feet away, but Blaze managed to break it with his nails before it pushed him any farther.
“Take this!” Zorn shouted, casting another spell. This spell made multiple fires around Zorn. What is this? Fire minions?
“Go!” Zorn commanded. The fire minions flew towards Blaze, but Blaze was ready. Blaze touched the ground, and in an instant, the dark mass appeared, and enveloped the fire minions until they were no more.
“What was that?” Zorn asked, surprised.
“It’s a move I like to call, death shadow,” Blaze responded.
Zorn looked annoyed. Is it because Blaze is keeping up with him? How though? I still can’t figure it out? How did three strong vampires almost get beat, and Blaze is just one, and he’s doing fine? Maybe it’s because the three vampires got distracted with each other? Perhaps they worried that one of their teammates were going to get injured? Blaze is focusing on himself, and it’s easier for him to pay attention to every move that Zorn makes, including his attacks.