Persus rushed in, using the same shoulder-charge that he had employed on the first demon they fought by the riverbank. His momentum knocked the demon off-balance just enough for Akantha to wrench her axe free and bring the blade down on her opponent’s leg, severing it cleanly. Persus brought his greatsword down at the same instant, cleaving nearly through the demon’s torso. He kicked its spasming remains off his blade and took up position between Akantha and one of the smaller, wasp-like demons.
Kratos was swinging his hammer in wide, devastating arcs which would have easily destroyed anything caught in its path. The demons wisely stayed out of range, but he was still able to claim another pair of small demons with a combination of clever footwork and momentum reverses which would have been impossible for a smaller, weaker and less-practiced man.
Akantha also noticed Bernice, the mammoth of a woman Leonora had recruited. She wielded her twin woodcutter’s axes with deadly efficiency, spinning, kicking and chopping in a whirlwind of razor-sharp death, which had already claimed a pair of foes.
Akantha bellowed furiously and raised her axe high above her shoulder as she charged toward a pair of smaller demons which were dismembering a recently fallen Black Arrow. The demons noticed her charge, but it was too late for one of them as she brought the axe head down through the narrow section between what must have passed for the thing’s torso and its abdomen, bisecting it cleanly into a pair of twitching parts. The other one sprung back, holding its small, curious, yet horrifyingly effective weapon in its delicate, hand-like appendages.
The monster hesitated momentarily, almost as if it was unsure what to do as it snapped its head toward the large demon, which was still being cut on by its fellows. That moment of hesitation cost the creature its life, as Akantha kicked out with all her might and brought the head of her axe down in a fluid, practiced motion which cleanly split the unbalanced creature in two.
“Adonia!” Akantha heard a woman’s voice yell from nearby, and she turned to see one of the larger clawed demons bounding toward her. She swung her axe at the last instant, knocking aside the first of its vicious, claw-like pincers, but her momentary lack of balance caused her to fall backwards to the ground.
The man-sized demon’s second pincer came down toward her head in what she was certain would be her final moment. Seemingly out of nowhere, a short blade knocked the incoming pincer high, where it stuck into the dirt. Almost immediately afterward, Persus’ massive sword came into view, swatting the torso of the demon with the flat of its blade, knocking it back at least four meters, where Akantha’s bodyguard proceeded to battle it.
Akantha looked up and saw curly red hair waving wildly around the head of the woman holding the short blade, and for an instant her heart leapt as she thought it was Leonora. Then the woman’s face turned to her and she saw that it was Fedora Glaros, who promptly offered her a hand to help her stand.
“My thanks,” Akantha panted with a curt nod.
Fedora shook her head. “No, Hold Mistress, you have our thanks,” she replied, and with a curt nod of her own, she padded softly off in search of a vulnerable target.
Akantha took this moment to appraise the situation. Over half of her warriors, including all but five of the Ice Raiders had already fallen, but the enemy had taken similar losses if not numerically, then as a portion of their force. She counted no more than twenty demons defending the large one.
She knew it would be a close thing if momentum did not break their way, and she decided it was time to cause that break. “Persus,” she barked, seeing that he and Fedora Glaros had finally managed to bring down her would-be assassin.
Persus moved to her position. “Yes, Hold Mistress,” he breathed, the right side of his face a ruined, burned mess, apparently having come in contact with demon blood.
Akantha threw her head back and laughed maniacally, pointing to his face. “I like it!” she yelled, overcome with battle lust.
He grimaced but nodded. “I suppose anything’s an improvement,” he agreed sarcastically.
“We make for the heart of the monster,” she ordered, pointing her axe at the head of the large demon, which was nearly completely severed from the bulk of its body, thanks to the inexplicable efforts of the smaller ones. “They are clearly not as coordinated as they were before the poison took effect,” she explained, “and the small ones have become unsure of what to do. If we kill that thing, they will fall into confusion and we can end this battle, but it must be done quickly!”
Persus nodded grimly. “Let’s be to it, then,” he said.
Together, they made their way across the field. As they passed, Akantha motioned for Bernice to accompany them after she had completed a rather epic duel with one of the pincer-wielding demons, resulting in the death of the monster, but also the crippling of Bernice’s left arm, which hung limply at her side with a trail of blood running down and off her hand.
“Remember,” she said as they closed the distance at a jog, “the target is the monster’s head. Nothing else matters!” she yelled, and gave a meaningful look to Persus. “Nothing!”
She then saw two of the larger, pincered demons were bounding toward them, while the smaller ones cutting away on the behemoth’s body seemed not to notice their approach.
Bernice moved to block one of the two demons with her body, slamming into it with enough force to break down a wall before following up with a series of swipes with her axe. She lost sight of Bernice at that point; Akantha’s focus was entirely on her target.
She was ten paces from the behemoth when she was knocked from her feet. Akantha could not immediately tell what had happened, but when her vision returned she saw one of the clawed demons standing over her with her torso caught sideways in its pincer. It was then that she felt the crushing power of that pincer, and heard the cracking of her breastplate. She was strong, but she was certainly not as strong as Persus, and he had barely been able to stop the claws from crushing him instantly.
Akantha had lost her axe, so she reached up for the demon’s head, not knowing what else to do. It responded by squeezing even harder, but in spite of the pain, she was undeterred. She did not know if it had eyes, or ears, or a mouth, but she did know that she would not die without giving her attacker cause to remember her fury.
She grabbed behind the monster’s head with her left hand and punched hard with her right, sending burning pain through her fist as the demon’s sharp armor opened a large, bloody gash across her knuckles, but she paid it no mind. She struck again, and again, and again, ignoring the pain of striking the demon’s spiny armor.
She felt a pair of ribs crack under her breastplate, and it became difficult to continue punching, but she tried anyway. She knew she wasn’t having any effect, but there was nothing else she could do.
Then there was a crackling sound, followed by a hiss and the demon released its grip on her. She looked down and saw an obsidian arrowhead sticking out between two of the armored segments of the monster’s body, with the shaft protruding from the center of its back. She also noticed at that point that the demon only had one arm, the other having been previously removed by one of her allies.
Akantha looked toward the point of origin for the arrow and saw one of the Ice Raiders, kneeling for some reason, but holding his heavy bow and drawing another arrow from its quiver. She nodded her thanks, which he returned, and then she turned back to her quarry.
Persus had made it to the head of the demon, and she felt a thrill of exhilaration as he hacked and slashed at the flesh surrounding the creature’s massive, nightmarish mouth. The massive demon was no longer particularly mobile, and it appeared as though Persus would succeed; he had already cut a meter-deep gash along the near side of its circular maw.
With a burst of speed which should have been impossible for its bulk, the behemoth lunged forward and stabbed two of its mouth’s many sharp, pointed appendages into Persus’ torso. Persus’ sword dropped from his hands, and the monster lifted him up before it, seeming to
study him.
Persus grabbed onto one of the appendages piercing his chest and struggled mightily to free himself. Just as it seemed he was making some progress, the monster lashed out with two of its other appendages, which resembled nothing so much as a crab’s sharp, pointed legs. The pair of strikes were fast and accurate, resulting in Persus’ right arm going completely limp and a huge gash opening on his left forearm.
Akantha picked up her axe and screamed in rage, rushing toward the monstrosity. She was not going to allow another of her friends die because of her, and she no longer cared about victory, defeat or the Hold. At that moment, all she cared about was revenge.
“Demon God,” bellowed the voice of Kratos One Eye, the sound of which pierced the din of battle, “put that man down and face someone your own size!”
Akantha saw the form of Kratos running in large strides which almost seemed to shake the ground, and she continued her own charge. Nothing would strip her of the opportunity for vengeance, not even that giant of a man!
The Sky Demon God turned to face them, dropping Persus’ limp form in preparation for their concerted attack.
Kratos swung his hammer in a devastating overhand blow which had no place in a duel among men, but against a target this large and slow, it seemed the perfect choice.
Akantha came in lower with her axe, and slashed across the thing’s mouth at the same instant Kratos’ hammer made contact with the deep gash Persus had opened with his greatsword. The sick crunching sound the hammer made, combined with Akantha’s savage swipe across the creature’s maw, combined for great effect.
The monster’s body shuddered violently, as something sensitive had obviously been dealt a serious blow, and neither Akantha or Kratos needed further encouragement. She swung her axe repeatedly, targeting the uncoordinated stabbing appendages rimming the monster’s mouth. Her axe blows outnumbered Kratos’ hammer strikes at least three to one, but it was hard to tell who did more damage. What was abundantly clear, was the disconcerting effect this had on the other demons.
They began chittering wildly, and the warriors who had previously been fighting for their lives in pitched duels with the monstrosities, were able to take advantage of the immediate effect the Demon God’s death had on its fellows. In a matter of seconds, the demons were all brought down by the Argosians and Ice Raiders, and soon the only sound was the continued demolition of the God’s head at the hands of Akantha and Kratos.
They struck again and again, finding new angles and virgin flesh to punish with their weapons, and eventually Akantha’s axe succumbed to the effects of the demonic blood, shattering into a handful of smoking pieces.
Kratos stopped swinging his hammer shortly after Akantha’s weapon disintegrated, his breaths coming long and labored, and Akantha stood back from the carnage they had wrought on the monster. Its head had been flattened and slashed unrecognizable. There was no longer even a trace of coordinated movement anywhere along its body, and even if there was something capable of exerting control over the pile of ruined flesh, all of its implements of death had been removed by Akantha’s savage onslaught.
Satisfied with their handiwork, she turned to Kratos, whose barbaric rage appeared to have sapped him of his energy, just as Akantha’s fury had drained her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Bernice move to assist Persus, so Akantha decided to focus her attention on the Black Arrow leader.
“You’ve made a wonderful mess of my trophy, warrior maiden,” Kratos growled, and his tone caught her off-guard.
Akantha glared at him, feeling icy fury replenishing her strength. “Then I suggest you satisfy yourself with the other end, as is customary for your people!” she yelled, ready for whatever followed.
Kratos’ eye burned with rage and he tightened his grip on the haft of his hammer. Without warning, he threw his head back and laughed, a grating sound which seemed to emanate from deep within his chest and echoed across the field. He slapped her shoulder hard enough to knock her over if she hadn’t prepared for it. “Are you sure that’s not glacier water flowing through your veins, my beautiful girl?” he asked as jovially as a one-eyed, scar-faced man covered in gore could ask. “Your fiery spirit does not belong here among these spineless southern sheep!”
She didn’t appreciate the overly hard slap to the shoulder, but it was certainly not the worst thing to happen to her today, so she decided to let it pass. “You fight well, Kratos One Eye,” she said begrudgingly, hoping the time for conflict was over. “You do your people much honor, and mine will hear of your deeds this day,” she promised.
Kratos nodded. “We shall speak of your deeds, as well,” he returned. “The warrior Maiden from the south who fights with all the fury of a northern queen, and spits the venom of a sea snake,” he said, presenting his hand to her.
Akantha accepted his hand, which he gripped more tightly than before, and he lowered his voice so that only she could hear him, “But let there be no mistake who felled that beast, whatever it was,” he said, motioning to the still carcass of the behemoth demon.
She had expected this, as pride was something she had come to understand better these past few days. Akantha locked her eyes with his solitary orb. “I only cared about removing this threat from my people’s lands. I do not value the glory of a single kill as you might,” she said bitingly.
Kratos nodded and his smile broadened. “Excellent, then we have an understanding,” he boomed and released her hand. She then noticed that four of his warriors were now at his back, and for a moment she was envious of their talent at stealth.
One of the warriors was the same one who had saved her with a well-timed arrow, and she saw that his left leg had been severed completely below the knee, and one of his companions was preparing to treat the wound to prevent infection.
“You have my thanks, and my respect for your skill with a bow,” she offered after meeting his gaze.
The pale-faced man shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve never been very good with a bow. Always been much better up close, but I thought it was worth a try,” he quipped with a weak smirk.
Akantha grinned and returned her focus to Kratos. “And what of you, shall you return to Blue Fang Pass now?” she asked intently. She was appropriately grateful for their assistance, but she not keen on the idea of Ice Raiders remaining in the area any longer than was necessary. As of this particular moment they were the largest threat to the Hold of which she was aware.
Kratos nodded. “Aye, we’ll return after observing rites for our brothers,” he confirmed. “Shouldn’t take but an hour, with all the fire and wood you’ve got around here,” he said, gesturing to the burning buildings illuminating the farm hold.
Akantha nodded. “Then we will assist you. Even though you have helped us this day, I cannot allow those who openly plot to challenge Argos’ Great Hall or the Protector of its First House to freely remain in my lands. Your actions here have earned you safe passage out of the Hold, if you give your word to leave my people unmolested,” she said with as much authority as she could muster, realizing quite suddenly just how tired she was.
Kratos nodded knowingly. “I have no more intentions against your house or its Protector, warrior Maiden,” he assured her, “my quest is complete, but I do understand that we are not welcome. Be that as it may, you are welcome in my lands any time you wish to visit,” he said, plucking a talisman of some kind from beneath his armor. “All people in the north know my sigil, and it will grant you safe passage, should you ever tire of these southern weaklings masquerading as men and come to desire a real man!”
Bravado was something Akantha had learned to endure in her time at the Great Hall, so she simply nodded her head. “We have an understanding, then,” she declared, and went to help with Persus.
Chapter Fourteen: The Fury of A Rising Star
Persus had lost consciousness, and they were unable to rouse him but the old woman assured Akantha that he would live. He would pay a heavy price, however, as at least one of his arms would
need to be removed, and quickly if they wished to prevent deadly infection. Akantha had instructed Bernice to return Persus to the Glaros home, where the old woman could make the necessary preparations.
When the final tally was taken, their dead totaled twenty six: eight Ice Raiders, and eighteen brave Argosians who had laid down their lives to protect their neighbors and the Hold. Another dozen Argosians would never set foot on the field of battle again, and half of those would be lucky to see another sunrise. Among the dead was Aetos, Fedora Glaros’ Defender and the man who had served as Akantha’s first scout during this engagement. He had achieved his goal of avenging the deaths of his kinsfolk, which while not an empty accomplishment in Akantha’s estimation, was certainly a bitter one.
The body of the Demon God, or whatever it was, had already begun to putrefy. At least, the dismembered front section had begun to ooze and emit foul odors, but the rear section composing of nine of its bloated, ring-shaped sections appeared intact. In fact, upon further examination, it appeared that the newly made ‘front’ of the corpse, which the small demons had created with their brutal surgery, had shrunk like a great sphincter. The contents were sealed into the remaining sections into a large tube which resembled nothing so much as a great, ribbed sausage link.
The more disturbing news was that when the demon bodies were tallied, she only counted twenty eight. Five of the smaller, wasp-like demons had fled the battle, but after considering their effectiveness in combat, Akantha decided against sending search parties out. The demons had never made much of an effort at stealth, and rounding them up should prove a simple matter once Uncle Nykator’s men arrived in a few days. Besides, if the demons were fleeing then they had the advantage of speed, and Akantha had asked enough of these brave people already.
She did believe it was prudent to warn the members of the local community about them. If caught by themselves, the delicate little demons should not pose much of a challenge to a half-way competent warrior who knew what to expect. So she sent runners to spread the news of the monsters, and to describe their abilities so that her people would be prepared for them. If there was one thing she had learned of her subjects during the last few days, it was that they did not fear battle, and were more than capable of defending their homes.
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