Languished Life

by Patrik Mielonen

  Suddenly, Lerrot is manhandled on the spot, but not harmed severely. The soldiers holding the shields meet the same fate as the unconscious killer is forcing herself out of the unnecessary protection. She steals a shield from a knight, blocking a single arrow with it.

  Her eyes aren’t looking at anything in particular. It’s as if she were in a coma, yet capable of acting. She is walking towards Alexiana, who is standing beside Louir and Ti. The girl with a crystal sticking out of her head is looking at the unconscious woman, smiling radiantly. She gives her the massive chunk of hulking iron as if she’d been expecting her to come to get it.

  “Colonel Tenil!” Lerrot shouts, but she doesn’t even glance in his direction.

  Tenil is dragging her body towards the front of the formation, the dragon’s fang hauled behind. She is still unconscious, so how can she take action?

  Because her body is acting on instinct. She is in her battle trance, unable to think, but her body is behaving like a perfect killer. Calling her a human now is wrong. She isn’t a beast. She isn’t a monster.

  She is a machine, a high functioning slaughter machine with no flaws.

  The hostile cavalry charges. Pikemen are at the front, and footmen are behind them. Archers are shooting, but they aren’t very effective.

  Thanks to the trees and the terrain, the cavalry cannot trample the frontline in a matter of seconds, but hundreds die nonetheless. In fact, from the looks of it, the Division of the Red Demon is suffering more than the cavalry.

  Until the slaughter machine joins the fray.

  She doesn’t blink both eyes at the same time, for the single frame she wouldn’t register could kill her.

  The massive chunk of hulking iron is swung at an incoming rider. The blade tears through the animal’s shoulder, severing the soldier’s legs along with it. The halved stallion crashes down with a spray of gore.

  Instantly after the kill, the massive tool of mass murder beheads another horse, and the rider is crushed underneath the dead animal. Although the steeds are armored, the dragon’s fang destroys its targets nevertheless.

  Tenil dodges an incoming blow, facing the same rider up front, only to halve the horse and the soldier from the middle. Both sides of the dead steed pass by her from left and right, blood and guts momentarily blinding her vision.

  She is turning the cavalry into a pile of organic debris.

  The moment over thirty percent of the cavalry has been annihilated, a horn is blown, and the enemy starts retreating. Those from Phyr shout as they retreat.

  “Betrayers! We’ll come back for you!”

  “You’re monsters!”

  “You’ll suffer in hell!”

  Once the machine runs out of targets, it collapses on the spot.

  ***

  The Seed emanates darkness. It spawns Black Demons one after another. It’s produced an army by now, an army that can overwhelm a division. Oreon is standing in the middle of those creatures.

  “Time has come, Tenil. I’m coming now...”

  The curse he instilled in Tenil keeps her alive until he himself delivers the killing blow. Can it be cured otherwise? Even Oreon doesn’t know. Perhaps?

  “I’ll rip out your heart, gouge your eyes, and eviscerate you!”

  His mad laughter resonates. The dark creatures pay him no mind. They’re waiting for the Ember Knight’s command. Until Tenil is dead, they’ll ignore the world. The Dark Old One agrees because Tenil is linked to the Supreme God. They are a threat that must be eliminated.

  “Go, and find her! Bring her to me, and I will spill her guts!”

  ***

  Tenil hasn’t opened her eyes after the clash by the road. Lerrot is still leading the division. He is worried Tenil may not wake up in time, if at all. He can shoulder the burden until a certain point, but he isn’t on the same level as Tenil. They need her leadership.

  The Knights of the Red Flag have set up a camp in the wilderness. They aren’t following a road anymore, so they’re literally in the middle of nowhere. The terrain is even, so the scouts who’re keeping watch have a good view of the land, only that in the dark of night no one can see well.

  It’s evening, and most of the knights are already resting. They lost 700 men to the cavalry, whereas the enemy lost 400 at most. Considering that the Knights of the Red Flag have a limited amount of men, it was a heavy loss. They now have about 10,000 soldiers left.

  Hunger is slowly becoming an issue. With so many mouths to feed, they run out of supplies very fast, although they raided a town today. The enemy commander isn’t trying to stop them at the towns and villages, but instead, he is trying to take the resources away before the Division of the Red Demon gets them. That way, he is slowly ensuring their victory.

  Lieutenant Lerrot isn’t certain what he should do. Tenil didn’t tell him everything, and for a good reason. No commander should ever tell anyone what strategy they will use.

  Before midnight, loud crying can be heard in the middle of the camp.

  “Sir, Colonel Tenil is awake!”

  “I can hear her,” Lerrot replies to the corporal.

  Tenil has been laid next to a campfire. She is writhing in pain once again, but apparently, her reasoning is back this time. Her blood vessels have turned black all over the body. She doesn’t look sick, but neither does she look normal.

  As soon as Tenil recognizes Lerrot, she speaks up, “Status... report!” Her voice is raspy.

  “We are close to the border. We lost about 700 men earlier today when a cavalry attacked us. The battle excluded, you have been unconscious ever since the morning.”

  “The battle... excluded?” Tenil manages to utter a question.

  “Sir, do you not remember?”

  “No.”

  “You fought at the front.”

  “I don’t... remember.”

  Tenil attempts to stand up despite the intense pain agonizing her. Lerrot and many others around her are worried she might collapse, but to their relief, Tenil manages to stand somehow.

  “Sir, is the pain going away?”

  Tenil shakes her head. “Not at... all.”

  “Please, do not strain yourself.”

  “If I do not... lead us... we will die,” Tenil utters, determined to fight the agony.

  “At least wait until dawn.”

  Tenil nods. “That is my plan.”

  “Did Oreon poison you?”

  “No,” Tenil answers, “he did not. He cursed me.”

  If not for her determination to save her men, Tenil wouldn’t be able to stand. With willpower alone, she is fighting the pain that could drive others insane, if not even to the brink of suicide. Even Tenil wouldn’t be able to bear it if she weren’t shouldering a heavy responsibility. She can’t afford to die.

  If I won’t make it, then our world will meet an end, that is the reasoning keeping her sane.

  Not only is there the Seed, but Ouroboros is a threat as well. While he’d recreate the world, he’d also erase the current one.

  “Sir!” Lerrot points at Tenil’s shadow.

  She turns around to see the thing Lerrot is pointing at. From her shadow, a black lump of something is emerging slowly. Soldiers around them are backing away, even Tenil, but the dark mass growing from her shadow is following her as if it were attached to her shadow.

  Soon enough, it takes the form of a human with no face. Tenil included, everyone is staring at the aberration.

  A voice resonates from the figure. I can kill Oreon for you, if you join me.

  Tenil responds, “Who are you!?”

  The faceless aberration answers, The Old One.

  “Why would I join you?”

  Because I can wash away your suffering, and I can also help you with your goal. I merely ask that you—

  A glowing, violet blade pierces the aberration from behind. The wielder of the weapon twists the blade violently to tear the thing apart. The aberration disintegrates soon after.

  “Do not side with t
he Black Demons,” Louir tells them, a violet scythe of the Void held in hand. “They’ll consume your world if they aren’t stopped.”

  “Was that a Black Demon?” Lerrot asks.

  “A Shadow Phantom,” Alexiana joins the conversation. “They are incomplete manifestations of Black Demons. They can dwell in shadows. In the dark of night, they can be anywhere.”

  “Just what is it that controls them?” Staff Sergeant Ireine voices her mind.

  “I haven’t confirmed it yet, but there is a nameless entity that seems to be the mastermind. I’ve been fighting him for a long time now.”

  Emy’s had conversations with the Bright Old One, and they’ve heard of a Dark Old One as well. Together, Emy and Dracon have concluded that he might be the Dark Old One. As to who the Bright One is, they do not know.

  “Huh?” Alexiana, the girl who is both Emy and Dracon, is displaying a perplexed expression.

  Including Louir, they’re all wondering what she just realized, saw, or heard.

  “Did you hear that?” Alexiana asks.

  “What?”

  “Someone was calling my name.”

  “I didn’t hear anyone say your name, Alexiana.” Louir says. She wasn’t part of the final iteration in the Third World, so she is still very confused about the name.

  “No, it was Emy, not Alexiana.”

  “Emy?” Louir tilts her head. “Just how many names do you have?”

  “Uh, Emy is the girl you see. Dracon is the crystal sticking out of my head. Alexiana is the two of us combined, I guess.”

  “What is it like? Your homeworld,” Lerrot asks.

  “Well, it isn’t much different. It’s been over 16,000 years since I left the First World, so things might’ve changed.”

  “Wait a moment,” Ireine interjects, “you look like a child, and you claim to be over 16,000 years old? Seriously!? I want to remain young for a long time too!”

  “You think so? After everything I’ve been through, I’d say it’s been a hellish experience. I had to spend 16,000 years learning and observing, until I found a way to save the Third World. Then I spent decades in a time loop, repeating the same week for hundreds of times. Iteration after iteration, I had to tweak the outcome a little, but I couldn’t afford to fail even once, as I didn’t have any means of traveling back in time without a certain someone. Thankfully, I won’t have to repeat the same here.”

  “Uh...” Ireine’s brow is twitching awkwardly, combined with a troubled smile.

  “Again!” Alexiana exclaims. “I heard someone say my name for sure!”

  “Are you sure you aren’t hearing things?” Louir jokes.

  “Of course!”

  Tenil has laid down next to the campfire. After spending the day unconscious, she doesn’t feel sleepy, but she is feeling weak because of the pain. Each and every second is a personal hell, designed just for her. What’s more, she can hear Oreon’s voice in her head once in a while. He is constantly telling her to suffer, to languish, until he comes to take her life.

  “Lerrot, Ireine, order everyone to remove their heavy armor in the morning. We must conserve stamina. Also, tell the men to eat their fill in the morning, for we will not stop until we cross the border.” Tenil’s voice is still raspy and fragmented.

  ““Yes, Sir!””

  ***

  As soon as the Sun begins to rise, scouts report an enemy army advancing in their direction. Not everyone is awake at the time of the alarm, and therefore, there is a brief chaos in the camp.

  “Everyone, discard your metal armor! We will march as fast as we can until we cross the border!”

  “Keep your shields and weapons!”

  The advancing army isn’t mounted, so the Division of the Red Demon has a chance to escape. Flags have revealed it’s Phyr that is pursuing them. Aera isn’t anywhere to be seen.

  “They won’t catch up with us if we give it our all! They have been marching for the night, so they are most definitely tired like we are!” Tenil’s voice is slightly better now, but since the pain isn’t gone, she still appears to be in a poor condition.

  In no time, the Knights of the Red Flag are marching swiftly. Since they’ve dropped their armor pieces, they feel like they could fly after weeks of wearing them. They’re all veterans. Their stamina isn’t exhausted easily.

  The meager cavalry force they have is at the front. If they run into any resistance, the riders will charge in first, the footmen following right behind. Pikemen are at the back of the formation, protecting the archers from a possible cavalry charge, although no hostile riders have been sighted. They aren’t needed at the front either, hence the decision.

  In less than an hour, the Knights of the Red Flag manage to lose their pursuers for the time being. They’re moving faster than ever, yet they aren’t exhausting their stamina. The breaks they take are brief. They fill their canteens at a river at noon, and by the time it’s late afternoon, they can see the border miles ahead.

  However, they turn East when they get close. Until nightfall, they can’t cross the border, for they’ll be seen and therefore ambushed by the republic border defenses. In fact, Tenil suspects they’ve been sighted by scouts already, which is why she wants to wait for dusk to fall. And by marching East, they avoid getting caught by the pursuers.

  Lerrot is glad Tenil is awake. He would’ve led the army to cross the border at once. Had that happened, they’d be fighting a battle with a timer, as the pursuing army wouldn’t hesitate to squeeze the Knights of the Red Flag between them and the republic.

  Furthermore, by marching East, the republic defenses are likely to move their forces East too. If that’s the case, it’s possible the republic defenders might clash with the wrong army of Phyr in the dark. That’d be the ideal outcome, Tenil thinks to herself.

  To ensure that the pursuing army will make it to the border at dusk, Tenil orders the division to stop at one point in the evening. They rest for a while, scouting the border as they wait. Tenil is also trying to test the republic at the same time. If they attack as they rest, it means they’re cooperating with Phyr. If they won’t, then they’re hesitating, and that’d mean they don’t want to risk war with Phyr.

  When the time comes, Tenil smirks while thinking, So they aren’t cooperating, eh?

  The hostile army of Phyr catches up with them an hour before midnight. Tenil orders the men to march once more. Anyone and everyone who fails to keep up with them at that point will be left behind, for the next two hours can potentially end up horribly if they slow down even for a moment.

  While there was still light, scouts reported the republic border defense is indeed trying to parallel its troops with the division. However, they haven’t been able to keep up with them until they stopped to rest. That’s because the republic soldiers aren’t as experienced as the veterans of Phyr. Also, they haven’t been marching much, so they also lack stamina.

  Compared to the Division of the Red Demon, the republic border defense force is a bunch of innocent children.

  The pursuing army is only three hundred yards behind. Since they’re chasing so eagerly, they aren’t expecting an ambush, and for a good reason. Even Tenil can’t pull off an ambush under the current conditions. The terrain is quite even, and they have no room to retreat if they fail. Therefore, ambush is a risky option, and the enemy commander knows that.

  ***

  “Sir, we are catching up with them!” An officer reports to their commanding officer, General Harrol.

  “Perfect.”

  Their men have been marching since three in the morning. They did rest earlier to compensate for the lack of rest. Unlike the supposed betrayers Tenil is leading, they haven’t discarded their armors. Therefore, they’ve been struggling to keep up.

  “Squished between the republic and us, that is exactly what we needed!” General Harrol laughs. “Colonel Tenil might have a good head on her shoulders, but once she is cut off like this, even she cannot possibly have the fighting force to de
feat us. We have enough supplies to hunt them for weeks! Haha! And if they cross the border, the republic will nibble at their tired men until they’re all dead! Just perfect!”

  “What if Colonel Tenil goes berserk?”

  “Hmph,” Harrol folds his arms, “did you forget she already went berserk in Loraan? She can’t utilize that power anytime soon.”

  “Ah.”

  “Anyway, we’ve been poisoning her for the past months. She’ll die eventually.”

  Except that she won’t, thanks to Oreon’s curse. If not for that, she would die, but since Oreon is determined to kill Tenil, he has ensured she’ll live until then. No one in Phyr knows that, though.

  Another officer reports, “Sir, we have captured some of the betrayers who have failed to keep up with their comrades.”

  “Kill them. They might be ill, and we do not want a disease to spread among our ranks.”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  There is only one thing bothering General Harrol. Why is Tenil leading the division East? They’ve been chasing them for an hour already. It’s very dark now. They can barely see the large silhouette of the betrayer division ahead.

  They keep at it for another hour. Before they even know it, they’ve killed hundreds of stragglers. Harrol can’t help but smile each time a report comes in. They need not to fear an ambush, and they need not to worry about resources. The Knights of the Red Flag will most likely lose if they decide to turn around and fight, armorless as they are.

  Suddenly, their men are getting killed en masse as hails of arrows skewer the knights. The arrows are shot from their right flank. In other words, it’s the republic.

  “What the hell are they thinking!?” Harrol curses. “We haven’t crossed the border! Why are they attacking us!?”

  Since they’ve been chasing the supposed betrayers, they’ve been led by Tenil, which means they haven’t been paying much attention to the directions.

  In short, they have crossed the border while pursuing Tenil’s men, and they haven’t noticed it. Furthermore, since Tenil’s knights are faster, neither the republic nor Harrol’s men have managed to keep up with her, and thus the border defense force is targeting Harrol’s men rather than Tenil’s who’ve already invaded the country successfully.