“My lord! You may want to see this!” The soldier called out to the male who rushed into the room where several well dressed individuals sat in a meeting.
“What has happened? Surely it can wait until our meeting ends. I should have your tongue for this interruption," the one who wore the most illustrious clothing responded.
“I apologize my lord but this simply cannot wait! I implore you to come quickly!”
He didn’t even have a chance to reprimand the soldier before he dashed out of the room. He then noticed several others rushing down the halls as well, all clad in their respective chain mail and padded gambesons. The clattering of metal plate and sword arms could be heard echoing throughout the building, his eyes turning to look at all the other present individuals before he stood and rushed out of the building. There was pandemonium among the retainers, and he immediately made his way to the battlements. He could see soldiers lining the walls before he could even make his way up quickly enough. Both human and claimants made up the majority of his troops, all given to him by someone with greater standing, but none of them looked as if they had either courage or the backbone to take their positions. It wasn’t until he finally reached the top of the wall that he saw what had caused such panic over the ramparts.
“What in the realms is this?” He uttered as horror overtook his expression.
Several days prior, with the setting sun painting the horizon with visions of blue and orange, he could only say he was shocked to see Lilith of all people at his front door. There was no warning of her arrival and neither was there any appointment made. That was what made the sudden appearance so terrifying as opposed to meeting with anyone he felt was of a higher standard. If this was Arthur he may have felt threatened, but instead he was left wondering what type of antics she might attempt to pull.
“Lady Lilith. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?” He asked with the pure intention of discovering her motives.
“Hello Phodahmas. Ah, excuse me. I forgot you go by Lord Haggard in front of these peasants. Human names are so odd.”
“Don’t you have a human made name as well?” Now he was simply annoyed.
“Indeed, but I had no name before that. If only Xainayne would have given me a name. Something fancy and regal, possibly with a meaning that strikes fear into the hearts of men. I would love for my name to have a meaning such as stars of darkness.”
“Very dramatic. Get to the point, Lilith.”
“So impatient. Fine.” A long pause between the two until she leaned forward and opened her arms outward. “Do you not plan to invite me in?”
“If I don’t does that mean you will leave?”
“Very funny. If you do not it means I will force my way in, and neither of us want that to happen.”
“Of course you will.” He looked her up and down as if examining her for anything suspicious. Of course, her very presence there was suspicious. “Let her in. Come. We will talk.”
“Finally. It smells like garbage out here. Not that I believe it will be any better inside.”
He couldn’t help but feel agitated. Lilith was still an aikekunai, there was no doubt about that, but she had also backed down when faced with the Mucmoi and Desdon aikekunai. It was a fact that everyone knew by now due to how extreme the situation had become, even if they weren't there to experience it for themselves. However, the primary issue was how it had happened and everything surrounding it for the rest of the world. A person who could be called her husband was slain alongside her very daughter, and Lilith did not even follow through on her path for revenge. For those who were present it wasn’t a situation to be repeated so causally. For those who weren’t it was nothing more than Lilith backing down when faced with a force they believed she could not defeat.
It pissed him off with every passing second. How she so casually acted as if she could do and say whatever she wanted after such an embarrassment was sickening. Walking through his home without even caring to cover her feet. She looked as normal and calm as ever, her attire as similar as it had always been in the past with a white dress along with silver and gold accents and accessories. The smile she wore felt like nothing greater than an insult where once it would have been a grace, and yet as they entered the room with two long tables on opposing sides, she did not care to sit. Instead standing as he sat himself at one of the several seats.
“So? What did you want from me? I know of you, but we’ve never met face to face or even spoken. So why have you come here.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She asked with a smirk as she casually wandered around the room examining each painting on the walls. “You have something I want. Something I desire.”
He knew well the rumors of Lilith and her desires. About how she would break any rule or law in place to gain those desires. Perform atrocities the likes of which no one would dare recall for those desires. Yet now those rumors all seemed so baseless. She was known for fighting solely at the behest of others for fun, primarily taking part in their battles due to the substantial lack of extended conflict within her own territory. That was why her home wasn’t even located on the western continent she claimed. However, any accounts of battle which took place in her territory were entirely secretive. No help was ever asked for or required. Whatever conflicts took place there… no one knew of them.
His mind remained fixated on the facts. That, despite what she had so recently lost, she chose to back down when faced with opposition. Was that truly an aikekunai; a claimant to be feared?
“Really? And what might I have that you of all people desire?” He asked whilst leaning forward in his seat.
“It is simple. It has been brought to my attention that you have come into possession of a rather rare and particularly beautiful item. A priceless item, crafted by a master artisan. A chalice.”
“You want the chalice I was gifted by a merchant?”
“Indeed. Perhaps you may not understand its value, but I desire all these types of things. Not that my reasoning should really matter to you.”
“Bold, but what reason do I have to give this to you?” The question made her chuckle.
“And you would call me bold. Fine. I am willing to make a trade if you are that that remise to part with it-”
“It seems you may be misunderstanding me, Lilith.” He looked towards the door and, with a wave of his hand, the guard stationed there quickly turned and exited the area. “What reason do I have to comply to your desires?”
“Excuse me?”
“I doubt there’s a single soul who hasn’t heard of your more recent activity. The way you so expertly showed your cowardice in the presence of the other aikekunai. You believe I would show fear in the face of your demands?”
Lilith did not respond. Her expression, once holding the smile she so often chose to display, slowly relented to shock. Almost as if she had never expected anyone to seriously speak with her in this manner. It was around that same time the guard returned with chalice in hand. She almost didn’t even notice him approach the lord and place the chalice down on the table, but the moment she saw the item her eyes shifted to it before returning back to him. She blinked several times. Bewildered.
“This is what you wanted, correct?” He asked before tossing the chalice onto the ground at her feet. The glass shattering, gilded gold and inlayed gems clattering on the wood before going still. “I have no need to comply with someone who lacks the backbone to follow through on their own revenge.”
“What did you say?” It was at this time she was finally beginning to realize what exactly was happening. There was no anger in her voice, but instead pure confusion.
“You’re a coward. A wretch. And I have no reason to fear someone who couldn’t even properly avenge the death of their own daughter.”
She did not flinch, her jaw merely went slack for a moment before her expression straightened. Her eyes black vertical slits parting a see of blood as emotion itself seemed to entirely vanish from her face. There was a split second in which he could swear the entire building shuttered as her fingers curled into fists, but they quickly relaxed and returned to a normal state. It was distinct, every single action she took. Almost like she wanted to express certain things yet lacked the ability to do it. But that did not stop her from acting.
She placed her hand over her stomach for a moment, as if having been reminded of something dreadful, before turning to exit the room. “Move. Now.”
The guard did not comply, although beads of sweat rolled down his face as his eyes shifted over to his lord. “Just do as she says,” he ordered before the male stepped aside quickly.
Her exit was just as sudden as her appearance, and he was left feeling content with this outcome. The guardsman exhaled sharply, as if he had been holding his breathe the entire time until he was certain she had left the building. His hand gripping at his chest. Heart pounding. Head aching.
“My lord, why would you do something like that?” He questioned the man.
“Because there was no need to back down. You saw for yourself, her lack of retaliation says it all. An aikekunai mooching off the glory of other’s battles. That’s all she is and all she will be.”
“I fear you have forgotten who you are dealing with?” Now his voice was far stricter than before. “This isn’t just anyone, this is Lilith.”
“I understand that. I also understand that she left without issue.”
“I will have to suggest you apologize. No, I implore you to apologize immediately.”
“What? I refuse. Do you understand how it would look for me to go back on my word now?”
“Your pride may cost you dearly. You may not understand, but I do. I have seen firsthand what that monster is like on a battlefield. I was sent here by Arthur to aid you in defending this place. It is a proper bastion and integral part of the defense of this kingdom. As Mucmoi and someone who had experience with her, I must ask you to reconsider!”
“Enough. I did not ask for your opinion on the matter. I’ve done what I’ve done and I don’t intend to back down now. If you wish to leave then do so, but I will not change my mind.”
The male sighed. Steadying himself slightly before responding. “I will not leave. It is my duty to remain here as an aid to your village. The walls have been reinforced well and the agriculture has been flourishing, but I fear that will all soon end.”
“You’re trying my patience.”
“And you’re trying the lives of your people. No one aside from Lilith and her closest companions even know of her true military might. Few claimants outside of her territory even knows of her army! But I can tell you for certain that if they are anything like the rumors we may need prayers to survive.”
“Nammay preserve me,” the lord’s aid spoke as he arrived at his side to look over the ramparts.
“How did they even manage to get so close without our notice?”
“Look at them. It’s Dawn and there isn’t a single light among them. They arrived during the night, no doubt.”
“Even so, they shouldn’t be capable of navigating an entire military force through the dark.”
“It’s the one leading them,” the Mucmoi aid attempted to calm the humans. “She’d have no issues leading anyone through even the darkness night. It’s no wonder they couldn’t be seen under the cover of true darkness.”
The lord did not know how to react, but there was certainly fear to make up for his lack of steadiness. His eyes looking out from the walls of their fortifications only to find an army of dread and malice. His soldier’s faces turned up in a disgust he could easily understand, as not even the scent of the nearby claimant houses could outmatch the almost corrosively detestable stench of blood which now overwhelmed the entire village and the manor within its walls. Knights clad in crimson stained metal, capes of red smoldering in the wind at their backs like a bleeding tide. Standing at the head of the entire force, of course, was none other than Lilith herself.
Her attire was like nothing anyone had ever seen before on her. Everyone knew she rarely cared for sustaining damage, and when she did show up to battles it was often in fancy dresses or casual attire. This time, however, she wore pure steel armor but only in certain locations. Pauldrons, rerebraces and couter. Cuisses, greaves and poleyn. A half breastplate with a gorget around the neck and a sallet helmet which left the mouth exposed. Through the thin visor a set or red eyes could be seen glowing in darkness beneath. She wore no padding or chainmail underneath, merely a white halter with long sleeves and a leather belt strapped tightly around her waist. At her left side stood a giant of a woman wearing metal plate and a black gambeson underneath, a set of metal wings shifting on her back. On her right stood someone they all knew well. Arc’l Dimea in his fully black armor without a shred of skin visible.
“Forgive me for asking, my queen. But are you sure this is a good idea?” She asked Lilith with a slightly worried tone. “Are these people not allies of Arthur. I believed you two were on good terms with one another.”
“You should know better than to question Lady Lilith’s judgment, Matterrax.” Arc’l immediately responded without missing a beat.
“My apologies, my queen.”
“It is fine. She will never learn if I do not explain, Arc’l. Retain your anger for a moment.” She pointed her finger directly to the lord who occupied the walls. “That man will die in a particular way. I do not much care for what Arthur has to say about it. The insult I sustained is too grave to ignore.”
“And if he chooses to intervene?”
“He will not.”
“How can you be so sure?” Matterrax’s question drew the eyes of Lilith. Her stare nothing like she had ever experienced since joining her ranks, and Arc’l noticed it. Partially crazed, partially mad, but above all else seething with malice and violence. Yes, he knew it well. The expression she had before meeting the human who nearly gifted her a desire.
“If Arthur dares to intervene with my business again, neither he nor that toy of his will keep me from taking someone’s head. I will even allow him to choose. These miserable pile of flesh, or his favorite wife. If he cannot decide a favorite, then I will take both their skulls as ornaments for my throne. And if he wants them back I will invite him to come and take them from me.”
This was the Lilith he knew. The aikekunai without mercy. The Lilith who made a name for herself as a queen of demons, and these soldiers at her back were the original demons she personally knighted and sanctified in her own blood. She reached her right hand outward and a claimant among their ranks rushed to her side and knelt down in reverence to offer her his halberd. It was hefty and weighty, but she still lifted it to her shoulder like a feather. She held out her left and another followed the same practice, lowering himself before offering the scimitar at his side along with its sheath. This she took and strapped to the leather belt around her waist.
“Matterrax, my demon.” Her voice made the woman fall to a knee at her side.
“Yes my queen?”
“You desire the power to change the world? You desire to move mountains, if you must, in order to never lose anyone precious to you again? Then, if that is truly the case, watch and commit this to memory. You will learn to lead my army. And all who would dare to stand in your way shall crumble like statues of ash… Arc’l.”
“I am yours to command.” He responded while lowering his head in a respectful bow.
“Find the nearest enemy faction for this place. I do not care which. Tell them they can have the glory of this massacre and the land if they so desire. I care not for it. The livestock here are useless. Their blood tainted.”
“Yes, Lady Lilith.” As soon as the words left his lips, so too did a steed of pure shadows leap from the shade at his feet. He wasted not a single moment, mounting the beast before dashing off into the distance at high speeds.
“Lesson one, Matterrax, is mercilessness.” Lilith’s words stole all of her attention before the woman began walking forward. She quickly rose to her feet and followed. “My legion, steeped in the blood of generations! Surround this place! I do not want a single man woman or child to escape with their lives! Not even their pets! Not even their livestock! Not a single bird in the sky or rat crawling along the ground is to leave with their souls intact!”
The soldiers within the walls looked absolutely terrified. Even the claimants among them shivering at the sound of her words carried through the air as if to seal their very fates. The only one who seemed entirely unaffected was the lord of the village itself. He quickly raised his arm into the air, a stern expression of anger as his soldiers quickly followed the order. Perhaps it was out of honor alone or something more, but pushing past the fear had to be done. Her declaration was clear. She did not plan to let a single living thing survive this encounter. The only way to survive was to kill, and so that was why they raised their bows into the ready position and awaiting their lord’s mark.
“Lesson two.” Matterrax looked at her in a confused manner. She knew Lilith was resilient, but surely she also understood that claimants numbered their ranks. A single one of those arrows could kill her if they managed to hit a vital area. “My soldiers will never follow you if you show weakness. Even the humans among them kill claimants, and so every action you take on the field of battle should display one thing. Uncontested and undeniable power.”
With the lord’s signal a hail of arrows was sent flying in their direction. Matterrax prepared to guard herself with the wings at her back, but stopped the moment she watched Lilith raised the halberd from her shoulder and reach the head of its blade behind herself. She could not comprehend what was going through the mind of her queen, but in the same moment the arrows rising into the air had now begun to turn downward and fall towards their position, Lilith cried out in a manner she had never witnessed no matter how many times she’d seen her fight. As if pouring every ounce of raw power into her swing as the halberd arced overhead and slammed into the earth at their front. It was simple, normal even, but for everyone involved in this battle it was the very scene which demolished hope for her enemies and inspired a boiling, violent passion in her allies.
It felt as if the very ground beneath their feet would fall apart as it ruptured and cracked the walls they stood on, fissures spreading in all directions from her position. The impact akin to a catapult, or perhaps the forced of innumerable siege strikes at once. A wave of pure kinetic force slamming against the battlements and knocking some off their feet entirely, the arrows they had been watching encroach on her position all but blown away before they could even reach her as dust and stone was scattered in all directions. Despite that and the close proximity her own knight had to her, not a single one flinched or moved. Their own red eyes peering from beneath their masks as rocks pelted them and the ground shook underneath their feet. Within that settling dust, Lilith could be seen once again making her advance. And it was with that visual that her soldiers marched like a legion of red specters to surround the village as she commanded.
“We’re doomed.” One of the guards remaining on the wall spoke.
“What is that monster?”
“Are we supposed to fight something like this?”
The humans were in a panic, and he could see it. Their lord could understand almost immediately how dire their situation truly was. A single action enough to erase all doubts he had previously harbored, and it wasn’t even a certainty that this was the full extent of her raw physical might! However, he could not allow their moral to fall, and so he stood tall and prepared to say what he could to encourage his forces. Yet another voice spoke first.
“Lord Haggard depends on us to defend his territory alongside him! Would you cower so easily? Even when the lives of your families are at stake? Your wives! Your children! Will you not protect them?” The guard Arthur had gifted him spoke.
“Truly, you are a boon to these soldiers… I caused this with my own choices. Will you not flee?”
“Of course not. I doubt I could truly escape this place even if I tried. I’ve seen those knights fight only once before, although I didn't know they belonged to her. I had wanted to forget the experience, and I know for a fact that it would only take about five of them to siege this place. The only choice we have is to fight.”
“Then I’ve doomed us to our fates,” he spoke under his breathe before raising his head. “Soldiers! This is a command from your lord! No! An order as Phodahmas Woxia! Fight to your very last breath! For the sake of those you love! I will lead the charge!”
“No, my lord!” The claimant guarding him spoke. “I will lead them. You return to the manor and protect your family. Have all the women and children gather there! Let us hold them off.”
He looked as if he were prepared to protest, but despite their previous woes he could now see the fear on his soldier’s faces accompanied by the product of such fears. Courage. A courage which would lead them directly into the den of a monster if need be. None of them willing to back down for the sakes of their families. Even the humans steadied themselves and steeled their hearts. With that, he would not dare trample their resolve.
“You’ve all served me well. All of you irreplaceable. I will need several men to go through the town and lead the civilians to the manor! I will prepare the defenses! Now go!”
He quickly left the area with the average workers and retainers who occupied the area following behind him. Meanwhile a handful of soldiers began sifting through the streets of the village and hurriedly directing all noncombatant they could to the manor as swiftly as possible. Things were moving smoothly, and within minutes many of the people were making their way to the manor. But no one stopped to question if they had minutes. Seconds, even. If their nonexistent gods would save them from the very real devil at their doorstep.
“Prepare yourselves soldiers! The civilians will all be evacuated soon! We merely need to hold out!”
“Hold out?” Her voice sent a shiver up his spine as his head nearly snapped from his shoulders with the speed at which is spun around. There, at his back, he spotted Lilith standing on the very ramparts themselves. “You would be lucky if I even gave you the luxury of holding back so you could. But sadly, I am in a very foul mood.”
“You would kill innocents? Children even? The ancients will not turn a blind eye to this!” The Mucmoi claimant shouted as he drew his sword.
“On the contrary, I would dare them to act. Those very same ancients opposed me slaughtering some trash from the house of death for that very same reasoning. Any ancients that would oppose my actions are free to grab their weapon and die.”
“You’re mad!”
“Perhaps, but you should blame your lordling for that.”
All it took was a single swing from the halberd in her right hand and his body was cleaved in two. Cast aside like literal garbage. His defenses meaningless against her raw physical force. As his torso collided with the ground at the base of the battlement, he watched the lower half of his body fall several feet away. His eyes turning up to see her burning glare turned down towards him.
“M… monster…”
“Your lordling not only denied me my desires, but chose to commit a cardinal sin.” The other soldiers on the wall backed away. Reaching for their weapons as if to stand against her. “For daring to place my daughters existence upon his lips I considered razing this entire country to the ground, but this should suffice as a good example for anyone else.”
“An example?” One of the soldiers asked. “What type of example is this?!”
“Is it not obvious? Very well then… Matterrax!” Following her voice the woman descended from the sky on steel wings and landed heavily at her side. The action alone shook the wall. “Stick close and watch me. This is how you will lead. I will give you only a single example here today of how I fight.”
“An example? But I have seen you fight before, my queen.”
“You misunderstand. This is no example of my combat. This is the malice and rage you will require to properly lead my knights.”
She could now see it clearly, the way her queens face twisted in a way she did not believe was possible. Her teeth like sharpened fangs, eyes glowing with a devil’s red gaze as the very air seemed to thicken around them. As if nature itself were being choked out by her mere existence. The sky no longer brimming with blue, rather the clouds darkened into black masses as every single shadow became a black space of darkness. The beams of light which once illuminated the land now rays of crimson attempting to breach the dark clouds. The entire area now nothing more than a hellscape of her own design. Her control over darkness like a plague choking out all which dared to even approach. A visual many had seen in their last moments amid her own territory. And with that change, her onslaught began.
A war-cry with so much force and volume Matterrax could feel her bones quaking before Lilith removed the scimitar from the scabbard at her side. Both weapons in either hand, and with each swing a life was cast directly into the void if not several. The halberd’s strikes tore through its victims as if no form of defense could withstand the infinite might behind every attack. Entire building turned to rubble or left as dilapidated ruins. The scimitar held no such raw power, but its slices seemed to reach distances far past her reach. As if it not only cleaved through flesh, but also the very air itself and anything between her and whoever she chose as its victim.
What culminated from this was a savage display of merciless violence as blood and limbs were scattered through the air. The only thing more devastating than her weapons being her very body, with occasional stomps of her feet between her swings shattering the earth and causing entire buildings to crumble on anyone who was left inside. Before long it was difficult to tell if the roads, grass and rubble seemed red due to the lighting of the subjugated sun or rather due to the blood which had been scattered everywhere. There were some, after all, who found their courage and charged her outright as if to perform some desperately ordained vital strike… but all they managed was to feel the full physical force of her attacks as their bodies nearly exploded into a bloody paste. Viscera and crimson raining from the sky in the aftermath. No amount of resilience capable of withstanding the physical devastation of her strength at close range.
Matterrax had believed she understood what war was before this. Or rather, this wasn’t war at all. This was a massacre. No, a genocide. The screams and cries of men and women of all ages echoing throughout this village which looked to have literally been dragged directly into hell itself; their very culture eradicated from all existence. Then she had to correct herself. Not even hell was like this. And Lilith only finally stopped when no more screams could be heard. She wasn’t even out of breath as she turned to her.
“Now then… bring him to me.”
“Yes my queen,” there was no hesitation in her response as she flew off only to return seconds later with the severed upper half of the Mucmoi claimant and guard of Phodahmas. His hands were clasped tightly over his ears with his face vividly expressing terror and despair. He was steadily dying, his Mucmoi blood pouring from his exposed intestines and stomach.
“Throw him on the ground,” she commanded as his slowly dying body was tossed to the earth at her feet. “How does it feel to watch helplessly as I destroy everything around you? The lives snuffed out as you can do nothing? Does it fill you with dread?”
“You truly are a devil…” His response drew a deranged smile from her.
“Of course. Is that not what you all chose to name me? The Queen of the Demons is, of course, going to be a Devil.” She responded once confirming the loss of his will. Her bare foot resting on his head before slowly crushing it beneath her heel. “I will be making my way to the manor now. Have the knights advance. Tell them to defile every corpse they see. Even if these souls manage to find themselves in Elysian, I would have them experience a damnation which will follow them for all eternity.”
“Yes my queen. I will go right away.”
“Oh. And tell them to leave the manor untouched… I will deal with that place fully on my own.”
-
The building shook in constantly changing intervals; the tremors themselves sometimes only causing the walls to shake, while other times vases would be sent flying to the floor as chunks of stone crumbled from the walls. The windows had been barricaded as best as they possibly could with such short time, but all that could be seen through the cracks was redness and darkness. Screams penetrating through the walls as those lucky civilians who had managed to make their way to the manor under their lords protection gathered in the main hall of the building. Some were in a complete state of panic and shock, others in a position to cover their children. At the front stood Phodahmas with his own wife and child at his back. An example to his people that he would be the first to stand at their defense; his wife and daughter unwilling to leave his side.
“Damn it,” he spoke under his breathe. “What’s taking them so long? More people should have been brought here already.”
“It sounds as if the fight has already started. I fear it may be too late for them.” His wife responded.
“Then all we can do is defend the people who are present. There are no claimants among them. We can’t rely on them to fight at all in this situation.”
“Is it really that bad? This was all so sudden, who even chose to attack us?” She inquired of him. “Do they not fear our allies.”
“I made… a mistake. I insulted Lilith Dimea believing she was a coward. But that woman. No, she’s no woman. That monster is worse than anything I could have ever imagined. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a claimant with so much unnecessary strength.”
“Then what do we do?” She asked and yet received no response. The incremental rumblings ceased, the screams now turned to silence, the thuds which hit the outside of the building… all of it went silent.
“Is it over?” Their daughter spoke, but the expression on her father’s face made the answer to that clear.
The silence was more terrifying than the onslaught of chaos and madness which had once been bombarding them from the outside. His hand slowly reaching down to the sword at his side until, within that silence, the entrance to the building could be heard opening. The doors creaking before a set of bare footsteps could be heard approaching at a careful pace until, like a cursed omen, they stopped right on the opposite side of the locked door leading to the main hall where they all waited. The handle of the door turned, a push against the frame, and when it did not give due to its lock the handle returned to its normal position. Then, amid the silence, there were three knocks.
“Who do you think it is?”
“Maybe they won the battle and are coming to retrieve us!”
“It’s finally over?”
“This nightmare can finally end?”
“Don’t fool yourselves.” Phodahmas stopped their assumptions. “Consider the situation. If we truly won this battle and that was one of our own, why would they not announce themself?”
“They may be exhausted, or injured!”
“I highly doubt every single one of them would be in that state. Or at least not the one they’d choose to relay their victory.” His eyes squinted at the door as he drew his sword.
“And what if you’re wrong? Our husbands and sons are fighting out there! We can’t abandon them!”
“Listen to me. Whoever is on the opposite side of that door cannot be trusted.” He attempted to remain calm until a woman rushed forward to the doors. “Wait! Stop!”
His words fell on deaf ears as she continued forward. His attempt to halt her advance barred by the others who latched onto him as if to keep him from acting. It would have been easy to remove them, but it also would have caused them harm to throw them all aside. His wife attempted to remove them all one by one, his daughter watching in horror as their own people held him back and disregarded his orders. Once the woman reached the door she unclasped the lock and closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry my lord, but I can’t possibly live with the thought of abandoning my son out there!” The woman apologized as she pulled the doors open.
“What a shame. Perhaps you should have listened to your lordling.” The struggle ceased, the moment the door was opened the entire hall was flooded with the aroma of blood and death, Lilith herself standing directly on the other side of the now opened door with weapons in hand and her once white clothes dyed in the same crimson as her knight's capes. The silver reflecting a red glow in the dim lighting of the hall, her red eyes surveying every soul among them through the slits of her helmet. “Well, you may still rest assured that your choice would not have mattered. I would have forced my way in if you took too long.”
At her back, and to their absolute terror, the outside could be seen through the entrance doors left ajar. Her knights sifting through the town covered in blood and viscera, not even allowing the dead to rest as they pulled and tore their bodies limb from limb. Some shaved the flesh from the bones of severed limbs, tying them to their belts and decorating their armor and clothes with them. Others were defiling and desecrating the corpses in any manner possible, shattering them into piles of unrecognizable flesh and gore. There were even a select few who carried bloodied sacks, collecting eyes, tongues and other select cuts of meat from the victims. Their worst nightmares made real and left in the open for them to all see.
“No,” the woman whimpered when met with the sight.
“Yes,” Lilith responded as her hand wrapped around the woman's jaw. She attempted to pull away, but that was an impossibility. She could feel her feet leaving the ground, her hands grasping and scratching at the white haired aikekunai’s wrist to no avail. Her own nails snapping and bleeding in the attempted. “What an embarrassment. This is the capability your humans can muster? They truly are nothing more than livestock.”
“Put her down, Lilith!” Phodahmas demanded as he held his weapon to the ready. Lilith was not impressed.
“The lordling has a backbone now? How… funny perhaps? Maybe pathetic is a better word… You know, I did quite a bit of learning when it came to human anatomy. It is best to know what you are eating and how to preserve the best parts, after all.”
“What are you talking about Lilith?!”
“It is actually quite interesting how fragile the human body is. For example, with enough force their flesh simply cannot handle strong impacts. For example.”
Everyone present was made a spectator as she tossed the woman into a pillar across the room with considerable force. Her body did not even have the ability to absorb any of the impact, bursting into red mist and liquid as bone shards and scraps of flesh were sent scattered across the area. The room erupted into screams and pandemonium as Phodahmas rushed forward with his weapon raised. Lilith did not bat an eye or show any form of emotion as he approached… or at least not until the child who had been standing closest to him prior to his approach cried out…
“Daddy!” She could see the worry in her eyes, the concern plastered all over her expression, the fear… and it was that very moment Lilith smiled in the way only madness could allow.
She drew the scimitar from her side once again and intercepted his sword. A single motion from the blade and he was thrown off balance; catching himself just fast enough to look at her and see the Dimea devil raising the halberd like a javelin. The elation on her face almost immediately made him realize what was happening, his attention turning to his daughter completely, and yet before he could even utter a word the weapon was thrown at blinding speeds. The girl was clearly unprepared and incapable of avoiding the attack, but it was actually her mother who intercepted the halberd.
A claimant herself, she placed herself between the girl and the weapon. A round shield called to her arms and held in a defensive position. Silver plating reflecting like a mirror; the golden insignia on its face a revelation to Alvax’s house of light. She was no doubt a warrior and skilled in her craft. Fast and trusting in her skills and intuition. However it was that same intuition which filled her with an overwhelming dread the moment the halberd collided with her shield. It felt as if time was moving in slow motion. Her hand reaching back and pushing her daughter aside as if she knew it were the right decision… The girl herself could barely register what was happening as she was tossed to the ground, the loud impact of steel against stone; her head turning back quickly to the sight of her mother pinned to the wall.
“How touching.” Lilith’s voice overwhelmed the hall as both the lord and his daughter watched the light claimant struggle and cough up what seems like liquid light before going completely still. “You know, I did not even know you had a daughter until now. How ironic that I will take her from you as well before seeing if you can manage what you claim I was too much of a coward to accomplish.”
He raged, his eyes going feral as he raised his sword above his head and swung it down on her position with as much strength as he could muster. The ground shaking beneath their feet with the impact… and yet his eyes went wide upon realizing what his weapon had hit. She did not even give him the luxury of blocking with the scimitar; instead the weapon was now lodged in her wrist and yet it could not penetrate the bone. He attempted to remove the sword and attack again, but upon trying he found that he could not. Her arm flexing, the very strength of her muscles alone out matching his entire body pulling against it, and it was then he saw her prepare to retaliate.
The manic smile fading into a disgusted scowl. The scimitar being returned to its scabbard and her fist clenched tightly at her side. Her wrist with the sword in it rolled outward, moving the weapon to the side and pulling him off balance. Her fangs bared once again as a growl echoed from her throat. Her own body twisting as her first collided with his stomach. The pain could not even be felt, it wasn’t fast enough to outweigh the speed at which he needed to register the change of environment. From his body being sent across the room, to the way he broke through the walls and roofing of the building, the wind in his ears as he found himself careening through the air and finally the disorienting feeling of his impact with the earth before tumbling a distance and stopping after several meters.
He pulled himself up to his feet quickly, but immediately crumbled back down to his hands and knees. The bile and vital fluid pouring from his mouth a mix of his Woxia blood and what he had been holding in from all the madness which had been surrounding him. He could feel at least several of his ribs now shattered, his organs either heavily damaged or decimated under the force of the impact. His entire body ached. And yet his eyes went wide as the pain finally caught up with him and ravaged his body. Yet he could not relax. A thought immediately crossed his mind as he forced himself to his feet.
“Myra… my child,” he uttered as he looked forward only to find himself outside of the village itself. The defensive walls in shambles, pillars of smoke rising from within, buildings which could once be seen from a distance now dilapidated. All he could do now was run back, and yet he found himself thrown several miles away.
In his mind all he could think about was the child. And that was how he managed to carry himself back. There was panic behind each step, blood dripping from his mouth with each footfall as he closed the distance under the dark possessed sky. His heart was racing, his mind nearly going blank upon reaching the walls and yet upon returning the sight was not as he expected. Her knights, clad in blood and steel, had been waiting for him. The lined the streets like sentinels, yet none of them attacked. They merely watched his every step as he proceeded to the manor through the bloodied and fleshy roads. He couldn’t even think about the squishy sloshing beneath his feet as he approached the building.
“Our queen has been waiting for you.” His eyes focused, viewing the woman standing at the door. She gestured for him to enter, but her eyes said it was a threat. “At least try to be on your best behavior this time. Dog. This time show respect in my queen’s presence.”
He did not respond. Limping his way past her and into the manor. It was quiet. All lights had been snuffed out and yet they were clearly still active. Their flames simply could not reach outside of themselves. The doors to the main hall had been closed yet again, the subtle sound of dripping in his ears as he stepped through puddles of fresh blood. His hands pressing against the door, a shiver striking up his spine and dread accosted his entirety. The doors pushed open with a heavy creaking to reveal a nightmare the likes of which he could not have ever possibly imagined.
“You have finally returned. Did you enjoy your trip?” Her words barely reaching him, flashes of madness bursting through his mind. The room coated in blood, limbs scattered in the thick layer of crimson which covered the floor.
His eyes turned to his wife who was still pinned to the wall along with her shield. Her eyes missing from their sockets and her left arm removed entirely. That was when he finally found himself focusing on Lilith. Madness like a disease spreading through his system. He watched the woman sitting casually on his throne. His wife’s arm, the ring he had gifted her still on her fourth finger, being slowly devoured by the aikekunai whose sharpened teeth tore away at the flesh like it was nothing. Meanwhile, in her left hand, a makeshift goblet truly being nothing more than a skull with its jaw removed… his daughter, the catalyst for this item, positioned sitting headless at her feet.
His cry of despair echoed throughout the entire village.
“So now, with all of this transpiring as it has, I must ask you a very important question.” She paused for a moment. Several gulps of blood from her bone cup before her eyes returned to him. Their glow intensified as her expression became more serious than it had ever been since her arrival.
“How could you?” He asked. Almost as if he expected someone capable of so much horror to feel sympathy.
“I reject your question. Instead you should be more concerned with mine… Now that you have also lost everything, will you be courageous? Or will you be a coward?”
He looked over to his side. The nearest sword lying on the ground would be good enough. It wasn't his own, most likely left behind by an errant civilian who had attempted to defend themself. His hand reaching over and gripping the hilt before he used the weapon itself as support to stand and continue on. Step after step he proceeded forward. Fear and madness clear on his face, eyes as red as anyone who had found themselves in her presence long enough to be affected by her ambrosia. He ignored everything other than her, stopping only when he finally found himself standing right in front of her. The sword raised with shaky hands as he observed her smile laced with disgust. That was the last thing he’d see before swinging the weapon and severing her head.
...
...
….
.....
......
.......
……..
“Now you are in the proper place to feel real despair, you lost fucking garbage.”
Her words were accompanied by a swirl of blood as her body stood from the seat. It collected itself around where her head once occupied, forming her skull and flesh until his efforts had been made entirely pointless. A long wave of white hair falling down her back and dipping into the blood at her feet. He fell back onto the ground, as if his mind could no longer handle the insanity taking place before his very eyes.
“Impossible… it’s impossible!”
“Is it?” She spoke as she leaned down to retrieve her freshly severed skull and the helmet from it before placing it back on her own head. She examined her own visage, its smile still present, eyes still glowing red. “In all honesty I just wanted a new cup. That was why I approached you, and I expected the thing to mean very little to you.”
“The goblet… you did all this for the goblet?”
“No, idiot. If you had been more respectable with your refusal I would have just stolen it. But you did something no amount of forgiveness will ever repay. You spoke ill of me, and did so with my own flesh and blood as your catalyst for insult. And it was because of that I made my decision to punish you thoroughly.”
“Fine... I get it… just kill me already.” He could feel his heart sink to his stomach when his words caused the woman to laugh. It was a laugh which echoed through the entire village, a laugh seething with madness and mania.
“Kill you? I do not plan on killing you, lordling.”
“What? Then what was all of this for?!” He demanded an answer. An answer she only gave once she poured the blood from her own severed head into the skull of his daughter before blitzing his position at a speed he could not comprehend in his exhausted state. Her left hand breaking his jaw so that it could not close before she forced him to consume the ambrosia of her reddened blood. He writhed. Coughed. Twitched as the madness flowing through her veins infected him like a disease.
“There. Now you are fully ready to go where you belong… Matterrax!” Soon after her name was called the woman entered the hall with her eyes locked on the male who was now hacking and coughing up Lilith’s blood. But it was far too late for that.
“Yes my queen?”
“Bring this one to Bethany. Have her heal him, and when she has finished have him brought to hell.”
“You don’t plan to kill him here and now?” The claimant asked with a confused stare.
“Of course not. He will die, there is no doubt about that. And yet what would be the point if he has not yet learned his lesson? I will have him experience every floor starting from the first and descending to the last. I will have his will broken; so much so that he will no longer have a mind to fight with. When he has lost that will, his punishment will not yet cease. He will continue down and experience every form of suffering imaginable until, finally, he reaches Aslaen.”
"With all due respect, Aslaen will not spare him. He may kill him the moment he sets foot within the ninth floor.”
“Of course. His journey will be long, but it will certainly end in death,” Lilith responded as she retrieved the halberd from the corpse on the wall. Removing the shield lodged on it blade and tossing it to the ground. “Just remind him to bring his bones to me when it is all over. I will have them added to my throne. They should be of a fine quality after a thousand year voyage through my hell. Tortured bones are always the best to use as decoration.”