Over the dark landscape, Lucius gazed out; he felt the tree, the indentation of a mark on it. "Hmm…"
He felt a tightness in the cool air and a strange, anxious tug. Instinctively, he gazed back into the thick jungle, where trees towered over the forest. At the corner of his eyes, a strange foreign light emerged in the not-so-far distance left of him.
"Light? And it seems to be coming from the wall…" Lucius narrowed his eyes. "How peculiar…"
********
Green, armed warriors dashed across the jungle, each one armed to the teeth and prepared for battle as they carried their torches in hand. Shouts and bellows echo out as they speak in their brutish language, and they spread and search the dark and dense landscape.
Lillian, with the children being led in front of her by Jala, huffed and puffed, trying to keep herself together.
"
"Jala! How do you know where we're going!?"
"I marked the tree on Lucius' orders. It should lead us back to the hills." Seeing another 'x' mark on a jungle tree, he swerved right. "
THUNK
An arrow struck the marked tree by Jala.
A horn bellowed its 'call to arms', alerting their allies to Lillian's and Jala's location.
"They found us already!" Jala swerved to the rear next to Lillian and erected a massive wall of ice. It rippled into the trees. He clenched his teeth, annoyed. '
He whipped back to Lillian and the kids. "
The sound of loosened strings and flying arrows filled the air.
"
The children, in a panic, fled back on the path Jala had set. One by one, the arrows came into sight, but just then, Lillian fell to her knees, alarming Jala. He looked from her to the kids.
With his hands forced, he erected a wall of Ice over the fleeing children, protecting them.
"Your highness, we have to go now!"
" I- I know." Pulling out as much strength as possible, Lillian forced herself to her feet. She wobbled and, after a few breaths, ran back to regroup with the kids.
Jala followed close by, finally noticing her deteriorating state. "You overused your magic, didn't you?"
"You finally noticed?"
"Tch! And here you were, a few days ago scolding the king for this very thing."
Lillian cringed. "Shut up. I had no choice. The kids' lives were on the line. The whole caravan was on the line, too!"
"But depleting your magic? That could kill you."
"I know that! But that's not important right now! First, we need to escape those clever monsters!"
Fayelynn in the back began to trip and stumble, along with several of the younger boys, as they fled.
Jala, noticing another symbol on a tree, surged back to the front. "
More horns bellowed, and Second, then a third."
"More!?" Lillian glanced back, concerned about filling her face.
"Jala, how far until we reach the hill!?"
"It's just beyond the river ahead!"
Jala passed the children. "
The horns once again bellowed out, and the monsters charged.
With a clenched jaw, Jala whipped his hands and conjured a new wall of ice, blocking the monster's assault.
"
Jala continued to lead the way, conjuring ice walls after ice walls to prevent the army of monsters from attacking them and their rear. They ran and ran and ran until finally… They struck a dead end.
Jala stared at the cliff wall ahead of them, but by the time he turned back, the horde of armed monsters had already caught up to them.
Their torches lit up the clearing of trees like the stars in the sky.
A mighty roar filled the air, sending a cold chill down everyone's spines. The children huddled closer behind Lillian, their faces filled with fear.
A bellow then filled that air, followed by a rain of arrows aimed at Jala.
"Jala!" Lillian gestured with her hand to use her magic. Instead, a sharp pain filled her, forcing her to cough up blood.
As Jala raised his hands to act, a new wall of earth suddenly sprang from the ground, shocking Jala and Lillian.
Arrows struck the thick wall in rapid succession, filling the ground around Jala until it eventually ceased.
With the barrage finished, the wall crumbled. And Jala looked at Lillia, who writhed in pain with the children around her, deep in concern.
Jala, still unsure, looked at Lillian, puzzled. "Was that…"
"No." Feeling a familiar presence, she looked up the cliff, and to her shock, a familiar figure approached the cliff's edge.
"Lillian… You don't look too good."
"L-l…L-Lucius!?"
Lucius stood along with a small number of his spear-wielding undead women.
Even Jala turned back, surprised. "Ho… How did you-"
"Remember what I told you about marking the trees? Well, it wasn't for nothing. And since neither you nor Kajd returned, I figured something was amiss. And it looks like I was correct." Lucius scanned the area, scrutinizing the view. "Where's Kajd?"
Lillian grimaced. Her brows furrowed with the thought of the demon. "Lucius… He's-"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRCCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Oh?" Lucius watched as the huge chief finally came face-to-face with Lillian's group again. The children cowered even more, and Lillian, although shaken, took to the children's defense. She posed threateningly as much as possible with a small ball of fire, hovering just beneath her hand. Her breathing deepened, and a cold sweat ran down her face.
Just like Lillian, Jala prepared his own magic. But just before he could attack, Lucius shouted. "
Jala ceased at once, and the chief's attention immediately drew to Lucius. Slowly, from behind the chief, more of his warriors with torches, bows, and swords emerged from the dark jungle, bolstering his army of monsters.
The chief immediately held out his hand, halting their movement.
Lucius jumped down from the cliff and joined Lillian in the front, his eyes glued to something past the giant green armored monster, hidden in the crowd.
He narrowed his eyes, then stopped at Lillian's side. "Lillian, What are these… Big goblin's?"
Lillian grew silent for a moment, unable to fully rationalize their existence. "I don't know, but they're much smarter and sophisticated than your average goblin. The big one seems to be their leader. And he also seemed to know the demon language, too."
Lucius shifted his eyes, almost unsure whether to believe her. He then scrutinized the chief. "It's not attacking us blindly as any monster would do… it is clearly cautious of us and our magic… and perhaps of me as well… He has good instincts…"
The chief huffed, as if growing impatient. Seeing this, Lucius calmly approached but stopped short of its reach. From the light of the torches, he looked at the chief directly.
"
The Chief stayed silent, glaring at Lucius harshly.
After a moment, it finally answered. "
"
"He's probably referring to me," Lillian said. "I think this… 'Leader' of theirs planned on selling me."
Lucius narrowed his eyes. A hint of rage flickered in him. "Is that so?"
Lucius glared back at the orc chief, speaking slowly and with venom."
A loud thud filled the air as a fist struck iron.
"ORC!"
A loud bang on the chief's scrap iron shoulder plate filled the air once more.
"
"Orc?" Lucius gave a long-winded sigh. "
"
The warrior slowly drifted apart, revealing the same Karnal demon Lillian had met much earlier. Lucius turned and focused his gaze on the demon, curious about his presence."A karnal?"
The demon shook at the sight of Lucius. Despite this, he spoke in the grunts and bellows of the orc warriors.
An epiphany struck the chief, understanding this new word. "
Lillian flushed a little as she maintained her stoic demeanor.
The orc chief roared—a fierce decree given.
Not long after, through the crowd, a giant sword, just the right size for their leader, was dragged to him. He picked up the sword with ease, placing it on his shoulder.
"
"
The orc chief grunted. And as if on command, his subordinates drew a circle around the two.
"Lucius! What are you doing!?" Lillian questioned.
"Don't worry, Lillian. I'll handle this."
Lucius conjured his sword in his hand, holding it out for all to see. Compared to the orc, it looked like a toothpick.
Lillian's eyes were glued to the sword, remembering it. "That sword. It was a blood blade?"
Jala joined Lillian, surprised. "You didn't know?"
"Well, I think I've only seen him use it a couple of times. That's including the time when we fought Cassell's angel, Terrocht."
"That's because he only uses it for important battles. Mainly those of life and death."
"Really?" Lillian shifted her eyes from Jala to Lucius's sword. "Why is it that he rarely uses it?"
"Because… there's a major drawback to that sword that even he rarely talks about. To use it, he has to relinquish his power and energy to the sword. Lucius has to relinquish a lot of his energy to the sword. The more energy he pours in, the more powerful it's supposed to get. And compared to using magic, it's not the most useful of weapons to constantly draw out to use."
As if on cue, Lucius' sword began to glow a misted red color. The sword slowly grew in size.
"H-... He can't be serious!" Jala looked on in shock.
"What is it now?" Lillian questioned. Her gaze turned to the sword, and she watched in disbelief as it grew to the size of a tree. "His sword…Can grow?"
"He's letting his sword absorb more of his energy than normal. I… I have never seen him put this much of his energy into the sword before. Not even during the warring times"
"< I said… No Magic!>" The chief scolded.
Lucius spoke with a calm and steady voice. "
"
The sword grew and grew, eventually matching sword for sword.
The undead on the cliff fell from their posted positions one after another, surprising Lillian and spooking the children.
"What the…? Did they… just die?" Lillian wondered. Curious, she glanced back at Lucius, noticing something different about his usual demeanor. "Lucius?" she called.
With his one hand, Lucius prepared his oversized blade, outstretching it to his side and amusing the chief.
The chief did the same, prepared to fight. And at the horn's call, He launched his attack.
He hurled his large cleaver-like sword at Lucius, only for it to get deflected entirely.
The orc chief stumbled back, dumbfounded by the sudden deflection of his attack. All the while, Lucius continued to stand tall and calm.
The chief clenched and swirled his sword, swinging it from the side.
Lucius stabbed the ground and blocked the attack, shocking the orc and his subordinate.
"
Lucius lifted the sword and swung at the giant orc with ease. The swords clashed, reverberating through the jungle clearing like a song of battle.
The orc was pushed back into his men, getting caught by a few of them. He exhaled a grunt and grinned.
He pushed aside his men and charged back to Lucius. He slammed his sword down, clashing his blade with Lucius. He wrestled, trying to push Lucius from his posted spot, but like an unmovable stone, Lucius stood like a monument.
With his one arm, Lucius deflected the huge orc's blade. "
Taking the question as a challenge, the orc swung again at Lucius. Clashing iron with steel in the rhythmic persisted with much more ferocity as the chief swung with the intent to kill.
Each swing blocked. Each one deflected with ease as the metals scraped off one another in an ever-accelerating battle of pure brute strength. As the fierce aura of the two monstrous leaders clashed, their unwavering souls collided.
However…
THANG!
SLISH!
With a calm and practiced hand, Lacius cut through the orc chief's chest, shocking not only the orc warriors but Lillian and Jala. The children, however, cheered in awe of his strength. Overcoming something Lillian could not.
The chief stumbled back, clutching his chest as blood gushed from his fresh wound. He fell to his knees and stabbed into the ground. He huffed and continued to feel the wound. < Strong... Very…. Strong…>" he said.
The Orc chief climbed back up, towering over Lucius, and with a grunt, thumped his chest. Blood splurted, and despite the great wound, he stood unflinching. "
With both hands and fierce determination, the chief prepared his assault.
Lucius clenched his teeth, a sting of annoyance forming on his face.
Unexpectedly, the Sword the chief held shattered into a million pieces, shocking and dumbfounding the chief once again.
"
The chief threw his broken sword to the side and lunged with a punch. His knuckles cracked and broke on impact. Blood gushed and spurted out as the giant monster winced, bearing with the pain. "
"
Lucius smacked the orc chief's hand away. And with his other hand, he swung and smacked the orc chief with the side of his sword. The chief flew back into the crowd of his men, who drifted away. Lucius approached calmly, his sword outstretched and ready.
"
An earth-shattering suffocation struck everyone at once, one well hidden now on display for all to see. Even the children, who were once idolizing Lucius, grew fearful of his growing animalistic aura.
"
The demon that once hid in the crowd darted past and by the Orc chief. He kneeled to Lucius, sweating profusely and cowering before his presence. "
Lucius glared down at the pitiful demon with black eyes as endless as the void. "