An army of Zorbian's small, slimy puppets chased behind Zelak and Charla through the roofs of Oar. Their thin legs pattered on the stone of the rooms like a storm ready to explode. Their arms sharpened to a blade, and at once they leapt, slashing their small arms.
Zelak clenched his teeth. And with fury, he turned and whipped his fiery chain sword into the monsters, cutting them to ribbons. "
Charla, terrified, tensed and shook as she dashed on with Zelak behind her. She glanced back and watched as he whipped another group of the small monsters that seemed to only grow in numbers, with a thirst for vengeance.
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"Tch!" Zelak channeled fire magic into his chained blades. "
The puppets slowly evaporated away. However, in their place, several more grew from the black lines that branched through the city like a virus.
Zelak whipped back to Charla, witnessing the rise of the new sludge monster behind her. All the while, Charla stood in shock.
"
Startled back to reality, she finally noticed the shadow of the monster and the danger behind. She dodged the monster as Zelka sliced its head from its neck. He planted his feet on the ground, turned back, and grabbed Charla by the hand, dragging her with him, dodging and weaving through the swarm of puppets that attacked from above.
One after another of Zorbians' puppets emerged and attacked Charla and Zelak, their hands and arms slashed and grasping at them in a frenzy that felt as though the entire city itself was attempting to purge their very existence.
In a matter of seconds, as they pushed through hurdle after hurdle. Seeing the roads blocked, they dashed into the alley, with Zelak leading the way in fending off the swarm. "
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"D….Donovan?" she whimpered.
Zelak glanced back, then pulled her out of the way of a large, black-bladed arm. She stumbled to her knees and turne ot watcehd as Zelak felled another of the large puppets with his fiery chain sword. A cold sweat ran down his face as he attempted to catch his breath, seeing no other puppets around. " As Zelak turned his eyes, he met Charla's gleaming pink eyes, and without another word, she pushed on ahead, surprising Zelak. "Hey! Wait up!>" He followed, then took charge in leading again as they weaved around scores more of the puppets that sprouted from the alleys and buildings. Feeling something off, He glanced back at Charla. " Seeing another blockade of puppets, Zelak readied sword and pushed through the small crowd. As they turned the corner, entering the bathhouse district, a strange silence filled the air, and the presence of the puppets seemingly vanished.
Curious, Zelak scanned around, eventually discovering them above, waiting by the dozens at the top of the oversized buildings.
" Soon, they approached the center crossway of the bathhouse district, where a large stone statue of the long-past robed king stood in all its glory. Zelak tensed at once with a strange feeling gnawing at him. " Zelak came to a screeching halt. He looked on in shock as a large army of dark puppets turned the corners of the road. They marched in unison, with eyes locked on him. He glanced back forced to watch as the repeat occured with them being completely trapped.. " Zelak turned his gaze up. " Then, with his other hand, he manifests a ball of fire. " On command, Charla rushed to the bathhouse, clawing into the building and into the windows. Zelak followed behind, cracking the tip of the sword into the window's concrete frame. In an instant, his sword pulled together, launching him into the house and nearly into the water.
" As if on cue, Black lines emerged from every part of the bathhouse. From the walls to the statue, even the exit wasn't safe. One after another, the puppets emerged, in another attempt to trap Zelak and Charla. Without hesitation, Charla led the way and ran past the emerging puppets with Zelak following behind. They raced through the hall of mirrors, chased by the black lines that stretched through the mirrors and pillars in the hall.
Worried, Zelak glanced back and grimaced at the sight of the slimy arms of the puppets emerging. But as he saw his own reflection, his heart sank, seeing his reflection flicker in and out of existence. " Zelak took the lead, then prepared his chained sword and swung, slashing through the swarming sludge puppets. " He snapped his sword back into the form, and swung like a madman with fire bursting from the seams of the blade crevices. With the exit in sight, he blazed through Charla with a precise determination etched on his face. His blue eyes lit up, with his vision gazing into the city streets ahead. He saw demon residents flee, and guards fighting ahead. He even caught sight of the puppets sprouting from the black lines that coated the city, building, and the street ahead.
He landed hard at the bottom of the bathhouse stairs, and without stopping, he lunged forward towards the city streets ahead. " The Puppets gathered to block the road and marched forth. Seeing through this, Zelak swerved into an alley and, with his average-formed sword, cut through the spawning puppets.
He swerved, cut, and slashed as he searched for a way out through the maze-like alleys. " He returned to reality, meeting a puppet slashing at him. He blocked and repealed the monsters and panicked as others rose all around him. "Damn it! Where the hell did she-... Go…>"
A realization struck him. " Sensing an attack from behind, Zelak turned and blocked another large, bladed arm. " With a bitter resolve, Zelak pushed the puppet away and pushed on, dodging and slashing through the opposition. eventually he sprang back onto the road and dashed on towards the inn. However, as he continued down the road, his heart continued to sink with every step he took.
destroyed houses were burning, bloodied corpses, and blood-stains littered the roads. And the once quiet streets had turned into a city at war, ravaged by Zorbian's very will to destroy. But through this, the demons fought on, spewing balls of flames at the puppets and cutting them down in a desperate attempt to win. A firm resistance was blossoming through the city roads with a single goal in everyone's mind.
With a firm determination, Zelak clenched his teeth and pushed past the chaos of battle with only one thing on his mind. "There it is!>" He stopped at the inn and banged on it. " CRASH!!
A huge red body crashed into the stone buildings behind, leaving a trail of destruction. "Th-that was…" Zelak's eyes traced back into the inn, discovering an even larger sludge monster inside with a hammer-shaped arm, which was dragging on the ground. The white eyes of the monsters leered at Zelak menacingly, as if he were now dessert.
Despite the tension he felt, Zelak relaxed his arms and dropped his sword to the ground. ""
"GRRAAHHH!!" The giant puppet raised his arm and arced his hammer down to smite Zelak.
Shockingly, an earth sword cleaved the monster's hammer hand off, leaving the hammer to fall right beside Zelak.
Befuddled, Zelak looked left, to the source of the sword. Slowly, rubble fell from the shoulders and arms and even the long white hair of the demon responsible. The ground rumbled with his steps as he stood tall.
The earth sword, once solid, crumbled to pieces as the demon spoke. " " The giant puppet regenerated his hammer hand and swung at Zelak again.
In an instant, Bjorn knocked the behemoth away, smashing his club to smithereens. "Tch! Pay attention! And where the hell are Donovan and Charla!?>"
Zelak's eyes widened, back in reality. "W-wait, B-but my children! Are they-"
" " " " Bjorn scoffed. " Zelak tensed. " " ********
Pang struck Donovan's heart at once. As guards around slowly panicked with the rising number of dark puppets.
Lyra smiled and watched the nervous guards around them. " Consumed by fear, the guards shot a flurry of fireballs of wind blades into the horde of dark puppets.
" Chaos escalated with the horde of puppets overwhelming the surrounding guards with their sheer number. All the while, Donovan, detached from the noise around him, kept his eyes squared on Lyra.
"Those eyes… There's no doubt about it. She's plans on playing around me like some dinner plate meal." Curious, Donovan averted his gaze from her eyes. "Whoever she is, she must've been the one to somehow trick Kalika into doing whatever plans she has in mind for her."
Seeing this, Lyra's smile deepened. " "Regardless..." Donovan sneered and tightened his grasp on his pipe, then raised it against Lyra. "I nedd to get to Kalika and stop this madness!"
"Get out of my way!" Donovan shouted.
Lyra sharpened her gaze on his pipe. " Fire spewed at Lyra, but met a sudden blockade of puppets protected by a barrier.
More serious and with her arms covering her face, Lyra observed from the safety of the barrier. " Ignoring Lyra, Donovan continued to channel more magic into the pipe. "A little more. Just... A little more."
Unexpectedly, a crack formed on the barrier, shocking both Lyra and the surviving guards. One after another appeared as Donovan continued to spew fire at her.
Lyra grew grimly serious. watching as his beloved god's perfect protection was crumbling right before her eyes. " He gasped, stunned by her speed. He raised his pipe to block. "Crap! I'm not gonna make it!"
"DONOVAN!!"
"Huh?"
Blood splattered across the ground.
Donovan fell on his back, with blood slowly spilling over and covering his face. He could only look on in shock as he uttered a single name. "Ch… Charla...? Wh-what are you doing here?"
From her back to her shoulder, a significant cut was visible to Lyra as Charla bowed over Donovan, bearing with pain. " "