Boom!
The sound of the door being struck thundered once more, shaking the very foundation of the tower.
"Did you know my father?" Lyki strained his voice to ask Sera amidst the chaos.
She did not answer. Instead, the low, deep growls of wolves and bears resonated around her, as if the beasts of the shadows were answering their mistress's command.
Boom!
This time, the wooden door splintered into pieces. Wolves howled in unison as giant bears lunged forward, vanishing down the stairs below. Lyki looked at Lyna one last time; she watched him with eyes full of worry, while Rin, kneeling beside Reeve, gave him a subtle look that said, 'Don't worry.' Lyki took a deep breath before mounting Sera's back as she crouched low, waiting for him.
Before Sera leapt down the stairs, Lyki heard the roar of bears and wolves mingled with the increasingly clear sound of tearing flesh. The stench of blood hung heavy in the air along the path strewn with Orc corpses. Lyki's mind went blank; his only focus was his hand gripping the hilt of his broken sword until his knuckles turned white.
Reaching the shattered gate, Sera lunged out instantly! The first thing he saw was two giant wolves and three bears hunting and slaughtering Orcs with primal fury. The Orcs began to panic, their ranks breaking, but the thunderous roar of the Orc chieftain managed to keep the remaining ones in check. An Orc lunged from the side, axe raised to claim his life. Using the momentum from the tiger's back, Lyki thrust his broken blade into its neck in a flash!
"Good instincts..." Sera praised in a low voice. "But the real fight starts now!"
The Orcs began to reform their lines, setting up shields and sharp spears into a wall of iron. The Halfshon stood still, as if awaiting the young boy's command. Lyki did not flinch. He was no longer fighting alone; the Halfshon warriors stood by his side.
"Protect the people! Drive these hell-spawns back into the darkness!!!" Lyki roared at the top of his lungs.
The Halfshon answered with a deafening howl. They lunged into the Orc ranks without fear. The bears used their massive strength, a single swipe of their claws sending five Orcs flying. Some slammed against the walls, their bones snapping with a sickening crack! Meanwhile, the wolves tore the enemy apart in a gruesome display. The wails of the Orcs echoed throughout the Stone Fortress.
Inside the Great Hall
Oscar, peering through a crack in the door, stared at the scene in disbelief. "Lady Titania! You must see this!"
Titania rushed over. What she saw was Lyki, astride a fierce tigress, charging into the fray. The silhouette of the young boy overlapped with her memories of Darius, causing her to whisper, "Lord Darius..."
With a commander's instinct, she knew the golden opportunity had arrived.
"Take up your arms and follow me to aid Lyki! Kill them all... show no mercy!!!"
"By your command!" the remaining soldiers roared. They charged out into the fray with a bloodlust fiercer than ever before. Even when struck and wounded, the weapons in their hands never faltered. They struck back with vengeance; some were stabbed but gritted their teeth to stab back, dying together with their foes. The battle formation turned into a chaotic melee where the humans clearly held the upper hand.
The Orc vanguard began to lose heart, dropping their weapons and fleeing for their lives.
Boom!
An iron hammer smashed into an Orc, sending it flying to land before Lyki. A wolf tried to lunge at the Orc chieftain wielding that massive hammer but was struck mid-air, sent tumbling into a crowd of Orcs where it was mercilessly hacked apart.
Sera growled, intending to intervene, but a voice cut through from behind.
"That one... leave him to me." Titania walked forward, dragging her sword along the ground, creating sparks. Her eyes were filled with such sheer hatred that the remaining Orcs recoiled in fear.
Sera gave a low growl, signaling the other Halfshon to form a circle, ensuring no one would interfere with the duel of the female commander.
Suddenly, a sword was thrown, thudding into the ground before Lyki and Sera. Another massive Orc stepped forward, baring its fangs in a challenge to Lyki for a one-on-one duel.
Lyki patted Sera's back gently, signaling he accepted. Humans, Orcs, and Halfshon all stepped back three paces, opening a wide space in the center of the battlefield for a duel that would be decided by life or death!
In the heart of the blood-soaked battlefield, the circle opened, leaving only the center of the fortress empty. Two figures, two generations, two styles of combat, were about to begin the dance of death together.
Lyki's Side:
The new sword was heavy and unfamiliar. Lyki lunged at the giant Orc, dodging an axe that swung down in a straight line. He swung the massive blade in his hand to parry. The sound of clashing steel was deafening! However, the boy's strength was still far inferior. The force of the impact sent the sword flying from his hand. The giant Orc bared its fangs in a cruel smirk, ready to finish its disarmed prey.
Titania's Side:
On the commander's side, the Orc chieftain swung his massive hammer, shattering the stone floor. Sharp stone fragments flew at her like a hail of bullets. Yet Titania remained calm. She merely tilted her head to avoid the shards with chilling composure. Her armored boots continued to march toward her enemy with unwavering resolve. The murderous aura in her eyes made the giant Orc reflexively step back in fear for the first time—it now knew the taste of being the hunted.
Lyki's Side:
Lyki leaped high off the ground, seizing the moment the Orc was off-balance, and drove his broken blade deep into its neck! However, the dull, chipped blade did not kill instantly. The Orc coughed up a mouthful of blood, but its massive hand gripped the hilt tightly, trying to push the steel out of its throat with its final burst of strength. Lyki pressed down with all his might, but the boy's strength began to falter against the beast's raw power.
Titania's Side:
The Orc chieftain roared to drive away his fear, swinging the hammer at her head once more in a frenzy! Titania evaded with a grace as light as a feather before counter-striking with a speed invisible to the naked eye. The steel sliced through flesh and bone, severing all five fingers of the giant Orc. The massive hammer fell, crashing to the floor. But she didn't stop. Titania closed in... closer. The chieftain swung his remaining left arm at her with all his might, but Titania spun away before stabbing her blade into his wrist and running the length of the blade, slicing deep along the arm to the shoulder. Black blood sprayed across the stone floor before she spun and slashed his Achilles tendon, bringing the massive frame crashing to its knees at her feet. Titania raised her silver sword high above her head, her eyes devoid of hesitation.
Lyki's Side:
Lyki let go of the hilt with his left hand and balled it into a fist. He let out a primal roar like a mindless beast, hammering his fist down onto the pommel of the broken blade over and over! Thud! Thud! Thud! Warm blood sprayed across his face until he could no longer see.
Both warriors of two generations let out a final, deafening cry that echoed through the fortress!
"Go to hell!!!"
Squelch!!! / Thud!!!
Titania's blade pierced through the back of the Orc chieftain's neck, the point emerging from its mouth, just as Lyki's fist hammered the broken sword home, claiming his enemy's life!
The lifeless bodies of both Orc leaders collapsed onto the stone floor simultaneously. Titania flicked the blood off her sword with a sharp motion, while Lyki twisted his broken blade until the sound of snapping bone echoed. He stood up slowly amidst the corpses, soaked in dark red blood like a newly ascended demon. Both turned to glare at the remaining Orc army with the same gaze... a gaze that made a thousand beasts stumble back in terror!
With the Orc commanders dead, the names of the "Red-Haired Warrior" and the "Boy with the Broken Sword" became a nightmare etched into the hearts of their enemies. The Orcs fled in a chaotic scramble for their lives. Dust settled over the silent battlefield. There were no cheers of victory, for the loss was too heavy to bear. The body of Chailas was brought to lie beside the other fallen soldiers.
"Father... I'm sorry..." Elarra knelt, sobbing uncontrollably beside the body of her father. The beloved village chief was gone, leaving only sorrow behind.
Not far away, the faint sobbing of a five-year-old boy rose through the silence.
"Huhu... Father..."
"What is your name, little one?" Titania knelt beside the boy, her eyes softening in a way no one had ever seen.
"Huhu... Ro... Roland, ma'am."
Titania gently stroked the boy's head with a trembling hand. "Your father was the bravest of soldiers... he was brave enough to charge through thousands of enemies to bring news of us to Lord Darius."
"But... Father didn't make it." Roland sobbed. "If he had succeeded, he wouldn't have had to die like this..."
Titania pulled Roland into a tight embrace, the cold iron of her armor pressing against his shivering frame.
"Listen to me, Roland, son of Ronarn... it doesn't matter whether your father succeeded or not."
Her voice was shaking—faint—and cracked in a way it never had before.
Her eyes were bloodshot, tears welling at the edge of her eyelids.
As a commander... she had to be strong.
But as a human—her heart was breaking along with the child in her arms.
"Your father chose to do it... because he knew there was something far more important than his own life."
Roland sobbed, trembling in her arms.
"That thing... what was it, ma'am?"
Titania pulled back slightly.
Her heavy armored hand rose... touching the boy's head gently.
"You, Roland."
Her voice was soft, yet firmer than any command on the battlefield.
"Because you were the most important thing to him."
A single tear finally fell.
"I won't ask you to stop crying... because this pain is the proof of how much you loved him."
She bowed her head slightly before looking up again.
Her eyes turned fierce once more... but deep down, they still flickered.
"But after this... stand up."
"Be strong... for your father."
"For us."
"And for yourself."
She looked deep into the boy's eyes.
"You can do it... right, Roland?"
"Yes... I can," the boy replied, wiping his tears, as the people around them grew even more somber.
On the other side... two Halfshon wolves stood still, surrounding the body of their fallen pack mate. They raised their heads to the sky and howled a long, high-pitched mournful cry. The humans understood that pain well. Rin and Lyna walked down; Lyna ran to embrace Lyki, who sat on his knees. Sera returned to her human form in her black cloak once again.
"Come with me, little girl... we should stay with the pack while the dark shadows are beginning to form," Sera invited Rin.
Rin hesitated within her own identity, but Lyna gripped her friend's hand tightly. "Don't go, Rin..." Lyna's eyes were filled with a sorrow too heavy to bear another parting.
"I... I won't go. I am human," Rin replied to Sera firmly.
Sera and her people led the pack of Halfshon toward the shattered fortress gate. They walked past piles of corpses stacked like hills, where red and black blood still seeped into the stone. The heavy stench of death filled the air as if it were crowded with the souls of the departed.
She paused for a moment and turned to look at Lyki. Her meaningful smile now looked more like sympathy than an invitation.
"If you have nowhere to go... the Kingdom of Galin welcomes humans. I will tell my people not to tear the flesh of any humans who cross our borders."
The words sounded like a welcome, but the hidden meaning was... "This place is no longer your home."
Lyki looked around... the soldiers who once shouted in response to commands now lay in eternal silence. Some still gripped their weapons, as if still fighting; some died embracing their enemies. The faint moans of the wounded rose like a haunting song of loss echoing through the fortress.
She didn't wait for an answer. The figure in the black cloak gradually faded into the shadows of the deep forest with the Halfshon. The aid that had just appeared vanished like a dream, leaving them to face the harsh reality... the world is vast, but those one can truly lean on are few.
The first light of the sun began to appear on the horizon, but it did not dispel the darkness in their hearts. The weak golden light shone upon faces stained with blood and tears, upon the ruins and the broken bodies. It was the light of a new day... but for the thousands lying here, they would never see tomorrow.
Lyna, once strong, began to shiver. She looked up at the brightening sky, and tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Rin, usually calm, turned her face away to hide the overwhelming pain.
Lyki felt as if his chest would burst. He thought of his father's teachings, the faces of the soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect them, the Halfshon wolf that died for people it didn't know... everything was too heavy for a young boy to carry.
But when he looked down... one of Lyna's cold, trembling hands was gripping his tightly. Her other hand gripped Rin's hand just as fiercely, as if afraid that if she let go for even a second, those remaining would vanish too.
The three of them held hands tightly like a rope binding their souls. The first light of day shone upon their weary bodies. They stood amidst a cemetery of valor, surrounded by death.
They were still alive... this was the most expensive gift, but also the heaviest curse, for they had to live on to carry the memories of those gone forever.
"Where do we go next... brother?" Lyna asked with a trembling voice, her tears falling onto the blood-soaked stone.
Lyki looked up at the brightening sun, his eyes bloodshot from both battle and tears. He gripped his friends' hands even tighter.
"Even if the destination is death... we will go together."
But deep in his heart, he knew... this wound would never truly heal. And every step from now on would be a walk upon the memories of those who had left them forever.
End.