Soul Slave

Unleashed

The undead still clawed so ferociously at the gate that their skin peeled from their skull, pulling back revealing their teeth and meat underneath. Edward and Vindaes watched for a moment before looking up at the window in the fort, where normally the champion would be watching. There was nobody.

"They've abandoned us..." Edward said solemnly.

"Looks like it, anything your sword can do?"

"At a cost, Vindaes.."

Vindaes placed one sword underneath his left bicep and pulled out some coins from his coin purse. "How much will open the fucking gate?"

Edward took a step back, pointing the tip of his blade at the gate, a blast of green light emitted from it which produced an immense amount of heat yet it didn't phase Edward; causing Vindaes to take several steps back to not be lit aflame as he lost his eyelashes in an instant.

"Damnit!" Vindaes screamed out, putting his other sword in hand and holding a wide stance as undead began pouring into the courtyard. Edward paused the beam, only to allow his sword to suddenly alight in green flame. Smashing it into the ground a wave of fire would block their path; turning each and every one of the rushing undead to ashes.

After a few seconds of watching flaming corpses rush through the blockade their corpses eventually piled high enough to extinguish the flames. They took a few steps back as undead now pressed against the wall of the dead, forcing it to topple over. Shortly after they began to climb over the corpses, Vindaes and Edward would look at each other, then standing just outside of the line of dead they'd prepare their defense.

"How are we getting out of this! We'll be stumbling fools like them!", screamed out Vindaes; just before the first undead stepped over, Edward would instantly cleave it's head from the undead's shoulders.

"Fight first!" Edward exclaimed slicing another one in half just to watch it crawl towards him, stabbing downwards just as another leapt at Edward. Vindaes would cleave half of the corpse of an elderly woman clean off.

Edward would stab down into another undead, then making eye contact with Vindaes. They'd nod at one another and begin walking backwards side by side at arm's length. Making their way back towards the keep.

"There has to be a way out of here from the castle, where did those two run off to..." Edward said in an indifferent tone.

"We've both been champions! Think! We can't afford to fight all of those cramped in a doorway." Vindaes spoke rushed as Edward went back through a doorway then following. They both sat their weapons down on the ground and closed the door. Shortly after the two began barricading the door with turned over tables and liquor cabinets that shattered and rattled. Retrieving their weapons they began to look around.

"Quintus must have put a way out of here that he doesn't even tell his champions..." Edward mumbled as the undead began bashing at the blocked door.

"No... No..." Vindaes looked around at the four doorways, two on the left and two on the right. All with different layouts, the farthest on the right had stairs that spiraled into darkness, yet was the only path lit with torches as the others were dark from nightfall. "There's a path Quintus always talked about... The whoremonger, he must have a secret path through the sewers..."

Edward approached the doorway, looking down the stairway that seemed to go on forever. "Willing to bet everything on this? Could try to fight our way out."

"At the cost of you draining my soul as they eat my flesh? No thanks Edward."

Edward looked to Vindaes who was now staring down the stairway, Edward rested his sword on his shoulder shaking his head; looking at the ground as he held his tongue while walking down the stairs.