Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph3 Ch15: The Mantis Lords

The knight lead the way to the Mantis Lords, despite Six's complaints. The knight knew the mantises trusted it, so it could leave all by itself, but it couldn't leave Mono. That would make it just as bad as Six. In the end, it was worth it to challenge the Lords with lives on the line, rather then doing nothing.

As the knight passed by, the mantises showed it respect. But the knight had to make the first strike, in order to help Mono and Six. Each mantis was surprised by the knight's sudden attack, which made the knight feel something terrible. The fact that the knight was betraying the trust of the allies it gained, it felt bad. The knight felt sorrow for each mantis it struck down, and felt regret every time it made the first attack.

Why did these feelings hurt so much? Was this what it felt like to not be hollow? The knight had never felt feelings like these before, and it wished it could go back to being hollow so it wouldn't feel so bad. But in the end, the knight knew it had to betray the mantises in order to keep Mono and Six alive. This was the only way.

The knight stopped at that thought. Something about it seemed... strange... and familiar. The knight thought about it for a while. Could that be what Six thought when she dropped Mono? The knight knew that Six wasn't good at fighting, and that Mono usually put himself in dangerous situations. The knight also knew that Six got scared pretty easily. Another thought popped into the knight's head. Did Six drop Mono because she was afraid?

If that was the case, maybe Six wasn't as bad as the knight originally thought. Maybe she did deserve a second chance. Or in this case, a third.

The knight turned its attention back to the mantises. It worked together with Mono and Six to pull the levers, leading to the thrones of the Mantis Lords. Most mantises were already defeated, so the way in was rather easy. The knight slide down the wall using the mantis claw it took from here a while back. Once it landed, it made sure to catch Mono and Six when they fell, knowing that they couldn't withstand a fall as high as it could.

The knight walked over, presenting itself before the three Lords. Mono followed, with Six very close behind. The knight looked at Six. She was trembling just at the sight of the three lords looking down on them. The knight felt a bit of forgiveness left from earlier, so instead of challenging the Lords, it tried to bargain.

The knight bowed to each lord, in order to show them respect. It pointed to Mono and Six, then back to itself. Then, it walked over to both of them, and held their hands. The Mantis Lords watched closely the entire time. Finally, the lord to the left stood up.

"We understand those two are your friends, and we understand your wish for us to give them our respect," she said.

The lord to the right stood up from her throne. "However we cannot give our respect to the one coated in yellow. A dark, relentless, and unforgiving soul resides inside them," she stated.

Finally, the lord in the center spoke. "Make no mistake little outsider, we do not compare the curse you share with her. You are able to resist the temptation of the curse, just like ourselves," she explained. "She however, will give into the temptation with no care of who or what will get hurt."

"If your friends wish to gain our respect, then face us in combat!" All three lords said together.

The knight let go of Mono and Six's hands. There was no other way.

The knight stepped forward, and drew its nail before the Mantis Lords. Mono drew his ladle, and Six held out her shovel, shaking as she did so. A cage fell down around all six of them, and spikes emerged out of the ground.

"Grohsah!" The Mantis Lords said.

The lord in the center leapt from her throne, and thrust herself onto the arena from above. The fight had begun. The knight quickly dodged, and struck the first lord with its nail. She leapt to the end of the arena, and propelled herself across. The knight jumped over her, Mono glitched himself, and Six dove onto the ground. Mono hit the Mantis Lord with his ladle, and the knight followed up with a shade soul.

The Mantis Lord leapt onto the caged wall, and flung a white disc of energy towards all of them. Mono and the knight avoided the disc, then they hit the Mantis Lord with all they had. The Mantis Lord jumped away, and thrust herself onto the arena from above once more. The knight followed up with a descending dark, making a direct hit on her. The Mantis Lord gasped in pain, and leapt back to her throne with what strength she had left.

The other two lords leapt from their thrones, and lunged at the group. Mono and the knight had no problem dodging, and managed to land a few hits from their weapons. Both lords leapt up, and speared down towards the arena. However, they missed the knight completely. Not only that, but they missed Mono. Weren't itself and Mono their two main threats? Suddenly, the knight heard someone scream. And not just anyone. It was Six.

The knight pieced everything together. Six wasn't attacking as much, and that meant she couldn't defend herself that well. That made her a prime target for the lords. Both lords attacked Six from above again, sending her into a panic. A million thoughts surged through the knight's head. Six barely dodged the first lord, but didn't have time to react to the second. Just before the mantis lord's nail pierced through Six, the knight dashed in front of her, and took the hit.

As the knight tried to recover, the other lord speared towards it. But before she could reach the knight, Six slammed her shovel onto the mantis lord's head, striking her down. The knight got back on its feet, and slammed onto the lord with a descending dark. She retreated back to her throne, leaving only one more lord on the battlefield. The knight jumped at the last lord, and Six ran towards her, no longer afraid. With Six and Mono, the knight easily found victory against the last lord, sending her back to her throne.

The cage lifted, and the spikes retracted. Each lord stood up, and they all bowed to the three challengers.

"You have proven to be worthy of our respect," the center lord said. "You may pass through our village without harm, and reach your destination."

The knight bowed to the lords, and then boosted Mono and Six out of the area. But before it left, one of the lords spoke.

"Little knight, you have proven to be strong enough, but remember our words," she said. "Do not be like the one in yellow. Remember who you are, and don't give in to the malicious hunger cursed upon you."

The knight nodded, and left the arena to join Mono and Six. Their journey wasn't over yet.

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Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter about our favorite mantis bosses! However, I don't think this will be all that we see of them in this book.

Curious? Well, just wait till phase 4.

Also, if by chance you are reading this on Novelhd.com, please go and support the original story on Wattpad.

That's all! See you in the next chapter!