Blood of the Merciless

Chapter Thirty-Six

36.

Ashe had been quite a distance in front of Florian. She had always been faster than him. She skipped two stars at a time as she made her way to the castle gates. It took a while to reach the entrance. The castle, like everything she experienced in the city, was huge. Her first impressions of the city had been positive but as she stayed longer she realised she hated the city. It had only brought her torment. She was eager to get out of the city. Her eyes widened at what she found at the castle gates. Far to her left Commander Orvyn had been slumped to the ground; his neck seemed to be bleeding profusely. Next to Commander Orvyn was a man who she did not recognize. He had been dressed in the same armour like the other commanders. His face had seemingly melted off of his head. It was a terrifying scene. The man had been lifeless, unlike Commander Orvyn who seemed to be slightly breathing. Far to her right, she noted that Commander Col Gregory had been pierced through the torso by a large stone spike. Close to him had been Commander Drustan Drucker whose abdomen was leaking blood. Both had not been conscious. The closest person to her had been Commander Cressela Beckett who had one knee on the ground. She was panting heavily. She had a cut above her eye that forced her to close it. She had a mace in one of her hands. She was staring ahead of her, not noticing Ashe's presence. Ahead of Cressela stood Ivo. He had no visible injuries and he had not seemed as exhausted as Cressela. He had a light sheen of sweat on his skin. He held a strange-looking sword in his left hand. It had been made of black metal. It had been shorter than regular swords but its shape was what made it special. It had been narrow at the base but increased in width at the tip of the blade, it was angled upwards as well. A few paces away from Ivo stood Jerial. The man who had stolen her older brother away from her. He had his back facing her. He held a squirming figure in his right hand. She moved to get a better look. She wished she hadn't. Jerial had been choking Everard. Everard's feet had been dangling off the ground as he struggled against Jerial's hold. His whip had been unnaturally squirming on the ground as well. She had to do something. She aimed the tip of her spear to line up with Jerial's thigh. She chanted quietly as her spear shot forward, growing in length. She had not expected Jerial to anticipate the attack. Her spear struck.

Florian caught up to Ashe at a horrible moment. He watched as her spear extended and struck Everard through the chest. Jerial avoided the attack by using Everard as a shield. Everard immediately began coughing up blood. Ashe had been frozen. Florian shook her shoulder vigorously for her to finally break her trance. She recalled her spear. The blade of her spear had been painted crimson. Jerial dropped Everard, who crashed like a ragdoll on the ground. In a split second, Jerial was in front of both of them. He readied a strike with his blade when a green rope twisted around his wrist and yanked him backwards. Florian noted that the green rope originated from Ivo's right hand. Jerial was dragged along his back for a short moment before the rope snapped. Jerial got back to his feet.

"Seems like this has become quite the party. But aren't we missing one?" He asked mockingly.

More green rope shot out of Ivo's hand, the rope wrapped itself tightly around Jerial. Florian chose to use the opening to charge Jerial with his blade. As soon as the ropes attached to Jerial his entire armour shone a pale green and the rope snapped. He lifted his right hand towards Florian.

Nothing had changed was what Florian thought. His mind felt regular but it had been his body that was affected. He was moving incredibly slow. The rain around him came down at a regular pace. He saw a smirk appear on his brother's face as he flicked the crimson blade. A gust of wind came rushing towards him. At the last second, Cressela leapt in front of Florian. Her pale yellow shield blocked the attack. Florian felt his motor functions returning to regular speed. He had almost crashed into Cressela. Jerial had been suddenly in front of her. She cast another shield.

"How long are we going to do this?" Jerial punched at the shield with his right hand. The shield shattered. Another punch caused Cressela to crash backwards into Florian.

"Commander Beckett, you cannot block everything. A veteran such as yourself should-" Jerial was cut off by an attack made by Ivo. Cressela rolled away causing Florian to be free.

"Did you get the seal?" She asked.

"Savia should be bringing it," Florian answered. "She should be here by now."

"I do not think we can last much longer. He is a monster." Cressela got to her feet and headed towards the fight. He glanced over at Ashe who sat on her knees. She had been crying, she occasionally rubbed the tears away with her hands. Her eyes were transfixed on Everard's body. She was in no state to fight. Florian heard someone call his name but it had already been too late. He felt something placed at the back of his hand. His face was forced onto the ground. His face burned as his head was pounded over and over into the ground. His face had been a bloodied mess until finally, he lost consciousness. The last voice he had heard had been Alaric's laugh.