BALLAD OF THE ORC PALADIN

The Cursed Relic

The glow from the artefact intensified, casting an eerie, sickly light over the camp as the creatures continued their relentless assault. Kaito could feel the dark magic pulsing in the air, its malevolent energy drawing more and more of the twisted creatures toward them. Each heartbeat of the artefact seemed to summon another wave of attackers, their glowing red eyes flickering in the mist like torches of death.

Seris reached the chest, her movements precise despite the chaos. She threw back the heavy cloth that had covered it, her golden eyes narrowing as she examined the ornate box. The dark energy seeping from it was palpable, almost suffocating.

"We need to get this thing out of here!" she shouted, her voice sharp with urgency. "It's drawing them in!"

Grushak was already cutting down another creature, his axe carving a wide arc as he roared in frustration. "What do you suggest? Throw it into the woods and hope they follow?"

Kaito slashed at one of the creatures as it lunged at him, barely managing to drive it back before it vanished into a cloud of dark smoke. "If we destroy the artefact, will that stop them?"

Seris hesitated, her gaze locked on the chest. "Destroying it could release even more dark magic. We don't know what's inside, and if we're wrong..."

Kaito's heart raced. They didn't have time to debate. The creatures were closing in faster than they could kill them, and the magic surrounding the artefact was becoming more dangerous by the second. He had to make a decision.

"We don't have a choice!" Kaito shouted, stepping toward the wagon. "We destroy it now, or we die here!"

Seris nodded, her usual calm replaced by a grim determination. She unsheathed one of her daggers, the blade gleaming in the pale light of the artefact. "Stand back."

The rest of the party, still fending off the creatures, formed a defensive ring around the wagon as Seris knelt beside the chest. Kaito could see the strain in her movements, the effort it took to even be near the dark energy pouring from the relic. Whatever was inside, it wasn't just a trinket—it was something far more dangerous.

Seris raised her dagger, and for a split second, Kaito thought he saw the shadows around the chest move, as if the magic inside was aware of what was about to happen.

Then, with a swift, precise strike, Seris drove the dagger into the chest.

There was a sound like a thunderclap, and the air around them exploded with dark energy. Kaito was thrown back, his body slamming into the ground as the force of the blast rippled through the camp. For a moment, the world was nothing but darkness and the deafening roar of magic unravelling.

When Kaito's vision cleared, the camp was in chaos. The fire had been snuffed out by the explosion, leaving the camp in near darkness save for the faint, lingering glow from the shattered chest. The creatures had recoiled, their forms flickering as if caught in between worlds, their red eyes dimming.

Kaito struggled to his feet, his head spinning from the impact. "Seris!" he called out, his voice hoarse.

"I'm... fine," she replied, her voice strained as she emerged from the wreckage of the wagon. Her dagger was still embedded in the remains of the chest, but the artefact inside had been destroyed. Dark tendrils of energy swirled from the broken box, dissipating into the air like smoke from a dying fire.

The creatures that had been attacking them screeched in unison, their forms dissolving into shadows as the dark magic that had sustained them vanished. One by one, they disappeared, leaving nothing behind but an eerie silence.

Kaito collapsed against the side of a wagon, his body aching from the fight. The others were similarly exhausted, their weapons slick with dark blood, their expressions grim.