Sieg and Arcia finally reached the summit, their muscles aching and their lungs burning from the thin, frigid air. The fierce winds howled around them, threatening to throw them off balance with every step. Despite a few close calls, they managed to stand on the platform at the pinnacle of the temple.
Arcia scanned the area, her blonde hair whipping wildly in the wind. “There’s nobody here. No monsters, no guard… nothing.”
“Maybe they thought no one would make it up here,” Sieg replied, brushing dirt off his coat.
“Well, this wind is punishment enough,” Arcia muttered, shielding her face.
“Oh, rats,” Sieg cursed under his breath.
“What now?” Arcia asked, noticing his sudden tension.
“My legions are on cooldown. I can’t summon them for another ten minutes.”
Arcia crossed her arms, pouting. “Ten minutes? In this wind? You’re joking, right?”
“You could always go back down if you want,” Sieg teased.
Arcia shot him a glare. “And what if I fall?!” She glanced over the edge, and her legs started shaking uncontrollably. “Sieg… I don’t think I can do this. I can’t even stand.” She collapsed onto the platform, trembling.
“Will you calm down? You’ll be fine,” Sieg said, trying to sound reassuring.
“I think… I think I have vertigo,” Arcia stammered, her voice quivering.
“And it only just occurred to you now?” Sieg said, exasperated.
Suddenly, a deafening roar pierced the winds. A massive, winged fiend emerged from the storm, its leathery wings beating against the air with terrifying force.
“There’s a guardian after all!” Sieg shouted. “Arcia, I can’t fight it from here. You’ll have to take it down before it reaches us!”
“I can’t… I can’t move!” Arcia cried, frozen in fear.
“You can… you must! My legions are still on cooldown! Arcia!”
The creature surged forward, snapping its colossal jaws and swiping at them with razor-sharp claws.
Arcia panicked, tossing her pistols to Sieg. “You do it! Take my pistols!”
Sieg grabbed the pistols, but as soon as his hands wrapped around them, energy from the legion amulet began coursing into the weapons. A blue glow enveloped the pistols, making both of them stare in awe.
Sieg steadied himself, aiming at the monstrous fiend. Each shot he fired was imbued with radiant energy, the bullets piercing clean through the creature’s body. He held it at bay, though his movements were clumsy compared to Arcia’s precision.
Finally, his amulet pulsed. The cooldown was over.
“It’s about time,” Sieg growled. “Malice, come forth!”
The Malice legion appeared, their spectral forms wielding crossbows. Sieg commanded them to unleash a barrage of bolts, and they rained down on the fiend in a deadly flurry.
“Special attack!” Sieg ordered.
Malice’s crossbows unleashed a concentrated storm of bolts, each one glowing with lethal energy. The creature let out a final, guttural screech before plummeting to the ground like a stone.
Sieg lowered the pistols, examining them with admiration. “Not bad…”
“Give them here!” Arcia snapped, snatching them back. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she cradled the enhanced weapons.
“Well,” Sieg said with a smirk, “you wanted an enhancement. There you have it.”
Arcia beamed, throwing herself into his arms and planting a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Alright, alright, calm down,” Sieg said, patting her awkwardly on the back.
The amulet pulsed again, indicating the legions were fully recharged. Sieg glanced at the seal. “It’s about time.”
“Yeah,” Arcia muttered, brushing her hair back. “I’m starting to hate this place.”
Sieg approached the air seal, summoning Malice to break it. A sudden gust of wind surrounded them, and a figure emerged from the seal—a towering air djinn. After speaking cryptically to Arcia, the djinn waved its hand, and the winds carried them gently back to the ground.
“Phew,” Arcia sighed. “I thought we’d have to climb all the way back down.”
Sieg chuckled softly. “That would’ve been a pain.”
As the winds faded, Arcia stared at her pistols, still amazed by their transformation.
“Come on, Arcia,” Sieg said, motioning for her to follow. “We still have one more seal to go.”
“Hey, Sieg?”
“Yeah?”
She hesitated, biting her lip. “If you have six legions, shouldn’t there be six seals? Not just four?”
Sieg frowned. “You’ve got a point…”
“I mean, we’re obviously using Blasphemy for the fire seal, right? But that still leaves—”
“Militia and Thanatos,” Sieg finished.
“Exactly,” Arcia said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “So, there have to be two other seals out there somewhere, right?”
Sieg stopped walking, considering her words. “I suppose you’re right. If that’s the case, we’ll need more information before we proceed west.”
“Back to the library?” Arcia suggested.
“Back to the library,” Sieg agreed. Together, they turned back toward the city, the answers they sought just as elusive as the winds they had conquered.
YOU ARE READING
Chaos Legion 2
FanfictionYears after Sieg defeated Victor Delacroix, peace returned. But trouble was brewing just around the corner. Even defeated, delacroix left behind an open portal to the dark world.
