Malicious Tales

Chapter 13

Lord Ruin didn’t really understand how it happened. One moment, he had the upper hand of the battle, forcing Ra back with his oversized katana of shadows, even managing to cut off a few off the Light Lord’s fingers. But he got cocky. He started taunting his opponent, twirling his blade instead of actually fighting with it. Lord Ra could see it too, and he slowly began to take advantage of it. However the decisive factor was Malice. Lord Ruin heard her battle cry from the ground, and he turned, an almost proud smile on his face as he witnessed his daughter’s fighting ability. And before he knew it, he was impaled on two separate swords, one through the stomach, the other through the heart. Wide eyed and gushing blood, he fell straight out of the sky and onto the ground in front of his daughter.

    For years, Malice had imagined what it would be like to kill the leader of the Fallen. She dreamed about what it would be like to just burn him to ashes, right in front of her eyes, which, in her head, made up for every agony he ever put her through. However, now that he was actually dead in front of her, it didn’t feel anything like she’d imagined. She just felt this numbing sensation, as a deafening silence ran throughout the Sanctuary. Everyone and thing had stopped fighting, all to witness the death of a king.

    “Followers of the Fallen, your ruler is dead. You have nothing. You have no leader to follow, no guiding star. I can offer you this. Join me, and you shall have the world in your hands. Join me, or you will perish,” Lord Ra announced from the skies, looking for all the world like a holy godsend. His Risen followers appeared to be overjoyed, the evil glee showing in their faces, whilst the Fallen looked to one another, trying to find a solution. On one hand, the Risen leader had a good offer. He’d killed their leader, he could easily kill them. They may have been technically dead, but that certainly didn’t stop them fearing death. But on the other hand..

    “You take his side, I’ll kill you myself, and you better bloody believe it!”

    Everybody’s attention switched to Malice as she left her father’s body and strode towards Lord Ra, her determination clear.

    “Now, you can take his side, you can take his offer,” she continued, “But mark my words, if I don’t kill you, he will. I am the only Ruin left. I am the heir to the Fallen, and you will listen to every command I give, do you understand? We are Fallen, we are the Darkness to their infernal Light and we will not bow!”

    There was a chorus of cheering and stamping as the Fallen all marched to stand behind their new ruler. Salem and Fallon ran back to help the other hybrids escape before the next round of bloodshed began, while Felix and Haru stood on either side of Malice, prepared for battle. Lord Ra smirked, before descending to the ground, the remainder of his own army standing behind him.

    “Well, looks like you’ll all die then. Good. I’ve been meaning to wipe out your abominable kind for years now. And with your father out of the way, your kind will be extinct soon enough. Last chance to take the offer, Ruin.”

    “Keep talkin’. You’re not even fooling yourself. Besides, what kind of daughter would I be if I left all my father’s work unfinished, eh? Now, enough talking, don’t you think?” Malice taunted. Lord Ra scowled, signalling for his army to move in for the kill. They weren’t quite fast enough to stop Felix though, who quickly made a stairway of ice for Malice before giving her a quick boost and narrowly dodging a thorned vine sent his way. Malice rushed up the icy staircase, shooting down Risen with shadowy daggers as she ran above them. Finally she leapt at Lord Ra, swinging her newly formed scythe at the man. She sliced through his left cheek, leaving a trail of blood down his once beautiful face. Snarling, he drew his katanas once again, slashing at Malice’s arms. He was still tired from his battle with Lord Ruin, his right hand aching from where his fingers were cut off. He was still bleeding profusely from the multiple wounds covering his body and the exhaustion was setting in slowly but surely. Malice could see it too, and didn’t he know it. He had to finish it quickly, before the newest Fallen ruler got the upper hand.

    He held up his katanas a defensive pose, drawing into himself to gather power. Malice continued to attack him, trying to break his concentration, but to no avail. She took a step back, pulling her goggles down over her eyes, bracing herself for the next attack. Felix could see something big was about to happen, panicking briefly, before calling out to Malice, trying to reach her in time. However, the distraction only left an opening for Lord Ra, who quickly took his chance.

    In a blinding flash of light, Lord Ra put his whole self into his attack, focusing his intense power on Malice. The Fallen in the surrounding area quickly ran or perished, unable to cope with the incessant light. The nearby Risen took advantage of their distress, forcing them back even further. Meanwhile, Malice was entrapped in a ball of light, while Felix tried to reach her.

    Suddenly, the light was gone, and for a moment the world was black. There was what could only be described as an explosion of darkness, throwing the Light King across the ground. Malice emerged from the darkness, huge feathered wings emerging from her back, shadows snaking around her as the Fallen lent their power to her.

    “What the hell..”

    “She’s been named Queen of Darkness. Us Fallen give our power to her, making us ultimately more powerful than the Risen. She’s received the Fallen wings, soon she’ll be able to raise the dead, or put them back in their grave with a glance, just like her father before her. It should help her ignore the voices of the dead she‘s been hearing, though she’ll be able to hear all the Fallen now too. Point is, Felix, she’s our ruler now. Not quite the woman you knew,” Haru explained, his voice thick with awe as he looked upon the new Queen of Darkness. Felix tried to ignore that last comment, focusing on Malice as she strode out of the shadows and stood over Lord Ra.

    “You should have just given up, Lord Ra. Your Sanctuary was just your death warrant,” Malice stated calmly, before plunging her hand right through the man’s chest, filling his heart with shadows before ripping it out. The man almost seemed to smile sadly, before turning to ash. Malice rose into the sky with her newly formed wings, holding Lord Ra’s heart for everyone to see.

    “Risen. You’re finished. And I won’t make you any offers of treasures or treats. You can run. You can run and you can hide, and you can stay hidden. Because if we find you, we will kill you. And we will take no hostages,” she declared, before burning the heart in flames of darkness. Descending back to the ground, she put her arms around Felix, burying her head in his chest, ignoring the Risen as they ran for their lives.

    “It’s finally over, Fayt. Finally over.”