Blade(Part 4): Midnight

Chapter 20: Catherine

As soon as Aos landed at the base of the final shield generator, soldiers of Aziz rushed through the doorway after Catherine and Matilda. Both of them killed a few dozen of them before Matilda was killed, and Catherine's vision suddenly darkened after being hit in the head. Her eyes opened after feeling a soft pat on her cheek. She sensed a powerful darkness surrounding her, and when her vision cleared, five monsters were surrounding her. They all stood at twice her size, with fur that was coarse and black covering their bodies, and pairs of deer-like antlers on their heads. All of the demons had bright eyes in their heads that seemed to stare into Catherine's soul when she looked at them. Her heart raced with dread as she tried to stand, but she felt her hands tied behind her back, to a post on the ground.

"You have awakened," a familiar, frightening voice suddenly said. It was King Aziz, standing in front of a round table with a dozen short pylons around it. They must have been where the Cleansing Stones from every Spark installation were meant to go. All of them had bright, white lights on top of them. Catherine could only think that they were the Cleansing Stones, and there was one missing.

"One Stone is not here," Aziz growled, then he turned to Catherine and said, "You know where the final one is." Catherine refused to speak to him. She knew exactly who he was. She knew how he had slaughtered thousands and thousands of innocent people in the colonies twelve years ago, and also how he killed even more in Noglidas just before the start of the Colonial Revolution. With him standing right in front of her, Catherine wanted nothing more than to drive both of her bracer blades into his bald head. She couldn't, though, since she had her hands bound behind her back.

"Where is the Stone, my child?" Aziz demanded. Catherine only shook her head. A look of anger than came across the King's face as he raised his fist, plated with ancient, golden armor. Catherine knew what came next. She closed her eyes as she felt Aziz's armor-plated fist punching her right in the face. Catherine then opened her eyes as she felt something loose in her mouth. It was her tooth. She pushed it to the front of her mouth with her tongue and spit it out, at Aziz's feet.

"You will tell me where the Stone is," Aziz growled.

"I would rather die than tell you where it is," Catherine denied.

"You very well might," Aziz warned, reaching to his back, and taking off a long shaft that had two long, curved, black blades on each end.

"I shall give you one last chance," the King declared. "You know where the final Stone is." Again, Catherine remained silent, but she sensed Aziz's anger fade, and the look on his face went from a frown to a smile. A sadistic, torturous, evil smile.

"I know where it is," he chuckled. Catherine sensed no deceit from him. Her heart raced with dread, knowing that he knew that Xyhra had the last Cleansing Stone, and now, he would kill her to take it. Before that, though, he would kill Catherine. As he raised one of his cursed blades before her, though, he was suddenly thrown across the rocky ground of the mesa by the force of a loud roar. Drogbel's roar. The demons standing around Catherine were thrown from their feet, and ripped to pieces as their darkness faded. Maisa and Queen Anorae both jumped from Drogbel's back as he landed on the mesa, then drew their weapons before Aziz. Anorae rushed forward as fast as she could, with anger in her eyes, as Skaola's King rose to his feet. Right as he stood, Anorae slammed into him with her mithril shield, staggering him before swinging her makhaira at him. Maisa rushed to Catherine and cut her chains with one of her sickles.

"Thanks," Catherine sighed.

"Are you armed?" asked Maisa. Catherine held her hand out to her side, and her ancient bow drew into her hand from the tower that she and Matilda went to. She would take pleasure in nothing other than killing Aziz after he killed her mother. As Maisa rushed forward to assist Anorae, Catherine drew a white, glowing arrow with her bow and fired when Anorae was a short distance away from Aziz. She continued firing as long as Anorae and Maisa weren't near him, but those moments were rare. Both Anorae and Maisa were fighting with their hatred, and wanted Aziz to suffer as painfully as possible just as the two of them had. Catherine could relate to them, just having lost her mother and brother so quickly, but she could hardly get a clear shot on Aziz with her bow because of their recklessness. It would be useless to wait until an opportunity presented itself, though. Catherine twisted her bow by the grip and split it into its daggers before rushing at Aziz with all her strength. She rushed past Anorae and Maisa and threw herself into the air with an aura blast from both of her feet. She screamed with rage as she brought both of her blades down to stab him right in the chest, but her ancient daggers did nothing more than bounce off of his armor. Aziz then gave her a powerful kick to the chest, sending her sliding across the ground on her back. The only weakness he seemed to have would be his head, which was unarmored, and unprotected by an aura shield. Before Aziz could strike Catherine with his bladestaff, Anorae rushed forward and jabbed him in the chest with the edge of her shield, then took a swing at him with her mithril sword. Aziz blocked her attack with the shaft of his weapon, then swung at Anorae with it. Acran's Queen quickly raised her shield to block his attack before smacking him from the side with it. He staggered, and Anorae went to swing her sword at him again. As she raised her makhaira, Aziz landed a punch on her mithril armor that sent her into the air, launching her all the way across the mesa. Catherine then reminded herself of what Aziz was. He was an Ancient One. He was a god.