The Burden of Destiny | Sequel to The Aura Within

24 | The Siege

A night of celebration quickly turned into anarchy the moment the Obsidian Knights arrived.

The Rota Knights were fighting back against the enemies present toward the front of Cameran Palace. They became distracted long enough for the second wave of soldiers to join them, instantly overwhelming the Rota Knights. Raven was responsible for this sudden imbalance of power, which was exactly what Claudius wanted for his plan to work.

Guests were being escorted to safety as quickly as possible, or at least, away from danger. Securing an escape route with such little time seemed impossible, especially when the whole palace would soon be swarmed with Obsidian knight soldiers, but their safety was the Rota Knights' priority at the moment. A handful of guests grew panicked and horrified when confronted by the enemies who showed them no mercy. The ones that resorted to running for their lives met an untimely and unfortunate end as well.

This was exactly what General Hayes was afraid of, but even he could never have predicted it would get this ugly. Part of him cursed himself for not fighting back against Elliot and Queen Rin about going forward with this ball. However, it was pointless to think of what could have been. There was no way to go back in time and warn his past self about all of this. All he could do now was make sure that casualties on his end were kept at a minimum.

"Evacuate the guests! Protect Her Highness!" he ordered as loud as he could. "Keep them safe at all costs! Do not let those barbarians win!"

General Hayes let out a savage battle cry as he proceeded to decapitate an Obsidian knight captain before the enemy could defend himself. Once his body hit the floor, General Hayes dodged a spear thrown his way by a mounted knight. Fury blazed through his veins, giving him the adrenaline to attack the enemy straight on. In all his years in service, there was only one other time he ever felt this way, and it always ended with blood being spilled.

Their two weapons clashed, each one struggling to overpower the other. Normally, the mounted one would have been at the advantage. However, General Hayes was not willing to let the odds be against him. He took an oath the moment he joined the ranks at a young age: protect those who couldn't protect themselves. The guests who had their lives ripped away from them were not going to die without having their justice, even if it took him to the grave.

A deafening explosion from the western area of the castle emerged. The unpleasant scent of fresh ash filled the general's nose immediately. His eyes widened when his eyes caught a glimpse of the black clouds ascending to the sky above.

"Enemy reinforcements have arrived!" A Rota knight screeched at the top of his lungs. "They've broken through the gates of Cameran Palace! We can't take 'em! There's too many!"

Damn it all! General Hayes plunged his sword into the enemy's abdomen. Curse you, Claudius van Dyne!

As soon as that knight had announced the presence of Claudius van Dyne and the Obsidian Knights, Nicholas and Thorin strictly remained by Queen Rin. They acted as her sword and shield-- protecting her from the danger around her. Any Obsidian knight that dared get in their way was cut down mercilessly by Thorin. He had enough of all of this. Being a retired captain should have meant that he got to live an easy life from then on, but fate was always pulling him back to the turmoil.

Nicholas managed to warn Thorin ahead of time when attacks were coming in their direction. The enemy's numbers greatly outweighed their own. Fighting them as they were would be meaningless if they couldn't get Queen Rin to safety. The explosion from earlier had sparked even more chaos, but if they wanted to play that way, then so be it. Reaching for his trusty PokéBall, Thorin tossed it into the air. The capsule opened, releasing a blinding beam of light that quickly took the form of his companion Pokémon. Salamence's mighty roar echoed throughout the burning night before assisting the Rota Knights.