The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 62

"My legacy... father's legacy! It's still inside that place!" Harald shouted.

"Your father would want you to have faith in God. Have faith in the king," Julius said. But Harald shakes his head and feels like he could no longer believe another word that Julius is saying. He refused to accept the death of his family.

As he turns around to run to the palace, Julius grabs the earl by his arm and stops him from moving any further to the brink of death.

"Harald, I cannot let you walk in there!" Julius said.

"Then you... you're my enemy!" Harald shouted. Then, he pushes him aside and pulls out his greatsword, and he points it at Julius's head to slice it off.

Julius backs away from him and also holds onto his blade to deflect whatever attack is ready to come his way. He did not understand why Harald would try to fight him, but he understood Harald's pain of losing the ones he loved most. Harald charges towards him and begins swinging his sword at Julius; the knight could easily block and parry every attack from the earl. Harald did not notice his wife and son still being inside the court, and he was also not told by anyone that Brant is helping his mother leave with him. Even though his son is already a young man, the earl still thought he was a little kid who did not know how to swing a sword.

Julius held onto his greatsword and kept his distance as the earl continued fighting back against the man he used to trust. The mighty knight refused to swing back, but he deflected every decisive blow against Harald. Julius had no wish to fight the earl, but he was given no choice but to keep holding his sword in defense. Then, he raises his blade and swings it fast enough to have Harald's sword fall off his hand. Harald falls to his knees and yields before Julius, but the knight still holds onto his weapon.

"Harald, do not interfere," Julius said. He slowly walks towards the palace to see if Erica and Brant have made it out from the building.

To his surprise, he saw them from a far distance, and he watched them carry a few things and head out of the city through the trail that everyone else went. But they did not intend to meet up with the other people who were in the caves; they had fate take them to another place. Then Harald stood up and still needed to go back to the palace to see if his family made it out alive. He dashes, but Julius stops him as he becomes filled with grief and rage.

"Harald, you must calm down," Julius said.

"Calm down? My wife and son are still in there!" Harald shouted.

"I've watched them, Harald. They've made it out alive! They're gone!"

Then Harald shoved Julius away from him and became prepared for another duel with the rugged knight. Julius slowly stepped back from him and had both of his hands raised, and he still had no wish to fight the earl.

"Harald, stop!" Julius shouted.

"Enough of your madness! I will free you of your heavy burden, even if that means I have to kill you!" Harald shouted. It was during that time that the demons were getting overwhelmed by the idea of taking over the city.

Harald sees how much of his city has fallen and how much more of it will fail. As the palace was getting ready to be burned by dragon-fire, the earl looks down at himself and discovers so much horror happening at once. He did not know if he should blame Julius or the demons for all that has happened to him and his father's legacy. Despite everything he went through and all the sacrifices he has made, Harald's life as an earl was soon going to go down in flames.

"I prayed it would not be true. But you have gone mad, Julius. All of this agony and suffering... you deceived me," Harald said.

"It was the demons' doing," Julius said.

"This was YOUR doing! You have doomed us all! You cost me my one chance to see my family again!"

"Erica and her son are still alive! Did you not hear me? You will see them again... but not as an earl. This city is lost. The night creatures did what they came to do, have control over all of Midland. We must stick to the plan you and I agreed on."

"Fine. But it will take me more than a month to stop mourning the loss of this city. Where else will the people go now that Midland is in the hands of the demons? Where will they prosper? What about your wife and child?"

"When we're done here, I'm taking Lucy and Lagertha with me. They will live in the mountains. You want to stay and burn with this city. You are my guest. But we're going to that castle. Let's put an end to that demon king. Let's end this darkness together."

Harald knew that arguing with Julius became pointless, and it would lead to the deaths of even more people. Five hundred men who fought against their opponents were now dead, and there were only five hundred more men still alive. Harald nodded his head in agreement and shook Julius's hand to let him know he will follow along with the plan. Then Julius ran towards Balvu to save him from an oncoming fireball made to burn him alive. The commander looked at him with all kinds of shock as he tried to figure out how many more deaths there will be during the night.

"Balvu, this city is lost! Save your people! Save your men!" Julius shouted. He then runs back to Harald as he looks for an alternate exit to get out of Loftain.

Balvu now understood that there was no point in achieving victory over the demons, and more casualties would be pointless. He then lifts his greatsword and feels so much defeat in his heart that he will never forget this tragic night.

"RETREAT! RETREAT!!" Balvu shouted. Then, all the knights heard him yell and were forced to run away from the demons as they lost the battle.

"RUN!! THE CITY IS LOST!!" The commander shouted. And so, Balvu was the one who led the knights out of the city and had no choice but to have the rest of the demons take over the city.

Every single knight was already at a disadvantage, and the vast majority of them were already soaked in blood. They were all shocked and disturbed by how much agony and pain had occurred during the battle; so many dead bodies and so many sacrifices made to defend what was left of Midland. Harald may not have seen it for himself, but his wife and son were already outside of the city a few seconds before the demons broke through the barrier. He still needed to see how they were doing, even if it meant breaking a few bones and losing the strength to run.

"Harald, we must follow the path. It's the only way to the castle," Julius said.

"We'll mourn later. It's now or never," Harald said.

"If one of us sits on the throne, then it's not the end for this kingdom. We'll dethrone that creature who did the both of us so much harm."

"Once we reach him, the kill is mine."

Julius knew so much about Harald, and he understood that the demon sitting on the throne of Midland handles King Lancelot's death. He would still need to trust the earl, although the knights have fought alongside him, only to stop listening to a word he says. Julius and Harald ran towards the dark forest leading to the castle of Midland to fight back against any foe. They were all thinking about their own family and what may have happened to them after the long battle. They both followed the long road, which might take forever to reach the other side of the border.

The forest of Midland was always a mysterious place to explore, but a terrible area to get lost in. Julius and Harald stayed focused on what would come for them; they could hear the buildings of Loftain light on fire and crumble down. Harald understood that Erica and Brant were running away and going some place else, but he could only hope for their safety. So long as they remained alive and survived the night, it would give him as much satisfaction as he needs. He continued following Julius from behind and became prepared for any supernatural creature to cut him down. Julius and Harald saw the full moon rise because midnight is already upon them.