Chapter 19: The Rescue
"Flank it!" Didi shouted, her voice cutting through the panic of the knights.
Gazel didn’t hesitate, his boots digging into the dirt as he launched himself forward. He swung his sword in a heavy arc, the blade slamming into the monster’s obsidian shoulder with a violent clang.
The impact sent a vibration up his arm that made his teeth rattle, but when he pulled the sword back, there wasn’t even a scratch on the scales.
’Not a single mark,’ Didi thought, her pulse climbing. ’How is that possible?’
She pushed her mana forward, frost erupting from her feet and racing across the ground in jagged shards. The ice climbed up the monster’s legs, attempting to lock it in place, but the creature didn’t even look down. It simply shifted its weight, and the ice shattered like cheap glass under its bulk.
"Now!" she commanded, gesturing for the other knights to close in.
The formation moved as one, swords and spears raining down on the obsidian torso. Metal shrieked against stone, a chaotic symphony of failed attacks that left the knights gasping for air. Gazel led the charge, his three Shards flaring brightly as he drove a concentrated strike into the monster’s chest.
The monster didn’t move. It just stood there, taking the hits with a look of genuine curiosity on its human-like face.
"How cute," the monster said, its voice grinding like boulders rubbing together.
It tilted its head, watching Didi as she panted, her blue Shards flickering with effort. The creature let out a slow, rumbling sigh that smelled of old graves and sulfur.
"I expected more from the Underworld King’s line," it muttered, its eyes drifting with boredom. "It seems you haven’t even awakened the bloodline yet. You’re just... playing at being a warrior."
’Awakened the bloodline?’ She thought, her grip tightening on her weapon. ’What is it talking about?’
The monster’s grin returned, but it lacked any real malice now, replaced by a dull disappointment. Its gaze scanned the trembling knights and then returned to her, the predatory interest from before fading into something closer to pity.
"My expectations keep going lower," the monster said, shifting its weight. "At this rate, bringing you back will be like delivering a stunted house-pet instead of a royal."
Didi felt a surge of heat in her chest that had nothing to do with her magic. She stepped forward, her boots crunching on the shattered ice.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," she snapped, her voice shaking slightly. "But I’m not a pet."
The monster chuckled, a sound that vibrated through the ground and made the knights stagger. "If you say so, little princess."
She closed her eyes for a second, pulling her mana inward until it felt like a tight knot in her chest. She didn’t go for a wide blast this time, instead shaping the frost into a single, needle-thin spike that hummed with pressure.
She lunged forward, the movement a blur as she drove the spike into a narrow gap between two obsidian plates. There was a sharp, wet sound and the spike shattered, but as she pulled back, a thin line of purple blood trickled down the monster’s chest.
’It bled,’ she thought, her eyes widening.
She stepped back, her breathing still rough but her voice steadier now.
"For someone who spends so much time talking about bloodlines," she said, gesturing toward the purple stain, "you’re surprisingly easy to scratch."
The monster froze, staring at the purple streak on its chest. ’How did she...’ it wondered, then its eyes widened as the realization hit. ’Oh. She’s in the process of awakening.’
Excitement surged through the creature, replacing its boredom with a sharp, predatory hunger. If a mere scratch was possible now, how much would she awaken if it pushed her to the absolute brink?
The air in the clearing suddenly thickened, bloodlust rolling off the monster in heavy, suffocating waves.
Didi didn’t even see the movement.
A series of wet, snapping sounds echoed through the air, and before she could blink, the knights around her stopped moving. Their heads slid from their shoulders in a single, blurred motion, bodies collapsing into the dirt in a spray of red.
Only Gazel remained, having thrown himself forward and blocked the strike with his sword, the force of the impact driving him deep into the ground.
Didi stared at the corpses, her mind going blank. ’What... what happened?’ she thought, her voice failing her. She hadn’t seen a single move, just a flicker of darkness and then death.
Cold fear began to take over, her legs shaking as she looked at the monster’s wide, expectant grin.
Gazel looked back at her and saw the terror in her eyes. She was at her limit, her spirit fracturing under the pressure.
’Protect the princess no matter what.’
The Knight Commander’s words echoed in his head, a reminder of the duty he had sworn to.
He let out a slow, ragged exhale and planted his feet. The air around his wrist warped, and with a sharp, crystalline chime, a fourth Shard began to form.
Didi staggered back as a wave of pressure hit her, her eyes blurring with tears. ’He had this the whole time?’ she thought, staring at the new shard. ’Since when was he this strong?’
The monster’s grin widened. "Finally," it rumbled. "You decided to stop playing the humble guard and show your real strength."
Gazel closed his eyes and began to whisper, "By the light of the fallen, carve the path of the righteous."
The air around him tightened, the pressure beginning to ripple outward.
"Through the blood of the sworn, shield the weak and purge the dark. Let the steel remember its purpose, and the spirit break the unbreakable."
The pressure spiked, turning the air heavy enough to make the dirt around his boots crack.
"In the name of the oath, I stand."
The monster flinched, feeling a sudden, sharp prickle across its skin.
’This feeling...’ the monster thought, its grin vanishing. ’That spell... could it be?’
’That prayer...’ Didi thought, staring at Gazel’s back. ’The King only teaches that to a select few in the inner circle. How does Gazel know it?’
Gazel didn’t give her time to wonder. He shifted his weight, coiling into a low strike pose before launching himself forward.
His sword burned with a brilliant gold light, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle. He brought the blade down in a crushing overhead strike, aiming straight for the monster’s head.
The monster tilted its head, the blade missing by a fraction of an inch. The sword slammed into the dirt and sent a geyser of rock into the air.
’It is the Sovereign’s Brand,’ the monster thought, its eyes narrowing. ’I haven’t felt that frequency in centuries.’
Gazel looked at the creature, his eyes suddenly glowing with a piercing gold light. Thin, luminous lines began to spread across his face, branching out from his eyes like cracks in porcelain.
’That’s impossible,’ the monster thought, staring at the lines. ’The Brand is tied to the royal bloodline. He has no such blood, so how is he channeling it?’
Gazel pivoted on his heel and launched a powerful spin kick toward the monster’s head.
The creature brought its arms up to block, the impact creating a thunderous boom that echoed through the clearing. The monster’s feet slid backward, carving two deep furrows into the dirt as it was pushed back several feet.
Gazel settled back into his stance, his eyes still glowing gold.
"My job is simple," he said, his voice flat. "You don’t get past me."