Fight with the Great Lion - Part 2

Ash was trapped in a situation with no escape; he wanted to give up. His leg was pierced by an ice spike, rendering it immobile. The lion was preparing its final attack, conjuring a massive ice spike in the air from snow particles. Ash released a mist of blackness around himself. The lion launched the ice spike, unable to see if it hit its target, but the beast was pleased with itself, thinking there was no way the massive spike could miss. As the black mist cleared, the lion saw a body part beneath the ice spike. The white lion roared, signaling its power and great victory. But in the next moment, it was pierced by a sword of flames from below. Ash had dug a hole underground and leapt from beneath the Great White Lion. With his dark katana’s flames and strong aura, he cut the lion’s belly, and the Great White Lion fell. He then severed its head and made a coat from the lion’s skin later.

Ash was now without one leg. He had cut it off high up to escape the ice attack and created a dark energy replacement, but it was far from ideal. He needed to return to the castle to craft a better replacement for his leg and to gather his thoughts about what was happening.

Even though he had become more powerful, more experienced, and had dealt with the massive threat of the Great White Lion, his army was decimated. John, Charlie, and all his trusted servants were dead. The heroes and the light army were pushing the darkness back.

Diana was pleased with this, though she was slightly worried about summoning the ten Heroes of Light. What if, after the war, they demanded a part of the Light Kingdom for themselves? No, I can’t think like that. They’re doing great, and without them, it would have been a stalemate. She reassured herself, I’ll deal with any issues when they arise. I’m capable of handling anything, even if the Heroes of Light demand something significant. They’re heroes, after all; each one wants only the best for the Light Kingdom and its inhabitants fish, beasts, and creatures. If they wanted territory or something for themselves, that wouldn’t benefit the Light Kingdom. I don’t need to worry. I need to focus on curing my boredom. She decided, I’ll go torture a prisoner for fun and then make a final plan, the plan to attack the dark castle. When the Light and Dark Kingdoms fall into her hands, she would rule the world and make it a better place.

The Golden Monkey woke from another drunken slumber. No nightmares today, great. Right in front of him stood mean-looking rebels alongside a half-decent-looking lady. Mark, with his small monkey palms, scratched his eyes, wondering if what he saw was real. Rose from the Pink Kingdom stood before him with eight strong, mean, mad-looking creatures and beasts. Mark saluted and asked, “To whom do I owe this pleasure?”

“I am Rose. We heard you were once a great warrior, and I’m here to ask you to join our rebel side. We offer drinks, shelter, and a place to feel welcome.”

“I work alone, and what do you mean I was a great warrior? Look at this kick! Haaaiyaaa!” He barely lifted his leg before his back started hurting. “Did you see that kick, miss?”

“I was mistaken, sorry. My offer still stands. What do you say?”

“I’ll accept your offer, you had me at drinks. But you’re even luckier because I can also see the future.”

“You can what now?”

“See what will happen in the future not now, but after now, what will happen and hasn’t happened yet. Got it?”

“I know what the future is, but I don’t believe anyone can predict it.”

“Then how would I know you agreed to an alliance with the Dark Kingdom, and that this will engulf the world in darkness?”

“What are you saying? That we can win?”

“You’re missing the point. The darkness, the world engulfed in it.”

“I’m hearing you. The point is, I want that. The darkness isn’t that bad. The Dark Lord now is from the same place as me. He’s not going to do anything bad.”

“Good and bad are not the same as light and dark, Rose.” Monkey Mark, still hungover, vomited.

“Okay, you’ll tell me more when you finish watering the ground with last night’s dinner. Come with us.”

“Okay, one second.”

Ash returned to the castle and asked the blacksmith to make him a leg from the best minerals available. He was informed about how bleak the situation looked. He learned that John was dead. Ash was neither happy nor sad.

I don’t care about this world or the creatures in it, Ash thought. What now? If I don’t fight, I’ll be captured and tortured for eternity, probably by that crazy angel Diana. Ash ordered Ogi to inform Rose about his plan to attack the main Light Castle in two days at midnight. “Just tell her to get to the walls of the main castle. I’ll make her a door to enter and help with this.” Ogi was beyond shocked by this information.

“Yes, Lord. Should I notify anyone else?”

“No, I’m going in alone with the rebels if they join, or all alone if not. Notify my army to fall back a bit and concentrate on defending this castle. I’ll either conquer the Light Kingdom or die. I don’t care anymore; I’m losing my patience.”

In the North, Diana also lost patience with a captive and killed him while torturing him. I’m so bored, Diana thought. Maybe I should go to the battlefield? No, no, you’re the leader. You need to behave and rule. You’re the brain here, not the muscle. She went to her throne and was informed by her spy that the rebels were colluding with dark forces, and Rose was part of that rebel group.

“So, you’re telling me they’ve built an alliance?”

“Yes, my queen.”

Diana slapped the spy, then kissed him. “Great job. You made me a little less bored with that info. Go spread the word to the leader of the Heroes, Alexander, and tell him to send five of them to the Pink Kingdom to destroy the rebels.”

“Yes, my queen.”

Alexander received the information and decided that in two or three days, they would deal with the rebels.

**********

Rose was visited by Ogi, who recognized her from long ago.

“Hey, I know you!”

“No, you must be mistaken.”

“No, no, Ogi knows.”

“Okay, I don’t care. Why are you here?”

“My lord sends a message.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “He’ll what? And wants what? That’s not possible. How? Why?”

Rose nodded and sent Ogi back. She summoned her most reliable and strong rebels 20 of them to go undercover with her in two days at midnight.

I hope the Golden Monkey is right and that we’ll win, she thought. Oh, right, I can ask him to come with us too.

Rose was at the bar and saw Mark. “Monkey, will you do it with us?”

“Do what?”

“You know, you see the future. You know what, then.”

“I see only parts of it, and I’m on my seventh beer.”

“So, when you said darkness will win?”

“I saw a world covered in darkness. I’m not sure how it’ll happen, but I saw this Ash guy alive and darkness larger than ever.”

“Okay, come with us then to fight the Light Kingdom.”

“What? Why?”

“Trust me, Monkey. We can use the Dark Lord.”

“Okay, I’ll come, but I’m not doing anything.”

**********

Two days had passed, and the day was upon them.

Ash was ready; his new metal leg was complete, and he now wielded an axe instead of his usual katana sword. He was fully charged with aura, and some of his mages had cast multiple spells upon him. The situation on the battlefields was dire, but his army was at least defending the cities near the main castle, which was enough.

Ash set out early to infiltrate the Light Castle. He was flying on a dragon-like creature high in the sky. The first problem arose almost immediately: halfway to the Light Castle, he encountered Val, a Hero of the Light, a flying angel with ten arms, faster than anything.

Ash’s ally, Rose, also ran into a problem. She was informed that an attack on her kingdom was underway, and five Heroes of Light were on their way. Rose didn’t know whether to proceed to the Light Castle or defend her rebel utopia. She decided to go only with the Golden Monkey and a griffin-like creature, leaving the rest of her army to defend the rebel kingdom and shelter.

She and the Golden Monkey, who was hungover, rode on the griffin-like creature’s back. Halfway there, they saw Ash ripping Val, the Hero of Light, in half, his face completely unfazed. Ash looked indifferent and bored, not exactly a ray of sunshine.

The griffin approached him with Rose and the Monkey on its back. “Shouldn’t you be closer to the Light Kingdom by now? And what was that? You just ripped someone in half?”

“Small problems,” Ash said, barely opening his mouth, standing on his flying creature.

“Follow me if you can.”

“Wait!”

But it was too late; Ash had already flown toward the Light Kingdom.

He was ready to fight. He was ready to conquer the Light Kingdom. Killing Val in such a grotesque way marked the first Hero he had slain. He had defeated angels, fish creatures, lions, and various beasts, but now he had slain his first Hero. What did this mean for the world and the other Heroes?

Diana, in her castle, was unprepared for what was coming, but was she powerful enough to defend the kingdom if needed?