The Last Stand of the Strongest

With the grave's quiet, the Black Knights' circle drew closer. Their stifling atmosphere appeared to kill even the constant, phantom wind that swept across the rooftop, as the matte-black armor sucked the light from the air itself. Suge sensed the deep weakness emanating from Polina as he struggled to release her from the shimmering, runic chains. In contrast to the abrupt silence, her breathing was a weak, ragged whisper, and her shoulders were bowed in a delicate curve. She had lost not just her physical strength but also the source of her power due to the torment. She was not a fighter in her present position, but a liability.

Katrina muttered, her voice low and menacing, "It was bait." As she shifted her weight, the only light in the growing darkness came from the polished steel of the twin tantos she was holding in a reverse grip. "A lure to entice us, trap us, and destroy us with no way out."

In an instant, Suge's intellect, a lightning-fast processor of combat factors, deciphered the incomprehensible equation. They were outnumbered. They had to deal with a helpless ally. Most importantly, they had never encountered a foe like these knights. He looked at the thousands of possible endings and the divergent routes to survival, and discovered that they all led to the same disastrous and completely irrational conclusion. He pulled a deep breath and yelled, his voice bursting across the rooftop like a thunderclap as he carefully positioned Polina behind him.

"Hold on tight!"

The command was followed by a disaster rather than a charge. Suge kicked up and slapped his foot down hard on the stone floor. The focused, pure release of his Kuvarsoya, a shockwave of raw strength directed toward the core of the citadel's structural stability, was more than just a simple stomp. The roofing shouted, not just cracked. Before the world collapsed with a thunderous roar, a web of glowing cracks stretched out from the impact site. The silent legion of Black Knights, the defenseless Polina, and the three Zinox fell into a whirlpool of smoke, dust, and broken stone.

The impact as they hit the floor below was harsh and startling. The Black Knights were already emerging from the wreckage, which surrounded them, slowly and mechanically. These animals did not have the barbarians' savage fury or the thylacines' fierce instinct. They moved with purpose, methodicalness, and a laser-like focus on one deadly goal. With a greatsword that appeared to create shadow arcs out of the air, one of them swung the enormous blade horizontally in Nicolas' direction.

"Down, Nicholas!" Suge roared.

Without hesitation, Nicolas threw himself flat. The greatsword's unfathomable velocity propelled it into a stone support pillar behind him, whistling through the area where his head had been. As if it were made of butter, the long-standing column was sliced in two. Although their attacks were gradual, the results were unquestionable. With each evaded hit, their surroundings were systematically destroyed.

Katrina, a ghost of unadulterated speed, attempted to take advantage of their slowness. She swerved past a knight's heavy blow, her body a liquid haze, and slammed a tanto into its knee's articulating joint. Metal let out a cry of protest, yet the massive knight just stumbled, its velocity hardly impacted. With an armored gauntlet, it delivered a backhanded strike that would have reduced Katrina to a paste on the distant wall.

"Katrina!" Suge let out a cry.

Suge stomped his foot once again as the knight's fist was ready to make contact. This time, the tremor was more focused and under control, but the effect was still breathtaking. The area of the floor just under Katrina's feet vanished into thin air. The knight's destructive blow encountered nothing but empty air as she fell through the newly created void.

After her, the others jumped. They were now in a maze of smaller passageways more into the stronghold. However, this was not a benefit. New patrols were already advancing to intercept them from the levels below, and behind them reverberated the mechanical, deafening clamor of more knights dropping down from the floors above. The enemy count was increasing rather than decreasing.

"We are unable to leave!" Nicolas shouted, just avoiding another knight's crushing shield blow. "They're everywhere!"

"WE MUST!" A flurry of movement engaged in an impossible dance between two of the armored juggernauts, Katrina yelled back. "They're holding us up!"

The citadel's very foundations began to vibrate again at that moment. It was a deep, evil thrum that was quite different from Suge's Kuvarsoya's raw might. It was the reawakening of something old, something woven into the world's tainted code. A shadow of real fear appeared on Suge's face for the first time.

With the name itself a curse, he muttered, "Gein." He is awakening. Escape is difficult if Gein gets to us here.

The last glimmer of optimism in the air was smothered by his remarks. Suge's eyes moved over the tragic scene: Katrina, driven to the edge; Nicolas, surviving just on willpower and fumes; and Polina, barely awake, her strength completely depleted. He made his choice then and there.

"I brought you into this," he muttered in a low, rumbling voice that was full of regret and unwavering resolve. Therefore, I'll be the one to free you. Go! I'll attract their attention. We're going to meet in the temple.

Katrina retorted, her eyes wide with shock, "You're not leaving here if you do this." "It's suicide!"

Suge shoved Polina in Nicolas' direction, gently but forcibly. A universe of unsaid thoughts flowed between him and Katrina as their eyes locked for the final time. "I'll catch up, don't worry," he said. Even though the untruth was so obvious, his tone was somehow consoling. "Look after her."

Suge then swung his arms wide and spun away from them, his body starting to glow and throb with an unbridled flow of Kuvarsoya energy. "RIGHT NOW!"

He used the very force of stone and dirt to propel rather than break. From his position came a concentrated shockwave, a kinetic force battering ram. With an overwhelming flood, Nicolas, Katrina, and Polina were flung backward and hurtled toward the fortress's outer wall. The concentrated blast caused the old stone to shatter outward, sending the three of them flying into the dark, starless space beyond the fortress.

They scrambled to look back as they struck the unfamiliar, invisible ground hard. Suge, a lone guy standing in the middle of a maelstrom with dozens of Black Knights surrounding him, was visible to them through the huge hole in the fortress wall. Now his body was burning brightly, like a new star. Shutting his eyes, he gathered the last of his might and let it all out.

From its base to its tallest peak, the stronghold trembled. The entire edifice collapsed violently and catastrophically, smashing inward toward the lone point of light at its center as it folded in on itself. This was no straightforward collapse. Suge and all the evil within were buried as turrets collapsed, walls turned to dust, and thousands of tons of cursed stone fell like a mountain. The last sound to reverberate through the emptiness was his last, furious yell.

There was no time for reflection or mourning. Three frantic individuals started to flee into the unending darkness in order to avoid the shockwave of the citadel's last, dying breath.