Year 2: The Battle of Rhodes - Chapter 15

You can’t save an Awoken…that’s what we’ve been told, but what…what if we could?

Sincerely, Duncan hoped that was the case.

But.

Chelsea wouldn’t let him find the answer.

His sword shattered hers, the blade that once belonged to Prince Julius, and it landed in her chest.

It pierced through to the other side as the metal shards of the prince’s blade scattered around them.

She stopped instantly.

They were so close her hair fell onto his face, as did her tears.

Scared of what awaited him, Duncan dared not to look up at her, because he didn’t want to see her like that.

The person he knew, the person he admired, the person he wanted to save had died a long time ago.

He knew that, but he wept for her nonetheless.

Strangely, the knight laughed.

It was a sweet, soft one, a nostalgic one from when Duncan and her had first spoken together late at night.

Anxiously, the hero looked up at her and saw her smiling, just like she had that night he’d sworn his oath to her.

“…Duncan.” Her fingers lightly traced his cheeks as she cried. “…You got so…strong.”

“Chelsea…I…I’m-!”

“Why…?”

“Eh?”

“Why…didn’t you…join us?”

…What?

“Duncan…” Chelsea cried more and leant down towards him, driving herself deeper onto his sword. “The Demon Emperor…would’ve let us…be together.”

She coughed blood up.

“I really…wanted you…to see…the truth and…Be with me…for…”

Her body went limp.

Her hand fell from his face, leaving a blood-soaked print behind.

David…Athelward!

You…!

You…!

I’ll kill you!

***

Duncan swung at David, using Uruz, Ehwaz and Sowilo to create the strongest sword he could imagine.

David met it with his claymore encased in dark magic.

The clash sent more shockwaves resounding throughout the entire King’s Palace.

“Interesting. You’re much stronger than the others, or.” David chuckled. “Are your emotions letting you fight without inhibitors?”

“Shut up!”

“If that’s the case, you’ll be burning yourself out quickly.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Duncan pulled Angurvadal back and screamed “Raidho!” and struck at David much faster than he ever had before, catching David a little off guard. “As long as I kill you before then, it doesn’t matter!”

The two exchanged many blows against one another’s swords in quick succession, though only one managed to make it through the other’s defences and inflict wounds.

Small, straight cuts began to emerge along the joins in Duncan’s armour and his frustration grew with every new injury.

Dammit! The hero scream in his mind. He’s not even trying, is he?!

“Why?!”

“Hmm?”

Duncan leapt several feet away from David to try and take a short break, to recover his breath.

“Why are you doing this?!” Duncan spat, resting uneasily on Angurvadal’s hilt.

David sighed. “I’m sure we’ve been-”

“No, the real reason!”

David paused; his orange eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“…If everything Hailey’s told us about you is true, you were a great guy. Smart, kind, funny, had a good family, loved her to bits and yet.” Duncan glared at David. “You’re doing the worst things imaginable here, in Aangapea, to millions of people. How do you sleep at night? Or is this just who you always were? Or, let me guess.” Duncan spat. “You’re the type that likes to play villains in games and shit, right?

“Maybe you just couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to live out some fucked up fantasy like Amen?” Duncan locked eyes with David for a few seconds, then scoffed. “I doubt it’d be something as dumb as that. But you know what?” The hero smiled. “If I’m being completely honest, if you were like that, we’d have something in common.

“Back on Earth, I loved being the hero. The guy who saved the day, rescued the damsel, killed dragons, defeated bandits and brought the great evil that threatened the world to an end. While I might not have shown it as much as Hajime did, I was genuinely excited to be able to live out my childhood dream of being a hero. Who doesn’t grow up wanting to be a superhero or someone special?

“It turns out, I am.” Duncan stood up straight and gripped his sword. “I don’t mean that in an egotistical way - Harmonia herself said we were special. That we had the power to defeat you and save Aangapea. Until the day you took Chelsea away, I was really looking forward to living that dream. Even though I despise you, even though I know it’s horrible and many more people will die.” Duncan gave him a thin smile. “I still can’t help but be a bit excited while fighting you.

“I know it’s wrong, but I cannot wait to kill you and become a real hero!”

David said nothing and readied his sword. “Then, come, Duncan Wilson.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, David Athelward!”

The two’s swords locked and slashed at one another again and again, in a beautiful, destructive, powerful display of raw ability and skill.

Of course, David was holding back somewhat as he didn’t want to overexert himself and end up an easy prey for the other heroes and Alliance forces that were no doubt closing in on him.

Hailey and Kella were both still nearby, waiting for a chance to rejoin the fray.

I’ll be content if I can just kill you, Duncan.

“Allaric. I imagine you can’t talk right now, but you have four minutes before the deadline.”

The empress’s voice signalled the end of this attack.

Hmph. He smiled beneath his helmet. More than enough time!

Dark energy rolled off his aura in waves, the pressure threatening to crush Duncan, as David seemingly teleported to him and stabbed at his chest.

Panicked, Duncan activated every Rune he could think of, to make himself faster, to raise his defences, but it would hit him.

And they both knew it.

The hero just about managed to move far enough to make it a scratch against his waist, but David stopped the blade’s momentum and then sliced towards Duncan’s body.

“David!”

Pridwen prevented his sword from going any further, but the strength of David’s blow sent both Duncan and Hailey tumbling to the ground. Hailey recovered first, keeping herself between Duncan and David, her shield held firmly as David closed for another attack.

Hailey braced as best she could, but David batted her away without mercy, launching her into the nearby Alliance reinforcements.

David turned his attention back to Duncan, but Kella threw her spear at him again. He caught it and threw it to the ground, but Kella kept running at him. She punched and kicked at him, damaging herself a lot without leaving even a dent in his armour, but it was giving Duncan valuable time to get back up.

Duncan did so, using Thurisaz and Hagalaz, and he launched an inferno from the blade’s tip at the Demon Emperor.

Kella darted out of the way as the visage of the Demon Emperor was swallowed up by the flames.

However.

“Pathetic.”

A powerful gust extinguished the flames as black magical energy burst out from David’s body; then, he turned to Duncan, held his palm up, and returned the favour.

A solid beam of magic slammed into Duncan’s chest plate, shattering it into a million pieces, and driving the hero into the dirt, smashing the ground and turning it into a mini crater.

Arrows flew at David’s back, though they pinged off the plate armour.

“Hailey!” Yve fired arrows constantly at the Demon Emperor as she, Fala, Trevor and Gabriel arrived, promptly followed by more Alliance soldiers and knights.

“Yve!” Hailey cried back happily. “Help Duncan-!”

“Way ahead of you!” Gabriel loosed an arrow at David’s neck, but he caught it and crushed it in his fist. “Oh God.”

“Good, more of you to-”

Blake’s black spears emerged from the ground and aimed to pierce the Demon Emperor’s body, but they couldn’t break through his aura.

“Dammit!”

David signalled the Dread Knights to engage them, as he turned to fight Duncan again, but found Hailey and Brenda before him, mid swing.

He parried Brenda’s strike, dodged Hailey’s, then kicked Hailey away and slashed at Brenda’s back. It grazed her armour as she threw herself to the ground to dodge, just as Duncan and Kella leapt back into the fray.

He stabbed low, while she went high.

Neither attack broke through the Dragon metal armour, yet they continued to attack one after the other.

Kella’s spear thrust would be caught, so Duncan would chop at the arm that held it. David pulled Kella into Duncan, then thrust his claymore at the hero’s chest only for magical shields to appear between them, absorbing the blow and reducing the impact to next to nothing.

Arrows pinged against him constantly, one or two flew between his shoulder joints and the ones aimed at his neck David had to swat away.

This is starting to get annoying. David surveyed the battlefield and saw his forces being pushed back to behind him, right where Mímir was going to be conjuring the portal for them to return by. They’re all so weak, but the time limit’s close approaching. Shit!

David blocked Duncan and Brenda’s swords, then he began generated magical energy.

More than he ever had before.

More than anyone had ever seen him conjure before.

“Everyone, fall back!” Kella instinctively warned them.

***

And then, the world turned grey.

“…Your second time tonight, right, Eris?”

The familiar, playful giggle descended upon the city of Rhodes, accompanied by the flutter of charcoal wings.

She flew down before him, her usual, cruel smirk across her lips, and purred.

“When did you notice?”

“…When Kella was confronting me.” David relaxed his posture. “I said that she could easily have told everyone more, but you threatened her into silence.”

Eris giggled. “Did I do that?”

We both know you did.

Before, when Hailey had been confronting him, Kella had come out to lambast him for his sins, namely those related to her and his confession to her that night.

After Kella had mentioned, “The real him,” she had paused before continuing, her expression had slightly changed.

It was subtle, something most might have missed, but not him.

Not the one who had been acting as the Demon Emperor before accepting his role.

Not the person who had lied to Kella and seen her at her most vulnerable.

No, he would likely be the only other person in the world that noticed how her demeanour changed in that instant.

“If Kella intended to reveal everything to Hailey, she would have had to mention you,” David reasoned. “You didn’t stop me telling her back then and I didn’t know why, but I guess it doesn’t matter when you can threaten her into silence.”

Eris laughed. “Congratulations on figuring it all out, David Athelward. So? How was it?” Her smile grew crueller. “Your reunion with your childhood friend?!” Excitedly, she circled him, her wings flapping giddily as she flew around him. “Were you happy? Sad? Angry? Do you feel better or worse than you did back at the Rivers House?

“Did you think you’d convince her to join you? That you were doing this for a good reason? Ah, I bet you really wanted to tell her everything, including me, but you were scared I’d do something if you did, right?” Eris laughed, stood behind David and hugged him warmly. “You still love her, don’t you?”

David didn’t answer.

“You have a wife, multiple mistress and a child, and yet.” Her hands slowly began to make their way down his body. “You’re not just satisfied with that, right? And.” Eris leant in close to David’s ear. “Not just with Hailey.”

“…And?”

Eris stopped her hands.

“So, what if that’s the case?” He asked. Slowly, he moved her hands off him and turned to face the Goddess of Chaos and Strife. “I am the Demon Emperor; everything in this world that I want is mine for the taking.”

***

The magical energy vanished and a portal appeared behind the Demon Emperor.

“The next time I come to Rhodes, it will be when it is a part of my empire.”

And with that, the Demon Emperor and his remaining forces withdrew.

Right before his final attack.

Right when Kella feared she and everyone else at the palace would be consumed by hellfire and death.

Just like that. the Battle of Rhodes had ended, though no cheers rang out.

No one spoke a word as an eerie silence hang in the aftermath.