[Melas] Chapter 129: Damnation (Patreon)

I made my way into the warehouse as I put my mask back on, pushing aside Goblins, Beastkin, Dwarfs, and Humans as they fled the scene. These were Dark Crusaders. The supposed terrorist group responsible for the most heinous of evil. Yet, they wore terrified looks on their faces. Many of them didn’t even have weapons. They were dressed in ragged clothing, clearly factory workers and miners who had to labor hard to make ends meet.

These people… they weren't evil. Maybe the organization as a whole was— I couldn’t judge. Not when I knew no one at the top. But the people here: I could see their character. I could tell that their biggest sin was their circumstance. Learning simple magic just to survive and feed yourself was no crime. And even if it were one, I couldn’t cast the first stone. Not after what I’d done.

But the Church thought it was so; they ordained themselves with the rights and powers of the judge, the jury, and the executioner. That was why they decided to kill all these poor folks.

The ones capable of fighting— the true Dark Crusaders that were depicted by the Holy Xan Empire— were the ones protecting them. Mahir fought at the front, engaged alongside a fellow Dark Acolyte against the Holy Knights. And while the Holy Knights were tough, they weren’t Inquisitors either. They formed battalions composed of a thousand men. And each battalion had multiple companies with hundreds of Holy Knights each. And one came here to kill the Dark Crusaders.

With my help, the Dark Crusaders pushed back the Holy Knights and were now fleeing into the mines, forced to permanently leave the inner city of Jahar’taw. I’d have gone with them, if not for my duty to my friend.

Karna.

He was still in here. I knew he was in danger. He was a foolish Goblin— loyal to the very end. Which was why he stayed behind, to fight with Estia against the Holy Knights during this misty night. Smoke and ash filled the skies; it would’ve continued burning until dawn and dusk, if not for the blast that took the warehouse.

An explosion came so fast, I barely had the time to react. I was running down a dark corridor when an orange light rapidly approached me. A wall of flames that ripped apart the floor and the ceiling alike. It shredded everything in its path, moving faster than the ear-shattering sound that accompanied it.

I raise a hand in time, summoning multiple barriers, curling up, preparing for the inevitable. It sent me flying back as I spun, watching the wheeling world crumble apart into debris and stone and dust. I landed face-first onto the ground, my mask probably saving me from getting a cool scar across my face.

Drawing myself to my feet, I glanced around at the destruction: the damage was undeniable. The rising curtain of smoke was now a massive pillar that blotched out the moon and the stars. It seemed to mix with the fog that had rolled over the streets of Jahar’taw, blanketing the city with an eerie darkness that’d leave bystanders and families who were woken by the loud blast completely unaware of what was going on. All they knew was an explosion had occurred. A small earthquake ran through the city. The cracks and mini crevices that formed expanded out from the large crater. It was a detonation of a lot of mana crystals, all at once. Those idiots! Why were they fighting in a storage warehouse where things could explode at any moment?

I coughed as the dust settled, forcing myself to my feet. “Karna…” My voice was almost inaudible to my own ears— my hearing still deafened from the blast. “Where is…?”

Stumbling forward, I caught sight of two figures lying at the very edge of the crater as a thick wall of smoke billowed up from the very center. A black glass-like aura shielded them, although it was falling apart in shards. I spotted the Half Demon and the Goblin there. My eyes widened as I saw Estia cradling a burnt body in her arms.

“Karna!” I ran up to them in a stumble.

Estia glared up at me as magic coalesced at her fingertips. “Stay back, you fiend!”

I clicked my tongue, halting. “I’m here to help,” I said and reached inside of my robes. Producing a healing potion, I held it up for her to see. “Look. I can help him.”

“Why should I trust you?” The Half Demon narrowed her eyes.

“Are you seriously asking this right—” I sighed. “You know what?” I marched forward, even as her magic increased in intensity. “I don’t care. Try and kill me. I’m here to help my friend, if you even know what that is.”

She hesitated, lowering her arm as I stopped right over the Goblin. Karna was covered in burn marks and scars. However, this healing potion was expensive. The fact that it came in a reinforced metal vial rather than a glass vial was proof that it was valuable.

“If you do anyt—”

“Shut up.” I bent over, pouring the healing potion slowly into his mouth. His wounds began to fade away, and his skin returned to a normal color. I was halfway through the potion when I tipped it back. I glanced over at Estia, her entire left side also covered in burns. She averted her gaze slightly, but I handed her the vial. “Here.”

“W-what…?”

“Take it. Karna will live. He’s just unconscious. But you look like you can barely even walk.” The Half Demon refused to accept the potion, so I forced it to her. “Take—” I paused.

The smoke that drooped over the crater began to thin out, and I spotted a shimmering light from the other side. Beyond the gaping hole on the ground, there was a light: over a dozen figures stood underneath a bright dome. A man stood with a lance raised, holding it like an umbrella, shielding those around him with a powerful barrier.

The Holy Knights survived the explosion; it wasn’t all of them. It was only those who could reach the man in time. He wore decorated armor— even more decorated than the other Holy Knights. He had to be a high-ranking member. Lowering his lance, the barrier vanished, and the Holy Knights slowly started forward.

“Are you serious?” I gritted my teeth. “That’s… we have to get out of here.” I reached for the Half Demon, hoping to help her up. But she swatted my hand away.

Instead, she took a swig of the healing potion, before handing the rest to me. “No,” she said defiantly. “If we flee, they’ll keep chasing us down. They will pursue us until each and every one of us is lying dead at their feet. I am no coward: this is war, and I will end this chase here.”

I blinked. “But everyone else has already left.” I glanced back. The last of the Dark Crusaders had escaped through the mines. “You can’t take them all on your own.”

“Yes I can,” Estia grunted.

I felt the mana gathering around her— it was almost palpable. The kind which would’ve made me fear for my life if I felt it directed at me. But it wasn’t. It was aimed only at the Holy Knights: our common foe.

“They have killed far too many of our kind. Why? Because we are heretics? Because their Goddess of Light commanded them so?”

She spread her arms wide as the Holy Knights slowly streamed down the crater, headed our way with their glinting armor and weapons.

“May the Goddess curse them. Show them damnation. For they have wrought pain and death to my people unbridled— driven us to extinction. They all die here.”

I followed slowly behind her as she started after the Holy Knights, trudging into the crater. They’d meet in the center, where remnants of the noxious gray gas filled the air with specks and motes. The heat was oppressive, yet there was something else: the mana here was abundant. The mana crystals that were detonated must’ve been converted to a more ethereal form, diffusing to our surroundings, giving us an abundant source of power to draw from.

Taking a deep breath, I felt power filling me. Estia glanced back once. “Grab Karna and run.”

“I can’t just do that.”

“Why not?”

I shrugged. “Because I’m an idiot, I guess.” Then I met her gaze. “Also, you’re not a bad person. Not like Victor. He was evil.”

Estia scowled. “You don’t know me.”

“Maybe. But you know your mother. And if she’s your enemy, you must be a good person, right?”

The Half Demon paused. We stood together at the bottom of the crater. It expanded hundreds of feet from one end to another, larger than any football field. The Holy Knights came to a stop a dozen feet before us; their leader held up his lance.

“I am Major Tiberius Acidalia, leader of the Alpha Company of the 5th Battalion of Holy Knights.” The mana crystals adorning his armor were somewhat cracked. Some of their lights flickered. Others were completely winked out. “Name yourselves, heretics of the Dark Crusaders.”

“I am Estia Jedidiah Rhea, daughter of Demon King Zes himself.” She threw her black cloak to the side. Underneath, she wore black robes, similar to that of a monk at a temple. Simple and plain. “And Apostle of the Dark Crusaders.”

Tiberius nodded. Then he glanced at me, expectantly. I chewed my lower lip, unsure if I should introduce myself too. I was afraid of my past— of what being known entailed. And yet, my history was different from what others thought of me, did it not? Sighing, I raised my dagger. I didn’t bring my staff here. I was dressed just as I was as a Dark Crusader. No pointed hat, no purple robes. A mask on, but my identity clear to all.

“I am Melas,” I said simply. Tiberius squinted, and Estia’s eyes darted towards me. “I was born in Villamcreek, the daughter of your average Aria, and a former slave.” Stone Spears gathered around me alongside Frost Javelins and Explosive Orbs. “I just want to live.”

The Holy Knights charged. My spells launched out, exploding and striking the dozen heavily-armored men and women. Tiberius struck a Frost Javelin out of the air, his own lance smashing through the magic ice like it was made of glass. Estia ran past me—

—--

And struck Tiberius with a spinning kick. The man had dodged it. Yet, the air flickered, and he stumbled back. The other Holy Knights raised their halberds and their spears, surrounding her with their glowing weapons.

A man swung wide with his great axe as a woman flanked Estia with a spear. The Half Demon sidestepped the heavy man’s attack, grabbing the spear’s shaft. With a single step, Estia pulled and closed the distance between herself and the Holy Knight.

The woman’s eyes widened before the Half Demon jammed a black bolt into her head. The Holy Knight fell as the man roared. Estia leapt back, avoiding his wild strikes while the other Holy Knights circled her. Bolts of mana came for her, even as she was surrounded. But she avoided them all. A volley of enchanted arrows came next. She pointed at they fell out of the air before they even reached her.

One, however, whizzed by, aimed for Melas—

—--

I raised a multi-layered barrier. The projectile smashed against the golden surface, breaking through the first shield, but not the second. I lowered the barrier as two Holy Knights came for me. They swung their great swords, tearing the earth apart with hallowed vindication.

My eyes were focused on the arcs of their swings. If one of them struck me, I’d die. The pair of Holy Knights charged at the same time, and I raised a hand.

“Stone Spire!”

The earth rose from between the two, splitting them apart. The first Holy Knight staggered forward, and I rushed him while aimed at the second man.

“Dispel Magic! Fireball!”

The sphere of flames engulfed the second man as he screamed and flailed, slowly burning to death. The first Holy Knight drew back, bracing himself for my attack. I raised my dagger, and he was prepared to parry it—

“Lightning Bolt!”

The sky crackled as a streak of whie light struck him from behind. He screamed, his protection failing from the accumulated damage of fighting against the Dark Crusaders. And I struck him across the neck. He gurgled and dropped to the floor.

More arrows zipped by me. One nicked me on the shoulder, and I glanced up. Three Holy Knights nocked their bows while two others raised their rifles, pointed at me from afar. Blood poured from the wound as I returned fire with my own Frost Javelins, sending them scattering. I stumbled back, reaching for my healing potion, Tthen I spotted Estia, pressed by Holy Knights from all sides.

“Jump!” I raised a hand, pointing at the ground beneath the Half Demon—

—--

Estia flipped into the air as a gaping pit opened up. Three of the Holy Knights fell into the shallow hole, while the other four managed to leap out of the way in time. She unleashed a hail of black bolts at the four.

Tiberius dug his lance into the ground, and a barrier overcame them. Her magic which could bring down even a Manticore with a single volley was like water against that mana tool. It had to have been powered by a Greater mana crystal. But Estia smirked.

She turned her attention to the three Holy Knights clamoring out of the hole. She raised her hands.

“Grand Fireball.”

It was like she held the sun in her arms. The three Holy Knights tried to flee. But no matter how far they ran, it didn’t matter. The blast tore apart the ground, incinerating them even as they tried to escape in all directions.

A second, smaller crater was formed at the epicenter of the first crater. The ground shook as Estia flew through the air, ignoring Tiberus, headed for Melas locked in long-ranged combat with the archers and riflers.

The girl rolled under the raining projectiles, hand raised—

—--

With a snap of the fingers, I released a Burst Cyclone at the very center of the archers and riflers. The Holy Knights were knocked back— not killed. But before they could gather themselves, Estia rained fire at them.

She threw discs of flame, swerving them through the air in crescent directions. Each of them exploded with the intensity of a Fireball. A Tier 4 spell, perhaps. But the Holy Knights shot them down mid-air. They exploded before reaching the group.

My eyes flickered as I spotted Tiberius charging at me with the other Holy Knights. Spell circles formed on both my hands. I aimed at both groups, breathing deeply, drawing from the excess mana permeating the air.

“Annihilate.”

Two red beams shot out at both sides. Tiberius raised his lance, and like it was some kind of conductor, it absorbed the brunt of the attack. I wasn’t sure why he formed a barrier— perhaps his weapon had a cooldown? Nevertheless, not all the other Holy Knights were so lucky.

My spell diced up half of those that remained. Bodies of Holy Knights dropped, cut in half and killed in an instant. The last of the archers and riflers fell. All that remained was Tiberius and the two Holy Knights by his side.

The man glared at me. “You will pay for that!” he bellowed, hurling his lance.

It came fast. I couldn’t dodge in time. I raised a wall of stone and multiple layers of multilayered barriers. But it tore through it all. It grazed me across the side, forcing a scream out of my chest.

I tightly gripped the my wound as my vision blurred. The lance didn’t lodge itself into me. But still, it left a terrible wound where it struck. I stumbled out of the way as Tiberius dashed after me, his training and his equipment letting him move far faster than me.

He grabbed his lance from the ground, raising it to finish the job—

—--

And Estia crashed into him. The Half Demon grappled with the Holy Knight Major. He punched her across the face with a gauntleted fist, and she spat out blood.

“Is that all you got? Is this all the Church can offer?!” She raised her own fist, dark energy gathering around her knuckles. She landed the blow on his chest.

Tiberius flew back, his face contorting in pain. His breastplate shattered under the hit. Chunks and bits of mana crystal went flying with him. She began to conjure a single burning black bolt. It wasn’t the same as the volley she threw. Those were weaker spells. Darkness Bolt. This was the Arrow of—

And a halberd struck her across the back.

“Agh!” Her enchanted robes held up against the hit. But it still hurt, even if it didn’t draw blood. Estia spun around, ducking under the followup swing. Two Holy Knights stood before her. She kicked the first on the knee, and leapt back from the second’s sword.

Somehow, it nicked her across the face. A red line formed across her dark gray skin. She dodged it. She knew she dodged it. But it had cut through the air. Estia cursed.

The Half Demon flicked a finger, and the halber Holy Knight went flying back. She charged the man with the sword. He backed up, slashing at Estia. She flipped around him. Still, the weapon tore through her cloak, leaving scars on her skin. But before he could spin around, she hurled the black bolt into his chest.

“Die!”

The man fell, his body seeming to burn from where it protruded from his body.

Estia didn’t stop there. She created another sphere of raging fire.

“Die! Die! Die!”

The Grand Fireball engulfed the man with the halberd. He couldn’t run. It was like a wall of fire closing in on him. He died in an instant.

Estia took in a labored breath. She was tired. But still, there was one more Holy Knight. The Half Demon turned to face Tiberius—

—--

And a lance stopped right before Estia’s eyes. She stared in shock as the weapon paused just before her face. She would’ve died right there. But Tiberius stopped. He dropped his weapon, falling to one knee. A Frost Javelin stuck out of his back.

I lowered my hand.

“T-th…” Estia was speechless. She collapsed next to Tiberius, trying to work her mouth. “You… saved me?”

I forced myself up from where I lay. I downed the rest of my healing potion as I grunted. “I did.” My flesh and skin knitted back together. It was an odd feeling. But a far better one than the numbing pain of a deadly wound across your hip. “Come on.” I offered her a hand.

“W-what…?” She looked up at me blankly.

“We need to get out of here. Before Jahar’taw’s guards arrive. Before Saintess Lilith gets here.”

Estia blinked, still in a daze. “I almost… died?”

But a voice drew her attention. Tiberius choked out as he spoke.

“I-I… failed.” His words were remorseful. He faced the sky with hollow eyes. “Captain Nero… I’m sorry.”

I glanced over at him. “Why are you apologizing to him?”

“H-he was always—”

“No.” I shook my head, walking up to the man. “Why are you apologizing to him? You should be apologizing to all the innocent men and women you killed.” I looked down at the palm of my hand, before squeezing it shut. “Maybe if you pray and repent now, you will be forgiven in death.”

Tiberius looked up at me in disbelief. “You’re asking me to pray for forgiveness?” His shock must’ve given him a brief second wind to speak. “You— a heretic? A murderer?”

I shrugged. “I’m not a good person. I know that. But you?” I gestured around us. “You claim to be a man of the Goddess. Tell me: what would She think of this destruction? Of this pointless death?”

“I-I…” he trailed off. Then his eyes focused for one last breath. “She will offer me salvation.”

And it was over.

Author's Note:

A very experimental chapter. I had this chapter with the dynamic pov shifts planned since 2019 December :) 

I hope it turned out well! Or if it was awkward to read. Let me know! I knew nothing about writing when I first thought of this idea. But... I still want to write it now. 

Gib thoughts!