Kalika glared at the two demons before her. Annoyed, she conjured her dagger back into her hand and prepared it by her side. She growled, sending shivers down the spines of the demons that still prostrated around her like some god.
"
Slowly, the demons lifted their heads. And with a single motion, they all dispersed from around Kalika at once, leaving her in the empty shell of the village road leading to the back of the large wooden longhouse.
"That again. Why do these savage demons keep calling me their stupid champion!?" Kalika tightened her grasp.
Without hesitation, she charged in at the two demons, ready to strike. Suddenly, the trajectory of her blade shifted, throwing her to the side and missing her target.
She slid and turned back to the demons. And seeing that Zelak conjured his sword, Kalika charged back at him.
"
Kalika smiled, more amused by the smugness of the demon. "Negotiate?"
Zelak managed to push her back. "Hah! All your demons can go to hell!!"
Unexpectedly, several swords and daggers launched straight at Kalika. She dodged through the unexpected interference and clashed her blade to push the flying swords from her path.
She clashed her blade hard against Zelak's once more. And as she did, she witnessed the red demon moving his finger like a conductor.
Just then, several more swords flew her way, forcing her back. With this newly growing threat, she changed priority, targeting Prawn.
The swords and daggers around began to moved like a phantom army, moving to clash and attack Kalika and slow her down. She blocked, fought, and attempted to get closer to Prawn, showing little to no progress.
Frustrated, a dark energy cloaked her dagger, and with a single swipe of her blade, sent all the weapons around, scattering in the wind. She charged in, attacking Prawn. Suddenly, she was choked at the neck by a searing hot chain. She glanced back and found that it was Zelak's sword.
She grasped the chain, but before she could react, she was yanked back and sent flying into an already destroyed home, crashing through the clay wall that erupted into cloud of smoke.
Through the smoke left behind, Kalika's dagger flew, and stopped short of hitting Zelak. With a practiced motion, Prawn sent the blade back into the dust, only to realize that Kalika had already circled behind Zelak.
She posed, ready to strike with her newly reconjured dagger, only for Zelak turned, blocking her once again. With a smug smile he peeked from behind his sword, giving a glimpse of his glowing blue eye, which bled.
"
Kalika eyes widened. A fury now building up. A sudden force pulled at her dagger, but she held strong as Zelak continued.
"I already know you want to escape this pit and we're more than willing to help. For a price."
Frustrated, she released her dagger, letting it fly in the air. "Damn these demons!!!" Once again, she turned to Prawn only to be met with a flurry of red-stained swords and daggers that struck from below.
Sword came from above, piercing her and trapping her.
"
CLANK
"Huh?" Zelak overlooked Kalika. He watched as one sword after another snapped off of Kalika. The tips of blades fell and slid off of Kalika.
With an unsettling calmness, Kalika gave a dead pan expression at the two demons. "I refuse. Never again. I r-refuse. I won't anyone lock me away again."
Her gaze intensified. "NEVER!"
She conjured her dagger, blocking a hovering sword aimed at her neck. She repealed the sword turning directly to Prawn, she chased after him, blocking and clashing the sword. Sensing at attack from behind she blocked Zelak's firey whip sword.
Sparks flew as a new flurry of attack kept on her. Suddenly, she felt a hot, searing fire tighten at her ankle. She was yanked to her back and pulled straight into the air before being slammed up and down and into the wall of the house.
Finished, Zelak launched Kalika and the air. "
Kalika scoffed. She reoriented herself in the air, landing on her feet and threw her dagger. Like before, it stopped short of Hitting Zelak and repelled back to Kalika. The dagger struck her chest hard, staggering her.
"
Kalika blurted out a laugh. "This is the first time I've heard of followers that attack their idles." She grasped and ripped her dagger out, letting the splatter of her black blood riddle the floor before her wound closed.
"I hate this dream. First, Donovan dies, now my stupid knife has some foolish religion!"She charged back in with a fury. "Next thing you're going to say is that he's the one true god, right!?"
Kalika prepared to strike Zelak, but like before, her dagger was repelled from her hand, halting her attack.
She turned her glare to Prawn. "Damn you!"
She reconjured her dagger and swung, only for Zelak to dodge.
Seeing his smug smile brought back unwanted memories. Kalika clenched her teeth with a newly boiling anger, her eyes darkened to a pit black with her yellow eyes glowing even brighter. Darkness rose from her, once again enveloping her in think cloud of miasma.
Zelak gazed upon it in awe. "
"GAAAHHHH!!!"
Zelak looked on in shock at the sudden attack.
Prawn grasped the spike and broke from the stem, not long after it disintegrated from his shoulder and into some ashy liquid.
The huge gash in Prawn's shoulder slowly healed, bubbling and regenerating back to normal. Using the opportunity Prawn flicked his finger expectedly. Unfortunately for him nothing seemed to happen.
Prawn Grimaced, gazing upon Kalika more seriously."
"
Unexpectedly, Kalika slumped. Her fingers twitched, and the newly forming black void around bubbled with an intensity crackled with a singular feeling making its presence known.
RAGE.
Zelak shook involuntarily, trying to remain composed. "
"
There was a long, deafening silence. To both Prawn and Zelak's shock, only a single arrow flew, aimed at Kalika's back. But upon getting within an inch of her, it completely burned away in a dark flame.
"
Prawn grimaced as he glared straight at Kalika.
Slowly, an aura of dark energy crackled and opened up beneath both prawn and Zelak. Feeling an intense energy, they quickly jumped out.
A bead of sweat rolled down Zelak's face. She turned to Kalika and raised his voice. "She didn't do something like this before! She's cloaked her Dagger, sent balls of darkness. She's even used those dark spikes! But that…" Zelak clenched his teeth. "I didn't want to use it this early but…"
"That human man is alive! If we die here, so will he!!"
Kalika twitched. She slowly brought her head back up. Her piercing yellow eyes shot at them.
Before he realized it, she was already within striking distance. Her fingers outstretched, clawed and ready.
Instinctively, Zelak dodged.
He countered, freely slashing around his fire-whipped sword that barely grazed her.
Zelak was quickly met with the assistance of prawn swords as it blocked Kalika's dagger—cracks formed on Prawn's blade. "
They both distanced themselves from Kalika that kept pushing forth. She slashed, and stabbed at them with little show.
"
Prawn blocked another of her attacks using several swords.
"
Spikes shots from the ground all around her, forcing Zelak and Prawn to back into the longhouse. They dodged and blocked, looking for a moment to breathe as a chaos of spikes and crackling dark holes targeted them.
Swords flew in the air all around Kalika, each one directed and aimed to kill. But that mattered very little to Kalika what struck her as each she took only served as timber for her ever growing rage.
"
One after another ,a blind fury of blades launched at Kalika like arrows in the wind. She dodged, weaved and circled around, avoiding Prawn's barrage of attacks.
"
"
To Prawn's surprise, Kalika managed to close the gap between them, lunging straight at him.
To his surprise, he was knocked straight to the ground and stabbed straight into the chest.
With a gleeful smile, Kalika spoke. "
She raised her fists, confusing Prawn. "
POW
Her fist struck Prawn's face. Kalika continued striking his face again and again, and slowly broke out into a deranged laugh as her fist became bloodied.
A chain of fire quickly whipped around her and pulled her off Prawn. Zelak, using all his strength, sent her flying into the buildings, further destroying his own village.
"Prawn!"
Zelack got to Prawn's side, seeing him continually twitch. Zelak quickly averted his gaze, seeing the gnarly state Prawn was left in.
Slowly, Prawn's face began to heal, regenerating back to its normal state.
Before Zelack could speak up, Prawn directed several of his blades and swords in Kalika's direction.
Clashes and clangs could reverberated, followed by silence. Prawn stood back, feeling his face. "
""
"
The sudden sound of metal, dragged through the ground. They turned in time to see one of Prawn's swords flung their way. Zelak clashed and repelled the sword away from them.
Hearing the fast-approaching Kalika, they prepared and clashed against her.
"
The battle intensified between Kalika and the two demons. Dark magic crackled with malicious energy, and swords clashed one after another, attempting to slow Kalika down. It was a dance chaos that continued through the roads and streets of the village destroying one building after another.
As the chaos of battle grew even hotter and the dark energy grew more and more out of control. Dark spikes erupted from even the most irrelevant corners, Prawn's swords flew in all directions, dulling with each clash, and Zelak's swordplay grew increasingly evasive as the persistent clashes whipped throughout the air.
Finally getting a small window of rest, Zelak quickly manifested a large fire ball pointed into the air.
But to his utter shock, Kalika suddenly grabbed his arm. His fireball shrank, and she forced his hand to the ground.
"
Several swords shot right through her that moment, and a pool of darkness formed around her and Zelak, who froze in place.
"
To Zelak's shock, Prawn pulled him from Kalika and her pool of dark magic with his sliced arm being left with Kalika. He landed on his back, still frozen from the near-death experience.
He watched as Kalika pierced herself with her dark spikes without a care in the world. Prawn also witnessed this as he stood in front of Zelak, like a guard. He posed his hands, launching as many swords and blades from around the village as possible. Prawn's eyes and mouth bled and hundreds of swords converged into one pelting straight down only Kalika like a rain of blades.
The sounds of whizzing blades and piercing flesh filled their air as it continued on and on. Until the sight of Kalika was gone. But slowly, the blades around began to burst into a dark fire, burning away to nothing, and like the arrow before, they began to barely reach Kalika.
Wrenching herself from the spikes, Kalika moved and slowly approached Prawn. Even with the help of the weapons, he barely did anything against her.
Desperate and manifested walls of earth to her side and crushed her.—blood splattered in all directions, as Kalika was sandwiched between the two large slaps of earth, affording the two demons peace.
Prawn and Zelak panted, exhausted from their fight. Slowly, the earth crumbled away.
Zelak got to her feet with his sword in hand. And using this brief window, shot a fireball in the air. Before long, the crumbling earth revealed an emerging sphere made of dark magic. But as it evaporated… Kalika was gone.
"
Suddenly, Prawn's throat was clutched by some invisible force. He gasped, confused. He couldn't see anyone. Slowly, the bits and pieces formed together into an arm, then a body, the head and legs, and deep darkness shrouded her.
Kalika manifested her dagger in her hand and stabbed it straight into Prawn's heart, killing him. His body collapsed with a loud thud, shaking Zelak to his very core.
Zelak dropped his sword and fell to his knees, stunned, and his eyes shifted and glued to the ground below as Kalika slowly approached him.
To Kalika's surprise, Zelak erupted into subtle laughter. That grew louder. Zelak threw his arms open with a wide smile. "If this is how I die, so be it! It is an honor to be killed by Zorbian's personal champion!!"
Kalika's eyes twitched. She raised her dagger, posed and ready to strike him down. "[Yes. Kill him]"
"Kalika!!"
She halted and froze where she stood. She slowly turned her gaze and to her shock, she found Donovan running towards her. "D…Donovan…?"
"[Ignore him. Kill the demon.]"
Kalika clutched her head, recognizing the voice. "Leave me alone! Get out of my head." She sneered.
"[But isn't that what you want? To kill these demons. They've already served their purpose for me long ago. So go on. Kill them. Kill all of them.]"'
"Don't tell me what to do!!"
She darted her eyes to a confused Zelak. "It's your fault! It's all your fault!" Just as lifted her dagger, Donovan came between them.
"Stop it, Kalika! He knows where Bjorn is!! That's why we traveled here in the first place!! Remember!?"
Kalika backed away, her head pounding more than ever as a single phrase filled her mind with whispers and commands.
"[Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him, kill him. Kill him. Kill him!]"
"N- No!!" Kalika dropped her dagger to the ground, shaking her head to rid herself of the voices. "I-I'm in control! Not you!"
She fell to her knees, still clutching her head. "I-I'm… In control."
Kalika's breathing became much heavier. She pulled her hands away, sitting on the ground as she tried to calm herself.
"K…Kalika?" Unsure what to make of the situation, Donovan slowly approached with his arms up defensively, and slowly approached Kalika.
To his surprise, the shroud of darkness evaporated away. Revealing an unwelcomed familiar sight. He quickly averted his eyes, and his face turned beet red.
"K-k-k-k-k-k-k-Kalika? W-w-what happened to your clothes!!!??"
"Huh?" It only took one look for Kalika to realize her predicament. Her blue face flushed crimson as she quickly covered herself. "I HATE THIS DREAM!!!!!"