Steps echo down the long corridor that Cassiel walks, with the sounds continuing until he finally makes his stop.
At the end of the hallway, Nahka Aion stood, his back facing away from Cassiel as he stared out a window directly facing the moon.
Without turning around to face him, Nahka sighs in relief.
"I hadn't actually expected you to come by yourself... a foolish decision, Cassiel." He'd say, as if to mock Cassiel.
"I'm already fed up with this, so you have two options. Kneel and live your last couple seconds with honor, or die fighting a pointless battle." Cassiel responds, his anger growing by the second.
"What's pointless is you deciding to step up as a king after your people were led astray for years, Aeternus." Nahka growls, turning around to face Cassiel.
.....
Moonlight shone down upon him from behind, causing his pale blonde hair to glimmer under the light.
He wore a full black overcoat, one almost similar to Cassiel's, yet it was trimmed with red lining. Under the coat, his body was covered head to toe in a strange metallic armor, slim and tight to his body, designed in flat arrow stripes.
Above the coat, he had on pointed pauldrons made in the same black metal as his armor, and to finish it off, a long red fur was draped over his back, connected to his pauldrons, resembling a cape that would strike fear in the eyes of all he considered prey.
.....
"You talk as if it was my decision. I was held captive in a crypt, chained on all limbs, hanging ten feet above the ground for hundreds of years. I know what it is to suffer, and I am doing my duty as king to ensure no one else has to." Cassiel responds, enraged.
"You're unfit to be king, that is the end of this story." Nahka responds immediately, as if not hearing what Cassiel had said.
"This is your last chance to kneel, Na-"
Before Cassiel could finish his sentence, Nahka had already appeared in front of Cassiel, practically speed blitzing him as Nahka's hand wrapped around Cassiel's face, before he would throw him through a wall.
Coughing up a small bit of blood, Cassiel quickly gets to his feet, before looking all around him, realizing he couldn't see anything as the room was pitch black.
Without being able to do anything, Cassiel is struck on his back from behind, launching him forward by two meters as he crashes into the floor.
"I hadn't expected you to be strong, Nahka." Cassiel would say, standing up while dusting himself off.
"And I hadn't expected you to be so weak!" Nahka would say at Cassiel's side, punching him in his guts.
This, however, was Cassiel's plan. As the attack had landed, Cassiel quickly gripped Nahka's arm as tightly as he could.
Not wasting another moment, Cassiel sent a flurry of strikes all across Nahka's body, using all of his force with each and every strike.
With one final punch, Cassiel sends Nahka flying over ten meters, before he is stopped by the ground.
"Turn the lights on, Nahka. Fight me as a warrior, not an assassin. It isn't very king-like of you." Cassiel mocks, walking towards the location he sent Nahka flying in.
However, unexpectedly, the lights flash on, and Nahka is now standing in the middle of the room, glaring at Cassiel.
Staring at him, surprised, Cassiel takes a moment before walking up to him.
After they each had tested one another, they knew this fight was going to be life or death for the both of them, it was just a matter of which had prepared more.
That is, at least, what Nahka had thought.
.....
.....
Outside of the castle, Thern, Pam, Yuon, and Esk stood guard over the rest of the soldiers.
Frustrated, anxious, displaced, and calm. They were all separate feelings that each of the Sanguine Blades had been inflicted with.
Thern, obviously frustrated, was pacing around mumbling to himself in an angry tone.
Pam, who was anxious, had been sitting in a corner away from the rest, cradling herself with her one arm, afraid this would be the end of her road.
Yuon, displaced, was letting steam off with Esk, as they sparred with each other despite the terrible situation.
And Esk, who stayed calm through it all, never letting his mind be swayed as he knew it was his strongest asset.
.....
Although each of them had their own feelings, had each been doing their own things, and had each lived their own lives up to this point, they all continued to follow Cassiel's order, believing it truly was the only option for Rampiel to continue on, to rebuild and overcome.
Had even one of them felt as if this order was wrong, Cassiel would have lost this day, as Nahka's reinforcements had finally arrived.
.....
Marching towards the castle entrance, over one hundred troops that had stayed waiting for Cassiel's party to enter were finally taking action.
As the rumbling of their stomps roared louder, Thern was the first to acknowledge it, quickly grabbing his handle, which the rest of the Sanguine Blades soon followed.
Reacting just in the nick of time, Esk is barely able to block an arrow that was shot straight towards an injured soldier, which alerted the rest of the soldiers that were being guarded by the Sanguine Blades.
Quickly arming themselves, the soldiers, along with Esk, Yuon, and Pam, rush to gather just next to Thern.
"What is it that we should do, Thern?" Yuon asks, sweat dripping down his face as he recalls just earlier how hard it was for him to fight even four of Nahka's soldiers off.
"Why am I in charge..." Thern mumbles to himself. "We just need to ensure they cannot make it through this final entrance, we have to do whatever we can to hold this chokepoint." He continues, ordering out to all the soldiers.
"SIR!" The soldiers yell out, stamping their left foot into the ground as they bring their weapons up.
Quickly, Thern got the vampires with swords and shields to get to the front, forming a wall with holes small enough only to fit spears through, which is what the second line of vampires held.
Leaving the sides open, Thern and Pam stood on one side, while Esk and Yuon stood on the other, ready in their stances.
.....
After a minute had passed, Nahka's soldiers, who had just been standing on the other side of the entrance in a formation, finally began to advance after an order was yelled out from the back.
Although at that moment it was unknown who gave the order, the Sanguine Blades instinctively knew that if he were to die, the rest would follow soon after.
With the enemy army advancing, the soldiers under Cassiel began to shuffle their feet, nervous after the ambush that took place earlier, as they were aware of how strong the soldiers under Nahka were.
Afraid, Cassiel's soldiers continued to shuffle backwards as Nahka's advanced forward, until Esk began yelling.
"DO NOT COWER IN THE FACE OF OUR ENEMIES!" Esk yells out, stunning even Nahka's reinforcements.
"WE CAN NOT FALTER HERE, WE ARE THE KING'S SHIELD, HIS FINAL DEFENSE! IF WE ALLOW EVEN ONE SOLDIER TO RUN IN THERE, IT WOULD MEAN ALL OF OUR SUFFERING WAS POINTLESS!" Esk continues, screaming his heart out, doing his absolute best to motivate the soldiers.
"NOW ADVANCE! DON'T GIVE THEM SO MUCH AS AN INCH, THIS IS FOR RAMPIEL!" Esk finishes, panting a bit after all the yelling.
The certainty in Esk's voice had motivated Cassiel's soldiers, causing a huge ripple as they moved forward back to their positions, screaming out cries of war in the name of Rampiel.
.....
.....
Back in the castle, the fight between the royals... and Albus, raged on.
Kislev and Elysia continued to fight together, doing their best to distract Rosei to give Albus chances to strike, while Mihr fought Miral head on, as Ophelia rained arrows down upon both Rosei and Miral from a distance.
Although Mihr had virtually no combat experience, he was able to drive Miral back due to one sole reason, the enormous amount of magical aptitude within his soul.
.....
Mihr, who was born and raised as a member of the Cruor family, knew nothing more than strength. Even after the rest of his family was sent off to war, he was given only one task by his birth mother; obtain immense power.
The only way he knew how was to continue training his body to the extreme, as that was all he was ever taught.
Never knowing his father was a member of the Sombre family, he felt as if he had no reason to go near mana training, as it was the polar opposite of what Cruor knew, even though it was the very reason he was able to survive against Miral.
.....
Despite the battle carrying on for over ten minutes, Albus had remained the only one to have drawn blood, until finally, a moment had risen.
Although it was only for a split second, Rosei had left her left side open, and Albus took the chance, dashing in and leaving a huge gash on her side, causing her to pour blood onto the floor.
Looking down in disbelief, Rosei then drags her eyes to look at Albus before her head is chopped off.
Immersed in his battle with Mihr, Miral doesn't notice until it's too late.
However, when he finally did, he lost all remaining attachment to the world.