The thing that stood before me was no knight anymore.
It was a monster.
Its helm split open down the middle, jagged edges parting like torn flesh, a gaping maw bleeding black ichor that hissed as it hit the ground. Every breath it exhaled came as a wheeze of tar and rot.
Then it lunged with a haunting scream.
"GRRRHAAAAAHHH!!"
The lancer's movements, once calculated, became feral. Its long arm lashed forward like a whip, the lance spinning in a crazed arc.
CRRAAASH!
Stone exploded as the weapon carved a crater where I'd been standing a heartbeat earlier. Shards of stone bit into my cheek as I rolled past the impact. I swung upward with my spear, aiming for the exposed joint in its shoulder but the beast twisted, faster than before. Its grotesquely elongated arms snapped out with great strength and speed like a striking claw.
SMASH!
The blow caught my ribs, sending me skidding across the ground, sparks flying from my armor. I barely caught myself on one knee before the next strike came down.
"Ghkkk—!"
I rolled sideways as the lance stabbed down, a thunderbolt of black steel embedding deep into the cavern floor. The shockwave rattled my bones. My chance.
I lunged, spear glowing a fiery blue with it's own aura, slashing across the monster's side. Sparks and ichor sprayed as my blade carved through its rib plating.
The lancer didn't even flinch.
"You... What are you?! What oath have you broken to turn undead?! What scourge has rotted your body and twisted your soul?!" I asked. But the feral knight did not answer.
It twisted, backhanding with the length of its broken arm. The jagged stump slammed into me like a club, crushing air from my lungs and hurling me into a crystal pillar. The stone shattered behind me.
Before I could rise, the beast was already looming over me. Its lance swung low in a wide sweep, aiming to bisect me outright.
I threw myself flat, feeling the gale of its strike skim over me, ripping a line across my cloak. In that instant, I stabbed upward with all my strength.
"HHRAAAH!"
The spear drove into its side, slipping between plates. Black ichor spilled across my arms, sizzling where it touched flesh.
The lancer screamed, not in pain, but in rage—its maw widening unnaturally as it shrieked like grinding steel. Its long leg lashed out, kicking me square in the chest.
CRKKHH!
My vision flashed white as I slammed into the cavern wall. I could barely breath,I could barely hear and I could barely focus.
Armor caved, bones screamed. I staggered up, spear trembling in my hands.
Then it was looming over me again.
A storm of thrusts—stab, stab, stab—its massive lance blurring as it rained down strikes like a beast tearing apart prey. I spun, deflected, barely angled my spear to parry each thrust. The sparks blinded me, the force numbed my arms.
One thrust slipped through.
The jagged lance tore across my side, ripping through armor and flesh. Blood spilled hot.
"Ghkkk—damn—!"
The beast's claw shot out, slamming into my helmet. I staggered, the impact rattling my skull. Pain flared in my jaw, neck, and shoulders. I coughed blood, vision red and blurred, and the whispers in my mind grew louder, echoing with every impact.
CLAMP!
The world shrank as my feet lifted from the ground. Its grip crushed down, steel screaming as my helm buckled inward. My skull rang with white-hot pressure. My spear flickered, dematerializing into nothing as my focus shattered under the crushing force.
The cavern dimmed. My heartbeat slowed.
The words rang through the fog of my breaking mind.
⟪Hero… you must defeat this monster.⟫
Again. Louder.
⟪You must defeat this monster.⟫
⟪You must defeat this monster.⟫
⟪Hero… you must defeat this monster.⟫
⟪You are at death's door…⟫
⟪You… must… fight.⟫
'S...shut up,' I said a retort inside my own mind. Hoping it would make the messages go away. But they didn't.
⟪You… must… fight.⟫
⟪Fight...fight... fight⟫
⟪Hero… you must defeat this monster.⟫
I could barely comprehend anything. My mind was slipping into darkness. Pain consumed me, body and soul alike. But as the strange whispers flowed into me my mind became calmer.
With every single ounce of pain this lancer caused me I could feel its malice, its deliberate intent to destroy everything about me.
This...this beast,it was so twisted that it could not help but express pure hatred.
Blood dripped into my eyes. My helm cracked further, vision red. The whispers howled in unison.
'I was unsealed to serve my duty to an empire I barely know...why am I doing this? I could've simply ran,yet,I stayed and fought. Was it because...something inside me screamed that this was not natural? That these undead beings were suffering an eternal torture?'
My mind wavered.
'Or maybe I am simply a dead man,'
The lancer's grip pressed relentlessly against my head. Blood seeped into the inside of my helm, warm and metallic, filling my nostrils with the sharp tang of iron. The scent did not remind me of the joy of life,it was a reminder of the fragile, fleeting mortalitythat held my body together.
A cold dread crept through me that gnawed at the edges of my mind.
Was it fear for my own life, I wondered, or something different? A fear that I might fail my duty, that the centuries of oaths and purpose I had carried would crumble to nothing?
Each pulse of pain hammered the question deeper, until I could no longer tell whether it was the fear of death or the fear of dishonor that truly consumed me.
"Not… yet…"
With a final gasp, I let the helm vanish in a burst of light. The crushing eased for an instant.
And in that breath, my weapon returned.
The spear blazed into being in my hands, brighter than ever, fire licking along its edge.
I roared, driving it upward, straight into the gaping maw. My eyes cried tears of red blood as my pupils glowed fiery blue.
SKRRRCHHHHKK!
The blade burst through the monster's head, black ichor spraying in rivers as it reeled backward.
"KERGHHHAHH!"
The grip released. I crashed to the ground, gasping, blood pouring from my side and temple. The spear fell along with me.
Above me, the lancer staggered, shrieking with a voice that tore through the cavern walls. Its maw gaped wider, ichor streaming, body thrashing against the cavern itself.
The ground shook beneath its fury.
"Wra...Wra... WRAATHHHH!!"
I lay there, my spear trembling in my hands, lungs clawing for air. For the first time, I wasn't sure I'd survive the next scream.
I spat blood onto the stone and wiped my nose, smearing red across my gauntlet. Warm red droplets traced down my cheeks and hit the ground.
I glanced at my weapon. The black blade was slick with even darker blood, its edge practically vanished into the cavern's shadows as if it belonged there. Maybe it did.
I drew a deep breath and immediately regretted it—the iron stench filled my chest, sharp and metallic, a taste of death on my tongue.
My mana sputtered weakly, a dim pulse where a storm once raged. Pain pooled in my core. Then, as if in defiance, it surged again—wild and searing, like a sudden lightning strike.
Blue fire bloomed along the spear's edge and then along my own body, burning through the darkness. Across from me, the knight straightened, wounds knitting, its red, gemlike eyes fixed on me with hatred.
My legs screamed at me to stay down, but I forced them to obey. One breath. Another. I rose.
"There's a high chance I'll die here," I said, voice hoarse. "And a low one you will. Honestly, I don't even know why I keep fighting. But something inside me whispers you're corrupted beyond my understanding."
The lancer gave no reply.
"I hope slaying you will give me the answer."
I rushed forward.