Tiafell - Saga 3 - The Chosen Elf

Chapter 33: The Day Evil Trembled

Brunus clumsily navigated the warzone, carrying with him gold and gemstones crammed into sacks thrown over his shoulders. Luckily for Brunus, the demons and vampires attacking the village were too distracted by other dwarves to notice the fat one slipping by.

The greedy dwarf made it to the secret passage he told his attendants about, filling his avaricious heart with luxurious and lustful thoughts of gorgeous women wearing bikinis made of gemstones, swimming in a pool of liquid gold behind his mansion, all of them begging for his attention and sex. Salvation and his wildest dreams were within reach.

Stifling a chuckle, Brunus entered the passage, passing through the winding tunnels until he ran into a cloaked figure wearing a robe belonging to the Red Crescent Coven.

"EEP!!" Brunus squealed. "O-Oh, yer with Dred's forces! Please, ye have ta help me escape! Zera promised that I would live because I kept Orvik from discovering that she and her tribe dug the tunnel yer allies used ta get here!"

The hooded figure, Alto, leered at Brunus. "I do not serve Dred," He stated ominously.

Brunus' face turned pale, and his forehead broke into a cold sweat. "Please, I'll do anything! Here!" The obese dwarf presented one of his sacks of loot. "Take this! I'll pay whatever ye want! Just spare my- ACK!!!"

Alto stopped Brunus' pleading by jamming a dagger into the side of his neck. "You're in my way," Alto said coldly before yanking the blade out, ripping Brunus' left jugular vein, windpipe, and throat open.

With blood spraying heavily from his neck, Brunus dropped to his side, flailing helplessly. Because his windpipe had been severed, he could not scream; his cries were mere gargles. Brunus weakly grabbed Alto's ankle as if begging the Elven vampire to save him.

Alto kicked Brunus' hand away, then licked the dwarf's blood off the blade. "Your blood tastes of greed and cowardice. It's revolting."

In his final moments, Brunus watched Alto snatch one of the bags of loot, empty its contents, and use the fabric to clean his blade. As the Elven vampire walked away, Brunus' vision faded, and all went dark and silent.

"He came through here, so this must lead to the village," Alto concluded, leaving the dead Brunus behind. "What I did to that dwarf is nothing compared to what I have in store foryou, Tiafell," Alto grinned maliciously.

"Just you wait..."

~~~

Tiafell remained still upon returning to the Dwarven Village. The divine energy flowing through him was immense; he wasn't sure if he could fully control it. As he tried to rein in his new power, numerous demons and vampires approached him.

"Lord Dred has ordered us to kill you. Any last words, you sissy elf?" A demon threatened.

Tiafell surveyed the group. "So, Dred wants me dead now? I see, Gadrael must truly terrify him."

"I tend to have that effect on blasphemous fools like Dred!" Gadrael boasted inside Tiafell's head.

Tiafell continued speaking to the group in front of him. "You don't need to follow Dred's orders. Forget about me and walk away; I promise no harm will come to you!"

Everyone in the group laughed riotously, like they had heard the most hilarious joke ever. The demon who addressed him spoke while laughing. "Someone thinks they're high and mighty just cuz they got a purdy new sword! Seriously, I don't see what Lord Dred is so afraid-"

His sentence and existence ended abruptly when Tiafell dashed forward and cut him in two; the demon's remains disintegrated into nothing before they hit the ground. This caused the others to stop laughing and attack Tiafell at once. However, all of them met the same fate. The elf sliced through them in a few seconds, displaying speed that was almost too fast for Tiafell himself to keep up with, stumbling upon coming to a stop.

"Honey, you got my power, like, forty seconds ago! Pace yourself and adjust to it slowly!" Gadrael lectured the elf.

"Right, sorry." Tiafell chuckled awkwardly. "Whew, thisisgoing to take some getting used to."

Tiafell took a moment to steady himself, then took off. Even at a more sustainable pace, he still soared through the streets with tremendous speed and slew enemies by the dozens.

Near the Town Hall, Henzele and her three small children were surrounded by various types of demons. She raised her axe, determined to defend her babies to the bitter end. The frightened children clung to their mother's skirt.

An orc raised his club, ready to strike, but was suddenly cut in half from behind. The two halves disintegrated, revealing Tiafell as the attacker.

"Stay where you are and protect your children!" Tiafell commanded.

Henzele knelt to cradle her young. The enemies turned their attention to Tiafell and charged at him as a group. In only a few short seconds, however, Tiafell cut through them as easily as slicing the air, leaving nothing of them behind.

"Whooooooaaaa!!!" Henzele's oldest daughter squealed. "Are ye on our side?!"

"Yes!" The elf smiled, nodding at the little girl, then told Henzele, "If you have a good hiding place, allow me to escort you there."

"Thank ye, young lady!" Henzele tearfully showed her appreciation. "My husband and I have a cellar with a thick door at home. I can barricade us inside."

Tiafell chose not to correct Henzele on his gender, deciding that escorting the mother and her children was more important. Along the way, the super-powered elf effortlessly took down every enemy that blocked their path.

Reaching the basement, Henzele took her children inside. "Tiafell, right? My husband, Orvik, is the Chief of our village and will surely reward ye in some way. Please find him, I know he could use yer help!"

"There is no reward needed, but I will find your husband and let him know that all of you are safe. Stay inside until you hear Orvik's voice telling you to come out!" Tiafell ordered. Henzele closed and sealed the door.

Going back outside, Tiafell continued his one-man crusade to thin the enemy army out. He sliced through single opponents and groups, sometimes with a single attack. Eventually, Tiafell discovered that he could fire golden projectiles of divine energy from Gadrael's blade. Each one landed with explosive force, destroying droves of enemies at once. Within minutes, Tiafell had single-handedly decimated most of Dred's forces, earning cheers of praise from the dwarves.

Nearby, Mirya was doing her best to assist the dwarves, having separated from Orvik and Kanah to cover more ground. However, she was at her limit and almost out of magic. A vampire moved in to run her through. Mirya closed her eyes, awaiting her end, but instead heard the clang of metal and her attacker's death cry.

"Mirya!! Are you hurt?!" Tiafell called out. When Mirya opened her eyes, the elf she loved was standing before her, holding his hand out. She answered by throwing her arms around his neck. Tiafell returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around her lower back.

"Tee-Tee!! You're back!!" Mirya sobbed. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Just getting tired, that's all." She pulled away, placing her hands on Tiafell's chest and looking up at him.

"I'm glad. If anything had happened to you, I..." Tiafell stopped. He and Mirya gazed into each other's eyes, momentarily forgetting about everything going on around them. However, their moment was cut short when a large group of Red Crescent Coven vampires surrounded them. "Mirya, whatever happens, do not move from this spot."

"Okay..." Despite being surrounded and greatly outnumbered, Mirya felt safe by the Tiafell's side, like nothing could happen to her.

Tiafell let Mirya go and turned to face the vampires. "Listen, I would prefer to stop taking so many lives, but Iwillfight back! So, I offer you a choice. Walk away and live, or approach us and die. The decision is yours!" His proposal was met with mockery.

"Ha, don't be so full of yourself! Not evenyoucan kill all ofus!!"

"As you wish," Tiafell gripped Gadrael with both hands, readying himself.

The vampires closed in on Tiafell and Mirya. The female mage squatted down, closed her eyes, and covered her head, hearing only the sounds of battle around her. To the shock of the coven members, Tiafell was untouchable, outmaneuvering everyone and vanishing them with counterstrikes in quick succession.

"Lord Esteban, save us!!" Those were the final words of the last attacker in the group when Tiafell's blade pierced his heart. The vampire's body, along with his soul, dissolved into nothing.

Mirya opened her eyes to see that the assailants were gone, leaving only Tiafell with her.

"It's over, Mirya. You're safe." Tiafell reassured her, returning to the mage. "I've killed enough of them that the dwarves should be able to finish the rest off. Let's go join the others."

"O-Okay." Mirya's heart pounded. Tiafell, the love of her life, had never been so confident, so cool; it was almost more than she could take.

Gadrael vanished in Tiafell's hand, similar to how the mages' staves disappear when not in use. "It'll be faster if I carry you."

Before Mirya could respond, Tiafell scooped her up into his arms and began running, carrying her. All Mirya could do was wrap her arms around Tiafell's neck and hold on. The surprises kept coming, and she loved every bit of it. When they had a moment alone later, Mirya was going to give Tiafell the ride of his life.

~~~

Trista resumed her battle against Dred, which became far more dangerous than the others happening around them. With both opponents in enhanced states, stone buildings crumbled in their wake, and the cavern around them shook.

Trista moved at speeds surpassing what the eye could see and unleashed powerful magic that would have vaporized any other foe. However, Dred's ghastly, mutated form granted him two dozen arms all over his body for protection. Though he had so many more arms, only Dred's original four held weapons; the hands and fingers on the newer ones were too malformed to hold anything.

Watching through the crystal ball, Hinako was on the edge of her seat. "What has Dred done to himself? Is there any limit to what that creature's abilities?!"

Samora, mildly concerned for Trista's safety, answered calmly, "Father once told me that Dred is a parasitic being that leeched the essence out of countless demons in the Underworld. They are the source of his bizarre powers, and can affect him in any number of ways."

"How did Sir Marlon know that?" Hinako looked at Samora.

"Cardexx told him," Samora replied, "which is another reason why I suspect he could have provided answers to so many mysteries. Sadly, those secrets may be forever lost now."

Hinako was silent for a moment as she looked back at the crystal ball. "I don't suppose it mattersnow. What's important is that Dred is about to be erased from existence, body and soul."

"Correct. I just hope Trista can hold Dred off long enough for Tiafell to get there."

The two witches watched through the crystal ball with bated breath.

~~~

Seething in fear and rage, Dred's face ripped open along his jawline, forming a "mouth". "I'm going to do what I should have done to begin with... bring this entire mountain down on top of you all!!!!" He tilted his head straight up and released an intense orange beam at the ceiling, intending to cause a cave-in and crush everyone to death.

"No!!" Trista mounted her staff and flew upward at top speed, placing herself between the ceiling and Dred's beam. With only seconds to spare, she held her weapon in both hands in front of her and allowed the energy to hit. Though she stopped it momentarily, Trista couldn't keep this up; she would tire before Dred did.

Having no other choice, Trista sent forth a wave of holy magic without uttering a syllable. The white plasma slowly overtook Dred's, pushing it back. After several tense seconds, Dred's orange beam and Trista's holy magic canceled each other out.

With the threat of a cave-in neutralized, Trista returned to the ground. "You are so afraid of Tiafell... that you were willing to sacrifice... everyone to stop him...?!" She huffed, visibly strained but still able to fight. "You coward!!"

Dred let out a low growl. "I had always planned to bury this village under tons of rock so no one would ever find Gadrael. If the rest of you die in the process, then all the better for me!"

Zera hissed furiously. Lacking eyes, she couldn't see what happened, but heard what Dred told Trista thanks to her advanced hearing. "Dred lied to us all; heneverintended to help us reclaim our home!!" The subterranean leader lowered her weapon, ending her fight against Brion. "You were right, Brion, but do not think this makes us allies. I merely know who mytrueenemy is now." Zera spun her double-sided weapon, then went after Dred, leaving Brion behind.

"Zera..." Brion said quietly, having gained respect for Zera. Having no other opponent, the Amazon left to help Orvik and Kanah aid the other dwarves.

As Dred was about to say something to Trista, he saw Zera coming in the corner of his eye and blocked her weapon with one of his. "What are you doing?"

Zera roared threateningly, then screamed, "You used us! No one double-crosses the subterraneans and lives to tell about it!!"

"Of course I did. I needed you and your people to dig a tunnel for me. Now that I am here, you serve me no other purpose. You and your ugly reptile friends will be entombed here with the others."

Zera opened her mouth to spray acid in Dred's face, melting half the demon's head. However, Dred was more annoyed by it than anything. His head immediately began regenerating.

"Pathetic..." Dred's blades slashed Zera's body, cutting her deeply, then he punched her with enough force to send her flying backward. The reptilian screeched in agony as she soared through the air and landed in a nearby body of water. Bleeding heavily, Zera floated motionlessly in the water until she sank below the surface.

"NO!!!" Brion screamed, having watched from afar. His hands trembled, tightening the grip on his claymore's hilt. "Zera didn't deserve to die in such a callous manner. Tiafell will make you pay, Dred..." Suppressing his anger, Brion continued his mission to help the dwarves.

Sensing Zera's fate, the remaining subterraneans retaliated by turning on their demonic and vampiric allies, giving the dwarves much-needed relief. Although this did little to mend the hostilities between them, the subterraneans and the dwarves ignored each other for the rest of the battle in an unspoken truce.

"As I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, I've decided that since I cannot possess Tiafell,youshall become my host instead!!" Dred told Trista darkly. His melted head finished repairing itself.

"Give it your best shot, you ghoulish freak!" Trista engaged Dred in another round of combat. However, because Trista had used so much of her power, the gap between her and Dred closed, making the fight evenly matched.

~~~

The battle between Cirris and Esteban intensified, becoming another one of the more aggressive battles in the Dwarven Village.

Even with Cirris fighting seriously, Esteban still maintained his advantage, though the young mage surprised him at times.

When there was distance between them, Esteban raised his hand, causing a nearby boulder to rise and hover over him.

"Catch!" Esteban challenged Cirris, then moved his hand. The rock moved through the air as if the Vampire Lord had thrown it himself.

"Fuck!!" Cirris yelled, hastily ducking under the boulder as it went over his head. "Too close..." He huffed, realizing too late that the boulder was only a distraction.

By the time Cirris was upright again, Esteban was already within striking distance. The Vampire Lord slashed the only part of Cirris not protected by water, his face.

Screaming in miserable agony, Cirris dropped his weapons and fell onto his back, holding his face with both hands. Blood oozed from between his fingers and under his palms. The water surrounding Cirris' body fell away, soaking the ground.

"Hmph," Esteban smirked, then licked Cirris' blood off his rapier. "I quite enjoy sampling the blood of a worthy foe, and yours is a delicacy. Consider it an honor that I shall take what you haven't already lost from that cut on your face."

"Fuck... you..." Cirris was in so much pain that he could barely speak.

"CIRRIS!!!!" Nadia wailed, trying to run to Cirris, but was cut off by Grimswald.

"And where the fuck do you thinkyou'regoing, you half-human whore?" Grimswald jeered Nadia.

"Get out of my way, Grimswald!! I'm only going to warn you once!!!"

"HA! What the fuck areyougoing to do? You have yet to lay a goddamn hand on me so far!"

As Grimswald continued to insult Nadia in his usual vulgar way, something inside the dhampir snapped, unlocking a tremendous, hidden power. Without stopping to think, Nadia attacked Grimswald and knocked the former knight's sword out of his hands.

"What the-" Grimswald was suddenly run through the chest by Nadia's weapon that narrowly missed his heart. "FUUUUCK??!!"

Roaring in primal fury, Nadia swung her sword with Grimswald still impaled on it, and flung him away. The foul-mouthed vampire swore repeatedly as he tumbled down a sloped street, landing in a pile of garbage.

Within seconds, Nadia stood defensively between Esteban and Cirris, glaring at her father. "Don't touch him, you bastard!!"

Esteban was shocked by the energy his daughter gave off. "Nadia... you have somehow become a Vampire Lordwithoutthe ritual! Perhaps it was from seeing this human get hurt. You love him, don't you?"

"So what if I do?" Nadia berated her father. "Youonce loved a human,I'mliving proof!"

Esteban sighed deeply. "And look where that got your mother."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! Stop talking about my mother as if you cared about her at all, murderer!!!"

"Nadia..." Cirris sat up wearily, holding a hand over his bleeding face, leaving his right eye exposed. "Stand aside... I'm not finished with this asshole yet!"

"Cirris, no, please rest, you've lost so much blood!" Nadia pleaded tenderly with Cirris while keeping her eyes on Esteban. "I'lltake him on!"

"But... you can't kill him... without holy energy..." Cirris tried to stand but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"What aboutdivineenergy?" The hand belonged to Tiafell, who had arrived by Cirris' side with Mirya. Though outwardly calm, the elf was horrified and angered to see Cirris so badly injured.

Nadia quickly turned back, saying Tiafell's name at the same time as Cirris.

"Let me see..." Mirya urged Cirris to move his hand and gasped mournfully upon seeing the extent of the damage to her twin brother's face. There was a deep cut spanning Cirris' right cheek, across his nose, and over his left eyebrow. His left eye was closed; Mirya feared her brother would lose that eye.

"Ah, Tiafell, you and I have never had the pleasure!" Esteban bowed. "I am Esteban Lenzo, Vampire Lord and leader of the Red Crescent Coven. I have heard much about you."

"I know who you are, and I don't care," Tiafell said flatly. Gadrael reappeared in the elf's hand. "I'm going to make sure you never harm another person." Tiafell held the godly weapon with both hands. "Prepare to die, Esteban!"

Esteban's lips curled into a slight smile. "I thought you were modest, based on what I've heard. Perhaps, like poor Cirris, you think too highly of yourself. And, like him, you shall pay the price for your insolence."

Esteban needed Tiafell alive to weaken Dred so he could use the demon as a power source for the "Eternal Night", a spell that would help create a vampire utopia. But the Vampire Lord could not forgive such arrogance either, especially from a girly elf like Tiafell. Merely humiliating him would have to do.