The Region's Heart

"Alright," I began thinking of something to say. "This is it. Today we fight as allies and claim our victory. Savages, thank you all for helping us. I know some of you... us, I mean, won't make it."

A Savage stepped forward. "Hey, glad to know you're accepting us. Let's give these fellas a show."

I nodded and looked back down to the two armies. My mind was racing and my heart was beating like a caged animal. This will be the most important fight I've ever had.

My armored arm rose and pointed straight below us. "We just need to open a path there. Our goal is to get to the middle of this mess and end both leaders. Do your best and take care of them for me."

A grim look of violence swept over my face. No one else noticed it because of my closed helmet. It got even more grim when I saw the Wildmen's leader.

A tall figure stood among the crowd. They wore less armor than usual, to proudly present the world their wounds. Messy black hair flowed like water over the figure's head.

They turned around and looked directly at me. It was as if we knew we were going to end up fighting each other. He raised the giant axe he held in his right hand and pointed it directly to me. Then they turned back around to face the Downpour soldiers.

It was a taunt. Something to get a reaction out of me. Unlucky for them, it did. I started to slowly walk down the hill. My slow walk began picking up speed until it was a sprint.

While I was running, I looked up and noticed two things. Some of my Savages were leaping down onto Wildmen. And a hail of fire was quickly advancing towards us.

I readied my dagger and charged headfirst into the Wildman army. Our attack caused the Wildmen to attack Downpour soldiers. They dove into the water and tried to swim into enemy forces.

The rest of the DRT ran out of the woods behind the Downpour soldiers. We had them all surrounded.

A pair of Wildmen swung their weapons at me. While on their way down, I reached down to one of their legs and pulled them below the other's attack. Now I had only one to take care of.

The strange feeling I had when I first held the dagger in my hand came back. I suddenly felt more bloodthirsty. I dug the dagger deep into the Wildman's chest and ripped down.

Guts lined the ground. Before the Wildman could collapse, I grabbed them by their neck and spun them around so their allies could see.

I began sprinting with the corpse in my hand again. When the next unlucky Wildman got too close, I threw the corpse at them and tackled the one next to them.

When I got on the downed Wildman, I went to split their throat. After I did, a stranger feeling overtook me. I felt stronger and made a lot more sense of the situation. My reaction time dramatically increased.

Another Wildmen thrusted their spear downwards onto my back. But before it got halfway to me, I moved out of the way.

Defender came from behind me and impaled the attacker. Her priority switched to putting up her shield in front of me so I could recover, but there was no need.

Six Wildmen attacked the shield all at once. The strength of the blows moved her back. Not wanting to let her withstand more hits. I did something I didn't know I could do under this armor.

I leaped over her shield and onto a Wildman. My heavy armor crushed them on impact. But why was I able to move around this freely?

An axe came flying towards me. Before it reached my body, I reacted fast enough to grab it. Another Wildman came over and attacked me with their sword. They swung down to break a piece of my shoulder armor.

I felt light enough to dodge the attack and stomp on the sword. Then my armor came back to its original weight, my reaction time came back to normal, and I felt my strength decrease.

Confused but still in a fighting mindset, I didn't pay too much attention. Until I slashed my attacker's throat. Then it all returned to me. Something was off with the dagger, and I just unlocked the key.

Using the same axe, I threw it right back and killed another Wildman.

"AH! FINCH!" A voice cried from behind me.

I quickly recognized that voice, it was Defender. I turned to look at her and noticed her state. She was on the ground, muddy boots and flying fists landed on her body.

This triggered an instinct in my mind, one I forgot I had. It was the willingness to lay my life down to keep my family safe. Those Wildmen were attacking the closest thing I had to a family member.

I got off the sword and picked it up. My eyes first noticed how the edges were blunt. Then I noticed it wasn't supposed to cut, it was supposed to break.

Using the rage I gathered, I got closer to the Wildmen. After I got close enough, I sighed and savagely swung the sword against the head of a Wildman.

A crunchy and fleshy sound marked an end to that Wildman's life. Before the others could react, I swung down again and landed a hit on another one's head.

The sword sunk deep into their body. I lifted my foot and kicked the corpse off the sword.

Out of pure rage, I threatened the remaining Wildmen. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"

Silence followed my threat. Only the sounds of Savages combatting Wildmen and the fighting between Wildmen and Downpour continued. But then I heard another sound. This one came from below me.

I noticed Defender was crying. I grew even more enraged. Using the sword, I prepared to cut through a Wildman. I lined the weapon up against a Wildman's stomach. And then I swung.

It was a surprise when it worked. The blunt edged sword cut through the panicked Wildman. But it worked a too well, because I cut through the other two Wildmen next to them. Only one remained.

They screamed in horror as I got closer. I dropped the sword and grabbed the Wildman. My strength tossed the Wildman to the ground, just like how Defender was.

My eyes became watery and my throat got tighter. "FUCK YOU!" I was sobbing.

Then I grabbed the dagger and repeatedly stabbed the Wildman. Even after they died, I kept going. My sobbing turned into crying. A more animalistic side of me was showing.

A pair of arms wrapped around me. These arms didn't have the intention of attacking me, but they had the intention to comfort me.

Defender tightly hugged me. Her crying died down the longer she held me for. I understood she nearly died there. My attacks against the corpse died down. Then I focused on Defender.

She was still weeping. I held in my tears and held onto her. After what felt like minutes, I let go and took off my helmet.

I looked directly at her. "Defender, are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Okay, look at me. Please be strong for a little bit longer. We can do this, you and me!"

"WATCH OUT!" A voice called out.

I looked up to see who it was but then I realized another hail of flames were about to strike us. That encounter drained all of my strength. I didn't bother to try to move out of the way. I closed my eyes and waited for what happened next.

Seconds go by and still nothing hurt me. Then I opened my eyes to see Defender standing over me. Her shield caught fire, her armor was badly beaten and her condition was horrible.

She listened to me. She became strong for me, just like me earlier. I understood what she wanted me to do.

I stood up and scanned the combat in front of me. My Savages cleared a direct route to the center where the leader I saw earlier was.

They fought someone equally large. They looked nearly identical to the Downpour Specter fought. But this one had mostly white and purple around their bodies, with the tear being gold. They didn't seem to struggle with their armor either.

A grim smile swept the tears away from my face. I knew this was exactly what I needed to end the feud.

I turned to look at Defender. "Hey, thanks. I'm not sure if I'll die fighting them. But I'll try my best, for you. And if I die, just know that you're my favorite person. You remind me a lot of my daughter, thank you."

Defender heard me. She began crying even more. Her cries only encouraged my rampage. I wanted to end this fight for good.

I charged directly towards the two and prepared to enter a dance between life and death.