Attack of the Fake Cerberus (Final)

"RAAAAAGH!"

"WROOOOOAAAGH!!"

*CLASH!!*

Zaneth and Mirtis clashed clashed swords with each other, causing a shockwave around them.

*Crack!*

Even though Mirtis stopped Zaneth's sword, Mirtis is still 2 ranks lower than Zaneth. The reason Zaneth didn't cut through Mirtis' Bone Sword with his aura is because Zaneth's trauma. Even so, Zaneth's brute strength alone is enough to cut him down.

The real reason for that is Mirtis' Terror has an extra effect since he is an undead. After Terror is successful, he lowers ATK, DEF, and SPD by 2% for 30 seconds. This stacks 10 times for every Death Knight or higher is near by, but only when an undead has the Commander skill. Since Mirtis is a Death Knight Captain and has the Commander skill, it's a no-brainer. Additionally, since there are 7 Death Knights, that's a 14% debuff on these 3 stats!

"System, what is Zaneth's condition?"

[Checking...complete.]

[Zaneth: Trauma, Terror, Debilitated(-14%, 30 seconds)]

Excellent, it did carry over! Now to push the advantage.

"Gris, Noire, Saeva, subdue the Dimlight Lion, be sure not to kill him." I said to the three.

*Grrr!*

*Swoosh!*

Gris growled and ran above the skeleton army to run on the cave walls. Noire went into the shadows of skeletons to get to the lion.

*GRAARGH!*

*BZZOOM!*

The lion roared and fired 3 beams of light. Two at the army and one at Gris, running at the wall.

*BOOM!!* *BOOM!*

Flash of lights explode on impact, decimating skeletons in its wake.

[50 skeletons defeated.]

[Now reanimating.]

*Swoosh!*

"Noire, use Shadow Claw." I said.

*GRAWR!*

Noire jumped out of the shadows before the explosion. Noire used her Tier-III Dark Magic, Shadow Claw at the lion. Of course, the lion immune to Dark Magic, but it's just magic at the end of the day. What came after is physical.

*Wham!*

*AAARRGH!*

The strike knocked the lion aside to a cave wall. The lion shakes himself to shrug off the pain.

*Snarl!*

Gris kept running on the wall and became a silver blur as always to close the distance on the lion.

*Swoosh!*

*Bam!*

*Pow!*

*WHAM!*

*CRASH!*

Gris struck the lion in multiple places in an instant. Gris was too fast for the lion to defend himself. The lion was sent flying across to the cave wall and slammed right into it.

*Grrrr...*

The lion stood up, but his legs tremble from the blows. Zaneth sees the lion staggering while Gris and Noire are coming in closer.

"Don't you dare--!" Zaneth tried to get to the lion, but he got Mirtis to worry about.

"RAAAAGH!" Mirtis knocked Zaneth's sword aside to slash at Zaneth's chest that is undefended.

*SLASH!*

But Zaneth counters him by giving Mirtis a horizontal slash. This slash bisects Mirtis in half.

Zaneth tries to fend off Gris and Noire to protect the lion, but Zaneth felt a tight grip on his ankle. He looks back to see Mirtis grabbed his ankle. Mirtis looked at Zaneth with fury in his eyes.

"Raaaah!" Mirtis grunted, saying that he will not escape from his sight which brought more of his trauma to resurface. However, he refuse to freeze up. He stabbed Mirtis in the chest to get Mirtis to let go, but as an undead, Mirtis cannot feel pain.

"Protect Zaneth!" one of the bandits yelled and ran towards him. The other bandits ran to save him as well.

"No! Save the lion!" Zaneth yelled as losing the lion would mean losing any effectiveness in defeating the undead army. They turned to see Gris and Noire surrounding the unconscious Dimlight Lion.

"Stop the wolves!" the bandits yelled, rushing towards them with various weapons in their hands.

"Gris, use your wind." I said.

With my command, Gris glared down at the bandits and released a gust of wind at them. The bandits were knocked back by the wind and Zaneth felt the wind too. Gris did not growl, he did not bare his fangs at them, and his tail wasn't pointing upwards.

"This wolf...is not growling?"

"He just used wind...and were pushed back." The bandits noticed that Gris showed no killing intent. If he wanted to, these bandits would be dead within seconds.

Gris turned his tail at them, pretending that the bandits don't exist.

"We're not even worth his time?" one of the bandits said, trembling.

"What are you doing!? Attack them!" Zaneth yelled.

"W-we can't...if we do...we'll no doubt die."

The bandits could not move from where they stand as it could be their swift deaths. They could either be killed and reanimated as an undead or killed by a wolf. Well, either way, I might reanimate them too.

[560 hostiles remain. The second group of bandits has surrendered.]

Awesome, now I can make the finishing touches and break Zaneth down mentally.

"My Death Knights, come to Mirtis." I said telepathically.

*Wrooooh...*

The shadows began to emerge from Mirtis' shadow and 7 more Death Knights has appeared. Those Death Knights returned with blood and bits of entrails splattered around them. Zaneth jumped back, escaping Mirtis' grip.

The lower half of Mirtis slid back into his torso and stood up. Mirtis picked up his weapon and growled at Zaneth where the other Death Knights growled as well.

Zaneth's bravery soon quickly collapsed as the skeletons and Death Knights, but he still has his lion. He looks back in hopes his bandits were taking on the two wolves to save his lion. Only to have his hopes crushed where the lion is nowhere to be seen, including the wolves.

Behind me where I was on top of Zala, Gris, Noire, and the lion appeared from the shadows. I jumped down and took a closer look.

The lion showed signs of old scars on his body and his ankles are also bare from the metal shackles. This must mean either the lion went through battles or Zaneth abused the lion as a way to vent out his trauma. Either way, Zaneth is gonna need some therapy after I'm done with him.

"Kill them all, make sure you break Zaneth's spirit." I said.

Mirtis and the other Death Knights have their eyes flash red again with my command.

"GROOOOOOAAAAARRGH!!!" Mirtis and the Death Knights roared at Zaneth and the bandits.

"AAAAAAAGH!!" the bandits scream, some ran, some fight desperately, but the Death Knights and skeletons making a full assault massacres them without remorse.

*Slash!*

"AAARGH!!"

"No, please! Don't kill--"

*Stab!*

*CRACK!*

"EEEEKK!!"

The screams of suffering, the pleas for mercy, the sounds of flesh and armor being crushed and ripped to shreds resounds throughout the cave where Zaneth can only stand and remember how the bandits died horribly.

By the dozens, the skeletons attack and cut down the bandits, those that did survive the first hit, the other skeletons will finish them off.

One of the bandits closest to Zaneth fell forward, blood stained on his face, and his ragged wheezing. The bandit looks at Zaneth with the expression of pain and despair, the same face Zaneth saw when Wulnus attacked.

"Please...I don't want...to die. Zaneth...don't let me..."

*Stab!*

Mirtis stabbed the bandit in the back, causing him to spit blood from his mouth. The bandit rolled his eyes up, choking and dies thereafter.

Mirtis looks down at Zaneth and gave him a low growl that he is next.

[Attention, 5 minutes remaining until the armies arrive at this location.]

Okay, time to wrap this up. In the game, I can recall my undead army in the shadows and summon them again at any time without cost since I have Necromancy.

"Mirtis, roar and swing at Zaneth. But make sure you don't actually kill him, he needs to experience fear." I said, smiling maliciously.

With that, Mirtis raised his sword and his eyes flashed red again. Zaneth on the other end gasped and trembled at the sight of him.

"WROOOOAAGH!!" Mirtis roared and swung his sword downwards at Zaneth.

"AAAAAAHHH!!!" Zaneth screamed as tears began flowing from his eyes as he can do nothing but scream for his life, the same thing Wulnus came and one-sidedly massacred his bandit army while they beg for their lives.

Zaneth closes his eyes, hoping it was a nightmare and he would wake up immediately. And then it was silent. Zaneth opened one of his eyes to find that Mirtis is no longer here. No Death Knights, no skeletons, no shadow hounds, and no "Cerberus" anywhere.

Zaneth began to convince himself that it was a nightmare, but as he started looking around, it was real. The bloodstains, the corpses, the bandit that pleaded for his life, the bandits that did survive were scattered.

The bandits hold onto their heads, whimpering, muttering, sobbing, quivering from the fear that the undead army has inflicted on. Their minds has been thoroughly damaged beyond repair.

Zaneth's mind kept replaying the times where Wulnus invaded, killed, butchered, and reanimated his bandits while they pleaded for mercy. The screams that play in his mind that he held back for so long has been resurfaced.

Zaneth that was once a brave fighter who made the knights and adventurers alike fear him into a feeble, broken man, forever enslaved by his trauma that had resurfaced once again.

Zaneth now curls into a fetal while holding his head and cry while the rain and thunder continues throughout the night.