Abandon All Hope

Iron Ax shook Gust Staff awake. She blinked her eyes open quickly and then winced from the pain. As she slowly sat up looking around she could see knights all huddled conversing while others created a barricade. "We are locked in the courtyard, we make our stand here" one shouted to the others. "If he gets through we fall back into the palace and barricade it" a higher looking knight shouted. Gust Staff looked around in confusion. Bruce was sharpening his sword and was staring at the barricade. "What is going on?" She asked Iron Axe who looked saddened as she asked. She looked over seeing Lord Tupper paced about and had sweat beading off his head. He had a bruised cheek and his clothes were ruined. Patches of burned spots coated his robe. Gist Staff stood up slowly and staggered over to Lord Tupper. "My lord, what is happening?!" She was frantic trying to get answers quickly. He opened his mouth and then paused to clear his throat with a grunt. 

"Seems the transmutation was successful as you well know. The king is now a true hybrid, but the transformation has changed him somehow. He demands a cull of all weak knights to serve him in fighting the Void King. Half our number is dead, one Blade the Bedlam Bow is confirmed dead. Fire Sword his missing presumed dead. Lord…Mills…is dead.." Gust scowled at him quietly as the wheels turned. 

'The king seemed more enlightened and powerful, but he seemed sane when we interacted?' She rubbed her head. She thought back to the interaction before being knocked out. Con Man was there at some point. She looked around "Where is Con Man?" Lord Tupper looked confused. "I don't know where the Black Group is.." his eyes then bulged open wide. "Are you suggesting we get their assistance so we could contact them?" He went to leave when Gust Staff stopped him. "No the opposite Con will assist in this cull he will untouched being acceptable I don't think that notion has changed either. The king always saw his potential as a sword in shadows" she looked at the barricade. "Black Group will be culled as well, but not by the king. He will send them here to prove themselves" her staff came into her hands with white and blue sparks. She then tapped the ground with it and blue chi started to swirl around her and then expanded the whole courtyard. Rising from it was the dead army she collected from the War Realm. Summoning them here drained much of her chi as she had to catch her balance with the staff. 

Knights were on edge backing away looking at them with disdain. This did not go unnoticed by Gust who reassured the knights, "They are controlled by me" she shouted putting their minds at ease. She then sat upon a bench in the courtyard to catch her breath. She then looked at Bruce and gestured with her chin pointing at him, "How's he doing?" Lord Tupper took a seat next to her. "As well as anyone can be in this situation. He then looked at the barricade, "There is a good chance we are going to die. I don't know where the king is at the moment, probably prowling for stragglers before coming here" he sighed. His face had a look of defeat and exhaustion and didn't see any hope. In his mind he thought of how he wouldn't be spared either. He was no warrior, he was a thinker and planner. That was all he was built for being short and overweight. But he was smarter than most and even in this desperate situation he saw the writing on the wall. He was like all killed on this day expendable to the king, nothing more and nothing less. "You really think the Black Group will betray us?" Gust nodded. "My gut tells me that the king not being here means he is sending others to thin the herd" she stopped and smelled the air. Getting some unknown sense a distance from the courtyard. It smelled like body odor that gave off a lilac scent. Another had no scent, but she could hear their heartbeat moving down the alleyways of the city. It was steady and composed. More scents were all around their sources moving quietly and slowly towards their location. 

"Seems our time is up" she to her hooved feet and saw Bruce was doing the same. Iron Axe followed her lead and followed her. "Lord Tupper I would get inside the palace" the old man nodded and then scurried away into the palace disappearing in the darkness. 

Gust and Bruce stood next to each other his big sword in hand. "Don't die" he told her before going to the opposite end of the courtyard. She felt a presence coming up towards the courtyard she sniffed the air. "Lilac…" she then manifested her stag armor and waited. She didn't wait long till hell broke loose. The knights all stood in lines and waited behind Gust Staff, Bruce, and Iron Axe. 

One barricade erupted into splinters as a woman coated in red chi burst through. She wore a covering over her breasts with a cloak around her shoulders with a black emblem of a teardrop with a skull inside it. She wore shorts with a skirt. She had long curly brown hair, olive skin, and scars marked upon it. She had one arm covered in rune tattoos. She grinned big as she stared at the army in front of her. She had piercing white pupil eyes as she looked them all over. She then crossed her arms in annoyance. "Hmmm…so this is it? All that's left of the army?" She began to click her tongue and shook her head. 

Gust felt another presence that came from above a man with a band over his eyes with a metal plate with a single eye upon it. He held a saber in his hand and strings of chi were wrapped around his free hand. He jumped down and landed opposite the woman. He had a sash across his chest with the same emblem as the woman only bigger and more predominant. The man had scruffy white hair fanned out by the band over his eyes. He had a scruffy face and a scar across his nose. He looked in the direction of the woman, "See you're the first to arrive as always Sarah" he said nonchalantly. The woman looked at him with a side eye. "Best pick up the pace if you want to beat me Zerrick. Just as well the others should be close behind if you're here" she then looked at Iron Axe. "Let's start the party!" With a flash and a boom she was in front of the giant man throwing a punch at his shield he brought up. He flew back into knights and dead puppets killing some in the process. He finally stopped after he hit the wall creating a massive crater. Blood poured from his stone mouth. Sarah shook her head, "Thought he'd be more sturdy. Shame" she then started attacking knights and undead, killing them with a single punch. 

Zerrick's head then pulled towards Bruce. He extended his wrapped arm sending strings of chi out grabbing knights behind him and attacking Bruce with his own troops. Like marionettes they unwillingly attacked Bruce. He became distracted as he blocked them away and used the flat of his sword. "Seems you care about your men. Your heartbeats are frantic" Zerrick extended his arm and swiped the side. The chi strings wrapped around the knights then stuck against the walls of the courtyard. 

The men were then trapped as the strings tightened as the web formed. Knights that were free from his grasp had attacked. He dodged a slash and drove a knee into the knight's helmet. It spun around blinding him from the sword slash across his chest. The knight fell dead to the ground. 

Zerrick made his move weaving through the knights, cutting them down with a single slash. He slashed at Bruce who quickly parried the saber blade and stabbed at Zerrick. He jumped back and stabbed at Bruce's chest hitting the flat part of his sword pushing back. He slid on his heels and became mist moving towards Zerrick. He then extended out tendrils of chi wrapping around the mist form of Bruce who became solid. His eyes widened as he froze there holding up his sword. 

Zerrick with a cold expression clenched his fist as the strings tightened causing Bruce to feel trapped. He pushed out and turned solid to mist. Like a flicker of a light going off and on. "Weak" he then swiped his arm and threw Bruce through a wall. He burst through to the other side into a hallway. He slowly got to his feet and he swayed, dizzy. He could see figures all in black coming into the hall. Some saw him and ran at him. He was now engaged with two Black Group assassins. He cut one down and saw the knights in the courtyard being cut down by Zerrick. 

He was then pounced upon by a woman in black who dug metal claws into his back. Bruce screamed and yanked her off and impaling her with his sword. More came as a black wave of crazed and powerful foes flooded the courtyard.