The Rogue Knight [ii]

By now, Dahlia had thrown herself into the fray as she lunged at the knight with claws extended, even despite the situation she was still as fearless as ever. Her muscles strained, eyes wild with a savage need to stop the unrelenting monster before her. Each swipe of her claws met only the impenetrable surface of his black armor, the sound of metal clashing with fleshless resolve filling the air. Her attacks, frantic and full of force, barely slowed him. She managed to stall him for mere seconds, no more than ten, before he retaliated with terrifying precision.

In a single, swift movement, the knight's hand shot forward. His gauntleted fist ruptured Dahlia's chest, sending horrific sounds of bone rupturing and flesh shredding reverberating over the clearing. Her gaze widened, and her jaw opened in a wordless scream, but no sound came from her lips. Blood gushed from the damage, deep and dense, coating the earth underneath her. Her body jerked uncontrollably, leaving her with hardly enough strength to gasp.

With one swift action, the knight drew his hand back, revealing her still-beating heart in his tightly grasped fist. It was just too terrifying...too surreal. Her life was literally pounding in the grasp of her murderer. Her entire body trembled as if trying to process what had just occurred, but it was already far too late.

The knight didn't stop there. In a display so vile, so revolting, he forced her heart into her mouth. Her body, weakened, barely able to resist, gave way as he shoved the still-beating organ into her bleeding jaws, pushing it down her throat. Dahlia's eyes, wide with terror, flickered with fading light, her face contorted in a hideous mix of shock and agony as she was forced to swallow her own heart.

The brutality of the moment was too much. Kol, standing nearby, his usual composure shattered, felt his stomach twist violently. His hands instinctively clutched at his midsection as bile rose in his throat. He had witnessed countless horrors in his life, had seen things that would break lesser men, but this—this was beyond anything he could stomach. The smell of blood, the sight of Dahlia's limp body, the knight's bloodstained hand—it overwhelmed him.

His body betrayed him. In an instant, Kol doubled over, retching as vomit spewed onto the ground, the sound of his gagging loud in the stillness. Every sense screamed at him to escape, to flee from the horror that was playing out in front of his very eyes, but his legs felt like lead, stuck in place by terror and revulsion. That moment was imprinted in his mind, like a terrible nightmare come real.

Yet, amidst the chaos, Virgo remained a tad bit calmer than the rest. Her mind raced as she analyzed the situation. 'Even for commanders, this strength is unnatural. Unless he is an abomination like us, this shouldn't be humanly possible!' Her eyes darted to the egg resting ominously on the wooden steps, and a realization struck her like lightning. She smiled ominously as her body healed itself, she glanced at Omen and Dahlia who had already fallen, only Kol was left, 'hah, it was all too easy'

'too bad he had to die though, still things aren't really going well, I can only resurrect one more time now' Virgo's thoughts raced as she tuned bac to the egg. 'This dragon egg has some special effects, and destroying it would probably eliminate these effects. But the kingdom still wanted this egg intact and so do I. They knew the battleslaves could never complete this mission, even if they chose it. Someone wanted them dead but needed the egg intact.'

"Do I have a traitor amongst my group?" Virgo muttered darkly, 'I'll simply deal with that later' a grim smile spreading across her face as she sped towards the egg.

The knight, consumed with the grisly delight of torturing Dahlia's lifeless body, suddenly sensed a shift in the air. In an instant, his attention snapped toward Virgo, who had moved closer to the black egg, a fierce determination etched into her features. Before her hand could even graze its surface, the knight surged forward with blinding speed.

"No!!...", she screamed but the moment was brutal and merciless—Virgo's head flew from her shoulders, a clean, precise strike that sent her body crumpling to the ground in a sickening thud. Blood sprayed outwards, pooling around her as the weight of her lifeless form fell heavily upon the forest floor.

But Virgo's head landed in an unnatural angle as it skidded cross the floor and stalled beside the black egg. Then with an ominous smile her mouth opened and lodged between her teeth was a small black crystal…a bomb.

Boom!!!!

The impact was catastrophic. The egg detonated with a ferocity that rivaled a nuclear bomb, the sound deafening as it shattered in a brilliant flash of light and energy. A shockwave radiated outward, tearing through the clearing and sending debris flying. The force of the explosion annihilated the cottage and disintegrated its parts into ash.

Some things were on fire but in the silence Virgo's body grew a new body. She coughed brutally as she slowly stood up. Her clothes were completely gone and she stood stark naked. A forest was burning around her and the cottage was completely destroyed, she turned and saw both Dahlia and Kol's corpse.

"Not so lucky afterall are you?", Virgo said with a smile but then Kol coughed out blood, he was still unconscious though and seemed to be in terrible pain, "Tsk!". Virgo needed to finish the job now and she pulled out a burning wood from the debris and held the part that wasn't on fire. She quickly headed to Kol but just as she grew near she froze.

"He survived?", she shivered as she looked at the burning flame and standing there, just staring at her was Omen. "Of all the people to have survived, why did it have to be you?", she was angry now. She only had one life now and if she died now she wouldn't be able to resurrect again. This was her last life.

She knew she couldn't face him so she abandoned the thought of killing Kol and rushed towards the shattered egg. If she could eat the unborn fetus then she'd have the strength she required. But when she got to the destroyed egg, there was nothing left, only a swirling pool of darkness.

"NO!", she turned in alarm to watch Omen who calmly walked through the fire and drew nearer to her. Just like her, he was completely naked, but right now the only thing Virgo felt was fear "Let me explain, you see if this kingdom gets this egg then our life as slaves is as good as sealed"

Omen wielded no weapon, his swords having already shattered. He looked down at her, killing her would be useless as his ability to steal other abilities was far greater than what she could afford him. But she had the knowledge he needed.

"Who do you serve?", Omen asked simply. Now sensing he wasn't going to attack anytime soon, Virgo immediately sat up to explain.

"I am a princess of one of the invading armies. The dragon realm is currently in chaos and my father wanted a safe refuge where we can live. When we first came to Aeltheron soil all we wanted was a safe haven for our kind and so we worked with the fae…" she pointed at Dahlia's corpse "that's Dahlia's people and other beastmen. At first it was going well then they betrayed us, now it's basically Aeltheron, the fae and us. None of us are co-operating and we all want this kingdom destroyed"

Virgo decided to be honest with Omen, she knew the boy wasn't one to be fooled by seduction or material goods and she definitely knew he didn't care about any of them. So her best option was to tell him everything and hpe he'd aid her, afterall his current position as a battleslave was proof of the wa and what would happen if he remained on the wrong side of the war.

"Alright…I wouldn't kill you", Omen said as he immediately turned to leave and Virgo smiled in relief thouh her smile soon froze…because Dahlia's corpse wasn't where it was supposed to be "Wha—"

He voice cut short as a clawed hand went right through her nape, passed her throught, through her cerebrium and out of her skull. She was lifted up as her eyes widened in shock.

"He wouldn't, but I will", Dahlia scoffed as she pulled her hand out and Virgo's head exploded. The blood sprayed everywhere and Dahlia's naked dark skin was soon coated in it. Unabashed she turned her gaze to Omen You were right, I owe you my life"

"How is it that both of you can resurrect after death?", Omen asked, he knew Virgo had already died twice now. If not fo themal sense that told him she was still alive duing those times he would have assumed it was undead immortality.

"Remember when she said my people betayed them first, they did it to us first by stealing our sacred arts of immortality. With it we can resurrect wice and having three lives. Don't worry, shes used up everything. Meanwhile I still have one more resurrection left"

"what about your imprint?"

"Oh, that's already destroyed", she said with a smile "So I guess you too want to destroy this kingdom"

"I don't give a fuck about this kingdom, I just want Arthur dead. But I already have a plan for that, what would you do from here", Omen said as he looked at her.

"Well, some battleslaves would be sent here soon and I'd need to leave before then, but don't warry I'll aid you during the war. I too want to kill Arthur", She said and without wasting time she sprinted, Omen frowned as she watched her buttcheeks swaying with her speed, only now realizing he had been talking to a naked woman since.

He shook his head and turned to Kol who remained unconscious, knowing he was still breathing he knew the lucky boy would survive. He turned his gaze to the destroyed egg and the small swirling pool of darkness n one of it's shells.

"What is this?", he said aloud with a frown. Then suddenly he felt something sinister nvading his mind. Quickly he dug his own hand through his skull as he screamed in pain, squirming through his brain in such o the vile thing that had suddenly appeared in there and with a sharp pool he dragged out the insidious thing. His head spurt blood from where he'd struck himself but it was already healing as he looked at the thing…

It was a squirming leech made of pure darkness an its only physical part was it's horned head while the rest of it's long body was made of intangible black smoke. He squashed the thing immediately and watch as it disintegrated but the thing remained intangible in the air and moved back to the broken shell where the other pool of swirling darkness laid and then suddenly Omen fell with his face landing on the eggshell…it wasn't only one leech that had invaded him. He's eyes slowly closed as his breathing seized.

The forest, once alive with sounds, was now eerily silent except for the faint crackling of burning remnants. Omen, meanwhile, lay unconscious.

…But amidst the carnage, a sinister, surviving residue of swirling darkness began to stir. The black semi-liquid crawled across the ground with an unsettling fluidity, moving like a shadow in the dim light. It slithered ominously toward the last surviving squad member, the black liquid injected itself into the bronze-skinned abdomen of the young boy, bypassing his natural durability as if it were nothing more than air. The liquid writhed as it rested in the abdomen of the young boy, everywhere remained silent as the forest around him faded into darkness.