Chapter 179: Chapter 172 – Labyrinthian V

Niko wiped the sweat from his brow, he needed to stay dry or the cold was going to start getting to him. How long had they been out there? Half a day? The pitched battles outside of the city had repeated so many times that he wondered just what dark forces were keeping the humans standing. That had ended just a few hours ago very suddenly. While he had been fighting off a particularly sturdy fellow with an axe, the man had suddenly gone pale and a call to retreat and regroup had spread through the human ranks. Now they were back at the ridge overlooking the city in their hastily built campsite. It was probably freezing up there.

He glanced at the soldiers around him, they weren’t faring much better though. Exhausted by the endless fighting and demoralized by the loss of both Barin Kot and Argus Wo. Two heroes were brought down by the humans. Niko barely had words to describe what he’d seen when the members of the four engaged the human leaders. He had always thought the Four were the mightiest there were. He shuddered and gripped his arms, breathing a bit of warmth into himself with a quiet spell. Behind them, in the city, the sounds of battle between Tiisha and the human leaders had continued for a while before going silent as well. No one knew what the city looked like or what the situation was. No one was brave enough to go check.

To make matters worse, the bodies of Barin Kot and Argus Wo were inaccessible. A barrier of some kind had taken shape over them, forcing away anyone who got too close. In this quiet time between battles, a large vigil had formed around the two of them, quietly watching over their fallen leaders.

Niko was shaken from his grim thoughts as a pale-faced man approached him, his blue eyes glowing with azure flames. The Akurai raised his fist to his heart and inclined his head, “All of our company is accounted for.”

Relief flooded through Niko’s body, he didn’t know if he could live with himself if something happened to one of the Akurai soldiers who had volunteered to support the defense of the city. They knew what they were in for, but they volunteered anyway. They were good men. He felt his shoulders droop a little and he sat down on the snowy ground, hanging his head. After all he’d done to treat Teyva and her children like outsiders, they had been so welcoming to him. He’d found them to be incredible and wise people. Stalwart and prideful to a fault sometimes, but without a doubt good people. The guilt ached in his chest.

“Sir Niko?” The soldier knelt, “Are you unwell?”

“Should I even be out here? Feeding my own wounded pride?” Niko bit out, holding his head, “I should be with the Akurai, making sure everything is peaceful down there.”

“There is nothing wrong about wanting to restore one's own pride,” The soldier said, “The Azar are a good and proud people, I do not think that there will be any trouble this day.”

Niko looked up at the tired-looking man and smiled, “Thank you.”

“We should be thanking you, we are honored to help in protecting our new home!” The soldier laughed, “Don’t be so hard on yourself, sir.”

Niko pulled himself to his feet and shook his head, glancing over at a few of the other Akurai who had come along. Their glowing eyes were fixed on him. “You lot are a bunch of idiots, you know that?”

“What does that make you, sir?” One of them shouted back.

“The idiot leader of a bunch of idiots!” Niko barked.

The moment of levity was broken by a tremor that worked its way through the ground and an explosion from above. Niko was thrown from his feet and a shout rose out of the ranks of soldiers who had been resting up until this point. He glanced up towards the source of the explosion, far above, a wall of the pinnacle had burst, stone raining down from above. Something purple shone brightly through the cloud of debris as a shape was flung from the pinnacle and sent hurtling down toward the soldiers below. With a loud crack the body of one of the human leaders hit the ground, his body partially pulverized by the impact but still recognizable.

“They’re fighting the king,” One soldier murmured.

“What does that mean for Lady Tiisha? Are all of the Four dead?” Another asked.

Niko’s eyebrow twitched, “Enough out of you!” He bellowed, turning around, “Our king is fighting our enemies leadership so we can focus on the fight down here! Get your head out of your ass!”

One of the soldiers that had spoken up stepped forward, “What do you expect us to do? They have us outnumbered four to one, they have the high ground, and-” He was cut off when Niko drove a fist into his mouth. He fell onto his back and held his jaw, glaring up at the ex-first elder of the Eastern Azar.

Niko knelt down and grabbed him by the trim of his breastplate, “You are going to live through this, soldier. Either by skill or a miracle we are going to win this,” Niko snarled, “When you do, you’re going to spend your life making up for trying to wound the morale of your brethren.”

The ground trembled a second time, even more intensely than before. Niko looked up to the pinnacle expecting another explosion, but it didn’t come. Instead, a sudden burst of sound came from the west. From the camp of the human soldiers. Another shout went up, men began pointing up and toward the human campsite. Niko staggered, trying to catch himself as the earth shifted again and looked for the source of the noise. He didn’t have to look hard, a Rilk Queen had erupted from the ground at the dead center of the human camp, thrashing its enormous arms and throwing its head left and right as it released a terrible battle cry.

“Rilk Queen!” One soldier shouted.

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“Form up! If the humans don’t kill it, it’ll come for us!” Another soldier shouted.

Soldiers began rushing left and right, trying to get back into some semblance of order while their commanders barked orders. Niko turned to the Akurai who had chosen to join him and they formed a square at his back, drawing their own weapons and readying for the fight that was to come. Then something else happened. There was a flash of white light that swept across the camp followed by a dozen pops and flashes of light. A cloud of sparkling metal followed it, tiny sparkling stars that began zipping in every direction at once. Then there was the screaming. A din of chaos and battle that grew louder as the humans entered a pitched battle with the Rilks who apparently could now use magic.

“The hell is happening up there?” One soldier asked.

Niko shook his head, squinting at the edge of the camp. One soldier had his sword in his hand and was trying to throw it from the looks of it. He kept swinging it at nothing and holding it away from his face. Abruptly the weapon leaped from his hand and stabbed him in the throat. Niko’s jaw fell open, “What the devil?”

That was when he saw it, a figure he recognized all too well. Glowing, vaguely human-shaped, with a skeleton made of ice. It towered over the campsite, letting out its terrible roar as it swung down at soldiers that dared get too close.

“Death elemental,” Niko breathed, “Lady Akura! Princess Teyva!” He shouted.

A shocked murmur went through the gathered soldiers, “The princess is doing that?”

“I saw her summon one of those during the festival!”

“Princess Teyva!”

“The Princess can control rilks?”

The word spread like wildfire and soon a rousing shout of cheers and celebration roiled through the remnants of the Osan army. A cheer that lasted until the first clumps of human soldiers began racing out of the camp and down the hill in their direction. They were fleeing a swarm of glittering gold motes. Mockeries. It had to be Teyva! There was a sudden pause of shock that rippled through the line, Niko felt tension work its way up his arm. He took a shuddering breath, fighting off the winter chill as the wind picked up. He raised his sword over his head, “Let none escape! Cut them down!”

The rallying cry rose over the fragments of the Osan defenders, soldiers heartened by the appearance of a horror that only lived in some of their nightmares. Niko’s lips twisted into a smile, finally.

As if summoned by his thoughts a fleshy creature dove down from the sky in his direction. It was comprised of one eye wrapped in dark skin. It spun once in the air as it came to a stop in his path. He slid to a stop, a few soldiers jostling past him. The creature blinked and then a voice echoed out from inside, “Niko, why are you out here?”

Niko blinked, “Princess Teyva?” He babbled, “M-majesty! I-”

“Nevermind,” She said after a pause, “What’s the situation?”

“It’s as you see it, grim, until your arrival! We lost Masters Kot and Wo,” He said soberly, lowering his head, “We don’t know Master Tiisha’s condition either, but the invaders seem to be fighting the King as we speak.”

There was another pause, “Can I leave the clean-up to you?” She asked, “The rilks will not attack you.”

Niko puffed out his chest, “You can count on me, majesty!”

“I know, Niko, Fight well,” Teyva said and the floating eye drifted back into the sky. Above the battlefield, a streak of glowing white raced through the air, like a shooting star.

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